《Transmigrating as an Extra Third-Rate Villain》


 Chapter 1: Chapter 1:Realization [1]

    "... Now that the verdict has been confirmed as guilty, I will inform you of your punishment. Ren from class 1-B, you have violated Clause 1 of the handbook: No magic or violence will be used outside their designated areas."


    The woman''s clear and strict voice echoed throughout the air. Tilting my head upwards, I saw a room resembling a courtroom with countless chairs and desks spread around it.


    In front of me, the woman speaking had a placard on her desk.


    [Student Council President]


    "The Celestial Institute for Heroes finds you guilty of violating rule 1, and you, Ren Montclair, will be."


    What was I sentenced to what? What the hell did I do? The last thing I remembered was the sight of a truck nearing me until my vision blanked out.


    Did I die? If so, is this heaven?


    I looked around, momentarily confused, before I spotted a familiar face. It wasn''t a face I had ever seen, yet I knew exactly who its owner was. How could I not?


    The facial structure, hair color, eye color, and everything had been described to me countless times. It had been explained to me in a book...


    Liam, the protagonist of the book How to Survive at the Hero''s Academy, was sitting only a few feet away from me.


    Having read the book countless times, I immediately started racking my memories to see if there was ever a situation like this, and after a moment, I realized.


    The academy accepts both nobles and commoners and says that your social status doesn''t matter within the academy; however, most nobles refuse to accept this, leading to countless disputes with the commoners.


    During the first ten chapters of the book, the protagonist, Liam, gets involved in one of these class disputes as a Noble attacks him in public for no reason, and then he goes to trial as a victim.


    I glanced at Liam, who was glaring at me. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Wait, if he''s glaring at me... does that mean? As more knowledge of the book came rushing through my head, I realized my situation.


    Ren, a noble who attacks Liam for no reason besides jealousy, will get expelled by the school, and it is later mentioned that his father disowned him. Besides this, Ren is never mentioned throughout the other 1,500 chapters of the book.


    The typical cocky noble who attempts to hurt the protagonist but instead gets punished. A character solely used to develop the protagonist''s personality and display his kindness to the book''s readers.


    This was the character I was currently possessing. I looked down at the polished desk before me, and through my reflection, I noticed that my face was completely different from my past life.


    Surprisingly, I wasn''t at all bad-looking. However, my face was a bit overweight. I could tell that I was one of those spoiled noble characters.


    The student council president, whom I had previously ignored, directly addressed me, snapping me out of my thoughts.


    "Ren, do you understand? As punishment, you will be immediately demoted to Class 1-D and have a week''s suspension to consider your actions. To return to school, you must write a ten thousand-word essay on why what you did was wrong."


    In a low, timid voice, I responded.


    "Yes"


    My response shocked the teachers present, who were on guard. They seemed to think I would attack the president or something to overturn my punishment.


    To be fair, the character I was possessing did that. After receiving word of his punishment, Ren would immediately start blasting spells and causing chaos, leading to his immediate expulsion from the school.


    The idiot thought attacking everyone would help his situation; I pity him.


    However, this time, I was in control, not Ren, so I decided to accept the week of suspension gracefully; after all, why would I give up the opportunity to attend the most prestigious academy in the world?


    Surprised by my sudden change in attitude, the student council president stammered.


    "Your suspension starts now; please pack up from the dormitory and leave within the hour."


    After that, she seemed to address the two students sitting on my right and left. Jin and Han. These two were so insignificant that their names weren''t mentioned once in the novel; they were referred to as "Ren''s sidekicks."


    I scoffed. My situation was terrible as I reincarnated as a stupid antagonist instead of a primary cast member, but at least my noble status gave me money. Those two had nothing, and like the cliche, their only goal in life was to leach off me.


    "Jin and Han, you two will be suspended for three days for collaborating with Ren on this act."


    After the student council president stopped speaking, I could hear spectators voice their complaints about how they could dare take a commoner''s side.


    I mean, Ren did randomly attack him with no warning in the middle of the school, but I wasn''t going to complain that people were supporting my actions.


    Hearing all the commotion, beside the student council president, another prominent figure from the story emerged: the school''s principal. Her firm, strict voice reverberated throughout the room, immediately shutting all whispers.


    "Upon entering this academy, all students are treated equally regardless of their family or social status. Noble or commoner, there is no difference."


    What a damn lie.


    Seeing that the trial was over, I left the courtroom and headed toward the dorm building. Interacting with people more than necessary could cause them to realize something was up with me, so I had to limit my interactions.


    Surprisingly, I had some memories of Ren as I knew exactly where my room, bag, and other items were. Entering my dorm room, I surprisingly saw a maid packing my items.


    Even if I was a third-rate villain, I was at least a noble, so money wouldn''t be a problem.


    Besides changing my fate of expulsion into a simple suspension, I decided that there was no need for me to change the story. After all, even without me, this story had a cliche happy ending in which the protagonist defeated the demon king with his heroines.


    Living in obscurity with the money from my father wouldn''t be bad after all. However, that didn''t mean I was going to slack off; even if there was a happy ending for the main cast, that didn''t mean that it was 100% that nothing terrible would happen to me.


    I needed some protection.


    Looking at my overweight body in the dorm''s mirror, I realized that some severe training would be necessary. By training, I meant using the knowledge I had gained from my book to gather overpowered items!


    And when else to do it? The school suspended me, so this would be the perfect time to get some fantastic items. While thinking over some items the protagonist never used, one item immediately came to mind.


    This item was obtained by some villain that was defeated within a chapter, so it wouldn''t matter if I took it; however, this item was never terrible; the villain didn''t know how to use it correctly.


    The protagonist also discarded the item, thinking it was trash because the villain owned it; however, later in the story, it was revealed that the item was overpowered. There was a whole arc where the main character tried to search for it, but ultimately, he didn''t find it. However, the book mentioned where the item was originally before the original villain got it.


    After awkwardly waiting for the maid to finish packing my items, I grabbed my trunk and headed to the school gates.


    On the way to the school gates, I saw some teachers closely monitoring me with dark expressions.


    I guess they still thought I was going to cause trouble or something. It was probably suspicious to them that an arrogant student like me just accepted a punishment instead of trying to dispute it with a fight or something.


    Once again, the stupidity of third-rate villain characters dawned on me. If you don''t like the punishment, then break more rules; surely that will make them lower your punishment!


    Using Ren''s memories, I immediately recalled the name of the person standing in front of me before I had been with my family, even before my birth, and he was assigned to be my butler.


    His name was Janda.


    Since he had raised me from birth, it was very likely that he would notice that I wasn''t Ren, so I decided to put on my arrogant noble act. Maybe reading countless stories about nobles and commoners was useful!


    Instead of greeting Janda, patiently waiting outside the horse carriage, I arrogantly nodded and went inside.


    Thankfully, Janda didn''t notice anything as he entered the carriage moments after me.


    Looking at him sitting across from me, Janda''s expression was grim and sad. Was he disappointed in me or what?


    After a few moments of silence, the horse carriage began moving, and Janda spoke.


    "Master, your father has asked that I deliver this letter to you."

 Chapter 2: Chapter 2:Realization [2]

    Father...


    The father of Ren, the character I possess, is a very influential figure throughout the book.


    Eugene Montclair


    During the first war between demons and humans, seven prominent families emerged in the chaos, leading humanity to a partial victory. My father was included in one of those seven families and is known famously for his cruelty and strict behavior.


    In the original story, after Ren is expelled from the school, Eugene goes so far as to disown his son¡ªhis blood. Eugene had taken everything away from his child just because of an expulsion at some school.


    However, that wasn''t even the worst part. Eugene monitored the academy for talents worthy of joining his knight order, and to no one''s surprise, Liam was the first person to catch his attention.


    From then on, Eugene personally mentored Liam to help him hone his talent and even financially supported him through his school life.


    Yes, the same person who ignored and abandoned his genetic son gave up his precious time train and honed some random person he met through the academy.


    Not even a random person, Eugene treated the person who got his son, Ren, expelled from school far more like a child than he ever did to Ren. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    I fondly remember laughing at this ironic turn of events, but now that I was experiencing. I realized how fucked up it was.


    I honestly began feeling bad for Ren. Imagine seeing your father spend the time you desperately craved with your arch-rival.


    Calming my nerves a bit, I opened up the letter from my father.


    [Dear former son,]


    What you have done has not simply resulted in your suspension; your actions have disgraced the entire family name. I realize now that I have been far too lenient with your upbringing; however, it is too late to change that now. This is the last time that you disgrace the family with your actions.


    After having given everything to you since birth, instead of being grateful, you insult others who did not have the same opportunity. And finally, even with all the resources expended on you, you are still lost to that commoner. The last name of Montclair is wasted on you. Do not ever think of returning to the family estate after this.


    After discussing it with the other family members, we have decided to strip you of the Montclair name. From now on, your name is Ren. That is all.


    ----------------------------


    Rather than being disappointed or sad at this news, I was filled with rage.


    This accursed person was my "father." Feeling Ren''s emotions overwhelm me for a second; my legs started shaking uncontrollably with a mix of sadness and shame.


    Recalling Ren''s childhood memories, I relived all of Ren''s past terrible actions, including how he looked down on his servants and treated everyone terribly. This allowed me to feel Ren''s emotions at that time.


    It wasn''t happiness or cockiness he was feeling when he committed these actions... it was hope.


    Hope that his father would pay attention to him, just once in his life.


    ...I guess he had got what he wanted in the end.


    If I had continued reading the book, my opinion of Ren would have remained that of some neckless coward, yet now I realize that he wasn''t so bad after all.


    Maybe that''s a biased opinion because I am "Ren" now, but he just did what every other nobleman did, didn''t he?


    Every noble has looked down on the commoners at least once in their life, even my father, but when Ren does it, it''s such a big deal?


    Looking up from the letter, I saw my butler standing anxiously with a handkerchief.


    What the hell? What am I supposed to cry about? This was a good thing.


    That person could not even be classified as a father to me or anyone, for that matter. The only thing we had in common was our last name, but now that was gone.


    Upon seeing my dark red eyes not filled with sadness, my butler stepped back in shock for a second before handing me a small bag of golden coins.


    Looking inside, I saw around ten gold coins, which would be more than enough to get me through the one-week suspension. Since my tuition to the school was already paid for the year, I wouldn''t have to worry about this year as well.


    Since I had caused the incident on the 2nd day of school, I would be missing the entirety of the first week, and I was already behind most students in terms of swordplay.


    Ren managed to reach Class B in the first place because of his last name, so with that gone, I would surely sink into the depths of Class E if I did nothing.


    Seeing Janda preparing to leave to head back to the family state, more memories flooded my mind, showing me this guy was much more than a butler to Ren; he had essentially raised Ren from a baby to now.


    Expressing my gratitude once wouldn''t change anything.


    When Janda opened the carriage doors, I spoke.


    "Thank you."


    Without waiting for my butler''s reaction, I shut the door, and the carriage began moving again.


    "Where to sir?"


    Those without power were fated to suffer, so I needed power and knew the exact place to find it...


    "The Hajin Mountain Range."


    Not only did this place contain the item I was looking for, but it was also the perfect place to get rid of all this extra baggage on my body.


    Due to its high mana density, the mountain range allowed people to recover faster and increase their stamina at phenomenal rates. However, despite all those fantastic perks, the mountain''s population was close to 100 throughout all seasons.


    This was, of course, due to the high population of monsters attracted to the higher-density air. Nonetheless, I had chosen it as my destination, and the item I was searching for was called the "Dragon''s Eye."


    In the novel, the ongoing myth is that during the demon war, when Dragons were still active, there was a peaceful dragon in the mountain range that chose neutrality rather than the demons or humans.


    Living in its secluded cave and ignoring all the recruitment attempts, the dragon lived a peaceful life until, one day, the demons got too greedy.


    The power of one dragon matched over 1000 high-tier troops, and with the demons on the defensive, they desperately needed more firepower.


    Sending over 5,000 troops to the mountain range, the demons tried to take the dragon away forcefully; however, what happened next was unknown to anyone.


    It is assumed that the dragon, rather than participating in the war, decided to self-destruct, killing all the demon''s troops alongside itself.


    The only remanent of this battle is the Dragon''s Eye. The full extent of the item''s power is unknown, as the villain could only utilize its first stage, which allows the user to have incredible sight and perception.


    This entire journey was a gamble. If the item turned out to be shit, and the book was overhyping it, there would be no time for me to search for another item before returning to school.


    While I was considering taking an easier route and going for known overpowered items that the protagonist would obtain, I decided not to


    Why would I purposely take away my greatest strength in this world, knowing the future?


    Sure, I could have all the overpowered items in the world, but knowing the future would be ten times more valuable.


    Looking out of the carriage window, I saw the beautiful sun shining through the trees as it began to set, and peeking through the window of the carriage, the image of mountains that seemed to reach the sky entered my vision.


    However, before those mountains, a little town was set up at the mountain''s base for travelers.


    After reaching the small town, I hopped off the carriage and gave the driver a gold coin.


    Looking at my meager balance, I wished I could return to earlier in the day when I thought money wouldn''t be a problem...


    How was I supposed to know that my father would still disown me if I got suspended rather than expelled?


    Peering through my luggage, I realized I had nothing valuable besides some royal-looking clothes. Ensuring nobody was watching, I snuck into the forest surrounding the village and left my baggage there.


    If it got stolen, sure, it would be a hassle, but I wasn''t willing to journey up the mountains with that heavy thing on my back.


    After re-entering the village, I immediately looked for a blacksmith. With the high population of monsters, I would need at least a weapon if anything happened.


    It wasn''t like I could do much with the sword, even if a beast showed up, but having a false sense of security felt nice.


    I picked up each sword on the rack until I finally found one I could swing without sweating and hyperventilating.


    Upon reaching the academy again, I would have access to their expensive weapons arsenal, so I did not need to worry too much.


    Exchanging a gold coin for the sword, I took it and walked towards the mountain. Even if I had money to settle down in an inn, wasting all my gold coins would be stupid.


    The light in the sky was diminishing, and there was no way I would wander around a monster-infested mountain with no light, so I immediately began walking up the artificial trail that led up the hill.


    After reaching a decent height above the ground, the mana swarming into my body reenergized me momentarily as my muscles felt lighter.


    However, even with the mana, I could tell that this body was not meant for physical exercise, as sweat dropped from my forehead every time I moved.


    When I finally saw a small opening in the mountain that was too small to be called a cave, I veered off the path and took cover in the cave.


    Next, I moved some smaller rocks to partially block the cave''s entrance so it would be safe from monsters.


    Recalling my memory, I realized that the most dangerous beasts in the range were the mountain tyrants; however, due to their large stature, a small cave like this would block their entrance.


    Besides that, the monster birds could enter the cave. However, I doubted that they would join me in such a secluded space.


    Taking off my jacket and scrunching it up to make a pillow, I finally relaxed and drifted off to sleep.


    "Who would have thought, a noble sleeping in a cave in nowhere."


    The cold, rough floor and constant noise of things moving around me made it hard to sleep, but my exhaustion eventually saved me.


    I think Ren exercised more today than in the past year, and sadly, that wasn''t a joke.


    Imagining what I would have to do tomorrow made me shutter. I would have to search every nook and cranny of each cave I came across to find the eye, and I would be constantly on edge due to the possible appearance of monsters everywhere.


    I wish that the book had mentioned more specifics about the location of items rather than just saying, "He found the item in some cave located on the rightmost mountain of the Hajin range."


    Back at school, besides my situation with the protagonist, nothing was supposed to happen during the first week of school so I wouldn''t miss much.

 Chapter 3: Chapter 3:Mountains [1]

    Upon waking up, I could feel my entire body aching from yesterday''s exercise, but I didn''t have time to waste.


    After doing some stretching exercises I had learned in my previous life, I put on my jacket again and moved the rocks out of the way so I could leave.


    Looking down at the ground from my resting spot, the scenery was jaw-dropping. I had never been hiking before I died, but I guess I was missing out.


    The bright blue lake, illuminated by the sun''s lights, the countless harmless birds flying around in the gigantic forest, and the bright blue sky that brought it all together. It was hard to believe that these beautiful mountains could be considered dangerous.


    I returned to the artificial trail and headed further up the mountain, more specifically, to the right. After walking for an hour, I finally saw the end of the path up ahead.


    That meant that the actual search was going to begin.


    However, there was one big issue; I was sweating and hyperventilating like I just ran a goddamn marathon. After finding a spot with shade, I sat down and looked up at the sky for a bit.


    Even since I entered this book world, I have been constantly on the move, with barely any time to think.


    Since the book had a happy ending, I decided that interfering with the storyline would be useless. So, how would I live? Living off my father''s money was no longer a choice.


    After thinking it over for a bit, I decided that my first goal would be to graduate from the academy, as from there, I could go into any field I wanted to.


    But if I wanted to live nicely, I would have to graduate from Class A. Sure, it would be complex and time-consuming as I was ten years behind every student academically, but some time at the library should solve that, right?


    After resting a bit longer, I got up and began searching everywhere. The only hint was that it was on the upper right side of the mountain range, so I looked in every cave.


    It took me around 10 minutes to find the first cave, and to no one''s surprise, the cave was empty.


    "This is going to be a pain, isn''t it?"


    Why can''t I be the damn protagonist who stumbles on whatever item he''s looking for after 10 minutes of walking around?


    After searching three caves with no results, the light was already diminishing, so I entered one last cave for the day.


    Looking at the cave in front of me, I noticed a lot of noise coming from within.


    That could either me there were a shit ton of monsters, and I would die, or it would mean the Dragon''s eye could be tDragon''sll; it''s a 50/50 chance! Either I get the Dragon''s eye in this cave, or I Dragon''sd move on to another one tomorrow.


    I quietly walked along the cave walls and slowly inched further into the cave. I could feel the presence of more mana within this cave, and my body seemed to heal as I walked further into the cave.


    *DRIP*


    Suddenly, I heard the sound of running water further into the cave.


    Back in the village, I picked up most essentials, such as food and water. Still, I severely underestimated the amount of exercise I would be doing, so I was halfway through my rations on only the second day.


    I grabbed some empty water bottles from my pockets and walked closer to the sound; then I heard some footsteps, not regular footsteps.


    If there''s water, that means there had to be creatures nearby who drank and used that water.


    Right now, I was in no position to even look at a monster, so I carefully backtracked my way to the entrance of the cave,


    I would need to return when I inevitably ran out of water, but that would be a problem for me in the future.


    As the sun set, I headed back down the trail toward my spot from earlier. After some time looking around, I found the pebble path I had left behind to indicate my sleeping location.


    Exhausted, I collapsed onto the hole''s cool, rough floor. Uncomfortable or not, I was happy that my legs finally got a break.


    After only a few minutes, I gave in to my exhaustion as I fell asleep.


    *TICK*


    *TICK*


    The sound of a clock ticking woke me up. What the hell, am I hallucinating now because I exercised too much?


    Focusing on my ears, I once again tried to hear the sound that woke me up, but to no avail; it was no longer there.


    Propping myself against the wall, I peered out of the spot''s entrance and saw it was pitch black. Going outside to search right now would be a death, so I simply looked up at the dark sky.


    After a few minutes, my body started aching again, so I once again laid down on the floor.


    However, as soon as my head touched the cave floor, the clock ticking started playing again.


    Are the gods playing some trick on me? Is this funny to you higher beings? Is torturing a defenseless reincarnate some pastime for them? If so, it''s working very well...


    Ignoring the clock''s ticking sound, I closed my eyes and attempted to fall asleep, but the clock conveniently disrupted me every time I grew closer to falling asleep.


    I stood up again and attempted to find the source of the noise, but the cave was completely empty beside me. Returning my head to the floor, the sound of the clock ticking immediately reappeared.


    After taking and removing my head from the cave floor a couple of times, I realized that the sound could only be heard when my ears were close to the floor.


    Like an animal, I got down on all fours with my head touching the ground and followed the ticking sound. However, when the ticking sound got louder, and I noticed I was getting closer, my head bumped straight into the end of the cave.


    Somehow, it seemed like the sound''s source was inside the mountain. Right now, I was too far into this mystery to give up, so I placed my head on the wall that blocked me from going any deeper into the mountain, and sure enough, the ticking sound was even louder. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Why the hell is there a clock inside this mountain?


    Placing my hand on the smooth surface of the wall, I tried to find a secret lever or something to open the wall, but this wasn''t some spy movie, so nothing worked.


    Next, I formed a fist with my hand, and with all my strength, I punched the wall. However, the wall remained fine while my fist felt like it had just shattered into a thousand pieces.


    This single wall inflicted more pain on me than the rest of the mountain within less than 10 minutes... the bump on my head and bruises on my fist.


    I angrily walked back to the cave''s entrance, and since I could not sleep with that sound, I decided to stretch until the sun came up.


    I removed the rocks I had placed to block monsters from entering the cave and walked outside. Looking up at the sky, I saw a yellow half-crescent moon and what seemed like a million stars shining at night.


    Now, alongside hiking, stargazing was another thing added to my list of things to do if I ever returned to my original world.


    As I started stretching outside, I noticed a slight light coming from inside my sleeping cave.


    When I turned around and looked into the small cave, I saw the back wall shining. Not the entire cave, just that back wall seemed to shine.


    Then, the cave shook briefly, and a small opening was revealed at the bottom of the back wall.


    Was it the light? No, then it would have opened from the sun. Was it the moon?


    After glancing at the beautifully starry sky, I silently thanked it for ending my mystery.


    Staring at the small opening in the wall, I internally swore when I got my hands on that clock, shit was going to get real.


    Not only did it keep me up in the middle of the night, it also gave me two injuries.


    I crawled through the small opening in the wall, ignoring that my academy uniform was now essentially covered by dirt.


    If my "father" saw me in such a state, I wondered what he would think. He would probably go crazy and try to execute me for ruining his God-blessed family name.


    As I walked further into the secret cave, I noticed that I could hear the ticking sound even when my head wasn''t on the floor.


    I no longer had to act like a wild animal trying to find food to hear the ticking sound!


    The secret cave path was not straight and level; it led me downwards, and there were turns and twists every 10 feet, which increased my suspicions.


    This cave definitely could not have been created by nature; it was far too unnatural. There was no way a naturally formed cave would suddenly turn right, left, and right again.


    So, did a man make this cave? How did he get that secret entrance to work? Even after reading over 1500 chapters of the book, I had never heard of magic activated by the moon''s light.


    Finally, I reached the end of the cave, and like in a horror movie, a pedestal sat awaiting me. On that pedestal was also a small golden orb, still emitting the ticking sound that had caused me so much pain.


    The pedestal resembled one at a museum. However, the orb was not protected by a red cushion.


    From all the horror movies I had watched, my instincts told me that the orb was terrible news.


    However, my curiosity got the best of me. Someone had made this cave, and this someone had left behind a golden orb.


    Was it the Dragon''s eye? Had I searched in the Dragon''sg area, or was it some item never mentioned in the book?


    Searching the entire right side of the mountain range was impossible, so I hoped my luck or something would lead me to the Dragon''s eye.


    Was my luck finally into play?


    As I walked towards the pedestal, I could feel my ears about to burst as the sound of ticking was way too goddamn loud from this distance.


    In a swift motion, I stepped toward the pedestal and grabbed the orb with my right hand, stopping its ticking sound.


    What was going to happen now? Was the cave going to collapse because I stole the treasure it protected? Was some person going to come out of the orb, thank me for awakening them, and then kill me?


    However, none of that happened. The cave and my surroundings stayed precisely the same.


    Anticlimactic much?


    Looking at the orb in my right hand, I tried to recall the description of the Dragon''s eyes, Aragon. The book Dragon mentioned nothing about its appearance except that it was a ball.


    Well, one similarity is enough for me. After the moon activated this secret path and made that ticking sound, this item had to be remarkable.


    Looking at the pedestal in the cave for any hints, I noticed a small picture inscribed on the metal.


    The picture displayed a feast, and the golden orb I was currently holding was present on each of the plates on each of the plates.


    ...Am I supposed to eat this?


    Sighing, I placed the orb in my mouth and swallowed. After savoring its sweet taste, rivaling a gummy worm from my world, I left the secret cave and returned to my sleeping spot.


    What would happen now? I had just randomly trusted some picture drawn on a pedestal...


    Crawling through the small entrance to the secret cave again, I was relieved to see the familiar sight of my sleeping spot.


    Walking through that secret cave twice while not fully recovered took a lot out of me, so I laid back on the floor.


    After a few minutes of lying down, I confirmed the ticking sound was no longer there, so I drifted back to sleep without worrying about the world.


    It was all worth it! That damned sound was gone!


    [A/N: Do you like this novel cover better or the other one?]

 Chapter 4: Chapter 4:Mountains [2]

    When I woke up, I vaguely remembered my adventure into the secret cave last night, but I was on auto-pilot then, running on no sleep.


    Once I got up, I tried to look for the entrance to the cave again, but it wasn''t there. I guess the moon did activate it?


    While stretching, I tried to feel for anything special within my body, like a skill or something. However, there was nothing.


    That was surprising; a random golden orb in a secret cave should give some power, right?


    My hopes were shattered, as I believed the orb could have been the dragon''s eye, but I guess I had to search more.


    Maybe I wasn''t supposed to eat the orb and do something else with it; however, it was too late for regrets.


    Realizing how low my water supply was, I decided that venturing into that creep cave with the water source now, in broad daylight, would be my best option.


    Once again, I entered the gigantic cave and inched closer into the darkness until the sound of running water finally reached my ears.


    Following the sound, I went deeper and deeper into the cave until I finally heard the sound getting closer.


    Just before me, a three-foot-wide river stretched into the darkness beyond me.


    After refilling my water bottles and drinking some water, I surveyed the cave before finding a small path that led even deeper into the mountain.


    Well, I''m here, so I might as well search there...


    Resisting the urge to jump into the river and wash my filthy body, I continued refilling my water bottles, mentally preparing myself for whatever that path held.


    After drinking water and splashing my face, I crossed the river using rocks and entered the path.


    Moving further into the cave, I heard various sounds echoing throughout. Whether it was the sound of a bat waking up or an unknown creature walking around, the sounds never failed to make me react.


    It was like I was in a permanent limbo; at any moment, I could die, yet for some reason, I still kept walking.


    Was I insane?


    Finally, I reached the end of the original path and saw that it opened up to a ravine-like structure.


    There was a big opening in the middle, and when peering down, I could see various other openings in the walls and near the bottom.


    I was in the center of the mountain.


    I carefully maneuvered the walls, using the rocks that pocked out to lower myself until I finally reached the bottom.


    Just when I was about to sit down to relax my muscles, I heard a sound coming closer.


    It wasn''t just a typical sound; something crashing down on the cave floor echoed throughout the cave.


    T the footsteps of a monster.


    "Guess you play stupid games, you get stupid prizes."


    I had played the game of luck and lost.


    Looking towards the source of the incoming steps, I realized that my only chance of escape would be to outmaneuver the monster and run into the exact opening where it came from.


    Climbing was not an option as it would be too slow. The beast could easily catch me, and there was no place for me to have a dinosaur-liker-like figure approach from the cave, a mountain tyrant. The Tyrant''s weakness was its short arm span; however, in a small space like this, that weakness was nullified as its short arms still managed to reach the walls on both sides of the cave.


    I pulled my cheap sword out of its sheath and faced the Mountain Tyrant, waiting for awaiting-tack.


    I had to get past the monster and run into that opening as fast as I could.


    It was like a game of Red Rover; I just had to get to the other side, but a guard prevented me from doing that.


    After a second, the Tyrant adjusted to its surroundings and finally saw me. With incredible speed, the T-rex-like figure darted at me.


    Since I somewhat knew its attack pattern from the book, I anticipated its initial attack would be a charge, so I dived out of the way.


    However, contrary to my expectations, the monster seemed to have some intelligence as, instead of continuing its charge, it stopped midway after seeing me dive.


    Immediately, it changed directions and started charging at my new location. I was vulnerable; I didn''t have enough time to dive, enough space to dodge, or enough power to kill.


    Why was I even doing all this? This power shit and survival, why did I even come to the cave?


    I could have stayed in the inn until my suspension and lived at the school comfortably until my expulsion.


    I just had to act like some protagonist by jumping into dangerous situations without thinking, right?


    Well... this situation woke me up... I wasn''t some protagonist with insane luck; I was a third-rate villain.


    Looking at the Tyrant nearing, I felt a sense of serenity wash over me.


    For the past few days, I had put myself through constant exercise, near-death experiences, and terrible sleeping conditions.


    Not to say that it wasn''t worth it, as I could see my weight drop significantly through my appearance as my jawline became more defined and abs developed on my chest, but at the same time, was this what I wanted to do?


    I was given a second chance to live in this world, yet I wasted it instead of doing things I enjoyed.


    Looking at the Tyrant still nearing in on me, I noticed something peculiar.


    Is it just me, or is the Tyrant slowing down?


    By now, the Tyrant should have reached and killed me, yet it was still some distance away from my slumping body.


    If this kept up... I would have enough time to dive out of the way or climb up.


    Who am I to refuse if god gives me a 3rd chance? Damn, maybe I am an agonist with incredible luck!


    Deciding that climbing could be dangerous as this phenomenon could stop at any time, and I would be trapped on the walls, I dived in the direction of the cave the Tyrant came from.


    However, even after I dived away from the Tyrant, the flow of time stayed the same. Looking at the Tyrant, it looked like it was running in slow motion like some cartoon skit. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    By now, the monster had noticed my location change, so it again changed directions. However, my speed far surpassed the beast.


    For every second in the monster''s eyes, 5 seconds passed in my time, so even with my horrendous stats, I was faster than it.


    I ran full speed around the monster, who could not react in time, and quickly swung my sword into its right leg.


    Tearing it out, I proceeded to do the same to its left leg.


    The monster collapsed to the ground, unable to hold; whatever change occurred during that time seemed to stop, as the monster''s arms and mouth began moving again at their original speed.


    But it was too late. The beast could not retaliate or dodge my incoming attacks, as it was immobilized entirely.


    Without any hesitation or mercy, I stabbed at the monster''s body, ignoring its groans of pain until the beast became a corpse.


    Looking at the monster lying lifeless, I immediately started climbing back to the cave exit.


    After that experience, there was no way in hell that I would continue exploring this cave. Sure, I took on one of them, but there were probably over a hundred more lurking around in this big cave.


    I had been given a third chance, but thinking a fourth chance would come would most likely be a mistake.


    After scaling the walls and reaching my original path, I soon returned to the river where I had gotten my water. I noticed that my hands were somewhat dirty due to all the rocks I touched when climbing, so I leaned down to wash them in the river. Inadvertently, I also saw the reflection of my face in the river.


    My right eye, which was originally red, was golden. However, that quickly escaped my mind as, through looking at my reflection, I realized that the same eye was leaking blood.


    I quickly placed my hand near my right eye before returning it to my line of sight. It was completely drenched in blood.


    How the hell did I manage for this long without realizing it? Where the hell is the pain?


    I looked like Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender, as the right side of my face was blood red. Using the water from the river, I cleansed my face, and thankfully, no more blood flowed out.


    After my face and hands were clean, I inspected the color of my right eye again. It was golden. Do you know whose right eye was also golden..?


    The villain owner of the dragon''s eyes.


    I guess that golden orb was it?


    Also, with all that fear out of my mind, I remembered that the slowing of time earlier was probably related to the dragon eye''s first stage.


    But something still didn''t make sense.


    Why did it activate then and not earlier? If it had been activated earlier, I would have never continued searching the mountain and would have headed back down it.


    I wasn''t complaining as it saved my life, but I was curious. After all, what use was the item to me if it only activated when it wanted to?


    After a moment, I looked at the reflection again, and my right eye was back to red.


    The mysteries kept on piling up. After I went this far to obtain the item, I would be damned if I didn''t make use of it.


    Bracing myself, I cleared my mind of all emotions and focused solely on my right eye.


    I could feel a subtle change in my right eye, like how more blood flowed towards it, so I looked into the reflection again.


    My eye was golden again.


    I picked up a nearby rock and threw it towards the river, but rather than moving in a fast and fluid arc, it seemed to float in the air like it was in slow motion.


    Just when I was about to test the passage of time more, I felt a sudden urge of pain swelling in my right eye. It felt like my eye was about to implode from all the pressure.


    After removing my brain''s focus from my right eye, the pain stopped, but I still felt a weird tingling feeling.


    After looking in the river again, I noticed that besides my eye color being back to red, more blood appeared near my right eye.


    It seemed that using the ability for a prolonged period would lead to blood escaping through my right eye.


    Though at first, it may not seem like a bad penalty, without blood, my body is unable to operate, so using the ability for an extended period would lead to my death.


    Even using it for a short period could lead to significant blood loss, making it so I would lose access to some parts of my body.


    Well, I wasn''t complaining... I had gotten ability to slow down time!

 Chapter 5: Chapter 5:Mountains [3]

    After washing the blood off my face again, I got up and left the cave.


    Looking outside, I felt overwhelmed by the dragon''s eye passive ability.


    I could see every little movement: people moving around in the village below, birds flying through the air over 100 feet away, and rocks falling down the mountain.


    It was like my eyes could perceive every single thing in my area. Why was the increased perception and vision mentioned as the item''s ability but not the ability to slow down time literally?


    "Ah, I feel sick; getting used to this will take a while."


    Ignoring my urge to puke, I headed back down the mountain to my sleeping spot.


    After resting for a bit, I spent an hour running around my mountain area to increase my stamina and speed.


    Although I could quickly check my progress by viewing my system menu, I decided against it.


    I didn''t think I could run for 5 hours just to see my speed stat increase by 0.1.


    For the next 3 days, I did nothing but lounge around all day in the cave. Simply looking out into the forest below and enjoying the view from the mountain was enough for me.


    I had accomplished my goal for the trip, so the rest of this time was basically a vacation for me... well, a vacation in a small hole on a monster-infested mountain.


    However, the academy would be different. Rather than living in some cave like a bum, I would get a luxurious room with a shower, a proper gym, and fantastic cafeteria food¡ªa shower¡ªoh, how I''ve missed them.


    Since today was the last day, I made a trip back to the river to gather some water as there would be no need for me to waste money on repurchasing water at the village.


    Entering the cave felt surreal, unlike last time when every corner was shrouded in danger; I could see everything there.


    Despite the cave''s complete darkness, nothing escaped my vision; I could see bats resting above me, uneven rocks on the walls, and the dark brown walls.


    It was like I had night vision.


    It wasn''t like everything was bright to me; it was just that my eyes could see through the darkness.


    A bow user would probably die to get an ability like this, as they can easily see their enemies miles before they arrive, but here I was, using them to admire the beauty of the cave.


    After reaching the river, I once again refilled my water bottles. Looking at the path I had taken previously with my new power, I could see the ravine from my spot near the river.


    Rather than feeling some fear or anger toward the path for almost leading me to my death, I felt at peace or ease.


    If I hadn''t gone there, would my eye have ever activated? Would I have given up on getting stronger?


    Would I have taken a different route since I didn''t even find out I had the dragon''s eye?


    Looking at my reflection in the water, I could see a significant difference in my appearance. Rather than looking like some fat, chubby, spoiled noble kid, my jawline was more defined, and my stomach was somewhat toned.


    My skin was paler as my primary food source was berries, which I found while searching.


    On Earth, it would have taken at least six months to lose weight and see this big of a change, yet here, I had accomplished the feat in a week.


    I guess there are some perks to being transferred to a magic world.


    Looking at Ren''s reflection in the river water, a sudden thought popped into my head.


    What would the original Ren be doing now? Was he in my body on Earth, and we got magically exchanged... or was he just dead?


    Turning away from that path, I got my now-filled water bottles and walked out.


    I wish I could say that I returned from the cave a new man or something cliche like that, but besides losing some weight and getting a bit stronger, I still only had one wish: a nice steaming hot shower.


    Before I stepped down from the mountain, I decided it was finally time to check my stats menu.


    ===Menu===


    User: Ren Montclair


    [Class: N/A]


    [Stats]


    -> Rating: Unranked


    -> Strength: G


    -> Agility: E


    -> Stamina: E-


    -> Magic Power: E+


    [Traits]


    -> Passive: Dragon''s Will [1 / ?]


    ---> Dragon Eyes: Your eyesight is enhanced.


    [Skills]


    -> N/A


    =======


    Like me, the average freshman at Celestial Academy hadn''t yet managed to reach the stat threshold to be ranked, so I wasn''t far behind. Though a couple of students, including Liam, from the top classes, had managed to reach E- rank,


    The only thing that surprised me was my high magic power.


    For a freshman, a stat of E- was usual for magic power, as no one had received official magic training yet.


    Magic power should have been the lowest stat a person could have entered the academy. Even nobles who received private tutoring didn''t have a magic power stat of about E, yet I had E+.


    Was I a magical prodigy?


    Well... I can''t really learn magic when I''m from an entirely different world, can I?


    Finally, I arrived back at the bustling town at the base of the mountain range. First, I went to where I had hidden my luggage, and thankfully, it was still there.


    All that training and searching had put my clothes on life support, as my pants were riddled with holes and my shirt''s color was almost completely faded.


    My real mom would probably scold me and call me homeless if she saw me dressed like this.


    After ensuring nobody was around me, I awkwardly removed my clothes and changed into the academy uniform inside my bag.


    It was already nighttime, so I decided to get a carriage back to the academy tomorrow. Looking forward I used my eyes to peer past the darkness and look into the forest right outside the village.


    I could see various squirrels, bird nests, and bears roaming around the forest, yet with everything, I could still see no monsters.


    Later in the story, this town will inevitably be attacked by some creatures who escaped the shackles of the mountain, so I wanted to ensure that nothing like that happens while I am here.


    I don''t know what they expected, though. Building a nice and cozy town only 100 meters below a mountain infested with thousands of dangerous monsters couldn''t have seemed like a good idea to anyone.


    After giving up a silver coin to inn owner, I got a decent room for the night, so I washed up. I rubbed every part of my body with soap in that shower for at least an hour.


    After changing into nightwear, I neatly folded and laid my uniform on the table.


    There was one thing left to do. The thing I dreaded the most and the thing I went to do at the very end.


    One could say that this task was much more complex and worse than searching for the dragon''s eye.


    Writing an apology essay...


    How the hell was I supposed to start this?


    "I made a severe and continuous lapse in my judgment, and I don''t expect to be forgiven. I''m here to apologize."


    No, what the hell? This isn''t some YouTube apology.


    After ten more minutes of procrastinating and thinking, I finally started writing. The wording or sentence structure didn''t matter; all that mattered was that my apology was genuine.


    However, how could my apology be genuine when I was innocent?


    "This wasn''t me, this was Ren!"


    I probably sounded like a maniac to the people living in the rooms next to me.


    Instead of apologizing, I just used fancy words and long sentences until I finally reached the word minimum. The student council, reading my apology, would probably give up after reading the first sentence.


    "I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience, discomfort, or harm my actions, words, or omissions may have caused you."


    I imagined their faces while reading the paper. Those guys probably wouldn''t even understand half the words written on paper, so even if they knew my apology wasn''t genuine, they wouldn''t be able to critique it.


    As I lay down on the bed, my back seemed to want to jump in the air and rejoice, as if it didn''t have to deal with some brought surface below it for the first time in a while.


    However, my brain didn''t react that way. I felt out of place rather than comfortable and pleasant while sleeping.


    Should I sleep on the floor?


    "No, I''m a noble; there''s no way I got used to sleeping outside."


    Ignoring that feeling, my body slowly gave in to the fatigue, and I drifted off to sleep.


    The next day, I changed into my clean academy uniform and exited the inn. Some weird glances were thrown my way, but that was to be expected. The reputation of the Celestial Academy seemed even to reach rural places like this.


    After waiting at the village entrance, I finally saw an empty carriage, so I walked up to the man and tossed him a gold coin.


    His shocked expression at receiving such money quickly disappeared when he looked at my uniform and face.


    He probably thought I was some spoiled noble since I came from that academy. I mean, he was right, but at the same time, I had just spent six days sleeping in a small cave and exercising every day.


    Let''s say I am a common noble.


    "Where to sir?"


    "Celestial Academy."


    After exchanging a nod, I stepped into the carriage. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This was it. I was returning to the academy.


    What new hell awaits me there?

 Chapter 6: Chapter 6:Homecoming [1]

    Only after around 5 hours did I arrive back at the town near the Academy. The Academy was put on an artificial island off the town''s shore, essentially its world. There was only one way in and out of the Academy, so one would think that the security would be top-notch.


    The reason for this excessive security is the existence of djinns, humans who sign contracts with demons, tainting their souls, and in the place of demons, these humans commit heinous acts.


    With all this security, one would think the Academy would be safe from these people. However, reading the book, I could not count the number of times a djinn infiltrated the Academy as a teacher or student.


    Looking outside my carriage, I saw some sunlight left, so I explored the town a bit before reentering the Academy.


    Since Celestial Academy was closed off to the outside world, once I went inside, I wouldn''t be able to leave unless it was for a club trip, so I decided to savor my freedom outside for the time being.


    If we were to call the city near the Academy a town, then the mountain city I had just stayed at would be an ant. Its population was almost ten times greater, and I could see stores, inns, merchants, and restaurants at every corner.


    After admiring the city through carriage for a few minutes, I paid the driver a golden coin and stepped down. Various sounds immediately entered my ears as I exited the carriage and stepped foot into the bustling street of the capital city.


    As I walked around, checking out every store, one finally got my attention. It was a simple antique shop rather than some new shop I had never seen on Earth or some shop that coEarthicted every Earth learned in my world.


    One item inside the antique shop specifically caught my attention: a pair of wired earbuds hanging from the shop''s display window.


    Did this world have music?


    Though mine was confiscated after the incident, the Academy gave every student a communication device that resembled an iPhone. You could download apps to communicate with friends, play games, buy items, and search for things on the web.


    It wasn''t surprising, as this world was precisely the same as mine, except nobles and magic existed.


    Those may seem like two huge differences, but besides some cities seeming more medieval and without democracy, everything else stayed the same.


    One big difference was that countries did not exist. Instead of several countries that contained humans, one kingdom ruled over all the humans in this world. This kingdom was, of course, owned by the royal family.


    Also, rather than humans being enemies to each other, our enemies were the monsters and secret organizations of djinns that roamed the world.


    Of course, though, with magic existing, this world was far more advanced than Earth, as things like mana gates existed so that you could travel thousands of miles within seconds.


    As a student at the Academy, these warp gates were available to me; however, due to their enormous cost, they were only put in significant cities, so I was forced to travel by carriage to the mountain base town.


    Speaking of traveling by carriage, one thing about this world bothered me. How the hell can they build warp gates but not figure out how to invent a car?


    Seeing the earbuds in the store''s windows piqued my curiosity. Did my favorite artists from Earth exist in this world?


    As the bell rang, signifying my entrance, I immediately went to the windowsill and grabbed the earbuds.


    Only one pair seemed to be available in the store, but that made sense as most people probably used wireless earbuds or headphones.


    After looking around the small store a bit longer, I found other things I recognized, like a drone and chargers.


    I also picked up a black sweater from the shop to cover my school blazer. Even though the area was crowded, I still got some weird glances because of my blazer, and I didn''t want to draw any unnecessary attention.


    Next, I decided to go to a shop to buy a "phone" as even if the school gave us one, it probably blocked some stuff.


    Only two blocks from the antique store, I found a store that seemed to sell electronics. As I neared the entrance, the doors opened automatically, and a drone with a robotic voice greeted me.


    "Please ask me anything if you need assistance."


    Looking around the store, I realized there were smartwatches instead of phones. I put one on to test it, and as soon as I clicked the small screen on the smartwatch, a big holographic screen appeared in front of me.


    "They can do this, but not a damn car."


    After paying three gold coins for the most advanced smartwatch, I realized the sunlight was fading, so I decided to drop off my stuff at the Academy and sleep.


    Walking towards the Academy''s gates, I realized the streets were empty. Although it seemed suspicious, it did make sense as there was no reason to come to this area unless you were entering the Academy.


    As I was configuring my smartwatch and figuring out how to use it, a loud feminine void appeared in the alleyway near me.


    "HELP"


    Peering into the alleyway, I saw a group of 4 girls, similar age to me, slowly backing away from a vast muscular man.


    Taking another glance at the guy, I immediately noticed the bright red horns on his head.


    A djinn?


    As I turned around to continue walking down the street, I heard the burly man behind me scream.


    "And who the hell do you think you are?"


    Wait, he''s not talking to me. I continued walking, but the voice once again yelled out.


    "Hey, you son of bitch, I''m talking to you."


    Still somewhat confused, I turned around to face the man. Why was he focusing on me when four girls were waiting behind him?


    The man was now aggressively walking towards me with a mocking expression.


    The four girls behind him immediately ran, seeing that the guy was no longer focused on them.


    So much for being a hero; these girls ran off without helping me.


    Seeing me standing still in a daze, the guy threw out his right arm in an attempt to punch my face.


    Immediately seeing that it would get violent, I activated the Dragon''s Eye, and with the time slowed down, I could easily dodge his punch.


    Then I threw a counterattack punch, which connected with his stomach. Though my strength stat was the lowest of them all, punching the specific area in the gut would cause acid reflux, immobilizing the man for a few seconds.


    While the man was recovering, I took my sheath out of my trunk and held my sword in my right hand.


    I could feel blood swelling up in the area of my right eye, but that pain wasn''t too much yet. Without the advantage of slowing time, I knew this fight would be impossible for me, so I had to end it quickly.


    Seeing me standing in combat with a sword, my man scoffed at me.


    "Ha, do you think that sword will help you? My playthings are running away, so I''ll end this quickly for you."


    This time, I took the offensive and charged forward with my sword.


    The djinn threw a violent punch at my right shoulder, but I avoided it by ducking. However, he seemed to predict me as he moved his right leg towards my current position.


    Although I could see the kick coming, my reaction was not fast enough, so the kick connected.


    Immediately, I flew back 2 feet from the impact of the kick. The pain in my right eye was slowly getting worse, and my shoulder was in pain after the kick.


    Seeing my struggle to get up, the djinn laughed and charged.


    "Now" sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This was the moment I had been waiting for. Although he was a bit wary before, his confident and cocky demeanor left room for error.


    I analyzed his posture with the slowed-down time until I finally found a weak spot. His neck was completely unprotected.


    Rather than standing up, I had been in a position similar to that of a track runner when awaiting the horn to start the race.


    As the horn starting the race blared into the air, I blasted with my sword towards the man. In the man''s eyes, it looked like I teleported as I disappeared from my floor and appeared right in front of time.


    Of course, the djinn had no time to react, so I plunged my sword straight into his neck without a second thought.


    The djinn dropped to the ground with a bang and lay there lifelessly.


    One hit was all I needed to win the entire fight.


    As I deactivated Dragon''s Eye, I could feel a sharp pain in my right eye, and there was even blood dripping onto the floor from my face.


    Since this was my first time using it today, the blood loss didn''t seem to be much; however, I could still feel my legs somewhat giving out.


    After plunging my sword into the djinn''s heart to ensure his death, I searched his body for money.


    Indeed, there had to be some reward for me doing all of this.


    Thankfully, I found five golden coins in his right pocket and quickly put them in my pouch. I made money today!


    My shoulder was still in pain as the man''s kick had caught me off guard, but I ignored it for now, deciding that sleep would probably solve it.


    Walking out of the alleyway like nothing ever happened, I continued to the Celestial Academy gates.


    -*-


    Immediately, the four girls ran out of the alleyway and back towards the school.


    "Why are we running..?"


    "Idiot, that guy was going to rob us; what do you mean why?"


    "But, the other guy was help-"


    "Exactly, why should we let his sacrifice be in vain by staying there? He was trying to help us by distracting the guy, Yena."


    "But, is it ok for us to leave him there?"


    "Forget about it, Yena; we gotta return to the academy."


    "Alice, none of this would have happened if we didn''t sneak out."


    "Alice, how was I supposed to know we would be robbed? I''m not some foreseer of the future."


    "Do you think the guy back there is a"


    "OH FOR GODS SAKE, YENA, HE''S FINE."


    "yeah, he wouldn''t have helped us if he was going to die, Yena."


    "All right..."


    "Yena, we''re not even awakened; we can''t do anything, djinns, you know that."

 Chapter 7: Chapter 7: Homecoming [2]

    As the adrenaline of the fight wore off, the memory of the djinn''s body, with my sword still impaled in his chest, kept reappearing.


    They were book characters... it didn''t matter if one of them died, right? All of them were just a bunch of fictional characters created by authors; they weren''t real, and anyway, that guy was a villain.


    He would have killed me and countless others if I hadn''t stopped him there...


    What would the point of me going all the way to the mountain and staying there for a week to get the Dragon''s Eye just for me to die at the hands of that djinn?


    He was the one who called me out... I was just passing by.


    Clearing my head from the previous fight, I continued playing with my smartwatch to distract myself until I finally grasped its essential features. The novelty slowly faded as I realized it was the same as an Apple smartphone except for the hologram feature.


    I mean, you would think with magic and shit, they would be able to do a bit more, but I guess not.


    Approaching the academy gates, I pushed my bloodied sword into my trunk and took out my beautifully written essay.


    "can''t wait till those fuckers read it."


    Surprisingly, the most crucial educational facility in the world only had two guards protecting the front entrance. They opened the gates after I nodded and showed them my student ID.


    My first stop was the academy office, where I could drop off my essay, obtain my dorm key, and return my student phone. It wasn''t like I needed it with my new smartwatch, but it would still be helpful as entering the gym and training facilities would require it.


    Opening the office door, I saw a scene similar to a hotel''s concierge: two people dressed in suits were working behind a slick brown table.


    Upon hearing the door open, the man on the right shifted his head upwards to face me and asked.


    "What brings you here today?"


    "I''m here after my ... suspension."


    I felt an immense shame wash over me as the words "suspension" came out of my mouth. It wasn''t like I was a model student back on Earth, but I had never done anything to warrant a detention, let alone a suspension.


    Upon hearing I had been suspended within the first week of school, I couldn''t imagine what my mom would do to me.


    It also didn''t help that the worker''s face was visibly distorted when the mention of suspension was made, as he probably thought I was some troublemaker.


    The rest of the process went smoothly as after handing my five pages of bullshit; he gave me my dorm key, class schedule, and school phone.


    Exiting the office, I headed to my dorm room. Since it was evening, there weren''t many students hanging out, but I could see some entering and exiting the gym. I would be one of those people tomorrow...


    Since the campus was enormous, on the walk to the first-year dorm building, I could admire the dark blue sea that shone under the moon''s reflection.


    The trees swayed with the soft breeze that blew through the night wind occasionally and the occasional birds chirping that broke the silence.


    As the dorm building entered my sight, I took my last few glances around the captivating scenery. However, one specific area took all my attention.


    My footsteps grew to halt as I saw two students sitting on a bench together, admiring the scenery of the moon in front of them.


    These weren''t just any two students, mind you.


    One of them was Liam, the story''s protagonist and old Ren''s greatest enemy. Although I had complete control over Ren''s body, seeing Liam would trigger some emotion of anger inside of me during the disciplinary ceremony, and I was able to control it.


    So what was different now?


    The female sitting next to Liam was Lily. She is one of the book''s leading and most essential heroines due to her early affection for Liam and her social status. Like me, Lily descended from one of the seven great heroes who saved the world from the demons, but unlike me, rather than developing a hatred for commoners, she began to feel sympathy.


    Something about her backstory caused her to feel like that, but honestly, I couldn''t care less, as she low-key had the most annoying personality in the book.


    The only reason the Author kept her around was that she used her social status to back up Liam whenever he was in trouble with the law.


    Although she didn''t matter to me, it was an entirely different story to the old Ren. Even dumbasses like Ren had their reasons for causing trouble, so what was Ren''s reason for attacking Liam?


    To impress Lily.


    In blindsight, trying to impress a girl by doing what she despises the most was not a good idea, but common sense does not apply when you''re talking about a third-rate villain.


    Anyway, I doubted Ren had real feelings for Lily, as he probably just wanted to keep his bloodline "pure" by marrying another noble worthy of him or something stupid like that.


    Unsurprisingly, Ren''s actions against Liam helped Liam grow closer to Lily as she began feeling sympathy towards Liam, which caused her to spend more time with him.


    After looking at the two on the bench for another moment, I quickly regained my composure and walked into the dorms.


    Although it may not seem like a problem now, as I''m mostly able to control my emotions, it would only take one second for Ren''s underlying anger to take control and cause me to do something stupid, so staying away from Liam was necessary.


    Next, I opened my dorm door and entered the luxurious suite. Due to my demotion to Class D from my suspension, my room''s size did drop a little, but compared to the small, rough cave from the mountains, it was heaven.


    Dropping my unopened trunk and desk, I discarded my clothes and took a shower, as the walk here had caused me to sweat a bit.


    I began planning my schedule since today was Friday, and there would be no classes for the next two days.


    Slumping down on the bed, the comfortable mattress and exhaustion presiding inside my body slowly overtook me until I finally fell asleep.


    -*- S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    I started the next day by changing into shorts and a shirt before heading to the gym. I knew staying in shape was a requirement for survival at this school, so I wanted to finish it early in the morning, allowing me to enjoy the rest of my day exploring the billion-dollar campus.


    After scanning my mobile phone, I entered the gym and was immediately starstruck by the massive interior. Hundreds of treadmills, benches, machines, and weights were spread out neatly in the 30,000-square-foot area.


    Seeing that I was blocking the gym''s entrance, I awkwardly moved to the side and found a treadmill.


    After a 10-mile run, I was almost sweaty, so I grabbed a nearby towel and dried myself. Thankfully, substantial water dispensers and fruit baskets were placed around the gym, so I recovered within 5 minutes.


    Following my exercise with the weights, I went to the locker room to shower. Finally, I left the gym and went toward the cafeteria with high expectations. A school willing to spend that much money on a gym would have world-class food in its cafeteria.


    The cafeteria was even bigger than the gym, so after putting my stuff down on a chair in the corner, I patiently waited in line for the food. As the sweet aroma of the food blew into my nose, I began to wonder.


    Where had this been all my life?


    I almost shuttered, remembering the disgusting cafeteria food served to me in high school. Never again would I have to eat a week-old ham and cheese sandwich for lunch!


    After sitting down with the steaming plate of food in front of me, I noticed that the hall was surprisingly uncrowded, even though it was supposed to serve the first, second, and third-year students.


    Maybe people liked sleeping in on Saturdays? It didn''t matter, so I began diving into the food before me.


    The soft, creamy flavor of the pancakes and the salty taste of the potatoes combined in my mouth to make a masterpiece that almost brought me to tears. I wasn''t this happy, even after realizing I had obtained the dragon''s eye.


    As more students began crowding in, I put in my earbuds, connected them to my smartwatch, and used them to block out the noise.


    I put my plate away and headed out of the cafeteria towards the library. Since I received my class schedule yesterday, I would now have to pick up my textbooks. Besides the week of school I missed, I was already 16 years behind everyone else, so many sleepless nights would be spent here.


    Unsurprisingly, there were only a few people in the library as who would want to study on a Saturday morning? Looking at the course information on my school phone, I picked out the books that I would need and placed them in my backpack.


    Then, I also began exploring the library. Although it wasn''t as big as the gym, it contained over 10,000 books.


    After finding a book on the world''s modern history, I sat on a bean bag and zoned out while reading. My first class tomorrow would be history, and I knew personally how harsh the guy was as he gave Liam detentions countless times for not paying attention.


    I was probably on his lousy side already from being suspended, so I didn''t want to piss him off further by not even knowing things that were considered common sense in this world.


    The book mainly focused on my father and the other six heroes who banded together to save the world from the demons.

 Chapter 8: Chapter 8:Back to School [1]

    After another hour of reading in the library, I finally uncovered the gist of the world''s history in the past 20 years.


    Similar to how Earth was in the beginning, there is only one continent on the map: Pangea. The giant piece of land is split into two parts: the realm of the living, which contains humans, elves, orcs, and dwarves, and the other half, known as the Underlands, which includes demons, demonic monsters, and djinns.


    Ten years ago, the demons broke the peace by attempting to invade the realm of the living, more specifically, the Elven territory. However, the seven heroes, alongside the elves and dwarves, fought back and defeated the demons.


    Since then, the demons have shown no sign of attacking. However, djinns still attack occasionally, though it is unknown whether they are doing it out of their coalition.


    The realm of the living is split into four parts. Humans occupy the most significant part as we have the highest population, while Elves occupy the most miniature, solely living in forests. Dwarves live in the mountains, and orcs'' habitat is widely unexplored by humans.


    Five years ago, the Celestial Academy was established to train humans'' upcoming talents. However, the other races have not attended the Academy yet. At the Academy he Academy, students can follow two paths: the path of the sword or the path of magic.


    Even though the demons have remained dormant since the last war, dungeons and monsters occasionally pop up, so new heroes are constantly required. The Celestial Academy, being the best training institute for these heroes, is widely respected and known.


    After reaching a certain age, a status window with your stats becomes visible to all those selected as heroes, or around 50 percent of the population.


    You aren''t immediately given a rank; you must meet the stats threshold before being assigned the lowest rank, E-.


    Getting up from my library seat, I returned to my dorm room to rest.


    The following day, I headed back towards the gym for a workout. After grabbing some breakfast from the cafeteria and heading back to my dorm for a shower, I decided to check my stats, and to my surprise, it seemed I had reached the threshold for E-.


    It wasn''t surprising, considering I spent a week training in the mountain range, but I felt somewhat depressed when I saw my overall stats.


    ===Menu===


    User: Ren Montclair


    [Class: N/A]


    [Stats]


    -> Rating: E-


    -> Strength: G


    -> Agility: E


    -> Stamina: E-


    -> Magic Power: E+


    -> Luck: G-S {Conditional}


    -> Intelligence: G+


    -> Charm: G+


    [Traits]


    -> Passive: Dragon''s Will [1 / ?]


    ---> Dragon Eyes: Your eyesight is enhanced.


    [Skills]


    -> N/A sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    =======


    In the book''s last chapter, Liam has a fully maxed-out menu with S+ stats, so looking at my abysmal stats brought on a sense of dread.


    On the other hand, something that completely surprised me was my intelligence stat.


    Why was it so low?


    I knew I was new to the world and didn''t know anything, but wasn''t giving me less than E too much?


    I sighed, recalling the hundreds of hours I spent studying in high school. Where did that all get me now?


    An average student shouldn''t be worried about their safety as they attend Celestial Academy, so the security was top-notch; however, as an avid reader, I knew the security was a joke.


    Honestly, at one point in the story, I was convinced that there were more djinn spies within the school than actual students. That was the only way it made sense.


    10 DJINN ATTACKS IN ONE YEAR?


    I mean, you can''t blame the school because the protagonist will draw good or bad attention wherever he goes, but ten attacks in one year displayed that the school wasn''t even fucking trying.


    Looking at my luck stat, I was partially conflicted. It meant I had either excellent or bad luck, with no in-between. However, luck was the only invariable stat, so there was no use in complaining about it.


    The rest of Sunday passed uneventfully. I spent most of my time rotting in my bed, occasionally heading outside to eat.


    Alas, my first day of school arrived.


    Although I pretended to be oblivious, I heard some conversations about myself while walking to places. The conversations went something like this.


    "Did you hear about that guy suspended during the first week of school?"


    "The one with black hair? No, why does it matter?"


    "I heard he got disowned by his father as punishment."


    "For being suspended only? That''s rough."


    "No, he deserved it. Didn''t you hear what he did? He attacked someone just because they were a commoner."


    However, it seemed that the students didn''t recognize my new appearance. They continued talking even when I walked right past them.


    Of course, I couldn''t deny these rumors as "I" did technically do what they said, but at the same time, every time the gossip was spread, my situation got worse.


    A sudden change in attitude would make people suspicious of me being a djinn, so I would have to act according to the people''s expectations of me. As long as the gossip of my suspension went around, I would have to act like some pretentious spoiled brat.


    Steeling myself and adjusting my attitude to cocky, I left my dorm room with my uniform on and headed towards Classroom D.


    While it didn''t have to be like this forever, I just had to put on the Ren act and gradually change my attitude over time instead of immediately altering it.


    Unfortunately, I was put in Classroom D as that was the homeplace of the protagonist, which was a disaster waiting to happen.


    Staring at the sliding door in front of me, I inhaled and got my snarky voice ready before sliding open the door.


    There was only a minute left before class started, so the room was packed with students.


    Hearing the door open, every student immediately directed their gaze towards me. Their silence quickly turned to murmurs as almost every student immediately began whispering something about me to their neighbor.


    "Isn''t that him, the disowned?"


    "tsk* why do we have to get a snarky noble like him in the class?"


    "Didn''t he get suspended for attacking someone for no reason?"


    "Doesn''t he look different from the pictures...?"


    Ignoring their murmurs, I glanced around the classroom before spotting the protagonist and other essential characters. Finally, I spotted an empty seat, so I sat down there.


    As soon as I sat down, the classroom opened again, and the teacher entered. Silence descended upon the school once again as the teacher spoke.


    "We''ll start with roll call.


    Liam. Here!


    Kane. Present!


    Alyssa Here!


    Cecilia Here!


    ...


    ...


    Ren.


    As the other student''s gazes once again locked onto me, I said.


    "Here!"


    In particular, I could feel one gaze staring bullets into my back. This gaze belonged to Liam.


    Hey, you''re the one who brought me here; why the hell are you complaining?

 Chapter 9: Chapter 9:Back to School [2]

    After ensuring that every student was present, the teacher gave me a harsh gaze that said don''t do anything stupid.


    Maybe, earlier on, I could have gotten away with messing around in Class with my noble status, but now I was just another weak commoner, so pissing off a professor wouldn''t do me any good.


    Having reached the E-threshold, I was now officially required to pick a class that would determine my future. Changing classes wasn''t unheard of, but only a few hundred people had managed to do so using an item. However, their stats were reset.


    The system would prompt you to enter your choice within a week of being ranked, so time was of the essence.


    The obvious choice here was to become a swordsman, as I had already picked up a sword from the facility and practiced with it during my week-long stent in the mountains.


    However, the main character is also a swordsman. This means it would be impossible for me to obtain most of the class''s overpowered items; the plot would change if I stunted the protagonist''s growth by doing that.


    Besides swordsman, there were a couple of classes related to magic abilities; however, as a newly reincarnated person without knowledge of how magic worked, that would be a terrible choice.


    My high magic power stat wasn''t seeming too good now...


    *BANG*


    The sound of a fist violently slamming down on the desk echoed throughout the classroom and snapped me out of my thoughts. Of course, our professor was the source of this noise.


    "Pay attention, Class D! I will not repeat myself. ** The club fair will be held this Friday, so consider your options. You can view them on your school-issued phone. That''s it for the announcements."


    Our homeroom teacher briskly walked out of the room and was replaced by a middle-aged man who looked similar to your average Tokyo office worker with his suit on.


    However, I was not fooled by his simple and hard-to-miss appearance. Mr. Williams was notorious for being among the harshest teachers, even daring to assign homework on vacation breaks.


    Without turning to face or greet us, Mr Williams took a piece of chalk and began writing on the board.


    [Classes / Professions]


    Instantly, my interest was piqued. What were the odds that the school would teach me something useful for once? Was my partial S-luck stat coming into play?


    "Classes are split up into two categories. Weapons and Magic. Within those two categories, you have a variety of subclasses to pick from, such as swordsmanship, spearmanship, or magician. Does anyone know how you should determine your subclass?"


    A student like Ren wouldn''t actively participate, so I kept my hand down. Maintaining Ren''s delinquent attitude for now was necessary, but as time went on, I could slowly change people''s perception of him. For now, staying lowkey and not attracting any attention was the plan.


    I planned to rise to Class A, as the benefits of graduating from the top class in the human''s best academy were top-tier, ranging from guaranteed government jobs to free weapons and accessories.


    To raise classes, I would need to obtain celestial points: 10 for Class C, 25 for Class B, and 50 for Class A. These points are tracked on your phone and can be gained in several ways, such as achieving first on an academy test or practical training exam, performing well in club competitions, or simply committing morally right acts.


    The latter was definitely off the table, and club competitions were notorious for being impossible, so my only choice was the first.


    Going from a stuck-up noble to a nerd could be suspicious, but I hoped people would see me as someone who desperately attempting to reenter my family by impressing my father with my scores.


    Back in the classroom, surprisingly, no one raised their hand. I mean, it wasn''t rocket science. You look at your stats to decide.


    However, that method wasn''t useful for me, as I was from another world.


    "Since no one wants to answer, I''ll tell you: Your stats compatibility is the most important factor."


    To my disappointment, the rest of the class was classically useless. The teacher just talked about which class to choose based on your highest stat.


    My second-highest stat was speed, so the choices based on that were Assassin, Long-Range Bow, Katana swordsmanship, or Wind Magician.


    My dragon''s trait greatly enhanced my eyesight, so I leaned toward being an Assassin or Bow user, as those two required a keen eye.


    Unlike a swordsman who fought and used the openness of the battlefield, an Assassin used the obstacles spread around the field to shield their movements and focused on one individual instead of the many.


    Each category of magic and weapons also received an attribute, with mana recovery assigned to magic majors and QI recovery to weapons. However, there were exceptions to that within the weapon category, as, unlike magic, where everyone needs mana, not every class required QI.


    Assassins instead received a stealth attribute, and bow users received a perception attribute.


    Recalling that one of the heroines within Liam''s party used a bow and that using a bow meant hiding at the back of the battlefield, I started leaning more toward the assassin.


    Training with both a bow and dagger simultaneously would be useless, so stalling my class decision would only lead to problems.


    Ignoring the professor, who kept writing on the blackboard, I opened my system menu and scrolled through the list of potential classes until I found my desired one.


    [Are you sure you want to pick the Assassin Class?]


    [Y] [N]


    After clicking the Y, I eagerly waited a few seconds until my system menu finally updated.


    [Class: Novice Assassin (Level 1 : 0%) ]


    -> Stealth: E-


    Stealth was the art of blending in with your surroundings and being unnoticed, but I was still somewhat confused.


    How can your stealth improve? Do you eventually become invisible to people or become more in tune with your surroundings?


    Having no information on the Assassin class was both good and bad. It meant I didn''t have to worry about taking most items, as the plot wouldn''t change. However, it also meant that I had no idea about its secrets.


    Still, the pros outweigh the cons. Skills books are rare and very useful, so by taking a smaller quantity class, I didn''t have to worry about taking a book that the protagonist or any important character would take.


    Due to the dark connotation of the Assassin class and its small number of users, most were smaller, unimportant djinns or criminals, so stealing some of their skills wouldn''t cause a stir.


    While thinking of some excellent skills and accessories to accompany my new class, the bell rang, interrupting my thinking and signifying the start of lunch. So, I brushed away the system menu.


    Although I was somewhat hungry, I was in no mood to go into the cafeteria after recalling the situation before class, as everyone was hyper-focused on my movements.


    Without anything else to do, I headed towards the weapon facility to exchange weapons.


    After returning the long, sharp sword, I grabbed a pair of tiny, lightweight daggers that resembled stilettos.


    Due to the few assassins in the school, there were only a few options for daggers, so I prepared to leave with these; however, another pair caught my attention.


    Unlike the stilettos, the pair in front of me were curved daggers similar to karambit except longer.


    Although the curved daggers would make it harder for me to deflect attacks from sturdier weapons like swords, the power and offense capability they supplied instantly made me choose them.


    Unlike straight daggers, the karambit-like knives had various creative styles, making it significantly harder for an opponent to predict my movements. Their curved tips would make slashes and cuts more powerful.


    Putting back the stilettos, I picked up the curved daggers, weighing them in my hands, before taking them.


    After returning to my room to get some food and drop off my new weapons, I returned to the classroom.


    My plan to avoid the cafeteria seemed to have backfired, as people kept wondering and speculating about my whereabouts during lunch.


    "Dude, I heard he already got in another fight."


    "already? What the hell?"


    "Maybe he was spying on his next commoner target."


    "I heard he had to eat the broke-kid lunch. That''s how he lost so much weight during the suspension."


    Even if this was a world with magic, the personality of high schoolers stayed the same.


    "Seriously, what the hell are these guys, my fan club?"


    The rest of the Class passed without a hitch, so I got up and prepared to leave.


    However, I heard a voice behind me as I walked towards the classroom exit.


    "Stop there."


    Without even turning around, I knew the source of this voice had to be Liam. Almost anyone could recognize his annoying ass voice.


    Pretending not to hear him, I exited the classroom and headed to the training hall to practice with my new weapons.


    Unlike a sword, my grip on the daggers isn''t restricted. I can hold them downwards, sideways, or not even hold them at all.


    "Throwing them is always an option!"


    When I entered the training hall, I saw various equipment, such as scarecrow targets for sword training, shooting ranges for bows, and finally, the private rooms where the AI dummies were stored.


    Using advanced technology and AI, you could use data from previous fights and upload them to the dummy, essentially making the dummy a natural person who can move around and hit you.


    After entering the small private room, I tossed the AI dummy a sword, grabbed my daggers, and pressed the start button. Seeing a dummy made of metal moving around and dodging like an average human was surreal, but the pain soon replaced that curiosity.


    "Damn, those dummies DO NOT HOLD BACK."


    After getting hit in the stomach by a wooden sword held by the dummy and thrown against the room''s wall, I decided to lower the difficulty back to easy.


    Even after resting for 10 minutes, the easy dummy still pushed me back with its sword slashes.


    Sure, my offensive power was astounding, as I could probably take out the dummy in a second, but what was the point if I could never hit the dummy? Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    I constantly retreated from the sword''s harsh blows until I finally blocked one of them.


    I could finally stop one of the sword''s slashes by forming an X with the two daggers. Recreating that same motion, I could block the 2nd slash, the third, and finally, the fourth.


    However, after another twenty minutes of training, I realized something weird.


    I could see the trajectory of the dummy''s slashes before it swung...

 Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Back to School [3]

    It was just like that time back in the mountains with the Mountain Tyrant.


    The dummy''s next attack was visible to me, yet my reaction time was still not fast enough for me to dodge it on time.


    After being forced to block another sword strike, I adjusted my grip to hold my right dagger with the top facing horizontally instead of retreating and back down.


    In the meantime, the dummy threw another sword strike at me.


    After preparing myself for the incoming surge of pain, I said in a quiet voice.


    "Dragon''s Eye"


    Instantly, the time around me slowed, and with the dummy slash significantly slowed, I dodged the attack.


    Then, without the need to dodge anymore, I instantly moved my daggers forward, and with one swift strike, the beginner dummy was defeated.


    *SWISH*


    Since the dragon''s eye required mana to stay active, it immediately halted after the battle, but the damage was already done. Collapsing on the ground due to exhaustion and pain, I grabbed a bottle of water and looked at my reflection on the shiny steel walls of the room.


    Yet again, I was left looking like Zuko.


    "I really can''t rely on that trait for now."


    However, during the battle, I realized something. The dragon''s will trait was passive, and I just found out why.


    The definition, "your eyesight is enhanced," was vague, but its uses were almost infinite.


    Of course, the first use was in everyday life, like seeing the whiteboard accurately during class from far distances and being able to see things far away that a typical hero couldn''t


    I had just discovered the second use. My eyes processed the things around me at a rapid rate. By analyzing the dummy''s previous moves, its current stance, and the angle at which it held the sword, my eyes accurately indicated the dummy''s next move.


    To prove my theory, I got up from the ground, grabbed my curved dagger, and reactivated the dummy, still at stage 1.


    For the first few moments of the fight, I was once again left defending the dummy''s onslaughts of thrusts and unable to see the opponent''s subsequent attacks.


    However, after some time of blocking with my daggers and running away, the indicator of the dummy''s next attack was there.


    With that information, I ducked prematurely, avoiding the dummy''s ariel sword slash, then repositioned my grip on my daggers.


    Dodging another slash, I counterattacked and took out the dummy in one swift slash.


    *SWISH*


    "... it''s shorter."


    The time it took for my eyes to process the dummy''s movements went down from 9 minutes to six minutes. Not that was impressive, as Class A students could definitely beat the first stage dummy within a minute.


    Slow and steady wins the race!


    Leaning against the wall of the steel room, I opened up my menu.


    [Class: Novice Assassin: (Level 1: 19%) ]


    -> Stealth : E-


    -> Beginner Dagger Mastery : 23%


    -> Arts: (N/A) S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    My progression was fast now; this was my first time touching a dagger, so anything would be better than that.


    As for my dagger arts, first, I would need at least to get the basics down of using a dagger to learn one, so that would be put on hold until I reached Intermediate Dagger Mastery.


    The only way to increase my stealth stat would be to increase my class level, which was also out of the picture for now.


    Although I did want to test my stealth by sneaking around and seeing its limits, I decided against it until my stat was at least above E, as being caught would put me in a lot of trouble.


    Motivated by the progress, I returned and reactivated the dummy stage 1.


    I would beat this thing down until I could see its movements within a minute.


    *SWISH*


    *SWISH*


    *SWISH*


    After three more bouts with the dummy, I was completely exhausted, so I grabbed my water bottle and drank while checking my system again.


    [Class: Novice Assassin: (Level 1: 25%) ]


    -> Stealth : E-


    -> Beginner Dagger Mastery : 29%


    -> Arts: (N/A)


    My progress was starting to plateau, but that was to be expected.


    Looking at the dummy in front of me instantly heal back to its original form after the fight, I started to get jealous.


    Using the wall to support me, I stood back up and prepared to fight the dummy again.


    Even though facing a stage 2 dummy would definitely increase my rate of progression, I wanted to get the basics dagger skills down before fighting one.


    Sure, I could fight a stage 2 dummy 100 times until I could see its every move within 10 seconds, but that would never work in the real world. With monsters and humans, I only have one chance to win.


    At the level of beginner dagger mastery, I had only unlocked one technique.


    First Technique: Shadow Serpent Slash. A single horizontal slash with both your daggers that combines agility and lethality. Like a serpent, the slash lunges forward with incredible speed, and like the poison of a serpent, the slash immobilizes your opponent for a second.


    Without even knowing it, I had used the technique in my first battle with the dummy when I one-shotted it.


    However, I had yet to be able to use the immobilization part of the attack as it required some use of mana, which was in my body, but I had no idea how to control it.


    When I activated Dragon''s Eye, the mana had automatically been used, but with Serpent Slash, I had actually injected mana into my daggers.


    Feeling the immense amount of mana flowing through my bloodstream, I attempted to control it.


    But the mana particles acted like spoiled brats and completely ignored me.


    "What the hell? You''re in my body; listen to me, damn it."


    A very important advantage of being a noble is having enough money to pay for private tutoring on circulating mana. When you enter the academy, you have that important fundamental down.


    Yet, Ren had no memories regarding that.


    What the hell did this guy do all his childhood?


    Oh wait, he just ate and used his parents'' money to live his life.


    I shouldn''t blame it because I would probably do the same thing, but still, does this guy have no shame?


    Looking into Ren''s memories was useful at some points, but the more time I spent looking at his past, the more immersed I felt in his character and emotions.


    Being able to control your mana was necessary for magicians but not weapon users, so asking one of my weapons teachers for help with it would be useless.


    Recomposing myself, I decided to take a different approach to controlling my mana.


    Instead of trying to move the mana particles forcibly, I would move my red blood cells and blood to a certain location, and hopefully, the mana would follow.


    Using a blunt pencil from my backpack, I stabbed myself in the hand, and immediately the skin on my arm became red as blood immediately began flowing towards the wound to recover it.


    Then, I repeated the same thing with my left hand so that my blood was mostly concentrated in those two places.


    The first step was done.


    Ignoring the tingling sensation of the wounds, I picked up my daggers, holding them so their tips were horizontal.


    After pressing the start button on the dummy, I stalled with it by blocking its sword blows and running until I could finally see its movements.


    I dodged a sword blow by prematurely moving my shoulders and immediately launched a counterattack. With a slash full of hope, I swung my daggers and felt them connect with the outer body of the dummy.


    *SWISH*


    I purposely didn''t use all my power when slashing, as if I killed the dummy in a blow again, and I wouldn''t be able to see if it worked.


    Stepping back from the dummy, I saw it completely frozen. After its previous swing, its sword and arms were stuck in the air.


    Then, a split second later, the dummy resumed motion, and its sword came crashing onto my head.


    "AHHH, THIS SON OF BI-"


    It seems that my blood technique worked for now, but its limitations were clear. Instead of freezing the monster for a full second, it only did it around a fourth of one.


    I did want to see if the wound on my hand was more dangerous if the power of the slash would increase, but at the same time, I''m not a damn masochist.


    The first technique was just the start. Once I reached intermediate and adept mastery with daggers, the techniques became harder to learn but also more powerful.


    Standing back up, I dodged a hit from the dummy and used another Soul-Serpent Slash, this time without mana, and beat it.


    "Just a minute before I can move onto stage 2. Hope you''re not going to miss me stage 1 bastard."


    After another minute of recovery, I stood back up and went to start back up the dummy, but when I did, a message popped up.


    AI dummies were expensive and rare, so the government didn''t buy too many for the academy. Students could use the dummies for 3 hours a day, so everyone could use them at least once a day.


    Of course, there was an exemption to this rule: Class A students. If I were to be ranked now, I would say that Class B would be my place.


    Leaving the room, I opened my school phone to see how bad the damage was.


    [Merit Points: 0]


    "..."


    Everyone student starts off with 10 Merit Points, but it seems like this goddamn idiot Ren managed to lose them on the first week of school.


    Looking up from my phone, I could see a couple of students training in the main area of the training hall with the non-AI dummies.


    Of course, there was Liam.


    Why wouldn''t the main character be training to become stronger? It''s their entire purpose. Weak to strong protagonists were always like that.


    Next to Liam, there was another student. A Class A student and another heroine.


    "Irene Lionheart."


    Her dark red hair, cascaded down to her waist, fittingly described her personality¡ªa woman full of passion, anger, and intensity. Her matching red eyes also seemed to shine like a flame, hinting at her talent for fire magic.


    Her hands, devoid of any calluses, also hinted at her non-usage of weapons. Hailing from another family of heroes, Irene came from the magic tower in the empire''s capital city.


    Specifically, the fire magic tower.


    As a skilled fire mage who awoke and began using magic at the early age of 15, Irene was known throughout as a prodigy. Her personality also perfectly matched her use of fire magic: intense, hot-blooded, and fiery.


    She was easy to anger and arrogant, but those negative traits did not hinder her progress one bit.


    Her passion for academics should also not be underestimated. She constantly strived to be the best in every area, and her efforts were not futile: She ranked third out of 1,000 first-years.


    Irene not only met the gigantic expectations placed on her due to her father''s title of hero, but exceeded them as her sharp intellect and elegant usage of magic gave her the nickname: "Firestorm."


    A storm of emotions combined with the usage of fire magic. A obedient bunch of fire would swirl around her finger whenever she used magic, each fire particle adhering to her commands like she was a god.


    Although it wasn''t described in the book, I could see parts of her academy uniform slightly darker, showing her recent and accidental use of fire magic. In the realm of magic, every student below the age of 16 strived to become like her.


    So, why was someone like that talking to a loser like Liam?

 Chapter 11: Chapter 11: Back to School [4]

    The reason is quite simple: Liam is the protagonist. Besides that, another person is next to Liam and Irene.


    "Kevin Cole"


    The #1 ranked student out of all the first years.


    Unlike the other female heroines, who have Liam as their first and only love, at the story''s beginning, Irene actually likes Kevin, not the protagonist. Unfortunately for Irene, her love is clearly unrequited, as, like the previous me, Kevin was deeply in love with Lily.


    Irene had to watch her first love, Kevin, and her second love, Liam, be stolen away by Lily; worst of all, she couldn''t do anything about it. With her easily angered and irritable personality, she was essentially a ticking time bomb.


    Channeling her anger into her magic, when Irene inevitably "exploded," she caused millions of dollars of damage to the school''s facilities and injured around 10 first-year students by giving them burns.


    Even with Irene''s background, this behavior was unacceptable, so she was expelled. Her title as the "prodigy" of the magic world was stripped away, and her father was furious with her, banishing her from using magic.


    Escaping the control of her father and the fire tower, Irene fell to the dark side, her magic becoming solely driven by revenge.


    Revenge on the academy, her father, and everyone for abandoning her. To say she was one of those formidable villains for Liam was an understatement.


    Right now, Irene should still be in the stage where she is in love with Kevin, as this is her first time communicating with Liam.


    Rather than coming from a hero family, Kevin is the sole heir to the human realm''s most potent and top-ranked guild.


    Through looting these gates and receiving money from the Imperial family, the Bladebane Legion rose to prominence despite Kevin''s dad and the founder not being related to any of the hero''s family or any royalty, for that matter.


    One would think that due to his father''s humble background, Kevin would be down-to-earth and not one of those royal supremacists, but if you were to look at Kevin, you would see that you''re entirely wrong.


    Holding his chin up high, Kevin gave off an unmistakable aura of superiority. With his massive stature, he seemed to look down on everyone.


    "Seriously, how the hell is he 6 feet tall AT 16"


    Looks, height, power, and reputation. You name it, Kevin had it¡ªthe perfect candidate for the protagonist''s rival.


    Of course, with so many guilds and heroes existing, there has to be an entity that can control them all and ensure that none use their power for wrong.


    This was the job of the Imperial family or "The High Dominion."


    The High Dominion had the right to recruit people from the Celestial Academy first so they could poach top talents before any guild could. Alongside this, the Imperial Family is undoubtedly the ruler of the human realm, so they can offer unique perks that attract the attention of almost any hero.


    The High Dominion contains over fifteen heroes from the top 100 rankings, including the second rank, making them the most powerful organization, and behind them, it''s the Bladebane Legion with 9 rankers.


    The main reason why Class A is so attractive is because if you graduate from Class A, you are guaranteed a spot in "The High Dominion."


    Since my incident, Liam has been spending increasingly more time with Lily, and of course, Kevin does not like that, so he''s currently confronting Liam.


    On the other hand, Irene probably has mixed feelings towards Liam. If Liam takes Irene, then maybe Kevin will focus on her, but at the same time, if her lover dislikes Liam.


    Anyways, those three will be forced to get along soon. Next week, the Elven kingdom will send some elves to Celestial Academy to build a relationship with the humans as the demons have shown signs of moving again.


    The entire class system will fall apart, as it would be too difficult for the school to incorporate the hundred new eleven students. Instead of ranking them as classes, the school will randomly assign students to a class.


    Conveniently, Liam, Irene, Kevin, Lily, the Elvin princess, and some other prominent cast members will be together in a class.


    To compensate for the loss of the class ranking system, the school will assign each student a ranking number from 1 to 1100, depending on their current power level.


    With these new rankings, the school would be forced to make the rankings entirely fair and ignore the status of the students, so Liam would rightfully be placed in the #2 spot.


    Of course, there would be some outrage that a commoner could rank so high in the academy, but that would soon die down after Liam displayed his skill in a duel with another student.


    I was somewhat curious about my ranking, as Ren would be placed much lower since the rankings did not account for social status. However, the power rankings didn''t really matter to me as only the top 10 people received extra perks, so it would be impossible for me to get there without attracting attention.


    As for the Class A perks, it will be decided that the 100 students with the most merit points will gain the privileges of Class A.


    Recalling some of Ren''s memories, I could remember that I had seen both Irene and Kevin occasionally at political events and family gatherings, but besides that, we were basically strangers.


    Maybe Kevin held some animosity towards me for trying to chase his love, but now his focus would be on Liam, so I''m in the clear.


    Ignoring the confrontation, I exited the gym, and instantly, the cold, fresh air of the wind blew into my body.


    "... not as good as the mountain. Wait, no, I don''t miss that goddamned cave... do I?"


    Recalling my teacher''s announcement about clubs from earlier, I pulled out my phone to check out the list.


    I already had one in mind; unfortunately, the club contained the entire main cast. But, the pros definitely outweighed the cons in the case of the traveling club.


    I can take having to deal with a few incidents if that means traveling across the human and even visiting the elven realm for free.


    I returned to the dorm to shower after signing up for the travel club orientation this Friday.


    Next, I pulled out my smartwatch to do some online shopping.


    [Bloodroot Blossom (3P) : A vibrant red flower that only blooms under the light of a full moon. Known for blood-red petals, the uses of this ingredient are primarily for recovery and relieving muscle cramps]


    [Moonshadow Leaf (2P) : Found in the deepest part of the enchanted Elven forests, the silvery leaves glisten under the night sky. Though the ingredient is rare, its use is limited to improving mental clarity and dispersing emotions for a short time.]


    [Ironbark Moss (2P) : A dense dark green moss that grows on the sturdiest of trees, the Ironbark tree. The moss is tough and resilient, and while being relatively common, the ingredient is quite helpful in improving your endurance for a short while.]


    1 Gold coin correlates to 1P, so if I add in the money I got from that djinn earlier, I have around 23P.


    While these ingredients may seem completely unrelated, it is discovered later that when these 3 ingredients are combined, an advanced training potion that increases all stat gains by 15% is made.


    While this wouldn''t be as important as training potions had existed before, the cost of these ingredients was significantly lower as an advanced training potion typically costs around 100P. Not only is its price significantly lower, but the potion also heals all your fatigue after a night of sleep.


    These ingredients would be a good investment as their prices would quadruple, but the new potion recipe would take around a year to be discovered, and I wasn''t going to wait that long, especially when there were better options.


    After buying two of each ingredient, I patiently waited for an hour until my dorm bell rang. Looking outside my door, I could see a drone with a package hanging from it.


    Taking the package inside, I opened it to see the 3 ingredients. Going into my relatively small kitchen, I grabbed a chemical bowl that was supplied by the academy and brought the ingredients above it.


    After crushing each ingredient and allowing the juices and liquid inside to fall into the bowl, I mixed it for about 10 minutes until the liquid inside the bowl was dark blue.


    As expected, my ability to make potions was terrible, so instead of giving a 15% boost, the potion only gave me a 7.5% boost. Well, it''s better than nothing.


    In the future, though, I would definitely need an alchemist.


    Next, I poured the potion into a water bottle and set it aside for my training session tomorrow.


    Next week, after the Elven Academy exchange, the main storyline would start to pick up, so I didn''t have any time to waste.


    I would have to get stronger if I didn''t want to be one of those side characters who randomly died to a djinn or a monster.


    My goal was simple: Reach Intermediate Dagger Mastery, acquire a decent dagger art to begin training, and increase my stealth stat by upgrading from novice assassin.


    While my stats were low for a Celestial Academy student, there was no reasonable way for me to increase them at once, so it would have to be gradual progress. Simply going to the gym and working out once or twice daily would be enough.


    Putting my trusty daggers in my school backpack, I slumped down on my bed, exhausted from the day''s work, and slowly drifted off to sleep.


    ---


    "Oh hey Irene and Kevin, what do you two need!?"


    " *TSK* I heard you''ve spent time with Lily lately. Let me just let you know that she''s doing it out of sympathy; don''t get any wrong ideas or let it go to your head."


    Somewhat confused by Kevin''s clear insult, Liam chose his words carefully before responding. If he were to insult Kevin, there would definitely be consequences, as he is just a mere Class D student.


    "Ah, thanks for the advice."


    "You''re lucky that idiot Ren went and did something stupid. I swear that guy has a condition or something."


    At the mention of Ren''s name, Liam''s expression darkened a bit. That guy did randomly attack him for no reason, and somehow, he wasn''t even expelled. Liam had thought Ren could be plotting another scheme against him, but when Liam tried to confront Ren during class, he was completely ignored.


    After giving one last disdainful look to Liam, Kevin left the training hall with Irene following him like a puppy.


    Seeing that the two people in front of him had some connection to Ren, Liam called out.


    "Hey, do you know if Ren would be plotting anything?"


    Without turning around to face Liam, Kevin chuckled briefly before responding.


    "Knowing that idiot, he''s already devised some master plan. You don''t have to worry; that guy is way too goddamn stupid. Nothing he made would work." S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Somewhat reassured by Kevin''s words, Liam returned to training his sword art on the dummy.

 Chapter 12: Chapter 12: Ranking Exam [1]

    *BZZZ*


    When I got out of bed, I heard my phone vibrating, which was unusual as I had 0 contacts on it.


    "Ah, it''s about that time, isn''t it?"


    On the screen of my school phone, an announcement was displayed in all bold and red text, making it impossible for any student not to see it.


    [From today or Friday, September 5, the class system will be dissolved. Approximately 150 Elven students will transfer to the school to begin classes here at Celestial Academy. Your new class will be assigned randomly, and you will know it by this Sunday. At 8:00, report to the combat arena for the first-year ranking exams. Only bring your training weapons.]


    Stretching my muscles, I silently thanked my training potions for healing my body overnight. Waking up on the first day of dagger training was hell; I could feel almost every muscle aching from the beatdown the stage 1 robot gave me. I could barely even walk, causing me to be late for a class.


    Thankfully, being late to class was probably usual for someone like Ren, so besides a scolding from the teacher, I got away pretty quickly.


    Grabbing the smartwatch and a water bottle I had bought, I glanced at my system menu one last time before leaving the safety of my dorm room.


    [Class: Novice Assassin: (Level 1: 88%) ]


    -> Stealth : E-


    -> Beginner Dagger Mastery : 92%


    -> Arts: (N/A)


    On the second day, I had reached my goal of beating the Stage 1 dummy within a minute, so my progress began to quicken again while I fought the Stage 2 dummy. Adding the boost of the training potion, I was on pace to reach my goal of intermediate mastery by today''s training session if everything went according to plan.


    Entering the massive arena, I could see around 1000 first-years looking at each other with confused expressions.


    They had just learned that they would be switching classes and that over 100 new transfer students were coming.


    Some students looked scared at the prospect of making new friends in a new class, while others seemed excited to meet some elves, and finally, there were those looking serious as they had grasped the current situation.


    Some students may have thought this meeting would be about announcements; however, their excitement and confusion soon turned solemn.


    This ranking exam would determine their futures. Being ranked highly would lead to you catching the attention of many guilds, and possibly being recruited while being ranked lowly would damage your chances of ever joining a high-ranked guild.


    *CLAP*


    *CLAP*


    *CLAP*


    The sound of the clapping reverberated throughout the arena, and instantly, silence descended upon the students.


    My former teacher was seen walking up to the stage at the front of an arena, her purple hair swaying with every step.


    Upon reaching the podium, she wasted no time and immediately began speaking.


    "Now is not the time for questions about the email you have all received. Starting now, Celestial Academy will begin its first-ever ranking exam. For the next four hours, your ability as a hero will be tested through a series of physical and mental drills. Finally, after all those drills, you will be assigned to a random 4-person group and be given a mission.


    Using your results from the drills and group mission, you will be assigned a ranking number."


    Instantly, the mood of the arena changed. Even without knowing anything about the ranking system, every student understood that receiving the highest ranking number was the most important.


    Behind the teacher, a giant digital screen, usually used for duels, lit up. After a few moments, the first message was finally displayed on the screen.


    [Former Class E students, report to the back of the arena for your exam.]


    Behind me, I could hear a student start grumbling.


    "just my fucking luck. I can''t have one peaceful goddamn morning."


    I wanted to pat him on the back and encourage him as I knew exactly how he felt, but alas, such a thing did not suit Ren''s personality, so I watched the student sullenly walk toward the back of the arena.


    After 10 minutes, it was finally Class D''s turn, so I started walking towards the back. Upon entering the arena halls, I saw my former teacher waiting in front of a door with a clipboard.


    It seemed like I was the first Class D student to arrive, so I walked towards her. She gave me a quick nod before checking something off on her clipboard.


    Honestly, I was expecting her to ask me what my name was.


    This teacher is a significant character in the story as she is Liam''s new teacher. After seeing his work ethic and how others treated him due to his commoner status, she began to mentor him. Without her, Liam probably would have died in one of the many djinn attacks on the school.


    Looking up from her clipboard, Mrs. Zia redirected her attention to me and asked.


    "Please show your selected weapon or weapons."


    Taking my daggers out of my backpack, I put them in my hand and showed them to her.


    Glancing between her clipboard and my daggers, she waited momentarily before asking.


    "Say, Cadet Ren, it says here you use a sword."


    Wait, how does she know my name? Why is she calling me cadet? This is not the goddamn military; this is a glorified high school.


    "Ah, yes, I decided to switch weapons."


    "Noted. Leave your backpack outside."


    Staring at the ominous-looking door in front of me, I glanced at the outside world before heading inside.


    4 hours straight of training and exercise drills prepared to break your body and test your limits. These next few hours were going to be hell.


    But I had already gone through hell on my mountain expedition.


    After opening the door, I glanced at my surroundings momentarily before realizing that the room resembled the private AI dummy chambers in the training hall.


    Even if the room was completely dark, I could recognize it. After all, I had spent hours there getting beat up every day.


    "Oh, don''t tell me..."


    [Take out your weapon or weapons. Your first test will begin shortly.]


    Readjusting my grip on the curved daggers, I took a ready stance.


    I wasn''t planning to rank anywhere close to the top 10... well, not that I could even if I tried my best, but getting a higher rank meant getting a bigger room so I wouldn''t laze out.


    My plan was simple.


    Go all out on this first test, and then do mediocre or terrible on the next ones. Since this test was weighed much more than the others, my rank would actually be higher if I used that strategy.


    The room lights turned on, illuminating a Stage 1 AI dummy standing in the center of the room with a sword in its right hand.


    I calmly waited for the dummy''s first attack without moving an inch from my original spot. Seeing that I was giving it the initiative, the AI dummy rushed towards me with his sword prepared for a horizontal slash.


    Even without my Dragon''s Eye passive, I had fought this dummy enough times to know what move it was using solely based on its grip on the sword and stance.


    Seeing the dummy near me, I sidestepped to the right and raised my right dagger to block the sword.


    The force of the dummy''s sword crashed into my dagger, pushing me back for a moment, but I was prepared for the impact.


    Without giving the dummy time to react, I used my left dagger and slashed at the body of the dummy.


    One dagger swipe wasn''t enough to kill it, so I patiently awaited its next attack and delivered another counter-attack to finish it.


    [Level 1 Completed]


    The room''s lights flickered for a moment, putting me on edge. Once the lights were back on, I saw 2 AI dummies waiting in the middle of the room, and the previous AI dummy had disappeared.


    "... 2 daggers, one for each dummy"


    Although there were 2 dummies, their teamwork and coordination were terrible, as the two rushed at me without regard for the other.


    This was my first time fighting two opponents at once, so I had no idea on how the dragon''s eye passive would be affected.


    Would it take longer than the usual minute to see their attacks? If so, how much longer? Would I only be able to see one of the dummies''s attacks or both?


    However, it wasn''t like I wasn''t prepared for a scenario like this. Even without the dragon''s eye passive, I could reasonably guess the dummies''s subsequent attacks due to my hours of training.


    The dummy on the right was going to reach me first, so I sidestepped to avoid its charge; however, doing that gave me no time to avoid the left dummy''s attack, so I formed an X with my dagger, blocking the dummy''s arial sword attack.


    The strength of both my daggers combined outclassed the dummy sword, so instead of repositioning myself, I pushed my daggers forward, forcing the right dummy to remain in place.


    The second dummy came rushing at me, but once again, I sidestepped to the right.


    *BANG*


    The sound of the two dummies crashing into together echoed throughout the room.


    I could have ended one of the dummies right there while they were lying on the floor confused, but it had almost been a minute, so I wanted to test how my passive would fair with this new scenario.


    After that moment, the dummies stood together and prepared to attack again. Looking at the 2 dummies in front of me, I noticed a peculiarity between them.


    The one on the right had their sword in their right hand, while the one on the left held their sword in their left hand.


    Of course, this scenario was perfect for me, as my daggers would have an easier time blocking. If they both held their swords in their right hand, I would have to twist my body and move my left hand to block their simultaneous sword strikes.


    Was this a coinencdence, or did the teachers do this on purpose?


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, the two dummies rushed toward me once again, but this time, instead of standing still and waiting for them, I preemptively moved away, causing the dummies to stop midcharge.


    Currently, my goal was to stall for time until my passive showed some signs of life.


    Thankfully, it only took another 15 seconds for my passive to ignite again.


    Looking at the two dummies, I could see both of their swords'' projected trajectory and next moves.


    "So, it just takes a bit longer with more people."


    With the boost of my passive, it only took me another minute to finish both the dummies off.


    *SWISH*


    *SWISH*


    [Stage 2 Complete]


    The lights flickered again, and in the center of the room, three Stage 1 dummies could be seen standing.


    "Ah, for fucks sake."


    Although I wanted to test the limits of the passive by seeing how it would fair against three opponents, facing three dummies simultaneously was too dangerous, even for a professional like me.


    *SWISH*


    Taking out one dummy was fairly easy with their uncoordinated and messy attacks, so once again, I was left facing 2 dummies, each with swords in different hands.


    It had taken me a minute to remove the first one, so I was surprised to see the trajectory of both of the dummies'' attacks again.


    "Guess this type also gets shorter."


    After disposing of the two dummies, I waited for the flickering lights again, but this time there was none.


    [Level 3 Complete. Please move on to the next drill.]


    On the opposite side of the room, the wall opened up, revealing a hallway and some other rooms.


    --------


    "I-i t-take e-everything b-back about experiencing hell earlier. T-this w-was t-the r-real deal." sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    One hour of endurance training and sprinting, another hour of weight lifting, and finally, an hour of surviving in an artificial environment full of traps.


    At times like this, I wished I was a magic major; they had it easy.


    Interrupting my long-needed rest, my phone vibrated again.


    "2 in one day? Guess I''m on a roll."


    [Report to the arena entrance in one hour for your group mission. Your group is as follows.


    Irene - Class A


    Zane - Class C


    Deon - Class C


    Ren - Class D


    ----------------------


    Drop a review if you have time or some power stones; anyway, thanks for reading!

 Chapter 13: Chapter 13:Ranking Exam [2]

    "... could be worse."


    I couldn''t even fathom the awkwardness that would ensue if I was grouped up with Lily or Liam. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It could have been better, though; Irene had known me since we were young, so if I were to act out of character, she would be suspicious.


    The following hour seemed to pass by in a moment as I devoured some food in the cafeteria before heading back to my room to change back into a new pair of clothes.


    Upon reaching the coliseum entrance, I patiently waited for the unknown teacher standing onstage to speak.


    Glancing around the area, I could see cadets'' expressions ranging from seriousness to disappointment with their performance earlier to even awkwardness due to having to group up with some unknown students.


    After what seemed like an eternity, the teacher finally began.


    "Get into your groups and begin discussing. Within 2 minutes, your target monster, alongside its location, will be sent to you. Enter the portal once you are ready to begin.


    An earthquake seemed to strike at this moment, causing some other students and me to lose our balance as the ground shook temporarily.


    Beside the teacher, the lifeless portal, which resembled a golden arch, powered up, causing its color to change to silver.


    After the portal''s initial shock died down, the area around me quickly descended into pandemonium as students rushed to find their groups so they could have more time to plan for their upcoming tasks.


    However, I remained completely calm under these circumstances. That was because, unlike the other groups, my group had a brain.


    Taking out my phone, I checked the group assignment email, and under that, I could see a reply from Irene.


    [If you see this, meet at the front, to the right of the portal]


    I wasn''t sure if my other teammates would notice the reply, but I sure as hell wouldn''t be late. Calmly walking through the crowd of students, I recalled the possibilities of the monster my group would face.


    The school wouldn''t assign anything more dangerous than an E-rank monster, and in addition, this monster''s habitat would have to be somewhat close to the academy, as the portal in front of me didn''t seem like a powerful one.


    There was a forest, a small lake, a mountain, and a plain near the school.


    However, before I could continue thinking, I realized that my destination was in sight. To the right of the portal, I could see Irene, who was clearly agitated, tapping her feet up and down, waiting for us.


    "Ah, she actually cares about her rank."


    Beside Irene was another student holding a bow in his hand. A party usually had two main attackers, a long-range damage dealer, and a tank that could effectively block hits.


    With Irene and I being the main attackers and the boy there being an archer, I could deduce that, unsurprisingly, the class with the lowest speed or the tank was missing.


    Seeing me approach them, Irene continued frantically tapping her leg up and down, awaiting the last member while the archer held out his hand to me.


    "Nice to meet you, I''m Zane."


    Seeing that he didn''t seem scared or mad at my presence, I could tell that he was a noble, so I briefly shook his hand and said.


    "Ren."


    Within the next 10 seconds, the tank appeared and introduced himself as Deon.


    *BZZZ*


    On my school phone, a small holographic screen popped out.


    [Target: Duskhound / Location: ****** / [Image] ]


    I tried recalling Ren''s memories to see if he had any information regarding the wolf-like creature, as he had been through at least 8 years of school, but it was to no avail. Ren was through and through a dumbass.


    An E-rank creature like this was too unimportant to garner a mention in the book, so I had no clues on it. The only thing I had to go off was a small picture of it that made it resemble a wolf but with jaws that protruded from its mouth and a much bigger stature.


    "... a sabertoothed tiger but a wolf?"


    Turning around to face the portal and not even bothering to face us, Irene took the lead and commanded us.


    "Let''s go."


    Irene was somewhat known for her bad temperament and arrogance, so none of us bothered to dispute her orders.


    Normally, entering a portal would cause dizziness for most students, but since the distance traveled was so low, everyone was relatively fine.


    "Everyone... except for me."


    Holding in the urge to puke, I attempted to catch up to my teammates, but my condition was evident. Unlike everyone else, this was my first time going through a portal, and it was showing.


    Ignoring the ringing sound in my head and the saliva gathering in my mouth, I increased my pace so my teammates were still in sight. At the front of the group, I could see Irene glance behind and scoff.


    "... now''s not that time to get mad, Ren. You''ll get your revenge later. revenge..."


    -*-


    Panting and inhaling like there was no tomorrow, I finally reached the location, only a few seconds after the rest of my group. While I struggled to stand up straight, everyone else seemed fine as they drank some water without any problems. Of course, this led to me receiving another disapproving glance from Irene.


    Holding my urge to humble her, I huddled up with the rest of the group as Irene projected the image of the Duskhound in front of us.


    "Tank, you grab it''s attention. I''ll set the surroundings on fire to trap it as its weakness is heat, and long-range, you support me. Then us 3 will force it into a corner and take it out."


    This girl is really trying to piss me off, isn''t she? Not even getting a mention is insane; who the hell does she think she is?


    Before I could retort or disagree, she turned her back and began running towards the Duskhound. Looking at her disappearing figure, Zane gave me a pat on the back and smiled before jumping onto a nearby tree and nocking an arrow in his bowstring.


    "Does this guy think I need his sympathy?"


    The Duskhound hadn''t noticed our presence yet, so it rested on the ground. Standing only a few meters from the Duskhound''s sleeping body, Irene surrounded herself with flames before expanding them to encircle the opening completely.


    Within only a minute, Irene had already made a ring of fire that encircled the entire wolf. Looking around in confusion, the Duskhound threw its paw at the fire and immediately shot back in pain.


    Looking at the 2-meter-high wall of fire surrounding an area of at least 10 meters, I realized that she had every right to look down on me. I mean, what the hell? Who can do this shit so casually?


    Angered, the Duskhound dashed towards Irene, but before it could make contact, the tank, Deon, stepped in with his shield and blocked the wolf''s oncoming charge.


    "wait... why am I just watching? Aren''t I proving her right?"


    Inwardly cursing, I grabbed my two daggers, jumped onto the tree Zane was aiming from, and used the height to jump over the firewalls.


    Within the ring of fire, there were no places to hide as the opening was devoid of any trees; however, why would I need to hide when I had my teammates as bait?


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, an arrow, only a few meters away from me, soared above the walls of flames and flew through the sky straight at the Duskhound.


    Distracted by Irene''s flame-powered attacks, the Duskhound was unprepared for another attack, so the arrow lodged itself within the wolf''s right paw.


    *SHRIEK*


    Angered by the pain in its paw, the wolf began attacking with its arms and legs indiscriminately as it attempted to hit Irene and Deon, even at the cost of burning itself with the flames.


    Standing near the flame walls, I calmly observed the fight. I would probably look useless to a spectator as I was watching the fight without helping.


    I mean, Irene even started yelling at me, even though she was in the middle of a stressful fight.


    "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"


    Aren''t you the one who basically told me to do nothing?


    In reality, I wasn''t just watching but waiting for the perfect moment to strike. I knew my passive worked on monsters through my near-death experience with the mountain tyrant. But, it had taken me 10 minutes to grasp the combat style of a simple stage 1 dummy for the first time, so it would definitely take longer for a monster. And I didn''t have time for that.


    Since that option was useless, there was really only one other way for me: the first technique, Shadow Serpent.


    Looking at the fight ensuing in front of me, I could tell Irene had severely underestimated the Duskhound by assuming its weakness of fire would limit its attack. She hadn''t expected the wolf to be so angry that it wouldn''t care about the fire.


    Zane even had to jump down from his tree and enter the ring as the Duskhound overwhelmed Irene and Deon.


    Instead of the wolf being back into a corner, Irene was now being pushed back into her own flames. On the other hand, Deon couldn''t provide any support as he had to deal with the wolf''s rear legs kicking him.


    With the fire to her back and the wolf standing before her, Irene was only a second away from losing. The wolf threw its paw at Irene, and with nowhere to dodge, Irene''s only choice was to lower her ring of fire. However, that would mean the wolf could run around, making the exam time much longer and making her rank drop significantly.


    Looking at the fiery girl contemplating, I readjusted my grip on the daggers.


    "it''s time."


    Instead of charging toward the wolf like a prince coming in to save its princess, I poked the tip of my daggers into my right and left hands.


    Anyone watching would probably think I''m a masochist or maniac.


    As blood dripped from the small holes in my hands, I rushed towards the Duskhound, and with its focus completely on Irene and Deon, I stabbed both my daggers right into''s body while internally saying, "Soul-Serpent Slash."


    If I were to scream that out loud right now, I think the teachers would send me to a mental asylum, for good reason.


    Before Irene could decide to close the ring of fire, the wolf''s paw abruptly stopped in front of her.


    Not missing this chance, Irene immediately enveloped her hands with fire and sent a fireball right at the wolf''s mouth.


    Immobilized, the wolf could only quiver in fear as a ball of fire flew right at it.


    Both Deon and Zane didn''t miss the opening either as multiple arrows flew at the Duskhound, and the sound of a shield banging against the wolf''s legs could be heard.


    Hit directly by the arrows and its most dangerous weakness, fire, the Duskhound dropped to the ground, and its body remained lifeless.


    The ring of fire disappeared as Irene almost fell to the ground, only regaining her balance with the help of a nearby tree. She must have used a lot of mana and energy to hold up the ring while simultaneously fighting the monster.


    *BZZZ*


    The sound of multiple phones vibrating could be heard, so I checked my phone.


    [Your target has been eliminated. Return to the portal; your exam has been completed.]


    Ignoring their phones, Deon and Zane came rushing towards me with words already flying out of their mouths.


    "bro... i thought you were doing nothing, forgive me."


    "Dagger boy to the rescue!"


    However, I completely ignored their compliments and looked right at Irene, savoring her expression filled with anger, embarrassment, resentment, and hostility. Her uniform was partially torn, and her hair was messed up. The prodigy and epitome of talent in the magic world was reduced to such a state while I was completely fine, looking the same as I did an hour ago.


    "sweet, sweet revenge."

 Chapter 14: Chapter 14: New Class [1]

    Seeing my gaze at her, Irene propped herself up against the tree and angrily yelled.


    "WHY DIDN''T YOU DO SOMETHING EARLIER?"


    I simply shrugged my shoulders and redirected my attention to my two teammates before me.


    Seeing me blow her off, Irene became even more angry, but in the end, she could only stare at me with hostility.


    Ignoring Irene''s miserable state, I mimicked her earlier actions by turning around and walking back to the portal. Zane and Deon were eager to ask me questions, so they followed, leaving Irene to make the trek back solo.


    The "team leader" had been abandoned and replaced by me.


    After returning to the coliseum, I returned to my dorm room to recover. Even if I hadn''t let it show, the 4 hours of drills combined with using the first technique left me completely exhausted.


    The wounds from my mana-blood method were relatively small, but I could still feel the sharp pain. The monster had been stunned longer than my earlier test, proving my theory that if the wound were more dangerous, the stunning period would be longer.


    Slumping down on my bed, I drifted off to sleep peacefully as there would be nothing for me to do for the rest of the weekend.


    -*-


    When I woke up Monday morning, I immediately checked my phone¡ªnot for my ranking exam results but for my new class.


    [You have been randomly assigned to the Dragon Class. Report to room 408 for your classes for the remainder of the year. The results of the weekend Ranking Exam will be posted in your new class.]


    "... at this point, why am I even surprised."


    My new class just happened to be the class that conveniently contained the entire main cast and the class that had the most incidents due to the protagonist''s involvement.


    "Random my ass! There has to be some other power at play."


    After pinching myself and confirming that this wasn''t a dream, I sighed before getting up from bed to shower and change for the school day. Complaining about my situation wouldn''t improve it, so the best I could do was go along with the flow.


    Within 30 minutes, I was already in front of the classroom door. Though arriving late would suit Ren''s personality, I really didn''t want to piss off my new teacher as she could make my life hell if she decided to.


    Sliding open the classroom doors, I glanced around and saw some familiar faces. Liam was in the center of the class, of course, and beside him sat Lily. Since Lily was there, Kevin was also present, and since Kevin was there, Irene was there.


    It was like some chain reaction.


    An unfamiliar face sat to Liam''s left. Like Liam, Zach came from humble origins and got into the academy on a scholarship. Through the recent group mission, Zach and Liam had bonded.


    Zach was a character universally liked by the fandom because he was humble, down-to-earth, and kind. If I were to ridicule commoners in front of him, Zach would step in to protect them no matter the consequences. Honestly, Zach fits the protagonist role better than Liam with his carefree and kind nature.


    Ignoring the main cast''s current discussion, I quietly moved to the left side of the classroom and pulled out my smartwatch to pass the time. It seemed that one main cast member noticed me as Irene turned around and started daggers at me for a moment.


    A tap on my back interrupted my mobile gaming session. Immediately, I was put on edge.


    Who would sit with me?


    Turning around, I made my expression darker and glanced at the two culprits behind me. Their faces were familiar, but I couldn''t quite recall their identities.


    "Hey Ren, guess those class demotions we got as punishments were for nothing. Serves the student council right; we didn''t do shit."


    Ah, it''s the two idiots who helped me attack Liam at the start of the year: Jin and Han. Both were initially my sidekicks, but after my family abandoned me, I assumed they would ignore me. After all, most sidekicks hope to leach off their master''s families, but now I have no important family.


    It seemed that those two sidekicks were different, though... There''s no way Ren had genuine friends with his personality, right..?


    Not even waiting for my response or permission, Jin took the seat to my right, and Han took the seat to my left.


    Ignoring them now would be a big red flag as they seemed to be Ren''s friends, so I lightened my expression and jokingly responded.


    "Yeah, that president is insane."


    Both Han and Jin nodded their heads while I began to reevaluate Ren''s relationship with the two. The book didn''t specifically mention anything about Ren''s relationship with the friends as they only ever appeared in one chapter, but everyone assumed it was a master sidekick as they followed Ren''s plans to attack Liam.


    However, upon seeing their comfortableness with speaking to me and their friendly demeanor, it was clear that these people might actually be friends of Ren. I mean, shouldn''t they be mocking me for being stripped of my last name, not sitting down and making small talk?


    Before I could probe these so-called friends of Ren more, the sliding door opened, and the teacher, alongside a group of students, walked in.


    Taking the podium was a familiar face, Mrs Longburn.


    "Welcome. I will be your class teacher for the remainder of this year. Beside me are the new Elven transfer students. Treat them with kindness and respectfulness. No forms of bullying or harassment will be tolerated."


    After saying those last words, I swear she glanced at me, Han, and Jin.


    Looking at the line of ten elven students, I quickly found the last member of the main cast, the elven princess. Standing with poise and civility, the princess stood at the front of the line and glanced around the classroom.


    Interrupting my observation, I heard a loud voice from my right, where Jin sat.


    "Dude, who do you think is the hottest?"


    This guy didn''t even whisper it; he just blatantly said for the entire class to hear. The entire class was silent, awaiting further instructions from Mrs. Longburn, so Jin''s loud voice echoed throughout the classroom, but there were no laughs or chuckles in response.


    The princess and the elves beside started staring at us. Our human classmates began staring at us. Even Mrs. Longburn started staring at our group, not with anger or hostility but with disappointment.


    This guy is a fucking idiot!


    Holding in the urge to slap the shit out of Jin, I ignored the glances full of disgust from my human and elven classmates and also began staring at Jin. Surely, they could tell that I was not associated with this guy.


    Han seemed like a reasonable guy as he was also taken aback by Jin''s remark. Before I could say anything, Han whispered back.


    "... dude."


    Took the words right out of my mouth.


    This time around, a fainter voice sounded from my right side.


    "... my bad."


    The awkward silence and stares persisted for another few seconds before Mrs. Longburn finally broke the silence and continued her announcements.


    " *ahem* The ranking exam results will be announced at the end of the day. That is allowed for today''s announcements. Elven student, you may take your seats."


    As Mrs. Longburn walked out of the classroom, the Elven students looked for empty seats around the classroom.


    In front of my group of idiots, there were 3 empty seats. The elven princess and two other elves, who seemed close to the princess, sat there. They didn''t even bother to look or say anything to us. It was like they didn''t even acknowledge our existence.


    A few seconds later, our history professor walked in and began teaching.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    *RING*


    To my right, the idiot, Jin, dared to speak again.


    "Finally, the lunch bell, man. For some reason, I think people kept staring at us. Are we that popular?"


    This guy...


    I really wanted to get out of the classroom as fast as possible to avoid Jin making a further fool of our group. Han seemed to share the same sentiment as he got up from his chair, even before me.


    Following Han''s lead, I got up and said.


    "Let''s dip."


    Even though staying with Jin would probably cause me to lose brain cells, it would also help conceal my identity, as no one would have a reason to be suspicious of my behavior if I simply hung out with friends.


    Looking around the crowded cafeteria, I could see the elven and human students already getting along as they ate lunch together.


    After finding an empty table, I sat down and enjoyed the amazing food prepared by the cafeteria. Nothing could ruin this lunch period, not even Jin''s stupidity.


    Jin said while gulping down some food.


    "Glad we were all put into a class together again. I don''t know what I would do without you guys!"


    I know I''d be better off without you in my class.


    Not even waiting for Han to respond to his previous statement, Jin subsequently asked.


    "So, did you guys think about my previous question?"


    Thankfully, I wasn''t drinking anything, but if I were, it would have all come flying out. Both Han and I erupted into laughter. This idiot was persistent!


    "Give us some more time, Jin."


    Thinking about this week''s upcoming events, I asked the two friends. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "What clubs are you two planning to join?"


    The traveling club would require some groupings for room and city exploring, and I didn''t want to be stuck with the main cast, so bringing the idiots along would be helpful. While Han seemed to be thinking, Jin immediately responded.


    " *PFFFT* Why would I join one of those."


    "Yeah, I don''t think I''ll join any."


    As expected, these lazy bastards don''t wanna do anything.


    "Join the travel club with me. It''s the perfect chance to get to know some girls. Also, Han, you might as well; we''re getting vacations for free!"


    The two seemed convinced, so I watched them take out their phones and sign up for the Friday orientation.


    After disposing of our remaining food and dropping off our trays, Han and Jin wanted to exchange contacts, but I realized that I had left my smartwatch behind in my rush to leave the classroom.


    Taking my sweet time, I basked in the silence as I returned to the classroom. Upon entering, I saw that it wasn''t actually empty.


    In the row in front of my desk sat the elven princess, or Alya. Her silver hair cascaded in layers all the way down to her waist. The green elf''s uniform and bowties perfectly complimented her calm and reserved personality as she opted to read books alone instead of eating lunch with her friends.


    She seemed too entranced in her book to notice my presence, so I went to grab my smartwatch. After finding my smartwatch sitting on my desk, I prepared to leave, but before I took one last glance not at the princess but at her book.


    "The Garden Party."


    Maybe I''ll check it out later.


    Leaving the classroom, I caught up with the Han and the idiot, who were patiently waiting outside. I decided not to tell the two about the princess in the classroom out of fear that Jin would further embarrass us by doing something stupid like asking her to eat lunch with us.


    Just like that, the first five days of school flew by. And now, it was finally Friday: the travel club''s orientation or the first of many incidents to take place at this school.

 Chapter 15: Chapter 15:Travel Orientation [1]

    Upon waking up Friday morning, I was greeted by an unusual occurrence: a message. Of course, I had received hundreds of messages from the group chat containing the 2 idiots. However, that chat was muted to prevent me from losing my last few brain cells.


    [Your official ranking exam results will be displayed during class today. The school once again apologizes for the delay.]


    The school underestimated the time it would take to test hundreds of eleven students, so the results were postponed.


    Recalling my performance during the exams, I assumed that I would be ranked around 100. Being ranked within the top 150 would give perks such as bigger dorm rooms, better training gyms, and more merit points! At the same time, no one would suspect my ranking of being too high or too low, as I was previously in Class B.


    Ren''s father might be surprised by the results as he knows the real reason why I was placed in Class B, but I doubt he''d care.


    "wait, why am I thinking about that asshole?"


    After entering the classroom, I saw expressions ranging from solemn to horror to shock and excitement. The poster stuck to the whiteboard at the front of the classroom caused these expressions.


    "Rank 1: Kevin"


    "Rank 2: Liam"


    "Rank 3: Alya"


    "Rank 4: Irene"


    "Rank 7: Lily"


    ...


    "Rank 52: Zack"


    ...


    "Rank 97: Ren"


    ...


    "Rank 545: Han"


    "Rank 546: Jin"


    Kevin was surprised to see Liam ranked at number 2, only now understanding the amount of oppression placed on commoners. Irene was neutral as she placed higher than Lily, giving her a sense of superiority, but at the same time, her 3rd rank was taken away.


    Liam and Zach were ecstatic that, despite their huge rise in rankings, they seemed to forget about the injustice they faced during their initial class placement. The princess, Alya, was aloof as always, reading a book; however, she occasionally stole a glance at the 2 students who placed higher than her. Finally, the two idiots seemed not to care as they waved to me from our seats at the back.


    There was one more person, but I didn''t dare to glance at Lily out of fear that Ren''s feelings would reappear.


    Sitting down in my seat, Jin immediately bombarded me with questions while Han gave me a sympathetic glance.


    If you feel so bad, then help me!


    "This travel club thing better be entertaining after you hyped it up."


    What do you mean hyped it up??? I just told him that there would be girls attending...


    Before I could respond, Mrs. Longburn walked into the classroom and towards the podium, with her gaze pausing on Liam for a moment.


    Typically, teachers would be ecstatic to have 5 of the top 10 students in their class, but Mrs. Longburn seemed indifferent as she went about the school announcements as usual.


    During class, I thought of trying to take notes as doing well on exams awarded more merit points; however, this behavior would be suspicious to Ren''s friends. With my being 8 years behind everyone else, I desperately needed some way to learn, so I subtly took pictures of the board with my phone under the pretense of playing a mobile game.


    Of course, these actions did not go unnoticed by the elven students sitting in front of me, but honestly, I couldn''t care less about what they thought.


    *RING*


    Not even bothering to push our chairs into the desk, the two idiots and I were the first to leave the classroom.


    Still in our school uniforms, the three of us headed to the portal for the travel club orientation.


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, I heard a voice from the right.


    "We''re early; why don''t we get something to eat?"


    Surprisingly, it wasn''t Jin who asked; it was Han.


    Han''s a big foodie, noted.


    Glancing at my phone, I noticed that we had 20 minutes to spare, so I obliged, and Jin didn''t seem to care. That was, of course, until we reached the food spot that Han recommended.


    Seeing the tens of exotic ice cream flavors and cones soaked in chocolate, Jin''s face turned to one of pure joy. Recalling our first lunch, where Jin took at least 3 portions of desserts, I deduced that he had a central sweet tooth.


    "Let me get one of that... that..... that... oh, that too!"


    That was how we, the first students to exit the classroom, ended up late to the orientation, causing us to receive even more disgusted stares.


    Looking to my left, I saw Jin licking his four scoops of ice cream, and with all my will, I suppressed the urge to slap the cone right out of Jin''s hands. I mean, even Han was angry.


    How the hell does someone spend 20 minutes choosing ice cream flavors?


    Standing at the front of the group, the club president''s cheerful expression seemed to darken upon seeing our entrance; however, his face seemed to rise upon seeing that the entire main cast was there as well, even the book-addicted princess. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Welcome to the first-year travel club orientation! You wouldn''t believe my shock when I saw so many promising talents signing up to join."


    I could see bolts of sweat falling from the president''s face as he spoke.


    "The club''s purpose is to allow students to explore the outside world and give them a chance to escape the competitive atmosphere of the school. One to two times a month, we will use the portal to take on vacations to various places. Today, we will go local as our destination is this town''s very own Skyward Spire Amusement Park!"


    Somewhat accustomed to the portal''s side effects, I managed to keep my dignity intact as I didn''t fall after walking through.


    In front of me stood an amusement park¡ªnot just any amusement park, but one made to terrify even people with supernatural powers.


    Looking at the roller coaster, which peaked at over 900 feet in height, I started trembling. I was scared of normal roller coasters on Earth, so how would I get through this?


    The rest of the class seemed entranced by the various attractions, which I called "death games."


    Naturally, the two idiots beside me immediately began discussing.


    "Which ride first?"


    "Dude, the dragon''s descent looks amazing! Wait, no, the Thunderbolt twist looks better. Wait n-"


    "Alright, first, let''s go to the thunderbolt, then the dragon, then the forest maze, then th-"


    If only these two put this much effort into academics.


    "Come on, let''s just go."


    Han and Jin sprinted at full speed towards the first ride''s line. Thankfully, the two automatically assumed I was following, and by the time they realized they''d already be too far in line to get me.


    Walking towards the overpriced carnival game booths, I pulled out 5 coins and patiently waited in line.


    The goal of the game was to knock over the 12 pins stacked on top of each other. After handing my coins to the stand owner, I received 5 wooden balls in exchange.


    Aiming for the top 3 pins, I threw my first ball, which connected, knocking those 3 down.


    "I should be an archer!"


    Picking up the next ball, I changed my strategy and aimed towards the bottom pins, hoping to knock down the entire structure.


    Mustering all my strength, I threw the ball, and its trajectory looked perfect as it flew right at the bottom middle pin.


    Then, just as the ball was going to hit the pin, it inexplicably moved downwards and hit the table instead of the pins.


    Redirecting my gaze to the stand owner, I looked at him suspiciously before he chucked and said.


    "Oh, did I forget to mention that the balls are imbued with magic? They randomly have a chance to bounce around. This is a magic amusement park, you know."


    The following 3 balls I threw just happened to "randomly" bounce away from the pins.


    "Some things never change."


    Walking away defeatedly from the stand, I was about to look for the bathroom when another challenger approached the "random" ball booth.


    "Watching someone else fall into my same misery will help!"


    Turning back around, I saw the booth owner hand over 5 balls to the student with long silver hair and pointed ears. I could not see her face, but seeing her now confident demeanor crumble with my eyes would be enough.


    Picking up the first ball, she employed my strategy by aiming at the bottom pins. In a swift motion, the ball flew from her hand and bolted towards the bottom pins.


    "Hah, just wait."


    Looking at the ball inch toward the pins, I struggled to hold in my laughter as I awaited the inevitable sight of it "randomly" bouncing away.


    But, that moment never came...


    *BANG*


    The 12-pin structure collapsed immediately after the ball made contact with the bottom pin; the booth owner seemed shocked by this change of events as he struggled to maintain his calm demeanor while grabbing the big teddy bear reward.


    Opening and closing my eyes, I kept staring at the fallen structure, hoping it was all an illusion and that the pins would magically go back into place. I wanted to be mad¡ªI really did¡ªbut seeing the booth owner''s shocked expression, I realized that not even he knew what had happened.


    Even if I wasn''t the only one losing a reward, I felt defeated staring at the person who managed to take down the entire pin structure with one ball.


    Holding the ridiculously large teddy bear, the elf turned around, and I immediately recognized her as the elven princess, Alya.


    "hah, at least it wasn''t just some nobody who beat me. Yeah, only royalty can beat me!"


    Distracting myself, I checked my smartwatch and realized it was about time for the djinn to show up, so I rushed towards the mirror attraction. There were also some missed calls from the group chat, but there was no way in hell I was going on any of these rides.


    Walking inside the building, I saw dozens of mirrors laid out across the room. Inside were some normal people visiting, as well as two students, Irene and Liam. The two weren''t together as they stood in front of different mirrors, staring into the never-ending sea of reflections.


    Heading towards the corner of my room, I steeled myself until it finally happened.


    *CRUMBLE*


    "Huh...?"


    "What''s going on..?"


    *SZZZT*


    Shards of glass fell onto the ground as the ceiling caved it on itself. From the hole in the ceiling descended a human-like figure with pale skin, yellow-hollowed-out eyes, and a black cloak.


    Yellow Eyes are known to be possessed solely by djinns. Compared to the djinn I faced earlier, this one was a demon. Instead of succumbing to its desires, losing its mental state, and becoming essentially a mindless zombie, this djinn was completely calm as a red aura enveloped it.


    Looking at the mysterious figure standing atop the rubble from the ceiling, the non-students began rushing to the door.


    "MOVE YOUR DU-"


    "W-WE H-HAVE T-TO RUN"


    "GOOO!"


    However, the rumble completely blocked the entrance, so the normal civilians retreated to the corner where I was standing.


    A small flame began to form in Irene''s hand while Liam picked up a piece of glass from one of the broken mirrors, which just so happened to be in the shape of a sword.


    I shouldn''t have been scared as I knew exactly what would happen, but at the same time, did I? Was my keeping the butterfly effect caused by my appearance to a minimum worth it, or was it all a waste?


    It was time to see if the plot was the same.


    [A/N: I was offered an exclusive contract with Webnovel, and I''m taking it. This means you can expect 1-2 chapters/day from now on]

 Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Travel Orientation [2]

    In the corner of the mirror room, tens of civilians trembled with fear upon seeing the djinn''s yellow eyes. It was common knowledge to any non-awakened that if you saw those yellow eyes, you were to run and place a call to the High Dominion if you wanted to survive.


    Adding to the chaos, the alarm triggered by the roof''s breaking echoed throughout the room. To make it worse, the security system had assumed a thief was trying to steal the mirrors due to their expensive price tag, so it sealed off all the windows, leaving no room for escape.


    The scene inside the mirror room could only be described as comical. Adults aged 20-60 stood shivering and quivering in a corner while two teenagers, only 16, stood confidently in front of the djinn.


    Having grown up in the magic tower, Irene was somewhat accustomed to djinn incidents as the tower and her father constantly worked to foil them, so she immediately grasped the situation.


    "EVERYONE CALM DOWN! I''m sure the Dominion and school have already sent heroes to assist due to the security alarm. We have no idea if there are more djinns outside, so trying to escape could lead to certain death."


    *CLAP*


    *CLAP*


    A faint clapping sound reverberated through the room, and the unmoving djinn finally made his first move as he slowly walked toward Irene and Liam.


    "Looks like you''re as powerful and confident as they say, princess. Unfortunately, you had to meet me, but there''s still a chance. Make a contract and become one of us!"


    "I''d rather die."


    "Alright, be my guest."


    Unbeknownst to the djinn, there was actually another powerhouse in the mirror room, Liam. Using Irene as a distraction, Liam slowly wrapped around the room during their conversation, and now, he was only a few feet away from the djinn''s back.


    It almost looked like a comedy act from the sidelines as Liam pulled the classic "he''s right behind me, isn''t he?"


    Letting out a small sigh of relief, I subtly relaxed. My preparations were not in vain! Just like how the story goes, Liam will easily annihilate him.


    Although this incident could easily be written off as only 1 djinn appeared, it was actually quite instrumental in the plot. It showed Irene that Liam wasn''t some stupid commoner who ranked higher than her out of luck, and it also allowed for some character development with Liam.


    Now only a few steps away from the djinn''s back, Liam tightened his grip on the makeshift glass sword and then made a wild dash toward the djinn.


    Hearing the impending footsteps, the djinn slowly turned his back, but it was too late. Liam was already upon him, his sword plunging forward right at his neck.


    In the next second, Liam''s sword pierced right through the djinn''s neck, and it was over. Releasing his grip on the sword, Liam slowly relaxed and let his guard down while staring at his glass sword, which fully emerged inside the djin''s body.


    The red aura surrounding the djinn slowly dissipated, and his eyes lost vitality as the yellow spark diminished, turning pitch black.


    Stepping out of the crowd of trembling civilians, I slowly looked around the room, confirming nothing abnormal occurred; however, one thing was bothering me.


    Why was the djinn''s body not on the floor yet?


    Blocking the entrance, the djinn''s body was still standing upright; all be it with a glass sword plunged into its neck. A step back from the djinn, Liam was also looking at the suspended body confusedly.


    ... this is not right. Did I forget something?


    From a distance, I analyzed the body and noticed something peculiar. Its eyes still contained a hint of yellow sparkling within.


    How is that possible? Is it not dead?


    *RUMBLE*


    The floor randomly shook, and the djinn''s body trembled. This may have gone unnoticed by Liam and Irene, but with my dragon''s passive, I had seen the body move.


    That meant it wasn''t dead!


    Surprising Liam, a small tentacle emerged from the djinn''s body, and like an arrow, it flew right at Liam. Without any time to dodge, Liam could only watch helplessly as the slimy tentacle approached him alarmingly fast. Without my dragon''s eye time-stopping ability, I was also helpless.


    It has tentacles...?


    The tentacle made contact with Liam, but instead of pushing Liam back with the impact or bouncing off his body, the tentacle pierced his body.


    It pierced Liam''s heart...


    I could only watch in shock and horror as Liam''s lifeless body was suspended in the air like a puppet by the tentacle.


    The tentacle removed itself from Liam''s body, and the tip of it was colored red with Liam''s blood.


    "That... that was n-not s-supposed t-to happen."


    How was I supposed to react? The protagonist, destined to save the entire world from the clutches of the demons, had just died right before me.


    Feelings of shock and horror immediately surged into my body. I had just seen someone die right in front of me. Not just someone but the protagonist.


    If the main character could die, what did that mean for an extra like me?


    No longer held in the air by the tentacle, Liam''s body fell onto the ground. His corpse lay on the floor, and where his heart was supposed to be, there was just a hole covered with blood.


    His eyes, which were filled with hunger and ambition only a few seconds ago, were now empty and dull. His last and final expression shows his eyebrows raised and mouth open, displaying his fear and shock.


    Seeing the dead student''s corpse only a few feet away from them, the civilians could only open their mouths in horror and watch powerlessly like spectators.


    Irene''s confident demeanor crumbled. In the end, important family or not, Irene was a sheltered and spoiled child. This was her first time witnessing a death, murder, and crime.


    The djinn''s eyes regained their vitality as the tentacle returned to his side.


    "Hah, you thought that dumb trick would work? Look at how it turned out for your friend."


    Irene''s legs started shivering and wobbling as she glanced at Liam''s bloody corpse and the djinn''s figure. The fire in her hand disappeared, and she almost fell to the ground.


    Looking at Irene''s pathetic figure, the djinn slowly walked towards her and said.


    "Well, I''ve wasted enough time."


    Snapping out of shock, I scrambled to open my backpack and retrieve anything to help me save her. But it was too late. There was no time...


    I tried to activate Dragon''s Eye to slow down time, but it didn''t work.


    Why wasn''t it working? Earlier, all it required was for me to think of activating it, but now it was unresponsive.


    Putting my finger to my right eye, I tried to forcefully activate it by tapping my eye over and over again, but it was to no avail.


    What am I thinking? Even if it activates, what am I going to do? I have some terrible daggers, no plan, and my stats are abysmal compared to the djinn. Liam had stats way higher than mine, and he died within a second. He had won in the book because he had one-shotted it with the sneak attack.


    As the djinn approached Irene''s trembling body, she almost broke into tears while trying to get fire to form in her hands. However, nothing happened; no matter how hard she tried, it was hopeless.


    Staring at her hands anxiously, tears flooded down Irene''s face.


    Irene and I were unable to fight. The spectators could not fight, and the reinforcements would need at least 5 more minutes to arrive.


    Do I run away? I know the outside is safe, and the djinn only needs Irene, so I should be alright.


    These aren''t even real people. This world is just a book. All these people are just some characters made up by a random author. They don''t have souls or anything; they''re just the creations of some bored human being like me.


    Why do I care whether they survive or not? Sure, Liam and Irene dying is bad and a big obstacle to the development of the world, but it''s nothing I can''t overcome. Why would I risk my life to help Irene? I mean, even if I did, it''s not like anything would change.


    The djinn would just kill me and then Irene. Sure, there was a possibility of me stalling long enough for the reinforcements and saving Irene, but then my death would be all but guaranteed.


    What do I care about the state of this world? After ensuring my survival by completing the main plot, all that''s left is to return. I''ve been here for almost a month, and my sole goal is still to return back to Earth, where my family is waiting.


    There''s no attachment to this make-believe world.


    All I have to do is steal all the items, loot, and protagonist role. Sure, gathering up the items and constantly foiling the demons'' plans would be a lot of work, but it''s my punishment.


    I''m not naive; I know these two "deaths" were all my fault. The only difference between the book and this reality is my appearance, so the only possibility leads to me.


    I was stupid to think that the plot could remain the same with my appearance, and this entire scene was the evidence.


    The evidence of my first failure.


    Irene fell onto her knees and stared helplessly at the djinn''s approaching figure. Stopping only a few feet in front of Irene, the djinn cockily remarked.


    "You know, I gave you a chance."


    A familiar tentacle reemerged from the djinn''s body and soared right at Irene''s body with the speed of an arrow. Displaying its impeccable aim, the tentacle rose in the air a few inches, perfectly aligning itself with the location of Irene''s heart.


    In a split second, the tentacle pierced right through Irene''s kneeling figure, and her corpse collapsed onto the ground. Another person destined to save the world had just died because of my careless and naive actions.


    Self-deprecation and anxiety weren''t going to help me now. Calming myself, I retrieved the daggers I had brought with me. Even if the djinn''s target was eliminated, knowing their bloodthirsty and cruel nature, it was possible that the djinn could start randomly killing off civilians, including me.


    Glancing at the two lifeless bodies on the floor one last time, I made a break for the exit. The djinn seemed to be occupied, and he was kneeling down and checking Irene''s body for some items, so now was my perfect chance.


    The rumbling caused by the djinn''s recovery from Liam''s attack had moved around the rubble, so there was a small hole.


    The light from the sun surged in from that hole, illuminating Liam''s lifeless body, which was only a few feet away from the exit.


    The civilians seemed to have grasped my plan and quickly followed me towards the exit. Of course, this was all part of my plan. They rushed in behind me and essentially created a body shield for me.


    They were just some fodder that could be used to ensure my survival.


    Kneeling down in front of the hole, I crawled through the hole, and within a second, I saw freedom.


    The sun, oh, how I missed it.


    In the distance, I could see countless heroes with uniforms rushing toward the building with panicked expressions.


    As always, the police or whatever government organization is too late to prevent anything from happening. I wonder how they would react upon hearing of the death of two students. Obviously, Liam''s death wouldn''t really change anything, but Irene''s death could probably cause the closing of the academy.


    Standing up and leaving the tunnel, I stared up at the sky, enjoying the peace and serenity it brought to my chaotic mind.


    Then it all went dark.


    The sun was gone.


    The sky was pitch black, with no traces of its former blue color. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Everything was black. It was a void.


    The space around me distorted, and a sense of dizziness overwhelmed me, forcing me to close my eyes.


    "Ah, is this my punishment? I knew causing such a scene where two main characters die would lead to some backlash. After all, it is all my fault."


    Opening my arms, I welcomed whatever painful punishment that was awaiting me. However, nothing came.


    After a few seconds, I carefully reopened my eyes.


    I was back in the mirror room. Nothing was destroyed. The djinn hadn''t arrived yet. Glancing around, I confirmed that Liam and Irene were still alive.


    Was it all a dream?


    No, a dream can''t be that realistic; I saw the dead bodies in front of me...


    [A/N: Thoughts on this chapter? Book went from 0 to 100 real quick.]

 Chapter 17: Chapter 17:Travel Orientation [3]

    Feeling the concerned gazes of civilians walking by me, I calmed my chaotic thoughts and adjusted my posture to fit in.


    Replaying the scenes that had occurred only a few minutes ago in my head, I reaffirmed that the scenario I had just witnessed was not a dream. There was no way it could have been.


    Then, is this a dream or even the afterlife? Did the heroes reporting to Mirror House think I was the djinn and accidentally shoot me? If so, that''s quite the way to die.


    No, that''s too unrealistic. The guards wouldn''t dare attack me with my student uniform visible, and adding on, I felt no pain.


    Checking my time on my smartwatch, I immediately ceased all thoughts about my "time travel" and decided to focus on the task at hand.


    Assuming this was true reality, I had the opportunity to fix everything.


    Taking off the backpack I had brought, I peeked in and saw the pair of school-issued daggers, a pencil or two, a light red napkin, and a notebook.


    A sense of dread immediately overwhelmed me.


    "... well at least, I have a weapon."


    This was one of many careless mistakes I had made that led to the death of Irene and Liam, being severely underprepared. Then again, how was I supposed to know that my most vital ability, Dragon''s Will, would be completely useless?


    Thankfully, I could get my weapons past the security without them noticing. Or, I guess I shouldn''t be thankful because they also let a djinn in?


    "What even is the point of having security?"


    Replaying the start of the fight in my head, I began to analyze it bit by bit: After Liam made his move, the djinn''s body was suspended in the air temporarily so I could try to finish it off there with my daggers. However, if Liam, whose attack was more powerful than mine, was only able to stun it, then how could I expect even to make a scratch?


    Go for it''s tentacles? The djinn only revealed it when it was on the brink of death from Liam''s attack instead of at the start, so it can be assumed that the tentacle is a weakness. However, the tentacle''s speed is too fast.


    I could see the tentacle with the passive but couldn''t react on time without my time-slowing ability.


    "This exact problem has occurred at least a hundred times now, hasn''t it...?"


    To ensure that both daggers would be readily available, I concealed both of them in my jacket pocket and continued thinking; however, no plan came to mind.


    I was just another extra background character without my dragon''s eye ability. It was the only thing that made me special or gave me power. Otherwise, my stats, rank, and combat ability were average for the school.


    At some unknown point, I started caring more about maintaining the plot structure than my survival. I could have just taken a bunch of overpowered times to ensure my survival, but I had settled for just one.


    It vaguely made sense as I would essentially know the future, but at the same time, what good is knowing the future if I''m not there to witness it?


    Knowing the time of the djinn''s inevitable arrival was approaching; one thought kept repeating and replaying in my mind.


    "Why don''t you just run away from the mirror house? Who cares about their deaths? Your survival is paramount."


    At the same time, another thought kept clashing with that one.


    "For some unknown reason, you were given a second chance. What does that mean? What if you were given a second chance because the first scenario caused the destruction of the entire world, or worse, your death? Why were you sent back in time?"


    A decision needed to be made. If my attack and attempt to make a change failed, my death was all but guaranteed. So, then running gave me a 100% chance at survival rather than survival?


    However, based on my intuition and the hundreds of novels I''ve read, time loops or travels don''t happen for no reason; there must be a rationale for whatever caused it.


    Some say the fear of the unknown is the greatest. Only now do I understand.


    I always used to think that is bullshit. I mean, isn''t the fear of dying, being kidnapped, or being tortured much worse?


    But, if I ran away now, the rest of my life would be spent worrying about the consequences I would never be able to relax or enjoy myself again. Those thoughts would plague my mind until the day I die.


    Living while knowing that some impending doom could occur at any moment would be impossible. Realizing that, I decided to stay.


    Deciding on that was simple, but now what?


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, a familiar scene occurred.


    *RUMBLE*


    I had survived through my trip to the mountains and done all that training for what?


    In the end, it was all useless.


    The ceiling collapsed, and a figure surrounded by a dark red aura descended down in slow motion.


    "Wait, slow-motion, why is it so slow...?"


    Blinking once to confirm, I realized that after hearing the sound, I had subconsciously placed my right hand on my right eye. It was like a natural instinct for me.


    An act of desperation.


    After all, it had already saved me once during my hopeless fight with the mountain tyrant, and what else what there to rely on?


    All that work just to rely on some item.


    Pathetic


    Looking at the people around me slowly turning their heads to the noise source, I realized that, for whatever reason, it had worked.


    I had been saved once again.


    But why had it worked? Does it react to my feelings of desperation?


    No, that''s not possible. I was definitely desperate when I watched the two main characters die at the hands of the djinn.


    Feeling the blood swelling in my eye and my mana dissipating, I immediately removed my hand, and the time around me immediately sped back to normal as the djinn''s descent returned to an average pace.


    There was no need for me to use it yet.


    The conversation between the djinn and Irene was the same, and Liam snuck up behind the djinn.


    Dashing at the djinn, Liam plunged his sword into the same exact place, and moments later, the djinn''s body remained upright in a suspended animation.


    Yet, I stood still, watching like a sedentary observer.


    I mean, I mentioned it earlier: attacking the djinn''s body would fail as if Liam''s attack only did that much; what more could my attack possibly do?


    *RUMBLE*


    Again, the floor shook, this time not due to the collapse of the ceiling. The djinn''s body slightly twitched, revealing that it was not yet dead.


    At that moment, my right hand touched my eye, activating the first stage of the Dragon''s Will.


    Why did I use my right hand to activate it instead of just doing it mentally as I used to?


    I was worried that activating it mentally wouldn''t work, resulting in the loss of seconds in a scenario where milliseconds could change the outcome of the fight.


    As time slowed, I dashed forward to the center stage, specifically where Liam was.


    Arriving at Liam''s body, I saw his expression remain the same. From his point of view, I was just a blurry figure, so he must have just thought that he had dust in his eyes. And there was also the djinn''s body occupying his attention.


    As for everyone else, it was the same. I was simply too fast in their eyes, and why would they focus on some random blurry figure instead of the body of a djinn that could potentially kill them?


    Standing a few inches from Liam''s body, I shifted my gaze to the suspended djinn.


    From the bottom of his jet-black coat, a small purple tentacle flew emerged and flew out. Even with my passive and time-slowing ability combined, the tentacle still moved relatively fast, displaying its incredible speed.


    Wasn''t this guy a bit too overpowered for the first villain? This tentacle could probably still one-shot Liam 3 months after this incident.


    Taking my daggers out of my pocket, I slightly cut myself on my hands, revealing crimson red blood.


    Now, only a few yards from Liam''s body, the tentacle raised itself to align with his heart and plunged forward.


    Moving my daggers to waist height, I waited until the tentacle was within reach of my daggers.


    As the tentacle inched closer to Liam, his expression transformed from confusion to horror as he had presumably noticed the tentacle. Its speed was much lower than mine, so he could somewhat make it out.


    The other civilians and Irene remained neutral, as the tentacle was blocked by the djinn''s body from their point of view.


    Finally, when the tentacle was only a few inches from Liam''s heart, I swiftly raised my daggers, and they moved upwards through the air until they reached the height of my head.


    Looking downwards, I saw the tentacle split into pieces and fall forward onto Liam''s body and the ground below. If not for that sight, I wouldn''t have even noticed anything was cut by my daggers. They had gone through the tentacle like it was butter.


    Upon touching the ground and Liam''s body, the tentacle pieces immediately disintegrated, leaving no trace.


    Were they actually made of butter?


    Swapping my gaze to the djinn, I saw its suspended body fall face-forward onto the ground. Besides Liam''s sword plunged into it, there was no other evidence of how it died.


    Seeing the corpse on the ground, I moved a few steps away from the scene, preventing people from suspecting that I had anything to do with the djinn''s death, and deactivated the dragon''s will.


    Almost immediately, a surge of pain coursed throughout my entire body, nearly causing me to collapse to the ground.


    It felt like I was one who got stabbed by the tentacle. Well, it felt more like a truck had hit me, and I actually knew how that felt from my original death.


    If not for my being somewhat accustomed to the pain from my training sessions, I would have started howling like a wolf and fallen onto the ground.


    Without looking at my reflection, I already knew that my eye was covered with blood, but thankfully, I was equipped for such situations.


    Ignoring the pain, I grabbed the napkin from my bag and immediately pressed it to my face. Everyone else was too occupied with the body of the djinn, so no one even noticed me.


    Irene and Liam rushed towards the djinn''s corpse to confirm it was dead.


    Would have been nice if you did that earlier.


    The civilians carefully watched the two students and the corpse until, finally, Irene announced.


    "It''s dead."


    Instantly, some civilians around the room collapsed onto their knees and presumed a praying stance while mumbling something.


    Hey, shouldn''t you be thanking someone else?


    Others hugged their family members and fell into tears. A few moments later, the sound of applause echoed throughout the room as people rushed to thank the two heroic students who stood up the djinn.


    Irene, being the brat she is, basked in this glory even though she did nothing. Liam was still somewhat dazed and confused as, after all, he had just seen a tentacle that was about to kill him randomly splinter into pieces.


    It was possible he could connect the dots to me as I was the only other awakened person beside him and Irene in the room, but he also thought Ren was out to get him. He would probably just assume the djinn had prepared some final attack, but it had failed as his sneak attack had killed him.


    A minute after the death of the djinn, the heroes conveniently arrived and cleared out the room.


    Since there were plenty of witnesses to interview, I wasn''t needed, so I began my walk back to the portal.


    The outside world seemed completely oblivious to the situation as they rode the roller-coaster and continued playing the carnival games with happy expressions.


    As I left the amusement park''s premises, silence descended. After finding a bench on the way back to the dorm, I practically collapsed down on it.


    My mana supply was exhausted, and overall, I was completely and utterly drained from everything that had just happened.


    As I stared out into the deep blue sea, a sense of serenity washed over me. Shifting my gaze back down to my bleeding hands, that peacefulness was immediately replaced.


    After watching two people die right in front of me and realizing how helpless I was, my mindset and mental had been remade.


    [A/N: Would you guys like to see the POVs of the other characters more, or focus mainly on Ren]


    S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 18: Chapter 18: A New Start [1]

    Before I could start planning my future actions, I first would have to understand the past.


    First, why did my Dragon''s Will activate just now but not before? Gaining an understanding of this powerful item is crucial. Even if you have the most stacked arsenal of items, they''re all useless if you don''t understand how to use them.


    Assuming there was no external force like a god or something involved, there are only 2 possibilities as to why it didn''t activate. The first is lack of mana, but I confirmed that I had a full tank of mana, so it can''t be that.


    The second and only other possibility was that it was already activated. You can''t activate something that''s already activated. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If the second possibility is true, it would mean that the dragon''s eye can see into the future. Slowing down time and looking into the future is somewhat related, so it''s not that unlikely. However, upon looking at my stats menu, I found nothing had changed.


    ===Menu===


    User : Ren Montclair


    [Class: Novice Assassin: (Level 1: 98%) ]


    -> Stealth : E-


    -> Intermediate Dagger Mastery : 3%


    -> Arts: (N/A)


    [Stats]


    -> Rating : E


    -> Strength : G+


    -> Agility : E+


    -> Stamina : E


    -> Magic Power : E+


    -> Luck: G-S {Conditional}


    -> Intelligence : G+


    -> Charm : G+


    [Traits]


    -> Passive: Dragon''s Will [1 / ?]


    ---> Dragon Eyes : Your eyesight is enhanced.


    [Skills]


    -> N/A


    =======


    That would have to mean that I could have been peering into the future ever since I first saw my stat''s menu.


    If that''s true, then why did that ability only activate now? The only notable thing portrayed through the vision was the death of those two, so was the Dragon''s Will trying to warn me about that?


    Is Dragon''s Will an item with intelligence, then? How was it able to activate without my permission?


    Some special items Liam and his party obtained later on can communicate with their masters, so it''s not impossible. It would make sense as it did activate during the most important times for me: my near-death experience with the Mountain Tyrant and in the mirror room.


    But, then, suppose the Dragon''s Will was trying to caution me; what exactly would have happened due to Irene and Liam''s deaths? Also, how did Dragon''s Will know I would try to resolve the situation instead of running away and escaping?


    "So many questions and 0 answers. Ironic that even though I know the future, I still have so many things that I don''t know."


    If someone who knows the entire future world has questions, then who the hell can answer those questions?


    Realizing that I could only come up with theories right now, I moved on to the next important task: My power was severely lacking.


    Currently, I have 2 possible upgrades. Through my training over the week, a weird feeling started to appear. Whenever I exercised or trained, it felt like my muscles were at maximum capacity, like my progress bar was complete.


    My leg muscles weren''t tired or painful when I ran, indicating that they were developing. However, my top and average speed remained unchanged when using those muscles.


    It was like I had maxed out or reached my final potential.


    This was an obvious sign that I was ready to rank up as my body was complete for the E- rank. With the first incident approaching, I didn''t dare rank up before it, but now I had the time to.


    When breaking through, you fall into a deep slumber, bringing your mind and body into a different realm, which scientists call "Dreamveil." In this realm, you must complete a difficult mission determined by your current rank.


    Like for an E rank, the mission will be simple, like hunting and defeating a monster. On the other hand, for Liam''s A-rank mission, he was made to be a general in a war, and his mission was to defeat the other side despite his side''s military being significantly weaker.


    If you fail this mission by dying or losing, your physical body will be turned into a Radic, and you will essentially become a living corpse solely driven by desire.


    Although some of these Radics can be harmless, many turn to the dark side to fulfill their sense of craving, becoming djinns. This is also why the High Dominion is so crucial, as without them, these people would run wild, causing chaos.


    The main reason Celestial Academy is known for being the best school is its almost perfect mission competition rate.


    It is near perfect instead of perfect because some missions can be considered impossible. Even a person like me, who is perfectly ready to rank up, still has a chance of failure.


    "If I fail, so be it. At least I died out of my own volition instead of being killed by someone else."


    The second possible upgrade was my finally obtaining a dagger art. With Proficient Assassin only a few training sessions away and Intermediate Dagger Mastery reached, I was more than ready to start learning an art.


    After the battle, I realized that becoming more powerful at the cost of somewhat changing the plot structure was more than worth it. Of course, that doesn''t mean I would take every overpowered item and leave Liam in the dust.


    If I needed an item, I would take it, regardless of its effect on the plot.


    Currently, the dagger art I wanted was held by an evil organization known as the "Gemstone Order."


    The "Whispering Tempest" is a three-star dagger art that uses the wind to fuel its power. Although it seems like I''m settling for this art, the "Whispering Tempest" is actually an upgradable art with the potential to reach the five-star range. Also, the other powerful dagger arts are currently unobtainable.


    Taking down or infiltrating the Gemstone Order, an end-game villain group for Liam, would be impossible for me, so the only way for me to obtain it would be to join the organization as a member. Then, by completing missions, I could use contribution points to buy the art.


    I couldn''t just bust into their headquarters and demand a position, so the only other options were to be invited or steal a member''s identity. The latter was a more viable option, as getting invited would take far too long as I would have to first delve into the dark side of the world, then gain the trust of some individuals, and then display enough power to be noticed by an executive.


    With the help of dagger art, completing the E-rank mission would be far more manageable. However, I doubted my ability to kill a low-rank member and complete missions assigned by the order right now.


    Thus, I chose to attempt my breakthrough over the weekend. Students were free to attempt their breakthroughs anywhere. A strong mana surge would be released if you failed a mission and became a Radic, notifying heroes nearby.


    Even if security measures were put in place to prevent Radics, why would I care about following them? I would already be dead, so there would be no consequences for me!


    Lifting myself off the bench, I walked back to the dorm building. After going through all my main goals, there was still one small thing bothering me.


    Why was Liam weaker?


    His sneak attack wasn''t powerful or fast enough to one-shot the djinn. That was what caused this whole situation in the first place.


    Recounting my actions throughout the past week, I had not talked to or even been within 10 feet of Liam. I had only seen him when I entered class and headed to my seat.


    So, then, how did my appearance change anything?


    In the future, figuring this out would be vital as it would allow me to make the necessary preparations before fights, and who knows if Dragon''s Will would warn me again instead of just watching it happen.


    Arriving at the dorm building, I looked at my reflection on the glass doors¡ªan average student with pale-white skin, dark black hair, and red eyes.


    It wasn''t my body, but Rens.


    Then, it hit me. It was as if I had received a revelation.


    "... I didn''t do anything."


    Who is Ren?


    A vengeful bastard and a dumbass. Liam had caused Ren to lose everything: his family name, wealth, and honor.


    Even if it weren''t Liam''s fault, Ren would definitely see it as that.


    Would a revengeful, dense idiot like Ren really let the person who "took" everything walk away without even trying anything?


    Sitting still and doing nothing was actually the most suspicious thing Ren could do!


    Liam must have been worrying his ass off trying to figure out what Ren was planning, and seeing me act like nothing happened must have only increased his fear.


    The fear of the unknown is the greatest!


    I almost laughed, imagining Liam peering over every corner and constantly analyzing his surroundings to see if there was any danger.


    Realizing this, I concluded that whether I liked it or not, I would have to plan some revenge scheme to get back at Liam.


    The more focused Liam is, the more powerful he is, and the less work I must do!


    Although the Dragon''s Will had already warned me that Liam and Irene''s death would lead to unforeseen consequences through the vision in the mirror room, I had no plans to act as his babysitter.


    Sure, if I had a vision, I would do my best to amend the future, but I wasn''t going to go out of my way.


    Opening my door room door, I collapsed on my bed. Tomorrow would be my breakthrough day, so I needed as much rest as possible.


    E to D rank missions typically take around 2 hours, but I would have to be constantly on the move during that time.


    -*-


    Back at the amusement park, Liam and Irene sat next to each other on the bench, awaiting further instructions from the heroes.


    A hero, fitted in an elegant black suit, approached the pair and asked.


    "To confirm, a djinn appeared in the room, and while Irene distracted the djinn with the conversation, Liam disposed of the djinn by attacking its neck."


    In unison, the two students responded.


    "Yes."


    "Well, this feat is simply unimaginable for students of your age. *sigh* I knew Celestial Academy was a good school, but two first-years already defeating a djinn is just..."


    After writing a few more things on the clipboard, the hero dismissed the students and walked away.


    Liam was the first to get up from the bench. His typical easy-going and confident demeanor was nowhere to be seen, as he seemed to have a lot weighing his mind.


    On the other hand, Irene seemed to be acting like this was any other typical day as she immediately got on her phone. It didn''t take a rocket scientist to tell that Irene was bragging about the fight to Kevin as a broad smile appeared on her face.


    For the past week, Liam has interacted with Irene more often as Kevin constantly hangs around him due to Lily, so he was somewhat used to her attitude by now.


    More importantly, there was something else on Liam''s mind.


    ''Ren was in that room. Was that entire fight and the djinn''s appearance planned by him as an act of revenge? No, he seemed shocked and scared, didn''t he? He had a cloth over his eyes at the end; was he crying out of fear?''


    Ever since the first incident, Liam had constantly been on edge, feeling that at any time, Ren would jump out and try to kill him.


    ''Why can''t this guy do something already? Why is he just acting like nothing happened???''


    Clearing his mind, Liam started walking towards the dorm building. Then, surprising Liam, a voice called out from behind him.


    "Hey, you might not be as powerful as me, but at least you''re not a fraud."


    Turning to face Irene, Liam inwardly thought.


    ''The hell does she mean not as powerful? Aren''t I ranked higher than her???''


    However, Liam didn''t dare voice these thoughts out loud, so he replied with a nod and turned back away.

 Chapter 19: Chapter 19: A New Start [2]

    When I woke up the following day, a sense of serenity came over me¡ªlike the sunshine before a storm.


    Checking my phone, I saw a couple of messages from the group chat with Jin and Han.


    [Jin: Dude, where tf did you go yesterday?]


    [Han: Jin, are you braindead? Did we not just hear about the Djinn incident?]


    Deciding it was too early for their bullshit, I sent a quick message before heading to the shower.


    [Ren: What do y''all know bout revenge?]


    After putting on a new pair of clothes, I sat down on my bed and stared at the system menu in front of me.


    Entering Dreamveil could be done by simply clicking a button on the menu. However, this didn''t mean people just entered Dreamveil as soon as possible to advance.


    The survival rate for those entering Dreamveil while their body was not sufficiently prepared was less than 1%. For those adequately equipped, it''s above 95%. This is primarily due to the Royal Family allowing all awakened, no matter wealth or status, to attend Hero academies for free.


    It''s scary how a simple button on your system menu can lead to your death.


    There was no need for any further preparation. When entering Dreamveil as an E-rank, you are allowed to bring one item with you, and for me, my evident and only choice was my school-supplied daggers, which counted as one item.


    Acquiring any other powerful weapons would be impossible at my current level as they were all in the hands of powerful villains or dormant in some dangerous areas.


    [Are you ready to enter Dreamveil?]


    [Y] / [N]


    After tapping the yes button, I felt the space around me distort. Various pieces of glass surrounded me in a pitch-black void, each with its own tiny world. There were rainforests with human-sized lizards walking around, upside-down mountains, and volcanoes filled with an odd blue substance instead of lava.


    It seemed like my personal world was ready as all the glass pieces around me shattered except for one.


    Reaching my hand, I touched the rough surface of the glass. Instantly, my surroundings distorted and changed once again.


    After a few moments, I reopened my eyes, only to shut them immediately after.


    "AH, THE SUN"


    It was similar to that feeling you feel when you go outside after watching a 3-hour-long movie in a dark theater. I had gone from seeing a pitch-black void to looking directly into the sun.


    With my eyes still closed, I attempted to move my arms to grab the daggers that were placed in my hoodie pocket; however, my arm didn''t budge an inch.


    After attempting to move other parts of my body unsuccessfully, I felt a weird sensation envelop me.


    That was when I realized I was moving! I wasn''t moving forward or backward; I was moving up and down.


    Succumbing to the confusion and frustration from being unable to move or stand up, I slowly opened my eyes.


    In front of me lay an ocean. There were no pieces of land within my eyesight. Just blue everywhere.


    Turning around, I saw sails blowing in the wind and a boat mast. I surveyed my surroundings and saw around 10 people, each equipped with a machete. The people wore shabby and torn clothes, resembling beggars, and they seemed to not care about their appearance as their beards were dirty and messy.


    Upon seeing them, only one word popped into my mind.


    "Pirates!"


    Interrupting my observation, a loud voice sounded from my side.


    "Captain, the feller is awake."


    The loud sound of metal hitting wood entered my ears, and a figure straight out of a Hollywood pirate movie entered my vision.


    A man with a white beard and a black pirate-tricorn hat walked up a set of stairs and neared me. In his hand was a longsword, and on his right shoulder sat a lively parrot.


    Glancing at me for a second, the captain responded.


    "Throw him in the cell."


    Instantly, my body was lifted, and the two pirates beside me walked behind me before lifting me like a dumbbell.


    Unable to do anything due to the ropes tied around my arms and legs, I accepted it and used the time to continue surveying my surroundings.


    Besides the captain, I could see ten pirates on the ship''s deck and one sitting on the crow''s nest without any vision aid like a telescope.


    None of them seemed to be awakened, but each one of them seemed adequately skilled with the machete.


    Unlike the typical pirate stereotypes, none of them were drinking beer or slacking off as they all seemed focused on whatever task they were carrying out.


    "What kind of captain could get pirates to work like this?"


    As my body descended downwards under the ship''s surface, I patiently waited until the two carrying me finally came to a stop.


    My feet slumped to the floor as one of them let go of me and opened a door. After the door was wide open, the other threw me like a baseball into the room.


    Unable to stand up due to the restraints, I laid on the cold wood floor until I heard two pirates'' footsteps disappear.


    The only thing in this room was me. There was no furniture, food, or even a toilet.


    On the door, there was only a slight hole that was big enough for my hand to pass through.


    The mission was pretty apparent to me.


    Escape.


    Escape where to? I had no idea, but I still knew what to do.


    Thankfully, the pirates had done a poor job of searching for me, so my pair of daggers was still in my hoodie pocket.


    Opening my mouth, I leaned down and bit into the ropes that were restraining my arms. I could feel my teeth aching and breaking down with every bite, but my body here was unrelated to my physical body, so I paid no attention.


    Finally, the rope''s strength seemed to have deteriorated, so I wiggled around my arms. Seeing that the rope was weak enough, I wiggled my right hand into my hand pocket until I felt the cold, steel dagger.


    Grabbing it, I carefully maneuvered it out of my pocket and placed its hilt into my mouth. Tilting downwards, I cut down all the ropes on my arms, freeing them.


    Taking the dagger out of my mouth, I freed my legs and walked towards the door.


    I had no idea how long it would take for the pirates to check up on me, so I immediately assumed a ready position and stood beside the door with my daggers tilted.


    After a minute of standing in that position, I relaxed my posture and began to sit down.


    10 mundane humans shouldn''t be that hard to take down. However, the real problem was the captain. I had no gauge on his strength, so he was a complete unknown.


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, the sound of footsteps descending entered my room through the hole in the door.


    Instantly, I assumed a ready position and awaited the door''s opening. It would be impossible for the pirate to see me through the window in the door, so he would have to open the door to check on me.


    After a moment, the door slowly creaked open, revealing the pirate''s body. The pirate''s head peeked into the room as he glanced around it. His gaze slowly paused on the torn ropes.


    "Wha-"


    Immediately, I grabbed him with my hand and pulled him into my room. The door slammed shut, and the pirate was in the room alone with me.


    Before he could react, I placed my right dagger to his neck and said.


    "Make a noise, and you die."


    The pirate fearfully nodded his head, so I searched his body for a moment, but to my surprise, there was nothing.


    "How did you get in the room?"


    "t-the k-key i-is o-on the ou-outside."


    "..."


    This idiot had left the key outside!


    Leaving the pirate in the corner of the room, I walked to the door and attempted to open it, but it did not budge an inch.


    How the hell did these pirates have auto-locking technology?


    Tearing a hole in the door in my daggers would alert the entire ship of my escape, so my only other option was to wait for another pirate.


    Walking back to the corner, I continued with my interrogation.


    "Who is your captain?"


    "h-hes Captain Sparrow, o-or J-jack s-sparrow."


    I was right; this guy did come straight out of Hollywood!


    After removing my dagger from his throat, I continued with the interrogation. It was really annoying to hear this guy spasm every time he spoke, and I doubted he would dare to try anything.


    "Tell me about his strength."


    "H-hes t-too st-strong, you can''t b-beat him."


    "Have you seen him fight?"


    "No one has ever survived to see him fight... He k-killed everyone who w-witnessed his fight with the previous captain." sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Interrupting our peaceful conversation, a loud voice yelled.


    "Hey Gram, everything alright down there?"


    My dagger instantly appeared next to the pirate''s neck, and I nodded my head. Quivering, the pirate spoke up.


    "e-everything i-is f-fine, h-he just needed some punishment."


    "Don''t have too much fun, Gram. You know Captain needs him alive."


    After a couple more useless answers from the pirate, I decided he was worthless, so I knocked him unconscious to prevent him from messing with my plans.


    Although killing him would be easier, I knew nothing about the captain''s abilities. At this point, I assumed that the captain was at least an E-rank power, so it wouldn''t be impossible to smell the blood with his enhanced senses.


    Leaving the unconscious body in the corner of the room, I once again assumed my position beside the door and waited patiently for the next visitor.


    After a couple of minutes, I could hear the sound of footsteps again. The footsteps stopped right before the door, so I tensed up in preparation for the sneak attack.


    However, the door remained shut.


    Instead, the pirate moved a small tray with some food through the small hole in the door.


    Instead of panicking, I decided to improvise. I had no idea how long the Captain was planning to keep me locked up, so I was gambling by simply remaining in the room.


    Quietly walking to the corner of the room, I dragged the pirate''s body until it could be seen through the hole in the door.


    On the other side of the door, the pirate, curious as to why I wasn''t taking the food, leaned towards and peeked through the hole in the door.


    However, it wasn''t the prisoner he saw, but his very own crewmate lying lifelessly on the floor.


    Instantly, the door swung open, and the pirate rushed inside with his machete out; however, I had long expected this.


    When the pirate''s head peeked through the door, my daggers were already there.


    In a single swift motion, my daggers decapitated the pirate as his head and body dropped onto the floor.


    He was permanently silenced.


    Now, I was truly on a timer. Would the captain notice the smell of blood and death, or would I kill all the other pirates first?


    Rushing out of the room, I quietly walked up the staircase until the sunlight was visible once again.


    Observing my surroundings, I saw 8 pirates, all facing away from me, working on some task. Each of them could be taken care of in one blow; however, there was one problem.


    Above everyone, on the crow''s nest, I could see the pirate surveying the sea in front and the ship''s current situation. I was sure he would immediately report to the captain if something were amiss, and I wasn''t confident dealing with eight pirates alongside an unknown entity suspected of being as powerful as me.


    Thus, I decided to use the pirate''s trust in his eyes against him. Due to distance, the pirates couldn''t see the specifics of the situations on the deck, so all I would need to do is make the pirates appear alive.

 Chapter 20: Chapter 20:A New Start [3]

    Using the shadow cast by the crow''s nest, I arrived at the ship''s center unnoticed.


    After concealing myself with a wooden pillar, I peeked out to the right and surveyed my surroundings.


    In front of me were two scrawny figures, each with a cutlass comfortably resting at their waist. After a minute of observing them, I noticed that the two had yet to turn their heads away from the sea.


    They simply stared out into the sea into utter silence.


    What the hell is so interesting about the sea?


    Ignoring their peculiar behavior, I glanced to my right and saw that two more figures were there. Unlike the others, they were comfortably resting while talking to each other.


    Far into the distance, I could spot the last member of the crew sitting down near the front of the ship, next to the bowsprit.


    Since I was directly under the crow''s nest, I could not observe the person up top, but repositioning and observing him would be impossible with the clock ticking.


    The moment the rest of the crew was alerted of my escape, my death was inevitable. No matter how special I was, fighting 7 people and the captain head-on was impossible.


    Stepping out of the nest''s shadow, I quietly and carefully moved toward the two pirates conversating, using various things around the ship to hide myself.


    Once near enough, I concealed myself with the shadow of the main sail and listened in on their conversation.


    "Did ya hear boss is paying extra for this expedition?"


    "No shit, why the hell did you think I signed up."


    "just asking... relax."


    " *tsk* just stop with the questions and keep drinking."


    These guys really know nothing. Did they really blindly accept going on the expedition because of the money...?


    Holding both daggers horizontally, I tensed my legs and patiently waited for the perfect moment.


    After 10 more seconds, I saw both pirates pick up their glasses in preparation for a toast.


    Like a cheetah, I lunged forward towards the table. Besides a faint scraping sound, no other sound indicated my movement.


    Within a second, I was only a few meters away from the two oblivious pirates. In one clean motion, I cocked back my right hand and thrust it forward.


    My weakness had become clear during my grueling training sessions with the bots. The reach of my daggers was not enough compared to other weapons.


    One day, after consistently losing to the bot despite knowing its next moves, I chucked my right dagger with all my might. As a gamer, throwing things after a loss or defeat was normal, so this wasn''t anything extraordinary.


    However, what was special was that the throw managed to catch the bot off guard, as it had never expected to receive an attack while I was so far away. The bot determines its moves and attacks using a logical algorithm.


    What logical person randomly hurls their weapon at you?


    Thus, I created a new attack.


    Back on the ship, the dagger gracefully flew through the air like an arrow. This dagger''s target was the man''s heart on the right.


    Putting complete trust in my throwing skills, I didn''t continue watching the dagger but instead raised my left dagger and pounced at the man on the left.


    Although the training robots didn''t have vital spots like a human''s heart, I had trained myself to aim for the typical location of the heart during training.


    If this pirate didn''t die instantly, he would have time to alert the rest of the crew of my presence, effectively ruining my plan.


    Before the pirate could glance away from his beverage, my dagger was already stabbed into his body.


    His eyes lost their colorful luster, and his posture crumbled as he slumped onto his chair. A simple attack like this wouldn''t be able to kill an awakened, but thankfully, I had confirmed that the crew were all mundane humans.


    The wound left by my dagger was too small to be noticed by the surveyor up on the crow''s nest, so a sigh of relief escaped my mouth.


    However, the sigh almost reentered my mouth when I turned to face the other pirate.


    He was breathing.., he wasn''t dead.


    But, then, why are his eyes closed?


    "God damn it, Jace, did you throw your glass at me. It got into my eye."


    After looking at the floor covered with shards of glass, I quickly realized the situation. My dagger hadn''t missed his heart, but in a stroke of luck, the man had placed his cup right in front of his heart.


    The dagger broke the cup, and the broken glass went into the man''s eye, blinding him.


    Is this what they call equilibrium?


    He''s lucky because he didn''t die from the throw, but I''m lucky because he was blinded and not able to realize the situation.


    Not knowing whether to thank the gods for luck or not, I grabbed my right dagger from the floor and stabbed it into the pirate''s heart.


    Leaving the two corpses, I returned to the ship''s center, hiding under the crow''s nest.


    My next target was the man in the distance, but I could not reach him without being noticed. The path there lacked any shadows or things that could mask my presence.


    Although killing the two pirates staring off into the sea would be much easier, there were more risks.


    Due to their standing position, it would be impossible for me to make them appear alive to observer on the crow''s nest, so it would only be a matter of time before I was found out.


    There was also something else bothering me about their behavior. I doubted the captain was stupid, so why would he assign these two pirates the useless task of staring into the sea?


    Attacking them seemed to be a bad decision.


    It might have been my hunch or gut feeling, but then again, what was I without those feelings? Wasn''t my ability to analyze and predict my opponents'' moves just a hunch as well?


    I was fully trusting my ability to foresee their moves, so why should I not also trust my hunch now?


    Since the two pirates were facing the sea, the other pirate was a distance away, and the observer was directly above me, I could move around somewhat freely.


    After climbing the ship''s roping, I surveyed my surroundings from a higher height and noticed something that could help me.


    A rope connected the sails on the ship so I could walk the rope to reach the opposite side of the ship where the lone pirate sat.


    Of course, there was the risk of being spotted, but using the rope seemed to be my only option.


    Not wasting any more time, I placed both my feet on the rope and stabilized myself before continuing.


    Like a tight-rope walker in a circus, I slowly moved my right foot forward, then my left, and repeated that notion until I finally reached the end.


    Stepping onto a wood plank right below the sail, I immediately looked down at the ship and saw the lone pirate sitting almost directly below me. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Readying my daggers, I gracefully leaped off the wooden plank and landed on the ship deck.


    Shocked by the sudden noise behind him, the pirate turned around, but by then, it was already too late; my dagger was already embedded in his body.


    Stepping out of the shadows, I retrieved my dagger and examined the pirate''s body in hopes of finding something useful, but like the other corpses, there seemed to be nothing valuable.


    Just as I was about to resume my plan and head back to the ship''s center, a sudden noise sounded above me.


    *CA-CAW*


    Immediately tilting my head upward, a feeling of dread overwhelmed me as I noticed the source was not just an ordinary bird but the captain''s parrot.


    Attracted by the noise of the parrot, the observer on the crow''s nest redirected his attention to the area, and there I was, standing in the plain sunlight with two blood-covered daggers.


    "CAPTAIN, HE''S ESCAPED!"


    On the opposite end of the ship, I could see a door swing open, revealing the captain''s figure.


    Tensing my legs and readjusting my grip on the daggers, I awkwardly awaited the captain''s next move; however, he remained completely still.


    Then, his figure suddenly disappeared from the quarter deck, and in the next moment, he reappeared only a few meters away from me.


    My dragon eyes... how...?


    My eyes were supposed to see all. However, they failed to catch his movements...


    There is no way... just what is he?


    Without waiting for me to recover from the shock, the captain drew his broadsword from his scabbard and charged at me.


    This time, his moving figure was easily visible to my eyes.


    Was he going slower?


    As the charging captain neared me, I sidestepped to the right, avoiding the slash.


    Without skipping a heartbeat, I immediately propelled my daggers upward, yet my daggers failed to hit anything.


    The figure of the captain once again vanished and reappeared a few feet away.


    "w-whats g-going on, m-my e-eyes..."


    Not paying any attention to my words, the captain swung his broadsword, releasing a wind slash hurling right at me.


    Seeing that it was my first time even fighting against a magic slash, I doubted my ability to parry it with my daggers, so I retreated backward, right out of the range of the wind slash.


    Instead of releasing countless more wind slashes, the captain stood still and stared at my figure.


    Was he out of mana already? No, that''s impossible; it was just one slash...


    After a couple of moments, the captain once again charged at me. Knowing he would predict my sidestep dodge again, I formed an X with my daggers and prepared to take broadsword on directly.


    Under the weight of the heavy broadsword, my X formation didn''t break. However, I was pushed back even further, too far even...


    Not bothering to counterattack, I stepped back and took a quick glance at my surroundings.


    I was at the very edge of the ship; one wrong misstep would cause me to fall into the sea.


    Ah, this was what he was planning this entire time.


    Defense would be impossible in this situation; I must take the initiative. Yet, how could I attack or hurt an opponent that could move faster than my eyes?


    Realizing the captain was preparing another attack, I rapidly cocked my hand back, released my left dagger, and hurled it right at the captain. Immediately after, I followed the flying dagger and charged with my right dagger at the captain.


    Oddly enough, instead of rapidly moving away like earlier, the captain raised his broadsword to deflect the flying dagger.


    His broadsword effectively blocked the flying dagger as it rebounded onto the floor; however, I was already upon him right by that time, my right dagger swinging upwards in an uppercut.


    However, the captain''s figure disappeared again this time and reappeared a few meters away.


    "w-what."


    Now that I had some breathing room, I began analyzing the captain''s fighting style; however, it just didn''t make sense.


    His irregular and long pauses between fights. His periodic use of rapid movement. His use of only one wind slash.


    What if he''s not moving...?


    Subsequently, I voiced a possibility out loud.


    "Teleportation."


    The pauses for gathering mana, the volatile use due to lack of mana, and the one wind slash to conserve mana for teleportation.


    Looking at the captain, I saw a crack in his confident demeanor. His usual impassive expression was replaced with one of shock.


    Instead of taking the initiative once to attack, I took another glance around the ship.


    Another thing that bothered me was the reason I had yet to use my time-slowing ability.


    Where were the other crew members, and why were they not helping the captain fight me?


    There was an all-out brawl, but the surviving crewmates were nowhere to be seen?


    On top of the crow''s nest, the observer seemed to be watching the fight with a bewildered expression, but, on the other hand, the two other pirates remained the same.


    Simply staring out into the sea...


    After recovering my left dagger, I refocused my attention on the captain.


    Sure, I figured out he had teleportation, but how was I supposed to counter that?


    How was I even supposed to beat this guy?


    Saying this was an uphill battle would be an understatement; it was akin to scaling Mt. Everest in a winter snowstorm.


    The open setting of the ship deck was advantageous for him as I had nowhere to hide. I couldn''t just release a barrage of dagger attacks on him to draw out his mana, as I would be left open to his counterattacks.


    But if I didn''t constantly attack him, he would save up mana and teleport away whenever I did attack.


    Isn''t the first rankup supposed to be easy?


    I''m just a humble E-rank trying to get to D-rank; what the hell is this?

 Chapter 21: Chapter 21:A New Start [4]

    If fighting head-on doesn''t work, what are my other options?


    Escape into the sea, cultivate the heavenly demon dagger arts for 100 years, then come back and beat the young captain and his entire sect!


    If only...


    From what I''ve seen thus far, he can only teleport a distance of exactly 10 meters, no less or no more. So, if I were to find a confined space, his teleportation would be useless, but then again, he wouldn''t hold back on his wind slashes, and in a confined space, dodging those would be near impossible.


    With my ability to slow time, I could dodge a few, but that would only work for around 6 seconds until I''m out of mana.


    The battle came to a standstill as the captain continued gathering mana while I surveyed my surroundings with no intention of attacking first.


    There was only one peculiarity about the situation.


    The two pirates were observing the sea, and the pirate on the crow''s nest had yet to join the fight.


    With those three in the fight alongside the captain, I would definitely been cornered and thrown into the sea by now, yet the captain still refuses to call for them.


    Is he trying to show his power and superiority?


    "I don''t need your help, you dumb mundane humans. Watch this pirate sect leader solo this guy!"


    No... if that were the case, he wouldn''t be pausing to gather mana after every encounter. Who would think highly of someone who has to recharge every few seconds?


    Then, does the captain care about their survival?


    It would make sense, as I could kill those 3 mundane pirates before my eventual death.


    As the captain unsheathed his broadsword, indicating that he had enough mana, I examined his face.


    Not only 10 minutes ago, I had ruthlessly killed 5 members of his crew, yet his facial expression remained devoid of any emotion.


    Surely, he would be angry if he cared about his crew. Well, could he be hiding his emotions so as not to seem weak in front of me?


    As the captain charged at me once again, I formulated and decided on a plan.


    The first step: get some distance.


    I was at the front of the ship with my back to the sea, and my destination was the pillar of the crow''s nest I had used earlier.


    Slowing the pace of his charge, the captain swung his broadsword twice in succession, releasing two wind slashes.


    One aimed at my current location and the other at my right side.


    The correct and only way to avoid the slashes would be to sidestep to the left.


    This was quite obviously a ploy by the captain to trap me once I moved to the left, yet the captain had methodically eliminated any other chances at dodging.


    The plan was clearly well thought out.


    This trap was impossible to avoid and would undoubtedly lead to the captain cornering me. After that, my death was assured as I could not dodge his massive broadsword with the limited space on the ship''s edge.


    From there, I would either succumb to the sword and die or fall into the sea and drown.


    Yet, the captain had failed to take one thing into account.


    Sure, he''s special for being one of the few people able to utilize space magic to teleport. But then again, I''m the only one in the entire world capable of manipulating time.


    Of course, the captain couldn''t have predicted this given a million chances, but then again, one must expect the unexpected.


    As the wind slash aimed at my right neared me, I raised my hand and tapped my eye.


    The speed of the captain charging from the left at me remained the same, but the right slash, which was inside the area of affection, slowed to the point where it almost stopped.


    As I stepped to the right, the wind slash aimed at my previous location whizzed past me and disappeared into the dark blue sea.


    Maybe the luck gods were real!


    I didn''t even have to formulate a plan of action; the captain handed it to me!


    After tapping my eye again, I ran and returned to my previous position.


    Within seconds, the captain and right wind slash had reached their destination, but I was nowhere to be found.


    As the captain confusedly turned around, he saw me standing behind the two pirates with each of my daggers pressed to a neck.


    "Make a move, and they die."


    Following a short pause, the captain''s indifferent expression changed, but no negative emotions were present this time.


    Only a wide smile spanning across his entire face.


    My grip on the daggers tensed as the captain took a step forward.


    Was I wrong? Did he not care?


    What was the reason for not using the mundane pirates to attack me?


    Taking another step forward, the captain finally spoke his first words to me.


    "You must really not know how things work around here."


    Suppressing my shock, I calmly maintained my position and responded.


    "Get any closer, and they''re dead."


    Of course, this was an empty threat.


    These two guys were the only bargaining chips I had in a gamble for my survival.


    Ignoring my instructions and calling my bluff, the captain took another step forward. By now, he was only 7-8 steps away from me.


    "I hope you''re not stupid, kid. Why do you think I''ve left these two pirates be during the fight?"


    Briefly glancing away from the captain and at the two pirates, a feeling of fear overcame me.


    The two pirates remained oblivious in the face of death by my hands. They ignored the cold sensation of my daggers on their necks entirely.


    They simply continued staring at the sea...


    "w-what''s g-going o-on..?"


    Taking another step forward, the captain continued.


    "I don''t know what trick you pulled back there, but wasting that opportunity was stupid."


    If I hadn''t run towards the pirates and instead ran towards the captain''s backside, I would have completely surprised him, allowing me to have an uncontested counterattack. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    While killing him with that would have been impossible, it would have given me a chance to inflict serious damage.


    Did I make the wrong decision?


    But then, why is he slowly walking towards me when he could teleport and fight with me immediately?


    Does he need more mana?


    This was a game of poker.


    Instead of checking by counter-attacking the captain, I had raised the bet by using the pirates as hostages.


    Was it a mistake, maybe?


    But I wasn''t going to fold now.


    It was time to double down... I''m going all in.


    Back on Earth, my friends would constantly joke about going to Vegas and going all in on black, but here I was doing the same thing.


    If it didn''t work out?


    Jump.


    As the captain took another step, I grabbed one of the pirates and pushed him off the ship.


    Instead of looking at the pirate''s descent into the water, I returned my attention to the captain.


    Was he bluffing this entire time as well?


    A subtle change occurred on the captain''s face as he turned his head to the right and watched the pirate fall.


    A shrieking voice sounded from the right of the ship.


    "CAPTAINNN, BUT YOU SAID THA.."


    *SPLASH*


    Without skipping a beat, I immediately attempted to take advantage of the situation and said.


    "I warned you, didn''t I? One more step and the other goes."


    "You fool, you really don''t know when to give up, do you? Kill him, see if I care."


    As those words left the captain''s mouth, I could feel the pirate''s body quivering under the pressure of my dagger. However, his expression remained neutral.


    Lifting his head to face me, the captain made direct eye contact and stepped forward.


    Well, we both went all in.


    Isn''t it time to reveal our cards..?


    This whole dream has been strange from the start.


    Why would they imprison me in the cell instead of killing me immediately?


    The pirates on the ship didn''t know anything about the details of this expedition.


    As an awakened, you can sense whether others are as well, so the captain knew from the start that I was special, yet he left mundane humans to guard me.


    He knew I would escape; rather, he planned for my escape.


    He knew I would massacre the pirates on board.


    He wanted them to die.


    This ship was never going on an expedition; this ship was going to be a graveyard.


    But why? These pirates have no money or material value to offer to the captain.


    That begs the question: what value do these pirates hold?


    Only one word comes to mind.


    Sacrifices


    How does that connect to the constant and unusual observation of the Sea?


    The Sea


    The captain spared me so I could do the dirty work by killing the crew, and then he planned to sacrifice me along with them.


    Sacrifices to the Sea.


    This theory was further confirmed by the captain''s peculiar expression after the pirate was dropped into the Sea.


    With the captain now only 4 steps away from me, I had to make a decision.


    "I''m going all in on black."


    Tilting my head upwards, I returned the captain''s eye contact. A smile appeared as I raised my right dagger and left daggers.


    However, I didn''t stab them into the pirate; those daggers pierced right into my own hands. Grabbing the pirate''s shirt with my blooded hand, I didn''t hesitate as I threw him off the ship.


    If you can''t beat them, join them.


    Not skipping a beat, I immediately infused my daggers with mana and threw both of them right at the captain.


    Maybe, if it were one dagger, the captain could dodge it, but with two, he couldn''t.


    Well, he couldn''t without teleportation.


    In an instant, the captain teleported 10 meters back.


    But by the time he reappeared, I was already on the ship''s opposite side, right next to the bodies of the two drunken pirates I had disposed of earlier.


    Grabbing the bodies with both hands, I immediately hurled the bodies off the side of the ship.


    From the opposite side of the ship, a voice echoed.


    "Think you can beat me at my own game?"


    The location of this voice was the captain, who was currently holding 4 bodies: the bodies of the two pirates in the prison room, the body of the individual pirate, and the body of the pirate on the crow''s nest.


    Within an instant, those bodies were sent flying off the ship and into the Sea.


    Rubbing his hands together, a smile appeared on the captain''s face as he continued.


    "Well, we''re right back to where we started, aren''t we?"


    "4 corpses to 4 corpses."


    "Seems you''ve figured it out. The 5th must be one of us."


    "Why do all of this..?"


    "The more corpses sacrificed, the more power Leviathan grants to one. Imagine what I''d get from sacrificing an awakened...haha."


    Leviathan...? The water serpent.


    A mythical creature?


    Why is there an S+ ranked beast in my E RANKUP DREAM?


    Looking at the approaching captain, I didn''t even bother to prepare.


    My daggers were gone. However, it seemed the sacrifices had restored my mana capacity.


    That mana wouldn''t be nearly enough to let me survive, let alone kill the captain.


    With a sigh, I turned my back to the captain and calmly said.


    "... I fold."


    Without waiting for a response, I jumped off the ship.


    The goal of the dream couldn''t have been to kill the captain; that was simply impossible at my level.


    So, then, he has to die, but I can''t kill him.


    What if I had a little talk with his boss?


    As I dipped into the water, an intense cold overwhelmed me, sending shudders down to my exoskeleton.


    However, that feeling of coldness was soon replaced.


    Replaced by fear.


    An indescribable amount of fear.


    The mere pressure this existence emitted elicited fear.


    When the feeling of fear reached me, I didn''t hesitate as I raised my right hand and tapped my eye.


    As I opened my eyes, I looked towards the source of this fear I felt, and not even 10 meters away, I saw a creature.


    Its jade-colored body seemed to stretch for miles with spikes running down it on top.


    Its head was adorned with scales that glistened like gems, and its pointed snout contained twin nostrils that flared as it stared at me.


    Although I couldn''t tell, its eye seemed to sparkle with interest as it stared at me. It felt like if I made eye contact with the water serpent any longer, the pressure would immediately kill me.


    It didn''t immediately kill me... is that a good sign?


    I had gone through all that work to sacrifice 4 mundane humans to it, so maybe the Sea Serpent was giving me an audience?


    Surely, he would rather have me as a worshipper than that captain. After all, I''m not just a generational talent; I''m one in a trillion talent at the minimum!


    Who else can manipulate time?


    Feeling the mana rapidly draining, I slowly gestured my head toward the ship.


    When I turned my head back to the creature, it was no longer there. The water serpent, which seemed to span over a hundred miles, had somehow disappeared?


    Turning my head back towards the ship, I glanced, but it was no longer there. There was not even a trace left of the ship...


    Just as my mana was about to run out and the time-slowing was about to deactivate, a bright light enveloped me, and a screen appeared.


    [You have completed your Dream!]


    [You have completed a hidden mission inside your Dream!]


    [Sea God Believer] --> [Unlocked]


    [Calculating Completion Rate [--*--] ] ---> [Error: Value cannot be calculated]


    -------------


    [A/N: Back to school and academy stuff for a while after this]

 Chapter 22: Chapter 22:School Days [1]

    The next instant, I was no longer submerged in the water under the ship''s ruins, but I was back in my room.


    "w-what t-the hell just happened...?"


    The mission was over just like that?


    Should I be mad or happy?


    Why did I go through all that planning and work to complete the dream when the Sea Serpent did it for me in less than 10 seconds?


    To be fair, if I hadn''t sacrificed those mundanes to him, it would be possible that he instantly killed me, assuming that I was a sacrifice.


    But, then again, I doubt the time of a mythical deity is worth only 4 mundane humans.


    So then, what price will I have to pay to that serpent?


    Now, I owe a debt to a one-of-a-kind mythical creature that is at least an S-rank beast!


    Getting off my bed, I walked to the bathroom to examine my body.


    Sure enough, my clothes were completely dry, and all the injuries I had received from the battle with the captain were gone.


    It was as if my body were brand new!


    Before examining my system menu, I immediately pulled out my smartwatch and clicked on a search browser.


    [Originating from the Southern continent, the legend of Leviathan has risen in popularity rapidly during the past 30 years. Described as a jade-green serpent with a body spanning over 50 meters, many claim to have spotted the mythical entity, but no evidence remains.


    5 years ago, a party of A-ranked adventures traveled to the originating city of the legend to investigate; however, their week-long expedition revealed nothing.]


    Jade-green serpent and over 50-meter body.


    That''s precisely what I saw.


    So, then, can mythical creatures invade dreams now?


    Or, did I see a fake version of Leviathan made by the dream?


    Putting my worries aside, I finally caved into my curiosity as I looked at my new and improved stat''s menu.


    ===Menu===


    User : Ren Montclair


    [Class: Rookie Assassin: (Level 2: 0%) ]


    -> Stealth : E+


    -> Intermediate Dagger Mastery : 15%


    -> Arts: (N/A)


    [Stats]


    -> Rating : E+ {Ready for Rankup}


    -> Strength : E-


    -> Agility : E+


    -> Stamina : E+


    -> Magic Power : D-


    -> Luck: G-S {Conditional}


    -> Intelligence : E


    -> Charm : G+


    [Traits]


    -> Passive: Dragon''s Will [1 / ?]


    ---> Dragon Eyes : Your eyesight is enhanced.


    [Skills]


    -> [[E] Dash] : Not requiring any mana usage, the skill allows the user to move 10 meters from their current location in any direction with a cooldown period of 7 seconds. The skill does not instantly move the user but temporarily increases the user''s speed until they move 10 meters.


    =======


    "All of that, and I didn''t even get to D Rank."


    Although I completed the dream requirement to advance to D rank, my stats aren''t high enough to qualify me for D rank.


    If all goes as planned, Liam will complete his dream and advance to D rank a week from now, so it''s not as if I''m falling behind.


    However, it''s an entirely different story after Liam''s ascension to C rank, as he''ll be leagues ahead of me despite our closeness in overall rating.


    That just goes to show what getting overpowered skills and traits can do.


    To be fair, I''m not doing terribly in the overpowered traits department, but still, it can''t come close to comparing to what Liam will get.


    Despite all that, I''m not even jealous of Liam; I somewhat pity him!


    That guy has to take on all the evils in the world with close to zero breaks.


    Imagine killing one villain just for ten more to pop up and that loop repeating until your eventual death.


    He can have the hero role; I''m good on that, not gonna lie.


    Getting up, I decided to head to the training room to check out my new skill. Of course, if I were in the top 2 ranks, I would have my room, but here we are.


    If I had to estimate my current ranking, I would say I''m a bit stronger than my assigned rank of #97, but at the same time, I am still a distance away from the top 10.


    Those named characters are a completely different beast.


    Speaking of named characters, a surprising sight awaited me as I entered the training hall.


    Irene was training.


    That wasn''t surprising as she was a hard worker despite the kinks in her personality; however, what was surprising was that she was alone.


    Isn''t she kinda obsessed with Kevin?


    Usually, this wouldn''t be bad but rather good, as one of the named characters getting stronger means the hero''s party is getting stronger.


    However, Irene isn''t a future hero party member! She''s the opposite, a future villain, one of the most powerful.


    Simply by existing, I''m making Liam''s life harder.


    Well, that''s in the future; I can just find a solution when the time comes!


    Maybe because of the fatigue I accumulated during the dream, a yawn slipped out of my mouth as I watched Irene train.


    This seemed to catch her attention as mid-spell casting, she abruptly turned around and glanced around before pausing her gaze on my figure.


    "Got something to say!?"


    "..."


    "Spit it out. You''re not even a full noble anymore. Who do you think you are looking at me like that?"


    "..."


    "Pfft, you''re just a loser now. It''s an honor for someone like you even to have the privilege of looking at me."


    "..."


    Didn''t I just look at her?


    What is all this for?


    I was at a loss for words.


    A simple late-night training session has turned into me getting flamed!


    "Can''t even speak now? Good, someone like you shouldn''t even dare speak to me."


    With those last words, Irene stormed out of the training center.


    Problem solved... I guess.


    A tear rolled down my face as I headed to the AI bot room.


    After grabbing my two daggers, I configured the system panel and assumed a ready stance.


    [Stage 2 Dummy Selected]


    As the dummy charged at me, I remained still. The current goal was to test the limitations of my new skill, Dash, not beat the dummy as fast as possible.


    When the dummy''s sword was only a few meters from my body, I activated Dash.


    However, nothing happened.


    The next second, the dummy''s sword struck me, and I was flung against the wall of the training room.


    [Stage Failed.]


    This wasn''t even close to teleportation!


    Sighing, I got up and got ready for another battle.


    This skill testing was going to leave my rebuilt body in shambles...


    After 3 hours, with my body barely in one piece, I stepped out of the training room with some conclusions.


    There was a way to make dash similar to teleportation!


    The only problem with my current dash is the delay. I can''t move instantly; I must activate the dash and move in my desired direction. It takes me around 1 second to do that, meaning it''s barely better than me just dodging normally.


    However, I found a decent solution.


    After activating dash, I have 5 seconds to move before my speed returns to normal, so if I activate dash at least 5 seconds before the attack; I could instantly move forward without delay.


    With my entire body still aching from my testing session, I stepped out of the gym and welcomed the cold breeze of the air.


    Despite the darkness of the night, the full moon shined brightly, illuminating the path back to the dorm.


    Only after looking at the moon did I realize I had no clue what day or time it was.


    How long had I been dreaming for?


    After taking out my smartwatch and checking the time, I relaxed, realizing that it was Sunday night.


    I hadn''t missed any days of school!


    My 0 merit points were safe...!


    Since I woke up about 4 hours ago, I wasn''t even close to being ready to sleep, so I opted for a detour.


    After making my way to the edge of the island, I put my hands on the cold, steel railing and took in the view of the capital city surrounding the academy. With my dragon eyes, I could see almost everything.


    To the very left of the city stood the royal palace, and to the very right of the city stood the slums.


    The contrast between the two was clear.


    The royal palace had multiple buildings spread throughout its large area, all adorned with intricate decorations.


    On the other hand, the slums had buildings cramped together; each building had some fault, whether it was broken windows or, in some cases, the building even tilting, causing it to be in danger of collapsing.


    Only a few nights ago, I had stared from this exact place and admired the city, but now, with my heightened eyesight, every fault was apparent to me, and sight even somewhat disgusted me.


    By all means, I was not a saint or even close to one, but the stark contrast in lifestyle still somewhat sickened me.


    "hah... who am I to complain? I''m one of those nobles, after all."


    Turning my head downwards, I stared into the sea, but a surprising sight awaited me there as well.


    Everything in the sea was visible to me.


    The fishing swimming deep below the surface of the water, the green algae swaying back and forth at the bottom, and even the caves that seemed to stretch for miles.


    Was this a reward from the dream?


    Considering that nothing changed in my system menu, it was improbable for this to be a direct reward from the dream, but then what else could it be?


    Turning away from the view of the ocean and the capital city, I had only one thought. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Is there a way to turn his off?


    The view of the capital, tainted by its many flaws, and the view of the ocean, degraded by its complexities, was ruined for me.


    Glasses, maybe?


    I have to look into that.


    As I turned my head to the side, I noticed another person standing a few feet away from me.


    The Elven Princess, Alya.


    The moon illuminated her figure as her silver hair sparkled in the moonlight. Her beauty was simply unmatchable, even considering Irene.


    There was also another beauty, but I didn''t dare think of her, considering the way the old Ren emerged last time.


    Alya''s aloof personality only added to her beauty.


    People often desire what they can''t have.


    Later this week, Alya would become acquainted with Liam, and her negative view of humans would change, but currently, she detests all humans


    Of course, this would happen due to another incident, this time happening at the school.


    Alya would be a great resource for Liam as her connections and power as a princess would allow her to obtain anything Liam desired.


    That connection would also be helpful for me as I desperately needed dagger art, new daggers, and even glasses.


    Jolting me out of my thoughts, a voice sounded from her direction.


    "...What do you think?"


    Turning my head, I scanned my surroundings to find the source of this voice.


    Surely, it couldn''t be Alya, as she despised humans, right?


    But there was no one else there; the source of the voice was undoubtedly her.


    After realizing that, a thought popped into my head.


    Why don''t I build a connection with her, too? Surely, she can help both Liam and me, right?


    Didn''t I make this mistake before, caring too much about the plot?


    With that in mind and some of my personal feelings, I responded.


    "A false hope. What point is there in protecting an empire? It is useless if it is already corrupted."


    What better way is there to bond than to share common interests?


    We both hate humans!


    The royal family was so focused on raising heroes that they forgot about the normal commoners, which led to the slums being this way.


    In reality, my words about corruption were also somewhat true, as the academy and government are already corrupted by djinns.


    I mean, the proof was her.


    In the upcoming incident, she would be attacked and captured by djinns, who infiltrated the academy.


    Maintaining her distant expression, she responded.


    "It''s too late for someone like you to say that. Now that you''ve lost that privilege, you complain."


    Ah, she knows I used to be a noble.


    That must make me look hypocritical.


    All this time, I''ve been sitting back and enjoying the wealth supplied by the terrible government, but as soon as I lose it, I start to whine.


    With those parting words, Alya turned around and left.


    Well, there goes that connection...

 Chapter 23: Chapter 23:School Days [2]

    Heading into class the next day, I was surprised that the two seats next to me were empty; however, that confusion quickly transformed into anger after checking my smartwatch.


    [Jin: Ren, you up to skip class today...?]


    [Jin: Hello...?] S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [Han: You there dude?]


    [Jin: Whatever, Han and I skipping tmr, lmk if you''re down.]


    Of course, I want to skip!


    Who wants to sit through 8 hours of lecturing???


    However, due to Ren''s previous actions, the academy would be keeping a close eye on him, so skipping even a single day of class could lead to suspension or expulsion.


    Sometimes, I hate that guy.


    After sending a quick message to let Jin and Han know I couldn''t, I put down my smartwatch and awkwardly waited for the bell to ring.


    But then, it dawned on me.


    I hadn''t done any homework; I had been dreaming the entire weekend!


    Should I just skip? What if I get called out for not doing homework? Wouldn''t that be worse?


    Before I could come to a decision, the bell rang, and thus, my chance of escaping class was gone.


    As the teacher walked into the classroom, I tried to make myself as focused as possible.


    If the teacher called on me to explain a homework problem, I was screwed!


    Upon reaching the lectern, the teacher paused momentarily before turning his head to us and speaking.


    "Today, form up into groups of 3 and spend half of the class making a slideshow on a reading. After, you will present to the class."


    Really...?


    Was something like this ever mentioned in the book?


    Maybe, but why would I remember a mere group project when there''s a whole kidnapping incident that takes place the same week?


    Instinctively, my gaze turned to the center of the class where the main cast sat.


    Zach, who didn''t have a problem making friends due to his good-natured and kind personality, had already found a group. Like the good person he is, he noticed that some people were bound to be left out due to the max group size being 3, so he voluntarily left.


    Kevin immediately turned to Lily and asked her to join a group, and she didn''t deny it. Instead, she turned to Liam and asked him the same thing.


    Without sparing any glances at Irene, the group of Kevin, Lily, and Liam had been formed.


    Maybe she does have a good reason to be a villain..?


    I wanted to pity her, but after glancing around the classroom, I realized I was in the same predicament.


    Who would want to partner with a lunatic who got disowned by their family and suspended within the first month of school?


    Those idiots, Han and Jin, really abandoned me!!


    Sighing, I patiently awaited the awkward words of the professor.


    "...Erm..Those who don''t have a group, meet at the right corner of the class."


    Ignoring the glances directed towards me, I put my head down and made my way to the right side of the classroom.


    There sat Irene.


    Of course, that was expected. With her shitty personality, there was no way she would be able to make friends outside of the main cast.


    But what was unexpected was the person sitting only a few feet to the side of Irene.


    Alya.


    Shouldn''t the Elven princess have tons of friends to partner up with?


    Turning my head to face my Elven classmates, I noticed most of them sending gazes full of pity to her.


    Ah, it seemed she took the "bullet" for the Elven team and partnered up with the humans.


    As I sat down opposite the two, Irene looked at me with resentment and anger, while Alya didn''t even acknowledge my presence and continued reading her book.


    What a great group dynamic!


    After giving a sympathetic glance to our group, the professor turned around and began assigning sub-topics to each group.


    [Group 4: Dungeon Clearing]


    Not bad, these 2 girls are smart, so I should be able to get away with doing nothing.


    But then, to my absolute horror, the professor continued writing.


    [Each person in the group will present for 30 seconds.]


    I can''t just leach off them...


    Sure, the book portrayed Liam clearing countless dungeons in the book, so maybe I wouldn''t be absolutely clueless, but, at the same time, why would the book explain the intricaies of dungeon clearing when they can just Liam overpower his way through.


    Looking up from her book, Alya shifted her gaze to the board and swiftly took out a piece of paper.


    Without giving any instructions, she immediately started writing.


    Out of curiosity, I peeked at her paper and was immediately amazed and confused.


    Why the hell is she drawing visual models..?


    What is a boss room indicator..?


    Clear conditions... isn''t that just beating the dungeon boss?


    Turning away from Alya, I snuck a peak at Irene''s paper and was shocked to realize that I didn''t understand half the words she was using it.


    I missed one homework assignment; how the hell did it end up like this?


    Feeling left out and somewhat embarrassed, I grabbed a piece of paper from my backpack and began writing about the dungeons the novel described.


    After about a minute of this awkward silence, I heard a faint laugh, so I turned my head upwards and noticed Irene snickering while looking straight at my paper.


    ...I''m screwed, aren''t I?


    How am I going to bullshit my way through this for 30 seconds..?


    At this point, only 15 minutes were remaining, so I just began writing down absolutely anything remotely related to dungeons.


    Dungeon entrances. CHECK!


    Dungeon monsters. CHECK!


    Random chapter I vaguely remember. CHECK!


    After 10 minutes, I honestly couldn''t add anything else to the paper, so I looked up from my paper to observe my partners.


    Of course, they looked perfectly fine, even ectatic in Irene''s case.


    Irene, a magic scholar at the age of FIFTEEN


    Alya, a elven princess who received the best education possible


    Internally admitting defeat, I simply looked up to the ceiling and tried my best surpress the urge to snap back at Irene, who had a big fat grin on her face.


    Didn''t your entire friend group abandon you?


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, the teacher announed.


    "Your time is up. Group 4 please head up first."


    Great, our group is first.


    I mean it didn''t make my situation worse, I was already at rock-bottom.


    As the 3 of us made our way to the front of the class, there was an awkward moment of silence as none of us had actually discussed the order we were presenting in; however, the elven princess just started speaking first without any discussion.


    "Things such as bushes that look out of place or rocks that can be identified as abnormal for the dungeon type can be indicators for the boss room; however, these indicators should not be confused with traps. The difference between the two lies in the the dungeon type and varies with..."


    Yeah, I''m cooked...


    As the 30 seconds of Alya''s presentation came to close, I had an important decision to make.


    Do I either go 2nd or 3rd?


    At this point, I just wanted to get this thing over with and move on with my life, so I took one last glance at my paper to prepare myself.


    Imitating Alya''s actions from earlier, I stepped forward without any discussion with Irene and began speaking.


    " *ahem* Adding on to what my teammate said, dungeons can be classified in into two types, and they branch off from there..."


    Though the book''s explanations were mostly vague, they didn''t skimp out on dungeon classifications due to their importance in the plot


    "First, we have Yin dungeons that serve as reminders of the past. These dungeons are known to be based on events that have occurred in the past such as the the greek-roman war. On the other hand, Yang dungeons are based on fantasy or fiction as there are not real and in turn involve mythical creatures or legends."


    Even after stalling through that to the best of my abilities, there was still 15 seconds remaining, so I moved onto what I called the non sense section.


    Random things that were barely related to dungeons on my paper.


    At this point, I was already off topic as I was talking about dungeon classifications not exploration, but still something is better than nothing, right?


    "... Moving on, classifying these dungeons are important as they help you better understand the environment and creatures contained inside."


    10 seconds


    "The simplest way to sort these dungeons is to absorb the mana coming from within the dungeon. If your body accepts the mana, it is a Yin, and if not, it is Yang."


    As those last words escaped my mouth, I anxiously glanced around the classroom to see how it went.


    As expected, most of the students had confused signs on their face, probably due my presentation not even being on topic, but on the bright side, there were no mocking expressions!


    Right as I was about to step back, the teacher let out a cough and said.


    " *ahem* students, many of you may not know of the method mentioned by Ren as it is currently a prototype and untested. For now, this hypothetical method is only known to academy officials, so please refrain from mentioning it to others for now."


    Hypothetical??? Prototype???


    Liam used this method in his first dungeon, didn''t he?


    As I recalled the beginning of the book, something suddenly came to memory.


    Ah, Liam privately received this method from the headmaster as a reward, didn''t he...?


    ...maybe my memory of the book is a bit lacking.


    "... how does he know of this method, then..?"


    "he''s not even a noble, why does he know, but not us???"


    "Even the my father''s guild or the number one guild doesn''t know about it.. how the hell does that idiot have that info."


    Stepping back, I ignored the countless questioning gazes on me, and of course, there was one gaze filled with anger.


    I had just revealed the method that Liam personally received, effectively making him lose his advantage and reward!


    What good is a method if everyone knows it?


    Well, tough luck, Liam.


    As Irene stepped forward to begin her presentation, the professor quickly said.


    "Ren, please see me after class."


    Now, how do I explain this...


    What if I don''t!


    By the time Irene finished the presentation, all but a few gazes had subsided.


    Due my father, most people concluded it was plausible for me to know such valuable information; however, two people remained suspicious.


    Of course, Liam was one as he privately received the information, and the other was Irene. As dedicated magic researcher, and someone closely related to my family, she knew that even if my father did give me such knowledge, I would have been required to take an oath of concealment.


    The others simply believed that I had revealed the important information due my resentment against my father for disowning me.


    As the final presentation on the dream realm concluded, I prepared to bolt out of the door. The academy would be more focused on concealing the information I had said right now, so I would just have to stay low for a bit.


    As I pondered the pros and cons, I realized that this slip-up wasn''t that terrible as I no longer had to forge a plan to get back at Liam.


    I had done it just by instinct.


    Ren or I, in this case, was a natural at messing with the protagonist!


    As soon as the bell finally rang, I dashed out the door.


    Yes, I used my magic ability, dash, to escape the classroom!


    Finally a useful skill...


    However, to my dismay, there was someone who managed to follow me.


    Actually, not someone, a red haired-bug.


    "How did you know?"


    "Tell me now, idiot."


    "What else do you know?"


    "Who told you that."


    Tired of her incessant nagging, I finally gave in and responded.


    "God, don''t you have anything better to d-."


    Pausing mid sentence, I glanced back and noticed that everyone in the main cast, beside Irene, had already left!


    "Nevermind, you really don''t have anything better to do."


    "SHUT IT!"


    " *pfft*, whatever the lady says. I will keep my mouth shut from now on!"


    "NO, THAT''S NOT WHAT I MEANT. TELL ME HOW YOU KNOW."


    "..."


    "TELL ME NOW OR ELSE"


    "..."

 Chapter 24: Chapter 24:Rags to Riches [1]

    Aside from the impending djinn kidnapping, which I had no reason to get involved in, there was another major issue at hand: my money situation.


    "... wait, doesn''t that sound a bit... ''Yeah, ignoring the kidnapping of the Elven princess, I need to make some money!''"


    You would think that knowing the future would inevitably open up many ways to make money; however, you would be wrong in this case.


    The protagonist has the support of the academy Headmaster, Lily, who hails from a Hero family and will soon have the support of the Elven Royal family.


    Why would the book waste time explaining how to make money when he can have millions with a simple, friendly conversation?


    Although I held a massive amount of information, revealing the wrong piece could lead to unforeseen circumstances that could end the world, and I wasn''t greedy enough to risk that¡ªat least not yet.


    "I''m sick and tired of these disgusting cafeteria meals!"


    I mean, my greatest advantage over everyone else in the world was that I knew the future, so why would I willingly make myself lose that advantage to make some money?


    Sure, you can call me selfish for not using my information to save people who originally died in the book, but that''s just not me.


    Only someone with immense amounts of courage and integrity could willingly give up their greatest advantage to save the lives of others.


    That''s the job of the protagonist, not me.


    As I reached the dorm building, an idea dawned upon me.


    A balance is what the world needs.


    Back at the amusement park, the balance was broken as Liam was far too weak, leading to fatal consequences.


    Right now, the balance should be back to normal.


    What if I sell products or information to both the bad and good sides?


    Sure, everyone would be stronger, but at the same time, the equilibrium would remain unchanged.


    A company.


    That''s what I needed.


    However, a company doesn''t need just products; it also needs the means to advertise and distribute.


    Sure, I had the product, but how would I get it out there?


    Thankfully, I had the perfect person in mind for this job.


    Though leaving the academy was normally restricted, there were countless ways to get around, and conveniently, Jin and Han seemed to know one as they skipped class without being caught.


    After sending a quick message to the two and acquiring the method, I wasted no time and immediately put it to use.


    The method was actually quite simple.


    The traveling club can leave the campus, so why can''t other clubs?


    After meeting with Jin and Han, who had just returned to campus, I picked up a slip of paper from them, casually walked towards the academy''s personal portal, and displayed it to guards.


    "The Capital City."


    Glancing at the slip of piece of paper in my hands that said "Multipurpose Club Activties," the guard gave me a quick nod before stepping aside.


    The area around rapidly distorted and stabilized in a few seconds to depict a bustling city filled with various people, ranging from those performing for money to those staring at their smartwatches without looking upwards.


    Countless designer stores and flashy models could be seen, and each building had intricate and elaborate designs.


    Of course, this was just the "good" part of the city. My destination was a far worse place.


    After a couple of minutes, the bustling city scenery had transformed. The area before me was now riddled with broken-down buildings and beggars plastered everywhere.


    Paying no heed to my surroundings, I entered a dark alley before stopping abruptly at one of the building doors.


    *KNOCK*


    *TAP*


    *KNOCK*


    *TICK*


    "As the stars illuminate the night sky."


    Without any hesitance or uncertainty in my tone, I calmly responded.


    "So do our dreams guide us through darkness." S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The door swung open, revealing an eery set of stairs that seemed to go down forever. However, I maintained my confident demeanor and walked down the stairs.


    After a couple of seconds of walking down the never-ending stairs, I felt my surroundings shift for a second, and when I redirected my gaze back to the stairs, there sat a pair of wooden doors at the bottom.


    Spatial Magic.


    Opening the two wooden doors, the scenery in front of me bore an uncanny resemblance to the sight I had witnessed when I first stepped out of the portal.


    The only difference was that the buildings were less modern, and there were hundreds of stands, that resembled those of a night market on Earth, lined up with each sporting a different amenity.


    Artifacts, swords, spells, magic circles, and, at the very top of it all, information guilds.


    However, I ignored all the extravagant stands and made my way to the very end of the black market.


    As I descended further into the market, the appearance of the stands deteriorated greatly. At some point, there weren''t even stands as people simply held up signs while leaving their products on the floor.


    After another two minutes of walking, I paused. Unlike the other sellers, the person before me was not enthusiastic or eager. He simply sat down with his swords, not even looking upward to face his potential buyers.


    The boy had dark, messy, and ungroomed black hair to complement his black eyes. His frail figure and tattered clothes portrayed his struggles.


    Countless people walked by and bumped into me, completely ignoring the seller; however, I was not fooled.


    Despite his ragged appearance, his onyx-black eyes held an unmistakable glimmer. His ambition and desire to win remained unchanged in a terrible and hopeless situation.


    Not only that, but the boy still had the audacity to sell fake artifacts and worst of all, it seemed to be working, as there were only two swords left next to the boy!


    Keep in mind that this boy was the same age as me.


    In a few years from now, this boy would become the undisputed leader of the chaotic black market as his various businesses reigned supreme.


    However, now he was mine.


    A wide grin appeared on my face, and a tiny chuckle unknowingly escaped my mouth.


    The boy tilted his head upwards at the sound of my chuckle and coiled back upon witnessing my expression, yet he quickly regained his composure and matched my smile.


    "Looking for a sword? Well, I can tell you that these sword artifacts are the best of the best. This sword to my right was personally sold to me by a member of the Montclair family and the one on the left. Don''t even get me started; the sword saint was said to have touched it..."


    "... tell me about the right one."


    "Yes, THAT FAMOUS MONTCLAIR FAMILY personally forged this sword. Ah, due to some struggles, I''m in desperate need of money, so I''m willing to part with this sword for far less than its value."


    "..."


    "You know, Sir, you must go home and pray to the gods for coming around at this time, for this sword''s price is only 5 gold coins. YOU HEARD ME CORRECTLY, 5."


    The once sullen boy turned into a professional salesman as he practically screamed the last few words.


    That''s right; it was all a trap from the start.


    Using his dark appearance, he intended to lure in new customers as who wouldn''t be curious about the one silent boy sitting down while everyone else is standing up and screaming out advertisements?


    Then, doing a complete 180, he entrapped the customer; however, he had met his match this time.


    Selling fake items in the black market comes with a high price; however, this boy had made up such exaggerated rumors that one couldn''t confirm whether they were actually real or false.


    Therefore, in the case one of his swords was discovered as fake, he would ask the customer for evidence, and of course, they would be unable to confirm it as he would ensure that the tale of the sword involved important and unattainable people.


    A blacksmithing report wouldn''t suffice as evidence as the boy could say that the sword was meant to be a throwaway or a failure attempt by the family, so its poor quality was explained.


    And the customer couldn''t possibly ask these people about the sword''s origins, so there was no evidence of it being fake.


    Grabbing the sword from the boy''s hands, I admired it briefly before chuckling and saying.


    "I''ll take it."


    "Good choice, my Sir; if you hadn''t, you would have forever lamented your decision at this moment."


    ... you''ll be the one lamenting this moment real soon, kid.


    After exchanging the 5 gold coins, I grabbed the sword and played around with it for a bit, but I didn''t move from my spot.


    After a few more minutes of this, the boy let out a chuckle, probably presuming that I believed it to be fake, and said.


    "Is there a problem, my sir?"


    "Ah yes, I believe this sword to be fake."


    "Ah... what an accusation. Do you understand the rules of the black market? This false accusation could ruin my life. You must know that evidence is required."


    Letting out a chuckle, I grabbed a small card from my jacket pocket and handed it to him before saying.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll have evidence."


    [Student ID: Ren Montclair / Year: 01]


    Of course, this was a bluff, and if he had called me out, I would have had no way of contacting my father to prove that the sword was fake.


    The boy''s calm and confident posture quickly crumbled, and I saw him tense his legs, presumably preparing to run.


    However, it was too late. I had already expected this and preemptively activated the 5-second period of Dash.


    In less than a second, I was already in front of him and holding his right arm.


    No longer enthuisatic or sullen, the boy angrily spat out.


    "What do you want with me?"


    He wasn''t stupid.


    I must have known the sword was a fake from the start, considering he mentioned my family, which means I had bought the sword knowing it was a fraud.


    Grabbing him by his right shoulder, I started walking, dragging him behind me.


    "This isn''t the place to talk."


    After exiting the black market and returning to a relatively safe part of the city, I entered a cafe with him and sat down.


    "WHAT do you want with ME?"


    His attitude does not falter even when faced with severe punishment; he really is perfect for the job.


    Grabbing another coin from my pocket, I flipped it upwards and said.


    "Work with me."


    On the other hand, Raven, the boy with black hair, was extremely confused.


    He was half-expecting to be sold into a labor camp or even slavery, but this person wanted to work with him..?


    It wasn''t even an ask; it was a demand!


    If he denied it, he knew this person would undoubtedly report him to the black market, and from there, it would be over!


    Not even pretending to mull it over, Raven responded.


    "I don''t have a choice, do I?"


    Then, a smile appeared on the mysterious man''s face.


    Why couldn''t I have just been sold into a labor camp?


    What the hell is this creepy guy planning to do with me, and why is he smiling!?


    "It seems you understand your situation quite well."


    What is there to understand...? You''re blatantly blackmailing me...


    First, this person is a noble member of the Montclair family; what could he want from me a mere commoner?


    Countless possibilities immediately drifted into Raven''s head, each involving gruesome torture and pain.


    Snapping Raven out of his thoughts, the creepy noble spoke once again!


    "A company. Us 2 are going to start a company."


    Without waiting for Raven''s response, the creepy person handed over a piece of paper.


    On the piece of paper, there seemed to be an intricately drawn circle.


    Only one thought flashed through Raven''s head.


    What the hell is this? A business and this circle?


    Is this some ploy?


    Oh my lord, what torture is awaiting me?


    Please just kill me!


    "That piece of paper is an advanced healing circle, more developed than any other out there. Look long and hard; you''ll copy it onto many more papers and sell it."


    "... why me. God, why me? What evil concoction is awaiting me? What have I done to deserve this fate..? I''ve been a good boy always and forever."


    Raven only noticed that he had voiced these thoughts out loud after the evil person across him broke into a fit of laughter.


    "PFFT"


    Is he laughing at my pain and suffering...?


    Raven, someone who had never even thought of god before this time, immediately assumed a praying stance.


    "SAVE ME!"

 Chapter 25: Chapter 25:Rags to Riches [2]

    After calming down the boy in front of me and ordering him a pastry to display my kindness, I reassessed the situation.


    The boy''s name was Raven. He looked like he was on the verge of starvation due to his slender body, and he was the epitome of poverty with torn clothes and ungroomed hair.


    In three years, he would be the undisputed leader of the black market, and his businesses would even expand into the real world. All alone and at rock bottom, he climbed and scratched his way up to the top.


    That was the person I needed for my business.


    But... who the hell was this boy in front of me?


    The Raven I know was fierce and power-hungry, unwilling to kneel on the ground and pray to god for salvation!


    As a sigh unknowingly escaped my mouth, I realized I was already too far in. As future comrades in business, we needed to trust each other, and there was not even a semblance of that right now.


    I could theoretically force him to join me, as I have blackmail on him, but that would just lead to the business failing, as he would do the bare minimum.


    As Raven grew up in the slums, where trust was nonexistent, there was only one way to gain his faith.


    A Mana Contract.


    As Raven stared at the pastry sitting in front of me, various thoughts flooded through his head.


    Is he trying to butter me up?


    This is some sort of scheme, right?


    Carefully picking up a fork, Raven, who had used utensils to eat maybe 3 times in his entire life, awkwardly maneuvered his silverware to the cake and picked up a small piece.


    So what if it''s a trick? At this point, I might as well enjoy it!


    As the strawberry cake entered his mouth, an immediate sense of euphoria washed over Raven. His taste buds began to dance in joy as the piece of cake sat on his tongue, and all he could think about was the sweet taste of the cake.


    More... I want more.


    Rather than saving and conserving the food like usual, Raven immediately went in for another bite.


    ...Is this heaven?


    In less than a minute, the entire cake slice was gone, and all that was left was an empty plate.


    As Raven stared at the empty plate with unimaginable sorrow, he noticed the noble slide over a seemingly normal piece of paper.


    However, glancing at the paper a second time, Raven immediately understood what it was.


    Having done business in the black market for over 2 years, there was no way he couldn''t know what a mana contract was.


    The black market was dark and treacherous, so mana contracts were often signed to ensure both parties held up their side of the deal.


    But for Raven, mana contracts were his archenemis, weakness, and enemy.


    He couldn''t sign those; he was a fraud! He couldn''t sign a contract saying that the weapon was real!


    [Party B will work under Party A and obey all requests from Party A]


    [In exchange, 10% of all profits will be handed to Party B]


    The contract was simple and straightforward, so simple that someone like Raven, with no education, could understand it with one glance.


    However, that actually had the opposite effect on Raven; he was even more confused than ever now!


    Raven understood his situation; the other person had all the leverage, but he had nothing.


    So, then, why in the world would the other person offer him a mana contract when they could just blackmail him..?


    Seeing the hesitant Raven, the noble spoke up.


    "If you sign, I''ll buy you another slice of cak-"


    Raven immediately signed the contract using his mana. One might think that his signing was hasty and premature; however, it was an easy decision for Raven.


    Pick the better of the two evils!


    Either deny and possibly be handed over to the black market for fraud, or just accept!


    The decision was a piece of cake!


    After a moment, the contract shined white, signifying that both parties had voluntarily and non-forcibly signed the contract, before disintegrating into pieces and disappearing.


    " *ahem,* Sir, the cake."


    "Call me boss, and it''ll be here in a second."


    While Raven anxiously awaited the arrival of the cake, Ren used the opportunity to start explaining his idea.


    The idea was actually quite simple, but of course, it could only be done by someone who knew information from the future.


    Healing circles were currently the most popular magic amenity, as within seconds, you could instantly heal any minor injury with only a bit of mana.


    So, shouldn''t Ren''s healing circle with better effects and healing times sell amazingly in the market?


    "Boss, if these magic circles can be created just by drawing on a piece of paper, why are they worth so much..? Can''t you just redraw one you buy?"


    "A magic circle can''t be replicated by just looking at it; you need to learn each fluid and specific motion from someone to replicate it."


    "... wait, does that mean. I have t-"


    "Yep, you''ll be learning starting now!"


    Fortunately, I had already drawn about 100 of the advanced healing circles, so Raven could start selling them immediately while also learning how to draw them.


    After sliding over a backpack filled with the circles, the two of us exited the cafe.


    "Boss, I don''t know who you think I am, but I can''t just sell these circles to people. They''ll need evidence and credibility."


    "Then, make evidence and credibility."


    Raven, who had lost all hope in escaping this situation, decided to accept his circumstances, so he inwardly began planning.


    For evidence, he could hire people to get hurt and then display the effectiveness of the circle and the credibility he could build up over time.


    Of course, Raven had no idea whether the circle was effective, but he had no choice but to trust his boss.


    After planning everything, only one problem remained.


    "Boss, I''ll need some money to get the business started."


    They needed a vendor''s license, an exquisite stand to attract customers, some employees, and materials.


    However, Raven wasn''t considerably worried about that. After all, his boss was a noble¡ªand not just any noble, a direct descendant of a hero family¡ªand he had to have tons of money!


    At those words, Ren froze for a second.


    He had just spent the last of his money buying the cake.


    "How much will you need?"


    "25 gold coins should be enough for the first month; however, more would be better."


    This kid... how can he ask for 25 gold coins like it''s nothing?


    Ah, right, I''m noble in his eyes. This last name of mine brings more trouble than good.


    As Ren approached the bridge to the academy, with Raven following close behind, he decided on a plan.


    He had completed the Sea God''s Blessed quest in the dream, so shouldn''t the Sea bless him with money!?


    So what if my debt to the serpent increases by 50 gold coins? Would it really make a difference?


    Of course, the river surrounding the capital was well-known for the sea crystals and various treasures that were hidden inside, so it wasn''t a complete gamble.


    Also, he could see underwater perfectly, so his chances of finding a sea crystal were increased.


    Standing at the ledge, Ren stared down into the water, examining each inch of the water carefully to find a crystal.


    Crystals can be found in a variety of habitats and are expensive due to their usefulness. Since they contain mana inside them, they can be used to make mana potions or artifacts with special attributes.


    On the other hand, Raven confusedly walked to the ledge beside Ren, trying his best to ignore the awkward silence, and looked down as well.


    However, all he could see was the dark blue surface of the ocean.


    What exactly was this noble looking at?


    "uh Boss, what a-"


    "Quiet."


    Shutting his mouth, Raven gave up on trying to discover whatever hidden motive this noble had.


    Was the world always this complicated? Can''t I go back to just scamming idiots in the black market?


    Wait... but then the cake, would I have eaten it..


    Disrupting Raven''s thoughts, he looked to the side to see that his boss had finally made a move, but it was in the wrong direction!


    Ren, having finally found a crystal, had no hesitation as he jumped off the ledge and straight into the water.


    "BOSS, IF YOU DIE, CAN I HAVE YO-"


    Ignoring his annoying subordinate, Ren embraced the coldness of the seawater and used the momentum from his jump to fall all the way to the sea floor.


    Countless fish immediately encircled him, however, Ren payed them no attention and swam towards the glistening crystal in the distance.


    After reaching the crystal, Ren attempted to pull it out, and it came right out despite being lodged in the rough sand for who knows how many years.


    That wasn''t the only peculiarity Ren noticed. He realized that despite being underwater for more than two minutes, he hadn''t felt the need to get air at all, and maybe the most obvious sign was the countless fish encircling him like a shield.


    Even the bitter coldness of the water didn''t affect him; in fact, it almost made him feel more comfortable.


    Is this what a Sea God''s blessed is...?


    After swimming up to the surface and climbing back up to the ledge, Ren handed the crystal over to the bewildered Raven.


    "Boss... aren''t you cold...?"


    Looking down, Ren saw that all his clothes were drenched and his hair dripped with water. It was evening, so the temperature was cold as well. Despite all that, Ren felt perfectly fine.


    In contrast, Raven felt cold by just staring at the dripping Ren; however, he didn''t question further as he had already given up on understanding his boss. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After exchanging contacts, Ren returned to the academy, still dripping with water. The portals were all closed by now, so he opted to walk on the bridge to head back.


    Ren reentered the academy after receiving a couple of glances from the guards due to his drenched appearance.


    Having skipped dinner, Ren decided to grab a quick meal before heading to his dorm room to dry up.


    Even though the water didn''t affect his comfort, he didn''t want to be seen roaming around completely soaked.


    Far too many rumors were circulating around him, and he didn''t plan to start anymore.


    However, as he neared the cafeteria''s entrance, three figures could be seen standing nearby.


    A girl with red hair, a girl with white hair, and finally, a girl that almost immediately evoked countless emotions from Ren.


    Irene, Alya, and Lily.


    Calming himself down, Ren took a step back.


    What reason could these 3 have to meet..?


    Alya and Irene don''t have connections to Liam yet, so there should be no reason... right?


    Those 3 had absolutely no similarities aside from their relations with Liam.


    A plot change...


    Who changes the plot? That''s me!


    Don''t tell me...


    A similarity between the 3 immediately popped into my head.


    All 3 of them dislike me!

 Chapter 26: Chapter 26:Variables [1]

    Call me egotistical, but I believed that, without a doubt, the conversation was about me.


    Variables.


    One example is my actions at the start, which weakened Liam, the protagonist. This variable led to a gruesome outcome, where two of the main cast members died.


    I had grown so comfortable in this world primarily because I knew the future from end to start, but with the introduction of such variables, the value of my knowledge would undoubtedly decrease, maybe even becoming useless.


    Needless to say, I hated variables, and three huge variables were standing in front of me right now.


    There is no guarantee of a redo for future events like last time, so the only option is to adapt to the variables'' appearance.


    The second major event of the story was occurring tomorrow, and it was crucial for things to go according to the story as the event would increase Liam''s connection to Irene and Alya.


    The two, alongside 10 guards and civilians, were both heavily injured in the incident but eventually rescued by Liam. After being nursed back to normal health, they officially joined the main cast.


    Who knows what could happen if Irene and Alya don''t join the hero''s party...?


    Definitely not me!


    That''s precisely why I want this to go according to the plot.


    Of course, it''s not like last time when I was completely powerless. Sure, I will do my very best to ensure things go according to the plot, but I won''t do anything drastic like risk my life.


    I had learned from the last time.


    Hiding myself in some bushes within earshot of the girls, I began intently listening to their conversation.


    The usually calm and composed elven princess started off in an irritated tone.


    "So? Out with it. You called us here, Lily."


    Ah, one of the few people in the world who can speak so rudely to a hero''s family descendant.


    Irene seemed to share the same opinion as she nodded her head.


    "... tomorrow, you two should be careful."


    A sudden shock overwhelmed my body as my heart beat rapidly, my body started shaking uncontrollably, and my head started to spin.


    Not giving me any time to catch my breath or refocus, Lily continued.


    "Beware of your surroundings; I received a tip-off that someone is after the elven royal family."


    Upon hearing it involved the elven royal family, Alya squinted her eyes and assumed a more serious tone before asking.


    "Where did you hear this from.?"


    Irene, who knew perfectly well about the countless protection spells surrounding the academy, asked.


    "The academy is the safest place on Earth; how can the princess possibly be hurt here?"


    "It''s a *uhhh* long story. Please place your trust in me for just one day. I promise you''ll understand after tomorrow. "


    " *sigh* I guess I can indulge you, human, for one day. However, if this is all a ruse, you''ll pay. What must I do?"


    "Do not leave the academy building under any circumstances."


    "Done."


    After hearing that, Lily sighed in relief before turning to Irene, who simply nodded her head.


    Not leaving the academy building for a single day wouldn''t be terrible.


    Not bothering with any more explanations, Lily headed inside the cafeteria, leaving the two bewildered girls behind.


    Just then, Irene recalled something.


    "WAIT, LILY... why did you tell me as well..?"


    However, it was too late; Lily had already entered the cafeteria.


    Deep down, Irene resented Lily for taking up the attention of her love, Kevin, so when she was called, Irene prepared for the worst-case scenario: Lily officially dating Kevin.


    But, now Lily was trying to help her..?


    Though Irene was still confused about the entire situation, she had heard Lily''s seriousness and concern, so she doubted it was some trick or prank.


    Thus, Irene decided to follow Lily''s instructions, for now.


    Alya was a careful and cautious person, so she had already decided to follow Lily''s instructions despite the lack of evidence.


    All she would have to do was not leave the academy building. This task was easy, considering that leaving the building could lead to her being targeted and possibly killed.


    Back in the bush, I managed to calm myself down before immediately analyzing the situation.


    A tipoff...


    What a stupid excuse.


    Why would the person inform Lily, who had no connections to the two girls, instead of the academy headmaster or an authority?


    She mentioned that the tipoff was about the elven royal family, so why did she call Irene?


    After receiving the tip, why did Lily not go to the authorities to report it?


    Because there was no tipoff.


    If she went to the authorities claiming that Irene and Alya would be attacked, with no evidence of the non-existent tipoff, the most they would do is slightly increase the number of guards.


    She had information about tomorrow''s incident; there was no other plausible reason for her to personally warn both Irene and Alya.


    The mission was being carried out by high-level djinn executives, so she couldn''t have insider information. Even if she did, the information would have to come from a low-level member, making it incomplete and vague.


    Yet Lily clearly knew all the details of the kidnapping, as she had specifically warned Irene and Alya not to leave their buildings.


    She wasn''t worried about the djinns going inside the building in the slightest. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Could she have somehow regressed..?


    No... the book would have mentioned such an important thing if it had been possible.


    Thus, I was left with one possibility.


    Who was to say that I was the only person who came from Earth?


    What if Lily, too, originated from Earth and read the novel?


    But then, if Lily were from Earth and possessed the novel''s future information, she would have realized that I was not Ren, as I was not expelled at the start.


    Upon realizing that, shouldn''t she have recognized I was in the same situation and contacted me?


    Assuming that my theory about her being from Earth is true, there could be another reason for her not to be surprised by my not being expelled.


    What if she had already made a change, so she assumed me not being expelled was a butterfly effect of that?


    From her actions earlier, it was easy to conclude that she was the absolute opposite of me; she was willing and even trying to change the plot.


    Before my expulsion, there was only one incident. Not even an incident, a prologue.


    To display the brutality of djinns and Radics, the book starts off with a scene that displays the invasion of a small town on the outskirts. All the inhabiting humans were killed off, displaying the brutality and wickedness of the book''s main antagonists.


    Wasting no time, I pulled out my smartwatch and searched.


    [Invasion of Cordu Village]


    ---> Only 2 months ago, a small group of djinns visited an outskirt village called Cordu. This group of djinns could have easily wiped out the entire town, but thankfully, the hero family, Silverbrook, intervened and dispatched all of them.


    ...


    Lily Silverbrook


    There was no longer any doubt in my mind.


    Lily Silverbrook was a person from Earth, just like me!


    After concluding that, I began to calm down, yet one question still remained in my mind.


    Why was she changing the plot?


    Tomorrow, Irene and Alya will find out that Lily''s information is true and that she has saved their lives, so she will immediately have a connection with the two.


    However, considering Lily''s position as the sole inheritor of the Silvebrook family, she would already have everything she needed, making the connection somewhat useless.


    In the prologue, why did she warn her family about the impending invasion of Cordu Village? There were absolutely no benefits to be gained from that.


    What game was she playing?


    In the prologue, she saved countless lives.


    By warning the two girls, she saved them from being bedridden for a month and saved countless guards from dying to the djinns.


    She simply wanted to save people...? That was the only possible conclusion.


    Despite having knowledge about the future, she sacrifices that knowledge just to save some random people in a fake world.


    A hero.


    The definition of a hero is complicated and vague; however, even someone like me can clearly see that Lily embodies that word.


    Her selfless and good-willed actions speak for themselves.


    But it''s all wrong.


    Naivety. Not her selflessness or kindness; naivety is her most apparent trait.


    Sure, the book had a good ending with the world being saved, but these changes made by her can easily change that.


    She''s saving countless people now, but what good is that if those people are doomed to die in the end?


    What good is saving 10 people if it causes 10 million other people to die?


    Foolishly believing that a good ending is guaranteed.


    Someone has to stop her.


    It has to be me. I''m the only other person with future information.


    But does that make me evil?


    I''m allowing all those civilians and guards to die to the djinns and even allowing Alya to be kidnapped.


    Yes, anybody would say I''m evil for allowing those things to happen.


    Maybe I am evil and wicked for wanting this world to have a guaranteed good ending.


    If so, I accept it.


    For good to exist, there must be evil.


    Somebody has to take the role of evil, and in this world, that person would have to be me.


    If Lily is a hero for changing the plot, then in contrast, I would have to be a villain for refusing to touch it.


    At first, I despised my reincarnation as a third-rate villain, but here I am, actually embracing the role...


    Does being evil and a villain mean I''m wrong?


    In contrast, I believe I''m right, as I''m simply trying to ensure the world''s salvation.


    I don''t deny that I''m evil, but I assert that my actions are not wrong.


    After clearing the area, I left the bush and headed straight to my dorm room.


    I had lost my appetite.


    The only other real person in this world was destined to be my enemy.


    Instead of sharing our experiences and chatting about our lives on Earth, we would face each other.


    Worst of all, neither of us is wrong.


    She''s trying to save countless innocent lives while I''m trying to save the world.


    Tomorrow would be our first fight.


    I had to ensure that Alya was kidnapped by the djinns and promptly saved by Liam. Of course, Irene had to be there, but I already had a foolproof plan for her.

 Chapter 27: Chapter 27:Variables [2]

    Waking up on the day of the kidnapping, an odd sense of serenity washed over me. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Like the calm before the storm.


    I had spent the last few hours of my day tirelessly making a plan until, finally, I had covered all my bases.


    After all, I was going up against the entire hero''s party, each one of them capable of killing me... if I was unprepared.


    I also held one major advantage.


    I knew Lily had knowledge of the future, but she did not know that I also had knowledge about the future.


    In her eyes, I was a variable.


    "... what a joke."


    Wasn''t I going on about how I hated variables only yesterday..?


    Anyway, the djinns wouldn''t show up until the evening, so I could go about my classes as usual.


    Is what I wished to say.


    I would have to be an idiot to give up 7 valuable hours of preparation just for some stupid class.


    There were now more important things than reaching the merit point goal.


    Do you think the school would believe me if my excuse for skipping was, "I''m trying to save the world, trust me!" ?


    I''ll worry about that later.


    After putting a full set of black clothes in my backpack, I headed out of my dorm in my academy uniform, of course not to the academy but to the middle of the forest.


    Since Alya is an elf, she has a high affinity for elementals and often trains in the forest. On this fateful day, she would be training in the forest in the evening and kidnapped by a group of djinns and humans.


    The group conducting this kidnapping, the Gemstone Order, is one of the few groups composed of humans and djinns.


    That one detail is a major reason my plan works.


    After tailing Alya using spies in the academy, the order discovered Alya''s training location, so that was where the initial stage of their plan would take place.


    That was also my current destination.


    After reaching the clearing in the forest, I began setting a bait.


    Of course, Alya wouldn''t be here now, but I still needed to stall for the Order members for some time at this place.


    After placing down my backpack and scattering various things across the ground, I made the scene seem like Alya was training here but left for a short break.


    This would keep the villains here as they would try to wait for her to come back to the spot and get her backpack.


    After ensuring the scene was ready, I pulled out my phone and responded to some text messages.


    [Jin: Dude, class starts in 5 minutes; where the hell are you?]


    [Ren: When the hell did you start caring about getting to class.]


    [Jin: LMFAO, you right.]


    [Han: You skipping today, Ren?]


    [Ren: Yeah, I need to do some stuff outside the academy, so I''ll use the card again. That''s fine with you guys, right?]


    [Han: Yep, fine with us.]


    [Ren: By the way, did you hear Lily is planning to confess to Kevin today after school.]


    [Jin: Wait, bro, are you not over her yet? She almost get you expelled. Plenty of fish in the sea.]


    [Han: ^^^ She''s not the one for you, trust us.]


    [Ren: ...kinda, I guess. Could you guys spread what I said around.]


    [Han: Yeah, alright, I get you wanna ruin Lily''s confession. Don''t do anything rash like last time; we''ll spread it around.]


    [Jin: But this weekend, we''re going out. You really needa get over her. I knew the perfect place for you.]


    [Ren: Deal.]


    After that conversation, I turned it off and put it on Do Not Disturb.


    Dealing with Irene turned out to be surprisingly easy!


    She''d go crazy and completely ignore Lily''s instructions after she hears the rumors, and then the villains would find her, making everything go exactly as the plot.


    Now that everything was settled, I had to address the problem of getting Alya out of the dorm.


    Or did I?


    After climbing a tree, I looked around from the high ground until I spotted the bridge that connected the capital city to the Academy.


    Jumping tree to tree, I used my heightened eyesight to calculate and coordinate my jumps and landings perfectly to make my route as efficient as possible.


    From finding the perfect landing spot to increase my momentum and speed to ducking prematurely to avoid obstacles such as branches or leaves, I felt like I was an actual monkey.


    Within 5 minutes, the large distance between Alya''s training spot and the Academy gate was cleared.


    Thankfully, the guard on duty was different than the one from the previous day, so I could pass through the gate with no problems.


    After reaching the capital city, I immediately started walking to a familiar place.


    A familiar Cafe.


    Upon entering the cafe, I immediately spotted a scrawny boy with black hair and eyes, sitting in front of about five pieces of cake.


    "Damn it, I forget to get the 5 gold coins back from the fake sword!"


    Also, has this punk been using the business money just to buy cake...?


    After sitting down across from Raven, I asked.


    "How''s the business doing?"


    "What the hell do you mean how is business doing...? Damn it, YOU GAVE ME THE MISSION YESTERDAY???"


    "... Yet here you are eating cake instead of working."


    "you son o-"


    "Did you forget I said to address me as boss?"


    "... Yes, boss, I prepared the items you requested."


    After sliding over the bag, Raven continued.


    "A Sleeping Gas Potion and Fireworks..? Seriously, boss, I''m not one to judge anyone morally, but really...? This might be too far."


    "You brat, I''m using them to save the world."


    If only he knew...


    Raven raised his hands and turned his head away before saying.


    "... whatever you say. I won''t question your actions, but just know that God is always watching."


    ... Is this brat talking about god?


    Yesterday, he was out on the street scamming people using god''s name! I swear I heard him say, "This sword is made of pure diamond, on god!"


    Confused and somewhat curious, I inquired.


    "You started believing in god..?"


    "After signing that contract with you, he is my only hope..."


    "..."


    Am I really that bad?


    Holding the two bottles in my hands, I continued to improve my plan.


    A sleeping gas is pretty self-explanatory; it slowly puts everyone in a 5 ft vicinity to sleep. The key word is slowly, not immediately.


    Over a 5-minute span, the gas slowly makes the target feel more and more drowsy until they eventually fall asleep.


    Of course, if the target notices that they are falling asleep due to the potion before the 5 minutes are up, they can easily escape it by simply splashing their face with water or something similar.


    That''s the reason I need the second bottle.


    Fireworks.


    What better way to distract someone than to use fireworks?


    Also, all the other alternatives were either too expensive or hard to obtain.


    I''m just a broke academy student... for now.


    Flashing a grin at Raven, I grabbed a slice of cake and said.


    "Get back to work."


    As I walked away, I heard him murmur.


    "Am I a slave or something...? Goddamn it, he asks me to deliver something, then asks me why I''m not working. What am I a machine???"


    I really don''t understand how this brat became the leader of the black market...


    No work ethic, no brain, and no respect. What does Raven have?


    With a sigh, I cleared my head of these useless thoughts and headed back towards the Academy bridge.


    By now, it was noon, so the kidnappers would show up in around 3-4 hours.


    This time, instead of directly entering the Academy through the gates, I simply observed Celestial Academy from the bridge.


    One thought had constantly been plaguing my mind.


    How can these kidnappers get into the Academy in the first place?


    Once inside, a spatial magic scroll could easily allow them to escape, and I knew that they had them, but getting inside with a scroll was impossible due to the countless spell seals surrounding the island.


    After surveying every inch of the island for about an hour, no secret entrances were found, even with my heightened eyesight.


    With my eyesight, it was simply impossible for a secret entrance to go unnoticed by me, so the only other reason would be that I simply wasn''t looking in the right place.


    What would be the best place for a secret entrance?


    On land, it was simply too easy to get spotted. Well, the only other option is the water, then! After all, it is an island.


    Turning my gaze downwards, I began to scrutinize the underwater area around the academy; after a while, I finally found something peculiar.


    There was an opening, certainly man-made, a few inches below the water''s surface.


    Without any hesitation, I leaped off the bridge and into the water.


    "ahhhh, this feels oddly nice."


    After enjoying the water''s embrace for a moment, I dived downwards towards the opening and swam through it.


    There were clear signs of non-natural occurrences, such as sword dents in the wall, and the structure of the clave was too perfect for it to have been naturally made.


    A frown appeared on my face as the water subsided, so I stood up and continued walking in the rock tunnel.


    Finally, the tunnel began to slope upwards, so I increased my pace and ran until, finally, a ladder was within sight.


    After climbing up the ladder, I pushed forward on the tunnel''s roof, and it slowly opened, causing the sunlight to rush in and temporarily blind my eyes.


    After standing up on the ground, I stared at the tunnel''s exit, which was a disguised rock, and dusted myself off before closing it.


    This would be quite useful in the future.


    According to the guards of the academy, Ren should be in the capital city, so I used my assassin''s stealth to make my way to Alya''s training spot silently.


    After changing into a pair of dark clothes and putting on a mask, I once again used the shadows to make my way to the academy dorms.


    During my recent training sessions, I focused on finding ways to abuse my stealth trait, and my efforts were not in vain.


    With full black clothes on, I felt like I was one with shadows, and as long as no noise was made, people wouldn''t see me unless they stared at my location for more than 2 seconds at a time.


    Just how good will this be in the future?


    I guess the sword far outclasses the dagger, so the author had to balance the assassin class by giving it this ability.


    Well, I''m not complaining.


    After reaching the dorm building, I climbed up a tree and looked around until I found Alya''s empty dorm room. She was still in class.


    As a student in the top 10 ranks, Alya received a luxurious suite on the top floor of the building, so I had to climb up to the roof.


    From the top of the building, I hung down and quickly tied a string to the window of Alya''s dorm.


    I attached the fireworks and a match to this string so that at a simple tug of the string, the fireworks would explode into her room.


    As the sleeping gas had to be handed more delicately, I kept it with me.


    Jumping from the roof to a tree, I once again assumed my monkey form. I jumped from tree to tree at incredible speeds until I reached Alya''s training spot.


    Everything was now set up.

 Chapter 28: Chapter 28:Variables [3]

    After setting myself up on the tree branch surrounding the clearing, I patiently waited for the darkness to descend.


    *DRIP*


    *DROP* S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    *DRIP*


    Unsurprised by the sudden, relentless rain, I silently observed my surroundings.


    The problem I spent countless hours trying to solve was how to kidnap Alya.


    She was careful and cautious, so I knew that despite any evidence or common sense, she would heed Lily''s warning.


    As an Elven princess, Alya had endured countless assassin attempts, so this was nothing new to her. I even imagined that she had some sort of protocol for these situations.


    The possibility of getting her to leave her room was 0. Unlike the short-tempered Irene, she was calm and calculating.


    Then how exactly do I ensure that Alya gets into the hands of the Gemstone order..?


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, I heard a faint rustle in the bushes right below me. Looking below with my enhanced eyesight, I could see right through the bushes and identify 5 figures lurking around the clearing.


    My false illusion of Alya being here would soon shatter, and the kidnappers would leave, causing an entirely different future, so I immediately sprung into action.


    After scanning the area momentarily, I looked for the easiest target.


    One person, adorned with an Iron badge, signifying their rank in the Gemstone Order, was distanced from the others.


    Not only that, but the man had a similar body structure to me, making us indistinguishable in the darkness of the night.


    Raising my right hand, I tapped my eye and immediately felt my perception of time slow as the rain droplets seemed to freeze mid-air.


    Not wasting any time, I used a dash, stepping forward with incredible speed, and lunged at my target with my daggers titled upward.


    My dash, combined with my slowing-of-time ability, was simply lethal. At this stage in the game, no one except the top 10 students and some villains could avoid it.


    In the vision of others around me, I was simply a blur, indiscernible from their surroundings.


    Having calculated the exact distance and position my daggers needed to be in, as soon I moved 10 meters forward with a dash, my dagger was already in the kidnapper''s heart.


    I didn''t even have to move my hands or any part of my body; the man was already dead.


    There was no sound or any signs whatsoever.


    The perfect assassination.


    Laying the lifeless body quietly on the ground, I grabbed his iron badge and attached it to my night-black shirt.


    At this point, all my knowledge of the future was useless. I had no idea what the assassin''s next actions would be or how long they would wait.


    It felt surreal not knowing what would happen next, but simultaneously, a sense of exhilaration washed over me.


    Maybe life had gotten a bit dull...?


    Well, better dull than dead.


    With the mask concealing most of my tone, I let out muffled whisper to my new comrades.


    "I can go check out the surrounding area for any signs."


    Almost immediately, I heard another rustle in the bush across from me. As I turned my gaze toward the noise, I saw a slender man dressed in a suit with horns protruding from his skull.


    Is he trying to reveal his identity as a djinn?


    The horned figure glanced around for a bit before cautiously replying.


    "... They did say the princess would be here... Looking around might be dangerous... but if she''s not here, we must know..."


    After another moment, the djinn continued.


    "Alright, go scout. Let us know of anything important. Do not be noticed."


    Replying with a nod of the head, I backed away from the clearing and faded from sight, using the darkness of the night as a barrier.


    Seeing how the group hadn''t bothered to search the backpack or items on the ground yet, I guessed that I had at least 5 minutes.


    5 minutes to capture Alya, and the sleeping gas requires 5 minutes to take effect.


    It was going to be a close one.


    After ensuring that the darkness had completely concealed me, I climbed up the tree and moved at incredible speeds through the thick forest toward the dorm building.


    Once reaching the roof of the dorm building, I quickly checked to ensure the string with fireworks was intact, and sure enough, they were.


    Alya wouldn''t dare open her window with Lily''s warnings, so she couldn''t have detected them.


    Walking towards a big round pipe, I slowly uncapped the gas bottle.


    Even Alya couldn''t account for the ventilation pipe, as she could never imagine that someone could figure out the exact route the pipe took to her room.


    After all, this one ventilation pipe led into all 500 rooms within the dorm building, so someone would have to distinguish the 1 route that the pipe took out of 500 that led to Alya''s room.


    "Fortunately, I''m not just someone!"


    Man, I really need to humble myself, or I''ll keep going with all this main character stuff.


    With my enriched eyesight, I could easily identify the pipe''s route to Alya''s room, so without any hesitation, I turned the bottle upside down and carefully let the gas into the pipes.


    As for why I wasn''t being more careful, I had already blocked off all the possible routes except the one to Alya''s room.


    Although such a task may have seemed difficult, I had almost a full day to prepare for it, and compared to other parts of this plan, this was nothing as it didn''t even involve any danger.


    When the gas was released, I inwardly started counting down in my head.


    Due to her past experiences, Alya could have been trained with these gases, and since she already knew there was a danger at hand, I was sure she would realize the appearance of the gas.


    That was, of course, if there were no other dangers.


    Why worry about some drowsiness when an entire fireworks show is happening right in front of you?


    4 minutes, 30 seconds...


    4 minutes...


    3 minutes, 30 seconds...


    When my internal countdown hit 3 minutes, I slightly tugged at the string.


    The match immediately lit the fireworks attached to the end of the string, and they dashed forward, right into the window of Alya''s room.


    The glass shattered under the impact of the firework, and the firework continued its charge for a moment before I heard it finally explode.


    *CACKLE*


    *CACKLE*


    After tugging on the string 3 more times, I jumped from the roof onto the windowsill of Alya''s room and entered the room completely unnoticed.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Rather than being tense and wasting her entire day being scared, Alya treated this as normal. It wasn''t arrogance or pride that made her do this. It was just that she had simply grown accustomed to the constant assassination attempts.


    Most of the time, she didn''t even have a warning, but this time, she had been personally sought out by a hero''s family daughter, Lily.


    Alya sat down on her lavish armchair with a book in one hand and a glass of tea in the other; however, her mind was not on her book in the slightest.


    What was Lily planning?


    Originally, Alya planned to go out for elemental training, but after hearing Lily''s warnings, she decided that skipping one day wouldn''t change anything and decided to rest in her room.


    Of course, Alya didn''t trust this girl at all, but in this scenario, trusting her was the best-calculated move.


    Train and risk dying or stay inside.


    Having despised humans all her life, Alya couldn''t fathom why the girl had warned her.


    Weren''t they all supposed to be selfish? The humans she knew were pathetic and ignored the poor to fulfill their selfish desires.


    Of course, there was the possibility that Lily was simply tricking her; if so, she would pay dearly.


    As Alya continued reading, she subconsciously yawned before glancing at the clock by her bedside.


    "Odd... it''s not even 7 yet."


    Interrupting her train of thought, she immediately heard the sound of glass shattering.


    *CRASH*


    Already being prepared for anything, Alya picked up the staff behind her armchair and carefully stood up; however, before she could even see the window, a missile flew by her.


    *CRACKLE*


    The missile exploded the next second; however, instead of her room exploding, there was simply the sound of countless other smaller explosions, and a cloud of smoke appeared in her room.


    "Fireworks, not bombs."


    Raising her staff, Alya immediately began chanting.


    "Whispering breezes, rise and bend / Wind elementals, now descend!"


    Instantly, the cloud of smoke disappeared; however, Alya did not relax, and rightfully so. The next second, three more fireworks came dashing into her room.


    As three more clouds of smoke appeared, her walls became further damaged; Alya didn''t hesitate to scream out despite the damage to her dignity.


    "HELP!"


    In the next minute, Alya chanted 3 more times and cleared the smoke from her room. The walls were littered with small burns while Alya remained unharmed.


    Being careful and cautious, Alya immediately began to search for clues, not allowing her mind to rest for a minute.


    Her head was overflowing with so many thoughts and theories that she didn''t even notice her physical state declining.


    Only after Alya realized that she didn''t even possess the power to lift her staff anymore did she panic.


    Not hesitating anymore, she pressed the distress button in her pocket. As she didn''t want to involve her fellow elves in this assassination attempt earlier, she had only called for help out loud to the academy guards, but now the situation was dire.


    Of course, it was now far too late.


    Collapsing on the floor, Alya struggled to leave her eyelids open as her eyes began to dim; the last scene she saw was a figure covered in black slowly approaching her.


    "ha, I''ve really done it this time, haven''t I?"


    Her parents would cry and worry.


    The entire elven kingdom would come to a halt.


    War could even happen between the humans and elves, as this occurred right in the middle of the human realm.


    All because of her...


    Just how useless was she?


    After all her training, when it came down to it, she was weak.


    She desperately prayed and wished for another chance.


    Why hadn''t she taken the warning more seriously?


    She had chided her mind and convinced herself that simply hiding in the building was enough, but she was wrong.


    It was her fault for being so accustomed to these things, but who could blame her? What was this, the fiftieth attempt on her life?


    It couldn''t end like this for her, could it?


    She hadn''t even been able to make real friends.


    Everyone around her just respected her because of her status.


    She had never had the joy of eating out, playing games, or even doing homework with friends.


    It was her own fault; she had secluded herself and suppressed her emotions


    Had she truly been living so far, or had she just been playing the role of Elven princess?


    No good memories flashed before her eyes; there was nothing to show.


    However, her wish didn''t come to fruition, and her eyelids involuntarily closed, sealing her in a world of pure darkness.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Grabbing the unconscious body of Alya, I carefully placed her in my arms and walked back to the shattered window.


    Instead of immediately fleeing, I instead waited.


    Just a second later, the door immediately flung open, and I sensed an intense murdering intent from 3 figures with spears, each having elongated ears.


    Just on time.


    Who would have thought the officials were late again!?


    Even without knowing the future, I had predicted this.


    Can these authors get any more unoriginal?


    Flashing a wink to the elves under my mask, I taunted them by waving my hand, and before they could react, I jumped out of the window with Alya in my arms.


    Although my movement speed was decreased from holding Alya, I was still moving too fast to be seen as I jumped from tree to tree, running back to the clearing.


    Upon reaching the clearing, I made myself visible by walking into the middle, and immediately, I heard the urgent voice of the same horned figure.


    "Zen, where the hell have you been? I told you to scout around, not to travel to another goddamn country."


    "..."


    "Forget it any news? She isn''t anywhere in sight... the reports must have been wrong."


    With a smile under my mask, I raised out my arms, revealing the beautiful body of their target, Alya.


    Although I couldn''t see the deviled man''s emotions through his mask, I could predict them from his next words.


    "Zen, how the h-. Where t-. Wh-. You know what, forget it, explain later, let''s get going. Good job, you''ll be rewarded dearly."


    The other assassins had remained silent the entire time, prompting me to believe they were robots.


    Shouldn''t these guys be grateful that I saved them from being fired for not completing the mission?


    We had to teleport out from the secret passageway to leave the academy using scrolls, so our team immediately prepared to depart.


    However, before we could do anything, the sound of countless footsteps was heard. The ground seemed to shake as the synchronized footsteps hit the ground.


    The deviled figure and the rest of us halted as we stared at this noise''s source.


    Using my eyesight, I peered past the darkness of the night and saw a shield.


    A shield with a silver fox.


    Silverbrook.


    Ah, Lily had finally made her move.

 Chapter 29: Chapter 29:Variables [4]

    Until now, everything had been going to plan.


    I had successfully infiltrated the Gemstone Order and kidnapped Alya. I even displayed the kidnapping to the officials earlier so the academy would be informed.


    After hearing from the academy, Liam would immediately spring into action and come to save Alya from us.


    "Goddamn variables..."


    The worst part of it was that Lily was also lucky!


    The knights marching towards us blocked our path to the secret rock, and Lily didn''t even know about it!


    What kind of bullshit was this?


    The deviled figure, who could only judge the soldiers by the sound, almost had his mask crumble as he fearfully said.


    "T-here''s a l-lot of t-them."


    This guy isn''t gonna be any help, isn''t he?


    Can I just escape now?


    My goal had been accomplished; Alya had been kidnapped, and Liam, alongside Lily''s knights, was on their way to save her.


    But... then the Gemstone Order.


    It was not that I cared about the devilish figure or my robot-like comrades; it was just that this was the perfect way for me to infiltrate the order and finally obtain a dagger art.


    This was no longer about saving the world but conserving my own self-interests.


    With that in mind, my effort immediately doubled, and my mind began to race, coming up with ideas.


    To activate the scrolls, all we have to do is leave the Academy grounds, but the secret entrance is blocked...


    What if we leave through the main entrance?


    Who the hell would expect a bunch of kidnappers to attempt to escape through the main entrance of the academy?


    Shouldn''t all the guards stationed there be at the dorm building assessing the damage?


    With that in mind, I calmly spoke, ensuring the impending footsteps didn''t deafen my voice.


    "...All we have to do is get out of the academy, right? What if we go through the front gate."


    Instantly, all heads turned to me; even the robot-like comrades stared at me with disbelief. At least that''s what I thought they were staring at me with; I couldn''t see their actual faces through the mask.


    An angry voice sounded from the horned figure.


    "YOU DAMNED IDIOT, that''s like robbing a store, then just walking out the front entrance like nothing happened!"


    "Well, do you have any better ideas? The secret rock is blocked."


    "..."


    Yeah, that''s what I thought, stay silent.


    Finally, one of the robot kidnappers spoke and anxiously asked.


    "d-do we e-even know where the g-gate is?"


    Immediately piggybacking off the robot assassin, the deviled figure turned to me and said.


    "Yeah, that''s right. How are we gonna know where the entrance is."


    With a smile behind my mask, I calmly replied.


    "I know where it is!"


    "... how...?"


    "Did you already forget? I went scouting and spotted it!"


    After thinking for a very short second, the horned-figured turned around to face the robots and calmed asked.


    "Does anyone have any better ideas...?"


    An awkward silence ensued.


    Well, not silence; the sound of the footsteps kept coming closer and becoming louder.


    Not wasting any more time, I turned to face the direction of the Academy gate and said.


    "Well, I''ll lead the way."


    As I walked through the dense forest, I felt a sudden stirring in my arms and realized that the princess was turning and rolling around.


    ... Just what kind of dream is this princess having?


    As we continued walking toward the entrance, the sound of footsteps kept getting closer; all be it, the footsteps were much lower in quantity.


    They seemed to have decided to split into search parties to look for us.


    Turning to the horned figure anxiously trailing behind me, I quietly said.


    "We should start running, or we''ll be found really soon."


    I felt like I could now read the horned figure''s expression through his mask as I guessed his anxiousness had just changed to anger.


    "... you could have said that earlier.?"


    Hey, I''m that one leading you to salvation; why are you complaining?


    I wanted to say that, but based on the conversations thus far, it seemed like this horned figure was much higher in the hierarchy than me, so insulting him wouldn''t be good.


    Without waiting for the horned figure to communicate to the robots trailing behind him, I picked up the pace and started running.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Lily, Liam, and the badly injured Irene were assigned to one of the search parties, but amid their search, they immediately heard many footsteps running.


    Liam immediately asked.


    "Do you guys hear that..?"


    On the other hand, Lily was so out of it that she didn''t even pay attention to Liam''s question.


    How could this have happened?


    She had warned Alya to stay in the dorm room... how could she have been kidnapped?


    Lily was sure that Alya had heeded her instructions, knowing that her character was known for being cautious, but then, that meant... the kidnappers had gone to the dorm building..?


    No, that was impossible; the book explicitly mentioned that they only stayed in the forest. But then, how was Alya kidnapped?


    Turning around, she also looked at the injured Irene with pity; however, Irene responded with a glare.


    All she had wanted to do was save some people... yet she had made it all worse.


    Irene was still injured, and Alya, who was supposed to be saved by Liam, wasn''t anywhere to be found.


    Her plans to save people had turned out the complete opposite.


    She had failed...


    Snapping Lily of her sullen thoughts, Liam once again spoke.


    "Guys... I think those footsteps are the kidnappers..."


    Lily''s heart skipped a beat.


    She could salvage this!


    In the future, she will be more careful and save more people!


    Without waiting for Liam''s instructions, she immediately darted toward the footsteps, with Liam and the injured Irene following closely behind.


    After another minute of constant running, the three exited the forest, and with that, their speed massively increased as they didn''t have to worry about the obstacles in the forest.


    As they were running, Liam asked.


    "...Isn''t this the direction of the main gate.."


    Lily, who had refocused and quelled her internal turmoil, thought about it before saying.


    "It is, indeed."


    Irene, who was lagging behind the two due to her injuries, spoke.


    "T-those bastards, t-there''re trying to escape."


    Within the next few minutes, the three students could see the five figures in the distance, and they also saw the princess. However, the gate was there, too...


    Knowing that the criminal organization likely had access to teleportation scrolls, Lily started panicking.


    If they get through that gate, it''s all over...


    Alya will be gone...


    Instantly, Lily regained control of her thoughts before commanding.


    "Irene, throw fireballs at the gate; WE CAN''T LET THEM ESCAPE."


    Even Irene, who despised and hated Lily, couldn''t help but feel inclined to obey her commands due to Lily''s serious tone.


    Three fireballs immediately appeared to the three students, and they charged forward at the gate.


    The next second, the fireballs made contact with the gate, causing the gate to collapse under the impact.


    "LIAM, GO STALL THEM."


    Liam, taken aback by Lily''s sudden command, didn''t have time to react. Lily''s wind magic suddenly lifted him up and hurled him towards the kidnappers.


    While Lily and Irene started catching up, Liam landed on his feet in front of the kidnappers.


    After giving a quick glance to sleeping Alya, Liam felt a surge of anger erupting within him.


    ... These bastards dare kidnap someone right on academy grounds.


    They had to be punished.


    Was death really enough punishment for them?


    " *tsk* it''ll have to do for now."


    3 kidnappers immediately darted forward, charging at Liam. However, Liam simply felt too powerful at the moment.


    Immense power was gushing through his veins. Despite having 3 attackers, Liam parried all of them instantly, and he also counter-attacked one of them.


    The injured one fell back, stroking the bloody wound on his knee, while the other two kept furiously attacking Liam.


    A surge of red aura enveloped Liam, pushing back the two advancers, and Liam, not wasting the moment, charged forward, striking yet another attacker in the knee.


    One of the injured kidnappers muttered out.


    "h-hes t-too s-strong."


    "Damn right, I''m strong. You guys are just a bunch of low-life kidnappers. Prepare to meet your end."


    At this time, he felt two new presences at his side, and he glanced around to see both Irene and Lily had caught up to him.


    "This battle is as good as over; die gracefully at the very least, rat bastards."


    Irene, who had three more fireballs floating above her head, glared daggers at the group of kidnappers who had ambushed her while they were looking for Alya.


    "Liam, they''re mine. My fire will destroy them all."


    As the three students prepared to kill the kidnappers, all the kidnappers seemed to huddle around a single person.


    The single person, adorned with full black and an Iron badge, stepped forward while holding the unconscious Alya in his hands.


    Holding a twisted dagger in his hands, he calmly spoke despite facing the three overpowered students.


    "Take another step, and the princess dies."


    Silence immediately descended upon the three students.


    They thought they had the upper hand this entire time, just for it to disappear with one sentence.


    Liam, trembling at the thought of watching one of his classmates die, spoke to Irene and Lily.


    "w-what d-do we do...?"


    The other two students seemed to react similarly as they had no answer to Liam''s question. After another second, Lily spoke.


    "...Stall for the guards?"


    Irene, standing behind Lily, interrupted.


    "What if they kill her n-"


    Interrupting the student''s heated discussion, the man holding Alya spoke once again.


    "Move out of the way."


    Lily fell back into her internal turmoil.


    What could they do now?


    If they didn''t move, Alya would meet her death.


    If they moved, the kidnappers would escape, and Alya would perhaps meet a fate worse than death.


    It was all because of her...


    She thought that everything would go exactly as planned just because she knew the future.


    However, now, she learned a grave truth.


    "There will also be variables..."


    Before the three students could give the man an answer, the man walked back over to his group and started discussing.


    Liam, once again, started the conversation.


    "...What now."


    Irene, with blood still oozing from her wounds, answers.


    "We can''t let them go with Alya... she''ll meet a fate worse than death."


    Nodding his head in agreement, Liam turned to face Lily, who was known for intelligence.


    "I-i d-don''t know."


    Tears started to flow down Lily''s face.


    For the first time in this world, she felt utterly powerless...


    After riding the high of saving the village of Cordu, she felt unstoppable, but in a single instant, all of that confidence was gone, and now despair.


    Liam wanted to comfort Lily, but he knew it was futile. The odds of Alya''s death were 100%...


    Interrupting the conversation between the three students, the group of kidnappers walked forward with the man still holding a dagger to Alya''s neck.


    The group prepared to attack.


    They had come to a silent agreement.


    Allowing Alya to be kidnapped would be far worse than letting her die. Who knew what those criminals would do to her... torture or maybe worse.


    Then, the man holding Alya suddenly tossed her to Liam. Liam caught off guard, still managed to react and catch Alya, preventing her from receiving any wounds. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Shocked, the three students stood still while watching the kidnappers walk away empty-handed.


    Liam was once again the first to break the silence.


    "w-what just happened...?"


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Convincing my comrades to surrender Alya was much easier than I thought. All I had to do was tell them that we would be dead if we didn''t, and surprisingly, they listened.


    After all, these guys are criminals at heart who value their lives above anything else.


    Of course, I didn''t come back empty-handed.


    In my right hand, I held a sparkling ring with a diamond as its core.


    As the five of us left the academy gates, I turned around and spotted dozens of guards charging towards Liam and Alya.


    Wow, just in time, these officials are impeccable with their timing!


    Struggling to hide my laughter, I stepped towards the horned figure as he tore open a scroll.


    The space around all five of us began to distort, and when it stabilized, we seemed to be somewhere underground.

 Chapter 30: Chapter 30:Variables [5]

    Following the lead of the horned figure, I descended deeper into the underground cave system.


    Of course, the book did not describe the headquarters of a villainous organization, so I curiously surveyed my surroundings while maintaining my calm facade.


    Looking at my comrades, I realized I was out of place in displaying a calm appearance as the rest were trembling with fear and nervousness.


    They had failed their mission and would likely be demoted or reprimanded harshly.


    In the original story, these kidnappers were captured by the officials and subjected to torture until they revealed the measly information they had, so I have no idea why they''re nervous instead of relieved.


    If only they knew how lucky they were to have me!


    The punishment didn''t matter to me as long as I was not removed from the Gemstone Order.


    The worrisome part was what came after, as I would have to complete countless missions to receive contribution points and eventually buy a dagger art.


    The cave walls were adorned with countless gemstones, including sapphire, ruby, emerald, and gold. Each gemstone lit up a little portion of the dark cave, creating a somewhat eerie mood as some parts of the cave were lit up while others were pitch-black.


    As the path''s width decreased, our group was forced to huddle together, further adding to the awkward mood.


    After what seemed an entirety, a large set of double wooden doors came into vision.


    Paying careful attention to the robot-like assassins, I imitated their actions perfectly to ensure that the horned figure didn''t notice anything.


    After the set of doors was within 10 feet of us, the horned figure turned around and addressed us.


    " *sigh* Wait here, I''ll report to the superiors..."


    Like the others, I stood to the side and watched the horned figure open the wooden doors, hoping to catch a glance inside; however, the doors shut before I could see anything.


    As I patiently waited for the horned figure to reemerge, I realized that everything had actually gone according to plan.


    I had successfully dealt with all the variables!


    I wonder how Lily is feeling right now... The kidnappers still injured Irene and a couple of guards during their search for Alya, so she had failed.


    For me to succeed, she must fail, so there''s no point in worrying.


    My survival matters most, and she''s risking that by altering the plot.


    She''ll continue causing problems for the remainder of the plot, so... what if I take care of her now?


    Ah, no, her role as Lily is too vital in the plot to be killed off.


    So, then, what? Am I forced to keep intervening in the incidents and ensuring everything goes according to the plot?


    Can I reach an agreement with her? After all, we are both from Earth.


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, I heard the doors opening again, so I readjusted my gaze to the sullen-horned figure walking out.


    Even I was somewhat anxious as all of this was new to me as the kidnappers were originally captured.


    Seeing our attitudes, the horned figure cleared his throat before saying.


    "Good News and Bad News..."


    For the first time, I saw one of the kidnappers get verbally angry.


    "SO? GET ON IT WITH IT; YOU''VE LEFT US TREMBLING HERE FOR 10 MINUTES ALREADY."


    "... Alright, for the good, we won''t be demoted or kicked out."


    A sigh of relief was released from everyone there, including me.


    "For the bad, we''ll lose 25 contribution points each..."


    That reminds me, how many contribution points did this guy have?


    After raising my hand and tapping on the Iron badge attached to my shirt, a digital menu appeared before me.


    [User: Zen / Rank: Iron / Points: 15]


    ... Is it possible to get into point debt?


    Looking up from my pathetic points menu, I noticed the horned figure standing in front of me. A peculiar grin was spread across his face, and his tone seemed happy rather than anxious or sad.


    "heyyy, the superiors want to speak to you personally."


    "..."


    This guy put all the blame on me, didn''t he? ... I am so screwed.


    Accepting my fate, I headed towards the double doors and pulled them open without any hesitation.


    The first thing in the room that caught my eye was a gigantic diamond crystal sitting in the center of the room, lighting up the entire area.


    Surrounding the diamond were other smaller gemstones, and there was a seat on each of those gemstones.


    All of the seats were empty except one; the ruby crystal had a figure sitting on it with jet-black hair and blood-red eyes.


    The same as me.


    Her hair was tied into a ponytail, and she was wearing a simple yet elegant black dress that stretched all the way down to her knees.


    One of the 7 main bosses of the Gemstone Order, Ruby.


    Despite her elegant and formal appearance, Ruby was actually the same age as Liam, Alya, and me.


    Not knowing what exactly to do, I walked a couple of steps forward before bowing my head.


    "Raise your head."


    Following her directions, I lifted my gaze and patiently waited for her further instructions. This person was an end-game boss, not someone like me could handle right now.


    For a moment, there was pure silence in the room as Ruby simply stared at me, but it felt weird, as if her gaze was infiltrating my body and looking deep down to find my darkest secrets.


    However, I didn''t dare move or act out.


    Was she still calculating my punishment? Was I even getting punished? What did that idiot say to her that made her want to speak to me personally?


    After a moment, Ruby spoke once again.


    "I heard you personally captured the princess. Was there anything of value on her?"


    ... Do I lie or not? The diamond ring isn''t necessarily that special as it simply increases mana capacity, but then again, with my meager amount of money, it would take me a year of saving to get another.


    Deciding that my life was worth more than a mana ring, I pulled out the diamond ring from my pocket and said.


    "Yes, I planned on reporting it to the leader before I was called."


    Gesturing for me to come closer, Ruby said.


    "Give it to me."


    Not wasting any time, I moved forward and placed the ring into Ruby''s hands.


    Instead of simply taking the ring and backing away, Ruby moved the hand containing the ring and threw it.


    *CLACK*


    The sound of the ring hitting the floor only a meter away from me echoed throughout the room.


    Paralyzed by fear, I stood still and let my thoughts run wild.


    Did she know I was planning to keep it? What is she going to do to me for almost lying...?


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, I felt a cold sensation on my chin that then rapidly spread throughout my body.


    Ruby''s hand, previously holding the mana ring, was now right below my chin, holding it in place.


    Looking down at me from the seat, she raised my head until my eyes directly met hers.


    Our blood-red eyes were in sync as we stared at each other, each of us blinking at the same exact time.


    "Using my eyes, I can peer into the souls of others and read their deepest and darkest desires. What do you think I see when I look at you?"


    It was an easy question. There was only one thing I desired.


    However, considering the circumstances of her holding my chin up and us directly making eye contact, only a small stutter came out of my mouth.


    "T-the d-desire to live. "


    A smile formed on Ruby''s face, causing me to lose my focus, as her beauty was simply blinding.


    Raising her other hand, Ruby placed it on my cheek and began to caress it.


    "You''re just like me..."


    For a moment, the world seemed to stop as Ruby continued to stroke my cheek while looking directly into my eyes.


    "One simple desire is all you have, yet in your soul, it shines brighter than any other desire I''ve ever seen. Disgusting, lustful, vengeful, pure, and happy desires, I''ve seen it all, but all of them are insignificant embers when compared to your inferno flame."


    "Though I cannot see my own soul''s desires, I imagine it perfectly matches your souls..."


    Being at a loss for words, I simply kept silent.


    What was I supposed to say?


    I wasn''t surprised. I was already willing to watch half of the people in this world die so that a happy ending could be achieved, ensuring my survival.


    But, did that mean she was also willing to...? Well, I guess that''s an end-game villain for you.


    Putting her hands down, Ruby dropped her serious tone and began speaking more playfully.


    "Well, the original reason I called you here was to reward you. The horned guy told me that you captured the princess when the mission initially went wrong, and although the mission was ultimately a failure, we must reward you."


    All my worries instantly disappeared.


    That horned guy really was an idiot!


    He could have taken all the credit for initially capturing the princess and received a reward, yet he decided to hand it to me.


    Wasn''t this guy a criminal and a djinn? Where the hell is his criminal spirit!?


    "You know, I have also taken an interest in you."


    ... You say that now after you caressed my cheeks and told me I''m just like you? Even that stupid horned guy could figure that out!


    Choosing my next words very cautiously, I spoke.


    "I am honored to receive such recognition."


    "haha, speak to me informally, don''t worry."


    "Yes... but about the reward."


    "Quick to get down to business, are you? Only a moment ago, you were completely silent while I rubbed your cheeks."


    "..."


    Of course, what am I supposed to say when an end-game villain boss starts rubbing your cheeks and calls you special?


    "Hmm, since you''re interesting, you can choose one item from the catalogue below 800 contribution points."


    I currently had a balance of -10 contributions points, and now, suddenly, I could buy anything below 800!


    It was free money! I had hit the lottery!


    Patting my chest, I internally thanked whatever flame was ignited in my soul for interesting Ruby so much.


    Next, I received the catalog from Ruby and headed to the doors, but I suddenly recalled something.


    "... about the mana ring."


    " *PFFT* you really are something else. You can take it if you so please."


    After grabbing the mana ring, I headed back to the double doors, but as I opened them, Ruby''s soft voice spoke once again.


    "Ren... we''ll see each other much more often now!"


    As I turned around to face Ruby bewildered, she winked at me, but before I could say anything else, the door was suddenly shut, pushing me out of the room.


    ... They always say free things cost the most.


    How did she know I was Ren...? What did she mean by "we''ll see each other?


    Various worries flooded my head, but those worries ceased when I opened the first page of the catalog.


    No matter what cost would be extracted later, currently, I WAS RICH!


    Flipping immediately to the dagger art section, I spotted two daggers arts.


    [Whispering Tempest / Stars: 3/5 / Cost: 500P]


    [Eclipse Blade / Stars: 4/5 / Cost 750P]


    While I had aimed for "Whispering Tempest" at first, through my training as an assassin, I realized that darkness and shadows were my greatest strength.


    What would a wind dagger art do in the shadows?


    Thus, I ultimately decided to pick Eclipse Blade, a dagger art based on darkness, shadows, and the absence of light.


    Not only that, but the dagger art was already 4 stars!


    All dagger arts involving natural elements such as fire, water, light, ground, rock, and dark were upgradable to 5 stars, so Eclipse Blade was also upgradable.


    Unlike "Whispering Tempest," I didn''t know how to upgrade the Eclipse Blade, but that was a problem for later.


    After I selected Eclipse Blade, an employee wearing a tiger mask walked out of the double doors and handed me a box.


    Was I receiving special treatment from Ruby? Delivery in less than a minute...?


    Wasting no time, I opened the box and immediately absorbed the dagger art.


    Instantly, I felt the first movement of Eclipse Blade planted into my head.


    It was an elemental slash of pure darkness. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Also, as I checked my system menu, my rating had increased to D rank.


    ===Menu===


    User : Ren Montclair


    [Class: Rookie Assassin: (Level 2: 10%) ]


    -> Stealth : D-


    -> Intermediate Dagger Mastery : 42%


    -> Arts: Eclipse Blade [1/5]


    [Stats]


    -> Rating : D- {Dream not yet completed}


    -> Strength : E


    -> Agility : E+


    -> Stamina : E+


    -> Magic Power : D+


    -> Luck: G-S {Conditional}


    -> Intelligence : E


    -> Charm : G+


    [Traits]


    -> Passive: Dragon''s Will [1 / ?]


    ---> Dragon Eyes : Your eyesight is enhanced.


    [Skills]


    -> [[E] Dash] : Not requiring any mana usage, the skill allows the user to move 10 meters from their current location in any direction with a cooldown period of 7 seconds. The skill does not instantly move the user but temporarily increases the user''s speed until they move 10 meters.


    =======

 Chapter 31: Chapter 31:Nightclub [1]

    After realizing that I couldn''t learn any more movements of the Art until I mastered the dark elemental slash, I got up and headed back to my comrades.


    Upon arrival, the horned figure immediately confronted me with a large smile, which I reciprocated.


    "How was it?"


    "Perfect, thanks for the props."


    I had noticed all the other kidnappers speaking to him in a non-formal way, so I copied them to maintain my image.


    Of course, I didn''t know if maintaining my image as Zen even mattered anymore as Ruby somehow found out I was Ren.


    Probably shouldn''t have expected a simple mask to fool an end-game boss. But was my face so recognizable that she could recognize me as Ren by simply seeing my face?


    Ruby''s backstory was never mentioned, maybe she had a close connection with my family before?


    Patting me on the back, the horned figure continued.


    "No problem, you saved us back then. Our mission was only to cause fear and chaos in the academy, not actually bring the princess back. The superiors thought telling us that we needed to bring back the princess would make us try harder."


    "They were a bit mad, though, as the Academy discovered our tunnel, so we lost some contribution points."


    Ah, Lily''s doing; she must have also wondered how our group infiltrated the academy without being noticed and found it.


    Interrupting our conversation, another comrade yelled from behind us.


    "DECLAN AND ZEN, LOOK AT THESE."


    In his hands, the kidnapper held two devices that closely resembled a flip phone from Earth.


    Don''t they have smartphones and smartwatches in this world? Why would they need these?


    After passing a flip phone to both Declan and I, he continued.


    "The girl with a tiger mask told us that we will be using these to communicate now; we''re officially a group under the Ruby gemstone''s leader now!"


    Ah, is this what Ruby meant earlier? If so, why didn''t she just say that earlier? I would have found out anyway.


    After saying that, he also pulled a bunch of Ruby pins from his pocket and handed them to us.


    "These pins will teleport us to here and out from now on!"


    Then it dawned on me that this underground tunnel area was the Ruby gemstone''s headquarters...


    Ruby was the same age as me, yet she had this whole area as a headquarters???


    After mentally reminding myself to confront Raven later, I replaced the Iron pin with the Ruby.


    Declan, even more ecstatic than ever, started clapping his hands, gathering the entire group''s attention.


    "Who''s up for some drinks to celebrate the news!?"


    "DAMN RIGHT, I AM!"


    "WHEN ARE WE NOT UP FOR DRINKS?"


    Seeing the reactions of my group members, I could hardly recognize them.


    Weren''t they completely emotionless and robotic during the mission... who the hell are these happy and excited guys?


    Checking the time, I realized I would have to return to school, so I waved a quick goodbye to Declan and the others before tapping the Ruby pin attached to my shirt.


    Instantly, the space around me distorted, and I was brought into the middle of a forest.


    "Really, only an end-game villain organization can have access to this overpowered technology..."


    After tinkering with the pin for a second, I realized that you could actually set a place to teleport to when you leave the headquarters, and apparently, the place I was at was the default one.


    Of course, I couldn''t use the pin inside the Academy as the protection spells would block it, but setting a teleport place in the capital would be nice for the future.


    [Ren: Hey, I have a task for you.]


    [Raven: Oh really, another one? That''s perfectly fine with me! Making an entire business in less than a month wasn''t hard enough for me! Do you want me to buy out the entire black market next?]


    [Ren: Glad to hear that; you''ll need to buy a building for our headquarters. About buying out the black market, that''s your task for next month!]


    [Raven: Do you know what sarcasm is? Ah, surely you do; nice joke.]


    [Raven: You were joking, right?]


    [Raven: Hello?]


    After checking my location, I put down my smartphone and realized I wasn''t too far from the capital.


    After an uneventable walk, I returned to the bridge leading to the Academy''s island.


    The gate itself was in shambles due to Irene''s fireballs, so while the guards were worried about repairing it, I snuck inside unnoticed.


    As I walked back to my dorm building, I noticed an abundance of posters plastered everywhere, but that was to be expected. After all, it was student council election season.


    Although plenty of different candidates were running, everyone already knew that Astrid would win.


    Ranked first out of the 3rd years, Astrid would probably win the election even if she didn''t do any campaigning.


    Of course, her student council group would consist of the main cast, with Liam, Lily, and Alya being on it.


    I don''t think Lily could even ruin this plot point if she tried, so there was no point in paying attention.


    The rest of this school week progressed regularly, and I could see Alya becoming closer to both Lily and Liam.


    The entire staff team surprisingly overlooked my absence due to Alya''s kidnapping, so I had nothing to worry about.


    After class ended on Friday, Jin grabbed Han and me and escorted us to a random nightclub in the capital. At first, the bouncers rejected us due to our age, but after displaying our student IDs, the bouncer had no qualms about letting us in.


    Jin immediately ditched Han and me after spotting an attractive girl. Han went off to who-knows-where, leaving me completely alone.


    Since I had never reached the age of 21 on Earth, I could never go into a nightclub, but after observing the scenery for a minute, I realized that the movies portrayed them perfectly.


    Huge dance floor, plenty of Alcohol, tons of girls and guys, and booths scattered throughout.


    Amid my observation, I suddenly heard the entire club clapping, so I adjusted my gaze to the stage, where three girls stood with a microphone and two guitars.


    Somewhat curious about this world''s music, I headed to the bar area for a better view of the stage.


    After ordering a drink, I glanced at the stage, and upon glancing at one of the girls, I almost fell out of my chair.


    The girl in the center of the stage had blonde hair, twin ponytails, and contacts that made it appear as if there was a star inside of the pupil in her eye.


    That was the student council president, Astrid...


    Although most people couldn''t tell, with my enhanced eyesight, I could easily recognize her from the countless posters around the school.


    Although Astrid didn''t descend from a Hero family or an imperial, her father was a Duke of a kingdom on the outskirts of the kingdom, so there was no way she needed money.


    Did she just really enjoy singing...?


    Realizing that I had been staring at Astrid far longer than any other person in the club, I tried to redirect my gaze, but before I could, my eyes met hers.


    Instantly, I turned my head, not caring if I looked suspicious or not.


    There would not be another Ruby incident, so help me god. By just existing, an end-game villain had taken an interest in me.


    The music sung by Astrid and the guitarists was surprisingly familiar as it closely resembled K-pop music from Earth.


    As the music continued to play, I sat on the barstool while enjoying my drink and occasionally glancing around.


    I should have been enjoying this outing, a completely new experience, and a break, but something felt off.


    Through my hours of training every day, I learned never to doubt my intuition as a fighter, but most importantly, never to doubt my sight.


    There were times when my eyes moved faster than my brain, like when I saw the trajectory of an incoming attack but could not react to it.


    That was the exact feeling I felt right now.


    I had seen a danger, but my brain couldn''t figure it out.


    Slowing, turning my head to look around, I scanned every inch until that feeling peaked.


    However, there was a problem: that feeling peaked at 5 different locations...


    The locations didn''t include any people, but they were 5 empty booths.


    After concluding that, I wasted no time and walked over to the first of the five booths. To my surprise, there was nothing amiss or wrong.


    Ignoring the singing of Astrid, I made my way to the 2nd and 3rd booths, where nothing was wrong.


    At this point, doubt seemed to creep into my mind, not doubt about my eyesight but doubt about whether this world was real or an apparition.


    I was more inclined to believe that this world was imaginary than that my eyes were off.


    After checking out the 5th booth, I decided just to leave the nightclub. There was no point in wasting more time figuring out the issue.


    Whatever was wrong with this nightclub wouldn''t affect me if I was already back at the academy.


    And there was no one important here in the nightclub that could die... right?


    Astrid.


    The death of the student council president would undoubtedly negatively affect the plot.


    Returning to the first of the five booths, I looked forward right into the wall behind it instead of at the booth itself.


    After glancing around to ensure no eyes were on me, I threw my first forward, and with my awakened power, a fist-shaped hole was formed in the wall.


    Maybe I was just looking in the wrong place earlier.


    Looking inside the hole, I immediately realized what was causing the feeling.


    Inside the small wall, there was a bottle. A bottle I knew very well because I had used it myself this week.


    A sleeping potion.


    5 sleeping potions... that''s enough to knock out the entire nightclub. And with the atmosphere, no one would bat an eye if they thought they felt sleepy.


    Rushing to the bathroom, I immediately splashed my eyes with water and instantly felt myself becoming reenergized.


    The potion was already in effect.


    The president was in danger.


    I pulled out my phone before making any rash decisions involving the president.


    [Ren: Let''s get something to eat; Han find Jin and tell him all of us are leaving.]


    [Han: I don''t know if he''ll listen...]


    [Ren: Remind him that this whole outing was originally for me.]


    They''ve hung out with me constantly and kept me company whenever I felt homesick for Earth, so the least I could do was this.


    Pushing aside the people in front of me, I made my way to the front of the stage and looked upwards, trying to find Astrid.


    ...


    ... Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    Singing was one of the few things that Astrid enjoyed, and a break from the constant studying and training was needed to prevent her from collapsing from stress.


    Singing was not an activity that could be done at the Academy, so Astrid searched for other outlets, and nightclub gigs were the easiest and most exciting due to their environment.


    Of course, as future student council president, Astrid couldn''t tell anyone that she sang at nightclubs, so she chose poorer nightclubs that were far from the capital.


    That was why she was so shocked to see a familiar face at the club.


    As she came from a somewhat influential family, Astrid often attended events hosted by important families, so when she saw Ren''s face, she immediately recognized it.


    Wasn''t he disowned?


    Ah, what a story, a fallen noble coming to a poor nightclub to find pleasure.


    As the rest of the night went on, Astrid slowly forgot the existence of Ren and instead became focused solely on singing.


    That was until she looked right down at the front of the crowd and saw Ren seemingly cheering her on like a fan.


    A bout of laughter almost escaped Astrid''s mouth.


    She remembered seeing Ren being so prideful and arrogant at whatever event he attended, looking down on everyone.


    Now, that same Ren looked serious and panicked while listening to her sing.


    Money must be running low for him.


    Enjoying the sight of Ren''s sullen and serious face, Astrid contemplated how to increase her delight.


    Whenever she attempted to speak with Ren in the past, she would be brushed off and ridiculed, so seeing Ren like this was almost a dream.


    Calling him out to everyone? ... Perfect.


    She, who had been laughed at by Ren, would now make Ren suffer the greatest humiliation by having everyone at the club laugh at him.


    Reaching her free hand over, Astrid placed her hand right in front of Ren.


    Seeing his surprised and happy face, a big grin spread over Astrid''s face.


    The same person who ridiculed and ignored her was now ecstatic that she was paying attention to him.


    Ren grabbed Astrid''s hand, so she pulled him up to the stage.


    Thinking this would be the perfect time to get her revenge on Ren by calling him out, Astrid grabbed Ren and pulled his head to her mouth.


    But Ren''s calm and indifferent voice came out before Astrid could say anything.


    "Astrid or student council president, you should leave now."


    [A/N: 75 Powerstones = 1 chapter / 1 gift = 1 chapter]

 Chapter 32: Chapter 32:Nightclub [2]

    Astrid froze. Her smile disappeared, and her delight turned into fright. Ren could even feel the trembling of her body right next to him.


    What the... where... how did he get my name? How did he know it was me?


    Astrid was so shellshocked by Ren knowing her name that she completely ignored or forgot about the second part of his words.


    The guitarists on stage glanced at Astrid, who had frozen up and stopped singing, causing Astrid to regain her composure.


    Looking at the calm and indifferent expression on Ren''s face, memories of how Ren looked down on her with a cocky face resurfaced. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Surrounded by countless noble children and guards, Astrid finally gathered the courage to approach Ren and start a conversation.


    "Hello Ren, I''m Astrid, how are you d-"


    " *pfft* I know are who you are. My family''s personal hunting dogs."


    "Wait... no, it''s not like that, we''re bot-"


    "Now you''re trying to deny it? A dog should know its place. Maybe I''ll have to report to my father that our dogs aren''t obedient anymore."


    The group of children surrounding Ren instantly broke into laughter while glaring at Astrid''s flushed face.


    "No... please, I just wanted to ta-"


    "Talk? A peasant like you wanted to talk to me? Are you delusional?"


    Astrid''s face crumpled as those words came out of Ren''s mouth. Her father had explicitly told her to get Ren''s good side as her family was currently under the Montclair, so she just had to sit there and take the verbal beating.


    As Ren continued to ridicule her in public, she could also hear the other children laughing at her and trash-talking her. They didn''t even try to hide it; they simply hid behind Ren''s back while loudly insulting her.


    "You know, she may look good, but I don''t know about the brain''s department."


    "How did she even get invited to this party?"


    "She just looks so out of place. Like a penguin in a desert."


    Shrinking back from the constant verbal backlash, Astrid bowed her head to Ren and walked away.


    "Yeah, walk away, peasant!"


    "A country bumpkin like her shouldn''t even be here."


    For what? What did she even do to Ren? Was it a crime for her to try to make conversation..? She had done nothing wrong...


    No, she didn''t deserve this; it was all Ren''s fault. But what could she do about..?


    Astrid sat in the corner for the rest of the party, barely holding back tears, while the other children gathered around Ren, laughing at his every word.


    It was like she was back in that very same place right now.


    Was this bastard going to expose her hobby to the entire school..? Was Ren going to make the entire school ridicule her again...?


    It was ironic and quite humorous; only a few moments ago, Astrid planned to expose Ren''s identity to the entire nightclub, but now the tables were flipped.


    No... not yet; he doesn''t have the upper hand. If he dares to say anything, I''ll ruin him with rumors; no one will defend him if he tries to deny it.


    People don''t flock to him anymore; he''s just a stray dog with no master.


    Quelling her chaotic thoughts, Astrid tried to start singing again, but anyone with a brain could tell she was off-beat for the rest of the song.


    Fortunately, people in nightclubs aren''t using their brains.


    As Astrid continued to sing, she anxiously glanced at the audience to ensure that no one had noticed her mishap, and she was ecstatic to see that almost nobody was paying attention.


    It was weird, really. Only five minutes ago, she was the center of attention, but now everyone was almost completely ignoring her. The people weren''t even dancing; in fact, they were struggling to stand up straight.


    The nightclub floor was littered with tons of shattered glass from the dropped drinks and cocktails.


    Don''t they know they have to pay extra if they break the glasses?


    Dismissing the various odds things as people just being drunk, Astrid realized that she had more important things to pay attention to.


    Turning her head to the right mid-song, she expected to see Ren still standing there, but to her surprise, Ren was nowhere to be seen.


    As the song ended, Astrid ignored her guitarists'' surprised expressions and rushed off the stage to try and find Ren.


    That bastard! He must already be sprinting back to the school to expose me.


    As Astra sprinted off the stage and into the crowd, the anomalies within the nightclub grew clearer to her. The people sitting by the bar seemed to be asleep; the people previously dancing were collapsing to the floor one by one, and finally, she couldn''t even sprint anymore.


    In fact, she couldn''t even walk.


    "w-what is h-happening."


    Leaning on a table for support, Astrid paused for a minute before she felt her thoughts slow and her legs slowly giving out.


    Snapping her back awake, the doors of the nightclub busted open, and 3 men with black masks strolled into the club.


    Astrid''s eyes widened as she noticed that all 3 of them had horns.


    "djinns..."


    Pushing her hands down, Astrid attempted to stand back up and cast a spell; however, it was completely useless as Astra didn''t have the strength even to lift her hand.


    One of the figures had a light fire lit above their hands while the other two held broadswords. They glanced around before pausing at her barely-standing figure.


    "Looks like we got a fighter over here."


    "Hmmm, she''ll go for quite a bit underground."


    "Get going; only take the valuable things; we only have 5 minutes."


    Astrid''s legs finally gave out as she collapsed onto the booth couch while watching the masked figures steal everything valuable.


    Eventually, one of the masked figures, only a few feet from Astrid, turned around and said.


    "I''ll take the girl as my compensation."


    "Why the hell do you get to decide? Who died and made you boss?"


    "He''s right; the boss told us only to take jewelry and money."


    " *tsk* the boss won''t care if we take a single girl with us. Leave it to me."


    "Do what you want, but the blames on you if the boss gets pissed."


    "Alright, alright."


    Sitting down on the booth couch, Astrid mustered up all her remaining strength to move her head just to see a horned figure with a broad sword walking up to her.


    Barely opening her mouth, Astrid managed to say something.


    "Don''t you know I''m from Celestial Academy? You''ll surely be caught if you even touch me."


    "Even better, I love a fierce one."


    As the horned figure placed his hand on Astrid''s legs, Astrid struggled to remain conscious as she felt her eyelids becoming heavier and heavier.


    Mustering up the last of her awakened strength, Astrid remained conscious while the horned figure grabbed her leg and prepared to lift her up.


    Not having the strength even to open her mouth, Astrid could only internally scream in horror, wishing it was all a dream.


    Temporarily succumbing to the potion, Astrid closed her eyes for a moment, but when she reopened her eyes, she was somehow even more terrified.


    A body without a head stood in front of her.


    During the less than 1 second period, she had her eyes closed; the djinn had lost its head.


    The completely motionless body freefell forward towards Astrid''s unmoving body, but as the djinn''s chest was about to touch Astrid''s face, it suddenly stopped.


    The body of the djinn flew back and away from Astrid''s body, and she heard a familiar voice. A voice that she had heard over and over in nightmares when she was young.


    "Goddamn it, why doesn''t anyone ever listen to me?"


    Ren?


    Wasn''t he supposed to be off-exposing her at the academy? Why was he here? Did he save her, or was it someone else?


    Snapping Astrid out of her thoughts, she felt a cold sensation spread throughout her back as Ren carefully lifted her up with both his hands and placed her on the table.


    With her back propped up against the wall, Astrid could see the entire nightclub; hundreds of people lay motionless on the floor, and in the distance, there were two more djinns watching Ren and her starstruck.


    " *tsk* What the hell...? Didn''t you say everyone was going to be asleep, Rez...?"


    "Looks like he might have immunity; it''s just one person. Take him out; there can''t be any witnesses."


    A fireball manifested above one of the djinns while the other charged toward Ren and Astrid with his longsword already swinging.


    Although faintly, Astrid heard Ren mutter something.


    "Ah, shit."


    Grabbing a drink from the bar, Ren wasted no time and splashed the liquid in the cup on Astrid''s stationary body.


    Astrid watched in confusion as the dark purple liquid from the cup flew at her. As the liquid drenched her face, Astrid instinctively raised her hand to wipe her face, and after feeling the sticky surface of her face, she realized.


    "I..i can move again."


    Instead of attacking or defending the charging djinn, Ren sidestepped out of the way, and the djinn, having no time to reposition, charged right into the table Astrid was currently sitting on.


    Astrid screamed out, barely managing to avoid the charge by casting a magic shield.


    "YOU DAMN IDIOT! WHAT THE HELL?"


    Ren''s expression remained indifferent as he calmly responded.


    "We have bigger things to deal with right now."


    Being still cornered against the wall by charging djinn, Astrid had no choice but to agree. A wind current immediately appeared in Astrid''s palm, pushing the djinn back a couple of feet.


    Astrid immediately started casting as tree roots began to break out of the nightclub floor and hurl toward the charging djinn''s figure.


    The charging djinn, surrounded by the tree roots, raised his sword, which was now covered by an ominous dark red energy.


    "Devilish Mana.."


    The sword easily cut through the tree roots, and the djinn resumed his attack, causing Astrid to cast another wind current spell to avoid being cornered.


    Looking around, Astrid spotted Ren in an intense battle with the magician djinn as 3 fireballs were barrelling right at Ren''s body.


    Instead of dodging, Ren took out two twisted daggers from his pocket and cut each of his hands, leaving a trail of blood.


    Astrid became even more bewildered as Ren''s daggers became covered by an impenetrable black. The physical dagger couldn''t even be seen anymore; only the rough shape of the dagger formed by the black aura was visible.


    Ren swung his daggers at the air before him, and two impenetrable black slashes, one from each dagger, flew straight at the fireballs.


    "Only second-semester firsts year should be able to perform elemental slashes..."


    The ground shook as the two dark slashes intersected the fireballs, and smoke appeared at the junction point, completely dividing the nightclub into two.


    The magician''s sight of Ren, Astra, and the charging djinn was completely blocked.


    Taking advantage of this, Ren sprung forward toward the charging djinn with his daggers still covered entirely by the night-black color.


    Seeing the opportunity as well, Astrid immediately recast her Earth spell as more tree roots broke through the already broken floor and slowly encircled the charging djinn.


    Ignoring the plant roots, the charging djinn instinctively parried Ren''s daggers, pushing Ren back. However, that did not stop Ren, as he swung his daggers at the air once again, causing two more night-black slashes to appear.


    [A/N: 75 Powerstones = 1 chapter / 1 gift = 1 chapter]

 Chapter 33: Chapter 33:Nightclub [3]

    As the two night-black slashes flew toward the charging djinn, the djinn held his ground and yelled.


    "HERE!"


    Instantly, 3 fireballs soared through the smoke and right at the night slashes. As the slashes and fireballs hit each other, the nightclub floor again shook, causing the roof''s light fixtures to fall down and break.


    The room was pitch-black, and no one could see anything except me. Anyone who cast a light spell would reveal their location and be susceptible to attacks immediately, so the others were forced to accept the pitch-black environment.


    After locating the charging djinn, who was blindly swinging his sword to cut down the tree roots, I crept towards him, not leaving a single trail of my existence.


    Although these djinns were at least D rank or higher, I was currently an assassin in my natural habitat.


    With my assassin abilities, I could completely erase my presence in the darkness, and with my dragon''s eye, I could easily figure out everyone''s location while they couldn''t do anything.


    While walking, I noticed the djinn magician occasionally throwing out fireballs and lighting up the area around him, making creeping up on him much harder.


    Astrid was back at the broken table, still creating and casting more tree roots to encircle the charging djinn.


    Originally, I had planned to stall the two djinns for 5 minutes, forcing them to retreat as everyone else woke, but now... it was completely different.


    I held the complete advantage.


    Taking the magician djinn would be problematic due to his fireballs, but the charging one was an entirely different story.


    I could feel my Art proficiency and dagger mastery increasing rapidly, so now was not the time to stop.


    Creeping up behind Astrid, I spoke right into her ear quietly while using my hands to cover her mouth.


    "Don''t make a sound. It''s Ren."


    Her entire body started trembling, but thankfully, she made no noise.


    "Use all your mana to create a tree cage around him; I''ll take care of the rest."


    Releasing my hand from her mouth, I stepped back into the darkness before she could say anything and silently approached the charging djinn.


    Astrid hadn''t listened the first time, but hopefully, she learned her lesson and listened this time.


    With my enhanced eyesight, I could see that Astrid had ceased casting the tree roots and was preparing to cast the tree cage; however, the charging djinn continued to swing his sword mindlessly.


    Having used most of my mana in the previous fights, the only ability I could use was Dash, so I preemptively activated it and waited for the tree cage form.


    A faint green light appeared, lighting up the dark room, but before anyone could act, the green light disappeared. The charging djinn, the magician djinn, Astrid, and I were now trapped in a cage made of tree roots, preventing anyone from leaving.


    As soon as the green light appeared, the charging djinn''s swings slowed, and he wasn''t paying attention, so I dashed forward with my dagger and plunged it right into his heart.


    There was no sound made. A clean and unnoticeable cut was made, with no blood being visible.


    Instead of discarding his body, I put his corpse in front of my body, using it as a shield, and immediately made my way toward the magician djinn.


    Realizing that he was now trapped, the magician djinn began to release fireballs every second; however, I could easily avoid them with my eyesight.


    On the other hand, Astrid was taking quite the beating as she had to jump and move around to avoid the fireballs, but the sound caused by her dodging gave away her location to the magic djinn, leading him to release more fireballs.


    As I neared the magician djinn, a fireball whizzed by me, illuminating the area I was in; however, for the magic djinn, only his comrades'' body, which I was holding up, was visible.


    In a quiet voice, the magic djinn exclaimed.


    "Damian, is that you...?"


    Without making a noise, I titled the dead djinn''s body down and continued to approach the magician djinn.


    As I neared the magician djinn, I took one hand off the body and grabbed a dagger out of my pocket, ready to attack.


    Now, only a few feet from the magician djinn, I tensed my legs and prepared to lunge forward, but before I could, the magician djinn spoke once again.


    Not in a quiet voice but in a loud and ecstatic voice.


    "You know, Damian is a real idiot. He''d scream out "me" instead of nodding his head. Try a bit harder in your next life, and you might trick me."


    A wall of flames appeared around me, blocking my escape, and 5 fireballs manifested above the djinn''s head and immediately came flying toward me.


    There was no escape; my dash was on cooldown.


    Putting down the djinn''s body, I made no attempts to hide my voice and spoke candidly, ignoring the fact that 5 fireballs were rocketing at me, and behind me, there was a large wall of fire.


    "You''re quite stupid yourself. Why would I play such a risky move without any backup plan?"


    I hadn''t used any mana after the two-night slashes from earlier, while everyone else in the room had used tons of it.


    Astrid used the last bit of her mana to make the cage. The charging djinn had put all his demonic mana into his sword, and the magician djinn had just used all his mana with this attack.


    Like charging a phone, your battery and mana increase faster if you don''t use it.


    Using all of my regenerated mana, I raised my head in the face of the fireballs and tapped my eye.


    My perception of time immediately slowed, and finding an escape route was quite easy with all the time in the world.


    Using a broken stool near me, I jumped into the air, avoiding the first 2 fireballs. Then, using both my hands, I grabbed a metal bar on the roof, so the next 2 fireballs went right below me.


    Releasing no sound, I let go of the metal bar and silently dropped to the floor. The last fireball went to my far right, so I didn''t even have to dodge it.


    By now, light had reemerged in the nightclub as the fireballs had set parts of the club ablaze. The fire on the wooden bar spread rapidly, illuminating Astrid''s exhausted figure in one of the booths.


    The magician djinn was out of mana and trapped by the cage, so he could only watch in horror as I slowly approached him.


    "Who do you work for?"


    Since the book didn''t mention this, this entire situation was a variable, so I had to get some information on it.


    However, the djinn kept his mouth shut, not of his own volition. It was not uncommon for secret organizations to set spells to kill their members instantly if they revealed any information.


    There was no information to be gained here. After killing the djinn, I was tempted to take all the valuables, but the officials would definitely try to find me as those valuables belonged to the citizens in the nightclub.


    After grabbing the cloak of the magician djinn, I examined the exhausted Astrid. She was fine besides a few fire marks on her skin and some cuts from wood.


    Conversely, I was covered in wounds from both explosions; I had been right next to them both times, so there were multiple scars and scorch marks on my skin.


    Since this nightclub wasn''t very popular, the authorities would take a while to get here, but I still wanted to leave as soon as possible to prevent myself from being seen by the citizens waking up from the potion.


    Staring at the unmoving Astrid, I decided to take her back. If she was found here in this attire, it would be revealed that she had been singing in the nightclub, and rumors would spread, which would be another variable.


    "Hey, get up!"


    Surprisingly, she had a lot of energy for someone who could barely even move.


    "You think I don''t want to idiot? No, you''re right; I just want to lie here in a burning building for the rest of the night."


    "Alright, if that''s what you want."


    With that, I turned around and headed to the exit.


    "WAITTT, DO YOU KNOW WHAT SARCASM IS???"


    "That''s the 2nd time I''ve been asked that now. Could you elaborate?"


    "... it''s when y-"


    "I was being sarcastic, you idiot."


    Seeing that the citizens in the nightclub were slowly waking up, I stopped joking around and returned to Astrid before turning around.


    "What, you gonna get on or not?


    "I-i w-wh... alright."


    As Astrid climbed onto my back, I felt the cold sensation of Astrid''s hands on my bare shoulders, making me realize that my clothes were completely torn.


    "... those were my good clothes."


    "... we just almost died, and you''re worrying about YOUR DAMN CLOTHES?"


    "I''ll send you the bill for them later. Consider it your payment for me saving you."


    "You''re not being sarcastic, are you..?"


    After a few moments, I asked.


    "So, where do you want to go?"


    I had no intention of returning to the academy in this state. At that point, I would basically be encouraging the spread of more rumors about me.


    It was also possible that Astrid and I would be connected to the nightclub incident if we showed up in this state.


    "We can''t go to the academy, can we?"


    "mhm, I have a place, so where are you headed."


    "... I can''t go anywhere dressed like this."


    To say her attire was flashy was an understatement; if anyone caught her looking like this, the entire school would be spreading rumors, and the academy board might even take action.


    And that would be another variable.


    I have to take her, don''t I..? S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "If you want to come with me, just say so."


    "... it''s not that, it''s just I don''t have anywhere else.."


    It was true; she couldn''t even walk, so she was basically stranded.


    "Is that a yes or a no?"


    "What do you want me to say? Yes, you bastard."


    Such was the life of a third-rate villain, being scolded and insulted after saving someone.


    With a sigh, I pulled out my smartwatch.


    It had quite the dandy feature!


    You could actually see the real-time location of anyone on your contact list!


    [A/N: 75 Powerstones = 1 chapter / 1 gift = 1 chapter]

 Chapter 34: Chapter 34:Sleepover [1]

    After checking the location and realizing that it wasn''t too far away, I draped the djinn magician''s jacket on Astrid to conceal her appearance.


    To any normal passerby, we would look like two homeless teenagers as both our clothes were torn and our faces were riddled with bruises.


    After another minute of walking, I heard Astrid grumbling from my back.


    "How long till we get there?"


    "You know that''s supposed to be my line."


    After that, Astrid surprisingly stayed silent, seemingly contemplating something. Not wanting to ruin the short silence, I recalled the previous events, and countless questions immediately popped into my head.


    Did this incident originally happen in the story? If so, then who saved Astrid initially?


    No... an event involving a named character like Astrid would definitely be in the book, so this happened because of either my or Lily''s intervention.


    I didn''t do anything recently... so it has to have been Lily''s fault!


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, Astrid seemed to be finished contemplating as she put on a serious tone and asked.


    "Why did you save me?"


    "You''re just now realizing I saved you? For a future student council president, you''re not that bright."


    "... bastard, you know what I mean. In the past, you..."


    Seeing as Astrid had just watched me kill 3 djinns and save her, there was no way she would suspect that I was a djinn, so there was no reason for me to pretend to be Ren.


    Even if I wanted to pretend to be Ren, I had no idea how I was to Astrid in the past, so it would be futile anyway.


    If I had to guess, though, Ren was probably an asshole to her. I mean, that was kinda Ren''s thing.


    "People change, you know. Forget about the past."


    "Guess being disowned did a number on your arrogant attitude, huh?"


    Shaking my back, I attempted to make Astrid fall off my back before saying.


    "Be careful with what you say."


    "See, if I said that in the past, you would just curse me out and drop me. Earlier, you could have just pretended to be asleep and let me be kidnapped. Just what...."


    How am I supposed to tell her that I''m not the past Ren anymore?


    Also, curse her out, really? Why the hell does Ren have to piss off every important character in the book?


    I can''t just tell her that I saved her because I want the world to have a good ending... can I?


    Taking my silence as a sign that I didn''t want to talk about it, Astrid asked.


    "So, where are we even going."


    A broad grin appeared on my face as I glanced at my smartwatch and said.


    "To a friend of mine!"


    " *pfft* y-you h-have a f-friend."


    Letting go of Astrid''s legs, she slumped down on the floor, barely still clinging to my back.


    "CAN''T YOU TAKE A JOKE?"


    "A joke is supposed to be funny."


    Leaning down, Astrid climbed onto my back once again, and we continued on our way.


    After another 10 minutes of walking in silence, I glanced at the directions on the smartwatch before announcing.


    "We''re here!"


    In front of us stood a seemingly abandoned building. Its windows were boarded off with wood, and the building was partially covered by ivy and various plants. It was completely surrounded by trees and isolated from the bustling capital city.


    "... you know if you were lying about the friend thing earlier, I get it"


    "Shut it."


    "... are we really going in there?"


    "It''s either that or sleeping in the forest."


    "... I''ll take my odds in the forest."


    Ignoring Astrid''s grumbling and complaining, I walked to the doors of the buildings and swung them open.


    Contrary to its outward appearance, the inside of the building was quite nice. There were various couches and even a TV set up. The huge building was mostly empty, and there were no decorations set up.


    Tilting my head upwards to face Astrid, I smiled before saying.


    "See, never judge a book by its co-"


    "Shut it."


    Using my eyes, I peered into the distance and saw a confused head pop out from one of the couches.


    "Boss... what are you doing here?"


    Raven, whose hair was surprisingly neat for someone who just woke up, approached me with his eyes still half-closed.


    "Do I need a reason to visit headquarters?"


    "WE AGREED, IT''S ALSO MY HOME! Would you like someone barging into yo-"


    "Irrelevant."


    ".. Since you''re here, about the ma-" Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Before Raven could continue, I stopped him and pointed to Astrid, who peered over my head with a confused expression.


    Upon seeing Astrid''s appearance on my back, Raven stepped back in shock before staring right into my eyes.


    Although he said nothing, I spent enough time with him to know what the glare meant.


    ''I''m not going to say anything, but god is watching.''


    Is it variable if I turned Raven, a mischievous and devilish scoundrel, into a devout believer of god...?


    Above me, I could hear Astrid muttering.


    "... impossible, he''s real..."


    Walking over to a couch, I let down Astrid and prepared to discuss some business matters with Raven, but before I could, Astrid piped up and asked Raven.


    "Hey, what did he do to you...?"


    Raven sniffled before covering his eyes with his arms and saying.


    "It-it w-was t-terrible."


    I didn''t know what to be more surprised at.


    The fact that Astrid, who was previously completely drained of energy, was now eager to question Raven or that Raven, the original leader of the black market, was at the brink of crying in front of me.


    After sitting down on the couch opposite Astrid, I grabbed a few bandages and covered up my wounds while listening to their conversation.


    "H-he t-tricked me and forced me to be h-"


    "Enough."


    At this point, I knew Raven well enough to know he was acting. This bastard was trying to gather sympathy from Astrid. His whole life was built off tricking and deceiving people, yet here he was crying because I tricked him!


    At my words, Raven pretended to tremble and step back in fear.


    ... He is a good actor, I''ll give him that.


    Astrid, being a pure-hearted character, responded.


    "Ren, just what have you done to this poor kid..? You really are a terrible person. I can''t believe you''d involve this little kid in your dirty schemes."


    "PFFT"


    At words "poor kid," I couldn''t hold in my laughter anymore, and it all came out. Similarly, with the words "terrible person," Raven also broke into laughter.


    Astrid stared at the two of us with a confused expression while Raven fell onto the floor and began laughing uncontrollably, and I rolled onto the couch while laughing.


    " *PFFFT* I-i n-need w-water."


    "S-say R-ren is a t-terrible person a-again p-please. I-i can''t."


    As our laughter finally ended, Astrid''s confused expression turned to anger as she glared at Raven and I.


    After that, the three of us settled into an awkward silence, one by one falling asleep.


    By the time I woke up, Raven was already up working on copying down the magic circles, and Astrid was nowhere to be seen.


    Seeing my confused expression, Raven continued staring at his paper while saying.


    "Ah, the girl left."


    Getting up from the couch, I noticed most of the wounds were better due to the advanced healing capabilities of an awakened, so I stretched for a bit.


    Finally, lifting his head from the paper, Raven exited his desk and asked while staring at me.


    "So, what happened last night."


    "What exactly do you mean?"


    "A boy and girl coming back with ripped clothes... Did you guys..."


    Sometimes, I forget that Raven is a naive kid who is the same age as me...


    Without bothering to answer Raven''s question, I walked over to the desk and knocked on it.


    "It''s learning time!"


    After sitting down with a sign, Raven continued working until he suddenly spoke.


    "Oh boss, the girl, I sold her a scroll; she seemed to really need it."


    "How much did you sell it for?"


    "7 gold coins! Triple the price of what we sell it for in the market!"


    Nodding my head, I gave Raven a quick thumbs-up before continuing to teach him. Our company had just scammed someone for the first time and DEFINITELY not the last!


    The rest of the weekend, I spent either training night slashes in the forest or carefully teaching Raven how to draw the healing magic circle.


    Upon returning to the academy on Monday morning, I saw that all the student council posters had disappeared, signifying that Astrid had won the position.


    After entering class and sitting down, I didn''t even bother to glance at the board because I knew exactly what was on it.


    [Practical Training]


    As I zoned out, I felt a tap on my shoulder, so I asked without turning around to see the identity.


    "What the matter, Jin?"


    "Where were you on Friday? Didn''t you say that all of us were getting food?"


    Ah, he''s probably angry I dragged him away from the club. Thankfully, I had just the excuse to satisfy him.


    "You won''t believe it; I met the perfect girl on the way out!"


    Only after saying those words did I realize how loud I actually was. Thankfully, only Alya sat nearby me, and she wouldn''t care.


    Glancing downwards to confirm Alya''s reaction, I almost fell out of my chair when I saw Lily sitting right beside Alya.


    Jin patted me on the back and said.


    "Jealousy is not the way to get her back, man..."


    Han, putting his hand on my other shoulder, continued.


    "Jin is right for once..."


    Covering my head with the desk, I ignored Jin and Han''s consoling words and patiently waited for class to start.


    Finally, the bell rang, and the teacher walked to the podium.


    "As you can see from the board, tomorrow is our first practical training session. This will be done in our groups from the homework presentations, so group up. All of today''s class will be dedicated to preparing for the training with your groups."


    Slamming my head into the desk, I contemplated just dropping out of school. Spending two whole days with Irene, the most annoying person in the world, and Alya, the most stuck-up person in the world, would be worse than hell.


    On the other hand, Han and Jin were confused as those two idiots had skipped that class.


    "Hey, Ren, the teacher has gone senile... what is he talking about?"


    As I lifted my head from my desk, I noticed that most groups, including Irene and Alya, were already together.


    Ignoring the two idiots to my side, I begrudgingly got up and walked towards them, internally accepting my fate.


    [A/N: 75 powerstones = 1 chap / 1 gift = 1 chap]

 Chapter 35: Chapter 35:Practical Training [1]

    Upon seeing Irene and Alya chatting happily, I didn''t know whether to be happy or sad. Unlike last time, those two were getting along, making the group dynamic better, but that was at my expense.


    Ignoring the disgusted expressions on their face as I sat down, I glanced back at Jin and Han, who were forced to be in a 2 person group. I mean, they''ll fail the practical 100 percent, but at least they''ll have fun!


    With the grading being entirely group-based, I could relax and let the two main characters do all the work.


    That didn''t mean I had my guard down, though, as with Lily in the field, anything could happen.


    Seeing everyone gathered into their groups, the professor continued.


    "The practical training will take place in an artificial dungeon created by the school. You will be led to a cave; from there, you will all choose a path to take."


    "Your ranking will be based on how many points you receive. In the dungeon, there are various monsters you can kill for points, and also a boss monster that will give a huge amount of points if killed.


    "Are there any questions?"


    With a smirk, Kevin raised his hand and asked.


    "Teacher, if we''re all in the same dungeon together, hypothetically, what would happen if we met each other?"


    The teacher seemed prepared for this question, almost like he was waiting for someone to ask it, as he chuckled.


    "You may cooperate or not, but keep in mind there are only a limited amount of monsters in each dungeon."


    A smirk appeared on the professor''s face as he continued


    "For the boss monster, the group of the member that gets the last hit will receive all the points from the boss monster."


    "what, not who deals the most damage?"


    "Can''t you just get the last hit by watching someone else do all the work and come in at the end?"


    Ignoring the student''s remarks, the professor started packing up his things.


    "If that''s all, you are free to leave. The rest of the day is to be spent developing strategies and learning how to cooperate with your group. Until the school day officially ends at 3, you must be with your group members at all times, or you will face a point deduction for the practical."


    Ah, there it is.


    At those words, Alya and Irene slowly tilted their heads toward me, but I didn''t dare look back as I nonchalantly glanced at Jin and Han, who seemed ecstatic at the news of there being no class.


    Without asking me or saying anything, Irene and Alya got up and headed out of the classroom, forcing me to follow behind them like a lost dog.


    After getting up from my seat, I noticed that a horde of students blocked the classroom exit, so I used my eyes to see through the holes in the crowd.


    The student council president, Astrid, was waiting right outside the classroom.


    Ah, she just won the election and must have come to recruit Lily, Alya, and Liam to the council.


    As Alya, Irene, and I exited the classroom, I saw Astrid walking towards us to ask Alya to join the council, so I immediately distanced myself.


    However, Irene didn''t seem to take the hint, as she stood right by Alya, who was waiting for the president to approach them.


    After concluding her conversation with Alya, Astrid threw a quick glance at me, which I pretended not to notice, and moved into the classroom to find Liam and Lily.


    As Irene and Alya walked away, I contemplated whether I really needed to follow them. Even with the point deduction, our group would definitely place in the top three, so was there really a need for me to put myself through the hell of dealing with them?


    "... yeah probably not."


    Deciding against following them, I pulled out my smartwatch and leaned against the wall while waiting for Han and Jin to leave the classroom.


    Feeling a subtle tap on my shoulder, I looked up from my smartwatch and saw Astrid standing before me. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Looking around, I confirmed that Lily wasn''t around, as she would most definitely be suspicious of Ren if he randomly started talking to the student council president.


    "Something you need?"


    Getting straight to the point, Astrid demanded.


    "Join the student council, Ren."


    "I think you''d have to be crazy to think I would join the student council."


    The student council manages the entire study body of around 1000 students. Saying that the student council was a lot of work would be an understatement. Liam would have to stay up all night at least once a week to keep up with the paperwork as a council member.


    Of course, almost every student still desired the job because being on the student council allows one to build connections with graduated council members, who are all very influential and important people.


    Interrupting my thoughts, Astrid once again demanded.


    "You don''t have a choice."


    "You still haven''t told me why."


    "Must I, a noble, explain my intentions to a mere commoner."


    "* PFFT* Are you imitating me?"


    "... are you going to join or not?"


    "So now, it''s an option and not a demand? I think I''ll have to decline."


    If anyone else heard me decline the student council position, they''d probably go crazy, but personally, I was definitely not going to spend my Saturday nights doing paperwork in the student council room.


    A smile flashed on Astrid''s face at my answer as she took out a paper from her pocket.


    "You know, as student council president, I have access to all logs of people leaving and entering the academy. Recently, the multi-purpose club has been having a lot of unauthorized field trips."


    "Is the renowned student council president threatening me?"


    "Just saying, it would be a shame if the club was exposed as a fraud..."


    Pulling back out my smartwatch, I ignored her piercing gaze and said.


    "Do as you please."


    Astrid was a pure soul, so I knew she wouldn''t expose the club and get me in trouble after I risked my life to save her earlier. She was clearly bluffing.


    The sound of stomps echoed throughout the empty hall as Astrid walked away.


    Why did she even want a bum like me on the student council?


    Also, what the hell is taking Jin and Han so long in the classroom?


    Hearing the echoes of more footsteps approaching, I looked up from my smartwatch once again and saw a pissed-off Irene standing in front of me.


    Goddamn it, do they multiply???


    Thinking that she was mad about me not following them, I put down my smartwatch and said.


    "Alright, I''ll follow y-"


    "Why the hell was the student council president talking to you?"


    Only last week did she stop pestering me about the theory I came up with in the presentation, but now it was going to start all over again...


    Shuttering at the thought of hearing her annoying voice every day, I came up with a lie on the spot.


    "I asked to join the student council."


    "Really? You thought that would work... are you actually slow? Never mind, I already know you are."


    Shrugging my shoulders, I ignored her clear insult and responded.


    "Worth a shot."


    Satisfied by my answer, Irene turned around and left while angrily grumbling something.


    She must have been angered by Alya being invited and not her. In any other year, Irene would have easily made the student council as she excelled in both magic and studies; however, this year was just too stacked with talents like Lily, Liam, Kevin, and Alya.


    After what seemed like ages, Han and Jin finally emerged from the classroom with the excuse that the professor had been scolding them.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    The next day, instead of putting on the academy uniform, I dawned on the training suit that we had been given previously.


    After trying it on, I realized how much easier it was to fight in, as it basically felt as if you were naked, as you could move around unrestricted by the fabric of clothes.


    Next, I headed out of the dorm building and toward the coordinates that were sent to my email.


    Upon arriving, I noticed that most of our class was already there and finalizing strategies with their group. Spotting Irene and Alya, I found a place to sit not too far away from them but not too close to them.


    As soon as the final students arrived, the professor grabbed everyone''s attention by clapping and announcing.


    "Alright, now that everyone is here, let''s get started! Remember, this is technically an exam, so any cheating will result in expulsion. Your scores here will also affect your rankings, so make sure to try your hardest!"


    "I will call your group numbers one by one. When your number is called, head into the cave behind us and choose a path. Best of luck to everyone!"


    "Group 4, you''re up first."


    Sighing, I reconvened with Alya and Irene before heading to the cave. Without any discussion, Alya headed to the first tunnel with the uttermost confidence.


    Some things never change...


    After we were a decent bit into the cave, Alya suddenly turned around to face Irene and I before saying.


    "According to the point manual given to us by the teacher, it will be most efficient for us to hunt Wolf Beasts. They are quite easy to beat as a group and give quite a decent amount of points."


    The words "as a group" were emphasized by Alya, as Wolf Beats may be weaker than other monsters, but their quick speed easily allows them to escape in dangerous situations. So, the most efficient way to hunt them is with many people, as you can block their way out.


    Turning back around, Alya quickly said.


    "My spirit tells me there is one nearby."


    At Alya''s words, a faint growling sound could be heard by some nearby rocks.


    Wasting no time, Alya and Irene seemed to be in sync as they charged in opposite directions to block off the wolf''s path of escape.


    Trailing slightly behind them, I ran forward at the wolf with my daggers out.


    3 fireballs immediately flew at the wolf; however, the wolf used its tail to redirect them at the rock wall.


    Not missing the opportunity, countless Ice spears appeared to the right and left of Alya, and they immediately barreled right at the wolf.


    With its only option being to dodge, the wolf charged forward right at me, so I grabbed my daggers and preemptively activated dash.


    As soon as the wolf was within a 10-meter distance of me, I moved forward using dash, instantly putting me right below the wolf''s huge body.


    With both daggers, I slashed forward at the wolf''s right leg, causing the wolf to lose balance and tilt toward the right


    3 more fireballs and 5 ice spears immediately rushed forward, penetrating the wolf''s body and creating a huge amount of smoke as the fireballs melted the ice spears.


    Just like that, the wolf collapsed to the floor, lifeless, signifying our first point gain. Of course, that was assuming that we hadn''t received a point deduction for not sticking together yesterday.


    Alya and Irene immediately moved forward without even glancing at the wolf''s body, so I had to scramble to catch up.


    After disposing of another wolf, we continued to walk forward, but after a moment, I paused.


    With my enhanced eyesight, I could see a singular person sitting on a rock in the distance. Before I could say anything, Alya also paused and said.


    "My spirit tells me there is a human there."


    Curiously, Irene asked.


    "Who?"


    Alya simply shook her head, causing Irene to be even more curious, so she rushed forward at max speed.


    "... Irene, is that you? Oh, Alya is here too?"


    "Lily... is that you?"


    "Ah, yes, I was just resting here for a second."


    "Oh h-"


    Interrupting Irene, Alya was clearly more cautious of Lily''s alternative motives as she carefully asked.


    "Where is the rest of your group?"


    The professor had not denied it when asked, so fighting among groups was technically allowed. With Lily being part of the strongest group, Alya was definitely on edge facing Lily here despite their close relationship.


    "Ah, Kevin went off to fight alone, and Liam did the same..."


    [A/N: 75 powerstones = 1 chap / 1 gift = 1 chap]

 Chapter 36: Chapter 36:Practical Training [2]

    Standing farther from the 3 girls, I leaned against the cave wall and pretended to inspect my daggers while listening to their conversation.


    "And what are you planning to do?"


    "Well, what is there to plan? I''ll just kill any monster I come across."


    While Alya coughed at Lily''s words, Irene let out a snicker and said.


    "If only our leader was that simple..!"


    Seizing the opportunity to gather more information about their greatest opponent, Alya continued questioning Irene.


    "Any plans for the boss mob?"


    "How would this competition be if I told you our entire plan? I mean, the boss does give the greatest number of points."


    Seeing that any more questioning would be a waste of time, Alya turned to Irene and said.


    "Alright, let''s go back to hunting."


    Turning to face me, Irene said.


    "You really wanna get back to him? Come on, we have time to spare; we''re probably already ahead."


    Although my gaze was still on my daggers, I could still feel someone staring at me, but I couldn''t tell if it was Alya or Lily.


    Seeing the opportunity for further conversation, Lily asked.


    "So Alya, you got invited to the student council as well?"


    "Mhm, I plan to accept the invitation."


    "Same for me. How about you Irene, thoughts on joining the student council?"


    Clearly pissed off by the words "student council," Irene exclaimed.


    " *tsk* Why would I want to waste my time doing a bunch of paperwork?"


    Lily, ignoring Irene''s disgust at the student council, pressed on with the topic.


    "So, if you were given the chance, would you join?"


    Irene clearly wanted to lie and say that she would say no, but she was smart and realized that no one in the world would deny joining the student council.


    Of course, I wasn''t technically "in the world," as I originated from another world!


    "I guess I would accept if I was invited."


    Lily, seeing the bad-tempered Irene admitting defeat, responded.


    "You know, I''m pretty sure the president mentioned there was one open spot. Don''t get your hopes up, but I can recommend you."


    Irene''s terrible attitude immediately brightened as she exclaimed.


    "CAN YOU!?"


    Realizing that both Alya and Lily staring at her, Irene let out a cough and repeated.


    "If you would recommend me, I would be grateful."


    Though there was a lot of useless stuff mixed into the conversation, I could immediately grasp Lily''s intent throughout the entire exchange to get Irene to join the student council.


    She wasn''t planning to just recommend Irene; she would ensure that Irene got that empty position.


    However, could I let that happen?


    One of the main incidents that led to Irene''s blowup and transformation into an antagonist was not being part of the student council as most of the main cast, except her, was on it, so she felt excluded.


    From the student council field trips to events to even the countless hours they spent together doing paperwork, Irene had to watch as all her friends bonded together while she was forced to watch from the sidelines.


    I mean, surely, Irene not becoming an antagonist would be a good thing, right? That''s probably what Lily thought.


    On the other hand, I believe that the world maintains an equilibrium, so if Irene disappears as the antagonist, another one of a similar level or higher level must replace her.


    It was far too risky. I would rather go against Irene, as I know all of her abilities and weaknesses, than some new antagonist that I know nothing about.


    I might have to call in a favor...


    Seeing that the conversation was over, Alya walked back to me to prevent Lily from striking up another conversation with Irene.


    All be it, reluctantly, Irene followed Alya while Lily got up from her rock and walked into the right-most pathway.


    In silence, our group headed towards the left-most pathway and continued to descend deeper into the cave.


    Honestly, the pathway we took in this cave didn''t matter as all the pathways pooled into the dungeon''s center, where the boss mob was waiting.


    Since this dungeon was a Yin dungeon, a reminder of the past, the boss mob was the mythical Minotaur from Greek legends, and the wolves that we were currently farming were the divine messages of the Greek god Apollo.


    As we neared the boss room, we were confronted by two wolves instead of one. Since this wolf was closer to the boss mob, they were also much stronger than the previous ones we faced.


    This time, Alya seemed to take the situation seriously, as she had immediately commanded.


    "Irene, stall the one on the right. Den and I will take care of the left one."


    Den? Who the hell is Den?


    Letting out an audible sigh, I followed Alya''s charge to the left. Stopping a few feet before the wolf, Alya finally pulled out her sword and merged it with one of her contracted spirits, causing her sword to be immediately surrounded by light blue ice.


    Rather than using a long or broadsword, Alya used a rapier, which compensated for its lower attack power by being much less heavy, therefore increasing the speed of your swings.


    Thrusting her ice-blue rapier forward, Alya aimed right for the wolf''s leg; however, the wolf jumped to the right, dodging the blow.


    However, Alya seemed to predict this as immediately after, she speedily thrust her rapier straight up, impaling the wolf''s bottom while it was mid-jump.


    Due to Alya''s blow, the wolf landed unstable, giving me an opening. I ran forward with my daggers ready.


    Kicking its front-right leg forward, the wolf attempted to hit me; however, I had already activated the dash, so I immediately appeared 10 meters to the left. My target was not its front-right leg but its front-left leg.


    Seeing that the right wolf was wounded, Alya left me alone and ran towards Irene, who was struggling to fend off the other wolf with her fireballs.


    Seeing that there was no longer a need for a show, I quietly cut my right hand, and my dagger immediately became surrounded by a night-black aura, making the physical dagger no longer visible as the black covered it fully.


    In reality, these wolves were probably the best match-up for me, as their greatest strength was their ability to dodge. With my eyes, I could predict their dodges, neutralizing their strength.


    Throwing a night slash would cause too much of a commotion, so with my daggers covered in the impenetrable black; I slashed at the wolf''s legs.


    Instead of stopping there like last time, I jumped off the wolf''s ankle, launching me upwards with my daggers'' tips facing upwards.


    Both my daggers sunk into the bottom of the wolf''s tummy, and I hung mid-air while still holding onto my daggers.


    After a second, I carefully removed my daggers from its body, causing me to fall to the ground. Glancing at the two spots where I had inflicted damage on the wolf, the night-black aura covering my daggers slowly spread from those wounds up to the wolf''s face like a plague.


    The wolf''s left leg was covered in impenetrable black, which rapidly spread upward to the wolf''s back. The wolf''s tummy was not much better, as it was now completely covered in the impenetrable black.


    This was the second movement of Shadow Arts: Corruption of the Night.


    As Irene and Alya''s fight with their wolf came to a close, my wolf collapsed to the ground, lifeless, and the night black aura left the wolf''s body and returned to my daggers.


    From an outsider''s perspective, they would be astonished as it would seem the wolf died simply from an injury on its ankle and tummy.


    For that sake, I plunged my dagger into the wolf''s body a couple more times to make it seem like I struggled to kill the wolf.


    After mastering the first elemental slash, I first tested Corruption of the Night on a tree in the forest near our headquarters.


    After holding my dagger in the tree for 5 seconds and taking it out, I saw two small holes in a tree made of daggers.


    These holes immediately filled with the night-black aura, which slowly spread upwards until it consumed the entire tree.


    After the tree''s death, the night-black aura returned to my daggers, making the image of the tree visible again. The tree''s leaves, previously a fresh green, were withered black, and the trunk had lost all its bark.


    It looked like a tree straight from the underworld.


    From this, I deduced that Corruption of the Night steals the life force of its opponent by slowly cutting off his vitals until it withers.


    The more of the night-black aura you inject into your daggers, the faster the corruption spreads from the wound caused by your daggers.


    Of course, this takes a lot of mana; however, the special thing about Corruption of the Night is that you gain the night-black aura back after the Corruption has killed the creature.


    You actually don''t just gain it back; the night-black aura increases in correlation to the life force of the creature it killed. It doesn''t just kill the creature by cutting off its vitals; it directly steals the life force of the creature and uses that life force to make itself more powerful.


    In short, the cap of this movement''s power is infinite. There is no cap to its power.


    Of course, if you fail to kill a creature with the corruption, your progress is reset, but if you never fail to... then this movement is... overpowered, to say the least.


    Well, for the first part, it''s never happened to me, and I don''t plan to let it happen, so I don''t know if the only punishment is solely your progress being rest and not something worse...


    If the skill is really overpowered, then the punishment for failing with the skill must be insanely terrible to maintain that equilibrium.


    For that reason, I must be careful and cautious when using Corruption of the Night, so I can''t afford to just spam it on whatever I like. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Having finished early, I observed Alya dealing the final blow to her and Irene''s wolf. Her rapier, still surrounded by the blue ice, slowly killed the wolf. Like my corruption, the ice from Alya''s rapier remained on the wolf after the sword was removed, causing the wolf to slowly lose energy and slow down due to the ice''s influence.


    As Alya''s ice slowly covered the wolf, Irene threw a fireball right at the Wolf''s ice-covered back, causing an elemental explosion of Ice and fire.


    The wolf, now completely dry as Irene''s fire had melted all the ice, fell lifelessly to the ground, causing a loud thud sound to echo throughout the cave.


    Pretending to be exhausted, I limped over to Alya and Irene, who simply glanced once at my wolf''s body before moving on into the cave.


    Using my enhanced eyesight, I realized that those wolves were the last opponents we faced before reaching the boss mob.


    Now, it was only a couple of 100 feet separating us and the Minotaur.


    [A/N: 75 powerstones = 1 chap / 1 gift = 1 chap]

 Chapter 37: Chapter 37:Practical Training [3]

    As we neared the dungeon''s center, our path split off into two once again. Using my eyes, I saw that the right path led immediately to the boss room while the left path went in a loop for a bit and then reached the boss room.


    Having no intention to interfere, I simply stood back and let the other two decide.


    "uhh, Alya, which path do we take?"


    "My spirits can''t see where the paths end up, so I''m not sure..."


    For a short second, Alya threw a glance at me, but I just shrugged my shoulders, leading her to turn back to Irene.


    "Well... I guess we have to pick one randomly."


    "OH! I''m feeling lucky."


    After saying that, Irene immediately ran towards the right cave, forcing Alya and I to follow after her.


    Preparing for the upcoming fight with the boss, I grabbed my two daggers and trailed behind the two girls.


    After a minute of walking, Alya stopped and asked.


    "...Why are there no more monsters?"


    "I knew I was lucky! The boss room must be just ahead of us then."


    She wasn''t wrong; the lack of monsters spawning was due to the boss''s influence, and Alya seemed to agree with Irene as she nodded happily.


    Spacing out, I continued walking forward while playing with my daggers by tossing them up and down and catching them on the tip.


    After the tip landed on my finger, a small hole in my skin would be made, and some blood would ooze out. I learned that instead of making one deep wound on your hands to gather mana faster, you could create multiple small wounds, and it would have the same effect.


    After some tiny bubbles of blood began to pop out of the small wounds on my hand, I put my daggers back in my jacket and caught up to the girls.


    Finally, looking upwards, I saw that both Irene and Alya had stopped in front of a wall.


    Wait, a wall?


    After closing and opening my eyes for a second, I realized that there was, in fact, a wall blocking our path to the boss room.


    Not only 5 minutes ago, the path led straight to the boss room.


    The wall just appeared?


    " *tsk* Guess I really was unlucky."


    "Alright, we''ve wasted enough time; others could already be fighting the boss. Let''s head back."


    Ignoring the two turning around, I walked past them and put my hand on the wall. After tracing my hand on the wall for a minute and feeling the cold surface, I confirmed that it was actually a cave wall and not something made out of mana.


    My eyes far exceeded human capabilities, but they still had limitations. One thing I couldn''t do with my extraordinary eyes was see through walls.


    Maybe Liam and Kevin starting the boss fight caused all the paths to the boss room to close down?


    It was abnormal that in the book, Liam and Kevin fought the boss alone for the majority of the battle despite the abundance of people within the dungeon.


    Turning back around, I suddenly realized.


    "Those idiots left me!"


    Alya and Irene were nowhere to be seen, even with my enhanced eyesight. That meant they had already entered the second path, so the cave walls were blocking my vision of them.


    Didn''t they really realize I wasn''t with them? Was my presence that unnoticeable?


    Well, there really was no reason for me to stick with them anymore, as we had already killed a considerable number of monsters.


    Left with the unexplainable wall in front of me, I decided to experiment out of curiosity.


    Well, I also had already wounded my hands, so it would be a waste for me not to use my mana.


    Using Corruption of the Night was far too dangerous, as if the corruption wasn''t able to erode the wall... things would probably get messy.


    Analyzing the entire wall with my eyes, I quickly found the 3 most unstable spots.


    Injecting some mana into the daggers, only the tip of my daggers glimmered night-black while the rest remained normal.


    In quick succession, I swung my dagger 3 times, releasing 3 elemental slashes that all went in different directions.


    Having perfectly timed the slashes with my eyes, all the 3 of them hit the weakest point of the wall at the same time.


    Surprisingly, the wall didn''t even budge or show any signs of cracking despite its greatest weaknesses being attacked.


    Reanalyzing the wall, I noticed something peculiar.


    "The 3 most unstable positions of the wall have shifted..."


    In fact, every time I reanalyzed the wall, the 3 weakest spots shifted, making it impossible for me to pinpoint and hit them.


    Maybe, if I used my time-slowing ability, I could hit the 3 weakest points with my slashes before they shifted, but then, I would be completely out of mana and unable to fight the boss monster that was behind the wall.


    Sighing, I accepted my fate and slumped down on the mystery wall, waiting for the practical training to be over.


    I had plans after, so this would be the perfect time to rest!


    As I started to close my eyes, the sound of footsteps started echoing through the path, heading nearer to me.


    Irene and Alya, probably.


    Not bothering to look up, I relaxed my body even more, resting my head on a nearby rock.


    Only after the footsteps got a bit closer did I realize that there was only 1 set of footsteps, not 2.


    Confused, I turned around, with my head still on the rock, and peered through the darkness of the cave.


    Lo and behold, there was Lily walking right towards me and the mystery wall.


    The odds of her heading on this accident, especially after taking a completely different route, were close to 0.


    So, there was only one other way she could have come to find this path.


    She was spying on our group.


    Well, not our group, specifically me. If she had wanted the entire group, she would have come earlier, but instead, she came right when I was isolated.


    It wasn''t very shocking to me that she was spying on me after the Alya incident.


    She must have been suspicious of the changes I made to Alya''s kidnapping, so she probably started investigating.


    Due to me not originally being in the academy this time, I was a "variable" in her eyes and, therefore, a prime suspect for the changes in Alya''s kidnapping.


    Keeping calm, I turned around and pretended not to notice her while I scraped my daggers against the wall.


    If I was just sitting here doing nothing, her suspicions would only increase, so I pretended that I was trying to break down the wall.


    Of course, anyone with a brain wouldn''t do this, as cave walls can''t break, but I was a third-rate villain! My actions could be the stupidest in the world, and no one would even think to question them.


    Finally, I felt a gaze stop on my back as I continued to scrape away at the wall with my daggers.


    As I turned around, I pretended to stagger back in shock as I saw Lily standing only a few feet away from me.


    Instead of suppressing the previous Ren''s emotions, I let them run wild as a blush appeared on my cheeks.


    "L-long t-time n-no see, Lily!"


    If I could feel Ren''s previous emotions, there was a high chance that Lily could feel them as well, so she would 100% be disgusted just by talking to me.


    All I had to do was stall until the disgust reached Lily''s limit, and she left.


    Proving my theory right, Lily''s face scrunched up in disgust for a moment before returning to neutral.


    "What are you doing?"


    Letting Ren''s emotions free even more, I got up and felt my body subconsciously moving towards Lily.


    "a-ah, I was kicked from the group, so I stayed here. W-wait, you were kicked too; we can team up!"


    Though Lily turned her head away, I could still see the disgust swelling up inside her. Her fists were clenched, and her shoulder was shaking with anger.


    "This is a competition, we can''t team up!" S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Walking even closer to Lily, I continued.


    "Oh, come on, who cares about the rules? Let''s just go."


    Stepping back in revulsion, Lily clenched her teeth while responding.


    "I don''t want to. Just go already; I was wrong. You''re the same disgusting, old Ren."


    Paying no mind to Lily''s attempts to distance herself, I said.


    "Come on, rules are meant to be broken. Let''s just have a nice time during the remaining duration of the practical."


    "Just leave now! The professor didn''t prohibit attacking other teams, so I will attack you otherwise."


    "If that''s what you want... I''ll leave."


    I couldn''t even hold back the sad expression on my face from forming as Ren''s feelings ran wild.


    As I walked away from Lily and the mysterious wall in an awkward silence, the sound of footsteps once again echoed throughout the cave.


    Both Irene and Alya had returned here for some reason.


    Paying them no heed, I walked past them with a sullen expression, heading back to the area where the two wolves were.


    *CRASH*


    Only after I heard the sound of something collapsing did I turn around.


    The mysterious wall was no longer there as it had shattered into pieces. And behind the remains of the mysterious wall was a very pissed-off minotaur alongside two exhausted figures.


    Kevin and Liam.


    Oh, I could have just broken the wall by hitting every spot on it, couldn''t I...?


    As I scrutinized the minotaur, I could easily deduce that it only had a few minutes left as there were cuts and wounds all over its body, and heaps of blood oozed out.


    The thing about minotaurs, though, is that they do NOT go out without a fight. Once reaching the end of its life, the minotaur will temporarily enter a berserker mode, where it loses all sense of reason and gains a lot of strength.


    In this state, the minotaur just tries to kill anything in sight without any regard for its own life or safety.


    All the book had said about this practical training was that Liam and Kelvin had played a significant role in killing the minotaur, so I didn''t really care about this current situation.


    Although... how much Night aura would I gain from corrupting it and stealing its lifespan..?


    Alya, Irene, and Lily immediately sprung into action, attacking the minotaur with various spells while Liam and Kevin continued to swing at it.


    So far, I had only absorbed the lifespan of those two wolves from earlier, so stealing the minotaur''s lifespan was too tempting for me.


    Following their lead, I grabbed my daggers, activated the Dash''s grace period, and ran toward the minotaur.


    All I would need is one hit.


    [125 Powerstones = +1 Chap]

 Chapter 38: Chapter 38:Practical Training [4]

    As the minotaur swung his gigantic battle axe, Kevin and Liam were forced to step back to avoid its attack, and the axe also deflected the spells cast by Alya, Irene, and Lily.


    Now left with an opening, the minotaur charged toward the defenseless spellcasters; however, Alya already had her ice-blue sword prepared.


    Facing the full brunt of the axe strike with her sword, Alya immediately flew back into the cave wall, and the ice on her sword shattered.


    Alya had placed her full trust in us by sacrificing her body to give us an opening and hopefully kill him. She had begun to trust humans...


    Taking full advantage of the opening, 3 fireballs appeared above Irene''s head, and a rainstorm, cast by Lily, appeared right above the minotaur, blocking the cave roof.


    It wasn''t just normal rain, though; the rain was green and hurt.


    Acid Rain.


    Even as the minotaur moved, the green cloud followed it wherever it went, releasing a relentless barrage of green raindrops.


    Slowed by the constant bombardment of acid rain and cornered by the fireballs barrelling towards it, the minotaur had no place to move despite being in the large cave.


    The wounded Liam and Kevin sprung towards the defenseless minatour with me trailing behind them.


    Rather than hitting the minotaur directly, as soon as the fireballs entered the area of the minotaur, they were hit by the acid rain.


    As the acid rain touched the fireball, an elemental reaction was caused, and the fireball exploded, causing a bout of smoke to appear, completely covering the figure of the minotaur.


    Using my eyes, I could see through the smoke that the minotaur was fatally hurt from being so close to the explosion. Blood oozed from all over its body, and its previous brown body was black and burned.


    Using the dash, I instantly moved forward 10 meters right into the smoke covering the minotaur''s body; however, there was one problem.


    The acid rain was still going...


    With the smoke covering my figure, there was no need to hide anything, so I injected my mana into my daggers, leading the tip of my daggers to turn night-black.


    As I swung the daggers forward, two night-black slashes were sent forward toward the minotaur, only to disappear a second later.


    As the slashes continued to move forward and touch the acid rain, a series of small elemental reactions took place, clearing the path in front of me.


    As the smoke dispersed due to the impact of the multiple explosions caused by my night-black slashes, I wasted no time and ran as fast as I could toward the minotaur.


    Nearing the burned figure of the struggling minotaur, I injected more mana into my daggers, making them completely covered by the night-black aura.


    Feeling the dash cooldown reset, I once again preemptively activated it before lunging right at the minotaur''s legs.


    My daggers sunk deep into the minotaur''s legs, causing it to struggle and attempt to move around, but I kept my daggers in place, allowing the corruption to spread from my daggers and into the minotaur.


    Using all my strength to keep my grip on my daggers and push them deeper into the minotaur''s skin, I glanced around and saw Liam making a mad dash through the smoke toward the minotaur and me.


    It seemed like he had some immunity to the acid rain. He didn''t even bother to dodge the raindrops, so he let them hit his body without any reaction.


    3 fireballs and tons of icicle spears were also barreling toward the minotaur, but it didn''t matter as they would explode after interacting with the acid rain.


    At this point, I was more afraid of being exploded than the minotaur killing me...


    Still clinging desperately to the minotaur''s legs with my daggers, I felt a gaze on my back, so I turned around and saw Liam looking at me, seemingly starstruck.


    To be fair, I was clinging to the minotaur like a newborn sticking to its mother, so it would definitely seem weird to an outsider.


    A moment later, Liam regained his composure as he continued running toward the minotaur, hoping to get the last hit.


    After a couple more seconds of me desperately attempting to cling to the minotaur''s legs while it tried to shake me off, I finally let my daggers go, causing me to fly back.


    The deep holes made by my daggers were already filled with the night-black aura, and it was already spreading at a rapid rate.


    As I flew back into the smoke, the relentless acid rain threatened to bombard me once again, so I instantly used the dash that I had triggered earlier.


    Just like that, I was back out of the smoke; all be it, my training suit provided to me by the academy was on life support due to the minotaur''s attempts to shake me off.


    All the others were so focused on killing the minotaur that they didn''t notice me walking away from it, so I slumped down against the cave wall.


    Strength was not my strong suit, so clinging to a beast like the minotaur for that long had taken a lot out of me.


    I couldn''t even extend either of my arms, and they were somehow trembling when all I was holding were my puny daggers.


    Even though I hadn''t expected it to be that long to corrupt it, it would make sense for the stronger a creature is, the harder it is to corrupt it.


    Watching the flurry of magic spells head into the smoke and cause multiple explosions due to the elemental reactions felt like watching a fireworks show.


    The smoke was filled with countless colors, and every so often, you''d feel an explosion that shook the cave.


    After a couple more moments, my daggers lit up a night-black, with the size of the aura even bigger. The aura didn''t just cover the physical dagger anymore; it covered the area around it as well, and somehow, the aura had gotten even darker.


    After the night-black aura diminished from my daggers, I tilted my head upwards and saw that the smoke alongside the acid rain had finally disappeared.


    In the middle of where the smoke used to be, Liam stood, his sword plunged into the minotaur''s lifeless body.


    While Kevin walked towards Liam with an angry expression, feeling defeated, Irene and Lily dashed towards Alya''s unconscious body and immediately checked her vitals.


    *RUMBLE*


    Looking upwards, I saw cracks and hundreds of unstable spots on the cave''s roof. Our battle had really damaged it, and it was about to collapse.


    Not bothering to warn others, I immediately began sprinting back out of the tunnel, and the defeated Kevin followed without any warning, too.


    With the cave rumbling and my sudden sprinting, Kevin must have also realized the cave was going to collapse.


    Behind us, Liam followed with Irene and Lily carrying Alya''s body, leaving the corpse of the monster behind.


    If the cave collapsed, the minotaur''s body would be lost, making everyone completely oblivious to the corruption I had spread to it.


    After a minute of sprinting, I noticed that some other students had joined us, and with my eyes, I was able to spot Jin and Han running with us in the big crowd.


    After another minute, all of us reached the exit of the cave, where the teacher was waiting for us with a happy expression.


    Without giving any of us time to rest, despite seeing our shriveled appearances, the professor immediately announced.


    "Congratulations to Liam, Lily, and Kevin for defeating the boss monster and coming in first!"


    Though Alya was currently out cold, she would definitely be angry after hearing that we didn''t come in first.


    As Irene and Lily brought Alya to the teacher, I headed back to the dorm for a desperate change of clothes and a cold shower.


    Though I had managed to wane off most of the acid raindrops, some of them had managed to hit me while I was clinging to the minotaur, so I had burn marks all across my body.


    Well, that wasn''t what concerned me; after all, I was the boss of a company that produced the best magical healing circles.


    I needed a pair of decent clothes for my plans later, but somehow, they were all burned or torn to shreds!


    ... sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...


    ...


    At the nurse''s office, Liam and the other girls crowded around Alya''s body, as she had just woken up.


    Not worrying about her wounds or even the people around her, Alya immediately asked.


    "Did we come in first...?"


    Barely suppressing her laughter, Irene responded.


    "No... but shouldn''t you be more worried about something else?"


    With her expression crumbling, Alya responded.


    "oh...? Did anything happen while I was asleep?"


    While Liam laughed and Lily facepalmed, Irene awkwardly said.


    "I was talking about yourself. I mean, you have bruises all over."


    "Oh, that? Don''t worry; my guards and I recently found quite the company. Despite being unknown, they somehow manage to produce the best healing circles."


    "Oh, what''s it ca-"


    Not willing to part with any more information about the company, Alya ignored Lily''s question and changed the topic.


    "So... is everyone else ok? What happened to the minotaur?"


    Besides Alya, the other spellcasters, Irene and Lily, had just stood from afar attacking the minotaur with spells, so they were unharmed besides a few scratches that came from the cave collapse.


    With a sigh, Lily stepped forward and glanced at Liam, who had bandages all over his body.


    "As you can see, we''re alright. Liam is in quite the state... As for the other two, I didn''t even see them."


    Ignoring Lily''s pitying gaze, Liam responded.


    "After I took care of the minotaur, the cave started to collapse, so we all had to run out without looting or even seeing its corpse."


    Liam was actually more worried about the loss of the corpse than his wounds, as he could have sold its horn for a lot, solving all his financial problems.


    Upon seeing Liam''s expression, Lily said.


    "Oh, not you too...! Why don''t you worry about yourself before other things?"


    Embarrassed, both Liam and Alya turned away, causing Irene to break out in laughter.


    At that moment, the door opened, revealing the figure of the current student council president, Astrid.


    Confused, Astrid glanced around the laughing students before saying.


    "... didn''t you guys just fight an E-rank boss monster...?"


    To Astrid, these kids were monsters, laughing happily after beating a creature that even second-year students struggled with.


    Not waiting for a response, Astrid shook her head before walking up to Alya, who awkwardly asked.


    " *ahem* President, do you need something...?"


    "You''re part of the student council now; therefore, my responsibility, so of course, I would need to check up on you if you''re hurt."


    Alya, who had never trusted humans before, felt mortified while staring at the student council president and others, who seemed to be so worried about her.


    Not all humans are bad... Alya felt ashamed for just realizing that now.


    With a slight blush on her cheeks, Alya responded.


    "ah, I''m alright... please, no need to worry."


    With a shrug, Astrid responded before turning to walk out of the room.


    "If you say so. Let me know if you need anything."


    However, blocking the exit to the room was Lily, who asked.


    " *ahem* President, about the last position on the student council, I have a recommendation for who it should b-"


    Cutting her off mid-sentence, Astrid said.


    "It''s already be filled."

 Chapter 39: Chapter 39:Midterms[1]

    Irene''s laughter died down instantly, replaced with an unreadable expression. Irene knew it was unreasonable for her to be angry at the student council president or Lily for not getting chosen, but she still couldn''t stop the anger from forming and taking root in her heart.


    Ignoring the frozen Lily and the awkward atmosphere, Astrid walked out of the room without saying anything further.


    After a moment, Lily seemed to regain her composure, so she turned to Irene and said.


    "Ah, maybe a spot will open up eventually..."


    Lily was going to make a spot if not. Throughout the entire book, Irene''s transformation into an antagonist was the most tragic, and Lily was willing to do anything to stop it.


    Ignoring Lily''s words, Irene glanced around the room. Everyone besides her was on the student council...


    Was she not good enough? What made her different from the others? Ever since she was young, she was renowned as a prodigy and top of the magical world, yet she wasn''t good enough for some stupid student council?


    Worst of all, the first people she could confidently call her friends were all chosen while she was left out.


    Kevin and Lily would be together... and Liam and Alya... and she would just be alone.


    Liam was oblivious to the whole situation as he had no idea Irene was the person Lily was going to refer to the council, and Alya kept silent as she had figured out the situation.


    Saying anything further to Irene would just make the situation worse.


    In contrast to her normal cocky and arrogant attitude, Irene had her head down as she waved goodbye before leaving the room.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    After taking a shower, I changed into the only clothes I had left, a suit that the original Ren had worn to the academy entrance ceremony.


    Adorned with a red tie, a black blazer with the academy emblem, and a white collared shit, I headed out of my room.


    Outside the dorm building, I met up with Jin and Han, who were uncharacteristically serious. Their postures were perfect, and this was the first time I had seen them in formal clothes.


    Leading the two, I headed into the forest where Alya''s kidnapping had originally taken place and walked forward for 2 minutes before abruptly turning right.


    Next, I continued walking right until I spotted a trunk with a circle drawn on it, and then I abruptly made another right.


    After walking in that direction for a few more minutes, I stopped in front of a tree trunk with a checkmark on it.


    Behind me, Jin and Han, who were silent the entire journey, finally spoke.


    "Are we here?"


    After giving them a nod, the two stepped up beside me and waited patiently.


    *WHISH*


    As the breeze suddenly came in harder than usual, pushing back my hair, I blinked for a second from the sudden wind.


    When I reopened my eyes, I saw a figure standing with a black robe that stretched all the way down to the floor and covered their face.


    A 3rd Year at the academy.


    "Did you come here for THAT?"


    Nodding my head, I gestured to Han and Jin, who each pulled out a pouch half filled with gold coins.


    I didn''t have to pay anything as I was the one who referred Han and Jin as customers to this person. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    One of Liam''s friends suggested this person to Liam later in the book when he was having trouble with his studies, but he, of course, refused due to his righteous personality.


    As Han and Jin stepped forward to hand over the pouches, I used my eyes to peer through the robe to see the unknown person''s face.


    I don''t recognize him... so he''s not a named character.


    Only the method of contacting him was mentioned in the book, so his identity and other stuff were unknown to me.


    While I scrutinized his face, the robed figure pulled out a stack of papers and handed them to Han.


    Then, the breeze once again hit harder than usual, causing me to shut my eyes involuntarily. When I reopened them, the robed figure had disappeared.


    As soon as Han and Jin returned to my side, I grabbed the paper. A wide smile appeared across my face as I read the first line on the paper.


    [Midterm Exam 05/23/22]


    The exam answers from last year.


    Although this year''s midterm exam will surely differ from last year''s, the concept remains the same.


    Stepping away from Han and Jin, I flipped through the 10-page packet of paper, using my enhanced eyesight to memorize every concept, formula, and pattern from each problem.


    Would this be enough to pass the midterm? Hopefully!


    During exams, we are all put into separate mini-rooms, so I can''t even cheat by using my eyes to see others'' papers.


    After completing my memorization, I handed the paper back to the confused Han and Jin before departing.


    Next week was the first set of Exams, so everyone was studying right now. The academy was relatively silent, so I enjoyed the serenity while I walked back to my dorm room.


    The next morning, I woke up begrudgingly. Despite midterms being next week, the school still held classes, but at least most of the professors had decided to give students free time to study during class.


    Opening the sliding door to the class, I noticed that Alya was all patched up from yesterday''s fight before heading to my usual seat where Han and Jin stood.


    Han and Jin were in quite a precarious situation. Their parents had told them that if they didn''t receive above a 60 on all the midterm exams, they would be financially cut off.


    Maybe they could be Raven''s assistants..?


    Nah, they''re too stupid.


    Ignoring the two desperately cramming notes beside me, I pulled out my smartwatch and awaited the bell.


    After the bell rang, the sliding door opened, and our homeroom teacher, Zia, walked up to the podium with a briefcase, causing murmurs to spring out across the room.


    "Is she actually teaching today???"


    "Really, we have exams next week, and she''s still trying to teach us new things???"


    "Leave it to Professor Zia to pull some stupid shit like this..."


    Noticing the murmurs antagonizing her, Zia immediately cleared her throat before clarifying.


    "Today will be a free-study session."


    Sighs of relief sprung out all across the room, especially from my sides.


    Why are these idiots acting like they''re going to study? Within 10 minutes, they''ll be on their phones, completely forgetting about the midterms next week.


    Ignoring them, I turned back to the teacher as she was waiting for the murmurs to die down once again.


    " *ahem,* Although it is unorthodox for the middle of the school year, we have a transfer student."


    Jerking back in shock, I almost fell out of my chair but managed to stabilize myself at the last second.


    Both Jin and Han were busy taking notes, so they didn''t even notice the teacher''s words of a transfer student, let alone me almost falling out of my chair.


    What?


    Did something like this happen in the book? It has over 1,000 chapters, so give me a break if I can''t remember a simple transfer student.


    Glancing at Lily, she seemed just as shocked as I was. So, then, Lily didn''t cause the transfer of this student? Then, did she just forget it from the book as well, or did I cause it?


    Also, transferring right before midterms...? They must have aced the entrance test and impressed the recruiters for the academy to be allowed in now. Maybe, with the academy''s reputation declining due to the Alya kidnapping, they wanted to recruit a prestigious student?


    Adjusting my slumping posture into an upright one, I curiously awaited the teacher''s next words.


    "Everyone, please welcome her kindly and respectfully. Scarlett, you may come in."


    In walked a girl with elegant black hair tied up in a ponytail that went all the way down to her waist. Her eyes were also black, complimentary to her jet-black hair; however, something seemed off about them.


    Maybe she''s wearing contacts?


    Adorned in a red skirt and a black blazer, the girl named Scarlett walked to the podium where the teacher was before turning to us and bowing down.


    Despite midterms being next week, the boys in the classroom now seemed more focused on Scarlett, who was a mysterious transfer student who also rivaled Lily, Alya, and Irene in the looks department.


    "Nice to meet you all; I''m Scarlett! I hope you''ll take care of me for the rest of our time at the academy, and I look forward to having fun!"


    At her words, Jin and Han rose from the notebooks and directed their gazes at Scarlett, who was walking to an empty seat in the center of the classroom.


    Nudging my shoulder, Jin quietly asked.


    "Oi Ren, who is she? A visitor or something? Wait, you think she has a boyfriend?"


    Sighing, I responded.


    "What about that girl you were talking about yesterday? Did you forget about her already? You specifically said, ''O-oh, she was the girl of my dreams!'' "


    Beside me, I heard Han chuckling, but Jin seemed unperturbed by my taunt and still pressed for an answer, so I continued.


    "The teacher just announced she''s a transfer student named Scarlett. No idea about the last part."


    Following Jin''s gaze, I also stared at Scarlett, who was taking her pencil out of her backpack. Her slender white arm reached into her backpack and came back out with a pencil, revealing her hands.


    Feeling an odd sensation, I stared at her hands, which were holding a pencil for a bit longer, confirming the feeling.


    ... A feeling of familiarity.


    Similar to how I can memorize concepts and formulas with my eyes, I can also recall people''s faces and their body parts, even through disguises. For some reason, I could recall Scarlett''s hands...


    I don''t just memorize or keep anything stored in my eyes, so for Scarlett''s hands to be familiar, I must have at least touched them before, or they must have been memorable.


    Contacts, oh right, she was wearing contacts!


    Realizing that her contacts might be a clue, I tried to get a closer look at her face, but since she sat in front of me, only part of her face was visible.


    Well, I can wait.


    After watching Scarlett sit down, the teacher continued while pointing at Lily, who was sitting right in front of Scarlett.


    "Scarlett, since you''re new, I''ll have someone show you around. Lily, here, is on the student council, so she can answer your questions and guide you through the school."


    Turning around to face Scarlett, Lily extended her hand for a handshake; however, Scarlett completely ignored her and spoke directly to the teacher.


    "Ah would it ok if I have someone more familiar show me around?"


    It would make sense for her to know people in the academy; she definitely had to pull some strings to transfer in at this time.


    Maybe Alya, Irene, or Kevin? Those 3 have the political power to make the academy accept a transfer student.


    Shushing the murmurs around the classroom, Zia curiously spoke directly to Scarlett.


    "Oh, you know someone in the class? I''ll need their name if they''re going to show you around."


    At this point, the curiosity of everyone in the classroom, including me, was at its peak, so the classroom went silent and stared at Scarlett.


    As Scarlett turned around, I immediately used the opportunity and activated my eyes to peer through her contact lenses.


    Her eyes weren''t black; they were red, blood-red...


    Blood-red eyes, glossy black hair, a multitude of connections, and finally, a familiar set of hands.


    ...It couldn''t be right...?


    Suddenly, I recalled a memory of someone with those exact features telling me something.


    "I''ll see around a lot more often now, Ren...!"


    ...Ruby.


    A mortified expression appeared on my face as Ruby turned directly in my direction before saying with a smile.


    "Ren, you''ll show me around, won''t you?"

 Chapter 40: Chapter 40:Midterms [2]

    "Wait... him, the one who got suspended within the first week of school??"


    "Why does she want someone like him to show her around? I mean, I''m right here!"


    "How does she know him...?"


    Forcing a smile on my face, I replied.


    "It would be my pleasure."


    Pleasure, my ass... how did I end up having to guide a villain who infiltrated the academy around?


    In a way, it was a good thing.


    By being with her and guiding her around, I can keep track of her actions and prevent her from noticing Liam and the other main cast members as enemies.


    One misstep, though, and the entire story is over.


    Interrupting my train of thought, Zia let out of sigh before speaking.


    "If that''s what you want..."


    After Zia left the classroom, leaving us free study time, I was immediately bombarded by questions from both Han and Jin.


    A minute ago, these guys were talking about how much they needed time to study, yet here they were, wasting the time asking me pointless questions.


    Surprisingly, Han took the initiative to question me as he asked.


    "How do you know her, Ren?"


    Before I could think of an answer, Jin interrupted from my right side.


    "I KNEW IT!"


    Both Han and I stared at Jin with bewildered expressions.


    What the hell did he know?


    "From you telling us to leave the nightclub to you ditching us at the amusement park, and finally, your recent trips out of the academy to the capital."


    "You know you might be able to fool Han, but I knew it this entire time! You got a girlfriend!"


    ...well I guess I don''t even have to think of an answer.


    On my right side, Han surprisingly agreed with Jin''s hypothesis, mainly because of his lack of experience in romance and relationships.


    Realizing that the two idiots were far too loud, I knocked both of them on their heads before saying.


    "What happened to desperately needing time to study?"


    "Oh, come on, we can study later. Tell us about her! She must be quite a person to make you get over Lily."


    Ignoring the two''s questions, I glanced at "Scarlett," who was surrounded by students asking her questions.


    "Where did you transfer from?"


    She used her dark web of connections to bribe the higher-ups within the academy to allow her transfer.


    "What clubs are you planning to join?"


    Probably, the Sinister Society and Villains United.


    "Do you have any plans later?"


    Maybe assassinating every important figure in the academy?


    After hearing that last question, Ruby turned around to stare at me, causing the bystanders to flood her with even more questions.


    After class was over, I headed out the back entrance of the classroom and waited for the crowd around Ruby to disperse.


    Letting Ruby wander around alone with the main cast and protagonist could only cause problems, so even if I didn''t want to, guiding her through the academy was the best choice.


    After a moment, I saw Ruby walking towards me with a huge grin plastered all over her face.


    Taking the lead, Ruby walked past me, forcing me to follow behind.


    Wasn''t I supposed to be the guide?


    "You were pretty surprised, huh?" Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Would you be surprised if your boss showed up to your school?"


    "I told you, call me Ruby. Also, I''m quite interested as to how you discovered it was me. This disguise is a magical artifact, so seeing through it is quite the accomplishment."


    Lying outright to someone like Ruby probably wouldn''t work, so I relinquished part of the truth.


    "... your hands."


    Breaking into laughter, Ruby stopped and stared at me.


    " *PFFT* Was that experience so memorable for you? If you wa-"


    Taking advantage of her stopping, I walked in front of her and interrupted.


    "The cafeteria is beside us. You can get all your meals here throughout the day. Simply walk up to a kiosk, let it scan your face, and then place your order."


    "You can pick the ready food up ov-"


    Making her tone more serious, Ruby looked at me before saying.


    "Do you know how hard it was for me to transfer into this academy? Do you think I spent all that time and effort to look at some cafeteria?"


    Now, I was at a crossroads.


    If Ruby had personally infiltrated the academy, the importance of her mission would have been great, so it would probably be an assassination of an influential figure in the academy.


    Do I let her or risk my life by attempting to stop her?


    Trying to gather more information on the victim of Ruby''s mission, I asked.


    "What exactly do you want to do?"


    Reverting to her playful tone, Ruby once again took the lead and said.


    "What do you think I''m here for, Ren?"


    "A mission?"


    "Nope, no missions."


    ... Didn''t she just mention that she had put in a lot of effort to infiltrate the academy? She did all of that without even being asked to by her superiors?


    After pondering for a second, I answered.


    "Recruitment for the Ruby gemstone group.?"


    "Well, that wasn''t exactly my reason for coming, but now that you mention it..."


    ... Did I just convince her to recruit people from the academy?


    Changing the topic, I interrupted.


    "Is it perhaps because of some personal reasons?"


    Combining her instant realization that I was Ren by just seeing my face and her ambiguous background, it was possible that she had some personal matters to settle with an important family inside the academy.


    "hmm, you could say that. That''s a good enough answer for now."


    As she led me through the halls of the school, with no clear destination in sight, I followed while continuing to ponder her true intentions.


    By now, we were far from the first-year building, so even I was beginning to become lost. Well, my job was simply to ensure that she didn''t do anything to the main cast, so I was fairly happy with just following her around and wasting time.


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, I saw Ruby had paused up ahead, so I quickly caught up to her.


    In front of Ruby stood the student council president, Astrid, with an angry expression. Looking down at Astrid''s uniform, I saw a small stain that had been caused by Ruby bumping into her.


    Before anyone said anything, I immediately stepped right beside Ruby. Who knew what would happen if Astrid pissed off Ruby? Death, torture, or kidnapping?


    Actually, who would win a fight between the two? I had no idea about Ruby''s current power level as her power was only shown during her fight against the protagonist in 3 years, but so far, I just assumed she was strong.


    Astrid had 2 more years of experience than Ruby, so maybe she could win in a fight?


    Glancing back and forth between Ruby and I, Astrid''s expression contorted as she asked the both of us.


    "You do know this the area for 3rd years, right?"


    Not allowing Ruby to speak, I nodded my head and said.


    "My apologies, student council president, we will leave now."


    Not waiting for Astrid''s response, I grabbed the collar of Ruby''s shirt and walked the other way, dragging Ruby away from the confused Astrid.


    At this point, I was more willing to accept the punishment for dragging Ruby along than to allow them to fight.


    As we walked away, I swore I could hear a faint murmur come from Astrid.


    "So his number of friends has doubled from 1 to 2..."


    After exiting the vicinity of the 3rd-year building, I finally let go of Ruby, who seemed indifferent and unperturbed by what I had just done.


    In fact, she completely skipped over it.


    Maybe she realized she was in the wrong for bumping into Astrid?


    "What exactly do you do after school?"


    Well, I can''t take her to the training hall because the main cast is there, and there''s no point in going to the capital... is there anything else I do after school?


    Trying to pass the time, I just showed her around various parts of the academy, such as the park and the coliseum where the ranking exam took place.


    Contrary to my expectations, she didn''t mind being shown these areas and seemed somewhat interested in the building''s history.


    Did she just not like the cafeteria?


    As the sunlight vanished, I asked while following her as she led me to her dorm building.


    "Are you going to have to take the midterms?"


    With a laugh, she responded.


    "Does it matter if I do or not?"


    shameless...While everyone student is here studying their asses off to pass the midterms, she is just going to pull a few strings to pass!


    Usually, students study and prepare for exams to maintain their ranking, but does she even have a rank?


    "By the way, what''s your ranking?"


    After pondering for a moment, Ruby responded.


    "Oh, that little number they gave to me when I enrolled? I think I just got a random one because they gave me the number 7."


    "I mean, I didn''t even take an entrance test or anything, so I think they just pulled that number out of their ass."


    "..."


    Then, I noticed it¡ªthe gigantic and lavish dorm building standing in front of us. Her dorm building was specifically only for the top 10 ranks!


    Unlimited access to AI dummies, personal saunas, your own personal gym, and the place where all the main cast resided.


    As we approached the dorm building, I noticed it was completely separated from the rest of the academy. There were fences all around it except the entrance, where a guard was standing.


    Noticing our approach, the stern-faced guard asked.


    "Your student-id?"


    After fiddling through her pockets for a moment, Ruby took out her student ID, which displayed her rank of 7.


    Seeing the guard examine her ID, multiple thoughts flashed through my head, all bad ones.


    What if I came back the next day, and the entire dorm building was just gone, and all the main cast members, including Liam, were just lying dead on the floor?


    What if Ruby just kidnapped them all and turned them into slaves? What was I even supposed to do in this situation?


    Returning Ruby''s ID card to her, the guard glanced at me before turning back to Ruby.


    " *ahem* Since you''re new here, you are allowed to bring a guest in once a week; however, it is already past 8, so he can''t come in today."


    Before the guard could even finish his sentence, Ruby handed him a card while saying with a grin.


    "Ah, don''t worry, he has special permission."


    Unable to see the card as the guard''s hands were blocking it, I could only witness the guard''s astounded and bewildered reaction before he stepped back, allowing me entry in as well.


    "... did you plan all of this from the start?"


    "And if I did?"


    "I''d probably say that you could have just asked me."


    I mean, there was no way in hell I was going to leave Ruby unsupervised in a building filled with Liam, Alya, Irene, Lily, Kevin, and Zach.


    As I opened and held open the dorm building door for her, she responded.


    "Then, how would it be a surprise? You know, you''re not very bright."


    Didn''t I just say this to someone else the other day? Why are my words being used against me?


    Heading into the building after Ruby, I confidently responded.


    "I''ll have you know that my IQ is above 100."


    "...? What is an ''IQ''? "


    Ah, shit.


    How was I supposed to know that a world filled with magic and supernatural things didn''t have an intelligence-measuring system?


    Trying to play it off, I changed the topic by asking her.


    "Nothing important. Anyway, can''t you see that stain on your shirt?"


    Not wanting to anger her, I had ignored the stain on her shirt that she received when she bumped into Astrid, but now, I''d rather her be angry than realize that I was from another world.


    Slowly looking downwards, Ruby''s gaze paused on the obvious stain on her white shirt for a moment before in an eerily calm voice, she asked.


    "... you''re thinking just to tell me this now..?"


    Not backing down, I replied.


    "Why did always reply to my questions with even more questions?"


    "... oh, I see how it is."


    Turning around after saying that confusing and terrifying sentence, Ruby grabbed her room key and ran up the stairs to her dorm room, leaving me completely alone in the lavish building.

 Chapter 41: Chapter 41:Midterms [3]

    Standing awkwardly against the wall, I pulled out my smart watch and memorized the few notes I had bothered to take during class.


    Knowing my luck, the odds that I would run into someone from the main cast while standing here was 100%, but that didn''t stop me from at least trying to prevent it.


    After a couple of minutes, I felt a gaze on me, causing my thoughts to fly into chaos immediately.


    Was it Liam? Lily? Irene? Alya? Undoubtedly, those 4 would be the worst people who could show up right in front of me, as I had bad relationships with all of them.


    Slowly tilting my head upwards, I let out a sigh of relief as a boy of similar height to me, with black curly hair and amber eyes, entered my vision.


    Zack.


    Although he was looking at me from the opposite side of the hall, his positive aura still managed to spread all the way to me.


    Since I had never met Zach before, even as the original Ren, I would just have to act according to the rumors.


    What were the rumors circulating about me again? They changed every week, so I couldn''t be bothered to check on them.


    Seriously though, I swear some students would proactively follow me and check if I left the academy so that they create more rumors and gain popularity.


    I basically had a fan club.


    If I had to guess, this week''s rumors probably related to me harassing or blackmailing Ruby due to the scene we caused earlier.


    As Zach approached me, I already knew what the conversation was going to be about. Would this positive guy really let it go if I were "blackmailing" Ruby? Unlike the others though, he wouldn''t have any qualms with me being in the top 10 building.


    Well, I haven''t messed around with Raven in a while, so maybe I could have some fun with this guy. I needed to pass some time while waiting for Ruby as well.


    Also, her eerily calm voice still echoed in my head, so I needed a distraction.


    Putting one of my shoes against the wall, I put on a smirk on my face as I stared at my smartwatch to make myself seem arrogant and cocky.


    Approaching me with a genuine and concerned expression, Zach waited in front of me for a moment before asking.


    "Ah, Ren, I don''t think we''ve talked before. I''m Kevin, nice to me-"


    Interrupting his introduction, I asked while staring at some random app on my smartwatch.


    "What do you want?"


    Surprised by my outburst, Zach stepped back and continued.


    "I-i was just curious about some rumors circulating ar-"


    "Get on with it, will you? Your very presence pissing me off. "


    "I apologize if my presence offends you... I just wanted to as-"


    Wasn''t I the one in his dorm building? Why is he just standing there and taking my insults and even apologizing?


    Internally laughing at his flustered face, I interrupted him once again.


    "Did you not hear me the first time? What do you want?"


    It was like a loop. He tried to explain what he wanted, but I interrupted him, asking what he wanted before he could finish explaining.


    "There were some damaging rumors spread around ab-"


    "Oh my lord, where did you learn how to speak? Stop with the bullshit and just tell me what you want?"


    How long can this loop last? Would I be unable to suppress my laughter anymore and break into laughter, or would Ruby come first?


    If you''re wondering why I didn''t mention the possibility of him actually explaining to me what he wanted, that would be genuinely impossible with me around.


    There was also the slight possibility that he broke, but for that, I would need at least 30 minutes.


    A crack appeared in his kind expression as he bit his lip, but he still persisted.


    "Some terrible rumors have been spreading around about you, and I was wondering if th-"


    "Are you illiterate? Spit it out instead of just saying, ''There have been rumors.'' Genuinely, I get and understand that you had a terrible education as a commoner, but this is a new low."


    "Alright, listen, some pe-"


    "Listen? What the hell do you think I''ve been doing for the past minute?"


    Seeing his smile slowly starting to break, I wanted to continue, but before I could say anything else, a voice called out from behind both of us.


    "Oh, hey Zach, what''s up with you?"


    My expression darkened as Liam came into sight.


    Seriously, I get there''s a 100% chance of me meeting someone while waiting for Ruby, but 200%? That has to be a new low, like really, where does it end? S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Is Lily going to show up next? No, she, Irene, and Alya are going to come barreling through the door within the next 10 minutes.


    Noticing someone standing next to Zach, Liam glanced at me for a second, darkening his expression, before turning back to Zach and asking.


    "Is he bothering you, Zach?"


    Letting out a chuckle at Liam''s words, I ignored the stares of the two and continued pretending to look at the weather app on my smartwatch.


    "no, no, it''s nothing serious. I just had a question about the rumors circulating around."


    At this point, can you even blame me? This guy has mentioned the rumors about a hundred times without actually explaining them once.


    After thinking for a second, Liam responded.


    "Oh, the ones about him and Ruby?"


    Take notes, Zach. Please do it for the sake of the future main party members! It took him one try rather than over 10.


    Finally acknowledging my presence, Liam turned to me and said.


    "You know, I''m quite curious about those as well."


    Without any hesitation or knowledge about the rumors, I confidently responded.


    "And what if they''re true?"


    Seriously, at this point, the words just flowed out of my mouth. Was I really a professional third-rate villain now?


    Responding to my clear provocation and ignoring Zach''s reaction, Liam replied.


    "First of all, how did you even get in here? Do I really need to call security tonight?"


    Looking at the disgruntled Zach, Liam added.


    "Zach, don''t worry, we can help Scarlett tomorrow. We just have to let her know of Ren''s past."


    Seeing Ruby in the distance with my enhanced eyesight, I strode right past Liam and Zach, letting out a chuckle and saying.


    "Please do call security. Also, don''t you have better things to do than obsess over my every action? Don''t tell me you''re one of my fans."


    As both of them looked at me with shock, Liam was the first to speak in an angry tone.


    "W-what t-the hell? Are you d-delusional? You''re the one who k-keeps do-"


    Patting him on his trembling shoulder, probably from anger, as I passed him, I added.


    "Are you stuttering? Don''t worry; it''s normal to be nervous in front of your idol. Unfortunately, I''m quite busy, so I can''t give you a picture right now."


    As I walked towards Ruby, I could hear Zach desperately trying to calm down Liam.


    "Liam, don''t let him get on your nerves. If you do, he wins."


    Snapping back at Zach, Liam replied.


    "You think I DON''T KNOW THAT? He''s just so goddamn annoying; I can''t"


    As I walked up to Ruby with a grin on my face, she asked.


    "And why exactly are you so happy?"


    "I think I get why you mess with me all the time."


    "Took you long enough."


    Taking the lead, Ruby guided me through the lavish and extensive mansion as we saw countless priceless paintings and various sculptures put up for display.


    In my dorm building, they don''t even have painted walls...


    As Ruby stopped in front of yet another painting, I paused and asked.


    "What exactly is a plan?"


    Was she trying to scout out the dorm building to see possible locations for an assassination or kidnapping?


    Still staring at the painting in front of us, Ruby ignored my question and once again responded with another one.


    "What exactly makes this painting worth so much."


    For the first time, I glanced at the painting. Using my eyes, I could see and count every precise stroke of an artist''s paintbrush, so looking at paintings usually gave me a headache.


    However, this one didn''t. It wasn''t because its beauty was dazzling or anything; it was just that this painting had way fewer brushes than the rest of the other ones.


    Staring at the painting of an apple on a white canvas, I responded.


    "Honestly, I have no idea. I could paint something like this in an hour. Where do I sign up to be an artist?"


    Chuckling as she walked away, Ruby replied.


    "It''s because of the name."


    After following her for another minute, we finally reached the common area of the building, and Ruby sat down on one of the seats.


    As I sat down on the armchair across from her and leaned backwards, a sense of comfort immediately enveloped me.


    "ahhh, it''s amazing"


    This was more comfortable than my bed!


    "You know, that chair is worth over 100 gold coins."


    Immediately jerking back upwards, I responded.


    "On second thought, it''s alright."


    As Ruby sipped tea and stared out the window, I could feel some glares on my back from the other residents, but I simply ignored them.


    I was going to enjoy this chair for as long as possible.


    After ensuring that Ruby was back in her room, I finally left the extravagant dorm building and headed back to my poor one.


    For the next week, I continued training my mastery over elemental slashes and worked on mastering the second technique I had learned when I rose in dagger proficiency.


    Mana Feint.


    By imbuing mana into one of my daggers, as I attack, I can create a fake holographic version of my dagger to throw my opponent off.


    As I swing my dagger at my enemy, another fake dagger will be formed, swinging at the opponent from another direction.


    Of course, this holographic version of my dagger doesn''t actually harm the opponent, but it confuses them, making them unable to dodge at times and giving me the split-second advantage I need to strike.


    In fact, even the AI training bots fell for it most of the time. They attempted to dodge both the real dagger and fake dagger strikes, putting them in a vulnerable position and allowing me to make an easy follow-up attack.


    Other times, the AI dummy''s sword would just parry both the fake and real dagger''s strikes, once again displaying the weakness of the small daggers.


    As I continued to face harder and harder AI dummies, it was clear to me that I had to do something about the dagger''s short reach.


    I couldn''t always wait for the bot to come to me. If I wanted to take the offensive, I would first have to get close enough to the dummy so that my daggers would actually hit it.


    Of course, getting close to the dummy was difficult when it swung around its giant broadsword, causing me to step back to avoid the attack.


    "Man, I really need a long-range weapon..."


    On the other hand, I didn''t have to worry about Ruby at all, as she just didn''t show up to class. Well, it didn''t really matter what she did; the odds of her being punished were 0 due to all her connections.


    Some rumors about me having something to do with her not showing up to class did spread, but besides a few glares, it didn''t really impact my daily life.


    Professor Zia, especially, began glaring at me from time to time during class, but it was during free study time, so I just went on my smartwatch to ignore her.


    When I woke up on the day of the exams, I grabbed a pencil and paper before heading to the room I had been assigned by email.


    After the exam, I would have to get back into action as the second incident of the academy would take place through the Academy''s training camp.

 Chapter 42: Chapter 42:Training Camp [1]

    Opening the door, I saw a small room with a desk and a stack of papers on it. The walls and floors were painted dark grey to prevent students from getting distracted mid-test, and besides the chair, desk, and clock, the room was empty.


    To my right and left, I could see trembling students walking by and opening the door to their rooms, which mirrored mine. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Looking at the crowd walking around, I identified Lily, Liam, Zach, and even Ruby. Well, I guess Ruby has to at least show up for the exam, or people will get suspicious of her passing grade.


    With a sigh, I stepped into the room, causing the door behind me to shut automatically, trapping me in the room for the next 5 hours. Is this a prison or a school?


    Sitting down in the chair, I immediately tried to touch the papers on the desk, but there seemed to be some invisible barrier preventing my hands from getting anywhere near them.


    Only the first page of the stack of papers was visible through the barrier.


    [May good fortune be with you.]


    Could they really not think of a better way to say good luck?


    Glancing upwards at the clock, I noticed that the exam would start in less than 10 seconds, so I grabbed my pencil and hovered my hands over the invisible barrier.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    The good thing about using my eyes for schoolwork is that I can solve any problem that involves a formula or concept I memorized within a mere 30 seconds; however, the bad thing is if there''s a problem that requires more than just concept memorization, I''m screwed.


    That''s how I ended up solving every multiple-choice question on the test but none of the free-response questions.


    "... this won''t look suspicious to the graders, right...?"


    Staring at the clock, I realized that I had about 2 hours left in my test-taking time, so I began pretending to work on free-response questions.


    After seeing my test score of 100% on multiple-choice and 0% on free response, I was certain that the teachers would check the camera footage of my room.


    If they saw me just sitting there doing nothing with 2 hours remaining, their suspicions would only grow.


    Flipping through the free-response questions, I alternated between drawing random diagrams that were implanted in my memory to a random bullet point on a note page that I memorized a week ago.


    Oh, right. How are Han and Jin doing? Though the test from last year was helpful to me for multiple choice, it didn''t really help much as the free-response questions were completely different.


    Still, after hearing about Han and Jin''s predicament, I decided to get it. They already complained about their parents enough to me, and if their parents financially cut them off, their complains would more than double.


    I didn''t see them around much last week, so they might have been actually studying to pass.


    As the bell rang, signifying the end of exams, the invisible barrier once again appeared, immediately pushing my hands away from the paper.


    As the door automatically flung open, I could see various students walking out of the exam with expressions ranging from disgruntled to happy to even none.


    Seriously, some kids were just walking away with blank expressions, acting as if they had just witnessed the worst thing in the world. Is it not just an exam?


    Funnily enough, the students with the happy expressions weren''t even excited about doing well on their exams, but the training camp.


    As a reward for students, the academy takes all the first years to Eldoria, the second most populated city in the entire realm of humanity.


    As for the name "training camp," students are assigned random groups and throughout the trip, these groups are surprised with random tasks they must complete.


    Besides the requirement that groups travel together and complete all the tasks assigned, the students are allowed to roam throughout the city and do whatever they want.


    However, if a group fails to complete one task out of the many assigned, they are immediately sent back to the academy, and they will lose 10% of their exam points.


    While the 10% loss in midterm grades is scary for the students, more are worried about not making it to the final day of the trip and being forced to return.


    On the final day of the trip, the academy personally rents one of the most expensive cruise ships in the world for the students. A ship meant over 10000 people, given to around 500 students for a single day and night.


    Leaving the desolate exam room behind, I pondered what to do the following two days before we departed from the academy.


    Instead of traveling by portal gates, the academy rented luxury buses and drove us to Eldora. While this may seem unnecessary and very expensive, the academy still insists on doing this, as this is when you are first introduced to your groups.


    The academy believes that the day-long bus ride will allow you to bond with your groupmates and make plans for what to do in Eldoria City, making tasks easier and less awkward to complete.


    The interference with djinns wouldn''t be until the cruise ship at the end, so I could rest easy for the rest of the trip, besides occasionally completing the tasks.


    As I stepped outside the exam building, Ruby, who seemed to be waiting for me outside, immediately rushed towards me.


    "What, why so surprised?"


    "Oh, that; I''m just surprised you had the audacity to show up today."


    She, someone who bribed their way through both the entrance exam and this midterm exam, still had the audacity to walk in like the rest of the students who worked their asses off?


    Of course, I was basically in the same boat as her, but she didn''t have to know that.


    "Oh, come on, why would I waste my time in those classes."


    "...You know, usually, classes are the main reason people choose to come to this school."


    After all, this Academy is so popular because it is known for producing important people within the magical world through its amazing classes and professors.


    Ignoring my remark, Ruby ran forward before turning around to face me with a smirk and saying.


    "Aren''t you even the least bit excited about the vacation we have?"


    "You''re planning on going?"


    Was she involved in the djinn interference? No... as far as I know, the gemstone order wouldn''t participate in this.


    "Of course, how could I miss out on vacation with everyone!?"


    "Well, you missed out on class with everyone."


    Waiting for me to catch up to her, Ruby softly hit my leg before saying.


    "You know, that''s different. Don''t act stupid."


    ...How is it different?


    Recalling my experience with Zach and my new reputation as a "woman harasser," I replied.


    "Anyway, you know you''ve caused some trouble for me by skipping class."


    Breaking into laughter, Ruby responded.


    "Oh, those rumors? *PFFT* I''ve been asked by like 10 ten girls if you''re blackmailing me."


    Pausing for a moment, Ruby grinned before getting on her tippy-toes and quietly whispering in my ear.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll make it up to you."


    As my mind exploded into confusion and various thoughts flooded through my head, I didn''t let it show in my face; I responded with an indifferent expression.


    "And, how exactly did you reply to those girls asking?"


    She had definitely been approached by Zach before, as that guy would much rather talk to the victim before the criminal; however, Zach still approached me after talking to her.


    That led me to the conclusion that Ruby wasn''t actively denying the rumors!


    "Oh, how do you think I responded? Anyway, just what did you do to all of those students to make them hate you so much? At this point, the entire class has warned me to stay away from you."


    With a smile on my face, I responded.


    "What do you think I did?"


    If she wasn''t going to answer my questions, why would I answer hers?


    Seeming to predict my answer, Ruby wore a sinister smirk as she said.


    "Am I to assume those rumors are all true then? Do you really go around harassing girls in the capital city after school? Is it true that you sneak around in the dark and prey on o-"


    I know I''ve heard all the rumors before, but seriously, hearing them aloud just...


    Interrupting her and feeling my excitement about the exams being over disapear, I said.


    "You can believe what you want. I''m going to go pack."


    ...


    ...


    ...


    "Hey Liam, how was your exam?"


    "Oh, Lily, I think I did alright."


    " *tsk* just Alright? I''m sure I got at least a 95%"


    Startled by Kevin''s sudden interjection, Liam responded.


    "Well, good for you, Kevin; you went an applause or something?"


    At the start, Liam was very cautious when talking to Kevin, as he was scared of Kevin doing something bad to him through his father''s connections; however, now, Liam had the backing of the academy''s headmaster!


    Now that Kevin couldn''t touch him, Liam didn''t hold back when speaking to him.


    Seeing that yet another dispute was going to break out between Liam and Kevin, Zach interrupted from behind them.


    "Anyway, Alya and Lily, how do you think you guys did?"


    In unison, the two calmly and confidently responded.


    "Perfect"


    Lily, combining her knowledge from the book and good study ethic, knew that she would probably get at least a 95, and Alya was also sure of the same.


    Letting out a chuckle at the two girls, Liam asked Lily and Alya.


    "Anyway, ready for the training camp?"


    "There are no cruise ships in the elven realm, so I''m not sure."


    "Yeah, might be fun..."


    With the djinn interference and possible student deaths, Lily didn''t have time to enjoy the vacation. After that fiasco with Alya''s kidnapping, she had to make sure that everything was done right this time.


    What should she do?


    Inform the academy that djinns may interfere. No... they won''t take me seriously unless I have evidence.


    Interrupting Lily''s train of thought, Kevin suddenly asked her in his most nonchalant voice.


    "Lily, you wanna group up?"


    Before Lily could even respond, Liam replied from the side.


    "You know they''re random, right idiot?"


    "Oh, you think they''re really random? Nothing in this world is random; everything has a mastermind."


    Letting out another scoff, Liam responded.


    "Oh, are you saying that you''re going to rig the selection?"


    "And, what if I am? Do we have a problem?"


    "Oh, I''m just curious what the headm-"


    Seeing yet another potential fight, Zach changed the topic.


    "Anyway... have you guys seen Irene around recently?"


    Ignoring Kevin fuming right in front of him, Liam though for a moment before replying.


    "Speaking of that, it has been a while since she hung out."


    Alya and Lily, who knew about the student council situation, glanced at each other for a moment before Alya spoke up.


    "I think she just needs some space for now."


    Zach was genuinely concerned, but he trusted the girls.


    "If you say so..."


    Kevin, who didn''t really care, turned his attention back to Lily.


    "Before Liam so rudely interrupted us, what did you think of grouping of?"


    "ah... I have some things to do in Eldoria, so I''ll be too busy to hang out a lot."


    While Lily didn''t want to hurt Kevin by outright denying him, she also needed to ensure that she had enough time to make preparations for the cruise ship incident.


    However, Kevin was persistent.


    "Oh, you can show me around the local areas."


    "uh... ah..-"


    Before Lily could say something else, Liam''s voice once again spoke out.


    "Oh, is that Irene?"

 Chapter 43: Chapter 43:Training Camp [2]

    Sure enough, exiting the exam building was a sullen-looking Irene with textbooks in her hands.


    As Zach glanced at Irene''s departing figure, he was tempted to ask her, but Alya held him back.


    Liam, who also wanted to see what was up, was interrupted by a whisper in his ear.


    "Are you trying to cockblock me or something? Let me speak to Lily for more a second without you interrupting."


    Instantly, his attention was brought away from Irene and back to Kevin, who was fuming in front of him.


    Lily was too caught up in planning how to minimize or completely stop the djinn intervention on the cruise ship to even notice Irene, and Alya believed that talking to Irene would only make the situation worse, as Alya had been chosen for the student council while she wasn''t.


    Irene''s emotions declined even more when she saw that her entire group was laughing and discussing without her even being there.


    The final nail in her coffin was that Kevin and Liam seemed to be arguing about Lily, completely forgetting about her existence.


    For the first time, Irene was worried about her exam performance as she walked to the training hall after the exams.


    Her lack of focus and constant stress had gotten to her, causing her studying to decrease massively and, in turn, her test results.


    At the front of the training hall, she saw the familiar figure of Ren, instantly lightening her mood.


    If she thought she had done terribly, then Ren, being a moron, probably would get a 0. In other words, Ren was the perfect punching bag for her!


    Irene was constantly surrounded by people who were as talented as she was or even more, so being around a weakling like Ren was just what she needed.


    Following Ren inside the training hall, Irene was thinking about how to insult him when the sound of the door closing snapped her out of her thoughts.


    When she looked up, she realized that Ren was no longer there; instead, he was inside one of the AI dummy rooms.


    Holding her anger in, Irene realized that as a weakling, Ren should only have access to the AI dummies for 3 hours.


    "I can wait... yeah, I can."


    Heading to the training hall''s target practice area, Irene fired fireballs even more powerful than usual until, finally, the sound of a door opening echoed throughout the empty hall.


    Since exams had just finished, no person besides Irene and Ren was crazy enough to train, so that had to be Ren!


    Dusting the ash off her clothes, Irene cockily walked over AI dummy area with her lines already prepared.


    However, as Irene glanced upwards, no lines came out of her astonished mouth.


    Beside the sweaty Ren was Scarlett, the new transfer student who ranked 7th in the first year and was comparable in beauty to her.


    Even that weakling had friends now... while she was left all one. Despite all the prejudice and terrible rumors surrounding him, Ren had a smirk on his face as he walked out of the training hall with Scarlett trailing behind him.


    Listening closely, Irene could even hear the two bantering about, while completely ignoring her presence.


    "Oh, if I don''t? Are you going to harass me like the rumors say?"


    "Sorry, couldn''t hear you. I was too focused on that spot on your shirt."


    "You''re bringing that up again? Oh, just wait, you''ll see."


    Stepping in front of the exit to the training hall, Irene stared silently at the two, trying to adjust the insults she had come up with earlier.


    "Do you know her? Is she one of the girls you harassed, Ren?"


    "...? Really? After a while, the joke gets boring, you know."


    "But didn''t you tell me to believe what I wanted about the rumors? How do I know it''s really a joke?"


    "So you decide to follow my directions now? What happened to earlier and the day before that and that."


    Shifting his gaze from Scarlett to silent and stationary Irene, Ren asked.


    "Are you a statue or something?"


    Finally coming up with something, Irene arrogantly spoke.


    "Trying to get over failing the midterm by spending time with girls? Really, that might just be a new low for you."


    Looking at Ren for his reaction, she was surprised that a smirk was still plastered all over his face as he responded.


    "Oh, are you projecting? Where''s your entourage? Oh wait, don''t tell me..."


    "... you... little-"


    "Yeah, I have plans later, unlike you, so I gotta go."


    Stepping past her, Ren and Ruby left the training hall, leaving Irene seething behind. Up into the night, the sound of fireballs hitting the poor targets could be heard, and the sound of yelling echoed throughout the empty room.


    "I SWEAR TO GOD, YOU''RE.."


    "WHY NOT ME!?


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Having spent the last days practicing and preparing my skills for the upcoming cruise ship fight with both Lily and possibly the djinns; I didn''t have any time to pack.


    When I woke up on the day of the bus''s departure, I stuffed the few pairs of clothes I had that were not torn in my luggage before taking a shower and changing into the academy uniform.


    Taking out my smartwatch, I contacted Raven to ensure that things would continue to run smoothly in my absence.


    [Raven: Boss... if you have a vacation, can''t I?]


    [Ren: When we''re rich, you can take a vacation every day, so just keep working through it, Raven. You got this!]


    [Raven: You keep saying "when." When the hell are you going to tell me when that "when" is? What if I die tomorrow, then what use will working bring me.]


    [Ren: Don''t worry, you won''t die while I''m alive.]


    [Raven: ??? what does that mean?]


    [Ren: You got this; keep selling those scrolls!]


    Putting down my smartwatch, I exited my dorm building and headed to the bridge that connected the academy to the capital.


    Nearing the bridge, I could see countless luxury buses and a crowd of students excitedly surrounding them while talking.


    Of course, some students were huddled up in the corner praying to the gods for good exam grades.


    "...wait isn''t that Han and Jin?"


    First, Raven, now those 2?


    Leaving them to the prayer group, I dropped my luggage off our class bus and checked in with my professor.


    Somewhat curious and nervous, I asked Profesor Zia.


    "Can you tell who my group members are?"


    "You''ll find out in a minute."


    "... if I''ll find out in a minute, why not just tell me now?"


    "Ruins the surprise."


    "Since when have you liked surprises? Aren''t you the one who said in class that they''re obnoxious?"


    "So, that''s what you pay attention to in my class?"


    "... we''re getting off-topic. About my group-"


    "Just go sit down."


    Nodding my head disappointedly, I walked back over to the crowd and started looking at my smartwatch


    On the bus, there was no technology allowed as the school wanted groupmates to bond, so this would be the last time I could check anything for the entire day


    After another couple of minutes, Profesor Zia''s voice spoke out, immediately silencing the talking students and catching the attention of the praying students.


    "As you enter the bus, you will be given a group number. The bus is sectioned off into areas for each group, so head to the area marked by your group number."


    Heading into the line of students waiting at the bus entrance, I suppressed the urge to use my stealth to sneak to the front of the line, using the shadows of the students and the bus.


    After what seemed like an entirety, I was once again met with the face of Professor Zia. Before she could say anything, I cautiously said.


    " *ahem* As you know, my reputation is not the best, so the group would be awkward if it''s not people I know. So, with that in mind, what is my group?"


    "And, whose fault is that?"


    "It''s my fault that my every action is monitored by gossiping students?"


    "Are you saying that your actions described by the students are true as they observe you everyday?"


    "Now, you''re just grasping at straws. Aren''t teachers supposed to use logic?"


    "Your group number is 5. Head in and don''t cause any trouble."


    "You didn''t say that last part to the student before me."


    Ignoring my last remark, Profesor Zia pushed me into the bus, so I headed to the back where section 5 was located.


    Since I was the first group member to arrive, I immediately found the most comfortable and spacious seat in the section and sat down.


    Reclining my chair, I almost fell back to sleep when an angry voice sounded from right above me.


    "...oh don''t tell me... What the hell is this?"


    Seeing the angry Irene standing in front of me, I replied.


    "You understand that this a punishment for me, not you, right?"


    Before Irene could respond, another voice sounded from the entrance to the section. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "h-hello, is this the right section?"


    In walked Zach, accompanied by a digital camera that hung around his neck.


    The thing about my luck is that I couldn''t tell when it was S or G. Was it good luck or bad luck that I was put in a group with Irene and Zach?


    Anyway, it didn''t really matter to me as the main group during this trip of Lily, Kevin, Liam, and Alya was formed.


    "Should we all introduce ourselves...?"


    Seeing the opportunity to entertain myself, I shot back at Zach


    "What is this kindergarten? Grow up."


    Ignoring Zach''s crumbling figure, Irene replied.


    "Oh, you''re one to talk? Didn''t you attack someone else because they stole your crush? Aren''t you just a spoiled child?"


    Really bringing up Liam and Lily?


    Even though she was talking about the original Ren, I still felt offended on his behalf, so I immediately began thinking of insults.


    Before I could reply, another voice entered the section.


    "Ohhhhh, that was a low blow..."


    [A/N: Sorry for the short chap. 2 tomorrow. 75 PW or 1 Gift = +1 Chap]

 Chapter 44: Chapter 44:Training Camp [3]

    I slumped down on my seat without even turning my head towards the entrance, where Ruby stood with a grin.


    Did Professor Zia actually listen to me? I mean, technically, these were people I''ve met before... but honestly, I''d rather be with randoms.


    Ruby and Irene just don''t seem like a good combo in any shape or form.


    While Zach sat down next to me, Ruby took the last remaining seat across from him. Without technology, all of us awkwardly stared out the window except Ruby, who was staring ahead with a smile.


    Did Ruby have something to do with this odd group?


    After a couple more minutes, the speakers of the bus announced.


    "The bus will now depart and arrive in approximately 8 hours. We recommend that you use this time to get to know your group members and make new friends!"


    After that, the bus started moving, but it moved faster than I expected, so I was immediately jerked upwards from my seat and right towards Irene, who was across from me.


    Well, Irene didn''t notice, as she was trying her best to avoid looking at me. She stared at the floor, the walls, the window, and even Ruby with a permanent disgusted expression.


    Seeing an opportunity to end this awkward silence, Zach immediately stepped up and said.


    "Seeing as we''ll be together for the next few days, why don''t we all introduce ourselves and give one fun fact?"


    Is he a camp counselor?


    Looking at the scenery of the sea that I had dived into not too long ago, I replied.


    "I''m good."


    Zach''s exasperated expression only grew as Irene remained silent while staring out the window; however, his expression did a quick 180 when Ruby responded cheerfully.


    "Sure, we might as well."


    Sending me a menacing glare that I could only see through the reflection of the window, Ruby said.


    "Right, Ren?"


    Well, she is technically my boss, so I can''t really say no to her. Anyway, looking out the window is giving me a headache. Seeing too much causes my brain to be overloaded with information, which in turn causes me to have a headache.


    Closing my eyes, I replied.


    "Alright... let''s have Irene go first because she''s clearly in desperate need of friends."


    If I was going down, then Irene was going right down with me.


    Silently looking away from the window and back at me, a small flame began to generate on the palm of Irene''s right hand. The flame was pure red, and its edges were as sharp as my daggers.


    "WAIT, WAIT IRENE, CALM DOWN, HE WAS JOKING."


    Letting out a scoff at Zach''s panicked words, I looked straight back into Irene''s fiery red eyes before saying.


    "Don''t worry, Zach; I don''t think her flames can even cause the fire alarm to go off."


    The size of fire extended beyond the palm of Irene, threateningly growing closer and closer to me while Irene replied.


    "You wanna test it?"


    Interrupting our heated confrontation this time was not Zach but Ruby, as she cheerfully announced.


    "Well, since no one else wants to go first, I''ll go. My name is Scarlett, but you can call me Ruby. For my fun fact, I enjoy playing knowledge-based games like chess."


    Reaching into her backpack, Ruby pulled out a set of cards before continuing.


    "I even brought a deck of cards if anyone wants to play cards."


    Enticed by the possibility of playing poker, I immediately raised my hand to shuffle the deck, which would give me control over what game we would play, but Ruby stopped me.


    "You''ll have to introduce yourself to play!"


    "I''m Ren, and people say my hobby is harassing girls."


    "..."


    "..."


    "..?


    Catching Ruby off-guard by my interesting introduction, I swiftly grabbed the deck of cards from her hand and began shuffling, ignoring the starstruck gazes of the entire group.


    After hesitating for a couple of seconds, Zach also introduced himself.


    "You can call me Zach, and as you can see by the camera around my neck, I enjoy taking pictures. As an avid member of the academy photography club, I have been assigned the task of documenting this trip, so I hope that you''ll help me find some interes-"


    Still shuffling the deck of cards, I interrupted Zach and turned to Irene.


    "Good for you, Zach. Mrs. No friends, what about you?"


    Incited by insult, Irene immediately replied.


    "Mr. Harasser, you all already know my name, and my hobby is magic research."


    "Mrs. Friendless, don''t you think you should be good at magic research if it''s your hobby?"


    The things she said about Lily and the original Ren were still fresh on my mind, so I wasn''t going to pass up an opportunity to jab back at her.


    Of course, she is good, even maybe the best, for her age at magic research, but after not being selected for the student council, I doubt she feels that way.


    Also, it was fun to watch Zach''s face grow more and more flustered at every exchange. This trip was going to be the most stressful few days of his life.


    "Mr. Creep, are you saying that you''re good at harassing girls?"


    "Are saying that you agree with my sentiment that you are not good at magical research? I was merely pointing out a singular contradiction in your introduction; it does not apply to me."


    Before the flames could reemerge from Irene''s hands, Zach quickly interrupted while Ruby sat back and laughed.


    "a-about the C-card game, Ren?"


    Placing two cards in front of each of us, I replied.


    "Oh, that, let''s play a game of poker. Of course, gambling isn''t gambling if we don''t lose anything..."


    Perking up at my hint, Irene and Ruby asked in unison.


    "What exactly are you suggesting?"


    "Why don''t we allow the winner to command the ultimate loser of the poker game around the entire trip?"


    As I was confident in my poker ability, I believed that I could win the game while simultaneously making Ruby the loser. If I didn''t have to worry about Ruby going off and causing some variables, my plans on the cruise ship would be a lot more effective and planned out.


    Placing her hands on the two cards in front of her, Irene sighed before saying.


    "True to your name, you really are a creep, but I''ll play along."


    ??? How does saying that make me a creep?


    Flipping over her two cards, Ruby stared at them before also saying.


    "You know, I am really starting to believe those rumors..."


    Just then, I felt a pat on my shoulder, so I turned around and saw Zach looking at me with a pitying gaze.


    "Don''t worry, Ren, I trust you."


    "..."


    I wasn''t even mad at him for trying to sympathize with me; I was more confused about why he trusted me. I mean, I hadn''t even denied the rumors spreading about me, so why did he believe me? Just, what the hell is going on in this guy''s mind?


    Brushing Zach''s hand off my shoulder, I glanced at my two cards, a ten-high and an ace, before putting three open-faced cards on the table.


    Instead of immediately looking at the open cards, I used my enhanced eyesight to examine each subtle reaction and movement of my group mates.


    Looking at Zach, I saw his jaw muscle twitch ever-so-slightly into a grimace, signifying his discomfort or dissatisfaction with his current cards.


    He would probably fold under a little bit of pressure.


    Glancing at Irene, I saw her rate of breathing increase, probably due to excitement. Her eyes kept glancing back and forth between her cards and the cards on the desk as if she were confirming her good cards. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Turning my eyes towards Ruby, I was ready to examine her when suddenly, two soft and sweet words escaped from her mouth.


    "I fold."


    Next time, then.


    Ignoring Ruby''s fold, I raised the bet, causing Zach to fold, and then placed the fourth card on the desk.


    The current state of someone wasn''t the only thing I used when making bets in poker. Irene clearly suffered from a lack of confidence due to her rejection from the council, so even if she had good cards, she would begin to doubt herself as time passed.


    Raising the bet even more, I saw some self-doubt appear on Irene''s expression as she tersely bit her lip before matching my bet.


    After placing the fifth card on the desk, I called out, maintaining my calm and composed poker face.


    "All In."


    Instantly, Ruby and Zach''s gazes shifted to Irene to await her choice, causing her to feel even more pressure and even less confident as all eyes were on her.


    Realizing that she had bet less than 10% of her money, Irene placed her cards at the bottom of the deck and replied.


    "I fold."


    The next hour progressed smoothly as we continued playing poker. Besides a couple of rounds where I folded early on due to both Irene and Kevin having good cards, I was almost always winning money.


    There was one problem, though...


    As I glanced at Ruby, who was holding her two cards between her fingers, she calmly replied.


    "I fold."


    This was the 7th time in a row that Ruby had folded. Not once in the past hour had she made it past the reveal of the 3 cards on the desk.


    What good was it winning if Ruby wasn''t the one I got to command around?


    Both Irene and Zach were almost lower than Ruby in balance, so I had to stop winning. However, Ruby wasn''t dumb and would notice if I suddenly started throwing the game.


    For the first time, I wished that my luck stat was actually G...


    After briefly calculating everyone''s balance, Zach announced the results.


    "In first place is Ren, who won by a whopping 500 silver coins. In second is me, third is Ruby, and finally, fourth is Irene."


    My luck had let me down once again... what''s new?


    While Ruby winked at me, Irene sent me a death glare as she recalled the reward given to the winner of the poker game and said.


    "Don''t even think about it."


    Ignoring her comment, I got up from my seat, left our group''s section, and headed to the bathroom on the bus. After walking a couple of steps away from the section, I immediately turned around and saw Ruby following me.


    "What was that all about? And don''t answer with another question."


    "Shouldn''t you be even a little happy? I mean, you get to command that girl around the entire trip."


    "You want me to get down on both knees and thank you?"


    "I''m not forcing you to, but you know, if you had any semblance of gratitude, you should."


    "Oh, shut it."


    Squeezing by me, Ruby walked a couple of steps before turning around and saying.


    "Oh, is it possible that you wanted to command me around? Now that I think about it... Hmm, I mean, it would be interesting if our roles were swapped."


    Did she see right through me at the start..?


    Realizing that hesitating while talking to her would bring more suspicion, I replied immediately.


    "Where does all this bullshit come from? You seem to have an endless amount of it stored in that head of yours."


    "Oh, come onnn, I was just joking around. Unless you maybe took it seriously?"


    Disregarding her comment, I turned around and headed back to the section. There was no way I was going to a bathroom on the bus, no matter how luxurious it was.


    You may say, Ren, didn''t you use the bathroom on a dangerous mountain range for three days straight? But I''ve come a long way since then.


    As I entered the section, I saw Zach trying to sleep while Irene was staring out the window, paler than usual.

 Chapter 45: Chapter 45:Training Camp [4]

    For the next few hours, I laid my head on the windowsill with my eyes closed, trying to sleep; however, it seemed like people in the section beside us were really getting along, as constant screaming and laughing could be heard.


    If I had enhanced hearing instead of eyesight, I probably would have jumped out the window...


    Slightly opening my eyes, I saw Irene and Zach also trying to fall asleep, as well as Ruby, who was leaning back against her chair and enjoying a snack that had been given out earlier. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Reclining my chair, I relaxed my body and began to fall asleep, ignoring our loud neighbors.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    "We have arrived. Please grab your belongings from the bus compartment and head into your rooms. Lights out will be in 30 minutes."


    Jerking upwards from the sudden announcements, I glanced outside the window and noticed that pitch-black darkness had completely replaced the sunlight.


    Following Zach and Ruby''s lead, I got up from my seat, exited the bus, grabbed my smartwatch and backpack from the compartment, and headed into the hotel.


    The school did tell us that groups would have to be together at all times, so it was no surprise to me when the receptionist handed the four of us only one key. On the other hand, Irene seemed shocked and flabbergasted before once again telling me.


    "Don''t even think about it."


    "Not that I would, but how would you even know if I did? What''s the point in saying that?"


    "What''s the point of your life? To be a constant nuisance to me?"


    Before our dispute could grow any louder, the exhausted Zack grabbed the room key and led us to our room.


    After opening the sliding door with our room key, I realized how similar the room was to a traditional Japanese room.


    There was a living room with nothing but a round table and some cushions, and there was also an empty room beside it that was separated by another sliding door.


    Two futons were already placed on opposite sides of the table in the living room, and two more were placed closer together in the other room.


    Without any discussion, Irene walked into the room as if she owned it and immediately headed for the other room before settling down on one of the futons.


    Ruby seemed happy with this arrangement. She settled down on the futon beside Irene, and about 10 seconds later, Irene shut the sliding door.


    Left with Zach alone in the living room, I chose a futon and laid down while checking my smartwatch for updates.


    Standing alone at the entrance, Zach blinked for a couple of seconds before kindly asking.


    "I''m going to turn off the lights if you''re alright with that."


    "Do what you want."


    As the room became shrouded in pitch black, of course not for my eyes, I saw Zach struggling to find his way to the futon before putting down my smartwatch and trying to sleep.


    Just how was our group going to fare tomorrow? The whole point of this training camp was to encourage teamwork, as heroes are often required to cooperate with others to complete missions, but our team had no semblance of that.


    Of course, I am partially at fault for the lack of teamwork, but what would pointing figures and playing the blame game solve?


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, I heard a slight movement from the other side of the table, so I shifted my head slightly to get a full picture.


    Peering through the pitch-black darkness, I saw Zach slowly getting out of his futon and doing his very best to move through the room quietly.


    Sliding open the door, I saw Zach disappear into the darkness of the night as it was impossible for me to see through walls.


    Now, what exactly is he up to?


    Using my stealth skill as an assassin, I did the exact same thing as Zach, but a hundred times better as I snuck out of the room.


    Utilizing my eyes once again, I looked around for a quick second before spotting Zach heading to the exit of the hotel building.


    Using the darkness of the night, I ran towards Zach''s departing figure, making no sounds or indication of presence.


    Now, right behind Zach, I watched him carefully and cautiously open the exit door before sneaking out right behind him.


    Unless Zach was looking at my vicinity, there was no way he could notice, even though I was right next to him. However, that came with the restriction that I couldn''t make any sudden moves, like pulling out my daggers or getting closer to him.


    Welcoming the cold air of the night, I used the shadow of the hotel building to sneak behind Zach while he walked around the building to its backside.


    Why would the epitome of an upstanding citizen be sneaking around and even breaking the school''s curfew?


    Reaching his destination, I watched from a distance as Zach leaned against the back of the hotel building.


    *BZZT*


    *BZZT*


    As the sound of a ringing smartwatch echoed throughout the empty night, Zach pulled out his smartwatch and put it right to his ear.


    "I''m here."


    ''..."


    "Yes, no one should know."


    Unable to hear the voice speaking to him on the phone, my curiosity only grew. There was no way someone like Zach would be doing something shady, so was it a possible lover..?


    "..."


    "Alright, Lily, tell me what this is all about now."


    Lily?


    Was Lily his possible lover? If so, I wasn''t even mad at her for ruining the plot this time; I was just disappointed.


    How could she fall in love with a fake person? Everyone besides her and I are fake and fictional characters that were written by some author.


    How could she live the rest of her life in this world with Zach when, in her heart, she knows that he and everyone else are nothing more than a book?


    I guess that''s the difference between her and me. Would she even go back to Earth if given the opportunity? Could she even be considered to be from Earth if she completely and utterly accepted her relocation to this book world?


    Taking me out of my thoughts, Zach''s voice once again sounded.


    "...What do you mean you want to keep watch on Ren?"


    Is that how it is? With the upcoming cruise ship event, I knew that she would definitely keep watch over me to ensure I didn''t do anything, but is she really handing the job off to Zach?


    That would be a huge mistake for her. Such a naive person could easily be fooled, just like right now.


    Even if Zach knew nobody was following him, he still should have taken the call in a 100% secluded place like the bathroom, but he decided to take it outside where countless people could be hiding and listening.


    "..."


    "Yeah, I''ve heard the rumors about him, but he doesn''t seem to be that type of g-"


    For the first time, while responding to Zach, I could actually hear Lily''s voice as her scream reached my hears despite my distance from Zach''s smartwatch.


    "ZACH, DO YOU WANT ANOTHER GIRL TO BE HARRASED BY HIM?"


    "... alright, I''ll keep watching him if you''re sure."


    "..."


    Realizing that their conversation would end soon, I took the same route as I headed straight back to the hotel room.


    What exactly am I in Zach''s eyes, and why does he trust me so much? Maybe Ruby told him something?


    Hearing Zach open the door of the hotel building, I quickened my pace and rushed towards the hotel room, jumping from shadow to shadow to ensure that my figure wasn''t illuminated by the moonlight streaming in from the windows.


    Approaching the room, I saw a figure standing by the open hotel room, whom I quickly identified as Irene.


    I had left the dorm room open when I left!


    Being caught by Zach now would make Lily even more suspicious of me, and she would probably send even more people to keep an eye on me, making me unable to plan.


    If Irene caught me, what would she do?


    Stepping out of the shadows and in front of Irene, I placed my hand around her mouth, moved her inside the room, and let the door fall shut behind us.


    Seeing my face illuminated by the moonlight, Irene murmured through the holes in my hands.


    "Mfff the hell, you dirty, g-get y-your h-hands off me."


    Hearing Zach''s approaching footsteps, I whispered into her ear.


    "I won the poker game, and you lost, right? Go back to your room, and don''t say anything about me leaving to anyone."


    If she saw Zach coming back now as well, she would probably report my disappearance to Zach, and Lily would figure out I was following Zach, so I needed to send her away now.


    Letting go of Irene, I opened the sliding door to her room, revealing Ruby''s sleeping figure, and gestured for her to come in. Even in the dark, I could see her red eyes shining with anger and hatred.


    After shutting the door, I slid into my futon and pretended to be asleep while Zach quietly entered the room and got into his futon.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Waking up the next day to dozens of hard knocks on my door, I heard Professor Zia scream through the wall.


    "REN, YOUR GROUPMATES ARE WAITING FOR YOU DOWNSTAIRS IN THE BREAKFAST HALL. GET UP!"


    Looking around the room, I noticed that it was entirely empty. I wasn''t even mad that they left me, but more so confused. Didn''t they understand what the academy meant when they said, "Groups are required to remain together at all times?"


    They just didn''t bother to wake me up at all?


    "Yes, Professor, let them know I''m on my way."


    Taking my time, I imagined my 3 groupmates impatiently staring at the food with angry expressions while I showered and put on a set of casual clothes that I had bought after midterms.


    As I arrived at the breakfast, the scene was just like my imagination: Ruby, Zach, and Irene were sitting together in silence while staring at the large buffet of food ahead of them.


    Not informing them of my appearance, I grabbed a plate and searched around the spacious area before loading my plate with food.


    Satisfied with my plate, I made my way to the table where my 3 groupmates sat impatiently.


    Irene was the first to speak after seeing me standing in front of them with a plate of steaming hot food.


    "When the hell did you get here?"


    Shrugging my shoulders, I responded.


    "A couple of minutes ago, I think. Might have been longer."


    Her expression distorting and her eyes burning with red fire, Irene responded.


    "And you didn''t think to let us know? Even though we waited here for over 10 minutes for you."


    Sitting down at their table, I picked up my fork and replied.


    "Did you guys let me know when you got up?"


    "Is it our job to wake up? Right, guys? guys..?"


    As Irene glanced around, looking for our two group mates, who had run to get food during our dispute, I dug into my food while flashing a smirk at the pissed-off Irene.


    Irene being angry and pissed off was actually essential for my plans today, so I wasn''t just doing it to have fun today.

 Chapter 46: Chapter 46:Training Camp [5]

    After a very awkward and silent breakfast, our group was left with a difficult choice.


    What exactly do we do?


    Besides the requirements of completing the tasks and staying in your groups, the school basically gave us complete freedom over what to do.


    After being ignored by Irene and I for so long, Zach seemed to lose his confidence as he cautiously asked.


    "so... w-where should we go today?"


    Watching the two girls stare at their smartwatches in silence in response to Zach''s questions, I pretended to think for a second before replying.


    "Let''s just go to the areas recommended by the school."


    The main reason this trip was so popular was that students were given entire freedom over what to do, yet here we were, following the school''s instructions and recommendations like a bunch of sheep.


    Pulling out the pamphlet given to us on the bus, I opened it to the first page and held it open for my groupmates.


    The History of Magical Artifacts Museum, or better known as the HMAM.


    "Sounds good. Does anyone have any objections?"


    "Fine with me!"


    " *tsk* whatever."


    Clapping his hands, Zach got up from the bench and headed to the hotel exit, with us following behind.


    Since the city was so large, we had to take mana trains, which were basically bullet trains from Earth, to get around everywhere.


    After scanning our student IDs, the four of us got onto the mana train and sat down. Admiring the fleeting scenery of the city through the window, I began to formulate my plan for the day.


    In preparation for their raid on the cruise ship, the djinns and demons would attack this museum to steal some powerful magic artifacts.


    Unfortunately for them, I quite liked one of the magical artifacts they were planning to steal. As for the plothole caused by my interference in this event, I already had a solution.


    Getting off the train, I followed Zach''s lead as we walked towards the looming museum building ahead.


    Why do you always have to walk up at least 10 stairs to enter a museum?


    Passing by the normal queue, we headed into the VIP line and displayed our student IDs before being immediately allowed in. The Celestial Academy was just that revered by people in the human realm.


    Pausing in the museum lobby, Zach turned around and asked,


    "Any specific exhibit you guys want to go to?"


    With Zach now being a spy for Lily, it would be far too suspicious if I conveniently suggested the specific exhibit from which the djinns would steal, as I had already led us to choose the museum as our destination.


    Taking out the school''s pamphlet once again, I pretended to fan myself with it while its open pages advertised the special exhibit on stealth-related magical artifacts.


    After subconsciously seeing it on the pamphlet, it would be Zach''s first choice as it was already on his mind, and nobody else suggested anything.


    Also, the bench we were all sitting on was conveniently only a couple of feet away from the entrance to the special exhibit.


    Breaking the silence, I immediately let out a sigh as Ruby''s cheerful voice spoke out.


    "Why don''t we check out the exhibit on the creation of magical artifacts?"


    Isn''t she a high member of the gemstone order? Why the hell would she care about creating them when she could have countless of them by her doorstep by just giving an order?


    Well, I''m already suspicious in Lily''s eyes, so who cares if I become more? At least, I can say I tried when Lily eventually figured out that I''m not actually Ren!


    Standing up, I responded.


    "I''m going to the stealth artifact exhibit."


    Why would I have to ask them for permission to go anywhere?


    Blocking my path to the exhibit, Zach stepped in front of me and responded.


    "wait, wait, Ren. Let''s all decide on one exhibit."


    Turning around, I looked at Irene, who had put down her smartwatch and asked.


    "You''re fine with going to the stealth exhibit, right?"


    It wasn''t necessarily an order, so she didn''t have to agree, but it was quite obvious that if she disagreed, I would command her to agree.


    "I don''t even care; let''s just go somewhere already."


    With that, Zach stepped out of my way and bowed down to Ruby.


    "Sorry, Scarlett, we can go there another day... it seems Ren and Irene want to go to a different exhibit."


    "It''s fine; I just wanted us to go somewhere instead of just sitting around, so I randomly recommended an exhibit. Don''t worry about it."


    As soon as we entered the exhibit, a short film was played, teaching people how to make their footsteps quieter, how to classify monsters using clues such as the size of their footsteps or the range of food they eat, and how to control their heart or breathing rate.


    This information would be quite useful for a magician, swordsman, or any other class, but as an assassin, I innately have most of these skills, so it was pretty much useless for me.


    Just as a swordsman has an easier time learning how to use a sword than other classes, I have a much easier time learning stealth and tracking techniques as an assassin.


    Heading out of the film room, I saw countless full-black cloaks, throwing knives, and masks displayed, each with a description of their effect.


    Since they were displayed in the museum, most of them had decently non-combat-related effects, such as a cloak that could never get dirty or a dagger that cut through wood specifically easier than other materials.


    Of course, the item I was looking for today wasn''t displayed here; rather, it was put in the special area as its ability was combat-related.


    Lingering around the mask area, I paced back and forth, waiting for my groupmates to catch up to me.


    The artifacts that the djinns and I were aiming to take were far too powerful and rare to be displayed in the museum''s open space.


    One of the djinns infiltrated the museum as an employee and gained information, revealing that the true location of combat-related artifacts was a subspace connected to the museum.


    Checking the time on my smartwatch, I closed my eyes.


    The flashing lights of the alarm and the chaos that would ensue would overwhelm my eyesight and give me another headache.


    I was already almost out of medicine from the train ride alone.


    The next moment, a high-pitched ring sound began to echo throughout the museum, silencing all the hundreds of footsteps and chatters.


    *RING*


    "EMERGENCY ALERT! EMERGENCY ALERT! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! EVACUATE TO YOUR NEAREST EXIT!"


    *RING*


    Though I hadn''t yet opened my eyes, I could hear the panicked footsteps all running towards what I assumed to be the exit.


    Interestingly enough, no one screamed or made any calls, showcasing the trust they had in awakened heroes, as they all just rushed towards the fire exit without making much noise.


    They all assumed that the heroes would arrive and save them, so they ran toward the exit without asking any questions. It''s crazy how people can entrust their lives to others without any fight or resistance. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Then again, they don''t have a choice; such is the fate of those who do not become awakened.


    Proving the rushing bystanders right, three sets of footsteps stepped in the opposite direction of the emergency exit and towards me.


    Just as expected.


    "Let''s help out guys."


    " *tsk* Better than looking at this stupid exhibit."


    "Sounds good, Zach."


    Ruby and Irene, two of the book''s main antagonists, were now helping save people with a main cast member. Is this what people call the butterfly effect?


    Opening my eyes, a grin spread across my face as I did what any self-respecting third-rate villain character would do.


    Run.


    "I''m good on that; you guys have fun, though."


    Running past my groupmates, who all looked stunned, I sprinted towards the emergency exit without waiting for a response.


    Which third-rate villain wouldn''t run when any form of danger showed up? What did they expect me to do? Help out the richest people in the realm by protecting their museum property for them?


    Blending into the crowd of people who were pushing and shoving to get into the exit, I took out my daggers and stabbed my hands, causing droplets of blood to fall, not onto the floor, but onto my shoe.


    If my blood was found on the floor by the investigation team after the incident, there could be massive problems.


    Finding my way to the right wall of the emergency exit, I stood still, using my awakened strength to avoid being pushed and shoved by the rushing citizens, and stared ahead.


    Very interesting spot to put a painting, isn''t it?

 Chapter 47: Chapter 47:Training Camp [6]

    Ignoring the people pushing my back, I extended my arm forward right into the painting, and instead of being stopped by the canvas of the painting, it went right through it.


    Reeling my arm back in, I glanced around before realizing that everyone was so preoccupied with escaping that they didn''t pay attention to me. In fact, there were countless other people leaning against the wall like me instead of trying to escape.


    Since the alarms went off, the djinns should have already infiltrated the subspace, so there was a slight possibility that they could have set a trap for anyone who entered it after them.


    Feeling another arm pushing against my back, I didn''t hesitate as I turned around, grabbed the arm on my back, and threw it into the painting.


    First, his arms disappeared into the painting, then his head, then his stomach, and finally, his legs disappeared, leaving no trace of his existence outside of the subspace.


    Wasting no time, I curled up into a ball as I jumped right into the painting after him with my daggers in each hand and a hood over my head, covering most of my face.


    Similar to a mana gate, my surroundings distorted for a moment before stabilizing and revealing a gigantic room with a ceiling well over 50 feet high and an area big enough to fit at least 1000 people.


    In the center of the room, there was a large circle, and on that circle, there were countless pedestals, each with a magical artifact inside.


    Each pedestal had countless runes flying around it; each rune embued with some sort of protection or defensive magic.


    The innocent man who I had thrown in the painting lay passed out on the floor from the warp into the subspace.


    On the floor, around a dozen guards lay in the circle, their weapons scattered about. In the middle of the circle, there were around 11 djinns, each equipped with a sword or wand.


    All the djinns seemed to be surrounding one, who was currently mid-cast while aiming his wand at the runes on the pedestal.


    In a gigantic and empty room like this, sneaking around would be impossible, so there was no point in trying to assassinate them one by one.


    "Well, it''s not like I wanted to do that anyway."


    Injecting mana into my daggers, a night-black aura immediately enveloped them, completely covering the shiny metal of my daggers, leaving only the black hilt visible.


    Get a magical artifact and answer my questions about Corruption of the Night? Don''t mind if I do!


    Assessing that all of the djinns were in the range of low E-rank to mid-D-rank, I prematurely activated dash as I ran towards the center of the circle.


    In the completely silent room, my loud and fast footsteps echoed throughout the massive room, immediately catching the attention of the djinns.


    "THERE''S ONE MORE!"


    "GET HIS ASS!"


    "KEEP HIM AWAY!"


    Leaving 5 djinns behind to defend the casting djinn, the other 5 immediately rushed toward me, with 2 of them staying at the back of the rush and preparing to cast spells.


    Does Corruption of the Night work on humans?


    Confronted by the 3 sword-wielding djinns, I immediately swung my daggers at the air, releasing a night-black slash that barreled toward the charging enemies, causing them to split up as two dodged to the right while one to the left.


    After sending another night-black slash at the alone djinn, causing him to dodge back further away from his comrades, I used dash, appearing right in front of the two djinns.


    Releasing more mana into my right dagger, I created a holographic dagger as I swung both my daggers at one of the djinns.


    Unable to block both of my daggers with his sword, the djinn stared at his partner for help; however, the holographic dagger was slashing right at his partner.


    Faced with the dilemma of protecting his partner or himself, the djinn''s true nature was exposed as he used his sword to parry the holographic dagger instead of assisting his helpless partner.


    The djinn''s expression distorted as the holographic dagger went straight through his sword, but by then, it was too late, as I plunged one of my night-black daggers right into his partner''s chest while allowing other to be parried by his partner''s sword.


    The wound wasn''t fatal enough to kill the djinn, but it was strong enough to immobilize him completely.


    Shaking the djinn''s body off my dagger, I allowed it to drop to the floor and then immediately created an X with my daggers to block an ariel strike from the other djinn.


    Scanning the battlefield, I noticed that the two magician djinns were almost done casting as dark-purple frisbees appeared above their heads, and the other djinn was done with dodging, so he was rushing towards me.


    Well, my questions can wait, I guess.


    Kicking my leg forward, I hit the djinn''s stomach, causing him to fall back immediately and lose his balance for a second.


    That second was all I needed as I freed my daggers and sidestepped to the right before plunging one of my pitch-black daggers into his heart.


    "..huh?"


    The night-back aura on my daggers grew a bit bigger, as the aura now partially covered the hilt of my dagger.


    After confirming the growth in aura, I swung my daggers at the air, sending an elemental slash to interrupt some of the dark-purple frisbees.


    Activating dragon''s eye for a brief second, I felt my perception of time slow as I turned around and saw the sword of the djinn already mid-slash and slowly heading toward my head.


    Feeling my mana reserves diminish, I ducked and deactivated the dragon''s eye before hurling one of my pitch-black daggers right at the djinn.


    Caught off guard by my sudden dodge, the djinn''s eyes widened as my dagger flew straight at him, and with his sword at his feet due to his last slash''s miss, he had no way or time to dodge.


    Using my other dagger, I faced the remaining dark-purple frisbees head-on as they hit my dagger, causing my stance to fault before I flew back due to the impact.


    After landing on my legs, I had time to sidestep, leading me to narrowly dodge the dark-purple frisbees, which my direct opposition had slowed.


    Picking up my other dagger from the djinn''s body, I confirmed that the night-black aura had grown again before running toward the two magicians.


    But these magicians weren''t defenseless as two more sword-wielding djinns had abandoned protecting the casting djinn and stepped up to face me.


    Prematurely activating dash, I jumped onto one of the pedestals before launching myself upwards and right over the sword-wielding djinns and right toward the magician djinns.


    The sword-wielding djinns stopped in confusion and stared at me mid-jump. After all, in their eyes, I had completely trapped myself. Even if I managed to kill the two magician djinns, I would be immediately surrounded on all sides by the other djinns.


    Using both of my daggers, I stabbed right at one of the magician djinns before turning around to face the other.


    Roughly shaking my daggers, I sent the dead magician djinn''s body right at the alive one, and then swinging my daggers at the air, I released a night-black slash in the same direction.


    Having his sight blocked by his partner''s dead body, the magician djinn dodged to the right, or right in front of my night-black elemental slash.


    Wasting no more time as I saw the remaining djinns slowly surrounding me, I pushed my right foot backward and activated dash, immediately taking me back to the place where the 3 original djinns had met their end.


    Looking at the remaining djinn''s confused faces as they now surrounded a bunch of air, I smiled and said.


    "It''s called a hit and run."


    However, my smile disappeared as I noticed that the dagger''s night-black aura hadn''t grown with the last kill on the magician djinn.


    Damn, I have to kill them directly with my daggers, don''t I?


    At that moment, a white light immediately enveloped the area, blinding my eyes for a second. As I reopened them and glanced around, I realized that all the protection runes on the pedestals had been broken.


    Thus, the caster, along with the 5 remaining djinns, turned all their attention toward me as 5 sword-wielding djinns charged right at me while the caster began casting again.


    Unfortunately for them, during my previous fights with the sword-wielding djinns, I realized one important thing: All of them used the same fighting style. My eyes were quite good at catching repetition.


    Looking at the five charging djinns, I could see all their next moves. One was posed to use an aerial slash, while another was going to attack my right leg, and the other three were going straight for my heart.


    Lifting my right leg, I kicked it forward until it reached the height of my waist, and then I sent an elemental slash at the area right above the height of my leg before making an X with my daggers right above my head.


    One djinn missed their attack as my right leg had moved, my daggers parried the other''s ariel slash, and finally, the other 3 had been forced to slow down and reposition due to my leg blocking their sword''s path to my heart.


    And then, those 3 met their end with elemental slash as they had slowed down and repositioned themselves to be right in front of the night-black slash.


    More night-black aura lost...


    Taking out the other two was relatively easy as I simply preemptively dodged their attacks and then immediately counterattacked, leaving them with no defense.


    Thus, only the caster was left.


    Surrounding the caster was a huge cage made of mana. While his comrade djinns had been dying trying to protect him, he had used up all his mana and time to create a shield to save him and only himself.


    Walking up to the cage, I ignored the trembling caster''s figure as I touched my pitch-black daggers to the mana of the cage.


    At the point where they touched, the blue mana cage turned black, and that black began to spread rapidly until, after a minute, the cage was entirely black.


    The caster could no longer see anything out of the cage, but I could still see inside due to my enhanced eyesight.


    Stepping into the black mana cage, I felt at home. This was an assassin''s perfect environment: Everything was pitch-black, so you couldn''t see anything, or in other words, the perfect place for an assassin to sneak around without any worries of being caught.


    Peering through the darkness with my eyesight, I spotted for caster clumsily trying to navigate his surroundings as he bumped into pedestals and rocks almost every second.


    Jumping from pedestal to pedestal, I reached the caster without making a single sound before swiftly plunging my night-black dagger right into his heart.


    When I walked out of the cage, the sudden light blinded me for a second before I started my search through the various artifacts.


    After a moment, I finally found what I was looking for.


    [Shadowbinder Cloak / Effect: All the user''s attacks and abilities are boosted by 10% when in an area with a lack of light.]


    Putting on the cloak, I used to hood to completely conceal my face as I walked back to where I had entered the subspace and saw another painting.


    Picking up the unconscious civilian body from earlier, I silently prayed for him for a second before once again throwing him through the painting.


    A moment later, I popped through the painting, and I was immediately overwhelmed as there were still crowds of people in the emergency exit area.


    In the chaos, many people must have taken the chance to steal artifacts, so the guards were probably checking every person who left to ensure nothing had been stolen.


    Of course, my other three groupmates were nowhere to be seen. They were probably still fighting against the forces the djinns had used to distract the museum so that they wouldn''t discover the breach in the subspace.


    Glancing around for a moment, I smiled as I grabbed the painting and pulled my hood down ever further.


    Why would I leave behind the treasures in the subspace? What am I, stupid? Even if they''re of no use to me, they could probably sell for a load of money!


    Fun fact: subspaces are connected to objects, so by taking this painting, I am essentially taking the subspace.


    Now, just one problem: how do I get out of here with the painting?


    [A/N: I''m pretty behind on chapters, so 3 chapters today!] S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 48: Chapter 48:Training Camp [7]

    Taking the painting off the wall, I attempted to hide it beneath my shirt, but... it was far too big as the frame peaked out from below my new cloak. Even if it were smaller, it wouldn''t have worked as the guards would have easily spotted it through the abnormal shape of my cloak. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The number of people in the emergency exit area was dwindling, so sooner or later, someone would notice the fact that I was holding a painting and call me out.


    Taking out my smartwatch, I immediately sent a message.


    [Ren: Outside the museum emergency exit, now.]


    Completely covering my face with my new cloak, I activated the dash''s usage period before instantly pushing aside everyone with my awakened strength and sprinting through.


    Like Moses parted the Red Sea, I created a path through the crowd of civilians by simply pushing them away with my hands.


    Nearing the security checkpoint, I slowed to a walking pace and patiently watched.


    Dash wasn''t teleportation. I could move 10 meters in any direction if and only if there were no obstacles or humans blocking my path.


    Honing in on the checkpoint, I saw that there were multiple lines, each consisting of a search of your body and other items. After that, the guards opened a gate, allowing you to exit the building.


    Getting into one of the shorter lines, I tapped my right eye, using up the last of my mana, and activated Dragon''s Eye, causing my perception of time to slow.


    As the guard opened a small gap in the gate, just big enough for the civilian at the front of the line to pass through, I activated dash.


    Since Dragon''s Eye was still active when I dashed, I saw the guard slowly close the gate more, so I immediately curled myself even more, allowing me to fit through the gate.


    Landing on one of the countless staircase steps outside the museum, I lost my balance and began to fall face-first onto the floor, but I stabbed my daggers into the ground, regaining my balance.


    Putting my daggers in my new cloak, I walked down the stairs with the painting still in my hands and visible to everyone else before spotting a familiar face.


    Leaning against a bicycle, I saw a scrawny teenager with messy black hair and pitch-black eyes that oddly resembled the color of my night-black aura.


    Wasting no time with introductions, I got on the bicycle and handed Raven the painting before gesturing for him to get on the seat as well.


    Glancing at the painting in his hands and the commotion outside the museum, Raven sighed before speaking.


    "Is this painting really worth all of this? Seriously, boss, this might be a new low even for you..."


    Earlier, I had been avoiding looking at or examining the painting as it would give me a headache, but giving in to my curiosity, I glanced at the painting for the first time.


    ...It was... interesting. No...who the hell comes to a museum to see this???


    Making sure that Raven had a tight hold on the painting, I put my legs on the pedal and responded.


    "I made a lot of money, alright, don''t ask any questions."


    "You say that, but then it''s my job to clean everything up. Just say you liked the painting and wanted it..."


    Recalling the image of the painting in my head, I immediately responded.


    "No... just no. I did not want the painting for what was on its canvas!"


    "mhm, alright... if that''s your story, boss..."


    Flying past the museum, I pedaled with all my strength until, finally, the crowd of reporters and civilians surrounding the area was no longer visible.


    Stepping off the bicycle, I put away my cloak in the backpack before turning to Raven and carefully handing him back the painting.


    "Take this back to the office."


    "...you made me take a train all the way here so that I could go right back?"


    "This painting is worth more than you; it''ll fund our scroll business."


    "...Maybe this is worth a lot to you... Most people aren''t into this kind of stuff, boss."


    "Didn''t I already tell yo- Never mind, alright, just take it back."


    Nodding his head, Raven carefully concealed the painting using a cover he had brought before. Then, he put the cover on his back like a backpack and got onto the bicycle while staring at me with an expression that said, "Really, you stole this out of all things in a museum?"


    As he prepared to leave, I suddenly recalled something, so I called out.


    "There''s a person still alive inside the painting, so don''t go inside it."


    Later, I''d check on that guy to see if my corruption truly worked on humans.


    Ignoring the fact that Raven almost fell off his bicycle after my last words, I made my way back to the museum''s entrance just in time to witness a show.


    Three people descended from the sky like angels, each equipped with a cloak plastered with the royal family symbols.


    The Heroes had come to save the day!


    Of course, the day was already saved by my groupmates, but these officials just had to keep up the stereotype of always showing up after everything was done.


    Leaning against the railing of the stairs, I pulled out my smart watch and waited for my groupmates, ignoring the reporters crowding around the heroes.


    After a couple of minutes, I suddenly heard a thunderous applause, so I turned my head towards the emergency exit area and saw my 3 groupmates leaving while waving to the admiring members of the audience.


    They do know that 2 of the 3 people they''re waving at will become humanity''s greatest enemy, right?


    As the 3 descended down the staircase, I casually joined them, acting as if nothing had happened.


    After a minute of silence, I turned to Zach and nonchalantly asked.


    "How was it?"


    Jumping back in shock, Zach almost tripped and fell down the stairs before responding.


    "REN, w-when did you g-get here?"


    Not giving me any time to respond, Irene immediately spoke up as if she had been waiting for this opportunity.


    "Oh, while we were out saving people, you wanna guess what he was doing? Helping evacuate the people? Calling for help? Nope, he was on his smartwatch! What an outstanding student! Truly representing Celestial Academy perfectly!"


    Shrugging my shoulders, I matched her overly cheerful tone as I replied.


    "you know, I really do try my best. Your recognition really goes a long way, Irene!"


    Interrupting our words of sarcasm, Ruby asked.


    "Aren''t you guys hungry? Let''s get something to eat."


    "Good idea, Scarlett; the school recommended a place nearby!"


    Following Zach, the four of us headed into the hot-pot restaurant that the school had recommended.


    The restaurant was completely empty beside us, so as we entered, the television immediately entered our ears.


    "In the recent attack on the HMAM by djinns, brave students from Celestial Academy, alongside heroes from the Central Dominion, stepped up to protect, ensuring that everyone was safe. The museum has yet to make a statement, but from our reporters on the scene can estimate that about 10 people were injured in the attack."


    So, they still haven''t found out about the missing subspace? Shouldn''t that be the first place they look after a robbery, considering it contains the highest-value items?


    After ordering and eating the food, the 4 of us explored all the monuments and historical sites mentioned by the school.


    After one hour had passed since we ate, the mood of the group became eerily silent as we all waited for our first task to be assigned.


    However, as time passed and the clock eventually reached 6, no task was assigned to us. Weird, isn''t Liam''s group doing a task right now?


    As we entered the hotel dining hall for dinner, we heard various rumors already spreading around.


    "Didn''t you hear group 6 already got sent home for failing their task!"


    "Already? How is that even possible? The task was so easy!"


    "Idiot, we all have different tasks assigned to us."


    Sitting down at the same spot as breakfast, Zach was the first to break the awkward silence as he asked.


    "Why didn''t we get any task?"


    Putting down my fork, I replied.


    "Why are you complaining about not getting a task? Shouldn''t we be happy?"


    Taking my smartwatch, I continued to refresh the latest news websites, but there was no news of any museum items being stolen.


    In the statement made by the museum, they didn''t even mention anything about stolen artifacts or paintings; they just addressed the safety concerns.


    In the book, it wasn''t mentioned if the museum released the news of the stolen artifacts, so maybe things are still going according to the plot?


    But then again, why wouldn''t the museum mention the stolen items? Having the support of the public in finding lost artifacts would be a great help.


    Finishing up the last of the food, I was about to get up and head back to the hotel room when Professor Zia suddenly appeared in front of our table.


    "The news of the recent museum attack and your involvement had already spread to almost everywhere in this city."


    "First, I want to thank you four for upholding the values of Celestial Academy by standing your ground and protecting the citizens from the djinns instead of running away to save yourself."


    "To honor you for saving and protecting the museum, the academy and museum will be holding an award ceremony tomorrow. More details will be sent to your phone later, but as your teacher, I just wanted to mention how proud I am of you. Your heroic actions will not go unnoticed as long as I am around!"


    After hearing those words come out of the professor''s mouth, grins spread on everyone''s face for a moment, but when Professor Zia left, everyone''s glaze slowly wandered over to me.


    ...There is a fake among us.


    With a cold and deep voice, Irene said.


    "She said 4, didn''t she? Don''t tell me I''m hearing things."


    Afraid to talk due to the coldness in Irene''s voice, Zach silently nodded his head while Ruby simply continued staring at me.


    Why are you staring at me? We are both villains; why would we help the heroes by attacking our own kind instead of just walking away!?


    With a grin, I broke the tension by cheerfully exclaiming.


    "It truly was a team effort!"

 Chapter 49: Chapter 49:Cruise Ship [1]

    After waking up the next morning, I checked my smartwatch and noticed that the email mentioned by Professor Zia had been sent. In fact, it had not just been sent to us 4, but the entire school had received it.


    Now, everyone is aware of my amazing actions!


    As our group ate our breakfast awkwardly, a sudden vibration erupted from all of our smartwatches.


    Checking my email, I saw that the school had just sent us an email.


    [Task #1: Make your way to the attached location and complete the puzzle inside. Time Limit: 1 hour.]


    Clicking on the attached image, I saw a half-broken-down hut that seemed to be located on the outskirts of the city. Alongside the picture, there was also a set of coordinates for us to use.


    Instantly, the four of us got up from our table, leaving behind our plates of food, and rushed out of the hotel building.


    Leading us was Zach, as he asked.


    "The mana train is the fastest way there, right."


    Nodding our heads in approval to Zach''s question, the four of us sprinted through the city and to the nearest train station.


    Ignoring the long line of civilians outside the train stations, the four of us flashed our student IDs to the security guards and skipped the entire line.


    Descending down the stairs, the four of us finally arrived at the drop-off station for the mana train; however, alongside a gigantic crowd, a flashing sign awaited us.


    "Due to unforeseen circumstances, the arrival of all mana trains has been delayed 15 minutes. Please bear with us, and we thank you for your patience."


    Opening the navigation map on my smartwatch, I plugged in the coordinates and calculated the amount of time we would have after the train ride.


    15 minutes.


    As I turned to face my groupmates, who were doing the exact same thing, Zach asked.


    "The mana train is the fastest way, right?"


    Checking my smartwatch once again, I saw that walking would take 3 hours while traveling by bicycle or carriage would take 1 and a half hours.


    Tasks were the only weakness in my entire plan.


    If I failed a task and was sent back to the academy before reaching the cruise ship, there was nothing I could do.


    After what seemed like an eternity, the sound of screeching entered my ears, signifying the arrival of the train.


    Pushing past the crowd, our group squeezed our way into a compartment and found some seats.


    When the station before ours was announced, the four of us stood up and camped beside the train doors.


    As the train doors slid open, I was the first to exit as I sprinted through the crowd, twisting and turning through the gaps between people.


    Feeling the sunlight on my head, I glanced around and noticed there were almost 0 people, so I started to speed up.


    Nearing the hut from the attachment, I turned around and saw Irene and Ruby slightly behind me while Zach was in the distance.


    Stopping at the entrance to the ragged hut, I took a breather while Ruby caught up to me and asked.


    "This might be the first time I''ve seen you serious. Why the change in attitude? Oh, maybe a l-"


    Interrupting Ruby''s speculation was Irene, who responded from behind us.


    "Who the hell cares? Let''s just get this over with."


    After another few moments, Zach caught up to us, panting like a dog and sweating bullets while staring at us in amazement. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Contrary to its rugged and broken-down exterior, the inside of the hut was actually quite cozy. There were two armchairs, a polished wooden table, and a well-made bed.


    Sitting down on one of the armchairs, I tried examining the entire hut again with my eyes, but nothing else was revealed.


    Still standing at the entrance, Zach also glanced around the hut for a second before asking.


    "... what exactly is the puzzle here?"


    Sitting down on the bed side by side, Ruby and Irene stayed silent, also pondering the next course of action.


    With the time limit of 1-hour closing in, the four of us got more desperate for clues on the puzzle as we basically flipped the entire room upside down, searching under all the furniture.


    Even I was at a loss for words.


    Was the school trying to screw me over?


    Interrupting our frantic search of the room was a sudden voice.


    "Congratulations on reaching the hut. Please, all of you, take a seat."


    Sound Magic?


    Following the sound''s directions, Zach and I sat across from each other on the armchairs while the other 2 sat on the bed.


    "Completing this task can either be easy or very difficult. Please open the last book on the third shelve of the bookcase and read it for instructions. There is no time limit; all you must do is complete what is said in the book."


    "... although, I would appreciate it if you finished it as soon as possible. I am required to stay at the school until your competition."


    "... Also, don''t worry about me listening in; the sound connection in the room will be cut off no-"


    Leaning against the armchair, I relaxed my tensed body. Sure, it was odd that the school was giving us a task with no time limit, but at least I have time to plan now.


    If that voice hadn''t come out at that exact moment, I would have probably done something drastic, like burning down the hut or cutting it into a million pieces.


    Irene, not sharing the same sentiment, immediately rushed to the bookshelf and grabbed the mentioned book.


    Watching Irene''s expression as she read the book, I saw her face twitch up and distort into a disgusted expression before she put the open book onto the table.


    [Getting to know your teammates is essential for cooperating as heroes, both inside and outside dungeons. This leads us to your current task: The Truth Game.


    During this game, each person creates a question and asks it to one of their teammates. Each person must ask and answer a question. The game ends after this.


    Finally, if ANYONE is detected to be lying, you will all automatically fail the task and be sent back to the academy.]


    Our group''s faces displayed a variety of expressions: Irene remained disgusted, Zach''s expression lit up, Ruby wore a grin, and I remained indifferent.


    Surely, we have no idiots among us who decide to ask a stupid-ass question?


    Breaking the silence, I calmly asked.


    "So we''re not going to be idiots, are we?"


    Since I wasn''t asking a specific person, this wouldn''t count as my question, but maybe the others would believe I had wasted my question.


    I could ascertain Ruby''s true intentions possibly, but of course, completing the task came first.


    "Ren, what''s your favorite color?"


    "... Zach, it''s blue. Hey Zach, what''s your favorite color?"


    "Thanks for asking, it''s red!"


    Well, there goes my answer and question!


    Well, even if Ruby did answer my question, she would have to expose her identity as a villain to both Zach and Irene, and that would cause some trouble.


    Turning my head to face the two girls, I saw Ruby turn to Irene and say.


    "Who do you li-"


    Is this what the school wanted us to do during this damned truth game? Ask each other about our favorite colors and romantic interests? What are we?


    As I stared at Ruby, who still held a smile while speaking, I honestly had no idea what she was thinking. What could have compelled a great and powerful antagonist to ask another great and powerful antagonist who they liked?


    Interrupting Ruby''s question mid-way, I asked Irene.


    "What''s your favorite color, Irene?"


    There was no rule about not being able to ask more than one question; all it said was everyone must ask and answer a question for the game to end.


    I wasn''t about to risk my entire plan because someone wanted to know someone else''s love interest.


    " *ahem* I like the color Red as well."


    Now that Irene had answered a single question, she had no obligation to answer any other questions.


    For the game to end now, Ruby would have to answer and ask a question, and Irene would also have to ask a question. From the bed, Ruby tilted her head before asking.


    "Ren, why did you do that?"


    Since I had also answered a question, I had no obligation to answer hers, but knowing Ruby, she would probably refuse to ask any other question, leading to the four of us being stuck here for ages. If she wanted to, Ruby could force us to answer any question by just refusing to ask any other.


    Could I mix in some lies and truth in my answer, or was it all required to be true? Deciding against risking failure on this task, I answered truthfully.


    "I didn''t want to fail the task."


    Instantly, Irene''s gaze at me transformed into a glare.


    What are you looking at me for? You know damn well you were about to lie.


    Although I was curious about Ruby''s intentions with that question and, as a whole, I didn''t want her to reveal her villain identity or just lie, so I asked.


    However, a moment before my question, Irene''s voice spoke out.


    "Why did you ask that, Scarlett?"


    "What''s your favorite color, Scarlett?"


    ... I just saved her, and now she''s already screwing me over???


    The rules didn''t mention anything about answering if two questions were asked at the same time, so Ruby would probably get to choose which question she answered.


    With a grin remaining on her face, Ruby turned to Irene and responded.


    "I wanted to make sure our likes didn''t overlap."


    With that last answer, the door of the hut flung open as everyone had asked and answered a question truthfully.


    The rest of the train ride back was spent in silence, but I didn''t really mind it as we had completed the task.


    There was some animosity between Ruby and Irene, but they would have to get over it eventually.


    I still had some curiosity about Ruby''s last answer, but like Irene and Zach, I didn''t question it further.


    Does she also like Liam? She was said to enjoy the company of powerful people, so it''s not out of the question.


    Looking at Irene, who was twitching, I wondered how this would affect her. She already had Lily as a competitor so with Ruby in the play, she might just give up.


    After arriving back at the hotel, the four of us put on our academy uniforms before heading into the award ceremony, which was held in the hotel lobby.


    Sitting down in the front row with Ruby next to me, I glanced around and saw some familiar faces from the book.


    However, there was one face that almost made me pull out my daggers and charge.


    Ren''s former father was here.


    Dressed in an expensive and elaborate suit with his long black hair tied into a ponytail, Ren''s father mingled with the other important figures, including Irene''s father, while eating from a plate of food.


    My anger at Ren''s father, mixed with Ren''s fear of his father leaking into my own emotions, immediately caused my legs to tremble with an undescribable emotion.


    Before I knew it, my shining, blood-red eyes locked onto him, refusing to let his figure out of my sight.


    Do I just kill him now? Who''s going to stop me? This asshole doesn''t deserve to live another day.


    Snapping me out of my trance, I heard a familiar voice call out from my right.


    "Lot of animosity between you two, isn''t there?"


    Forcing myself to turn my head away from Ren''s former father, I looked at Ruby while suppressing all my emotions. While I couldn''t suppress Ren''s emotions specifically, I could simply quell all my emotions.


    "It''s one-sided."


    "Yeah, I''m sure he''s already forgotten about your existence."


    Before I knew it, my hands were raised off my lap as I replied.


    "Are you trying to piss me off?"


    Letting out a laugh, Ruby imitated me by raising her hands and responding.


    "No, it''s just interesting to see someone like you showcase so much emotion. It''s actually quite nice, you know?"

 Chapter 50: Chapter 50:Cruise Ship [2]

    Interrupting our conversation, a man in an extravagant suit walked up to the stage before picking up a microphone, which could also be considered an artifact due to its embedded sound magic, and started speaking.


    "Welcome all, far and wide, to this event hosted by the Museum of Magical Artifacts. With the rising amount of djinn attacks on humanity, those who can confidently step up and protect our fellow humans at the cost of their own lives are rare."


    Didn''t he just say the opposite of what I am? Well, I am protecting the world by ensuring things go according to the plot, but is it really "protecting" millions of people to die in the process?


    Where is the moral line start and end?


    "Today at this fine establishment, we are here to honor those few people who stepped up to the task in the recent djinn attack at the museum. As students of the famed Celestial Academy and as civilians who protected your fellow humans against the dangers of the world, I extend my greatest thanks to you 4 brave souls!"


    *CLAP*


    *CLAP*


    As a deafening applause echoed throughout the room, the event organizer gestured to us, so we all slowly got up and walked up the stairs to the stage.


    Walking to the podium, I used my eyes and saw some familiar faces, such as Liam, Lily, Alya, Kevin, and Astrid.


    Wait, Astrid? Aren''t third-years on a break after exams? Why is she here?


    As the four of us stood next to the podium and the applause died down, another figure¡ªIrene''s dad or the headmaster of the magical tower¡ªwalked up the stairs.


    With long red hair that went all the way down to his shoulders and black eyes, he wore an indifferent expression as he walked in front of the podium; however, with my eyes, I could see his face practically twitching with excitement.


    "On behalf of the Magic Tower, I would like to once again thank you 4 for protecting the museum of our magical artifacts and the tourists inside. As we understand that this ceremony isn''t nearly enough to repay you, I would be willing to help out of any of you in the future to the best of my abilities!"


    Grabbing 4 gold medals from under the podium, Irene''s dad or Shawn walked over to us, starting with Zach.


    After placing a gold medal around Zach''s neck, he turned to his daughter, Irene, and smiled before wrapping another gold medal around her neck.


    Giving Ruby the same treatment as Zach, Shawn turned to me, displaying a somewhat bewildered expression, before awkwardly placing a gold medal around my neck.


    He recognized me. It''s probably awkward to give a medal and thank someone who was once your best friend''s son.


    As the award ceremony was now officially over, the doors flung open, inviting people to leave; however, no one moved.


    This room held some of the most important people on the entire continent, so leaving first would undeniably make a bad impression. Also, it was a chance for people to build important connections by talking.


    Heading down the stage, I immediately saw the main cast group waiting for Irene and Zach, so I walked past them and headed outside.


    Even if I was technically the guest of honor, no one would notice my disappearance, so I could sneak out from the terrace.


    When I opened the double doors, the cold evening wind immediately rushed and enveloped me, causing me to shiver, but my focus was on something else.


    Looking out the terrace, I saw a gigantic cruise ship, the size of more than 10 mansions, sitting by the port with the academy flag next to it.


    The main event had finally arrived.


    Feeling a gaze on my back, I turned around and saw Ruby. Her long black hair fluttered in the breeze, and her red eyes were once again visible as she had removed her contacts.


    With all the important people in this room, I had half-expected Ruby to do something drastic, like blow up the entire hotel, but after seeing her mess around with Irene earlier, I was pretty sure she wasn''t planning anything for the time being.


    As our blood-red eyes met, Ruby tilted her head, staring at the port before asking.


    "Already trying to leave?"


    "Would you want to stay if you were in my situation?"


    The people attending the event consisted of nobles who despised fallen nobles like me, students who also hated me, and my father, who disowned me.


    Could it even get worse?


    Oh, wait. The entire hero''s party, who also hated me, was attending as well!


    "hmm, I''d probably stay, actually."


    "And why is that?"


    "Revenge is a dish best served pipping hot, isn''t it?"


    "Isn''t that saying c-"


    "You get my point, Ren."


    The only thing stopping me from trying to assassinate Ren''s father was the plot point of his character. Not the powerful people guarding him, his political authority, or even the immense power he wielded.


    I could find ways around all of those given time. Taking revenge on Ren''s father was the least I could do for the original Ren after I stole his body, life, and basically everything from him, wasn''t it?


    Ren''s father also posed a serious threat to me as the original Ren''s fear would always appear when I was near him, causing me to lose my focus, which is instant death in a fight.


    ...It''ll have to wait.


    Trying to get some clues on Ruby, I asked.


    "You seem to know a bit about revenge."


    "Anyway, don''t you think sneaking off as one of the guests of honors would only serve to decrease your reputation?"


    Yet again, she answers my question with another question!


    "When you hit rock bottom, there is only one way to go...UP!"


    Letting out a scoff at my clear sarcasm, Ruby walked up beside me at the edge of the terrace and leaned against the railing.


    "Well, let''s go, then."


    "? what?"


    "Were you planning on leaving your boss, an evil villain, behind in a room full with heroes that could decimate her at any moment?"


    "..."


    Sighing, Ruby put her hands on the railing.


    "Well, you''re the one who wanted to leave so bad; let''s go."


    Taking the lead, I jumped over the railing and onto the ground, which was only about a 10-foot down jump.


    Landing silently on the ground with my assassin skills, I waited for Ruby, who hesitated for a moment after watching me jump before surrounding her legs and feet with fire and jumping.


    Kneeling down on the ground, Ruby looked up and asked.


    "How the hell can you do that?"


    Revealing my class choice to a potential enemy in the future would be dangerous,s I sarcastically responded.


    "Genetics."


    "...?"


    Paying no mind to Ruby''s confused face, I walked into the forest surrounding the hotel and towards the gigantic cruise ship figure that could still be seen through the gaps in the trees.


    In the silence of the evening, only the occasional bird chirping alongside the sound of branches breaking from Ruby trailing behind me could be heard.


    Reaching the port, I looked down into the ocean and saw the familiar scene of seaweed swaying at the seafloor alongside dozens of fish swimming about.


    Feeling my brain flooded with all the information my eyes took in, I immediately looked up to the dazzling cruise ship that seemed to reach the sky.


    Catching up to me, Ruby admired the cruise ship for a moment before curiously asking.


    "So... what exactly are we doing?"


    "What are we doing, Ruby?"


    "Sarcasm just feels weird when it comes out of your mouth."


    "...I''m the weird one. Aren''t you the mob boss who just got crowned a hero and defender against djinns?" sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    " *PFFT* When you dashed out of there, I was about to die of laughter. Anyway, can''t villains have a little bit of heroism?"


    "..."


    Heroism? An antagonist who aided in the slaughtering of countless humans is talking about heroism.


    "I mean, Ren, I get you''re all evil, but some of us are different."


    ...Did I just get called evil by a future human killing machine?


    I''m here working my ass off to save the world, just to be called evil by objectively one of the most evil people in the future world.


    Am I actually evil?


    "i-i just don''t care anymore."


    Good and Evil are just a bunch of words, so who cares!? Not me!


    Raising my hand up, I waved goodbye to Ruby before jumping off the port and plunging into the water.


    "IT WAS JUST A JOKE, DON''T JUMP!"


    What is it with people yelling stupid stuff at me while I''m jumping into bodies of water? First, Raven, and now her?


    Seriously, who is she to decide if I''m evil or not? ...But maybe I''ll help out a bit more in the future.


    Not because of her, though! What happens after I save the world and everything is fine? Do I want to be known as the scumbag of the empire for the rest of my life here?


    Feeling the cold ocean water embrace me, I basked in its comfort before diving further into the water until my hand finally touched the sea floor.


    Looking upwards, I saw the huge cruise ship floating above me, and I tensed my legs before lunging upwards toward the bottom of the cruise ship.


    Tracing my hand along the rough exterior of the cruise ship, I took out my daggers, which were concealed in my pockets, and plunged them both into the bottom of the ship.


    No longer having to put any effort into floating, I let my body sway with the current as I hung onto my daggers.


    Removing one of the daggers, I ensured that the hole in the ship''s exterior was deep enough before placing an explosive that I had acquired before the trip through the black market.


    Of course, I didn''t involve in Raven in this purchase as I couldn''t imagine what he would think of me after hearing I wanted to buy an explosive.


    Putting my dagger back into the ship''s exterior, I pushed the small explosives as far as I could into the hole before removing my other dagger and doing the same thing with some leftover fireworks from Alya''s kidnapping.


    If metal detectors were a thing in this era, I would have been long caught as my suitcase would have triggered every possible alarm in the system.


    I filled the holes in the ship with sand I had gotten from the ocean floor, concealing my daggers once again before swimming up to the surface of the water.


    Looking upwards, I saw Ruby waiting for me at the port, her glossy black hair practically dazzling in the moonlight.


    Pulling myself onto the wooden planks of the port, I walked towards Ruby, with water droplets falling from my hair, clothes, and arms.


    Looking at Ruby''s perplexed expression, I shrugged my shoulders and said.


    "What can I say? I was in the mood for a quick swim."


    "... don''t you feel cold at all?"


    Most normal people probably would have gotten hypothermia from doing this, but what can I say, I was blessed by the Sea God!.

 Chapter 51: Chapter 51:Cruise Ship [3]

    The next few days flowed by without any trouble as we received various tasks ranging from solving a puzzle around the city to taking care of a sudden outbreak of monsters in the forest nearby.


    In the forest, we met up with 3 other groups, who were assigned to the same task and dispatched the horde of goblins without any trouble.


    As the horde of 10 goblins approached our group of 12 students, I was the first to... step away from the frontline!


    Watching Irene cast countless fireballs, Ruby with her fire-tornados, and Zach charging into the battlefield with his battle axe in his hands, I patiently waited until the entire battlefield was covered by smoke before making my move.


    Using dash to appear in the center of the battlefield, I took out my daggers, now completely covered in a night-black aura, before locating the various goblins with my eyes. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Like a true assassin, I silently crept around the battlefield, killing each goblin with a clean dagger strike right into the heart.


    As the aura surrounding my dagger grew in size, I could also feel my mana capacity growing bigger, and my elemental slashes seemed to grow more powerful.


    The Corruption of the Night was essentially fuel for the rest of the movements. The more fuel you had, the longer you could use other skills and the more powerful they were.


    As for my planning, I was able to find time to visit various stores and areas without the others noticing. Well, Ruby would notice occasionally and tag along, but I didn''t really mind as she didn''t question my motives.


    Thus, the last day of the training camp arrived, and only one group was sent home for failing a task.


    Walking up the ramp to the ship, I could feel the freedom as we were no longer forced to stick together with our group besides the banquet in the evening.


    Immediately heading to my room, I pulled out my new cloak from my backpack and laid it out on my bed.


    After getting my room situated, I headed back down the stairs to the breakfast hall, where hundreds of students were already eating and talking.


    Waiting at the hostess stand, I looked around for a second before confirming that there were indeed no tables left.


    The hall should have been large enough to accommodate our first-years, but the problem was that students were sitting at the tables with empty plates and talking instead of just leaving.


    "Currently, we are at maximum capacity; however, if you''re willing to share a table with another guest, we can accommodate you in two minutes."


    Nodding my head, I sat down in the restaurant lobby while browsing my smartwatch. Let''s see what my luck decides to be today: G- or S+!


    Better to know it now than to be surprised during the incident when 10 S+ ranks randomly show up and jump me.


    Receiving a gesture from the waiter, I got up and followed her to a table that sat in the corner of the hall and right next to the window, displaying the sea that seemed to sparkle under the sunlight.


    Sitting down at one of the three chairs, I wasted no time grabbing my plate and heading towards the buffet area.


    Today was going to be a long day. No matter how much planning and strategizing I did, there were bound to be variables that could cause me to adjust or even completely change my plan, rendering all my effort useless.


    After scooping a variety of food onto my plate, I headed back to my table, where a bag was now wrapped around one of the chairs.


    Taking out my smartwatch, I sent a quick message to Han and Jin, letting them know I would be unavailable today.


    [Ren: Will be busy today.]


    [Jin: ??? Wdym, this banquet is actually the perfect place for you to get with that girl.]


    [Ren: What girl?]


    [Han: He''s talking about the transfer student, I think.]


    Yeah, let me just ask out my boss, who is one of the biggest threats to the world!


    [Ren: yeah, yeah, Jin, why don''t worry about getting a girl yourself.]


    [Jin: Low blow...]


    [Han: he''s right, you know.]


    [Jin: Look at whose talking? Han, really?]


    Putting down my smartwatch, I began to enjoy the scrambled eggs and toast on my plate. The soft and fluttery texture of the eggs danced on my tongue, while the toast''s saltiness perfectly complemented the eggs. The sweetness of the apple juice next to me just made the already amazing meal immaculate.


    If only the academy cafeteria food was this good...


    During my last fight in the museum, I accidentally learned about the third movement of the shadow arts. When I placed my corrupted daggers to the mana cage of the caster, I had done it as a subconscious reaction, and it had caused the blue mana cage to turn to pitch-black


    What if I made a mana cage of my own and then corrupted it so I could have my class''s perfect environment whenever I wanted?


    That was the whole idea of the third movement.


    A Shadow Cage.


    By spreading out my mana and creating a mana cage, then corrupting the cage with my daggers, I could create an area with absolutely no light, activating my cloak and creating the flawless habitat for an assassin.


    The third movement also increased my capability in handling spell attacks, as by touching my dagger to a spell attack like a fireball, I could somewhat corrupt it and take control of it.


    If I held my daggers long enough to a fireball, I could completely steal control over the spell and send it right back at the caster.


    Well, the domain part was easier said than done, as after an entire week of practicing, I could barely even cover myself with the shadow cage.


    The entire movement depended on my ability to control and spread my mana, and my ability to do that was connected with the severity of the wound on my hands. So, technically, I already had full mastery over the movement. If I made a deep enough wound on my hand without killing myself, I could flawlessly create a shadow cage whose size would be unknown even to me.


    Of course, with the cruise ship incident coming up, I hadn''t been crazy enough to do something like that, but who knows what could happen on the cruise ship?


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, a very jolly voice suddenly came out from my left side.


    "Hey, Ren! Even though we''re not required to stay together anymore, I think as groupmates, we should still st-"


    "I''d rather jump off the ship, Zach."


    "... actually, well, I was assigned to sit here by the waitress, so if you don''t mind, I''ll g-"


    "I actually do mind. This confrontation alone has ruined my appetite."


    "..."


    Ignoring Zach''s crumbling figure, I picked up my fork and went in for another bite when another voice sounded from in front of me.


    "Ren? Zach? Are you two sitting here as well?"


    A very relieved Zach sparked up at the prospect of not being alone with me as he responded.


    "Scarlett, hey! Yeah, we were sitting he-"


    "Who''s we? I just said I do mind."


    "Ignore him, Zach; he''s grumpy in the mornings."


    "?How would you know that?"


    Ignoring my question like always, Ruby headed towards the buffet with Zach following behind like a sad golden retriever.


    Well, I guess I''m in for a streak of bad luck today!


    I would say, at least Irene isn''t here, but at this point, I wouldn''t be surprised in the slightest if she just appeared at the table.


    But seriously, what were the odds of us 3 all deciding to eat at the same exact time?


    After finishing the last of my eggs, I decided against going for another round and instead went back to my room.


    Sitting down on my bed in a lotus meditating pose, I stabbed the tip of my dagger slightly into the palm of both my hands, feeling the mana immediately flowing alongside my blood to the wounds.


    Instead of controlling my mana and channeling it all into my daggers, I did my best to let my mana run wild as a small blue barrier surrounded my figure, trapping me inside.


    Feeling the amount of mana decreasing, I stopped the leaking of mana and began sending the blue orbs into my daggers.


    Seeing the pitch-black aura surrounding my daggers, I placed the tip of one of them onto the blue cage. The intersection spot became black, then quickly spread like a plague before covering the entire cage in pitch-black.


    This movement did not require skill or practice. It was simply: put more mana in, get a bigger cage. After one week of trying to use the movement, I had finally come to that conclusion.


    Then, how does one progress to the next movement? I technically already have full mastery of this movement, yet the information on the next movement still isn''t available.


    Drawing back in my mana, the cage disappeared, revealing the sun shining through my cabin''s window.


    I had hit a wall in progression for the Eclipse arts, so is time to switch?


    Well, if I had hit a regular wall in progress for my Eclipse art, then I would have hit the Great Wall of China in my progress for Dragon''s Will.


    No progression had been made in that AT ALL.


    ===Menu===


    User : Ren Montclair


    [Class: Rookie Assassin: (Level 2: 92%) ]


    -> Stealth : D+


    -> Intermediate Dagger Mastery : 95%


    -> Arts: Eclipse Blade [3/5]


    [Stats]


    -> Rating : D {Dream not yet completed}


    -> Strength : E+


    -> Agility : D


    -> Stamina : E+


    -> Magic Power : D+


    -> Luck: G-S {Conditional}


    -> Intelligence : E


    -> Charm : G+


    [Traits]


    -> Passive: Dragon''s Will [1 / ?]


    ---> Dragon Eyes : Your eyesight is enhanced.


    [Skills]


    -> [[E] Dash] : Not requiring any mana usage, the skill allows the user to move 10 meters from their current location in any direction with a cooldown period of 7 seconds. The skill does not instantly move the user but temporarily increases the user''s speed until they move 10 meters.


    =======


    Completing my next dream would take who knows how long, so I decided to attempt it any time after the cruise ship incident.


    Getting off my bed, I patched up the small wounds on my hands before walking to my room''s terrace.


    Yes, every single room on this gigantic cruise ship had a terrace.


    Putting my hands on the railing, I peered down into the ocean, examining the various species of fish and resisting the urge to jump off the railing and into the ocean below. At this point, it just felt like second nature to do so.


    With all my preparations made, I passed the time by covering any wounds with bandages and peering into the ocean with a wistful gaze like a king looking over his kingdom.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Finally, it was time.

 Chapter 52: Chapter 52:Banquet [1]

    Hanging my cloak on my shoulders but not putting my arms through the sleeves, I walked out of the hotel room, the bottom of my cloak hovering right above the floor.


    My main goal was not to allow Liam to defeat the djinns, as in the book; rather, it was to allow the djinns to take hostages.


    Enraged by the djinns'' actions against his fellow classmates, Liam unlocks a new ability and uses it to defeat the djinns. This ability is used throughout the book, so Liam''s not receiving it would pose a massive threat to my attempts to maintain the plot.


    By analyzing Lily''s past interferences in the book, it was clear that she wanted to protect and ensure the safety of innocent bystanders. So, I was almost certain that she would make a play here to prevent hostages from being taken, inadvertently stopping Liam from unlocking his new ability.


    But... what was the play?


    Walking down the set of stairs, I finally reached the banquet area, where I could see various luxurious chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling, countless tables spread about, and even a dance floor, which was currently empty.


    Each table was shared between 2 groups, and with my current luck, I had a decent idea of which group I was going to sit with.


    Well, can I really call it bad luck? What if sitting with them is actually good luck?


    Finding my table, I saw Irene and Zach sitting at the table next to some empty seats. Zach wore a tuxedo with a red bowtie, and his short brown hair was slicked back, revealing his regular-sized forehead.


    On the other hand, Irene wore a one-piece red dress that revealed the pale-white skin on her right leg while the other leg was completely covered. Her red hair was tied back in a ponytail, and her eyes seemed to contain more fire in them than usual.


    The empty seats either had bags or backpacks near them, so it seemed that the other group had arrived but left already to get their food.


    Of course, Zach and Irene were stuck waiting for Ruby and I.


    Glancing at the food area, I saw everyone was either wearing suits or elegant dresses, making me and my cloak, which wasn''t even properly on, look out of place.


    There was no dress code; what is this!?


    Pushing back my hair off my forehead, I sat down on the chair next to Zach and patiently waited for Ruby.


    After another minute, I saw Ruby walking into the banquet area in a black dress that sparkled when light reflected against it. Her glossy, long black hair was parted to the right.


    Upon seeing Ruby, the three of us got up and headed to the food area, which already had a long line of people. Despite the hundreds of people in the room, I could feel Irene''s piercing gaze locked onto me.


    Didn''t Ruby arrive later than me? Why am I being blamed?


    Interrupting my thoughts, I heard Ruby''s voice speak out from behind me.


    "You know... no dress code doesn''t mean show up like..."


    Although the cloak was considered a magical artifact, it did NOT look like one. With some burns and rips from my fight in subspace combined with the entire thing being colored pitch-black, it looked like something you could get from a vendor for less than a silver coin.


    "You know, fashion is subjective, right?"


    Interrupting our conversation, Irene interjected.


    "Not when you look like that."


    Hearing someone break into laughter behind me, I resisted the urge to retort before finding some familiar faces ahead of us in the line.


    Ignoring Ruby and Irene, I walked out of the line and headed towards the front. Upon getting to the front of the line, I squeezed my way in before wrapping my hands around the shoulders of Han and Jin, who were right at the front.


    The two of them were wearing jeans, a collared shirt, and an oversized jacket with a logo. I could always count on them!


    "What''s up, friends?"


    "Oh hey Ren, it''s you. When''d you get here?"


    "shhhh, Han. Look in front of us...!"


    Following Jin''s gaze, I saw one of the imperial princesses, Kate, scooping some food out of one of the buffet containers only a few feet in front of us.


    Nudging Jin''s shoulder, I said.


    "Oi, don''t get your hopes up."


    Trying to comfort Jin after he was rejected by a girl was the LAST thing I wanted to do right now.


    Grabbing a plate, I ignored the stares of the tens of students I had cut in line and surveyed the food choices.


    Heading back to the table, I saw some familiar faces sitting alongside Zach: Kevin, Liam, Lily, and Alya.


    Who would have thought that? Oh wait, I did! How does luck even work? Were they originally supposed to sit somewhere else, but my luck changed that and made them sit with me? Isn''t that just fate, then? Or destiny?


    As I halted a couple of feet away from the table, Ruby caught up and asked.


    "What?"


    "I think I''ll eat on the floor today."


    Staring at our table, Ruby replied.


    "... that bad, huh?"


    By now, Ruby should probably have heard all the rumors about my encounter with Liam at the start of school and the rumors about Lily and Ren.


    "..."


    "Out of 200 groups in the hall... just how unlucky are you?"


    "...you don''t wanna know."


    Well, it''s not like they''ll kick me off the ship mid-banquet if I''m not with my group... right?


    "What the hell are you guys waiting fo-. Oh..."


    Behind us, Irene also stared at our table with a dismayed expression.


    As the three of us stood in silence with our plates of food in hand, Irene made the first move as she walked toward our table.


    Staring down at the delicious food on my plate, I contemplated just leaving and exploring the ship until the time came, but how could I let this food go...


    "Is it really that hard of a decision?"


    "... don''t rush me."


    As I picked up a piece of medium-rare steak, the juices squeezing out, and put it in my mouth, my decision was made.


    Who cares about Liam or others?


    I was saving the world, too! Why can''t I get a break?


    Strolling over to the table, I ignored the conversation going on and sat down at my seat, which was next to Ruby and across from Lily''s seat.


    Picking up my fork, I didn''t even acknowledge the others at the table and focused completely on the perfectly cooked and seasoned steak. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Oh, Zach, what happened at the museum that day?"


    "I already told you, Liam; it was nothing big. We just held off some djinns until the actual heroes came in."


    At the words "we," I heard a slight laugh come from my right, where Ruby sat.


    "Got something to say?"


    "*PFFT*, y-you s-said, ''I''m good on that,'' then r-ran l-like a- *PFFT* i-i c-can''t"


    Wait, no, wasn''t she in the wrong? Both of us are villains, not heroes!


    Letting out a slight cough to cover Ruby''s laughing noise, I looked up from my plate of food to immediately meet Lily''s gaze.


    Entranced by her ocean-blue eyes, I kept eye contact for a second before turning my head to Ruby, acting like nothing had happened.


    "Alright, I''m done."


    Paying no mind to the ongoing conversation, I got up from my seat, which made a screeching sound and headed to the empty dance floor.


    By now, the djinns should be on the cruise ship and making their way to the banquet area; however, Lily had definitely set up some kind of defense system to stop them.


    "Well, let''s see if the past 2 weeks have been for something..."


    I needed a distraction. Neither Lily nor I knew the exact location or area where the djinns had infiltrated, and it was impossible for Lily to defend the entirety of this gigantic ship.


    That would mean her plan would be on standby until she noticed something abnormal, and then, once noticing something, she would commence her plan.


    Reaching my hand into my cloak pocket, I felt the smooth and cold surface of a small button alongside the hilt of my daggers.


    Pushing my hand down further, I pressed the button, feeling it shrink down under the pressure of my hand.


    *BOOM*


    *BOOM*


    *BOOM*


    The sound of 3 explosions echoed throughout the ship, and the shockwaves shook the floor, causing some people to lose their balance and drop their drinks.


    Keeping the hand in my pocket, I glanced at my table out of the corner of my eye and saw Lily immediately reaching for her smartwatch.


    It wasn''t just Lily, though...


    Kevin, Alya, Liam, and even Zach were also reaching for their smartwatch.


    Ah... the guard and school wouldn''t trust Lily if she randomly said there would be a djinn attack on the ship today... but who would?


    The main cast.


    So, to save the world, I have to go against the very beings who are destined to save the world.


    "What a joke..."


    Silencing everyone amidst the chaos, Liam''s loud voice echoed throughout the room.


    "EVERYONE EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY."


    ah, not good...


    How are the djinns going to take hostages if there''s no one even here?


    Well, I wasn''t completely unprepared. All I had to do was keep everyone here until the djinns appeared.


    Pressing further down on the button with my hand, another explosion sounded; however, this one wasn''t at the bottom of the ship.


    *BOOM*


    The roof right above the set of double doors, which were the only exit to the banquet room, immediately collapsed. Debris, brick, and dust now covered up the exit, halting everyone who was rushing towards it.

 Chapter 53: Chapter 53:Banquet [2]

    Snapping everyone out of their daze, Liam, who, after speaking to Lily for a moment, immediately announced.


    "FIND ANOTHER WAY OUT!"


    Most people would disobey or just ignore Liam, a commoner, but in the past year, Liam has come to be known as one of the most powerful students due to being ranked highly, being part of the student council, and being friends with the main cast.


    With all those accomplishments and Lily, Kevin, and Alya behind him, everyone blindly followed his instructions as if he were their leader.


    I mean, I swear I even saw Han and Jin following his orders just now when, last night, they had been making fun of him in the group chat!


    It was only a matter of time until they cleared their way through the rubble, and I had no more explosives to use.


    Grabbing a grass-green colored potion from my pocket, I shied away from the crowd and the watching eyes of the main cast, heading to the corner of the room.


    In that corner of the room stood around 5 people who were barely able to stand with the support of the wall, and they were oblivious to the situation happening around them as they continued to laugh their asses off while just staring at the wall.


    "Seriously... getting drunk at a banquet is insane."


    Well, don''t worry, Celestial Academy, I''ll punish these delinquents for you!


    After taking my cloak off my shoulders, I put it on properly, causing its pitch-black color to disappear and be replaced by a blood-red color.


    Taking my daggers out of my pocket, I stabbed both of my hands, and instead of letting the blood fall to the ground, I pulled out my arm and let the blood fall out onto my cloak, creating a flower symbol.


    My previous black cloak now had various red streaks along the middle of it, and on its arms, it had a blood-colored flower symbol.


    If an unaffiliated random person showed up, Lily and the school''s investigators would find it far too suspicious, so I would just have to demonstrate that I was related to an evil organization.


    Of course, it couldn''t be a real evil organization, as Ruby would probably know all of them, so I was basically faking being part of a non-existent organization¡ªor technically, I was creating an evil organization!


    Was I finally moving up the ranks in the villain world? Could... I be... a second-rate villain..?


    Nearing the corner of the banquet hall where the drunk students were stumbling about, I stamped my foot down hard on the already weakened floor, causing the drunkards who were barely holding onto the wall to lose balance and fall to the floor.


    Unscrewing the cap of the green-colored bottle, I held my bleeding hand above it, allowing droplets of my blood to fall into the potion. Instantly, the potion''s green color transformed into a dark purple, signifying that it was ready for consumption.


    After delivering a swift blow to the nape of one of the drunks, rendering him unconscious, I held up his head and forcibly opened his mouth before pouring the entirety of the dark-purple potion into his mouth.


    Dropping the empty potion bottle onto the floor, I watched it shatter into thousands of glass fragments, making it seem like another case of someone dropping a beverage due to the explosion.


    Stepping back, I watched the student''s face quickly transform to mimic my exact face. Of course, it wasn''t exact, as I had accumulated some wounds from rubble falling on me, but it was good enough to fool anyone who didn''t have my enhanced eyesight.


    His body type was also different from mine, but I doubted that amidst all the chaos, people would take the time to examine his body type rather than just look at his face. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Pulling the hood of my cloak down, completely concealing my face, I wasted no time as I took out my daggers and watched them light up with a night-black aura from the Corruption of The Night.


    Unfortunately, today wasn''t going to be an aura farming session.


    Swinging my daggers at the air, I sent 3 small elemental slashes right at every chandelier and light source in the room.


    *BZZT*


    The once fully lit up room was now enveloped in darkness, only small parts of the room visible due to the moon shining through the windows.


    Jumping from table to table silently, I reached the pile of rubble blocking the exit, where tens of students were already doing their best to clear it with their bare hands.


    As it was a banquet, no one brought any weapons or swords; well, the main cast did, probably due to Lily''s warning about the attack.


    Seeing the students run into chaos due to the sudden darkness and Lily talking with Liam, Kevin, and Alya, I wasted no time as I sent a night-black elemental slash right at the students, clearing the rubble.


    The room, now illuminated by my elemental slash, displayed a scene of ten students standing weaponless and frightened in front of a flying slash that seemed as dark as the night sky hurling toward them.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    "Lily, now what? The lights went off."


    "I''m not sure, keep trying to find an ex-"


    *BZZT*


    Instantly capturing the attention of the four main cast members, an elemental slash flew through the room, illuminating its target of the ten innocent students.


    Even though not a single word was said, the four immediately sprang into action as Lily pulled out her wand, casting a current of wind that instantly propelled Kevin and Liam toward the slash.


    Alya pulled out her ice-covered sword and immediately created a barrier of ice between the helpless students and the elemental slash.


    Finally, Liam and Kevin, who were flying right at the elemental slash, had their swords in hand and faced the slash directly.


    Confronted by the two''s swords, the elemental slash got sent right back to where it came from, hitting a wall near the corner of the room.


    Desperate and on edge, Liam screamed out.


    "WE NEED LIGHT!"


    Instantly, a red inferno of fire appeared in the hands of Irene, who was sitting awestruck at the table beside Ruby and Zach. Unlike Lily''s group, these 3 had no idea that the attack was going to happen.


    If only they had someone like Lily in their group...


    Now, being able to see everything once again, Liam regrouped with everyone at the original table.


    Unbeknownst to them, there was one issue. There was a slight difference between magical fire and natural fire. While natural fires are technically light sources as they result from combustion chemical reactions, magical fires do NOT constitute being a light source as they are created from mana.


    Looking at Irene, Ruby, and Zach''s confused expressions, Lily started off by explaining the situation.


    "Look, we''re being attacked by a group of djinns who plan to take us hostage to blackmail the academy. I can''t say much now as we''re low on time, but that''s the situation."


    Looking at the three nodding their heads, Lily paused for a second before continuing.


    "However, there is a problem right now. One of these djinns or another enemy is in this room right now..."


    Confused, Zach asked.


    "Wait, how do you know that one of them is w-"


    Kevin, who had been silent up till now, angrily responded.


    "You idiot, where the hell do you think that elemental slash came from."


    Interrupting them was Liam, who was in a state of panic after staring at the already injured students from the explosions earlier.


    "Ignore them. What do we do now, Lily?"


    Pausing for a moment, Lily glanced around the table before asking.


    "...has anyone seen Ren?"


    "Yeah, I did."


    Expanding the fire in her hand, Irene lit up more of the room and then pointed to the corner where an unconscious Ren lay on the floor beside a couple of other people.


    "It''s kinda his thing to run away when anything remotely dangerous happens."


    "... *PFFT*"


    "KEVIN, IS NOW THE TIME TO LAUGH?"


    "...my bad, dude, but honestly, just look at h-"


    "Enough. Our primary goal remains the same. Get out of the banquet hall. It''s only a matter of time before more djinns come, and then they take us hostage."


    Nodding at Lily''s words, Liam stood on the table and loudly announced, capturing everyone''s attention.


    "WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!"


    Picking up the utensil knives from the table, the remaining group of students walked towards the exit alongside Lily''s group.


    Alya, who had been silent due to the severity of the situation, picked up her sword and manifested 5 icicle spears above her head. Not skipping the beat, the icicles immediately hurled towards the pile of rubble.


    However, before the ice could reach the rubble, another night-black elemental slash intersected it. The elemental reaction caused by the ice and darkness hitting each other generated a grey fog that enveloped part of the room.


    "LILY, HE''S OVER HERE."


    Alya was smart. She knew that she wouldn''t be able to destroy the rubble without any interference. She actually wanted the interference so that she could find the location of the intruder.


    Lily, who was waiting for Alya''s signal, cast 2 wind tornados, but she stopped right in her tracks mid-cast.


    The icicles that Alya had created were now flying right back at her, seemingly having a mind of their own... Alya had no idea, as she was looking straight at Lily.


    Changing the direction of her attack, Lily sent the tornados right at the returning ice spear and screamed.


    "ALYA, MOVE!"


    Hearing Lily''s urgency, Alya immediately dove to the right, narrowly evading the wind tornado. Looking back, Alya''s confusion only intensified as she saw her own icicle spears attacking her while Lily''s tornadoes held them off.


    As another bout of smoke appeared from the elemental reaction between the tornado and the ice, Liam, Zach, and Irene joined them outside the smoke area.


    "What''s going on?"


    "Liam, the intruder is preventing us from leaving."


    "Alright, I''ll take care of him, you gu-"


    Pausing mid-sentence, Liam noticed no one was paying attention to him. He followed the others'' gaze and saw a figure emerging from the smoke.


    Clad in a mix of blood-red and pitch-black colors, a figure emerged from the smoke with two ominous dark shapes in his hands.


    They couldn''t even be identified as weapons. They were just roughly the shape of something covered by a black aura.


    Before anyone could say anything, the figure swung the two ominous shapes at them, releasing an elemental slash that was as dark as a black hole right at all five of them.

 Chapter 54: Chapter 54:Banquet [3]

    "DUCK!"


    At Lily''s words, the 6 students dove toward the ground, narrowly avoiding the slash as it whizzed right above their heads.


    Glancing ahead, Lily looked at where the cloaked figure had been previously, but he was no longer there. In fact, he wasn''t anywhere in their sight; he had disappeared right back into the smoke.


    Snapping Lily out of her thoughts, Liam spoke up with his sword aimed towards the smoke.


    "It''s just one of them."


    "Even if it''s just one... we have to get to the exit and defeat him while he just has to stop us from clearing out the exit."


    Nodding at Alya''s words, Lily regrouped with others, her wand ready to cast a spell at any moment.


    "We need to do something about that smoke."


    "Oh, good fucking insight, Captain Obvious. What? Are you going to tell us we need to escape this room next?"


    "Kevin and Liam. Is this really the time?"


    "..."


    "..."


    Irene, standing at the edge of the group with the fire still burning in her hand, considered using her fire to burn away the smoke but dismissed it because it could backfire and add more smoke.


    Yet again, she was useless.


    Interrupting the silence, Alya asked.


    "Lily, why don''t you use water to dilute the smoke and make it slowly disappear."


    "That could work... but the time it would take."


    "Why don''t we just go into the smoke and take him out? It''s a 6v1."


    "I think we might actually agree on something, Liam. Am I dreaming?"


    "Shut it, moron."


    Lily turned to Alya, Zach, and Irene, who nodded their heads at Liam''s suggestion. Why did they need to devise a complicated plan?


    It was 6 main cast members against some random third-rate villain!


    Recalling the earlier scene where Alya''s icicles came flying back at her, Lily nodded her head before saying.


    "Alright, but be careful of your own spells as well as his."


    "Yeah, don''t worry about it, Lily. I''ll take care of that random for you."


    "Yo, Kevin, do you even think before you speak? Like, are you really flirting right now? This might actually be a dream." S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Big talk from someone who''s never spoken to a girl."


    "Yo, are you fucking stup-"


    "Time and place, you two."


    At this point, Lily felt like a chaperone on a kindergarten field trip. Was she really entrusting the fate of the world to these two?


    As the 6 of them got ready to charge into the smoke, Zach pulled out his hand and placed it in the center of their huddle.


    "t-team Celestial Academy on 3! 3... 2..."


    "Yo, shut the hell up, will you?"


    "..."


    This time, Lily didn''t even intervene at Kevin''s ill-tempered words.


    While Liam, Kevin, and Zach directly charged into the smoke with their weapons pointed forward, Lily, Alya, and Irene stood at the edge with their wands shining, indicating that their spells were ready to be cast.


    Inside the smoke, Zach, having lost sight of both Liam and Kevin, swung around his axe, temporarily clearing the smoke before it immediately regrouped.


    The villain couldn''t have planned the smoke, as Alya spontaneously decided to send the icicles. That meant if Zach couldn''t see, the enemy couldn''t either.


    Thus, Zach didn''t feel any need to be prepared while walking around. His main goal was to locate the villain and relay his location to the 3 girls, who were waiting with their spells ready outside the smoke.


    Swinging his battle axe once again, Zach cleared the smoke in front of him. Through that gap he cleared, he could see a pitch-black elemental slash charging towards him.


    Then, next the second, the gap closed, and the smoke regrouped, hiding Zach''s vision of elemental slash.


    Blindly diving to the right, Zach felt something bang against his chest and looked downwards, seeing that he was now lying flat on a table.


    Having the wind knocked out of him due to the diving on the table, Zach struggled to get up until, finally, he was able to sit upright on the top of the table.


    Looking forward, Zach saw something variation in the grey fog. A pitch-black color was spreading and replacing the grey color of the fog. The black color was spreading quickly towards the area where Zach was sitting down.


    Before Zach could react or dodge, he heard a voice speaking directly into his ears.


    "Have a good dream."


    With a soft chop on the nape of Zach''s neck, he fell unconscious, his body sprawled out across the half-broken table.


    Somewhere else in the large fog, Liam and Kevin were walking side by side, searching for the cloaked figure.


    "Why the hell are you following me?"


    "Is your ego so big that you trick yourself into believing the lies you make, Kevin?"


    "Aren''t you a delusional one? You''re quite literally following me right now."


    "Can you put aside your ego for one fucking second? Do you really wanna split up in this gigantic smoke? Why would we let the villain fight us 1 by 1 instead of just fighting him together?"


    " *tsk* You really are delusional. Didn''t you leave behind, Zach?"


    "I lost track of him in the fog, so I followed you. Is that all of your questions? Do you want to know my favorite colors and hobbies now?"


    "Look ah-"


    "Oh no, Kevin, maybe you want to know my favorite dish? My fav-"


    "LOOK AHEAD OF YOU."


    Sensing the urgency in Kevin''s voice, Liam looked forward and saw smoke suddenly parting, revealing the cloaked figure only a few steps in front of them.


    "HERE!"


    Instantly, dozens of icicles, fireballs, and wind bullets flew towards the three of them, causing the smoke to further disperse.


    Combined with the fact that Lily had been slowly diluting the smoke with water magic, the smoke was on its last legs, as you could actually see through parts of it now.


    As the spells neared the figure of the defenseless villain, who couldn''t even dodge as Kevin and Liam were surrounding him, a smile appeared on Liam''s face.


    A moment later, that smile disappeared.


    "w-what?"


    The villain was gone; he had disappeared.


    The spells meant for the villain hit the wall behind him, causing further damage to the room. As a result, more rubble fell from the roof, further blocking the exit route.


    "BE CAREFUL!"


    Hearing Lily''s scream behind him, Liam snapped out of his confusion and disbelief before surveying his surroundings. The smoke was now gone, or in other words, the villain had nowhere to hide.


    After looking around the room a moment, Liam was about to walk to the other side of the room to search when a sudden shriek echoed from behind him.


    "HEL-"


    Instantly, Liam turned around to see a masked figure standing right behind Irene with his hand wrapped around her mouth.


    Before Liam could even react, Lily was already on the move. She summoned a portal that immediately flung out an endless amount of water right at the villain.


    However, it was too late. Irene''s body fell onto the floor, and most importantly, the fires dancing on Irene''s palm disappeared, returning the room to complete darkness.


    The moonlight shone through the windows, illuminating the villain standing over Irene''s body, still holding the odd pitch-black shapes.


    Facing the water beam directly, the villain held his daggers up to the water, slightly faltering and being pushed back by the pressure of the water.


    Recovering from their shock, the other 3 immediately made their moves as Liam and Kevin charged toward the villain while Alya summoned a lance made out of pure ice and hurled it at the villain.


    However, the villain remained in front of the water beam, not making any attempts to dodge or move.


    Then, the water beam halted. Lily watched in confusion as the source of the water beam, the portal, moved without her permission and flung towards the villain.


    Now with the portal floating right above the villain''s head, the water beam flowed out of the portal once again, this time heading straight for the charging Kevin and Liam.


    Surprised by the sudden twist, the two barely managed to dodge as the water beam grazed Kevin''s clothes, immediately causing him to become drenched.


    As the portal changed directions and hit the ice lance, instantly shattering it into hundreds of pieces, Liam and Kevin scrambled to regroup with Lily, who was standing in front of one of the windows.


    A moment later, the portal entirely disappeared, and the villain, who was no longer illuminated by the moonlight, was nowhere to be seen.


    "LILY, WHAT THE HELL WAS T-"


    "No time for questions, Liam; there''s been a change of plans."


    Gesturing towards the window beside her, Lily said.


    "There''s another way to leave."


    Considering the option for the moment, Alya asked.


    "How are we going to get everyone out of here? Zach, Irene, and the others. Sure, we can make it out, but not them."


    "Welp guys, we''ve tried our best, I think it is t-"


    "Shut it, Kevin, and listen to her."


    Seeing Liam gesture to her, Lily opened the window and continued.


    "Look down."


    On the surface of the ocean below the window stood 3 normal-sized ships, each equipped with various canons.


    "w-what, h-how? I thought you didn''t tell anyone e-"


    "Look closely, Liam."


    Upon closer inspection, Liam realized that each boat was plastered with Elven royal family symbols, and the boat''s flag was the image of the World Tree.


    "W-was this your backup plan...?"


    As Alya and Lily nodded their heads, Kevin angrily exclaimed.


    "WHY DIDN''T YOU TELL US?"


    "Would you really have stalled to the best of your abilities if you knew it was all a diversion?"


    Having no response to Lily''s question, Kevin muttered something under his breath before turning to Liam, who responded.


    "Does it even matter anymore? Let''s get going."


    While Alya and Lily went to the bodies of the two fallen main cast members, Liam gathered the students and guided them through the darkness towards the open window.


    Beside Liam stood Kevin, who had his sword equipped and ready for any attack that could come.


    However, there was no attack.


    The four of them gathered all of the students, even the drunken and uncoscous ones, at the open window.


    "...isn''t something off."


    "Liam''s right, Lily. The villain can''t just be letting us go..."


    "Maybe, he got scared of my almightyness and ran off."


    "Kevin, I don''t think you even got close to him for more than a second."


    Maintaing a calm composure, Lily simply pulled out her wand and turned to the others.


    "Get ready."


    In her mind, there was only one reason why the villain would stop attacking.


    Reinforcements had arrived for him.


    The ground shook, and the roof above the food area collapsed, causing more rubble to fall and block the original exit.


    After all the dust was cleared out, the image of 5 djinns, each with a set of red horns and longswords, could be seen standing on the remannts of the roof.

 Chapter 55: Chapter 55:Banquet [4]

    Stepping forward, the leader of the djinns wore a grin while speaking.


    "Well, well, what do we have here? Are our little pups trying to escape?"


    Her sparkling red horns lit up the dark room, illuminating the main cast alongside Ruby and others standing near the open window.


    Dropping a ladder out of the open window and down to the boat, Alya said.


    "We need more time."


    "Unfortunately, we can''t let you have that. You have my dearest condolences!"


    With those words, a blood-red aura enveloped all of the djinns before materializing in the form of tens of sharp red discs.


    Time seemed to slow for Liam as dozens of blood-red disks surged towards them, each of the disks capable of killing more than 3 people.


    With his sword, Liam was only capable of defending against one or, at best, two disks, so what were we supposed to do against dozens of them?


    "DEFEND!"


    Stepping forward, Alya cast an ice barrier right in front of the incoming disks while Lily created a shield of water right behind the ice barrier to slow the disks'' speed.


    As the disks pierced the ice barrier and raced through the water shield, Liam and Kevin stood in front of the group, their swords pointed at the remaining seven disks.


    Holding their swords horizontally, Kevin and Liam each took on 3 disks while leaving the last one for Lily and Alya, who were helping get people down the ladder and onto the ships below.


    After being pushed back by the discs and into the wall, Liam and Kevin managed to redirect the discs to a nearby wall, away from their fellow students.


    However, despite his attack being completely foiled, Djinn''s expression didn''t change a single bit.


    Instead, he raised his hand again. The horns of the djinns behind him began glowing a dark red as 12 more discs manifested above their heads.


    "Usually, I would just get it over with... but now, I feel like playing with my prey. Who''s gonna save you out here in the middle of the ocean? We have ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD!"


    "Ah, those expressions of yours. Can''t wait to see them again in 10 minutes."


    Alongside the disks, chains broke through the floor beneath the djinns and surged toward the four main cast members, preventing them from blocking the disks.


    "WHAT DO WE DO?"


    "I-i d-don''t know."


    Lily couldn''t even plan for this scenario. In the book, all that was mentioned was Liam gaining a power-up and defeating the powerful djinns, so she couldn''t have predicted their attacks or movements.


    Turning to Liam, with her hands clenched in desperation, Lily said.


    "Do something, Liam."


    "???"


    After a moment of silence, Kevin exclaimed.


    "YOU''RE PUTTING OUR LIVES IN THIS IDIOTS HANDS, LILY??"


    Even Alya seemed concerned by Lily''s words as she replied.


    "...Lily, maybe we should take our loss and leave."


    "*PFFT*"


    Even Ren, who was hiding in the shadows, couldn''t help but laugh at Lily''s outrageous words. Of course, Ren was just laughing rather than doing something because he knew those outrageous lines would actually work, as Liam now had achieved the perfect conditions to obtain his power-up.


    They and the students were at risk of dying or being kidnapped, the djinns were here attacking them, and finally, there was an escape route present.


    Those were the 3 conditions that needed to be fulfilled.


    "I-I''ll t-try. W-we can''t just leave these students behind. If we wanted to survive in the first place, we would have never gotten on the cruise ship."


    "Why did we even come to the banquet in the first place? What was this planning and effort for if we just left now?"


    "All four of us wanted to save these people; that was our goal at the start, and it still is."


    After giving a solemn nod to Lily and a quick wave to Alya, Liam turned around and punched Kevin as hard as he could in the chest.


    "WHAT THE HEL-"


    "Always wanted to do that before I died!"


    Leaning down, Liam patted both Zach and Irene''s unconscious bodies before pulling out his sword and facing the incoming chains.


    Made of pure blood, the chains were dark red instead of metallic gray, and they showed no mercy as they rampaged through the tables and chairs in the room to reach Liam.


    The fact that the chain was able to pierce through the tough wood of the table without even slowing down said enough. One hit and that chain would pierce right through Liam''s body.


    Staring down the incoming chains, Liam laughed for a moment before saying to himself.


    "Didn''t this already happen once?"


    Ah, yes, at the amusement park, Liam had faced this exact some ordeal and made it out alive, all be it with some luck.


    He had survived last time, so why wouldn''t he this time?


    As the chains neared Liam''s figure, he briefly turned around and saw Alya alongside Lily, sending the hostages down the ladder with grim expressions.


    There was also Kevin, but he was just giving Liam the middle finger while clutching the lower half of his body with a pained expression.


    "Is the last thing I see really going to be that bastard...? I''ll be damned."


    At least he wasn''t dying for nothing.


    Born an outskirt rat to a poor family, Liam was very familiar with the concept of selfishness. In fact, it was his whole ideology!


    Stealing from vendors to get food, fighting other beggars to receive money from civilians, and even attacking other rats who dared to enter your territory.


    Growing up, Liam was forced to endure and adapt to these conditions.


    Beg, attack, steal. Beg, attack, steal. Beg, attack, steal. An endless loop, with one goal.


    It was all to survive. That was all that mattered to Liam.


    No matter how many terrible actions or crimes Liam committed, he never felt bad. Whether it was robbing a fellow beggar for money or stealing bread from a market stand on the fringe of collapsing, Liam always walked away with the same indifferent expression.


    Why should he care? None of it was his fault, was it?


    Was it his fault he was born on the outskirts? Was it his fault that he was born to a poor family? If all he was doing was adapting to his environment, why should he be blamed?


    All that mattered was him and only him.


    "Who would have thought I''d be here? From stealing and attacking to sacrificing myself for others with no regrets, even in the face of death."


    The old Liam would have been long gone as soon as the news of the djinn''s attack reached his ears, yet the new current Liam was here, protecting them at the cost of his life.


    What was the cause of this transformation?


    Recalling his backstory, Liam let out a chuckle before saying. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    " *PFFT* When I die, they BETTER create a play about me and my life. Wait, who would be the villain? Kevin? No...? Oh, that Ren guy would be perfect!"


    Remembering the time when he had been caught off guard and beaten by his jealous classmate, Kevin sighed.


    The weeks of anxious anticipation of the jealous boy''s revenge had been too much for him.


    "I really wasted a week biting my nails waiting for his revenge..."


    "If I knew I was going to die this soon, I would have just beaten him up and gotten it over wi-"


    [Who says you''re going to die?]


    "huh? What the hell???"


    In front of Liam appeared a system menu, all too familiar to the one that portrayed the stat''s menu.


    Blocking Liam''s view of the incoming chains, the blue system screen disappeared before reappearing with a different message.


    [Embrace it, hero. The one destined to save it all.]


    Not giving Liam any time to react, he felt his entire body overflowing with power; his trembling legs had stabilized, his sword had grown ten times lighter, and he felt something weird whenever he moved his hands.


    An unknown presence in his body.


    "Well, it can''t get any worse than this!"


    Like how he used mana, Liam gathered the unknown presence in his body, leading it towards his chest. There was far too much of whatever substance it was to stay in another part of his body.


    As the last particle entered the square that his substance formed in his chest, Liam suddenly felt a flashing light blind his eyes.


    Reopening his eyes, Liam saw that the system menu had disaperead, instead replaced by his sword, which was now shining a light blue.


    The blue aura engulfed his sword, illuminating the dark room to the point that most people would have thought it was daytime outside. He seemed to have absorbed all of the unknown substance in his body.


    As the first set of chains pierced right toward Liam, he charged forward with his now blue sword, ready to intercept it.


    Putting all his strength into his sword''s slash onto the chain, Liam was surprised when his sword simply passed through the chains like a knife cutting butter.


    Falling onto the ground due to the strength he had put into his sword''s slash, he watched as the entire chain disappeared despite him only hitting one small portion of it.


    Magic Nullification.


    Standing back up, Liam did the same thing for each of the disks as his sword effortlessly cut through them like butter, causing the discs to shatter into thousands of pieces before disappearing into thin air.


    Ignoring the djinn''s surprised and dreaded expression, Liam swung his sword in the air, releasing all of the unknown substance he could muster. A light-blue elemental slash charged right at the group of djinns.


    With no time to dodge, the djinns watched their lights both literally and mentally flash before their eyes as the elemental slash neared them.


    *BOOM*


    After the slash cut right through the djinns, it continued charging forward, even cutting through the cruise ship''s walls before flying out into the ocean and out of sight.


    "Well, goodbye to you too, sword slash!"


    Not giving any explanation to the astounded Kevin, Lily, and Alya, Liam walked up beside them before carrying out the rest of the people, who were unable to witness the event due to fainting from fear or the rubble that fell on them.


    In the other corner of the room, Ruby, who was completely oblivious to other events, stared at one body that seemed to be unconscious.


    Holding their head up, Ruby swept her hands across the boy''s cheeks, but upon feeling the prickling sensation of their skin, she immediately dropped the head onto the hard floor.


    "That''s not him."


    Channeling her eyesight to confirm her suspicions, Ruby peered deep into the individual lying on the floor''s desires.


    "... the desire is as strong, but unless he became an alcoholic in a single day, it''s not him."

 Chapter 56: Chapter 56:The Return [1]

    Carrying the unconscious "Ren" in her hands, Ruby walked towards the window where Liam and Lily were carrying the last few people down the ladder and onto the ship.


    Upon seeing Ruby holding "Ren," Liam resisted the urge to take some kind of revenge and scoffed.


    " *tsk* Look at this guy."


    Warning him, Lily put the last person in her arms and began climbing down the ladder.


    "Liam, don''t do anything else right now."


    After sending the last elemental slash, Liam almost collapsed on the floor due to exhaustion, but after getting up, he still insisted on helping the people down the ladder despite the fact that his legs were trembling from just standing up.


    Of course, Kevin had bombarded Liam with questions about his light-blue sword of light, but with Alya''s guidance, Kevin had been forced to postpone his questions and head down the ladder with Alya, Irene, and Zach.


    Besides a few injuries from the initial explosions and the purple discs, the students were all fine, so Lily sighed in relief.


    She was now 1-1 in victories, disregarding the incident that took place before the plot started!


    While Lily hadn''t necessarily planned for Liam to achieve his power up during this incident, as she believed that he could acquire it any time after, she was still fine with this outcome.


    Letting his curiosity get to her, Lily asked.


    "What did it feel like?"


    She already knew the name of his power-up and the reason why he got it, but she was still curious about how it would feel to wield a sword that dazzling.


    "I felt like I could do anything. Every step I took was exhausting but exhilarating at the same time. Felt like I was on top of the world, but every second that passed, I felt like I was being pulled further down to the bottom."


    Nodding her head, she watched Liam climb onto the ladder behind her and then Ruby, who had been silent this entire time.


    Although she was suspicious of Ruby at the start due to her sudden transfer, Zach had been vouching for her ever since the trip started, so she wasn''t majorly concerned anymore.


    During this incident, she hadn''t done anything special and acted like a normal student who was scared by the djinns; however, when Lily saw her with Ren''s body, more suspicion began to rise.


    "...I''ll have to keep an eye on her."


    The two variables in the book, Ruby and Ren, were sticking together? There had to be something odd going on there.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Standing unnoticed in the shadows right next to the window, I let out a sigh as I watched Ruby, the last person, begin to climb down the ladder, leaving the room completely empty.


    Wasting no time, I sprinted towards the severed djinn bodies before grabbing all their items and searching for valuables.


    Was the hero cast stupid? Leaving behind this vault of treasures for the investigators? I''ll be damned!


    Going through jacket pockets and taking necklaces, I took everything without even testing to see if they were useful to me or not.


    Even if they weren''t useful to me, one man''s trash is another''s treasure!


    The amount of money I had collected during this trip was insane! Business was booming... but I needed a plausible way to explain all the wealth to Raven.


    If I didn''t, he would side-eye me and pretend to shiver every time he saw me for at least a week.


    Wasn''t the previous owner of the black market supposed to be a bit tougher... and scarier?


    Picking up the last few necklaces, I put them inside my huge cloak pockets before taking off my cloak and wiping the blood stains on it.


    Taking some water and tissues from the broken-down food area, I wiped and wiped until every last bit of blood from the cloak was gone, reverting it to its normal pitch-black color.


    Folding the cloak, I tied it around my waist, ensuring that nothing fell out, before walking back towards the open window.


    Looking down the window, I saw Ruby, Liam, and Lily still slowly descending the ladder with the bodies of their students. The ship was at the very bottom of the ladder, waiting for them.


    Although I had been surprised by Lily''s choice to use ships instead of a helicopter or something that could fly, I wasn''t complaining about riding home on luxury speedboats.


    Due to the current situation with the world tree being corrupted, all the Elven heroes would have been stuck in the Elven realm, so these ships were probably all the Elvin kingdom could send to help Lily and Alya out.


    Tensing my legs, I smiled as I jumped out of the window and down to the ship, which was more than a 100-foot drop.


    Falling down, I felt the air rush onto my face, refreshing me from that long battle earlier. In the pitch darkness of the night, no one even noticed my falling figure.


    Landing silently on top of one of the speed ships, I hid in the darkness of night, waiting for Ruby, who, for some reason, was holding the body I disguised to be me.


    This was going to be... a lot harder than I expected.


    As Ruby got onto the speed boat, she began to walk to the storage room, where the rest of the students were stored.


    Lily handed the body in her arms to Ruby and headed to the top of the speed ship, where Liam, Kevin, and Alya were waiting with the bodies of Irene and Zach.


    Jumping from the top of the speed ship to the ladder, I quietly climbed down the ladder before following Ruby to the storage room.


    Hiding in the shadows behind her, I closed in on her as she neared the storage room and then hid in her own shadow. When she opened the door to the room, I slipped in right behind her, completely unnoticed.


    Watching her lay down the fake Ren''s body, I saw her kneel down and touch his cheek again before walking out of the storage room.


    ...Does she know? Surely not.


    As the door slammed shut behind her, I moved out of the shadows before unwrapping the wound on my hands and letting my blood drip down on the fake Ren''s face.


    Seeing his face transform out of mine and to his, I moved his body out of the way and prepared to lie down on the floor when suddenly a noise interrupted me.


    *SLAM*


    Slowly looking upwards, I saw Ruby standing at the wide-open door, staring at my face with a grin apparent on her face.


    ... it was all a trick. She already knew the person wasn''t Ren!


    But did she know I was the cloaked figure fighting against them in the room?


    Scratching my head, I reciprocated her smile and said.


    "Ah I just woke up, the alcohol really got to me!"


    "Really, still going with that? You''re actually shameless."


    I''m a third-rate villain; isn''t my entire life and existence meant to be shameless?


    Putting my hands on my back, I reapplied the bandages to my hands and slipped my sleeves over them so they were invisible. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Well, I guess you learn something new every day! Still, shouldn''t you know about my shamelessness? I''m quite disappointed."


    Walking towards me without any concern for the bodies she was stepping on to get to me, Ruby said.


    "Don''t get it twisted; I knew you were shameless, but not THAT shameless."


    ... what the hell is going on?


    DOES SHE KNOW THE CLOAKED FIGURE WAS ME OR NOT?


    Quelling the chaotic thoughts in my head, I maintained my smile and asked.


    "What exactly do you mean by that? I''m quite offended."


    Ignoring my question like usual, Ruby reached me and looked up into my eyes before saying.


    "We''re on a luxury speedboat, yet we''re here rotting away in the storage room."


    Exactly my thoughts!


    But are we just going to brush over my question...? Alright, then!


    Feeling a sudden light blind my eyes, I involuntarily closed my eyes, but when I reopened them, the chaotic wind of the night immediately rushed into my face.


    We were no longer in the storage room; we were at the top of the ship, where I had been earlier.


    Looking down, I could see the 4 main cast members talking seriously, and below them, the waves of the night blue ocean water crashing against our boat.


    So, she already had access to it... but how much access?


    The Ruby gemstone''s order specialty: Spatial Magic.


    Even with Liam''s new powerup, if Ruby had this access to spatial magic, she could probably kill Liam or at least injure him before backup arrived.


    Looking at my expression with a disappointed face, Ruby said.


    "You know most people are surprised when something like this happens."


    Shrugging my shoulders, I replied.


    "Do I look like most people?"


    "hmm, you''re right. You''re way too shameless and stupid to be considered normal."


    "... not what I meant, but ALRIGHT!"


    Chuckling at my sarcastic words, Ruby put her hands on the railing of the boat and stared at the land, which was getting nearer and nearer to us.


    "You know, for a school known as the best in the world, there are quite a lot of problems."


    Looking down at Liam, the reason for all the academie''s problems, I responded.


    "Yeah, like a major villain boss infiltrating the academy. Imagine if that happened; that would be a HUGE problem!"


    "*PFFT* or if an academy student that harassed girls on the daily ran away to save themselves when djinns were attacking other civilians."


    "Really needed to add that ''harassing girls'' part, huh?"


    "Just wouldn''t be right if I didn''t."


    Using my enhanced eyesight, I peered into the distance and saw on the land that plenty of heroes and academy supervisors, having heard about the situation, were already waiting for us.


    Really, that stereotype about the security always arriving late is pissing me off. Isn''t the author overusing it at this point?


    How did this author, out of thousands, get his book turned into a real world? Well, that''s assuming that the other books are NORMAL and don''t have people getting transmigrated into them.


    Looking at my sour expression, Ruby followed my gaze before asking.


    "Scared of your father?"


    Confused, I looked further into the incoming land, and sure enough, there was my father waiting with a sword in his hand.

 Chapter 57: Chapter 57:The Return [2]

    Shaking my head at Ruby''s question, I replied.


    "Not really."


    It was true. Back at the award ceremony, it was my first time seeing him as Ren, so all his explosions just exploded outwards. Now that it was the second time, I could stop the leakage of emotions as I was more accustomed to it.


    Of course, my anger at him for being a terrible human being was still there, but I could keep that under control, partially because I knew I couldn''t do shit about it right now.


    What was more important at this moment was how Ruby knew so much about me. From recognizing my face back in the cave from a simple glance to even knowing the backstory about my father disowning me, she had to have met me before.


    Most of Ren''s childhood memories were fragmented, so I couldn''t recall ever seeing or meeting someone similar to Ruby.


    I also couldn''t ask Ruby about anything as she would immediately realize that I wasn''t the real Ren for not remembering, in the case I had met her before.


    After my response, the mood turned somber as the two stared at the land without saying anything.


    As the ship approached the land, I got ready to leave.


    As if I was going to help the main cast carry all the students out of the storage room and onto the land!


    Seeing me ready to jump off the boat, Ruby cracked a grin before asking.


    "You ask me why I call you shameless?"


    A third-rate villain must embrace that shamelessness to advance to a second-rate villain! Or something like that; honestly, I just needed to give myself an excuse to leave.


    "You act like that, but you''re doing the same thing."


    Turning to Ruby, who was also on the ledge of the boat, ready to jump, I reciprocated her smile before waving and jumping.


    However, Ruby was shocked, not because I was jumping, though. It was because of where I was jumping: into the deep blue water.


    Embracing the cold ocean water, I sunk to the ocean floor before swimming towards the land like a mermaid; I was actually swimming faster than the speed boat!


    As I turned around to see how fast I was moving compared to the speed boat, I peered past the darkness of the water and saw a figure also in the water.


    "... no fucking way."


    Right next to the speed boat was Ruby, who struggled to stay afloat while wildly slashing her arms to stay above the surface of the water.


    ...Doesn''t she have teleportation? I guess water is spatial magic''s weakness...?


    Swimming back towards the speed boat, I swam right next to Ruby and floated above the water effortlessly before saying.


    "Are you actually stupid?"


    "Oh, so when you do it, it''s alright, but when I do, I''m stupid?"


    "... you know, maybe it''s a stupid idea for you BECAUSE YOU CAN''T SWIM"


    "Details, details; who cares?"


    "..."


    Well, I can''t just leave here to drown or get run over by the speed boat, can I?


    Turning to Ruby, who was desperately flailing her arms and legs to sway afloat, I asked.


    "So, what''s your plan now?"


    Stopping her flailing arms and legs, she grinned and asked.


    "I don''t know; maybe catch a ride?"


    Then, a second later, she started to sink into the water as she stopped flailing.


    Diving into the water below Ruby, underwater, I gestured to my back, and without any hesitation, she threw her arms out and attached her hands to my drenched shirt.


    Even though I knew she couldn''t hear, I said.


    "Hold on, tight."


    Boosting myself off the ocean floor, I swam using breaststroke as fast as I could toward the land, which became closer and closer with every second.


    Turning away mid-stroke, I saw Ruby trailing behind me, holding on with all her might to my shirt, which was already almost torn due to her tight grip.


    ...Why do all my clothes always get torn?


    Reaching the shallow area of the water, I stood up with my shoulders barely above the surface and walked towards the sand, only a few feet away.


    On the other hand, Ruby only had her head above the water as she struggled to walk due to the resistance of the water.


    As soon as we reached the sand of the beach we swam towards; Ruby collapsed on the ground panting.


    "a-are y-you a d-damn m-mermaid?" S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Shrugging my shoulders, I crouched beside her and stared at the speedboat, which had already reached the port that was only a couple of miles away from the beach we were on.


    "Well, we should get back to the hotel."


    "g-go like this?"


    Staring down at my drenched suit, which did not make me uncomfortable or irritated in the slightest, and Ruby''s dress, which had sand all over it, I grabbed the cloak tied around my waist and handed it to her.


    Since the sun was just rising, the cloak shouldn''t have any effects, so she wouldn''t realize it was a magical artifact, and I could just take it back once we reached our dorm room.


    Watching her put on my cloak, which was far too big for her as the bottom of it scraped against the ground, I suppressed the urge to laugh... but failed.


    She looked like she just came from the circus.


    "*PFFT*"


    "Something funny to you? Enlighten me as to what''s so funny."


    "*PFFT* i-i, n-nothing at all."


    Stepping in front of me, she blocked my path and held out her hands horizontally, causing me to laugh even more. Her sleeves were so big you couldn''t even see her hands.


    Upon reaching our hotel room, I promptly took back my cloak and put it in my luggage before showering and changing.


    Stepping out of the shower, I noticed that the room was mostly empty. Zach and Irene were probably in the hospital being treated like the others, leaving me the entire living room.


    Tomorrow, we would be heading back on the buses, so I crammed everything into my suitcase and even used my awakened strength, almost breaking the suitcase, to zip everything up.


    Wrapping a towel around my neck, I sat on one of the cushions near the table and drank a cup of green tea that Ruby had made because she was cold from the swim.


    Scrolling on my smartwatch, enjoying the sweet tea, relishing the view of the ocean from our room, and recalling the earlier swim made me realize something.


    Was it so bad to live a normal life here?


    When I first came to this world, I was so confident that living here would be hell and so determined to head back to earth, but now, here I was, enjoying the simple things in a student''s daily life.


    I had always denied that I was enjoying my life here, but at this point, it was hard for me not to have fun.


    Just messing around with Zach and Ruby, hanging out with Jin and Han, and even just training against the AI bots brought me happiness and solace. Things I would never be able to do if I went back to Earth.


    Guess it''s true you only miss things when you realize that you can no longer have them...


    What if I never even got back to Earth?


    That thought had crossed my mind many times, but I had always denied it as if I was transported to this world; there must be a way to travel to other worlds, but I just hadn''t found it yet.


    Of course, in the meantime before discovering the method, I had decided to do my best to save this world from destruction by maintaining the plot structure.


    But... was this life really so bad? With the prestige of the academy and the money from Raven''s business, I could live comfortably after graduation, maybe move to the countryside, and buy a mansion.


    Wasn''t that better than working a 9-5 job on Earth? Wasn''t living comfortably in a mansion with no worries way better than waking up at 6 AM every day just to be yelled out by my future boss?


    Why was I so persistent in making my way back to Earth?


    Interrupting my thoughts, Ruby opened the door of her and Irene''s room before strolling into the living room and taking a seat on the cushion across from me.


    Staring at me with a curious expression, she asked.


    "How''s the green tea."


    "Could be better."


    "...? Are you insane? I made t-"


    "Alright, alright, it''s good."


    Lifting up the cup of tea to my mouth to prove my point, I tilted the cup towards my mouth, letting the gold liquid flow into my mouth; however, when I attempted the put down the cup, I couldn''t.


    Ruby was holding the cup to my mouth with a grin on her face.


    "AH, HOT, HOT, HOT!"


    Overpowering Ruby, I put the cup down, but the damage was already done. With my tongue burning in pain, I rushed to the bathroom sink and covered my tongue in water, but that just made it worse!


    Further adding to my situation, I could hear someone breaking down in laughter back in the living room.


    With my tongue still writhing in pain, I rushed back to the living room, grabbed Ruby''s cup of tea, and raised it to her mouth.


    "OPEN YOUR¡ªhiss¡ªMOUTH!"


    However, Ruby teleported back 5 meters away from me and ran for her room before frantically shutting and locking the sliding door.


    While washing my tongue in the sink for the next hour, I could hear the constant bangs against the door and laughter from the other room.


    When I woke the next day, I didn''t even bother to eat breakfast, as the tea had burned all my tastebuds off.


    Everything was tasteless...


    While glaring at Ruby, who was comfortably gathering food, I also saw Irene and Zach, who were completely healed, walking towards the table.


    Sitting down next to me, Zach exclaimed.


    "last day, guys, I''ll really mi-"


    "Don''t lie, Zach, you won''t miss Ren."


    "Wait, really, I will, I ac-"


    "Shut it, please."


    After I silenced Zach, Ruby also sat down beside us before saying.


    " Zach, don''t listen to him; Ren can put up with you for one more day. Isn''t that right, Ren?"


    Ignoring Ruby, I got up from the table and headed to the luxury bus outside that had just arrived.

 Chapter 58: Chapter 58:The Return [3]

    Entering the luxury bus, I made my way through the empty seats and to my section, where an exquisite gift basket full of various expensive candies, chips, and beverages sat, with an attachment that said, "From the Museum of Magical Artifacts."


    ... my tastebuds.


    Even though I had technically done no work to prevent the museum from being robbed on the outside, I had literally defended their subspace from being robbed by the djinns and taken care of 11 of them!


    Of course, I had stolen the subspace instead, but who would you rather have stolen from you: a bunch of djinns with evil ulterior motives or an innocent student like me?


    Surely, I was entitled to have part of this gift basket.


    "... Would Irene really let me take anything in the gift basket?"


    Imagining Irene slapping away my hands every time I attempted to reach for a snack, I realized that there was no way in hell she would let me within a 10-meter radius of the gift basket.


    Well, if there was a gift basket, to begin with...


    Grabbing the gift basket from our section, I put it between my arms and strolled to the bus''s exit like nothing had ever happened.


    You know, even though it was my choice to work in the shadows where no one would notice me, some recognition was nice!


    Walking down the bus stairs, I noticed Alya at the entrance alone, blocking my exit route.


    In the awkward situation where one had to move first, I decided to be the rude one as I started walking down the bus stairs, forcing Alya to move out of the way.


    No matter how much I concealed the gift basket, the vibrant colors of the candy stood out, so Alya inevitably saw it as I descended down the stairs.


    Seeing the handwritten note on the gift basket, Alya turned and stared at me.


    Even though I didn''t have to say anything, I felt compelled to give an excuse as her gaze locked onto me.


    "...I''m going to share it with the others."


    "If you''re innocent, you have nothing to hide."


    I think she might be worse than Ruby... ??? What does that even mean?


    Ignoring her, I exited the bus and was going to walk to the luggage compartment to store the gift basket, but Alya just stood there outside the bus, staring at me.


    Then, as I slowly walked towards the cafeteria, glancing behind me to see if Alya was still watching, the worst possible thing happened.


    Ruby walked out of the hotel doors, stared at me for a moment, adjusted her gaze to the large gift basket hidden between my arms, and grinned before asking me.


    "Oh, and what might that be, Ren?"


    Employing my overly sarcastic tone, I replied.


    "Oh, you''ll never believe it! The museum WE saved earlier kindly decided to gift us a basket full of treats!"


    Copying my tone, Ruby responded.


    "Oh really! How kind and respectful of them! Were you just about to inform us of this kind and amazing present."


    "Of course! I thought this treat would go perfectly with our breakfast!"


    Walking up to me, Ruby examined the gift basket before grabbing it from my arms. Looking at the gift basket, now her hands, I whispered.


    "You know, you''re an asshole, right?"


    "Are you sure? It sounds like you''re projecting."


    To make things even worse, at that moment, both Zach and Irene walked out of the hotel, seeing us and Alya near the bus.


    Getting on her tippy toes, Ruby whispered directly into my ears.


    "Don''t worry, we''ll give you the candy you deserve."


    "... just say none."


    After the gift basket tragedy, I reentered the bus, brushed past Alya, and sat back down in my section.


    "... who even cares about some stupid treats? I''m rich now; I can get them anytime I want!"


    The bus trip back went relatively well. Both Zach and Irene were exhausted from yesterday''s treatments, so they didn''t talk. And every time Ruby tried to make conversation, I glared at her with the utmost contempt.


    Drinking water, which was the only thing I could have with my tastebuds burned to crisp, I stared out the window and finally saw the familiar city of the academy.


    Crossing the bridge, I picked up my phone and texted Raven.


    [Ren: I''ll be coming by today.]


    [Raven: Oh, so now, you decide to warn me? What changed?]


    [Ren: Don''t worry about it.]


    [Raven: You say that knowing DAMN well, that just makes me worry more.]


    [Ren: ??? Like, what do you want me to do about it?]


    [Raven: You''re just going to say no to whatever I suggest, aren''t you?]


    [Ren: Of course not; a good boss always listens to their employees.]


    [Raven: Be more specific; don''t just say vague things and expect m-]


    [Ren: No can do! It''s a good thing you''re a co-owner and not an employee.]


    Putting down my phone, I exited the bus behind Ruby and immediately headed to the academy gate to exit.


    After taking a train to the outskirts of town and entering the seemingly abandoned warehouse that we called our headquarters, I saw Raven sitting down, working on drawing more circles.


    "... you''re not good at hiding it all, are you?"


    "Whatever do you mean, boss?"


    As someone who had to fake doing schoolwork for my parents, I knew exactly what to look for, and with my enhanced eyesight finding the clues was just easier.


    "You started working as soon as I texted you, didn''t you?"


    "... no."


    "Your pencil has barely been touched, and there are only 3 papers beside you. "


    "I''m a slow writer."


    Recalling how I had made similar excuses in the past, I gave Raven a break and headed to the back of the room where the painting was hung on the wall.


    "what the hell are you doing now, boss...?"


    Wasting no time, I jumped into the painting, ignoring Raven''s screaming behind me. I felt my surroundings distort before stabilizing to reveal the area of my previous fight.


    Using my eyesight, I examined the entire room before finding some faint scrape marks on the floor.


    Following the scrape marks, I saw the test subject I had left behind in the fight lying face-down on the floor. His horns were almost out of color; only a faint red was visible.


    Observing his body, I was somewhat disheartened to realize that Corruption of The Night had no effect on him as, besides the wound applied by daggers, there was no other damage done to him.


    Well, then, I guess that begs the question: what do I do with him?


    I could just kill him... but Raven has been complaining about having too much work recently. This djinn was persistent enough to live this long, so maybe he was a harder worker than Raven!


    Walking to the barely conscious djinn, I yanked him upwards by his horns and stared him in the face.


    "Well, you have two options now. Either die or work for me."


    At this point, if Raven had those two options, I think he would have chosen to die...


    Unable to speak due to lack of water, the djinn simply stared at me with a pained expression.


    "Do you want to live?"


    Immediately, the djinn mustered up all his strength and nodded his head until I finally gestured to him that I understood.


    Using my mana, I created a mana contract with the same terms as Raven''s, except there was no time limit, and he didn''t get any percentage of the company.


    Or, in other words, he was my servant... that didn''t get paid.


    Mustering up his mana, the djinn released a blood-red form of mana towards the contract, causing it to shine a bright purple instead of white before disappearing into the air.


    Putting the djinn on my shoulders so that his horns didn''t poke at me, I headed to the exit of the sub-space before jumping into the painting once again.


    Right in front of the painting stood a bewildered Raven examining it. Then, his expression soured as he noticed me¡ªand our new guest.


    Without giving any time for Raven to speak or even react, I said.


    "Meet your new assistant."


    Leading the djinn to the kitchen, I immediately gave him water and food. Usually, you''re not supposed to eat this much after not eating for a while, but he was a djinn, so it didn''t affect him.


    As the djinn loudly gulped down the water and food, Raven hesitantly walked toward the kitchen before quietly whispering in my ear.


    "b-but, h-he''s a djinn."


    "So? Aren''t you evil too? You''ve been scamming people in the black market for ages without any regrets. How are you different from him?"


    "THE HORNS, maybe that''s how we''re different!? How is scamming even comparable to killing, boss."


    Patting Raven on the shoulder, I responded.


    "You''ll get over it."


    it wasn''t a lie; as the boss of the black market in the original timeline, Raven frequently got his hands dirty


    Seeing the djinn having regained enough energy to at least speak, I asked.


    "So... introduce yourself."


    Showing no hesitancy or surprise at his current situation, the djinn responded in between taking massive sips of water.


    "I-I''m Zeng; I don''t really have any hobbies, but I do enjoy swordsmanship."


    "Alright, Raven, your turn."


    "... I''m Raven, and I''m a... co-owner of a business with Ren over there."


    "I''m Ren, and I enjoy swimming or diving."


    Employing the mana contract''s power of the djinn having to listen to my commands, I said.


    "Alright, Zeng. You''re in Raven''s hands. He''ll show you the ropes and teach you some things. Listen to him."


    "... Why do I even try?"


    Leaving the sullen Raven and Zeng, who were still gulping down food, I waved goodbye and headed back to the academy.


    While I did want to stay in the warehouse, security in the academy would be getting tighter due to the incidents, so even with my fake club card, re-entering the academy after 8 would be difficult. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Nodding my head to the security guards, I headed inside the academy and towards my dorm building, but to my surprise, there was someone familiar waiting for me outside the dorm.


    In front of my dorm building stood Ruby... with the gigantic gift basket from earlier!


    Seeing me, Ruby ran up to me with a grin and said.


    "Don''t worry, I''m shameless too."


    She had hidden the gift basket from Zach and Irene!


    Bowing my head, I said.


    "You''re my savior."


    I had almost forgotten that she was also a villain; why would she share the gift basket with the others?


    " *PFFT* Well, let''s go have a feast!"


    [A/N: Would appreciate you guys drop a review; if we get enough, I''ll drop an extra chap tmr as well.]

 Chapter 59: Chapter 59:School Festival [1]

    Following Ruby''s lead, I headed into the forest right outside the dorm building. Confused as to why we were going so deep into the forest when there were almost no students out, I asked.


    "Where are we going?"


    "You''ll see."


    "Is it really that hard to answer a question?"


    "Do you have no patience?"


    Sighing, I tried to use my eyes to peer through the darkness and see the end of the path, only to realize that we weren''t actually taking a path.


    "... we''re not lost, are we?"


    Smirking, Ruby didn''t answer my question but instead fastened her pace, taking seemingly random turns every 20 steps.


    Realizing that the ground below me was actually tilting uphill instead of being flat, I looked up and realized that she was leading me up one of the tallest hills in the forest.


    Reaching the peak of the hill, Ruby abruptly sat down before immediately opening the gift basket, letting all the sweets spill out.


    Taking a seat across from her, I grabbed one of the orange-looking beverages that resembled Fanta from Earth and admired the view of the forest.


    The sound of birds chirping while flying through the sky, the green vines stretching all the way from the top of the tree to the bottom, and the moonlight shining down on certain spots of the forest created a perfect balance of light and dark.


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, Ruby''s voice spoke from my left.


    "What are planning for the school festival?"


    Ah, yes, the school festival. Unlike the previous events, I was not required to do anything, as the primary reason this event was held was to introduce Ren''s father to Liam, which Lily would have no qualms with.


    Featuring a variety of events, the school held the festival to prove to the world that Celestial Academy was the best, as the top students from other schools in the human realm would compete against ours.


    After this week''s break, the competing students from the other academies would temporarily join our class, but besides a few disputes among students, there was nothing special about it.


    There were also the djinn infiltrators who would sneak about, but they would do nothing besides try to recruit a couple of students.


    Well, with all the changes made to the plot, I can''t be too sure about the future, so I wasn''t planning to drop my guard completely, especially when one of the variables was sitting right next to me and eating.


    Responding to Ruby, I said.


    "Nothing much, what about you?"


    Since I wasn''t among the school''s top students, I was not required to participate in any of the festival''s events, but Ruby, on the other hand, was forced to sign up for at least one event.


    While it sounds bad that the academy requires its top students to compete in an event, it was actually a good opportunity. All the influential people in the realm would attend, so if you did fairly well, you could possibly receive an offer.


    One such case is Liam, who wins multiple events, leading him to gain the recognition of Ren''s father.


    "hmm, I haven''t decided on an event yet. Are you planning to go to the tryouts?"


    If you were outside the top 10, there was still a possibility that could compete if you did well enough in the team tryouts, but the tryouts were insanely intense as the academy wanted to filter out the unworthy students.


    Vehemently shaking my head, I basked in the sweet beverage that somehow tasted exactly like Fanta before grabbing another candy, which resembled Kitkats from my world.


    ..wait?


    Looking at the entire gift basket, I noticed that every single treat in there resembled a snack from my own world, with there being root beer, skittles, and even starburst.


    Was this Lily''s doing? Creating a candy company would be a decent way to make money...


    Feeling the sugar high from all the treats I had eaten, I stood up and aimlessly walked around the small clearing we were sitting in.


    Eating a candy that resembled a Hershey''s chocolate bar, Ruby silently stared at the ocean through the gaps in the trees.


    If I had to say the main reason why Ruby and I got along so well is that we both had secrets that we refused to share with anyone else in the world.


    So, silent times like this were common, as neither of us wanted to talk too much, inadvertently revealing our secrets.


    The other times we talked, our words were full of sarcasm and jokes, as neither of us wanted to be honest or real with each other.


    That''s why I didn''t spend too much time around Ruby, as getting too close to her would cause me to drop my guard and be less cautious when speaking.


    In all honesty, I think that we both knew that this relationship was a ticking timebomb as a relationship built on lies, deceit, and fake lives would never last for long; however, the time before the bomb exploded would be fun, at least.


    Before the training camp, I had forced myself to believe that all the relationships I was making were fake and would end whenever I returned to Earth, so I really didn''t care too much about what happened.


    Now that I had a different perspective, I could more clearly examine my relationships with people around me and realize that basically every relationship I had contained some kind of problem.


    Han and Jin only hung out with me because they knew the original Ren and my relationship with Ruby could end at any time. Raven was only there because I had the power of the mana contract over him, and in the first place, I only met him because of my knowledge from the book.


    Everyone else in the world hated or had no opinion of me.


    I had spent maybe 2 months in this world, but besides my power, I had nothing at all to show for it...


    Ignoring this problem had been so much easier when I had been determined to get back to Earth as these people would all disappear soon enough, so what was the point in having a good relationship with them?


    With the doubts about my return to Earth creeping in, I guess I had started to see the people around me as more than book characters¡ªactual human beings with souls.


    Ending the silence, I waved my hands and said.


    "Well, I''ll see you later then; thanks for the treat."


    Standing up, Ruby grabbed the remainder of the gift basket while I departed from the clearing and made my way back to my dorm building.


    On the way back, I saw a crowd of students gathering at the entrance, which was weird for this time. Curious, I made my way to the back of the crowd before using my eyes to peer through the gaps and see what everyone was so interested in.


    [Midterm Grades]


    [#1: Liam]


    [#2: Kevin]


    [#3: Alya]


    [#4: Lily]


    ...


    ...


    [#9: Irene]


    [#10: Scarlett]


    ...


    ...


    ...


    [#199: Ren]


    Well, good enough, I guess.


    The next week of break passed slowly. Realizing that all relationships were meaningless or built on lies, I was less inclined to hang out with the people around me, leading me to seclude myself.


    It''s ironic that when I started to recognize that the people around me were actually people with souls, I hung out with them less than when I saw them as book characters...


    Ignoring the text messages on my phone, I dedicated all of my time to training as that was the only thing that brought me some solace and distracted me from everything.


    That training allowed me to take the next step in mastering the Eclipse blade as I realized that I hadn''t yet mastered the third movement.


    The third movement allowed me to create a Shadow Cage and, as I later learned, to manipulate my Corruption of the Night as a whole.


    Combining Corruption of The Night with the mana in my body, I could create actual physical objects like daggers, swords, and even a bow.


    I didn''t yet have enough Corruption of the Night to create a bow and an arrow simultaneously, though, so that was useless for now.


    The quality of the daggers I created with Corruption of the Night far surpassed that of my normal daggers; however, creating them would require a lot of mana and use a lot of Corruption.


    That also led me to the realization that, just as I could gain Corruption, it could also be lost when I manifested items or Shadow Cages when using it.


    I was glad to realize that elemental slashes didn''t make me lose Corruption of the Night, though.


    Finishing up my fight with an AI bot, I slumped down against the wall and checked my stat''s menu.


    ===Menu===


    User : Ren Montclair


    [Class: Proficient Assassin: (Level 3: 2%) ]


    -> Stealth : C


    -> Moderate Dagger Mastery : 7%


    -> Arts: Eclipse Blade [3/5]


    [Stats]


    -> Rating : D {Dream not yet completed}


    -> Strength : E+


    -> Agility : D+


    -> Stamina : E+


    -> Magic Power : D+


    -> Luck: G-S {Conditional}


    -> Intelligence : E


    -> Charm : G+


    [Traits]


    -> Passive: Dragon''s Will [1 / ?]


    ---> Dragon Eyes : Your eyesight is enhanced.


    [Skills]


    -> [[E] Dash] : Not requiring any mana usage, the skill allows the user to move 10 meters from their current location in any direction with a cooldown period of 7 seconds. The skill does not instantly move the user but temporarily increases the user''s speed until they move 10 meters.


    =======


    That "Dragon''s Will [1 / ?]" was really starting to piss me off, but what could I do about it? Go ask an extinct creature, a dragon, how to advance? sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    I was by no means in a hurry to complete my next dream due to my memories of the last one, so I had also put that on hold. With my death on the line in these dreams, I decided to advance my power a bit more before attempting that.


    Checking the calendar, I realized that classes would be starting tomorrow, and the festival was less than a week away.


    Sighing, I left my training hall and headed back to my dorm room to sleep.


    I knew that secluding myself forever would be impossible and stupid, but wasn''t that a normal reaction for someone suddenly transferred to another world?


    What was the next step for me? Was I still being hell-bent on going back to Earth, or had that obsession decreased a bit?


    Did I want to build new relationships and advance my current ones, or just give up?


    There was only one question I could confidently answer: Do I want to continue maintaining the plot, or should I just let Lily do what she wants?


    I wanted to maintain the plot and keep the world from being destroyed.


    Lying down on my bed, the thought suddenly came to me.


    "... Is this what people call a mid-life crisis?"


    No, I''m too young for that, aren''t I?

 Chapter 60: Chapter 60:School Festival [2]

    Waking up the next morning, I finally decided to check my smartwatch messages for the first time in a week.


    [Unread: 99+]


    [Jin: 99+ unread]


    [Han: 30 unread]


    [Raven: 7 unread]


    [Ruby: 4 unread]


    Putting on the academy blazer, I put down my smartwatch without checking any of the messages and headed off to class.


    With most students starting tryouts for the festival team tomorrow, schoolwork should be minimal, so I didn''t even bother doing the homework assigned.


    With my ability to manifest corrupted daggers at any time now, I didn''t bother bringing my daggers everywhere, so I didn''t have to worry about wearing heavy clothing like a sweatshirt to hide them.


    Just in time for summer!


    Looking at the sun, which was shining especially bright today, I decided to put aside all my problematic and conflicting thoughts for now.


    Sooner or later, I''d have to make a decision, but procrastinating was my specialty!


    Heading inside the building of my classes, I put inside my earbuds, which I had been using more and more recently, before heading up the stairs. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Looking downwards at the reflection of the shiny metal stairs, I saw a figure right in front of me, so stepping to the right, I continued ascending the stairs.


    However, the figure blocking me also stepped to the right.


    Finally, looking upwards, I saw Astrid standing in front of me with a disgruntled expression and a clipboard in her hand.


    Not bothering to take out my wired earbuds, I irritatedly asked.


    "What?"


    "...have you thought about my offer to join the student council?"


    "My answer stays the same."


    "That''s fine, but I just wanted to let you know that I have another candidate who''s interested in joining. If you don''t accept, I''ll be forced to allow them in."


    Letting out another sigh, I recalled that Lily would be trying to prevent Irene''s transformation into a villain, and the first step to do that was to get Irene on the student council.


    Honestly, why did Irene have to be a villain?


    I justified my attempts to continue to make her a villain by assuming that if she didn''t become a villain, a more powerful existence would replace her and make my life harder, but did I even know that would happen?


    ...well I''m too far in to give up now, aren''t I? Sometimes, you just have to go with gut instinct, even if it''s based on pure speculation.


    Anyway, it wasn''t like this was my final choice; I could leave the council at any time and get Irene on it.


    "Alright, I''ll join, but don''t expect anything."


    Anyway, wouldn''t the student council be worse off if they had me? I mean, when found schools out the one AND ONLY Ren is on the student council, countless rumors like bribery and harassment will rise.


    I mean, it wasn''t like I was going to contribute to the student council or anything, either. Like, even Astrid should know that there was no way in hell I was doing any paperwork for the council.


    To be honest, I was just going to be a council member in the name. There was no way you''d catch me showing up to meetings or wasting my time doing work for this shitty school that somehow has djinn attacks every month.


    Well, I guess this is Astrid''s way of giving back to me because I saved her life. Surprisingly, this relationship was not formed on the logic of the book or the previous Ren.


    Walking past Astrid, who was writing something down on her clipboard, I entered our nearly empty classroom as class started in over 20 minutes.


    Grabbing a starburst that I had taken from the gift basket, I savored the sweet taste of it before pulling out my smartwatch and scrolling.


    Before the training camp, I had been basically forced by Han and Jin to install the popular social media app, "Nexu."


    [Zach / Followers: 1045 / Following: 102]


    "Just got back from training camp! :)" [Attachment]


    Suppressing the urge to comment something on Zach''s post, I moved to Irene''s profile.


    [Irene / Followers: 50932 / Following: 23]


    "A lot has happened..." [Attachment]


    For Irene, the attachment was a picture of the half-broken-down cruise ship taken from the port, but seriously, did she have to make her post so edgy?


    All of the comments were something like, "OMG, what happened?" and "Are you okay?" and "Call me now." and "This is your father, please ca-"


    Putting down my smartwatch and taking out my earbuds, I realized that the classroom was already almost full. Jin and Han were the only ones who were not here yet.


    Seeing them walk into the room as the bell rang, I didn''t feel anxious or awkward about having to talk to them despite having ghosted them for a week; I just felt normal.


    After Han and Jin, the teacher walked in and stood at the podium before writing "Exchange Students" on the blackboard.


    "From today until the end of the festival, exchange students from the other best academies in the human realm will be taking classes with you. As you guys are Celestial Academy students, I don''t think I need to remind you, but just in case, Do not be disrespectful or rude towards our visitors. Treat them as if they are normal students at Celestial Academy just me and you."


    "Is that understood?"


    Nodding at Professor Zia''s words, I saw Han and Jin sitting beside me, staring at the blackboard in confusion.


    After passing midterms, those two had partied and celebrated all week, so they probably had no idea about the upcoming Celestial Academy Festival.


    Opening the sliding door, 6 students, two from each academy, entered our class and stood next to the professor.


    "You all can get to know them at a later time. The class will begin now."


    Nodding at the professor''s words, the two students from Eldertide Academy, the second-ranked academy, confidently walked towards the seats with smug expressions before sitting in the row in front of the main cast.


    Those 2 would be the main culprits of the disputes between schools.


    The other four students from the third and fourth-ranked academies, Mystic Vale Institute and Drake Haven Academy, sat in the first row, right in front of the students from Eldertide, with expressions varying from concerned to happy.


    Recently, Professor Zia had given more and more detentions to Jin and Han for talking in class, so the two stayed silent while occasionally glancing at me.


    Hiding the wire of my earbud under my blazer, I put in one earbud and zoned out while staring out the window, where the cherry blossom trees were now light green.


    Unlike Earth, there were no climate change or environmental issues, so nature was beautiful almost everywhere, and the colors of everything were so vibrant.


    Feeling a tap on my shoulders, I saw almost the entire class, alongside Professor Zia, staring at me.


    I just had to be called on right now, didn''t I?


    Well, I guess it is a third-rate villain''s job to appear as stupid and shameless to everyone.


    Turning down the volume of my earbuds, I immediately heard Professor Zia speak.


    "Ren, once again, answer the question on the board. Or were you not paying attention to my lesson?"


    Scanning the whiteboard and reading the question, I was surprised to see that I had actually read a similar question and answer in my mind.


    But, alas, I had to stay true to my role. Well, at this point, it wasn''t "had," but I honestly preferred staying true to being a third-rate villain, as it more suited my personality than anything else.


    Shrugging my shoulders, I responded.


    "I don''t know."


    Of course, most of the class burst into laughter at my answer, but they were all book characters... weren''t they?


    ... ah, weren''t they actual people like me, too?


    Well, no matter the case, I ignored it and looked on as Professor Zia sighed before calling on another student.


    Zoning out until the bell rang, I was the first to get up and leave the classroom, as I had no intention of dealing with the dispute that would take place with the new exchange students.


    However, one of the exchange students from Eldertide Academy was blocking my exit to the classroom as they glanced at me.


    "And where are you going?"


    "To get lunch? Is there a problem?"


    "hah, no, I''m just surprised that this school is considered #1 when people like you can attend."


    ...Isn''t this a battle between third-rate villains? Both of us were created simply so that the protagonist would be more powerful or have a greater reputation.


    But, then, is there a hierarchy among third-rate villains, or why is he so damn annoying? We''re of the same kind, aren''t we?


    "So... can you move?"


    "And why should I listen to you."


    "You''re blocking the door; what the hell are you talking about? Are you brain dead?"


    "Seriously, you calling m-"


    Realizing that he had no intention of moving, I secretly conjured a pitch-black cover around my hand before grabbing his shirt and throwing him out of the way with the extra strength provided by my corruption.


    *BANG*


    Was this a rash action simply because I was more annoyed than usual today? Yes, but it was friendly fire since we were both third-rates, so it didn''t count!


    Watching him fly like an arrow and land on a couple of empty desks with his back downwards, causing the chairs to topple down, I exited the classroom without waiting for anyone''s reaction.


    However, right outside the classroom doors was Astrid, waiting with her clipboard in her hand. Seeing my exit, she immediately gestured at me with her hand, so I reluctantly followed.


    A third-rate villain like me couldn''t hope to take on a main cast member like Astrid.


    Trailing slightly behind her, I once again asked in an annoyed tone.


    "Is there something you need?"


    "?? I have to show you the student council room, give you your badge for the upcoming festival, and explain your duties."


    ...? Does she seriously believe that I''ll work?


    After thinking about it for a moment, I realized that the student council badge would actually be nice for the event as I would get access to all the VIP areas, so I continued to follow her.


    When I entered the empty student council room, I first noticed that it was as big as my classroom despite being for a maximum of 10 students.


    Handing me a lanyard with my face and "student council member" on it, Astrid started explaining how to sign various documents and which teachers to talk to, but I just zoned out once again.


    "Are you listening?"


    "What do you think?"


    "You''re not."


    Realizing conversation with me was futile, she handed me a guidebook before heading to her desk in the center of the room, where the teacher''s podium normally sat.


    Putting the guidebook in my backpack, I considered reading it as it would only take me an hour with my eyes before Astrid spoke once again.


    "Alright, well, that''s it. Welcome to the student council."


    "Can I leave now, then?"


    "You know most people would be jumping up and down after being personally invited to the student council."


    "That''s nice; thank you for sharing."


    Sighing, most likely contemplating her decision to invite me, Astrid got up from her desk and gestured for me to follow her once again.


    "One more thing."

 Chapter 61: Chapter 61:School Festival [3]

    Following Astrid out of the student council room and further into the building, with no students besides us in sight as it was lunch, I was tempted to ask about our destination, but after a bit of thinking, I realized there was about a 99% chance she didn''t tell me.


    Abruptly stopping in front of a door, Astrid pushed it open before immediately walking in. Staying outside the room, I peered in, noticing that the room was a janitor''s closet as it solely consisted of brooms, mops, and tissues.


    My previous calm and indifferent attitude immediately transformed as I stared into the small room, devoid of any light, where Astrid was waiting for me inside.


    Looking at me hesitantly standing outside the small room, Astrid scoffed before grabbing my arm and pulling me inside, letting the door slam shut.


    Not giving me any time to create a misunderstanding, Astrid immediately pulled out her phone and held it up to my face.


    The picture showed a circle with a full black X that had two red horns protruding out of the top. Legs were added to the bottom of the X, making it seem like a human, and the rest of the outer edges of the circle were dark red.


    As I stared at the symbols, a sense of familiarity washed over me. Recalling the djinns I had fought with Astrid at the Nightclub, I remembered that the cloaks I had taken from them, which were currently stored in my room, had that same exact symbol.


    "Recognize it?"


    Seeing me nod my head at her question, Astrid continued.


    "I''ve received intel that their organization has something planned for the upcoming Festival."


    With the book never mentioning anything about their initial attack at the nightclub or anything at all about the organization Astrid was talking about, I could neither confirm nor deny her words, so I simply nodded.


    If they were to attack, that could be a huge problem for Lily and my goals.


    Recognizing our situation, I was confused to realize that Astrid had probably brought me here to ask me to help her prevent this organization''s attacks.


    "Why me? Don''t you have your family or the academy?"


    With the position of student council president, she must have thousands of powerful people who would be willing to help her, and that wasn''t even including her family, which was a force of its own.


    Shaking her head, Astrid responded.


    "No... I can''t mention this to them."


    Was it because it would reveal her part-time job in singing? Did she really care more about keeping her singer identity a secret than preventing the academy from being attacked?


    Well, it''s not like I have anything better to do...


    "Alright, I''ll help, but you''ll need to give me more information."


    " mhm, they''re called the Xylo Syndicate, and their main goal is to overthrow the High Dominion and the Empire as a whole."


    So, another revolution organization?


    Nodding my head, I prompted Astrid to continue, however...


    "Besides that... not much is known about them."


    What kind of lazy source is feeding her this information? They know of the Xylo''s plan to attack, but nothing else?


    Well, I guess we have to get the information ourselves.


    "I have their cloaks in my room; we can use them."


    If they were planning to attack during the Festival, they must have some sort of base set up in the capital, so we''d need to find them before attempting anything else.


    Nodding her head, Astrid pulled something out of her pocket and handed it to me.


    [From now until the start of the Celestial Festival, Ren is excused from attending all classes due to critical matters that require his participation. / Astrid, Celestial Academy Student Council President]


    Grabbing the slip out of her hands with a smile, I asked.


    "What''s the plan?"


    Surely, she didn''t come to me, hoping I could pull some plan out of my ass and have it magically work.


    "Today night, we''ll depart from the academy and ask around the city for clues on their hideout. Once we discover their hideout, we infiltrate using the cloaks and find out their primary objective."


    Indeed, attacking the Celestial Festival as a whole was too unrealistic for such a small organization that wasn''t even mentioned in the book, so they must have a more specific objective.


    Slightly opening the door to see if anyone was around, I walked out after confirming no one was in sight and immediately headed back to my classroom.


    Entering the classroom, I saw Professor Zia picking up the chairs that had fallen from my throw earlier, so I attempted to slip the note into the teacher''s podium... but she noticed me.


    "And what might that be, Ren?"


    Even with my Stealth rank at a C, I couldn''t avoid her sight. Sighing, I walked over to her and handed her the note that Astrid had written.


    Glancing at the note, then glancing at me, then glancing back at the note, and then back to me, she asked.


    "If I were to call to confirm the authenticity of this note, I would receive a positive answer, right?"


    Did she really have that little trust in me?


    Nodding my head, I patiently awaited her to pull out her smartwatch and call the office, but to my surprise, she just grabbed the note and put it in her pocket.


    "Well then, you''re free to go."


    After a second, I regained my composure and picked up a single chair and set it up before walking to the door, but as I exited the classroom, Professor Zia''s voice sounded once again.


    "Be careful; I can''t have any of my students dying on me."


    "... Yeah."


    What kind of teacher says that to their students? Clearly, she''s jinxing me; does she want me to die?


    Going back to my room, I packed up the two cloaks and my daggers before immediately heading to the academy''s mana gate.


    A bow and arrow would be quite useful, wouldn''t it? I had some corruption farming to do.


    Setting the mana gate destination to a town on the outskirts of the kingdom, I walked through, immediately adjusting my surroundings to a nice village with no insanely decorated buildings but instead nice two-story cottages.


    Since it was daytime, the adults were all at work, and the students were at school, so I enjoyed the serenity of it all for a moment before making my way towards a nearby forest.


    Channeling my corruption and mana, I manifested two pitch-black curved daggers in both of my hands. Each dagger seemed to have been created by darkness itself, as their surface was smooth, glossy black, devoid of any reflections or imperfections.


    Since these daggers were created by corruption itself, I didn''t need to imbue them with the pitch-black aura, as it was already contained within them.


    It was a bit of a loss, as the pitch-black aura helped hide the size and shape of my daggers so my enemies couldn''t estimate their reach, but you can''t have everything.


    Corruption would only be lost if the daggers were destroyed or damaged, so I just had to keep them safe.


    Peering through the gaps in between the trees, I quickly found a horde of D-rank goblins hunting for food about 3 miles away from my current location.


    Wasting no time, I dispersed my two corrupted daggers and sprinted toward the clearing without any attempt to be silent.


    As I neared the goblin camp, my existence was already known, as dozens had already gathered at the front with spears in their hands.


    Well, the more the merrier.


    Pulling out my standard daggers, I threw them at the two goblins at the front before activating the dash and dashing right into the center of the camp.


    Those two kills wouldn''t count for corruption as they weren''t embedded with the aura, but I needed some distraction to get to the center of the camp.


    Creating the two pitch-black daggers once again, I chipped at my hands before using all of my remaining mana to create a Shadow Cage. While it was risky, as if the cage was damaged by the goblins, I would lose corruption, the benefits were far too good to pass up on.


    As a pure blue slowly enveloped me and the remaining goblins before turning pitch black after it was at full size, the light slowly disappeared until there was none. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Putting on my cloak artifact, I felt a surge of power envelope me as I stared around to see that most of the goblins were running around chaotically as they could no longer see.


    *SWISH*


    *SWISH*


    *SWISH*


    Switching from goblin to goblin, I silently stalked my target until I found the perfect moment, then lunged at them with my dagger already directly aligned with their fatal organ.


    As fast as this process was currently, imagining how much easier I could do all of this bow almost made me drool.


    Wait, don''t I have enough already?


    Feeling a surge of corruption flood into my daggers, I dismissed the two daggers before manifesting a single bow and arrow.


    Made of pure darkness, the entire recurve bow appeared in my hands. Colored a lustrous black as even the normally white strings were pure black, the limbs of the bow curved gracefully towards me, almost poking me in the face.


    Placing the single night-black arrow in my hand, I effortlessly pulled the bow''s soft elastic string back and nocked the arrow. From the goblin''s perspective, I doubted the bow could even be seen, as the darkness of the shadow cage perfectly complimented its color.


    Releasing the string, I watched as the arrow gracefully flew through the air like a hawk gliding towards its prey.


    *ZING*


    Having perfectly calculated the goblin''s approximate location with my eyes, the arrow was right on the mark as it pierced all the way through the goblin''s body, showing its perfection.


    A normal arrow wouldn''t even have the sharpness to harm the goblin''s body as it would bounce off, yet this pitch-black arrow had punctured all the way through the goblin''s body when it wasn''t even at full speed.


    Realizing that it was the last goblin, I marveled at the bow in my hands before dispersing the shadow cage and walking towards my arrow, whose tip was now painted a dark red from the goblin''s blood.


    Opposite the shadow cage, the bow and arrow in my hands stood out immensely in the sunlight, perfectly contrasting with the pure sunlight emanating from the sun''s rays.


    Staring at the countless goblin corpses in front of me, I sighed as I realized that all I could conjure with my bow for now was a single arrow.


    Although I hadn''t realized it at first, gaining corruption was getting tougher and tougher every time I killed something.

 Chapter 62: Chapter 62:Undercover [1]

    Dismissing my bow, I took the mana gate back to the academy before heading to the front gates, where Astrid was waiting for me.


    Staring at the wounds on my hands that I had forgotten to clean, Astrid confusedly asked.


    "What were you doing?"


    "Farming."


    "...? Like plants or crops?"


    "...You think I enjoy planting things in my free time?"


    "You literally said farming is what you were doing."


    "You think it''s more plausible that I enjoy farming than the possibility of me lying to you?"


    "Why would you lie about that, though?"


    Shrugging my shoulders at Astrid''s question, I walked past her and onto the bridge that led to the capital city.


    Using my eyes to peer into the city, I realized that it actually bustling with people, despite it being almost 9, as visitors from other areas in the realm had already arrived in preparation for the Celestial Festival.


    Turning to face Astrid, who was trailing behind me, I asked.


    "How exactly do you plan to question people?"


    "I''d assume they would put their headquarters in a run-down area to avoid attention, so we can pay beggars or shopowners for information about recent suspicious activities in the poorer areas of town."


    "Sorry to break it to you, but I''m dead broke."


    Giving me a deadpan stare, Astrid sighed before replying.


    "It''s from my own money."


    "Wow, quite the selfless person we have here, using your own money!"


    "Are you taking this seriously? I can find someone else."


    Stepping off the bridge and into the bustling capital city, I smirked while responding.


    "Bit late for that now, no?"


    Walking past the countless shops that were decorated with banners that said, "Celestial Academy is #1!" or "Go Celestial Academy!" we continued to head deeper into the city.


    Recognizing the cake shop where I had first met Raven, I signaled to Astrid that we had entered the slums.


    Astrid probably chose me for the job because she knew I had experience with and knowledge about the slums of the capital from when I brought her to the headquarters.


    Waiting outside the cake shop, I watched as Astrid entered the shop and walked to the owner to ask some questions.


    A couple of seconds later, she walked out of the shop.


    "Nothing."


    Following her lead, we went deeper and deeper into the city, seeing rats crawling around and drunken people fighting occasionally. After another hour stopping every 20 or so feet to ask questions to people yielded no information whatsoever, I stopped Astrid.


    "Let''s try again tomorrow; there might be different people around."


    While it was true that more asking around today would be useless, I had also noticed signs of people following us through the reflection in the apartment glasses.


    Calling these stalkers out now would be rash as there was the slight possibility that our followers were part of the organization we were trying to track.


    If they got away after we confronted them and notified the organization of our activities, the infiltration would be impossible, and we would have to create a whole new plan.


    Right now, they couldn''t know that we were specifically looking for them, so there was no harm in letting them be.


    However, if they were also following us tomorrow, we would be forced to act.


    Two Celestial Academy students looking for information in the slums of the capital for 2 days straight would be far too suspicious to any evil organization.


    Seeing Astrid nod her head at my words, I stared awaiting her further instructions, but she just stayed silent and stared back at me.


    Tapping me on the shoulder, Astrid asked.


    "Well, what are you waiting for?"


    Is it really a secret headquarters if everyone already knows about it...?


    Taking a detour back to the bustling area of the city, I walked aimlessly until I was sure no prying eyes were tracking us.


    Using a different route with some unnecessary loops, I added to be careful; we finally arrived back at the abandoned building.


    Standing in front of the headquarters building, I turned to Astrid and said.


    "Wait, here for a moment."


    I entered by slightly opening the doors, ensuring that Astrid couldn''t see inside, before immediately closing the door behind me.


    In the kitchen, Raven, who was passed out on one of the chairs, sat, and across from him sat Zeng, who had red horns clearly visible as if he were actually showing them off.


    Walking up behind Raven, I shook his chair until his eyelids finally opened.


    "Wake up."


    "wh-whw, w-wh. Is this another nightmare..?"


    "Oi, you brat, am I really someone who would be in your nightmares?"


    "...depends on the day."


    Seeing that Raven was fully awake, I pointed towards Zeng, who had also passed out, and asked,


    "Is there any way to get rid of those horns?"


    "...why are you asking me? Ask Zeng; he''s right there... Did you really wake me up just to ask me a question THAT YOU KNOW I DON''T KNOW THE ANSWER TO?"


    "Nah, we also have a guest."


    "...I''m going back to sleep."


    Ignoring Raven, who contradicted his own words by pouring himself a cup of coffee, I did the same thing to Zeng as I shook his chair.


    Not having any reaction to being suddenly woken up, Zeng tilted his head upwards, meeting my eyes, and asked.


    "Oh, hey, boss, what''s good?"


    Pointing to his horns, I repeated.


    "Any way to get rid of these things?"


    Finally having some reaction, Zeng almost fell out of his chair as he dejectedly responded.


    "You... you want to get rid of my horns... they''re so cool though..." S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Interjecting from my other side, Raven replied while drinking his coffee.


    "I''ve told you a hundred times, Zeng, those are NOT cool."


    "You''re just jealous you don''t have any, don''t lie."


    "Zeng, ignore Raven. Is there a way? We have a guest waiting outside."


    "So, let them in? They''ll be amazed at my horns, just trust me! Back in my village, everyone used to comp-"


    "No one gives a fuck about your damn village, Zeng."


    Shocked at Raven''s outburst, I was stunned for a moment.


    This was the real Raven, the cruel mastermind who ruled over the black market! ...But why was he emerging now?


    Ignoring Zeng and Raven''s exchange of insults, I shifted my gaze to the painting in the corner before turning back to Zeng.


    Astrid would be staying here for 5 days, so hiding Zeng in the subspace that long would be unreasonable.


    Even I felt some pity for the guy, he had spent over a week alone in that subspace... I wouldn''t be surprised if he had some trauma that prevented him from entering it again.


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, I heard Raven ask me.


    "Why don''t you just put him in the subspace, boss?"


    ...really Raven?


    Before I could even respond, Zeng jumped up from my seat and sprinted towards me.


    "DON''T, DON''T; I''LL DO ANYTHING, PLEASE, DON-"


    Holding the panicking Zeng in my arms, I wore a disgusted expression as I turned to Raven and asked.


    "Have you no sympathy? Really... you are a terrible person."


    Finally, some payback for all those times...


    Raven, who almost dropped his coffee from Zeng''s sudden outburst, sighed and stared at me before sitting down on the couch and turning on the television.


    Turning back to Zeng, I asked.


    "You''re not going in the subspace, but you still haven''t answered: Can you hide those horns somehow."


    Relieved at my words, Zeng stepped back and thought for a moment before replying.


    "I can''t use magic to hide them, yet... but..."


    Stopping mid-sentence, Zeng ran toward Raven''s closet before pulling out a shiny brown fedora.


    "I can use this!"


    Watching Zeng put on the hat, completely concealing his horns, I nodded before heading back to the headquarters entrance.


    Opening the door wide, I saw Astrid tapping her foot up and down as she waited for me.


    "What took you so long?"


    "Farming."


    "... why do I even try?"


    Shaking her head, Astrid headed inside the headquarters.


    With Astrid, Raven, and Zeng around, I felt no need to keep up the facade of Ren, so it actually felt kinda freeing talking and honestly just living without always having to consider, "What would Ren do in this scenario?"


    Sure, I had used my book knowledge to find Raven, but this entire time, we had been talking as friends and partners. Zeng was someone I met based on pure chance, and the same with Astrid.


    Maybe I did have some relationships to show for my time here?


    Watching Astrid''s gaze pause on Zeng, who for some reason was trying to style his fedora, I asked.


    "That''s Zeng; he''s new around here."


    Raven, staring at the television, gave a slight wave to Astrid before returning his attention to the news, which was conveniently displaying information about the Celestial Festival.


    On the other hand, Zeng continued to stare at himself in the mirror while occasionally muttering things like, "hm, is this better... No, I look better like this!"


    Shaking my head, I let my thoughts leak out as I said.


    "...What terrible kids I have raised."


    "Can''t agree less."


    Finding an empty couch, Astrid sat down and also started watching the news, leaving me alone with Zeng.


    "HEY, BOSS, HOW DOES THIS LOO-"


    Scratching my head, I considered spending the night in the subspace before sitting down on the couch next to Raven.


    After a while the exhaustion started to kick in, so I went to the corner of the headquarters, which I had turned into my own bedroom, and fell asleep.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Waking up the next day, I saw the television was still somehow on, so I turned and saw Raven staring blankly at the screen with 3 cups of coffee on the ground.


    On the other couch was Astrid, who somehow fell asleep despite the loud television being right next to her.


    Zeng had fallen asleep on the kitchen chair, so his fedora was hanging downwards, revealing part of his horns.


    Readjusting the fedora on Zeng, I poured myself a cup of coffee and added sugar before manifesting a pitch-black stirrer to mix them.


    Corruption of The Night was actually quite useful in day to day life!

 Chapter 63: Chapter 63:Undercover [2]

    Taking a sip, I noticed that Astrid had just woken up. She was stretching her hands while getting off the couch.


    Snapping Raven out of his barely conscious daze, I tapped him on the shoulder and asked.


    "Any suspicious activity in the area recently?"


    While Raven didn''t leave the headquarters much anymore, as he had already hired people to sell the healing scrolls, it was possible that he knew something.


    Ignoring my question, Raven continued to stare silently at the television, which was currently displaying an advertisement, like a zombie.


    Reading my thoughts, Astrid grabbed the remote and turned off the television; however, Raven continued to stare into the blank screen, which was just reflecting himself now.


    Sighing, I pushed Raven down on the couch, forcing him to lie down and close his eyes before heading to Zeng.


    Trying my best not to knock off his fedora, I shook his chair a bit before he finally opened his eyes.


    "You''re coming with us today."


    It had been 4 days since we started investigating the slums, yet we didn''t even have a single bit of information. Astrid and I were tired, and the festival was tomorrow, so we needed all the help we could get.


    An extra pair of hands and eyes would be nice for investigating.


    Tapping his fedora with his right hand, Zeng simply smiled and took a bite of the cold toast that was on the table.


    "Anything but that painting."


    Before reconvening with Astrid, who had put back on the television, I pulled Zeng aside for a moment.


    "If I tap you, follow me and be ready to fight, no questions asked."


    "Just so you know, I''ll have to reveal my horns to fight."


    "That''s fine."


    After putting a blanket over the sleeping Raven, who was shivering because the windows were open, I walked up to Astrid with Zeng behind me.


    Just like that, the three of us exited the warehouse, leaving Raven slumped down on the couch.


    A third-rate villain, a main cast member, and a random ass djinn... just what kinda team were we?


    Turning to the djinn, who was a former villain organization member, I asked.


    "Hey, Zeng, hypothetically, if you were a djinn, where would you put your hideout?"


    Stopping mid-strut, Zeng turned to me confused.


    "What do you mean if..... OH, WAIT, I see what you''re doing, boss..! Haha! IF I were a djinn, I would hide it in plain sight, somewhere so obvious that no one would think to look there."


    Proud of himself for catching onto my obvious hint to conceal his djinn identity, Zen grinned while once again tapping the top of his fedora like a businessman.


    "...where do you find these guys, Ren."


    Pointing to Zeng, I replied.


    "I found that one in a painting, and Raven... raven was an interesting one."


    Looking me dead in the eyes, Astrid asked


    "... in a painting? That''s really the best thing you could come up with?"


    "Well, I found you in a NightClub, so I wouldn''t be talking if I were you."


    For the next two hours, the three of us walked around, occasionally stopping to question people and shop owners, but yet again, this yielded no information, as we were right back where we started.


    There was one hint, though.


    Waiting outside the original cake shop for Astrid, who was once again questioning the owner, I looked into windows and examined the reflection before finding two shady figures in the nearby alleyway simply staring at us.


    Tapping Zeng on the shoulder, I immediately activated the dash''s usage period before using it a split second later.


    Appearing in the alley with Zeng only a few feet behind me, I manifested my two midnight black daggers while taking out my standard ones.


    Throwing my standard daggers like shurikens at the stalkers, who had noticed my presence, I blocked off their exit route for a second, preventing them from leaving.


    Then, a second later, Zeng appeared on the other side of the alleyway, his bright red horns glistening in the sun.


    Now cornered by Zeng and me, the masked stalkers abandoned all pretenses of escaping and stood still.


    In the hands of one of the stalkers, a sword manifested, exactly like how my Corruption of The Night worked. The blood-red sword in his hands perfectly matched the color of Zeng''s horns, and similar to a katana, the sword was thin yet fatally sharp.


    The other simply pulled out a standard broadsword and slung it around his shoulder, like he was expecting that he would not need to participate in the battle.


    Even as a villain, someone who is naturally very cautious and distrusts everyone, the broadsword stalker still had so much confidence in his teammate...


    Not wasting any more time, I sprinted toward the biggest threat in the battle while Zeng went for the broad-sworded individual.


    Swinging my corrupted daggers at the air, I sent an elemental slash right at the stalker, but he met the slash right on, instantly mitigating it with his blood-red sword.


    Continuing my charge, I thrust my right dagger right at his stomach; however, he sidestepped to the right, avoiding the attack, and at the same time, he swung his sword right at me.


    Ready for his counterattack, I tapped my right eye, instantly slowing my perception of time and allowing me to avoid the sword as it whizzed right past me narrowly.


    With time still slowed and my mana almost drained, I stepped back and sent another elemental slash right at his barely moving figure.


    Not waiting for the outcome, I dispersed my two black daggers and conjured my slender curve bow and glossy-black arrow.


    Surprised by my sudden movement and the elemental slash barreling towards him, the stalker didn''t have time to raise his sword, so he stepped to the right.


    *WHIZZ*


    Like clockwork, the arrow pierced right through his body, going even further before hitting and even partly puncturing the brick wall.


    Turning to Zeng, who held the unconscious body of the other stalker in his hands, I gestured for him to put it down before heading to the blood-red sword that was somehow still shining.


    It felt like I was drawn to it...


    My body naturally started to move towards it until, finally, my hand was about a centimeter away from the hilt of the sword.


    Like a magnet to metal, I couldn''t stop my hand as it drew closer and closer until my fingers wrapped around the hilt of the sword.


    Picking up the blood-red sword, I held it in my hands, but every second I held it, more and more fatigue flooded into my body, causing me to drop the pitch-black arrow in my hands.


    Even though I knew it was dangerous, I just couldn''t put it down. My fingers were glued to the hilt of the sword, no matter how hard I forced them to let it go.


    Just then, I felt a slight decrease in the force connecting my fingers to the hilt of the sword, so I immediately yanked my hand away, causing me to fall back onto the floor.


    Looking upwards, I saw Zeng holding the blood-red sword while staring at me with a concerned face.


    Feeling the fatigue disappear, I immediately grabbed my standard daggers off the ground and stood up while staring at Zeng.


    "How do you feel?"


    "b-boss, I saw you falling while holding the sword, so I-i j-just wanted to h-" S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "That''s not important; tell me how you feel."


    "I feel completely normal, why were y-"


    "Are you sure?"


    Hearing the seriousness in my tone, Zeng didn''t dare joke around as he responded.


    "Yes."


    "Put down the sword."


    Not wanting to take any chances, I watched Zeng carefully place the crimson-red sword onto the ground before backing away slowly.


    Walking towards the sword, I dispersed the bow and arrow, which were slightly damaged, resulting in a loss of corruption, before manifesting a pure black duffel bag.


    Nodding to Zeng, I watched him pick up the sword and carefully place it in the duffel bag. Zipping up the duffel bag, I ensured that there were no side effects before slinging the bag around my shoulders and walking back towards the cake shop.


    Following me with the unconscious stalker in his hands, Zeng asked.


    "What was all of that boss? I didn''t know you could shoot a bow and arrow; also that duffel bag, where did it come from? I mean, the color on it is just so perfect. Can you tell me where you bo-"


    Raising my hand, I silenced Zeng and put his fedora back on him before gesturing to Astrid, who was awkwardly standing in front of the cake shop.


    With Astrid following us back into the alley, I explained.


    "Found some people following us; there was on to us on the first day we visited as well."


    "...you didn''t say anything yesterday, did you?"


    "couldn''t, they could have heard."


    "What about in the headquarters?"


    Shrugging my shoulders, I responded.


    "You never know when they''re listening."


    As Zeng forcefully woke up the stalker, who stared at his dead teammate for a second before glancing back at us, Astrid immediately interrogated him.


    "Why were you following us?"


    "... y-you s-shouldn''t have done this."


    Holding a dagger to his legs, I prompted.


    "Tell us."


    A smirk appeared on his face as he replied.


    "No matter what happens to me, it''s too late for you guys."


    Even though he wasn''t saying anything, I was using my eyes to examine his body meticulously, and his eyes were doing all the talking I needed.


    He desperately tried to avoid looking at the cake shop, and every time the bell on the shop''s doors rang, his facial expression tightened as if he were waiting for something.


    Dispersing the duffel bag, revealing the blood-red sword to Astrid, I handed it to Zeng and said.


    "Take him and the sword back to headquarters... you know where to put them."


    Tightening his face at my explicit mention of the painting, he nodded his head before sprinting away from us and towards the abandoned building.


    Turning to the confused and distraught Astrid, I continued.


    "The cake shop. They were following us because we kept investigating it, and the guy kept subtly glancing at it. It''s also in plain sight, and the shop is awfully well built for something from the slums. "


    "...is that really enough to go off of?"


    "They only followed us on the first day, and today, coincidentally, the 2 days we visited the cake shop."


    "I guess, but can''t that b-"


    "Well, we don''t have anything else, and the festival starts tomorrow."


    "I guess so..."


    After I internally thanked Astrid for basically ignoring the blood-red sword so I wouldn''t have to make up something, the two of us entered the cake shop.

 Chapter 64: Chapter 64:The Cake Shop [1]

    When I entered the cake shop, the sweet aroma of the countless pastries immediately flooded my nose, leading me to inadvertently glance at the variety of cakes contained in the display cases.


    Turning to Astrid, I said.


    "Distract the owner."


    Still somewhat dazed by the rapid succession of events, Astrid nodded her head and headed to the counter to speak to the owner once again.


    Surveying the room with my eyes, the first oddity I noticed was that there were barely 5 people in the entire bakery.


    How was this place making a profit?


    The 5 people seemed to be regular civilians as they simply ate their cakes while reading the newspaper.


    Seeing Astrid completely distracting the owner and the others not caring about me, I stood in the center of the room, slowly turning in a circle while scrutinizing every corner.


    Finding an odd-looking painting on the right wall, I immediately attempted to insert my hand into it, but unfortunately, it was not a subspace.


    "Just as I thought..."


    If there was a villain headquarters in this bakery, it would definitely be hidden behind the counter, where no normal civilians could go.


    This was the only lead we had in our entire week of searching, so I wasn''t just about to let it go, even if it meant breaking some rules.


    Walking next to Astrid, who was pretending to buy some pastries, I whispered into her ear.


    "It''s probably behind the counter."


    "Well... what should we do?"


    "Don''t ask questions you already know the answer to."


    Sighing, Astrid pulled out her Celestial Academy Student Council badge, immediately attracting the attention of the shop owner, while I slipped past him and the counter.


    Wasting no time, I used my awakened strength to deliver an especially powerful karate chop to the shopowner''s neck, causing him to slump down to the floor slowly.


    There was a high possibility that he would be involved with the organization if their headquarters really was here.


    Jumping over the counter, Astrid glanced at the shopowner''s body for a second before turning her attention to me.


    "We better not have done this to an innocent man."


    Examining the various cupboards and storage units and finding nothing, I shifted my attention to the floor, where, after a minute, I spotted an area of the floor that was slightly more elevated than the rest.


    Leaning down, I made a night-black cover for my fist using Corruption before punching the elevated area of the floor.


    Shattering into pieces, the elevated floor dispersed, revealing a small ladder leading downwards for as far as the eye could see.


    Peering downwards, I ensured that the bottom of the ladder wasn''t booby-trapped before gesturing to Astrid.


    After seeing the ladder, Astrid quickly regained her composure, pulled out her wand, and cast a small current of wind that surrounded both her and me.


    Squishing together, the two of us jumped down the hole at the same time as we slowly glided to the bottom.


    Why are ladders even things in a world of magic?


    As my shoes touched the soft dirt of the floor, the first thing that entered my sight was a long tunnel that went straight before curving to the right.


    Holding a finger over my closed mouth, I turned to Astrid; however, she just stared at me in confusion.


    "What the hell are you doing?"


    ... is that really not a sign to be quiet in this world?


    "...it means to be quiet."


    "Why didn''t you just s-"


    "Let''s just go, alright?"


    Taking the lead, I manifested my two corrupted daggers, which were invisible to Astrid as there was no light in the cave, before heading straight.


    As we went further and further into the tunnel, I noticed the quality of the path significantly deteriorating as there was water leaking from the roof, and using my eyes, I could spot more and more unstable areas.


    A fight here could cause parts of the tunnel to collapse... leaving mid-fight would be difficult, to say the least.


    Seeing a large clearing in the distance, I raised my hand out, stopping Astrid, and once again put a finger over my closed mouth.


    Clinging to the wall, the two of us peered out of the tunnel into the large clearing, which was rather quiet considering how big it was.


    On the back wall of the vast room, there was a large board with countless pictures, various items, and, finally, red strings that connected all the different things.


    Was this a detective movie?


    Using my eyes, I examined the pictures, looking for similarities... before realizing it was all useless.


    On the center of the large board, there was a large picture with a gigantic red cross drawn over it.


    Their target was Bertus... the imperial prince and the next emperor of the kingdom.


    Astrid, who had seen the picture of Bertus way before me as I had wasted time examining everything, turned to me.


    Variable after variable, isn''t it?


    The target didn''t really matter to me, as my goal was to prevent their attack throughout the festival.


    Looking at the 5 djinns dressed up in lab coats who were pacing back and forth under the board, Astrid asked.


    "Is that all of them..?"


    "Seems like it."


    Considering the organization had to be small, our destroying their base and ending five of their scientists would definitely be enough to put a halt to their plans.


    With the festival starting in less than 12 hours and us 2 having done nothing, there was also no time to do anything else.


    Stepping into the darkness, I manifested my bow and arrow while watching Astrid pull out her wand, which lit up a light green.


    As a tree suddenly appeared in the center of the clearing, alarming all the scientists, I shot my arrow, immediately eliminating one of the 5.


    As roots expanded from the tree and surged toward the scientist, I dispersed the arrow that was on the other side of the clearing before manifesting another one in my arms. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Since the scientists were all grouped together in an attempt to fight against the tree''s roots, I was able to take out 2 this time as my arrow pierced right through their group.


    Casting another spell, Astrid conjured an energy ball, colored dark green, and sent it hurling toward the two remaining scientists.


    Cornered by the roots, scared of my arrows, and surprised by the sudden attack, the two scientists were oblivious to the energy ball, ultimately resulting in their deaths.


    Walking out of the tunnel and into the clearing, Astrid and I stared at the board for a moment before Astrid broke the silence.


    "Is this enough?"


    "Probably... but you can never be too safe."


    Gesturing for Astrid to step back into the tunnel, I manifested a new arrow and used my eyes to determine the weakest spot in the clearing.


    "GET READY!"


    As my shout echoed through the empty tunnel and clearing, I released my arrow, which hurled right at the weak spot, before activating dash and dashing into the tunnel.


    *RUMBLE*


    With Astrid trailing behind me, I sprinted back towards the ladder, using my eyes to avoid the countless rocks that began falling from the roof.


    Having her wand ready, Astrid cast another wind current around us, causing the two of us to slowly levitate up.


    Reaching the floor of the cake shop again, I peered down the ladder, which now had rocks all over it, before mourning the loss of my arrow.


    It was inevitable but my arrow had been destroyed in the process, causing me to lose even more corruption.


    I was actually net-negative in corruption gain over the last week!


    After leaving the cake shop, the two of us headed back to the Academy instead of my headquarters.


    As we got onto the bridge, I thought for a moment before warning Astrid.


    "There might be more; we should still be cautious during the festival."


    "I''ll send extra guards to protect the prince. Contact me if you notice anything."


    Astrid''s main goal wasn''t to prevent the attack as a whole but rather determine the target of the attack, so we had been somewhat successful


    Nodding my head, the two of us parted ways at the Academy gates as I headed towards my dorm with the loss of the arrow still on my mind.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    When I woke up the next day, trumpets were blaring even through my closed windows, and upon further inspection, I saw the Celestial Academy band playing right outside my window.


    Really, this damn early?


    Checking my smartwatch, I realized that it was actually almost the afternoon, so I showered and got ready before immediately heading out.


    [Ren: Anything happened?]


    [Astrid: Everything seems good with the prince.]


    Putting down my smartwatch, I headed to the Coliseum to view the upcoming events, which would actually be interesting, considering that Celestial Academy would almost lose this year.


    Walking through the park and towards the towering coliseum, I stopped dead in my tracks as I heard a frail female voice scream out.


    ''WEN! WEN! WEN!"


    Is she talking to me?


    Turning around, I saw a little kid, at most 5 years old, running up to me while continuing to scream, "WEN!"


    As the kid approached me, I leaned downwards and asked.


    "Hey kid, are you lo-"


    "BIG BROTHER, WEN! YOU''RE HERE!"


    Clutching my head, I felt a sudden surge of memories flash through my head as I recalled the appearance of this small child.


    My younger sister and the youngest child of the Montclair family... Audrey


    Wait, does that mean..?


    Immediately glancing around, ignoring the searing pain in my head, I ensured that my "father" was nowhere in sight before calming down a bit.


    Shifting my attention back to the little girl with cascading blonde hair and dark blue eyes in front of me, I was about to ask her a question when she suddenly stretched out her hands, revealing a small black kitten.


    The slick, black kitten, previously sleeping peacefully in Audrey''s arms, immediately woke up as it stretched its paws out before turning to face me.


    "Big bwotha, I brought your cat!"


    Ren had a cat?


    Staring at the cat in Audrey''s hands, I lifted it up and placed it on the floor; however, the cat immediately ran forward, clinging to my pants.


    ...is it fate that my clothes are ALWAYS going to be torn?


    Not wanting my last pair of pants to be torn even more, I lifted the cat back up and placed it in my arms.


    *RUMBLE*


    *BOOM*


    *RUMBLE*


    As the ground suddenly shook, I immediately stood up, holding the cat in my hands, and looked around before immediately identifying the source.


    In the distance, the towering coliseum was somehow falling...


    The rightmost suite of the coliseum was now visible to everyone as the walls surrounding it were shattered into pieces, and inside the suite, a large fire was burning.


    Using my eyes, I peered into the broken-down suite, immediately seeing the crest of the Royal family plastered on one of the walls. Beside the crest were the battered bodies of Astrid and Bertus.


    "w-what was there another attack."


    Trying to calm myself down and reassess the situation, I closed my eyes.


    What had happened? Did we get the wrong organization? Was there another attacker?


    Feeling a sense of serenity washing over me as the noises of people screaming disappeared, I reopened my eyes... only to be met with the scenery of the cake shop in front of me.

 Chapter 65: Chapter 65:The Cake Shop [2]

    After opening and reopening my eyes, I confirmed for the fifth time that I was indeed right in front of the cake shop and not back at the academy with the collapsing coliseum.


    ...not again, man... didn''t I already go through this shit.


    Recalling the incident at the amusement park, a slight sliver of hope appeared in my mind.


    My dragon''s eye had advanced the last time I time-traveled, so what if it upgraded and activated my Dragon''s will again this time?


    ...First, let''s get through this alive, then worry about that.


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, I nearly jumped back in shock as a voice spoke from my left.


    "Boss... where the hell did you get a cat?"


    Zeng is here... so we haven''t entered the tunnel yet or fought the stalker with the blood-red sword.


    Why is this the checkpoint, though, and not somewhere else? Did the critical moment happen now, then? Is it a clue about what I need to do? What do I need to change? What did Astrid and I do wrong?


    "... wait, repeat that last part, Zeng."


    "...boss the cat in your arms."


    Inhaling and exhaling, I slowly shifted my gaze downwards, and indeed, in my arms was the cat that Audrey had given me back at the coliseum.


    WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? WHY THE HELL DO I HAVE A CAT NOW? HEY GODS, DO YOU THINK THIS SHIT IS FUNNY???


    Venting my angry thoughts for a moment, I looked at the cat, which was now standing up in my arms and staring at me.


    The cat''s ocean-blue eyes perfectly contrasted with my blood-red eyes, and its glossy black fur seemed to be as dark and black as Corruption of the Night.


    Did this mean something?


    Surely, it can''t be a coincidence that out of all the things in the world, a cat was sent back in time with me, right?


    Staring intently at the cat, trying to see if there were any hints, the cat simply licked its whiskers before laying back down in my arms.


    ...this world is a joke, isn''t it? Yeah, it has to be. I''m dreaming, right? This can''t be real life, right?


    Haha, come out, who''s playing this joke on me..?


    Recalling the memories of the coliseum almost collapsing, I regained my composure as I seriously considered what my next actions should be. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Let''s just put aside this cat for now...


    Staring at the reflection in the cake shop''s glass windows, I saw the 2 stalkers once again intently staring at us from the alleyway.


    Do we attack and capture them like last time?


    Before figuring out the cause of the attack on the coliseum or why Astrid and I failed, I needed to figure out why I was sent back to this specific moment in time.


    Clearly, I needed to change something at this time period, but the question was, what?


    Should I still attack the stalkers but not kill the blood-red sword one, or should I just avoid attacking them at all?


    ...Or could I take the easy route and just skip everything?


    "Zeng, let''s go inside."


    Well, since Zeng was useless because he couldn''t fight without revealing his horns, I wanted him to return to headquarters with the cat. After some thinking, I decided to keep both of them, as the cat must have some purpose, and Zeng still could be valuable¡ªalbeit as a distraction.


    Not wasting any time, as the stalkers would be suspicious if we were inside the cake shop for too long, I walked up to Astrid, who was making small talk with the owner to make him lower his guard.


    "It''s here."


    Surprised by my sudden appearance next to her, Astrid blinked for a moment before asking.


    "...and what exactly are you talking about?"


    Not answering her question, I jumped over the counter and delivered a karate chop to the shop owner''s nape, rendering him unconscious.


    Following my lead, Zeng jumped over the counter, clumsily knocking over a couple of decorations in the progress, while Astrid simply stood there in disbelief.


    "Come on, what are you waiting for?"


    "y-you... just what the hell are you doing?"


    As Astrid jumped over the counter, joining Zeng and me, I used my awakened force to crush the same elevated area of the floor, revealing the gigantic hole and ladder.


    Astrid, who had been awestruck by my sudden sequence of actions, immediately regained her focus as she realized that I had somehow discovered the location of the hideout we were looking for.


    Casting a wind current around the 3 of us, Zeng and I jumped down first while Astrid followed a second later.


    Sprinting into the tunnel, leaving behind Zeng and Astrid, I manifested my bow and arrow before realizing that the corruption I had lost from my arrow''s destruction earlier was back!


    Slinging the bow around my shoulder, its curves resting on my back, I carefully placed the sleeping black kitten in my sweatshirt''s hoodie to free up my hands.


    Reaching the clearing, I wasted no time as I immediately threw my 2 standard daggers at the scientists, instantly impaling two of their bodies, and nocked my single arrow.


    As my arrow flew through the air and towards the remaining scientists, Astrid appeared just in time as she trapped them scientists in a cage of tree roots, making them unable to dodge my arrow.


    As the arrow pierced through one of the scientists, I dispersed it and my bow before manifesting my two daggers and dashing into the cage of roots.


    Slicing the roots with my daggers, I forced my way into the cage before taking care of the remaining scientists, gaining some corruption.


    As Zeng and Astrid stared at the gigantic board with Bertus''s picture, I shifted my attention to the other aspects of my room and examined everything for any clue or hint as to their actual plan.


    However, even after surveying every single corner of the room with my eyesight, I didn''t find anything peculiar.


    The only things in the room were the scientists and the board.


    Was this cave all a distraction?


    Maybe, in an act of desperation, or maybe I was just going insane, I slowly removed the cat from my hood and placed it in my hands.


    Like Simba''s dad from Lion King, I extended my arms upwards, holding the cat right above my head.


    "DO SOMETHING!"


    Waking up from my shout, the cat stood up on my hands before staring at me for a moment... and then letting out a... growl.


    After ensuring I heard its growl, the cat simply laid back down in my hands.


    ...This cat was mad at me for interrupting its rest.


    Well... they do say pets tend to resemble their owners... that goddamn Ren must have taught his pet this!


    Putting the sleeping cat back in my hoodie, I glanced at Astrid and Zeng as they shifted their attention from the board.


    As the two stared at me with confused and concerned expressions, I simply shrugged my shoulders and said.


    "...It was worth a try."


    In a cheerful tone, Zeng gave me a thumbs up and enthusiastically said.


    "Well... it was a good damn try at that! You''ll get ''em next time, boss!"


    Looking at Astrid, who looked like she was a second away from banging her head against the cave walls, I tried to recall other clues from the previous timeline.


    The broadsword guy was quite suspicious, but I couldn''t tell if he was insane or not. He was right, though... what we did to him didn''t matter as they still succeeded in their academy attack in the end.


    Walking back up to Astrid and Zeng, I said.


    "Let''s wait here."


    "... and why would we do th-"


    "Sounds good, boss!"


    Stopping Zeng from sitting down on the floor, I responded to Astrid.


    "There were some people following us today. If they''re part of this organization, there''s a possibility they could come down here and see that their plan has been foiled."


    "Isn''t that a good thing? If they see their plan failed, they might give up entirely."


    "Conversely, they could also come up with another plan or target on the spot, basically making all our work here useless."


    "Then, what do you suggest we do?"


    "Well, it''s pretty simple; I''ve already done it once."


    Gesturing to Zeng and Astrid, we left the clearing and hid behind some rocks near the end of the tunnel.


    With my bow hung around my shoulders, I peered towards the ladder and saw two figures descending down it.


    "Be careful... they''re down here."


    "What do you mean, Caster?"


    "You idiot, did you not see the trapdoor fucking obliterated?"


    "...my bad."


    "How did they even find this place... we hid it in a damn cake shop."


    "maybe they just really like sweets."


    "...yeah man, they love sweets so much that they''re destroying the damn floor."


    As the two of them neared our rocks, we all stayed absolutely still, ensuring that no noise leaked out, until finally, the two villains entered the clearing.


    Stopping a few feet into the clearing, the two silently stared at the dozens of tree roots and dead bodies lying on the floor.


    "See, I was right."


    "...is this really the time?"


    "Shut it, they were bound to die anyway; they''re just a bunch of decoys."


    As the two villains walked further into the clearing, I crawled out from the rocks, silently equipping my bow and nocking another arrow.


    With the arrow strung against my bow, I aimed toward the weak spot on the roof and patiently waited.


    It was like gambling.


    For the trap to be most effective, the two would have to be as far into the clearing as possible, but they could turn around and head back at any time.


    Do I shoot now and be safe, or wait and risk them turning back?


    Seeing them examining the bodies in the center of the clearing, I didn''t hesitate as I let the soft string of the bow go, releasing the arrow.


    *RUMBLE*


    *RUMBLE*


    As the arrow hit its mark perfectly, the roof of the clearing immediately began to collapse as rocks began falling down and the ground started shaking.


    Unfortunately, the entrance to the clearing was almost immediately blocked off by countless rocks, so I couldn''t see how the two villains inside were fairing.


    However, that did give me time to think about their words.


    Decoys... huh?

 Chapter 66: Chapter 66:The Cake Shop [3]

    My assumption from the start had been that we were dealing with a small villainous organization, so the thought that this place was a decoy never crossed my mind.


    I mean, considering the size of the clearing and tunnel, this place must have taken at least 6 months to be built. Magic couldn''t have been used as the High Domiino would have detected it, so this entire tunnel must have been built by hard labor.


    Did a small organization really have the manpower, resources, and time to build something like this just to use it as a decoy or trap?


    As the ground stopped shaking, Zeng and Astrid emerged from under the rocks and stood beside me in front of the entrance to the clearing, which was now blocked by rocks.


    While Zeng was happy to follow instructions without asking any questions, I could tell Astrid had plenty of questions for me as she tapped her foot up and down anxiously.


    Thankful that Astrid was keeping her questions bottled up for now, I broke the silence by saying.


    "Well, let''s check the damage."


    As I began clearing the rocks blocking the entrance to the clearing, Astrid stood behind me with her wand in hand while Zeng simply placed one hand on his fedora.


    After making a hole big enough in the rocks for the three of us to fit, we entered the clearing, which was in shambles.


    The gigantic board on the wall had fallen and shattered due to the walls'' rumbling, and the previously polished floor was now covered with debris and rocks.


    Using my eyes, I immediately surveyed the room for the two villains. The broad-sworded individual was lying under a rock, only his legs visible from beneath it. While I couldn''t find the other, I noticed a peculiar bright red light.


    Stepping onto a rock to gain a higher vantage point, I stared downwards and saw the blood-sword individual, surrounded by rocks, with his sword in hand.


    Staring at the broken pieces of rock and debris under the blood-sword figure, I realized that he must have somehow survived by just swinging his sword at every rock that came near to him.


    Noticing the light of the blood-red sword from a distance, Astrid asked.


    "What... is that?"


    "It''s one of them; be ready."


    Heeding my warning, Astrid immediately cast an energy ball, but instead of using it, she let it float idly over her head.


    After a moment, the entire figure of the blood-sword individual was visible as he climbed out of the hole and up onto one of the rocks.


    Riddled with countless bruises and blood, the figure''s red sword illuminated the entire clearing, so he was able to spot us after a moment.


    Summoning my bow and arrow, I immediately sent an arrow flying right at him while Astrid sent her energy ball hurling toward him.


    Standing still, the figure simply swung his blood-red sword, causing an inferno of flames to appear right in front of him, completely melting the incoming energy ball.


    My arrow managed to get through the wall of flames, but it was slowed down enough that the figure could easily dodge it.


    Not concerned about the loss of corruption from my arrow in the slightest, I stepped back in shock and confusion.


    ...those flames were the exact flames in the suite back at the coliseum. My eyes were never wrong, and they were telling me those flames were the same.


    But... then the blood-red sword had caused it all... but who had the blood-red sword in the previous timeline?


    Zeng...I had given it to him to take back to the subspace.


    Calming myself down, I decided to first focus on the task at hand as I used my remaining corruption to summon my two daggers.


    Swinging the two daggers in the air, I sent two night-black elemental slashes hurling towards the figure while Astrid cast two more energy balls.


    Activating my dash, I hid in the shadows of the energy balls as I silently sprinted toward the wall of the flames.


    Watching my slashes and Astrid''s energy balls enter the wall of the fire, I used to dash, instantly propelling myself through the wall of fire and toward the defenseless figure.


    Since the dash wasn''t teleportation, I had basically run through the wall of the fire, so my hands were slightly burned, and the bottom of my pants was painted a dark black.


    Reaching the defenseless figure, I didn''t hesitate as I lunged towards him with my dagger aligned with his heart.


    Unfortunately, it seemed like he had enough time to react as he pulled his blood-red sword up, deflecting my dagger and sending me stumbling back.


    Swinging his sword in the air, he sent a crimson fiery slash right at me, and like him, I stood still, facing the slash head-on.


    Holding my daggers in the X formation, I met the slash head-on without falling back, and for every second I held on, it became much easier to continue holding on.


    After a few more seconds of holding my daggers to the elemental slash, I felt my control over it grow, so without any hesitation, I sent the slash right back at the figure.


    Activating the usage period of the dash, I also sent my own night-black elemental slash right at him, trailing behind the fire slash.


    Injecting mana into my daggers, I created a holographic dagger that floated right in front of me before using dash.


    Appearing in front of the battered and exhausted figure, who had been barely able to hold off the two elemental slashes, I swung all three daggers right at him.


    As my right dagger plunged into his body, the figure slumped down on the crowd before completely collapsing and finally releasing his grip on the blood-red sword.


    Staring at the blood-red sword on the ground, various thoughts came to mind, almost all of them telling me to get rid of it now.


    As Zeng and Astrid approached me, I instinctively stepped in front of the sword, blocking their sight of it.


    While it was possible that someone had stolen the weapon from Zeng when he was returning to the headquarters, there was still a chance Zeng had done it.


    Dismissing my daggers, I manifested a midnight-black sheath before carefully placing the blood-red sword into it, ignoring the sudden surge of exhaustion.


    Putting the sheath on my waist, I stood back up and headed to Zeng and Astrid, who were standing in front of the broad-sword individual''s legs.


    "We should interrogate him."


    Nodding our heads at Astrid''s words, Zeng and I both pushed the boulder off the villain, revealing his full body, which was somehow less battered than his teammates.


    Waking up the villain with a sharp slap to the face, I saw his eyes flicker open for a moment before immediately closing after he saw us three standing in front of him.


    Seeing Astrid turn to me, I started the questioning.


    "What is this place?"


    "..."


    "Not talking, are we?"


    If this organization wasn''t as small and weak as I originally thought, there was the possibility that the organization had forced him to sign a mana contract, preventing him from disclosing any information about their group.


    Fortunately, Astrid seemed prepared for this kind of situation. She pulled a small green vile out of her bag and handed it to me.


    A Truth Serum.


    If there was a contract, he would die upon consuming the potion and being asked a question, as the mana contract would kill him for disclosing information.


    And if there wasn''t, he would be forced to answer our questions.


    Of course, there were ways to negate the truth serum, as you could technically tell a lie by only partially revealing the truth or mixing the lie with the truth. But how would some third-rate villain like this guy know that?


    Opening his mouth, I poured the green liquid in, ensuring that he drank it all and didn''t spit it out.


    "One more time! What is this place?"


    "i-its w-was a research headquarters b-but boss abandoned it a week ago."


    Getting straight to the point, I asked.


    "What is your plan to take out the prince?"


    "I-i d-don''t know."


    Whether he knew it or not, this guy was actually counteracting the truth serum by only revealing part of the truth.


    "What did your boss tell you?"


    "h-he just said t-to distract people searching and leave the rest to him."


    Looking at Zeng''s expression for a moment, I walked up to him and straight-up asked him.


    "Zeng, answer truthfully. Do you have any intentions of attacking the academy?"


    "w-what, of course not, boss! Well, unless you say so."


    He can''t lie because I ordered him to be honest, so he wasn''t the one who attacked the academy with the sword... sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The only possible scenario then is that Zeng was attacked while transporting the sword.


    This person then stole the sword and used its immense power to blow up the royal family''s suite.


    But for this person to have known about the sword, they had to be related to this broad-sworded individual and the sword''s original wielder.


    This person also has to be aware of the actions and locations of these villains, which means that their boss did it all.


    That begs the question, though, why didn''t he just take the blood-red sword in the first place instead of giving it to his subordinate?


    He couldn''t, but why?


    Recalling the fatigue I felt when I picked up the sword, I realized that it might have something to do with wielding the sword too long, making you weak.


    Shaking my head, I left the clearing and headed back to the ladder with Zeng, leaving Astrid alone to ask whatever questions she wanted to.


    I had already done enough by preventing the blood-red sword from falling into the hands of this boss figure.


    Exiting the cake shop, I sent Zeng back to the headquarters and headed to the academy, as it would be safer to store the sword there.


    Ensuring that no one was following me, I stepped onto the academy bridge before heading through the front gates and entering my dorms.


    As I laid down on my bed, still studying my situation, a thought suddenly came to me.


    There was no plan or infiltration mission or anything, so how did this boss get into the academy?


    How did he get all the way to the royal suite without anyone stopping him? Security guards and teachers were the only ones allowed into that area of the coliseum.


    The High Dominion handpicked the guards, so then that leaves the teachers...


    Teachers can''t usually bring swords or weapons onto the academy grounds, but for the festival, a certain group of teachers can... those chosen for the battle royal event.


    The villain''s boss was then a teacher--not just any teacher, a teacher prestigious and powerful enough to be chosen to participate in a battle royal event.


    Was the academy safe for storing the sword, then...?


    *THUD-THUD*


    [A/N: I think I''ve caught up on gift extra chapters, so I might go back to doing 9-10 chapters/week.]

 Chapter 67: Chapter 67:Attack on the Dormitory [1]

    At the sound of the sudden knocking on my door, I immediately stood up from my bed, clutching the sheath with the blood-red sword in my right hand.


    Meanwhile, the black cat that was lying next to me continued sleeping as if it had never heard the sound.


    Who could be here knocking on my door in the middle of the night?


    Sitting on my bed, I tried to use my eyes to peer through the peephole on the door, but it was blocked by something.


    Silently moving across my room, I considered escaping out the window, but after thinking it over, I decided there was a likely trap there.


    If this person was an enemy, why would they knock on the door, notifying me of their presence?


    Clearly, they would want me to panic and try to escape the room.


    Staring at the night-black sheath in my hands, I considered just handing it over to whoever was at the door in exchange for my life.


    All the teachers at the Academy were at least C rank, and since my enemy was chosen for the school''s battle royale, he had to be B rank at the minimum.


    ...But would he really let me live after I handed him over the sword?


    Why did he even use the blood-red sword in the first place?


    Why couldn''t he just use some other magical artifact to attack the prince; there were plenty of artifacts in the world that could generate fire and explosions.


    What was so special about this damn sword?


    Recalling my initial encounter, where I was naturally drawn to the sword, I came up with an assumption.


    What made me different from everyone else, even Lily, who was also from Earth?


    I possess the special trait of a dragon''s will.


    This sword had to be somehow related to that attribute of mine for me to be attracted to it, while both Zeng and Astrid were indifferent to it.


    *THUD-THUD*


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, my door once again shook as someone knocked on my door.


    Keeping my tone calm, I carefully concealed the sheath by putting it under my bed before responding.


    "It''s midnight; who the hell is knocking on my door?"


    "IT''S ME, OPEN THE DOOR!"


    Almost falling down in shock at the sound of a familiar female voice, I rushed to the door, putting my ear right beside it.


    "Who is this?"


    "YOU KNOW WHO; OPEN THE DOOR."


    Could it be a voice changer..? No, they don''t have those in this world, do they...


    Yanking open the door, I saw Irene in a tattered uniform standing right outside my door with a panicked expression.


    Without waiting for my reaction, Irene rushed into my room, slamming the door behind me and immediately grabbing a letter and a piece of paper.


    As Irene began frantically scribbling something on a piece of paper, I regained my composure and hurried to her side before asking.


    "So, do you mind explaining to me what the hell is going on, or are you just going to con-"


    Standing up from the chair, Irene walked to the window and pointed to something in the distance before answering my question.


    "T-the main dorm has been attacked... the others are fending off the intruder right now. T-the intruder is a teacher from this Academy."


    Rushing to the window, I followed Irene''s finger and saw the scene of the Royal Dormitory, a building famed for its impressive decor and architecture, in shambles.


    Numerous windows were broken, pillars were knocked down, and inside the building, I could see the flashing of lights, indicating that spells were being cast.


    ...Why in the world would the teacher go to the royal dorm building instead of mine when I held the blood-red sword?


    In the first place... how did the teacher know Zeng had the blood-red sword? Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The only way for him to know Zeng was carrying the sword while he was in the academy was for him to use a tracking device.


    Staring at the corrupted sheath that was covering my blood-red sword, I realized that my corruption had probably blocked the signal radiating from the tracking device on the sword.


    Astrid was the last person in the collapsed clearing, wasn''t she..? Coincidentally, she lived in the royal dormitory, the target of the teacher''s attack.


    Seeing that his signal had been cut off, the teacher must have gone to the tunnel under the bakery and somehow discovered that Astrid was the last one in the room, then assumed that she possessed the sword.


    Or... was this entire attack bait to lure me and the sword in?


    Turning the panicked Irene, who was staring out the window, I asked.


    "Why did you come to me...? The teachers should be your fir-"


    "YOU THINK I CAME TO YOU FIRST? a-all the t-teachers were gone a-and the principal too."


    All of them must be meeting with important figures and working on setting up the festival... but still, leaving 0 teachers at the academy is...


    Ah, they did leave teachers behind; they left behind the one that was currently attacking the royal dormitory!


    "But still, why me, of all people? What the hell do you expect me to do..?"


    Turning to me, Irene stammered out.


    "A-astrid t-told me to come to you after the teachers... then she and the others left to fight."


    Staring silently out of the window, I seriously considered my options.


    Back after the Alya kidnapping incident, Liam, Lily, Kevin, Alya, Zach, and Irene had all entered the same dream and completed it together, ascending to D-rank.


    Would Ruby and the entire main cast be enough to take a B-rank? Well, at their peak, one of them could destroy an A rank with ease... but right now, they were all D rank or less, so it was 100% a no.


    But... what could I even do if I joined the fight?


    Even if I handed over the blood-red sword, the teacher would still kill us to leave no witnesses alive, so that was useless.


    A single D-rank like me would definitely be unable to turn the tides of the battle... but could I really leave this situation be?


    No doubt, the teacher would be able to kill all the students in the dormitory before reinforcements arrived, so leaving the situation be was tantamount to me allowing the entire main cast and Ruby to die.


    Sitting down on my bed, I turned to Irene, who was staring at me with eyes filled with hope and desperation as Astrid''s words about me must have given her some false hope.


    Wasn''t this the same girl who called a harasser not even 3 weeks ago?


    Grabbing the sheath under the bed, I tucked it under my waist. If I came face-to-face with the teacher, I could use it to stall for time or catch him off guard, albeit making me his target alongside the prince, Bertus.


    ...Wasn''t the first time-line better than this? In that world, only Astrid and Bertus died, but now the entire main cast was in danger.


    Looking at Irene, who had just handed the piece of paper she was writing on to a carrier pigeon outside my window, I said.


    "Go get help from the outside; I''ll see what Astrid needs."


    Beating or defeating a B-rank at my level was impossible, but with all the tricks and abilities in my arsenal, stalling him for a short period was possible.


    With Ruby''s teleportation abilities, she could evacuate everyone while Irene rushed to the capital and sought support.


    ...Was I really entrusting my life to Irene and Ruby? Just who was I anymore?


    Well, if I really was on the brink of dying, I would 100% escape using one of my contingency plans, even if everyone wasn''t evacuated, but hey, at least I was trying.


    Watching Irene surprisingly listen to my instructions and rush towards the academy gate, I headed to my wardrobe, put on my cloak, and grabbed a couple of mana-boosting rings that I had gotten back from the museum.


    Unlike my cloak artifact, these weren''t permanent, but for a short period of time, they would increase my mana capacity by an insane amount.


    "...Well, there goes my stockpile."


    Now fully dripped out in artifacts, I headed outside my dorm building, which was eerily quiet as no one besides me had noticed the attack on the royal dormitory yet.


    What if I just got every student in the academy to help me siege the royal dormitory and take down the teacher?


    Well, it would be a massacre. The teacher could simply cast a couple of AOE spells at the charging crowd, instantly killing hundreds of them at a time.


    It would be funny, though... charging into the royal dormitory with an army of sixteen-year-olds by my side.


    As I stared back at my dormitory, I noticed that a figure was exiting the building... well, a small figure at that.


    Running up to me, the small black cat jumped onto my legs before climbing all the way up to my cloak and once again diving into my hoodie.


    Well... it was the cat''s choice, not mine.


    [A/N: Do you guys prefer this novel cover or the last one + new character illustrations.]

 Chapter 68: Chapter 68:Attack on the Dormitory [2]

    While leisurely strolling towards the forest, where the royal dormitory was located, I started to reminisce about my abrupt entrance into this world.


    It wasn''t that bad, was it?


    From going to nightclubs to doing presentations in class, I had basically been a normal student, aside from the few times I presumably saved the world.


    As a high schooler back on Earth, my life was pretty much the same, but instead of nightclubs, I went out with friends.


    In this world, I didn''t even have to worry about going to college! ...Well, I did have to worry about saving the world instead, but that was out of my own volition.


    If I wanted to, I could stop at any time and let Lily do her thing with the plot, whereas with college, I had no choice; it was a requirement set by my parents for me.


    My parents, huh... it''s been a long time, hasn''t it?


    I''d love to say that I got along with my parents... but that was far from the truth. Constant fights about my future, and my parents getting angry at me, telling me to do more extracurriculars and get better grades.


    Well... it was because they cared. They just wanted me to have a good future where money wasn''t a problem and I could honestly enjoy life.


    Would they be happy seeing me right now..? S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    With business doing well on Raven''s side and the number of artifacts I had gotten from the cruise ship, money absolutely wasn''t a worry for me right now.


    ...my grades weren''t the best, though.


    Putting my hood over my face, forcing the black cat to cling onto my shirt to stay afloat, I stared at the half-collapsed royal dormitory building in front of me.


    Inside, it was eerily silent, and there were no more flashing lights, but just one glance through a window, and I could tell that the fight wasn''t even close to being over.


    ...In fact, it was only beginning.


    Glancing up at the sky, I saw small particles of mana gathering and spreading out to create a cage that completely surrounded the entire mansion.


    In the next few seconds, the mana gathered and gathered until the entire mansion was covered by it.


    Unlike my shadow cage, you could still see outside the mana cage as the stars shining in the night sky were visible; however, as I put my hand on the mana barrier surrounding the mansion, I was immediately propelled back.


    I couldn''t leave...


    Well, there was one way: Ruby''s teleportation magic.


    I had considered the possibility that Ruby would just teleport at the first sign of danger, leaving everyone behind, but like me; I believed that she had undergone some transformation from her original villain identity, not to say she''d risk her life, though.


    If that weren''t the case, I would have to stall until Irene''s reinforcements arrived and broke down the cage.


    Manifesting a dagger with my corruption, I touched the tip of it to the mana cage and watched as the corruption spread for a second before being immediately halted and then overtaken by the original mana.


    Sighing as I realized that my corruption wasn''t yet strong enough to take control of the mana cage that the teacher cast, I found a broken window on the ground floor of the mansion before immediately heading in.


    Walking through the empty hallways of the dormitory, I realized that after talking to Irene. Astrid must have gathered all the students together to fight against the teacher.


    As my eyes led me to feel a sense of familiarity with this area, I recalled that this was the exact hallway where Ruby and I had been when I had been showing her around on the day she transferred.


    Would Ruby still be in her room, or had she gathered with the others?


    Turning back around, I headed towards the area where Ruby had rushed to when she said she was going back to her room and left me behind.


    Finding a single door, I prepared to break it down, but to my surprise, it was left open as a simple push opened it.


    Looking inside the extravagant room that even had its own personal sauna and training room, I looked inside for a moment before realizing that Ruby wasn''t there.


    As I turned around to head back toward the dormitory''s common area, I recognized something that stopped me dead in my tracks.


    In the corner of the room, there was a painting of an apple. It had been the only painting I could look at without immediately getting a headache.


    Wasn''t it in the hallway last time? Did she really just steal it and bring it here...?


    Looking at the painting, I further recalled that Ruby had mentioned that despite the painting being simple and boring, it was expensive solely because of the name.


    Feeling my hood lift up, I glanced upwards and realized that the black cat had climbed onto my head and was now staring at the painting as well.


    How did this damn painting of all things catch this cat''s goddamn attention?


    When time had turned back, it had been indifferent. When I was fighting the original owner of the blood-red sword, it had been asleep.


    Even when the coliseum originally exploded and caught on fire, it simply did not care, but this painting of an apple on a blank canvas had captured its interest..?


    Who made this painting? Well... I haven''t heard any fighting yet, so maybe I have some time!


    Letting my curiosity take over, I strolled into Ruby''s room, heading closer and closer to the painting until, finally, I was right in front of it.


    Looking at the bottom of the canvas, where the painter''s name is usually mentioned, I was surprised to see no mention of the author''s name, just the title of the painting.


    "The Dragon''s Forbidden Fruit."


    As I stared at the painting, I was just about to turn around when I felt a sudden pressure exerted on my head.


    Looking upwards, I saw the black cat jump off my head and right into the painting. Before I could even react, the cat''s body disappeared as it went straight through the painting.


    "... a subspace?"


    Is that why Ruby said the painting was so valuable and why she stole it from the hallway and brought it into her room?


    Hesitating outside the painting moment, I decided that I would spend only 5 minutes inside it before heading back out and continuing my search for the teacher.


    Anyway, it wouldn''t really matter if I found the scene of the battle right now, as my plan was to intervene after everyone besides me was taken out, as the teacher wouldn''t kill anyone until he got information on the blood-red sword he was after.


    Then, right as the teacher realized that none of them knew about the sword, I would intervene, making the teacher waste as much as possible.


    Standing in front of the painting, I carefully placed my dagger into it, watching it disappear before jumping in after it.


    Feeling my surroundings distort, I shut my eyes and, for some reason, felt dizzier than usual as I waited for the area around me to stabilize.


    When I opened my eyes, all I could see was the darkness... but then I quickly realized I was lying face down.


    Dusting myself off, I got up and immediately looked at the area in front of me.


    "w-what t-the hell???..."


    In front of me stood the same circle when I had fought the djinns, and even the pedestals from the museum were there. Remanant of our battle could be seen as I recognized countless burn marks.


    Looking downwards, I immediately recognized that Zeng''s scratch marks from when he was in here were also there.


    This was my subspace... there was no doubt about it.


    The only problem was the painting entrance to my subspace was currently in my headquarters...

 Chapter 69: Chapter 69:Attack on the Dormitory [3]

    Had there ever been a case where there were two entrances to one subspace?


    Absolutely not; that would go against the whole reason subspaces were created, as they were made specifically to give the main cast a private space to plan things and hang out.


    How would it be a private space if some random person could just enter from another entrance?


    So... did Ruby have access to my subspace this entire time?


    No... Ruby and I had found this painting way before I even stole my subspace from the museum.


    Then, was the apple painting the original entrance to my subspace, and the painting from the museum the second one?


    ...Wasn''t this subspace technically Ruby''s and not mine, then?


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, I heard a growl echo throughout the gigantic room. Turning my head, I saw the black cat sitting on one of the pedestals.


    Having nothing better to do as I already knew this place perfectly, I walked towards the pedestal before extending my hand to the cat.


    This entire thing was a mystery, but it was a mystery that could wait.


    The most important thing right now was stalling the teacher until everyone was evacuated or when Irene''s reinforcements arrived.


    However, the cat refused to get back on my hand as it adamantly stood on the pedestal, just staring at me.


    Did it want to be left behind?


    *meowww*


    Throwing its paw out as it meowed, the cat slapped away my hand while still intently staring at me as if it was expecting me to do something.


    Following the cat''s stare down to my waist, I was surprised to see that the night-black corrupted sheath now had some red to it.


    When did that start?


    Holding the sheath in my hands, I curiously examined the corrupted sheath as it glowed blood-red.


    This was the first time my corruption had not been pitch-black.


    Dispersing the sheath, I let the blood-red sword fall to the ground, not daring to pick it up, and watched it grow brighter and brighter with every passing second.


    Since this was a subspace, the sword''s tracking device wouldn''t work, so I wasn''t scared of the teacher suddenly appearing and attacking me.


    Looking back up the cat, I asked.


    "Happy now?"


    *meowww*


    Am I really talking to a cat right now...?


    Staring intently at the sword, the cat gracefully jumped down from the pedestal and circled the sword a few times before staring at me once again.


    Did it want me to do something?


    "You know, I''m the owner, and you''re the pet, right?"


    *MEOWWW*


    Doing my best to suppress the attraction force between me and the sword, I stared at my cat''s eyes as it threw its paw at the sword before looking back at me.


    Well, this cat was the only thing sent back in time with me, so maybe I should trust it? ...but aren''t black cats bad luck?


    Realizing that the 5-minute time limit I had set myself was drawing closer, I stopped suppressing my body and let natural instinct take control as my hand reached for the sword without me even doing anything.


    Feeling the cold metal of the sword''s hilt, I gripped the sword before lifting it up like a torch and using it to illuminate the dark room.


    Feeling the same sense of fatigue and exhaustion seeping into me, I stared at the cat, awaiting its further instructions... but it just stood there.


    Ignoring me while licking its fur with its tongue, the cat seemed to tell me, "What? Do you want me to tell you how to do everything? Aren''t you my owner?"


    Recalling how my corrupted sheath had suppressed the side effects of the blood-red sword, I mustered the last of the remaining energy, and instead of manifesting something, I sent all the corruption within my body to my right hand, which was holding the sword.


    Feeling a sharp pain in my palm as my corruption fought with the blood-red sword to gain control, I dropped to the floor, clenching my right arm. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Slowly but surely, the room was getting darker, and the light of the blood-red sword was diminishing...


    As the room descended back into full darkness, I was about to relax when the room suddenly lit up again.


    Looking down at the source of the light, I was almost blinded as I stared at my hand, which was glowing a blood-red, and next to it, the sword had lost all its light.


    "... that is NOT normal."


    Turning to my cat, I watched as he scurried away, seemingly saying, "Don''t you dare fucking pet me with that crazy red hand."


    Wait... am I really trying to assume what the cat is saying? Have I gone insane?


    Waving my blood-red glowing hand up and down, I was surprised to see that my hand was functioning normally, and I didn''t feel any pain or exhaustion.


    Attempting to control the glowing red substance, I moved it towards my stomach. My arm began shining a blood red, and the substance traveled through my blood veins.


    As the substance reached my shoulders, my shoulder shined a blood-red, even illuminating my pitch-black cloak, making it partially red.


    Moving the substance down to my stomach, I realized that it was just about to hit the area where my mana was stored before I would stab my hands to gather it.


    As the blood-red glowing substance moved downwards, touching the mana particles, I immediately dropped to the ground in pain. It felt like a shockwave had just been sent through my entire body.


    As I uncontrollably began coughing, the floor below me began to be stained red with my blood.


    Looking down at the puddle of blood below, I saw my reflection...


    My body was completely devoid of the blood-red substance, and none of it was glowing, but on my back, there was one wing on my right shoulder.


    Opposite an Angel''s pure white and divine wing, my wing was a combination of dark red and pitch black, and I only had one wing.


    Staring at me, the cat simply nodded its head before sitting back down as if saying, "I told you to listen to me!"


    Regaining control over my body, I tried to control my wing, and as my wing flapped once, my surroundings distorted for a moment before stabilizing and revealing that my position had changed 10 meters.


    It wasn''t teleportation, but like dash, an increase in speed... but the speed boost was instantaneous, and it could be used infinitely as long I had mana.


    The blood-red and pitch-black wing stretched all the way from the top of my head to my feet, so I stood back up; I had to be careful not to scratch my wing on the floor.


    Recovering from the surging pain, I looked at my smartwatch and immediately realized I had lost track of time.


    It had been more than double 5 minutes...


    Grabbing my cat, who happily jumped onto my shoulder before climbing onto my wing, I rushed back to the painting and jumped through.


    As my wing didn''t fit, I was forced to turn horizontally when I jumped through, causing me to land face-first on the ground of Ruby''s dorm.


    Standing back up, I decided to check something really quick as I stretched out my hand back into the painting, but instead of my hand disappearing, it was met with the hard surface of the canvas.


    ...What did it all mean?


    Despite the fact that my subspace and that room were identical in every aspect, my suspicions started to grow when I saw my reflection in the blood puddle.


    My reflection was off. My eyes didn''t recognize myself; there was no sense of familiarity with myself.


    However, when I looked in a mirror or my reflection in a window, it was the opposite, as my eyes immediately recognized me.


    The time-traveling cat, wherever I just was, the blood-red sword''s relationship to dragons and that teacher, and finally, the teacher''s plan to attack the Celestial Festival, which was not mentioned in the book.


    What did all of these things mean?


    Hearing the sound of swords clashing and spells being cast, I didn''t waste any time as I rushed out of Ruby''s room... only not to fit through the door due to my wing.


    Turning vertically, I sidestepped out of the door before pulling the cat under my cloak and completely concealing my face with the hood.


    Imagine the rumors that would spread if Ren had a goddamn wing on his back.


    Opening my system menu, a smile unconsciously slipped onto my face as I realized those goddamn words "[1 / ?]" were finally gone.


    ===Menu===


    User : Ren Montclair


    [Class: Proficient Assassin: (Level 3: 2%) ]


    -> Stealth : C


    -> Moderate Dagger Mastery : 7%


    -> Arts: Eclipse Blade [3/5]


    [Stats]


    -> Rating : D+ {Dream not yet completed}


    -> Strength : E+


    -> Agility : D+


    -> Stamina : D-


    -> Magic Power : D+


    -> Luck: G-S {Conditional}


    -> Intelligence : E


    -> Charm : F-


    [Traits]


    -> Passive: Dragon''s Will [2 / ?]


    ---> Dragon Eyes : Your eyesight is enhanced.


    ---> Dragon''s Transformation : You are able to harness a physical part of a dragon.


    [Skills]


    -> [[E] Dash] : Not requiring any mana usage, the skill allows the user to move 10 meters from their current location in any direction with a cooldown period of 7 seconds. The skill does not instantly move the user but temporarily increases the user''s speed until they move 10 meters.


    =======

 Chapter 70: Chapter 70:Attack on the Dormitory [4]

    *BANG~BANG*


    *BANG~BANG*


    Woken up by the loud knocking on her door, Ruby grabbed a jacket before opening the door, revealing the figure of a panicked Lily.


    "Need something?"


    "w-were under a-attack, f-follow me."


    Considering that Lily wasn''t the type of person to lie about something like this, Ruby immediately woke herself up fully before grabbing her weapon and following Lily.


    Trailing behind Lily, Ruby saw countless indications of an attack, such as broken windows, torn walls, and even the smell of fire.


    Seeing the trembling Lily in front of her, Ruby didn''t press further for answers, instead deciding to figure everything out once they reached their destination.


    Entering the common area, Ruby saw the group of almost 40 students gathered, with her being the last one to enter.


    Well, her room was secluded from the rest as she had just moved in less than a month ago, so Ruby wasn''t surprised.


    What surprised Ruby more was the fact that no one was hurt.


    Examining the groups of nervous students, Ruby could not spot a single wound or scratch on any of them.


    The only person harmed was the student council president, Astrid, as she had a bloody scar on her knee.


    Was there only one intruder, then? But, then, where was that intruder now?


    Maintaining her composure, Ruby walked to the back of the common area, where the window was located, and peered out.


    With her teleportation skill, Ruby could scout out the mansion and then immediately return to this area, but as Ruby looked out the window, her gaze suddenly froze.


    There was a mana barrier for as long as the eye could see, as it seemed to envelop the whole dormitory.


    They weren''t just dealing with some regular villain; this person had to be at least B-rank to create a mana cage of this size while still having power left over.


    Didn''t anyone tell this attacker that the academy was Gemstone Order territory? Who the hell did this villain think they were?


    While this wasn''t a problem for Ruby personally as her teleportation would still work so she could escape... Ruby glanced around the crowded hall for a moment, noticing that everyone was oblivious to the cage.


    "well... I can''t just let another villain invade our territory."


    Walking to the front of the common area where Astrid stood, surrounded by Lily, Liam, Kevin, and Alya, Ruby patiently waited until their conversation was over.


    "I-i c-can''t f-find Irene."


    "Lily, I sent Irene off to find backup as I found her before all of you, so don''t worry. Let''s focus on the intruder."


    "Astrid, are you sure it''s only one person who attacked you..?"


    "Yes, for the millionth time, Liam, there was only one."


    "Well, if there''s only one attacker and 40 of us, why don''t we split up into parties and look for him?"


    Sighing, Astrid hesitated for a moment before responding to Kevin''s question.


    "The intruder isn''t just someone. I recognized him...it was Mr. Darkwood, the professor for Alchemy. I saw him on the signups for the teacher''s battle royale..."


    A teacher?


    While Ruby knew of countless villains who posed as security guards, janitors, and even students at the academy, she had never heard of a villain pretending to be a teacher.


    As Liam, Lily, Alya, and Kevin were shocked and stunned by Astrid''s news, Ruby took the opportunity to break the silence.


    "Lily, I think you should see this."


    Snapping her out of her thoughts, Lily responded.


    "W-what is it, Scarlett."


    Pointing towards the window, Ruby purposely made her tone nervous as she replied.


    "W-we''re t-trapped inside a m-mana cage."


    As the 5 students rushed to the window to confirm her words, Ruby began to formulate a plan.


    With the mana cage already formed, it was already clear that this "Mr. Darkwood" would reappear as soon as he recovered, so their preparation time was running low.


    Staring at the over 40 students in the crowded hall, Ruby estimated that she could transport around 10 of them out before the teacher recovered his mana, and if given thirty minutes, she could evacuate everyone.


    During her fight at the museum, Ruby had already showcased her teleportation abilities to her teammates, so it wasn''t the unwanted revealing of her ability that kept her from immediately starting to transfer the students.


    Rather, it was the fear of becoming the villain''s target, as if he found out that Ruby was the sole person who could escape from the mana barrier, she would be the first one dead.


    "...Well, I already made my decision when I told them about the mana cage, didn''t I?"


    Ruby could have left as soon as she heard about the attack and spotted the mana barrier, yet she decided to stay here.


    In other words, her decision was made as she entered the common area with the other students.


    Recalling the faint image of someone she had not seen around recently, Ruby smiled inwardly as she muttered.


    "You would be happy if I helped, wouldn''t you?"


    Even with all the bad rumors surrounding him, Ruby knew inwardly that he did not hold any malicious intentions as the flames of his heart were pure and divine white.


    When she originally met him, she lied, stating that their flames were similar when, in full honesty, they could be considered opposite.


    While both their flame shined for the same reason, Ruby knew that her flame was a dark black even without seeing them... although her flames must have been lightening up recently.


    Walking to the 5 students, who were staring out the window, Ruby explained.


    "Irene and my other teammates might not have told you, but I have access to teleportation."


    "Can it get past this barrier?"


    "Yes, president, I can teleport people out of the barrier and to safety."


    "Alright, start now; it''s only a matter of time before Mr. Darkwood makes his move." S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "w-wait, Astrid, shouldn''t we esc-"


    "Shut it, Kevin, we''re staying and helping."


    "Liam, do you have any regard for your own life? Sorry to break it to you, but not all of us are suicidal. He''s a powerful teacher, and we''re just some students."


    "Kevin, we''re staying."


    "...fine, Lily."


    As Ruby began transferring students one by one out of the barrier, in between consuming mana potions supplied by Lily and the reluctant Kevin, Astrid began strategizing.


    "Look, all we have to do is stall long enough for Ruby to get them all out."


    "Oh yeah, a bunch of D-ranks and one C-rank, Astrid, have to stall one of the most powerful teachers in the academy. What a simple plan!"


    "Is this the time for sarcasm?"


    "... why do I even talk? You guys never listen."


    Ignoring Kevin, Astrid continued.


    "Alya, take the rear and slow down his speed using your ice. Kevin and Liam will take the front, attacking directly with their sword, and Lily and I will cast attack spells to supplement them."


    Nodding their heads, all 5 of them split off in different directions, with Liam taking a quick detour to say goodbye to Zach, who was in charge of leading the students who Ruby teleported out.


    Taking a breather in between teleportations, Ruby slumped down against the wall, drinking yet another mana potion.


    Faced with the desperate stares of almost every student in the room, Ruby sighed as she got back up and continued teleporting.


    How did a villain boss like her end up saving people not once but twice!?


    *BOOM*


    Interrupting Ruby''s thoughts, she heard the sound of something crumbling, and a second later, the roof above the common area completely collapsed.


    As the dust settled, Ruby could see the scene of a teacher, adorned in a full black tuxedo and a brown bowtie, standing on the debris of the roof with a cane in his right hand.


    Not giving the students any time to react, the teacher raised his cane, the bottom facing towards them, before thrusting it forward twice, sending 3 wind bullets right at them.

 Chapter 71: Chapter 71:Attack on the Dormitory [5]

    As the three wind bullets darted at them, Alya immediately sent countless spears of ice to intercept the bullets, slowing them down significantly but not destroying them.


    On the other hand, Lily took the defensive approach, creating a massive shield of water to protect Ruby and the students behind her.


    The elemental reaction created by the air and ice intersecting decreased the room''s temperature significantly, causing a chilly breeze to spread throughout the vast common area.


    Stepping forward, Liam lifted his sword, causing it to shine a bright blue, before directly taking on the first two slowed bullets while Kevin took on the third.


    As Alya and Astrid began preparing a counter-attack, the teacher silently raised his cane upwards, with the bottom of it facing the collapsed roof, before chanting some words that could not be heard.


    As tree roots emerged from the floor of the common area and countless lances of ice appeared beside the two students, the bottom of the teacher''s cane began to shine a dark purple.


    Before the counterattacks could even go past Kevin and Liam, a sudden purple flash blinded everyone in the room.


    5 purple lightning bolts appeared immediately appeared in the sky above the dormitory before surging downwards.


    Passing through the floors of the royal dormitory like they were nothing, five lightning bolts, each positioned above one of the main cast members, broke through the second floor and spiraled right towards each of their heads.


    Being the first to open her eyes, Astrid immediately noticed the dark purple light above her, so while diving to the side, she screamed.


    "DIVE!"


    Even though they were blind, the other four students obeyed Astrid''s instructions as they dove to their right and left sides.


    As both Liam and Kevin both dived towards each other, the two of them landed on top of each other, causing Kevin to scream out in pain as Liam''s elbow pushed down into his stomach, coincidentally the same place Liam had punched during the cruise ship incident.


    Staring at the floor below his previous locations, Liam almost collapsed once again as he saw that the wood was shattered into hundreds of pieces and that a slight fire was burning on some of the pieces.


    That could have killed them...


    As the five students regrouped to their original formation, the teacher, instead of attacking, simply watched them before lifting his cane and asking.


    "You should know that this battle is a lost cause; after all, you are the top students of the best academy in the realm. So, just hand it over, will you?"


    Of course, the teacher wasn''t planning to spare the students even if they handed over the sword as he still had to take care of the prince, but right now, obtaining the blood-red sword was his greatest priority.


    Astrid, who saw this talking as an opportunity to stall for more time, pretended to think for a moment before slowly responding.


    "Yes, as we are students of Celestial Academy, the 5 of us are inclined to understand that continuing to fight this dangerous and terrible battle will lead to our demise. However, we are quite confused and befuddled by your choice of words when you say, ''Just hand it over.'' "


    Standing behind Astrid, Lily continued.


    " *ahem* In other words, we have no idea what we are supposed to give you."


    Not realizing the number of students in the common area was dwindling as Ruby teleported back and forth, the teacher tapped his cane on the floor, manifesting a swirling orb filled with darkness above his head.


    " *sigh* Student council president, must you play dumb? I have already confirmed your presence at the scene. Nobody wants their time wasted here, but if you must, I am looking for a sword-colored blood-red."


    Thinking for a moment, the teacher pointed to the light-blue sword in Liam''s hand.


    "It is quite similar to that one, except it is red. Wait... is it that sword? Did you manage to alter its color?"


    While the teacher curiously stared at Liam''s light-blue sword, Astrid, who faintly recalled the djinn with the blood-red sword in the cave, said to her fellow students.


    "I don''t know where the sword is, and it is most definitely not with me.."


    Kevin, inwardly cursing as he realized that he had not once but twice gotten himself into near-death situations, replied.


    "So... you do know about the sword?"


    Pointing at Liam''s bright-blue sword, Astrid replied.


    "It''s exactly like that but red."


    Alya glanced around the common area, noticing that almost all of the students were already gone, and quietly said,


    "It''s only a matter of time before he realizes that we''re almost done evacuating the room... we need to keep him distracted."


    Staring at Liam''s light blue sword, Lily hesitated for a moment before speaking.


    "Well... if we don''t know where the sword is, why don''t we just give Liam''s. He already seems to think that it''s the one he''s looking for."


    For the first time, Kevin actually expressed anger at Lily, and he outragedly responded.


    "WHAT ABOUT WHEN HE REALIZES THAT ITS NOT? DON''T YOU THINK HE''ll KILL US, THEN?"


    Kevin did have a point; they were basically gambling with their lives.


    Realizing the teacher''s attention on Liam''s sword was starting to waver, Astrid stared at the others, who nodded their heads.


    Liam did not have any problems with the plan. After testing for a bit, he realized that he could make any sword light up a light blue, so this sword didn''t matter much to him.


    "Yes... you''re right; that''s the sword you''re looking for."


    "Then, what are you waiting for? Hand it over already."


    After Lily created a wind current connecting Liam and the teacher, Liam placed the sword in the current, allowing it to fly toward the teacher.


    However, Liam forgot to mention one thing about his sword''s light blue aura... it only shone light blue because of him.


    When he received the sword, the teacher stared at the regular metal sword in his hands for a solid 10 seconds before slowly turning his head up with a creepy smile on his face.


    "Oh, are you guys pranking me now? Is this some kind of joke to you? WHAT THE HELL IS THIS SHIT!?" S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As the teacher threw the metal sword on the ground, Kevin immediately turned to Liam with a dead serious face.


    "Before we die... I just want to let you know THAT YOU ARE THE SINGLE DUMBEST PERSON I HAVE EVER FUCKING MET."


    Tapping his cane multiple more times, the teacher sent countless more balls filled with darkness toward them, exhausting most of his mana.


    Being a djinn, his desire for the sword had taken all rationality out of him, so he no longer cared about conserving mana but solely obtaining the blood-red sword.


    Glancing around for a moment, Lily was ecstatic to see that Scarlett and all the students beside them were gone. However, her ecstasy soon transformed into horror as she was faced with countless dark energy balls surging towards her.


    Scarlett was their only way out, but now she had probably left after transferring all the students.


    They had been so focused on saving their fellow students that they had forgotten to save themselves...


    All 5 of them were now stranded inside the dormitory with the crazed teacher. They had accomplished their goal, but at what cost...


    While Astrid was able to stop one of the many balls with her tree roots, the other simply broke through the weakened roots with ease.


    Liam, who was left with no sword, was forced to retreat immediately. Similarly, Alya, Lily, and Kevin, whose attacks were futile against the tens of energy balls, retreated as well.


    With the walls behind them and the energy balls in front, the five students had nowhere to dodge.


    Turning to the wall behind them, Kevin and Liam immediately screamed out.


    "SLOW THEM DOWN."


    As Lily, Alya, and Astrid cast dozens of spells at the horde of energy balls, their expressions only darkened as they realized that there were far too many, and their pace was only decreasing by a tiny margin.


    Meanwhile, Kevin and Liam hacked desperately at the wall, trying to create a hole big enough for them to fit through.


    Unfortunately, the magic spells cast by the girls were unable to break the wall, so Liam and Kevin were forced to make a hole the old-fashioned way with their swords.


    From outside the mana barrier, Ruby stared inside the house, immediately recognizing the situation inside was perilous.


    Even if she intervened now, she could at most save one of them, but in the process, risk being hurt by one of those energy balls.


    Just as Kevin formed the hole in the wall, the energy balls were less than a second away from hitting them.


    Ruby immediately recognized it was too late...

 Chapter 72: Chapter 72:Attack on the Dormitory [6]

    Staring at her classmates through the hole made by Kevin and Liam in a wall, Ruby closed her eyes in preparation for the upcoming gruesome sight.


    She had done her best, hadn''t she?


    It was their choice to stay behind and hold off the villain despite knowing that he was much more powerful than them. Their series of stupid decisions had led them to their death.


    ...But then why did she feel sad and nervous? Why was her head spinning in circles? Why were her legs trembling? What was she feeling right now?


    It was their choice... they could have escaped immediately upon hearing of her teleportation ability... yet they decided to stay.


    Was this what a hero was?


    Someone who prioritizes the welfare of others over their own, even towards those they do not know personally.


    It was such a simple definition, yet Ruby had never met someone who had not only acted based on it but didn''t expect anything in return.


    Sure, there were heroes from the government, but they only did it for the money.


    If the government stopped paying the heroes... then they would all disappear and do their own thing without any care for the world.


    Ruby was mistaken.


    When she had begun teleporting people out of the mana barrier and when she held off djinns at the museum, she believed that she was a hero.


    No... that wasn''t it.


    In both scenarios, her death was never a possibility, so she was content helping out, but with death now in the picture, all she could do was watch from a distance.


    She had never prioritized the safety of others over herself.


    For Ruby, it wasn''t the realization that she wasn''t a hero that hurt... it was the fact that she had deluded herself into genuinely believing that she was a hero.


    She had become the very thing she hated the most.


    A fake, a fraud, and a phony.


    Those students: Alya, Astrid, Lily, Liam, Kevin, and even Zach were true heroes.


    Forcing herself to open her eyes, despite her entire body resisting, Ruby opened her eyes wide, prepared to face the aftermath.


    However, there was no blood. There were no severed limbs. There were no dead bodies.


    Instead, there was a cloaked figure with one pitch-black and blood-red wing attached to his right shoulder, which swayed back and forth in the cold night breeze.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Looking at the distance between the trapped main cast and the charging dark energy balls, I finally emerged from my spot.


    They had done well; in fact, better than I expected.


    Whatever they had done... they had managed to break the djinn''s mentality.


    Like the minotaur back during practical training, he no longer held any sense of reason; he was overcome by his desire to get the blood-red sword back.


    In fact, his sense of reason was so far gone that he didn''t even realize that his tracking device on the sword had re-enabled, as my corruption was no longer blocking it.


    Using my eyes to calculate the perfect route where I could pick up all of the main cast while getting through the hole at the same time, I repositioned myself before flapping my wing twice.


    Feeling my surroundings distort, I once again used my eyes to grab each main cast member as I sped past them for less than a second.


    With all of them now in my hands, I flapped my wing once again, instantly speeding right through the hole and into the outside world.


    Dropping the five of them, who had not yet adjusted to their current situation as they had their eyes closed, on the ground, I glanced around, immediately spotting Ruby.


    The tens of dark energy balls were still heading for us; I had just given us some more time.


    "GET THEM!"


    As the dark energy balls broke through the walls like they were made of paper, Ruby, despite not knowing my identity, immediately teleported beside me.


    Ignoring my presence, Ruby, one by one, teleported all of them outside the mana cage within less than 10 seconds.


    That ability really was something else...


    Awestruckingly, staring at the disappearing and repeating figure of Ruby for a second, I snapped out of my thoughts as the dark energy balls neared me.


    Flapping my wing 3 times in quick succession, I disappeared out of the range of the swarm of energy balls and appeared on the other side of the dormitory.


    As the swarm of dark energy balls directly collided with the mana barrier, a shockwave was sent throughout the entire dormitory. I felt the ground around me shake, and even more pillars of the dormitory collapsed. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As the smoke surrounding the area disappeared, I saw that even though the mana barrier had no hole, bunches of mana were leaking out of it, making it significantly weaker.


    "...Just what I needed."


    Not waiting for the teacher''s next move, I instantly manifested my two corrupted daggers before once again touching their tip to the mana cage.


    Unlike the last time, my corruption persisted, usurping the authority of the original mana before spreading like a plague upwards.


    Before the teacher even emerged from the dormitory, the entire mana cage had turned pitch black, so nothing could be seen from the outside or from the inside.


    Well... that was unless you had my eyes!


    My perfect environment, my boosted cloak attributes, my new wing power-up, and finally, my countless mana ring artifacts.


    Was it enough to beat a B-rank?


    Well, I wasn''t sure... but it was a good thing that the teacher couldn''t even be considered a B-rank.


    With his loss of rationality and current low mana, the teacher was in no way classified as a B-rank anymore, more like a mid-C-rank.


    Flapping my wing again, I reappeared in front of the broken wall, which the swarm of dark energy balls had brought down.


    Peering inside, I immediately spotted the teacher, who was frantically searching around instead of doing the logical thing and casting a light spell.


    Flapping my wing, I appeared right in front of him, thrusting my right dagger forward; however, he was able to react in time as he threw his cane up, blocking my dagger.


    Despite its normal appearance, the cane was actually rock-hard as it managed to repel my dagger without even receiving a scratch.


    Well, I guess I just wasn''t simply fast enough...


    Stepping back, I flapped my wing, then thrusted my dagger forward, then flapped my wing, reappearing in another position beside the teacher, then pushed my other dagger forward, then flapped my wing again and reappeared in another position beside the teacher, and then used my other dagger.


    And again and again and again and again.


    Moving so fast that countless speed mirages were created, the teacher was unable to discern my location as he relied solely on instinct to block my dagger strikes.


    However, his instinct simply wasn''t good enough.


    As I disappeared before he could counterattack and reappeared in another position beside him with my daggers already ready, countless stab wounds began to form on the teacher''s body.


    Flapping my wing one last final time, I appeared on the roof above the djinn, using it to boost downwards with my dagger''s tip aimed right at the djinn''s head.


    Using his cane to attempt to hit one of my countless speed mirages surrounding him, the teacher was oblivious as my dagger pierced right through his head.


    Watching his lifeless body slump to the floor, I grabbed my dagger, which remained pitch-black despite the blood all around the teacher''s wound and prepared to walk back...


    Then, I collapsed...


    When I fell to the floor, I was surprised to find that my back directly hit the floor instead of my wing--my wing had disappeared.


    Using some of my remaining energy, I moved my hands to my shoulder, where my wing had been attached, and surely enough, there was nothing.


    Moving back my hand, I noticed that it was completely drenched in blood... and the wooden floor below my back was also drenched in blood.


    I had overexerted myself...


    The countless mana rings on my fingers had cracked and disappeared, my entire body was trembling with pain and exhaustion, and half of my back was covered in blood.


    Using the dragon''s wing without knowing the consequences of it or what it required, mana, corruption, or something, had cost me terribly.


    Lying lifelessly on the floor, I slowly gave in to my body as my eyelids began to close, causing my whole world to go black.


    Resisting the urge one last time, I managed to open my eyes.


    Right above me, looking directly into my eyes, was a female with long, glossy black hair and blood-red eyes.


    Opening my mouth, I attempted to say something, but my mind abruptly went blank, and my world turned black as I finally gave in...


    "hey, Ru-"


    [A/N: Creating a stockpile so only 1-2 chaps a day. Chap = Gift / every 100 PW or 20 Golden Tickets]

 Chapter 73: Chapter 73:A Day Off [1]

    Regaining consciousness, I attempted to open my eyes or move any part of my body, but nothing happened despite my desperate attempts.


    Forced to stay in a world of pitch darkness as I couldn''t open my eyes, various scenarios flashed through my head as I attempted to pass the time.


    Did the authorities find me next to the teacher''s body and apprehend me? Was I brought to the hospital for my wounds? Where even was I right now?


    Honing my ears, I heard what I thought were birds chirping. As I continued to stay in my pitch-black world, a cold breeze enveloped me, causing me to shiver more than usual.


    Did I not have clothes on? Was I outside? Why were there birds?


    Giving in to my curiosity, I used all my remaining energy to force my eyes open.


    Almost immediately, the rays of the bright morning sun appeared in my vision, causing me to close my eyes again due to the brightness.


    ...I guess I''ll have to wait.


    As I patiently waited for my energy to recover, I recalled my sudden breakdown yesterday.


    What was the reason for it? Was I so just physically exhausted that I collapsed, or did I run out of mana and suffer from mana exhaustion?


    But then, how come I didn''t feel it until the last second? Until moments before my collapse, I felt physically fine, and I was sure that my mana supply was not empty.


    Maybe the adrenaline from the fight had caused me to lose my sense of reason temporarily?


    Or was it something completely different?


    Realizing I had more than enough energy and could once again move my body, I decided to leave those questions for when I had recovered.


    Using my hands to press against the floor to lift myself up, I opened my eyes only to be greeted by the familiar scene of a forest.


    Looking around at the surrounding trees, a sense of familiarity emanated from my eyes, causing me to recall that this was near the exact area where the academy''s secret entrance was.


    Moving my hands to my right shoulder, where my wing used to be, I felt the hard surface of a bandage instead of my shirt.


    In fact, my entire back and chest were covered by these bandages, which were painted a light red from all my blood.


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, a familiar voice spoke from behind me, causing me to fall back down onto the forest floor.


    "Long time no see, Ren."


    Turning my head, I saw Ruby dressed in some jeans and a crop top with her long hair tied into a ponytail.


    It had been a long time...


    But there was something much more important weighing on my mind.


    What did she know?


    Did she know I had wings? Did she know I was the figure in the cloak?


    Turning my head to Ruby, I immediately spoke with a tone of urgency.


    "Astrid sent me to he-"


    "Oh, I know; the student council president told us that even before attack, so why don''t you just shut up about that stuff?"


    Astrid told them that Irene was going to get me and the teachers?


    So... she thinks I was there because Irene asked me to go?


    "That wing you had yesterday was pretty cool, though. Where did you get it from? Is it a store nearby?"


    "... yeah."


    She was more curious about the wing than how I was able to kill the teacher...?


    Standing up, I put on my shirt, which lay beside me, and leaned against a tree while sneaking glances at Ruby to survey her.


    Was she purposely playing dumb?


    Meeting eyes with Ruby, she flashed me a quick smile before running over to my tree.


    "Well, since you''re fine, let''s explore the festival!"


    Grabbing my shirt, Ruby didn''t wait for my response as she dragged me behind her while walking out of the forest and towards the looming coliseum.


    Just as we were about to leave the forest, I felt a sudden pressure on my shoulder, causing me to wince in pain.


    There on my shoulder sat a little black cat, who stared at me for a moment before sitting with no regard for how it was hurting me.


    Well... whether it knew it or not, it helped me yesterday.


    Exiting the forest, my eyes were immediately overwhelmed as the streets of the academy were filled with thousands of tourists, students, and even teachers.


    Clasping my head in pain as the overload of information gave me a headache, Ruby stared at me with a concerned expression before searching her backpack.


    After a moment, her hand emerged from her bag with a pair of dark black sunglasses.


    "Too bright for you?"


    Nodding my head, I graciously accepted the sunglasses and immediately put them on.


    With the lens of the sunglasses blocking my eyes, the amount of information I was taking in was much less and more manageable for my brain.


    As the two of us continued to walk toward the coliseum, Ruby abruptly stopped in front of one of the booths, staring at a figurine.


    Noticing that it was a religious booth due to the church symbols on it, I glanced at the figure, which was a depiction of Saint Elena, an angel...


    Dressed in a pure white cloak with long blonde hair, the angel had two beautiful and divine white wings stretching from both her shoulders.


    Pointing at the wings, Ruby stifled in a laugh while asking.


    "I-is that your si-"


    "Not funny."


    "I think your brain might still be hurt from the fight because it is quite comedic."


    "So... now we''re resorting to calling me braindead, really?"


    "When you go low, I go lower!"


    "When did I go low?"


    "Lying is a sin, you know?"


    With that Ruby turned away from the booth and continued in the direction of colisuem.


    After finding the student section of colisuem, the two of us headed in before quickly finding seats in the second row.


    Since today was only the first today, there would be no events with Liams, but that didn''t mean it wouldn''t be interesting.


    Something about watching the future most powerful people in the world struggle in food eating contest made me laugh.


    The cat, which was resting in armrest of my seat, snapped me back to reality by jumping back on my shoulder and staring at my side-profile.


    Perhaps I just forcing myself to laugh to avoid thinking about Ruby?


    As I stared at Ruby, who was belatedly enjoying the match, I was confused on why she kept silent and didn''t ask a single question for the entire 2 hours we were at the colisuem.


    Why did I lie about my wing? How did I have a wing? How did I kill the teacher? Why did I try to hide my identity?


    If I was in her situation, I would have bombarded the other party with questions until I received valid answers... yet Ruby seemed satisfied just sitting next to me.


    As the final contest ended for the day, I got up from my seat, following Ruby out of colisuem.


    While I did want to leave this stressful situation, she was the one who teleported me out of the dormitory, saving me a lot of trouble by not letting the authorities discover me.


    At least, I owed her this much.


    What would I even say to them if they found me lying right next to the dead body of the teacher?


    While Ruby went to use the restroom, I waited outside the colisuem, checking up on the news about the incident on my smartwatch.


    With the government''s help, Celestial Academy had managed to keep the news from spreading outside the academy, so there were no articles about it.


    However, the academie''s public chatroom was crowded as different people were discussing the incident non-stop.


    I mean, who wouldn''t be curious if they woke up one day just to see the entire royal dormitory destroyed? S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    So far, the assumption that most people had came up with was that Ruby and the rest of the main cast had been the heroes of the incident and defeated the teacher djinn using the power of teamwork!


    They were able to neither confirm nor deny this as no students from the royal dormitory were allowed to speak up about the incident.


    While Astrid might believe its me who saved them as she called for me, I could just say I was scared and never came.


    A true third-rate-villain!


    On the other hand, the rest of main cast probably didn''t see my appearance and just believed Ruby had came to save them.


    While that sounds good in theory, that could be problematic in the future...


    Who would have thought that Ruby and I, a bunch of villains, would be the true heroes of the incident?


    Looking up from my smartwatch, I saw Ruby emerging from the bathroom. Walking past me without saying anything, Ruby wore an indifferent expression as she headed in the direction of the dormitory buildings.

 Chapter 74: Chapter 74:A Day Off [2]

    Seeing her head in the direction of the dormitories reminded me of something.


    "What are you gonna do now that your dormitory is destroyed?"


    "Oh, that? They paid to give all of us 5-star hotel rooms in the capital."


    Oh, so I, the hero, get to sleep in a small dorm room while the "victims" who ran away at the first sign of danger get an all-expense-paid vacation?


    Blasphemy, I say!


    As night was nearing, the streets were crowded with tourists heading to the front gates, so Ruby used the forest shortcut to get to the main gate.


    Walking through the forest, trailing slightly behind Ruby, reminded me of the first few days I had spent on the mountain range, looking for the Dragon''s Eye.


    When times had been much simpler...


    Sure, I was powerless and weak, and one slight wrong move could result in my death from a monster... but at least death was my only worry.


    Now, I had to worry about death alongside keeping the plot together, becoming more powerful, not exposing my identity, and finally, other people besides myself.


    What if I had never come back to the academy?


    Would life have been much simpler, then?


    At that point, I didn''t know Lily was also from Earth, so I would have assumed that the plot would go precisely as in the book and that the world would have been saved just like in the book.


    With the meager savings I had received from my father, I would have lived in that small mountainside town. I would have worked a regular job to earn wages, bought a small wooden cabin to live in, and enjoyed the simplicity of life there.


    No... the old me would have hated that.


    Simply accepting my circumstances in this new world and pretending everything was real and not a book instead of trying everything to get back to Earth.


    The old me would have rather jumped off the peak of the mountain range.


    But would me right now like that?


    It''s not like I would be leaving anything behind at the academy.


    Lily knew the plot, and unlike me, she seemed to care about the people around her. Sure, she was a bit naive, but wouldn''t she be more than qualified enough to keep everyone safe?


    Ruby, Raven, Zeng, Jin, Han, Astrid, and the main cast would all be safe with Lily''s guidance, wouldn''t they?


    But would I be fine with that? Leaving everything to someone else?


    Well, I guess already knew the answer. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    I mean, me still being at the academy despite having enough money to live comfortably was answer enough.


    Looking upwards, I saw our surroundings shift as the forest ended, and we neared the railing that separated the edge of the academy from the ocean.


    Walking up to Ruby, who was leaning on the railing, I stood beside her, staring at the vast dark-blue ocean before me


    Turning to Ruby, who was also focused on the ocean, it felt like an immeasurable burden was weighing on me.


    In fact, every time I talked or even looked at anyone related to the old "Ren," that burden only increased.


    It was all a lie, wasn''t it?


    As the memories of spending time with all of them resurfaced in my head, a sudden thought flashed through my head.


    The times I had spent hanging out and talking to Jin and Han, whether on the smartwatch or in person. The times I joked or messed around with Raven and Zeng, and the times I explored with Ruby and Astrid.


    Wasn''t it fine for it all to be a lie?


    Was it my fault I was transferred into this body? Was it my fault I had taken this body?


    Why was I blaming myself?


    Couldn''t I just accept this lie?


    I had accepted that this world, alongside everyone else in it, was real, so why couldn''t I accept that I was the real "Ren" now as well?


    I was no longer "Silas" from my life on Earth; I was Ren. The time had long passed since I needed to act like the old "Ren."


    This body, these relationships... they were all mine, weren''t they?


    As Ruby noticed I was staring at her, I asked.


    "Did you know me before we met at the hideout that day?"


    Why did it matter if people thought I wasn''t the original "Ren" at this point? Why should I care? It''s my body and mind, now, isn''t it?


    Shaking her head, to my surprise, Ruby replied.


    "No... but I would be lying if I said I didn''t know your family."


    So... the old "Ren" played no part in our current relationship? Why had I been worrying all this time and avoiding her, then...?


    Without me even asking anything, Ruby continued.


    "That''s not why I came to the academy, though. Not why I befriended you or continued to talk to you."


    "So, then, why?"


    Turning to face me, Ruby got on her tippy-toes to reach my height and put her hand over my mouth before replying.


    "I''ve answered one of your questions, so now it''s your turn!"


    Nodding my head, I said, with her hand still covering my mouth.


    "Mmf, ask away."


    "What happened last night?"


    Shrugging my shoulders and pushing her hand away, I replied.


    "Nothing big, just killed some big-shot teacher. Made quick work of him."


    "Oh really?"


    "Yeah, I think I heard that the top first-years AND the student council president couldn''t even take him out. What a bunch of frauds, no?"


    "You know, you are calling me one of those frauds, right?"


    "You sure? The whole academy seems to be calling you a hero and their savior. Quite the villain boss you are"


    "Oh? I heard some rumors flying around the academy that say you were actually the mastermind behind the whole attack."


    "... really."


    "*PFFT* really."


    How was I the mastermind behind the whole thing? Was my reputation that bad..?


    I can''t even blame Ren now! I''ve been in this world for more than two months, and it''s even gotten worse!


    "Is my suffering really that funny to you, Ruby?"


    "Maybe check your smartwatch next time when I message you."


    Sighing, I checked my smartwatch and finally turned off the "DND" mode of my message apps, causing a flurry of messages to be released as my phone started ringing uncontrollably.


    Looking at Ruby, who was smirking, I pressed further.


    "So, why did you come to the aca-"


    "Oh, it''s getting late, isn''t it? Sorry, but the FIVE-STAR hotel has a curfew, so I must depart."


    "really had to emphasize the 5-star, didn''t you?"


    "Oh, maybe, if you defeated the teacher and saved the top first years from dying, you could have gotten a hotel room."


    "... real funny one, aren''t you?"


    Watching Ruby depart to the main gate of the academy, I turned around and headed back to my shabby and old and small and disgusting dorm room.


    Why do the real heroes always get treated the worst?


    [A/N: Felt the identity thing was starting to get repetitive, so I used this chapter to end it off. Did you guys think it was rushed or anything?]

 Chapter 75: Chapter 75:A Restart [1]

    Waking up the next morning, it felt like the gigantic burden weighing on me since the end of the cruise ship incident had lifted.


    It felt freeing...


    The festival would go on for the next couple of days, and there would be no classes. I had no reason to intervene in the plot during the festival, so basically, this time was all free for me.


    However, after the festival, the plot jumps right back into action as the travel club visits the Elven realm under Princess Alya''s guidance.


    That would require a lot of my guidance if Lily did what I thought she would...


    Having spent the last week constantly investigating or worrying about the attack on the Coliseum, I had no intentions of doing anything for the time being.


    Unable to sleep due to the loud noise of the tourists outside my window, I got up and prepared to head out for the day.


    When I checked my smartwatch, I was surprised to see that Jin and Han had continued to use the group chat despite my not responding to either of them for at least a week.


    [Han: Jin, we''re meeting up by the coliseum at 11, right?]


    [Jin: Yeah, we''ll figure out what to do once we''re there.]


    [Ren: Mind if I join in?]


    [Han: Ren?]


    [Jin: Not if you don''t tell us where the hell you''ve been for the past week.]


    [Han: Yeah... you weren''t even in class. Did you not get in trouble?]


    [Jin: If you found a way to skip class without being trouble and didn''t tell us... you''re dead, buddy.]


    [Ren: You won''t believe me... but I spent the past week working on a special task force with the one and only student council president to protect the school!]


    [Jin: Yo, bro, if you don''t wanna tell us, just say so.]


    [Han: You''ve had a week, and that''s the best excuse you could come up with..?]


    [Ren: ??? See, you guys never believe me.]


    [Jin: Alright, bro, whatever you say. See you at 11]


    [Han: Yeah, we''ll see you at 11.]


    [Ren: Wait, mind if I bring my little brother?]


    [Han: your what?]


    [Jin: You have a brother???]


    [Ren: Yeah, he''s my long-lost little brother; I just found him recently in the slums.]


    [Han: Alright...?]


    [Jin: I''m fine with it... if he''s real.]


    [Ren: Yeah, he''s real. I''ll see you two.]


    As students of the academy, we were allowed a tourist ticket without paying, so I could bring one person into the academy for free.


    Who else but him?


    Leaving the academy and entering the capital, I headed straight for headquarters as it was already almost 11.


    As I entered the capital''s slums, I noticed the cake shop with the underground hideout for the teacher had been shut down.


    The windows were broken, and I could see countless homeless people inside stealing the chairs or anything else of value.


    ...That tunnel could be quite the hideout, couldn''t it?


    While the cake shop in itself was a decent investment as it could provide some daily income, the hideout below must have taken ages to create, and it would be the perfect place for me to train.


    It was so far underground that even if I used countless elemental slashes, no one would notice. The royal family investigators would just think of it as a normal cake shop and not investigate it, so they wouldn''t even find the tunnel, meaning the shop would be very cheap. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And Raven and Zeng would be pretty happy if I bought a cake shop, wouldn''t they?


    Reminding myself to check the newspaper for the future listing of the cake shop after the royal family repossessed it, I continued on my way to the headquarters.


    Without knocking or anything, I unlocked the headquarters doors with my key and entered inside.


    Raven, lying on the couch next to the television, was still fast asleep despite it being almost afternoon.


    On the other hand, Zeng lay slumped over in the chair once again, a plate of ice cream in front of him.


    Quite the evil djinn he was, eating strawberry ice cream...


    Sighing at my workers'' laziness, I walked up to the couch with Raven sitting on it and swiftly and cleanly removed the blanket from him.


    With my enhanced eyesight, I saw Raven''s eyes open for a short moment, meaning he was awake, yet he still pretended to be asleep.


    "Oh, asleep, are you?"


    Watching him and staying still, I made sounds to make it seem like I was moving around and picking things up until Raven, after a couple of seconds, burst upwards and screamed.


    "NO, I''M AWAKE. DON''T DO ANYTHING, PLEASE!"


    Staring me motionless right above him, Raven blinked for a second before sighing.


    "You really have to come right in the morning, don''t you?"


    "It''s almost 11; what morning are you talking about?"


    "...Just let me sleep."


    As Raven pulled up his blanket to cover his face, I replied.


    "You''re coming with me today."


    "Whenever you say that, it always means something bad."


    "You''re coming with me to a festival, relax."


    Scaring the shit out of me, I heard a voice sound from behind me.


    "What about me, boss?"


    Turning around, I saw Zeng sitting up on his chair with his horns out and continuing to eat his ice cream.


    "When you do something about those horns, we can talk."


    "...but they look go-"


    "Yeah, they look so good that everyone just runs around screaming in horror when they see them."


    "..."


    As Raven sluggishly walked to the bathroom, I waited while Zeng walked to the mirror and stared at his horns for a solid minute.


    Finally, Raven emerged from the bathroom in some decent clothes I had gotten him recently, as all his previous ones were in tatters.


    Wearing a pair of navy blue jeans and a black shirt, Raven walked out with his wet-black hair covering the top half of his face.


    Could he at least look presentable? I''m calling him my brother!


    Walking up to Raven, I pushed his hair up, revealing his onyx-black eyes, and parted it to the side before tucking in his shirt and handing him a jacket.


    Raven, who did not care for his looks, simply stood still with an indifferent expression, allowing me to make him look presentable.


    Looking at Raven''s finished appearance like a proud father, I tapped him on the shoulder before leading him out of headquarters and towards the academy.


    As we reached the academy gates, I presented the guard with my student ID, and he stared at Raven for a second before letting us through.


    I thought I did a good job...


    Rushing towards the coliseum with Raven trailing behind me, we arrived a minute early, spotting Jin and Han a few feet away from us.


    Walking up to them, I pulled Raven beside me and said.


    "Hey, you two, this is my brother, Raven."


    Nudging Raven like he was a baby, I said.


    "Say hi, Raven!"


    Slowly turning his face with an expression that even I couldn''t decipher, Raven choked out the words.


    "h-hi, I''m Raven."


    Looking at me struggling to hold in my laughter, Han and Jin stared at us for a second before they both said,


    "N-nice to meet you, Raven."


    "Well, where to guys!"

 Chapter 76: Chapter 76:A Restart [2]

    As the four of us walked through the festival, I had to keep a constant eye on Raven, who always seemed to wander off to some random booth.


    Stopping in front of one of those carnival booths where you had to land a ring on one of the hundred bottles across the floor, Han and Jin each gave it an attempt before failing.


    Exchanging a ring for one of the tickets I had received, I used my eyes to calculate the future trajectory of the ring before adjusting it so it perfectly overlapped with the bottle''s lid.


    Tapping Raven, who was watching countless people fail the game, on the shoulder, I smirked and said.


    "Watch this."


    As I began the throwing motion, my hand behind my shoulder, I moved forward at the perfect pace. Just as I was reaching the perfect place to release the ring, I felt a sudden pressure on my shoulder.


    The pressure messed up my entire throwing motion, as my ring went flying in the complete opposite direction and far away from the rings'' bottles... and right at someone''s head.


    "*OW*"


    Pretending I didn''t hear or see anything, I turned back around to Raven, who was smiling more than usual.


    "*PFFT* How did you manage to miss that damn bad?"


    "It''s something you''ll understand when you''re mature."


    "Really, that''s your best excuse?"


    Turning to the source of my miss, I saw my cat silently sitting on my shoulder while licking its paw.


    When I had woken up, the cat was gone, presumably through the open window, and now it had just reappeared.


    It really just came and went as it pleased...


    As we were finished with the game, I turned around to look for Han and Jin, but after glancing around a bit, I found them trying to talk to some girls.


    Before, I dismissed girls because I didn''t believe this was the real world with real people, but now... what was my excuse?


    Was I going to become just like Han and Jin...?


    Raven, noticing me staring at Han and Jin with the group of girls, curiously asked.


    "Aren''t you going to join them?"


    Shaking my head at Raven''s answer, I replied.


    "Then what would I do with you?"


    "I could just go back to headqu-"


    "You know you always complain you have no breaks, but when I bring you to a lavish festival like this, you just complain."


    Ignoring my previous words, Raven glanced back at the group of girls before saying.


    "Ah, you already have that one girl you brought to the headquarters earlier, don''t you?"


    "hm? What are you talking ab-"


    "GO CELESTIAL ACDEMY!"


    "LET''S GO CT!"


    Interrupting my words were the sounds of countless people yelling chants, signifying the start of the events within the coliseum.


    Liam would be competing today, wouldn''t he?


    Before I knew it, Han and Jin had already come back to the booth and ditched the group of girls.


    "Let''s go watch."


    "What are you waiting for? Let go!"


    As Raven and I followed the two to the student section of the coliseum, I realized we had actually arrived fairly early, as almost all of the seats were empty.


    Choosing the first and best row, we four sat down; however, Han and Jin immediately left to get snacks, leaving jackets on their seats.


    Raven was in complete awe upon seeing the size of the coliseum. He was so entranced that he didn''t even notice me tapping him on the shoulder.


    Well... he had lived in the slums all his life, so things like this coliseum had probably only been in his dreams.


    This book''s damned author... leaving a good kid like Raven to rot away in the slums.


    Leaving Raven to enjoy this new experience, I grabbed the cat off my shoulder, which still hurt from the incident two days ago, and placed him on my lap.


    As more and more students flooded into the student section, the sweet and calming silence soon disappeared and transformed as excited students loudly discussed the events and who would win.


    As the fireworks emerged from the coliseum and exploded into the sky, the contestants of the first event finally arrived, and Liam, Ruby, the main cast, and the transfer students emerged, adorned in their academy suits.


    Watching the events was... anticlimactic, to say the least.


    What point is there in watching a competition if you already know the winner?


    Turning my side, Raven didn''t seem too interested in the fighting either, as the novelty of the coliseum had already worn off for him.


    Tapping Han and Jin, who actually seemed quite interested, I said.


    "I''m gonna go drop Raven off; I''ll be back in a bit."


    As the two of us exited the coliseum, Raven wanted to buy some food, so I gave him some money and waited at the exit.


    After waiting for a few minutes while looking at my smartwatch, I felt a gaze on me, causing me to look up.


    Not even 10 feet away stood Ruby, who walked over to me upon seeing me looking away from my smartwatch.


    "...Aren''t you participating in an event?"


    "Oh, that? Who cares?"


    "Which one did you even sign up for?"


    "Oh, I got chosen for the battle royale!"


    Oh, is she participating with Liam and Lily in the battle royal event instead of Irene? Eh, it won''t make much of a difference; they''ll still win.


    As Ruby waved me goodbye, I saw Raven also arriving in the distance. He looked at Ruby and me for a second before stopping dead in his tracks.


    Not again...


    After dropping Raven back to the headquarters, I spent the rest of my day walking around with Han or Jin and rotting in my bed.


    As the last day of the festival arrived, the cake shop was finally put up for sale in the newspaper, so I immediately pounced, using up some of my savings to purchase it.


    Since today was the last day of the festival, the famed battle royale event would be taking place.


    Ruby, Liam, and Lily had already qualified for the event during their performances in the previous days, and I was sure Lily would lead them to victory with her book knowledge, so there was no need for me to do anything.


    Arriving at the boarded-up cake shop, I entered with the key, ignoring the countless cracks in the walls and trash over the floor before heading directly towards the tunnel.


    Climbing down the ladder, I immediately made my way to the clearing before placing down my backpack, which contained some healing potions in case anything happened. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    I had put it off for long enough...


    It was time to understand my new ability, Dragon''s Transformation, finally.


    As I opened my backpack, I saw the black cat suddenly jump out before immediately running to a corner of the cave and settling down.


    Had it been in the backpack the whole time...?

 Chapter 77: Chapter 77:A Restart [3]

    The cat was a mystery in itself; not only had it managed to go back in time, but it also somehow led me to the painting in Ruby''s room, which was another mystery.


    This cat was just a series of mysteries muddled together, but what should I do about it?


    Was I supposed to investigate and experiment on a goddamn cat?


    "...step by step, I guess."


    Sitting cross-legged in the middle of the clearing, I basked in the silence and serenity for a few moments, letting out my chaotic thoughts.


    Focusing my mind solely on my body, I specifically concentrated on the center of my body, where all my mana would gather.


    Feeling an unknown red-colored substance in the area where my mana was stored, I moved it around and examined it to get a rough shape.


    After a few minutes, I finally had a rough outline.


    Inside my chest, there was a modern yin-yang symbol, as the yin was my mana while the yang was the blood-red substance.


    The two were so close to touching, yet so far, as every time I attempted to move them together, they would repel against each other, breaking their shape, before quickly regathering to form the yin-yang symbol.


    Bracing myself for the upcoming pain, I knew what I had to do as I forced the blood-red substance near my mana, overpowering the repulsive force between the two.


    As the two opposites met, a sudden shockwave was sent through my body, causing me to fall back in pain for a few seconds.


    Regaining my composure, I once again examined my body and noticed that while the yin and yang symbol of the blood-red substance and mana was still there, a small purple particle was in the center of the symbol.


    Navigating the purple particle out of the center, making sure it didn''t touch the mana or blood-red substance, I let it sit near my heart while pondering.


    Now.. the question was, what do I do with it?


    Leading the sole purple particle up from my chest and towards my shoulder, I stopped it right at the spot where my wings had appeared last time.


    Leaving the particle there, I patiently waited a couple of seconds before feeling my back suddenly grow heavier.


    Sure enough, on my right shoulder, a wing had formed; however, rather than being a combination of pitch-black and blood red, the black had been replaced by a light blue.


    So, I can either combine the blood-red substance with my mana or corruption, and the colors change depending on that?


    Simply sitting still with the wing on my back, I patiently waited for whatever side effect this ability would cause, just as my Dragon''s Eye caused my eyes to bleed if I used it for too long.


    Am I really a masochist...? I''m just asking for pain now...


    However, after a couple of minutes of just sitting there, I felt nothing. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Flapping my wings and teleporting throughout the room, I also felt no side effects; in fact, it actually felt calming...


    Examining my body, I noticed that the purple particle in my shoulder had shrunk significantly, to the point where it could barely even be seen anymore.


    I guess this is the time limit...?


    As the purple particles diminished and disappeared, I felt my thoughts blur and become convoluted, making me unable to focus on a single thing.


    It felt like my entire mind was in chaos as countless unrelated memories rushed through my head, overloading my brain.


    Clutching my head in pain, I dropped to the floor, immediately noticing that my wing had disappeared.


    Crawling over to my backpack, I grabbed a stack of healing scrolls worth over ten gold coins, immediately ripping all of them in one motion.


    As the scrolls disappeared and turned into dust, a green aura began to surround me, easing the pain in my mind; however, when that aura disappeared, my mind immediately went back into chaos.


    Lying down on the floor, facing the ceiling, I simply gave into the pain as I attempted to close my eyes to fall asleep, only to be immediately woken up by the random and constant thoughts racing through my head.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    After who knows how long, I finally felt my mind return as I could actually control the thoughts appearing in my head.


    Sitting back up, I was in no rush to continue experimenting as I grabbed the meal I had gotten from one of the stands at the festival.


    Taking the container out of my backpack, I heard the sound of scratching on a hard surface, causing me to turn my head upwards... just to see the black cat, barely hanging onto the roof of the clearing with its claws.


    Seeing my look upwards, the cat released its claws, falling face-first right onto my head.


    Who said cats always land on their feet..?


    Putting the cat on the floor, I watched it lick its paws with the utmost dignity, like nothing had happened, before walking up to the corner of the clearing to do who knows what.


    After finishing my lunch, I recreated the same process, leading a new purple particle out of the yin and yang symbol.


    Instead of moving it to my shoulder, I moved the purple particle to my hands, causing an enormous red paw to replace my hand immediately.


    Staring at the paw of a dragon, which had completely replaced my right hand, I retracted and extracted the claws for a couple of seconds.


    Leading the purple particle out of my hand, causing my right hand to appear again, I pushed it towards the back of my legs.


    Almost immediately, a long, bright red tail adorned with countless spikes appeared behind me.


    Was I some sort of transformer now?


    Checking my body every few seconds, I saw the purple particle was beginning to fade into nothingness, so I immediately moved it back to the center of the yin and yang symbol.


    A couple of seconds later, the purple particles disappeared from the center, leaving no trace and, most important of all, no pain!


    So... my new ability allows me to recreate any physical attribute of a dragon, such as their wings, tail, claws, and even legs.


    Is this dragon''s will thing slowly transforming me into a dragon...? At the next stage, will I be able to completely become a dragon or what?


    Combining the blood-red substance with my corruption, I curiously watched how, like last time, the area where the particles of blood-red and pitch-black were located shined a bright red, even through my clothes.


    Lighting up the cave with my glowing right hand, I formed a dragon''s paw once again before confirming that the only difference was the color, as the power output stayed the same.


    Checking my smartwatch, I realized that most of the festival had already ended. My social media page was filled with people congratulating Lily, Liam, and Ruby on their victory in the battle royale.


    On the other hand, my group chat was also blowing up. Apparently, Jin had placed all his money on their victory, so he was rich now.


    [Jin: I TOLD YOU BET WITH ME, I TOLD YOU DIDN''T I, HAN?]


    [Han: You also told me to bet with you the last hundred times, and you lost all those times...]


    [Jin: 99% of gamblers quit before they hit big, and I''M NOW THAT 1% WHO MADE IT THROUGH BABY!]


    [Han: Dude, the odds were 10/90; no sane person would bet on that.]


    [Jin: Nope, the odds are 50/50. You either win, or you lose!]


    Picking myself off the floor, I sent a quick message to Raven, letting him know about our acquisition of the cake shop.


    [Ren: You remember the cake shop where we met?]


    [Raven: How could I forget it...?]


    [Ren: Our meeting must have been that significant for you, huh?}


    [Raven: Moron, I''m talking about the cake.]


    [Ren: You know, a simple thanks for getting you out of homelessness would suffice.]


    [Raven: Yeah, yeah. Now, why are you mentioning that shop.]


    [Ren: It''s ours; I dipped into the savings.]


    [Raven: You bought a cake shop...?]


    [Ren: Hire some employees and cleaners; it''s kinda a dump right now.]


    [Raven: A cake shop...thank you, boss...]


    [Ren: So, this is what you thank me for? Not me saving you from the black market, giving you a job, a house, and money?]


    [Raven: I just asked Zeng, and he said he''s down to work as the baker!]


    ...that guy just gets less and less evil every day... is he really a djinn?


    Sighing, I put down my smartwatch and headed back to the academy with the cat hiding in my jacket.


    With the festival now over, it was time for the main plotline to start once again.


    These pleasant and leisurely times were nice while they lasted, but it was quite hard to relax, knowing the upcoming events.


    The corruption of the World Tree should have begun by now...


    Heading into my dorm, I slumped down on my bed, clearing my head of all thoughts while drifting off to sleep.

 Chapter 78: Chapter 78:A Quick Lil Duel [1]

    I woke up the next day, not to the sound of tourists bustling about, but to my cat, which was pawing at my head.


    Sighing, I reluctantly got up from the comfort of my bed and added some cooked chicken to its bowl. At this point, it was already part of my daily routine... and honestly, I was kinda scared of the cat.


    What would it do me if I didn''t listen to it..?


    Was this cat a god? I mean, it had traveled back in time with me... So, in conclusion, treating it well was probably the way to go for me.


    What if I forgot to feed it once, as it just gave me bad luck for the rest of my life!?


    After changing into some casual clothes and making scrambled eggs for breakfast with a sauce that tasted like a sweet hot sauce from my world, I sat down while checking my smartwatch.


    [Dear All First Year Members of the Travel Club,


    I hope you''ve all had a great time at the Celestial Festival, whether you were enjoying time with family or having the honor of representing our school in one of the events. Overall, I hope all of you, as fellow students, had a great first semester, and trust me¡ªthis is only the start!


    With the first semester over and the second semester starting, it''s, of course, time for club activities to resume!


    This year, however, our trip will be different!


    As Travel Club President, I am delighted to announce that all members of the travel club are invited to a week-long visit to Elven Realm!


    Yes, THAT ELVEN REALM!


    The lush, green forests north of the Human Realm, where real Elves live!


    More details about the trip and our departure time will be sent out shortly, so please look out for the following emails.


    Thanks,


    Your Travel Club President]


    Putting down my smartwatch, I prepared to head to Capital City to check on the cake shop''s progress.


    How was I going to explain that tunnel to Raven..?


    *THUD~THUD*


    "hm?"


    Hearing a couple of knocks on my door, I looked up from my plate of food before getting up and unlocking the door.


    In front of me stood a student adorned in another academy''s uniform with a smug expression.


    After a couple of moments, I remembered that he was the one who had blocked my way out of the classroom on the day Astrid and I left the academy to search.


    "uh... sorry, you are?"


    " *AHEM* I am the honored Blaine Bradford, the third rank student in the entirety of Eldtide Academy."


    "...good for you?"


    With a smile now apparent on his face, this obnoxious Blain kid stared at me for a moment before twisting his head and saying.


    "On behalf of Eldertide Academy, I challenge you, Ren, to a duel in the coliseum."


    "...? Really, dude?"


    Ignoring him, I slammed the door shut and headed back to my plate of delicious scrambled eggs.


    Since his academy, Eldertide, had lost to Celestial Academy in the Celestial Festival, their reputation would be at an all-time low, especially after they claimed they would win in all the newspapers.


    Blaine, as a proud student of Eldertide Academy, must have been thinking of a way for the academy to regain its reputation.


    He probably thought that challenging and easily defeating a student from Celestial Academy would improve their reputation.


    *BANG~BANG*


    "I KNOW YOU''RE IN THERE!"


    Ignoring the constant knocks on my door, I continued eating my scrambled eggs while my cat happily chowed down on the chicken.


    I could never let that thing discover steak... I would go broke just from feeding it.


    *BANG~BANG*


    "YOU HAVE TO ACCEPT, YOU CAN''T DENY!"


    Sighing, I got up from my seat, placed my empty plate in the sink, and grabbed my school-issued daggers.


    Unfortunately, no matter how annoying this Blaine was, his words were right.


    If you were challenged to a duel, your choices were either to accept the duel or receive detention for a whole week.


    Since denying a direct duel request as a student would tarnish Celestial Academy''s reputation as their students would seem scared and weak, the academy imposed harsh punishments to persuade students not to deny these requests.


    Of course, with this rule in effect, students couldn''t just challenge anyone they wanted to do a duel; they had to have a good reason.


    And... unfortunately, I had given Blaine that reason by throwing him out of the way when we first met.


    Opening the door, revealing the furious and confused figure of Blaine, I wasted no time as I grabbed his shoulder and forcibly dragged him out of the dorm building.


    "...WAIT WHAT ARE YOU DO-"


    "You said you wanted to duel? Let''s go now. What the hell are you waiting for? This was your idea, wasn''t it?"


    Letting go of Blaine, causing him to stumble forward, I walked towards the looming coliseum buildings, with Blaine following behind.


    Maybe when I had first transmigrated here, I would have purposely lost to make sure people didn''t know anything was wrong with Ren, but who the hell cares about the old "Ren" anymore?


    I''m Ren, now, aren''t I?


    I could do whatever the hell I wanted!


    And what I wanted to do was to defeat Blaine quickly so I could go to the capital and complete my original goal of the day!


    Walking up to the guard, who was waiting outside the coliseum, I pointed to Blaine while saying.


    "We want to duel."


    Nodding his head like it was an everyday occurrence, the guard moved aside, letting Blaine and I pass through.


    Heading to the right, where the home team''s side was located, I handed my daggers to another guard, who confirmed that they were weapons allowed in a duel.


    Wasting no time, I rushed to the tunnel that led out into the coliseum and patiently waited for Blaine''s arrival.


    Peering across the coliseum and into the other tunnel, I finally noticed Blaine walking up with a broadsword in his hands.


    While he didn''t have a grin on his face anymore, he still seemed rather confident as he was holding his sword leisurely while leaning against the wall.


    Seriously, where do third-rate villains get all this false confidence from?


    I mean, the first thing I did when I entered this body was humble myself!


    That mountain tyrant in that mountain range cave really did numbers to me...


    The referee, who was sitting on a chair in the middle of the coliseum, noticed us a second later before announcing.


    "The duel between Ren from Celestial Academy and Blaine Bradford of Eldertide Academy will now commence."


    While you might think that duels would take longer to organize rather than just simply walking into the coliseum and asking for a duel, the academy had already prepared for dozens of duel requests today, making the process extremely fast.


    I mean, even the academy knew that hundreds of third-rate villains like Blaine would be salty about their defeat and duel someone else to get over it!


    Grabbing my standard daggers, I walked out of the dark tunnel and into the middle of the coliseum, where a makeshift duel arena was already set up. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the middle of the coliseum sat an elevated platform where the duel would take place. The rules were simple: you either lost by surrendering, being completely defeated, or being knocked off the elevated platform.


    Walking up the stairs of the platform, I noticed that despite Blaine asking me for a duel not even an hour ago, there was already a huge crowd in the stands.


    That goddamn idiot Blaine must have told everyone to come and blabbered about our duel so that they could witness him win it!

 Chapter 79: Chapter 79:A Quick Lil Duel [2]

    "Kevin... where are you taking us? None of us have even eaten breakfast yet."


    "Yeah, dumbass, you can just show up and tell us to follow you."


    "Yo, Liam, you, of all people, are going to be happy, even you too, Lily."


    As the group of 3 neared the coliseum, Kevin led them up countless stairs before finally entering the student section, which was half-full.


    Looking at the somewhat crowded student section, Liam curiously asked.


    "Isn''t the festival over? Why are people still here?"


    Lily, who recalled that the transfer students were all sore losers, thought for a moment before asking.


    "Is there a duel going on?"


    "mhm, not just any duel..."


    "What are you on about, Kevin?"


    "Liam, your one and only hater, besides me, is dueling today!"


    Thinking for a second, Liam asked.


    "That Ren, kid?"


    "Yep, not only that but the person he''s facing is ranked top 3 at his own school! It is SO OVER FOR HIM!"


    Lily, who had already taken a seat, gazed out into the arena before asking.


    "Why didn''t he just take the week of detention?"


    Taking a seat next to Lily, Kevin picked a basket of popcorn, which had just magically appeared, and said.


    "Are you really complaining, though?"


    Taking a seat on the other side of Lily, Liam replied.


    "Yeah, Lily, let''s just enjoy the fight, you know?"


    Inwardly, Liam was much more excited.


    Why wouldn''t he be happy?


    Finally, the person who had attacked him for no reason and ruined the reward that the principal gave him by sharing it with everyone was being punished!


    "Justice really is real..."


    "What was that, Liam?"


    "...nothing, Lily."


    Looking around the student section, Liam noticed almost all of the students here were praying for Ren''s downfall.


    Wasn''t it weird that all the students here were wishing that their own team, Celestial Academy, would lose the duel?


    Nope! That was just the effect Ren had on everyone!


    Continuing to glance around the student section, Liam tried his best to suppress his laughter as a poster held by one of the students caught his sight.


    [PLEASE BEAT REN!]


    [HE''S NOT OURS; CELESTIAL ACADEMY DOES NOT CLAIM HIM!]


    Kevin, however, failed as he burst out in laughter upon seeing the poster, taking a few seconds to regain his composure.


    "t-that *PFFFT* i-i c-can''t."


    Nodding his head, Liam replied.


    "I think this student section is going to be more entertaining than the fight."


    As both Ren and Blaine emerged from their tunnels and headed up towards the arena, the student section only grew louder as some wild cheers could be heard.


    "REN, YOU''RE A JOKE; ALREADY FUCKING BROKE!"


    "REN, YOU''RE A JOKE; ALREADY FUCKING BROKE!"


    Unable to hold in their laughter, both Kevin and Liam broke into laughter simultaneously while covering their face with their hands.


    For the first time, the two seemed to be in sync... and actually getting along like friends...


    " *PFFT* t-thank you so much, Kevin *PFFFT*"


    "i- *PFFT* y-your welcome!"


    Lily, who was stuck between two, let a slight grin slip onto her face while staring intently at the arena.


    Ren, reaching the top of the stairs and arena first, stood awkwardly with a long, twisted dagger in each of his hands.


    On the other hand, Blaine took his time walking up the stairs, waving at the crowd, who was actually cheering him on.


    Noticing her sight of the fight was blocked, Lily looked up and saw a familiar face.


    "Astrid?"


    "Oh? Lily, you''re here to see the duel, as well?"


    Exchanging greetings with Lily, Astrid took her seat next to Liam, ignoring the cheering and keeping her attention solely focused on the duel below.


    Lily, returning her sight to the arena, saw Blaine finally arrive at the arena before the referee raised a large white flag and announced with a sound magic artifact.


    "Duelers, please take your positions."


    "Do any of you need clarification on the rules of the duel."


    "..."


    "The duel will begin when my countdown hits 0."


    "3..."


    "...2..."


    "1.....zer-"


    Ren, who had already activated the usage period of dash before the countdown, immediately dashed forward as the words "zero" slipped out of the referee''s mouth.


    Tapping his right eye mid-dash, Ren slowed his perception of time. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Blaine, who had reacted to Ren''s dash, held his sword horizontally, the perfect place to parry both Ren''s daggers and give an immediate counterattack.


    Embueing mana into his daggers, Ren, with time still slowed, swung his dagger countless times, creating six holographic daggers, all appearing next to his hands.


    Speeding backup time, Ren used the last of his mana on his daggers, activating a movement he had not used for a very long time: Serpent Slash.


    The slash that was able to temporarily paralyze your opponent upon contact.


    Sending his holographic daggers ahead of him, Ren watched as Blaineswiftly raised his sword by an inch to parry the new holographic daggers.


    However, that sword''s raising was all Ren needed as he lunged forward with his right dagger, piecing forward and hitting the armor Blaine was using.


    Frozen in time, Blaine stood there with his sword, watching as the daggers he had tried to parry simply flew through his sword before disappearing into nothingness.


    Covering his hand with corruption, Ren used the force of the corruption to propel the frozen Blaine upwards and toward the edge of the arena.


    Blaine, who had regained his senses mid-air, attempted to land by pushing his sword downwards into the ground of the arena, but it was too late.


    Following up, Ren dashed forward once again, meeting Blaine mid-air... and palming him once again.


    Flying backward at an even faster pace, Blaine flew right off the platform and into the wall of the coliseum


    *THUD*


    Slumped down on the ground, Blaine was dazed by both the impact of his head hitting the wall and his 15-second defeat.


    Looking at Blaine''s body, Ren whistled before muttering.


    "What a combo! Guess, all that Super Smash Bros wasn''t for nothing!"


    With that, Ren simply bowed to the judge, who declared Ren''s victory with a surprised face before heading back into the tunnel, disappearing from the public''s sight.


    "...R-ren of Celestial Academy emerges victorious!"


    At the referee''s words, the entire student section went quiet, even those who had been intently cheering a few moments earlier.


    Some of the students, who had been eating and missed the short 15-second fight, were looking at the referee in confusion.


    Astrid was the first to move in the silent student section. She simply nodded her head before heading to the exit and leaving the coliseum.


    Kevin and Liam, who had previously been leaning back in their chairs and laughing uncontrollably, now held grim expressions on their face as they stared at the empty arena.


    But it was neither of them that broke the silence first.


    "W-what was that? H-hey, Kevin, you said he was third-ranked, right?"


    "...y-yeah Lily... he w-was."


    Silently standing up from the chair, Liam gazed at Blaine''s dazed body.


    "Whoever said justice is real is fucking liar."


    This was the opposite of what he wanted!


    Ren should have been the one lying motionless against the wall; not that random, Blaine.


    Kevin, who had dropped his basket of popcorn out of surprise, stared sullenly at the floor covered with popcorn before following Liam''s lead and getting up.


    "Well... it was only a matter of time before that loser did something with his life. I guess better late than never. But, once a loser, always a loser still applies to him."


    "i-i-ll t-take j-justice into my own hands!"


    "What the hell are you on about, Liam..?"


    Amidst the two''s argument, Lily stayed rooted to her seat.


    For any person, a development like this would be regular.


    After being disowned by one''s family, one would definitely train non-stop to become more powerful and gather new skills.


    However, that wasn''t Ren.


    A stubborn, cocky, self-centered, and spoiled brat.


    The word "training" wasn''t even in Ren''s dictionary.


    Did the book wrongly characterize him..? Or was this the result of her changes to the story?


    Behind Lily, the students in the section came back to their senses as their conversation transformed from insulting Ren to accusing him of cheating.


    "Hey dude, you didn''t see any of the fight; I didn''t see any of it. I''m not gonna say anything, but that referee might have been bribed."


    Of course, there were people who had logic in the student section who were able to recognize Ren''s power, but they stayed silent, simply observing from a distance.

 Chapter 80: Chapter 80:The Trip [1]

    While confirming that the cake shop was progressing regularly, I was surprised to see Raven and Zeng both more enthusiastic, as they had already cleaned the entire shop.


    Alongside the fast progression of the cake shop, I was also surprised to hear that Zeng could finally hide his horns.


    As your power as a djinn grows, you can better hide your qualities, so Zeng is probably equivalent to a D-rank hero, like me, as he can hide his horns.


    Heading back to headquarters, I decided to organize my subspace before heading to the Elven Realm, as I was likely to return to the academy after my trip with a bunch of new artifacts.


    Looking at the dull metal sword stored in my painting subspace, I carefully held it in my hands for a second before confirming that there were no side effects.


    The blood-red sword had become a normal metal sword now.


    Heading out of the subspace with the sword in hand, I looked around for a second before spotting Zeng, who was being taught how to interact with humans by Raven.


    "Zeng, what do you say when you meet someone new for the first time?"


    "Hello, fellow human, my name is Zeng. May I ponder as to what your human name may be?"


    "...? Is this some kind of joke to you?"


    "Whatever could you mean by that, Raven, sir?"


    "WHAT DOES THE WORD "PONDER" MEAN?"


    "...I found it in a dictionary... and thought it sounded cool..!"


    "This is useless... I''M A BUSINESS OWNER, NOT SOME DAMN LANGUAGE TEACHER"


    As Raven stormed out of the kitchen, brushing by me, I turned and asked.


    "...Do you know what "ponder" means?"


    "...no... but that''s not my point! The way he talks is so fucking annoying. HE''S ALREADY USING WORDS I DON''T KNOW, AND I"VE SPOKEN THIS LANGUAGE MY ENTIRE LIFE!"


    Sighing, I left Raven to watch television on the couch while entering the kitchen, seeing Zeng avidly reading a dictionary I had brought to the headquarters from the academy.


    With Zeng now being able to hide his horns, he would be a formidable ally in future battles, so giving him a weapon was essential.


    Placing the sword on Zeng''s dictionary, I waited a few seconds before he finally realized the sword''s appearance and turned towards me.


    "And what might this be, boss? Perhaps a sword?"


    "...Raven''s right... you really do sound like a pretentious prick."


    "Hm? What does "prick" mean? I don''t believe I''ve seen that in the dictionary..."


    "It means "a good person," but don''t worry about that. This sword is all yours... think of it as a reward for ranking up."


    "This dictionary and a new sword... are you planning on making m-"


    "No, nothing about the painting; all of them are yours for free."


    Leaving Zeng behind, as he continued to read the book, I waved goodbye to Raven before heading out.


    This would be my last time here for over a week...


    Upon reentering the academy, I immediately returned to my dorm room to grab my packed suitcase, which only contained two pairs of clothes.


    I had really gone overboard on preparation this time...


    Lugging my suitcase down the countless stairs, I exited my dorm building and headed to the academy''s front gate, where a single luxury bus stood.


    Of course, there weren''t any magic gates in the Elven territory, so we had to travel the old-fashioned way.


    After taking the bus to the edge of the human territory, we would transfer over to carriages and ride until we reached the forest.


    Upon reaching the forest, we would regroup and head towards the central Elven Village in the forest''s center.


    All in all, the trip lasted about two days: one day was spent using the bus, and another was spent riding the carriages and walking through the forest.


    Having arrived early, I put my suitcase in the storage space under the bus before boarding and finding a seat.


    Unlike the buses from the training camp, there were no separated sections, as it was just a normal bus, and people could sit wherever they wanted.


    Finding a window seat near the back of the bus, I sat down before taking out my smartwatch and checking up on the news recently.


    *CLOMP~CLOMP*


    Hearing the sound of footsteps echoing throughout the bus, I saw Lily entering the bus with an expression that seemed like a mixture of confusion and anger.


    Recalling my antics in the duel earlier, I wasn''t surprised at her confusion, but I was somewhat surprised why there was anger mixed in there.


    *BZZT~BZZT*


    [Jin: Yo, Ren, YOU''RE NOT A CELEBRITY, RESPOND TO OUR TEXTS]


    As the sound of my phone vibrating filled the bus, I slowly looked upwards, locking eyes with Lily, who was staring at me.


    Raising my trembling hand and waving, I suppressed my laughter while staring at the shocked Lily.


    Silently staring at me as I sat in my seat, Lily stood there for a solid ten seconds before slowly walking towards me.


    Well... I can''t complain; I knew what I was doing when I won that duel.


    But... was it really that unlikely to Lily that Ren had improved and trained after being disowned by his family?


    I mean, damn, I was a reader like her too once, so I knew personally how evil and stupid Ren was.... but still, he was only in a single chapter.


    Did she really believe she fully understood Ren''s character and personality as a whole after reading just one chapter?


    I know third-rate villains are supposed to be plain and straightforward, but come on!


    Well, in Lily''s mind, she had already introduced dozens of variables, so this wouldn''t be that hard to justify in her mind, would it?


    Looking up at Lily as she approached my seat, I honestly didn''t know what to say, so I just waited for her.


    Stopping before me, Lily pointed to the aisle seat next to me and asked.


    "Anyone sitting there?"


    "...? pardon?"


    "I''ll take that as a no."


    Sitting beside me, Lily also took her smartwatch and began texting away. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...What was her end goal here? To interrogate me, to investigate me, or to keep an eye on me?


    Well... I wasn''t planning on doing anything on the trip to the Elvin Kingdom... but I''m a high school student!


    I don''t need a damn babysitter!


    Putting down my smartwatch, I stared out the window, contemplating my decision to arrive early.


    Yeah, arrive early, and get a good seat, my ass!


    As more footsteps entered the bus, I didn''t bother to look up as I awaited the bus''s departure.


    Things couldn''t get any worse, could they..?


    Feeling my smartwatch vibrate non-stop for a minute, I eventually scanned the bus for a second and noticed Han and Jin sitting in the seats right in front of Lily and me.


    Looking at Lily, who was simply staring at her smartwatch, completely distracted, I discretely leaned forward and whispered through the seat.


    "What''s up?"


    "The hell do you mean, "What''s up?" Going back to your ex, really, dude?"


    "Jin, let him explain... but Ren, come on man, you can do better..."


    "Both of you, it''s nothing like that, alright?"


    "... doesn''t seem that way to me."


    "Ren, lying to your own friends for her... desperation really isn''t the way."


    Noticing Lily looking up from her smartwatch, I ignored the two and leaned back into my seat.


    The misunderstandings would solve themselves when Jin and Han noticed the unbearable and awkward atmosphere between us.


    "What was that about?"


    "A simple conversation between friends."


    "Didn''t seem like a ''simple'' conversation."


    "Eavesdropping isn''t a good quality, is it?"


    "When you''re ''whispering'' that loud, I can''t help but hear."


    *BZZT~BZZT*


    [Jin: Still nothing like that, huh, man?]


    Silencing my smartwatch, I turned away from Lily and back to the window.


    As the last pair of footsteps entered the bus, I heard the doors slam close before the bus started moving.


    Sighing as I looked ahead, I could hear the argument between Liam and Kevin at the front of the bus.


    "FOR THE LAST DAMN TIME, I DON''T KNOW WHERE SHE IS."


    "Liam, so help me god if you''re lying..."


    "Kevin, she''s definitely on the bus; the traveling president took attendance."


    "Oh, real fucking specific, man."


    "Remind me never to help you ever again."


    Crouching back down under the cover of my seat, I avoided the prying gazes of Liam and Kevin as they glanced around.


    Fortunately, the bus had no lights, as students were supposed to sleep during the ride to prepare for the upcoming carriage ride so that Lily couldn''t be spotted by the two as well.


    Hearing another set of footsteps, I looked upwards and saw the familiar figure of Ruby navigating her way toward Lily''s seat in the darkness.


    Is this just the Ren fanclub meeting?


    Watching Ruby near our seats, I was tempted to say something, but with Lily right here, any interaction between us would be heavily monitored.


    As Ruby passed by, I pulled my hood over my head, concealing my face... but as Ruby took a seat in the chair right behind Lily, I felt my blood pressure actually rise.


    This G- luck stat was really starting to piss me off!

 Chapter 81: Chapter 81:Flashback [1]

    Keeping my hood over my face, I continued staring out the bus''s window to avoid making eye contact with either Lily or Ruby.


    But seriously, why the hell was Ruby here?


    Why had she chosen to join the travel club out of all the other club options? I hadn''t even told her I was in the travel club or anything.


    As the bus sped up, entering the capital''s streets, I continued staring at the fleeting buildings and crowds of people who had yet to leave after the Celestial Festival had ended.


    Getting a headache from my eye''s overload of information, I sighed as I forcefully closed my eyes, attempting to drift off to sleep to pass the day.


    In front of me, I could hear the constant sound of the chair twitching as Jin and Han kept turning around to try and keep an eye on me.


    Somehow, these two reminded me of my parents...


    They were annoying... yet at the same time, deep down, I knew that they cared for me and were trying to keep me safe.


    How were they doing right now?


    Recalling my last day on Earth, I involuntarily clenched my fists while reopening my eyes for a slight second.


    It had been a normal day: after finishing school, rather than going straight home to study like my mom wanted me to do, I decided to head to a karaoke place with some of my classmates.


    "Come on, Silas, you never come with us."


    "Yeah, your parents won''t care if you stop studying one time!"


    "Hurry up, man. Are you coming or not?"


    Slinging my backpack around my shoulder, I stared at my smartphone for a second, contemplating whether to ask my mother if I could go.


    Didn''t this already happen countless times?


    Not even a month ago...


    Standing at the front door of my house, I finally gathered enough courage before unlocking the door with my house key.


    Hearing the door open, my mom walked from the kitchen to the front door and nodded to me, confirming my presence.


    Seeing her turn her back to head back to the kitchen, I clenched my fist before nervously asking.


    "Mom... my friends are going out after school tomorrow, can I g-"


    Stopping mid-walk, my mom turned around to face me before replying.


    "Don''t be stupid, Silas. Let them go; it only benefits you." S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "W-what do you mean, mom..?"


    "The more they go out, the less studying they do, which means their grades are worse. That means less competition for you and more college spots."


    "B-but mom, I want to go..."


    "Silas, you''ll have all the free time in the world once you finish college and get a good job. You''ll be giving up your advantage by going out with them right now."


    "That''s in over six years, mom..."


    Ignoring my complaints, my mom guided me from the front door to my room before handing me another packet of work to do.


    "You''ll thank yourself for listening to me when you''re older."


    Hearing the door slam shut as my mom headed back to the kitchen, I furiously grabbed my pencil before forcing myself to solve the problems in front of me.


    Why was my mom the only one who didn''t let their son go out?


    As my furious thoughts grew, I turned away from my sheet and stared out my window, seeing countless students younger than me walking around and enjoying the winter with their friends.


    As the winter snow fell, I could see countless middle-schoolers and younger students throwing snowballs at each other or lying down, attempting to make snow angels.


    *KNOCK~KNOCK*


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, I heard my mom knock on my door for a second before cracking the door open.


    Standing in front of my door with a plate of takoyaki, my mom carefully slid the plate through the crack in the door and onto my desk.


    With a smile, she said.


    "Here''s your favorite, Silas!"


    Slowly shutting the door and leaving behind the plate, I could hear my mom''s hurried footsteps back to the kitchen.


    Ignoring the plate, I pressed on with my problems.


    Snapping me back to the present, I heard the sound of a video playing from Lily''s smartwatch.


    Ignoring the sound, I reopened my eyes and continued staring out the window.


    ...thinking back on it, did I even like takoyaki...?


    No...I was angry at my mom for not letting me out, so I had specifically asked for an expensive snack that took a long time to make.


    But, no matter how difficult the task or how expensive the ingredients were, my mother still delivered the plate to me every day.


    Yet, I left the plate of food untouched every time, purposely leaving it on my desk for my mother to see.


    I had thought my mother would be angry, and it would be the perfect revenge if my mother saw that the food she had worked so hard on was wasted.


    ...But I was wrong.


    With the same smile and content expression, she continued delivering the snack to my room daily, not even mentioning how I had left the plate untouched earlier.


    "Did you enjoy the snack, Silas?"


    Lying, I replied.


    "yes."


    With a smile, she would just move on from the topic, inquiring about my progress with my studies.


    Just how many hours had she wasted in that kitchen making a snack for me¡ªjust me to not eat it?


    How did she feel after spending all that time making the food and cleaning the kitchen just to see it untouched?


    Our family was low-income and middle-class, yet somehow, she still had the money every day to make the takoyaki despite its expensive ingredients.


    The money that my father and mother worked so hard to gain was wasted on me because of a petty grudge I held.


    Even with a scholarship for my outstanding grades, my father still had to fork over more than a fourth of his income just for tuition, not including textbooks and study resources.


    A fact I had only come to realize after my entrance to this world.


    What kind of son was I?


    I was here criticizing Ren''s father''s parenting earlier... but was I even qualified to do that?


    Closing my eyes, I reentered my flashback of my last day on Earth.


    Tapping my cellphone and checking the time, I approached my classmates before saying.


    "Yeah, you''re right..! It''s just one time; she won''t care that much."

 Chapter 82: Chapter 82:Flashback [2]

    Looking around the new area, I followed my classmate''s lead out of the school and towards the karaoke shop.


    Ignoring my classmates'' laughs and discussions, I intently looked around, taking in every part of this new experience.


    Upon entering the shop, one of my classmates paid for a huge room before leading us in.


    Watching my fellow classmates sit down, order drinks, and eagerly look for songs on the iPad like this was an everyday thing, I felt a tinge of jealousy inside me.


    Why had I been holed up in my room, studying this whole time, while they had been enjoying life to the fullest?


    Laughing alongside my classmates as I watched my friends try their best to sing, all thoughts and doubts about returning home disappeared.


    When I was handed the iPad, I asked my classmate beside me for a recommendation before looking at the screen with the lyrics and trying my best to sing.


    "haha, Silas, why is your voice so monotone?"


    "Show some emotion, will ya, haha."


    "Hey, ignore them, Silas; your singing was much better than whatever bat screech came out of Kang''s mouth."


    "Kai, if we''re talking about singing skills, then you''re at the very bott-"


    Picking up a melon cream drink before me, I saved its sweet taste while watching the next person in line sing.


    "HEY SILAS, LET''S DO A TRIO!"


    "YEAH, ME, YOU AND KANG!"


    Putting down my melon drink, I headed to the front stage of the karaoke room where my two friends, Kang and Kai, were waiting.


    *BZZT~BZZT*


    Feeling a vibration from my phone in my pocket, I hesitated momentarily, thinking whether I should check the message.


    How was I going to explain this to my mom? What was she going to say? What was my punishment going to be?


    "SILAS, GET OVER HERE!"


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, I felt my adrenaline surge as everyone in the room glanced at me from Kang''s shout.


    I''ll worry about it later.


    Following Kang up to the stage, I picked up a microphone alongside my two friends and began singing the lyrics off the screen.


    As I saw my classmates clapping and laughing while watching the three of us sing, all thoughts about returning home disappeared.


    For the next three hours, I stayed in the karaoke room, laughing and enjoying my free time with my friends.


    As people slowly started to leave to head home, I stayed, intending to savor every moment of this time.


    I already knew my mother would punish me when I got home, so why wouldn''t I enjoy this time to the fullest now?


    As the sun fell and nighttime arrived, I was left in the karaoke room with my two friends, Kai and Kang.


    Upon seeing those two finally getting ready to leave, I decided that this had gone on long enough, so I also departed from the karaoke room.


    In the darkness of the night, I used my phone to navigate my way out of the unfamiliar area and back to my house.


    Reaching my house''s front door, I hesitated momentarily at the door before deciding to accept my fate.


    There was no possible way for me to excuse my way out of not showing up until this late at night.


    Unlocking the door with my key, I creaked it open slightly, expecting to see my mother''s anxious and angry figure; however, she was nowhere to be seen.


    After opening the door fully, I entered the house, which seemed empty, as all the hallway lights were off.


    Was I really going to get away with this?


    Heading to the kitchen next to my room, I noticed the light was on, so I peeked inside from the hallway.


    Seeing my dad anxiously pacing back and forth in the kitchen, I immediately thought I was caught.


    Realizing that the chances of me falling asleep were zero as I would be too scared of punishment, I entered the kitchen, ready to tell my dad everything.


    *CLOMP~CLOMP*


    As the sound of my footsteps entered the kitchen, my dad immediately turned around and looked at me for a moment.


    Accepting my fate, I waited for the anger and frustration to pour out of his mouth; however, none came.


    Instead, a barrage of questions immediately exploded from my dad''s mouth.


    "Where were you? Where''s your mother? Did she send you back here? Where is she? She is not picking up her cell, and you weren''t either."


    Realizing I had completely shut off my cell after the first few vibrations, I took it out of my pocket and confusedly answered my dad''s question.


    What was all this stuff about Mom?


    "I-i was with my friends at a Cherokee place... I didn''t see mom at all. Where is she?"


    Rather than being outraged at my confession of guilt, my dad simply paused momentarily before grabbing a sticky note off the counter and showing it to me.


    [Honey, I''m sure where Silas is... he''s not picking up his cell. I''m going to the school to look for him. If I''m not back by then time you''re here, dinner is in the fridge. If Silas somehow arrives before me, please tell him that his Takoyaki plate is in the fridge.]


    It was ten a clock... where could she be right now?


    As thousands of thoughts rushed through my head, only one emerged.


    I have to find her...It was my fault; she left.


    She even took the time out of her already work-filled day to prepare my snack while I was enjoying Cherokee...


    A snack that she knew I didn''t even eat...


    What if she had gotten into danger while looking for me...?


    Reget.


    Tons of regret instantly flooded into my head.


    Why couldn''t I take a single second to check my phone and let her know I was with friends...?


    She spent her entire life, day in and day out, caring for me, cooking me, taking care of me, and helping me... yet I couldn''t spare a second for her.


    Unable to articulate the words coming out of my mouth due to my head''s chaos, I spit out.


    "t-the Cherokee shop, s-she''s there."


    If she had gone to school, she would have found out from the teachers that I had left with my classmates for the shop, so she would have had to be there.


    With my father trailing slightly behind me, I rushed to the train station and took the train back to the shop.


    Camping the doors, I jumped off the train as soon as the doors opened and rushed toward the shop.


    Nearing the intersection where the shop stood, I looked around before immediately noticing my mother standing in the middle of the crosswalk while frantically looking around.


    All this time, she had still been searching for me... more than five hours straight.


    Realizing that my voice alone wouldn''t reach her due to all the noise from others, I frantically waved my hands around, trying to catch her attention while yelling as well.


    "MOM! IT''S ME; I''M HERE!"


    "MOM"


    Hearing my yelling, I saw my mother pause before looking at my area and spotting my flailing hands; I sighed in relief.


    Did the punishment even matter anymore?


    As my mother made eye contact with me, stopping in place, I rushed towards her, ready to profusely apologize and thank her.


    However, the light next to the crosswalk turned green at that moment.


    Whether the driver was distracted or intoxicated, he failed to notice my mother still standing in the middle of the crosswalk as his truck surged forward.


    "MOMMM"


    "MOMMM GO"


    No matter how loud I screamed, my mother kept her eyes on me, a single tear falling from her right eye as she stared at me... completely oblivious to the oncoming truck.


    Not hesitating for a second, I sprinted to the start of the crosswalk, diving forward right at my mother with my arms pointed forward.


    None of the stares I received for yelling loudly or the people passing by mattered at that moment. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There were all blurs beside the clear figure of my mom right in front of the truck.


    At that moment, there was only my Mom and I.


    Feeling the palms of my extended hands touch my mother''s soft jacket, all my worries faded.


    Still mid-air from the dive, I smiled as I saw my mother fall back away from the truck and onto the sidewalk.


    I never did apologize to her for sneaking out, did I?


    That''s why I needed to get back to Earth.


    To apologize.


    That''s all I needed and wanted to do.


    Ah, how I would die for a plate of takoyaki now...


    [A/N: Hope this helps you understand Ren better. This is not the end of his backstory; there will be many more flashbacks in the future, so don''t worry if you have questions.]

 Chapter 83: Chapter 83:The Trip [2]

    *TAP~TAP*


    *TAP~TAP*


    Snapping me back to reality, I heard two footsteps rapidly approaching my seat.


    Unable to look away from the window as Ruby was sitting right behind me, I attempted to see the reflection of the windows, but the timing could not have been worse as the bus had just entered a tunnel.


    Well, even without turning around, I could guess who the two''s footsteps were.


    "Kevin, where the hell are you going?"


    "It doesn''t matter to you, so why are you following me?"


    "Well, I have nothing better to do on this bus, and I thought this might be entertaining."


    "So, I''m just a pawn used for your entertainment?"


    "Well, when you put it like that...? Think of it like this: you''re an actor putting on a show for me."


    Hearing an audible snort, I realized that Kevin and Liam were now only a few seats away from Lily and I.


    Well, this was going to be...


    If I got up to pretend to use the restroom, Ruby would notice me, but if I stayed, Kevin would bug me for the rest of this trip because I sat next to Lily once.


    Placed in this lose-lose predicament, I ultimately decided that my well-being was more important than Lily being suspicious of Ruby and I. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Unfortunately, Kevin''s footsteps fastened even more at that moment, blocking off my escape route.


    "She has to be on a bus somewhere, right?"


    "Kevin, don''t ask me. As an audience member, I can''t intervene in the play."


    "??? What are you saying?"


    If I were to step out into the aisle right now, Kevin would see me immediately before noticing Lily sitting beside me.


    Looking at Lily, who was also looking up as she heard Kevin''s voice, I quietly said.


    "I need to use the restroom."


    Looking straight at Kevin and Liam, she replied.


    "Quite the coincidence, don''t you think? As they''re approaching, you suddenly need to use the restroom."


    "Oh, is it?"


    Not wasting any more time conversing, I peeked my head over the seat, making sure Liam and Kevin were looking at the seats in the other direction.


    Confirming that I was not in their line of sight, I stood up in my seat, with my back facing Lily, Liam, and Kevin.


    Looking to my right, I saw Lily staring at me confusedly, and looking towards the back of the bus, I saw Ruby in the seat behind Lily.


    Seeing Ruby staring down at the smartwatch and not noticing me, I did what I thought was an elegant somersault over the seat, landing face-first on the window seat right next to Ruby.


    As the seat shook from my landing on it, I saw Ruby almost drop her smartwatch before adjusting her gaze to my back, which was pressed against the window.


    Quickly adjusting myself to sit normally with my back pressed against the chair, I turned to Ruby, who had just probably noticed it was me and not some random person.


    Pretending to be shocked, I asked.


    "Oh hey, when''d you join the travel club?"


    As her shock disappeared and a wide grin took form on her face, she chuckled before responding.


    "You do know you''re a terrible liar, right?"


    Slumping down on my seat to avoid Lily''s gaze, I replicated her smirk and replied.


    "What makes you say that?"


    "Quite the entrance you had there. Did it take you the bus ride this far to plan that?"


    "Greatness takes time."


    "When I entered the bus, all I saw was a hooded figure next to Lily. Even looking through the gap in the seats, I saw the same hooded figure staring out the window."


    "What can I say? The scenery outside was amazing!"


    Resting her elbow on the armrest between us, Ruby put her head on her hand, looking straight at me, before saying.


    "You do know, I knew it was you from the start, right?"


    ...she can see desires, can''t she? How did I even forget that...?


    From the start, she must have seen the flame of my desire in the hooded figure and noticed it was me...


    Putting my hood down, causing the black cat resting on my hair to fall back into my hood, I employed my sarcastic tone and responded.


    "Really? I didn''t even know you were sitting behind me. Wow, what are the odds!?"


    Lifting her hand off the armrest, Ruby abruptly reached towards me before grabbing my hand and bringing it closer to her.


    Shellshocked by her actions, I froze, completely ignoring the voice of Kevin, who had just discovered Lily''s seat.


    "AHH.*


    With her other hand, Ruby pinched my hand over and over again. While a normal pinch wouldn''t hurt me, Ruby used her awakened strength to grab my skin.


    "S-STOP."


    "Can''t hear you!"


    "STOP P-PLEASE!"


    Pausing her relentless pinching, Ruby shook her head while saying.


    "Lying isn''t a very good thing, Ren."


    She had been fine with me lying to her earlier, but now it was a problem. What the hell had changed?


    Usually, she just acted oblivious to my lies, but now she was inexplicably taking action and... punishing me?


    Nodding my head up and down, I quickly replied as her hand almost resumed pinching.


    "YES! I WON''T LIE!"


    Hearing my answer, instead of pinching me, she placed her hand on my hand, now completely surrounding my right hand as her hands were both below and above mine.


    "Now, answer my question like an honest person, would you?"


    Feeling the soft sensation of her hands, I didn''t dare to lie as I honestly replied.


    "I-i was pretending not to se-"


    "No, I already know that. Why were you sitting next to Lily when you always used to avoid her?"


    "...what? She sat next to me, though."


    Making eye contact with me for a second, Ruby nodded her head before removing her hands.


    Am I allowed to ask what the hell just happened..?


    Completely ignoring my confusion, Ruby changed the topic by asking.


    "So, enjoying the bus ride? I believe you said the scenery was interesting."


    Turning back to the window, I noticed that we were out of the tunnel as numerous trees were in front of the sun that was setting.


    Wait... the sun was setting? It had already been 7 hours..?


    Just how long had I been staring out that damn window?


    Was the scenery really that good?


    "*PFFT*"


    Laughing uncontrollably as I stared out the window with a confused expression, Ruby said.


    "*PFFT* y-you really weren''t lying."


    Turning around to look at Ruby, I noticed three blank figures standing in ailse while staring intently at us.


    ...my screaming might have been a bit too loud.

 Chapter 84: Chapter 84:The Elven Forest [1]

    Flustered, both Ruby and I avoided their gazes before turning to the window.


    "...quite the interesting scenery."


    Barely suppressing her laughter, Ruby replied.


    "y-yeah, that tree really is just...I can''t describe it in words."


    "...we''re in a tunnel... there are no trees..."


    "...*PFFT*...."


    "..."


    Banging my head against the window to keep my laughter from leaking out, I tried to see if those three were still staring at us through the window''s reflection, but once again, we were in a tunnel.


    This timing is really starting to piss me off!


    Well, at least I could look at the tunnel outside without getting a headache...


    Why can''t my damn luck choose a side? Be either good or bad, not both!


    Raising my right hand to my eye, I activated the dragon''s eye and used the slowing of time to sneak a peek behind me without being noticed.


    Right next to me was Ruby, covering her face with the back of Lily''s chair and her hands tightly gripping the armrest.


    In front of Ruby was Lily, who was looking back at us through the gap in the chairs with a confused and interested expression.


    Next to Lily was Kevin, who was completely oblivious to the situation. His gaze remained on Lily despite all the noise we had made.


    Finally, Liam...


    He was just staring at me with a disgusted expression...


    ...Aren''t I screwed if the protagonist of the book hates me..?


    What the hell did I even do to him!? I''m why he got that power-up on the cruise ship; he owes me his life!


    Speeding back up time, I continued staring at the window... but we were still in the tunnel.


    Seriously, how goddamn long is this tunnel!?


    Regaining my composure, I braced myself as I turned around and casually took out my smartwatch, acting like the three main cast members weren''t there.


    At a loss for words, the three of them stared at me while I was casually scrolling on my smartwatch.


    After a couple of moments, Liam and Kevin finally moved on as they turned to Lily.


    "Why''d you sit all the way back here, Lily?"


    Forced to answer Kevin''s question, Lily reluctantly turned away from Ruby and I, allowing us to finally relax.


    "I wanted to sleep, and it was quieter back here."


    "Oh...ok"


    Laughing at Kevin''s sullen face, Liam''s expression transformed from disgust to cheer as he said.


    "Kevin, it''s actually over for you. She does not lik-"


    Cutting Liam off midsentence, Lily, being her kind soul, pointed at the seats across the aisle and said. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "You guys can sit over there."


    "What was that, Liam? Sorry, I couldn''t hear you!"


    "Pity points, you know damn we-"


    "shhh, Liam, didn''t you hear? Lily said she wanted some peace and quiet."


    "..."


    As the two of them took their seats, Ruby finally regained her composure as she removed her head from the back of Lily''s seat and turned towards me.


    "Is that why you moved?"


    Nodding my head at Ruby''s question, I employed a sarcastic tone and replied.


    "No, I just really wanted to sit with Lily!"


    "..."


    Receiving no answer from Ruby, I turned back to her, only to see her giving me the cold shoulder and completely ignoring me.


    ...this was supposed to be a relaxing bus ride for me, wasn''t it?


    After what seemed like ages, the bus finally slowed to a halt, putting an end to the awkward silence.


    Following Ruby out of the bus, I looked around at the beautiful scenery of the wildness around me.


    We had entered the Elven Realm and left the Human Realm.


    Using my enhanced eyesight, I spotted the carriages in the distance and our travel club president beside them.


    As the carriages stopped in front of us, I saw students split into groups of four before each carriage''s entrance.


    Of course, my trusty buddies, Jin and Han, walked over to a carriage with me.


    Seeing our group, The travel club president narrowed his eyes before joining our group of four.


    Were we really that untrustworthy..?


    Looking at Ruby, who was glancing around, I was going to try to sneak her in with us, but before I could do anything, she was approached by Liam, Kevin, Alya, and Lily.


    Alya had received her own personal carriage from the Elven kingdom so their group could be as big as they wanted.


    Some sense of logic in my carriage would have been nice, but alas, it was expected.


    After all, in the main cast''s eyes, Ruby had saved all of them from dying to the teacher''s djinn attacks.


    Entering the carriage, I sat down next to the travel club president, facing Jin and Han, who were staring out the window.


    Even as nobles, Jin, Han, and Ren had never left the human realm, so everything here was a new experience.


    In contrast to the smooth bus ride, the carriage ride was much worse, as there was a bump almost every second.


    Looking out of the carriage window and ignoring the pain in my back, I enjoyed the beautiful nature around me. The carriage was moving much slower than the bus, so my brain could actually process everything my eyes saw without giving me a headache.


    The backdrop of the gigantic plains, which seemed to stretch forever under the resting orange sun, made for a painting-like scene.


    The rabbits hopping around, the beautiful white birds elegantly gliding through the sky, and the lush green grass at the bottom.


    In everyone''s eyes, it was picturesque, perfect and beautiful


    However, even though I couldn''t see it with my eyes, I knew something was wrong.


    In a couple of weeks, the problems would be visible: the vitality of everything was slowly decreasing.


    Underground, the roots of everything were slowly withering, eliminating the food source of all the animals here.


    The trees, the plants, the animals, and even the water of the lakes.


    In a matter of time, all of it would be gone, turned to waste.


    But that was just the start...


    The Elven Forest was in a much more precarious situation.


    After what seemed like ages, hundreds of trees that seemed to stretch up to the sky entered my sight.


    We had arrived at the Elven Forest.


    Like the plain before the forest, I couldn''t see anything wrong even with my eyes even when I knew there was a problem.


    After all, the problem was underground, and no matter how much I tried, I couldn''t see through physical objects.


    Leaving the carriage first, I stared at the thousands of trees before me, feeling like an ant in a world of giants.


    Well, this ant was about to save the world!

 Chapter 85: Chapter 85:The Elven Forest [2]

    As the others exited their carriage, I turned away and caught a glance at Ruby, who was emerging from her carriage with a sheepish expression.


    Would Lily have taken advantage of the situation with Ruby alone to question her about our relationship?


    Whatever the case, I doubted Ruby would reveal that she and I were part of an evil organization.


    After everyone had exited their respective carriages, Alya stepped away from her group and headed into the forest.


    A few minutes later, Alya emerged from the forest with two Elves on her right and left, each holding a spear alongside a bow.


    Elves were known for their bowmanship and affinity to spirits, so as a fellow bow user, I was curious to see how the normal Elves used the bow.


    The elf on Alya''s right glanced at us briefly, showing a disgusted expression, before sharply saying.


    "Follow me."


    Even if humans and elves were technically in cooperation, our relationship was still prickly. Elves tended to look down on everyone, believing they were the superior race, so their attitude was terrible.


    In other words, they were just a bunch of people with superiority complexes.


    This was also the first time humans had entered the Elven forest in over a hundred years, so most Elves only knew about humans from rumors.


    Of course, those rumors weren''t saying good things about humans, as the ones creating them had superiority complexes!


    Walking with Han and Jin, we looked around in awe as our group entered the forest.


    The trees were so tall that the sunlight was mostly blocked, but that poor lighting added to the forest''s mystery, making it seem almost mythical.


    Taking my gaze off the forest and turning to my side, I activated my system menu out of curiosity.


    ===Menu===


    User : Ren Montclair


    [Class: Proficient Assassin: (Level 3: 7%) ]


    -> Stealth : C


    -> Moderate Dagger Mastery : 11%


    -> Arts: Eclipse Blade [3/5]


    [Stats]


    -> Rating : D+ {Dream not yet completed}


    -> Strength : E+


    -> Agility : D+


    -> Stamina : D-


    -> Magic Power : D+


    -> Luck: G-S {Conditional}


    -> Intelligence : E


    -> Charm : F-


    [Traits]


    -> Passive: Dragon''s Will [2 / ?]


    ---> Dragon Eyes : Your eyesight is enhanced.


    ---> Dragon''s Transformation : You are able to harness a physical part of a dragon.


    [Skills]


    -> [[E] Dash] : Not requiring any mana usage, the skill allows the user to move 10 meters from their current location in any direction with a cooldown period of 7 seconds. The skill does not instantly move the user but temporarily increases the user''s speed until they move 10 meters.


    =======


    Even with the duel from earlier, my dagger mastery hadn''t increased a bit...my progress was plateauing.


    I''m going to have to enter that dream sooner or later...


    At this point, saying I wasn''t prepared anymore wasn''t an excuse. With my recent upgrade in Dragon''s Will, I was more than prepared.


    ...but, how could I not be scared..?


    In my last dream, I faced off against an S-rank creature, and that was only my D-rankup dream!


    What the hell would I have to fight in my C-rankup a dream? A god, a demon, or a whole hoard of S-rank creatures?


    Sighing, I looked upwards, seeing the Elven guards ahead stop abruptly before turning to each other.


    Peering past the guards and further into the forest, I found the cause as a stack of branches blocked our path head.


    Clearly, the stack of branches was not naturally made, so it was obvious that some other Elves had set it up to annoy us and halt our progress.


    Were we really that hated by the Elves?


    To be honest, I wasn''t even mad at the part, though.


    I was more mad that those Elves had actually thought that a stack of branches could stop us from advancing!


    Did they really think we were so weak that a simple stack of logs could stop us..?


    Sighing, I watched as Liam effortlessly cleared the stack of logs with one sword strike before turning to the Elven guards.


    The rest of the trek to the forest''s center went without a hitch, as before long, I could spot the path open up to a gigantic clearing.


    The two guards standing in front of the expression glanced at our group before reluctantly stepping aside with indifferent expressions.


    However, when they glanced at Alya, their expressions wholly transformed as they bowed their heads, admiration apparent on their faces.


    As our group of students entered the clearing, I felt like some sort of museum exhibit, as more than a hundred eyes pierced through me, watching my every movement.


    Thankfully, that ended quickly as Alya emerged from our group and quickly captured the elves'' attention.


    As Alya headed to the palace on the opposite side of the clearing, our group stood still, admiring the view.


    The clearing was about as big as the academy''s island, except there were no flashing buildings, streets, or even decorations.


    Everything was so simplistic... almost all of the huts and houses resembled each other, except for a couple of small differences that could only be spotted by my eyes.


    Instead of streets, there were paths carved out in the ground that connected the entire clearing, and there were no walls, so you could see everything in the clearing from any spot.


    Turning my head, I finally rested my eyes on the main attraction of the elven realm.


    The famed World Tree.


    With a long and wide wooden trunk, the tree actually stretched up to the sky, its branches and leaves completely blocking the sunlight.


    However, that didn''t mean it was dark in the clearing; in fact, it was the opposite as the tree branches lit up gold, illuminating the entire clearing.


    Despite the clearing being as big as the huge island of the academy, the world tree somehow lit up the entire place, leaving no dark spots.


    ...it was actually doing a better job than the sun!


    Retracting my gaze from the world tree, I stared across the clearing at the elegant pure-white palace that stood out amongst the simplistic houses.


    With a large fountain in front of it, the palace almost resembled the White House from Earth, as they were both completely white and gigantic.


    Seeing Alya exit the palace, I felt somewhat jealous that I would not be able to see its beautiful interior.


    Well... I''ll get my chance later.


    Leading us to a row of huts, our group of students split into our carriage groups from earlier and stood in front of a hut.


    Entering the hut, I was surprised to notice that the hut was double the size of my dorm room despite its seemingly small outward appearance.


    It had two floors, each decorated with two beds and a wooden desk, and instead of a roof, there was just a circular window on top.


    Since there was no light in the Elven Realm, the roof had to be a window so the light of the World Tree could shine through, illuminating the hut.


    Taking a bed on the second floor, I laid on one of the beds, looking up and staring at the branches of the World Tree through the window.


    Raising one of my hands, I stretched it upwards as far as possible while staring at one particular gold branch.


    This wasn''t a tree.


    It was all a spirit.


    The entire World Tree was just a powerful spirit that, despite having been alive for thousands of years, worked around the clock to keep the Elven realm safe.


    This secret was only known by three people in the entire world. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Lily, the current Elven queen, and I.


    There was also another secret known by the three of us.


    The spirit was slowly dying and fading away into nothingness.


    Recalling the spirit''s description in the book, I felt a pang of jealousy once again as I realized I wouldn''t be able to meet her.


    How cool would it be to meet a thousand-year-old spirit!?


    Opening the window next to my bed, I let the cat out of my hood and carefully placed it on the windowsill before getting up.


    Peeking down to the first floor of the hut, I saw both Jin and Han slumped down on their beds while the travel club president had already left.


    Leaving the hut, I walked towards the education area of the clearing in search of an archery range.


    Ignoring the spiteful gazes of some Elves, I finally found an archery range, but I was immediately stopped before I could near the area.


    In front of me stood two elves, who seemed to be around the same age as me despite being much shorter than me.


    "Need something?"


    Shaking their heads, the elf on my right said.


    " *tsk* The food hall is over there."


    ...really?


    Trying my best to keep a civil smile on my face, I replied.


    "Oh, don''t worry, I know exactly where I''m going."


    Stepping out of my way, the two elves smirked before saying in unison.


    "If you say so."


    Confused, I stepped past them and continued towards the archery range.


    Why had they let me through so easily?


    I had expected a full-on confrontation! I mean, I had already manifested my corrupted daggers in my jacket pocket!

 Chapter 86: Chapter 86:The Elven Forest [3]

    Since there were no walls, I could see the archery range from even this distance as I saw countless elves practicing from the outside.


    In particular, the ones to the right side caught my eye. Their bows had a soft silver lining along the elegant white surface, and the bow''s wood was perfectly carved to suit each person.


    Even their arrows looked like they took ages to craft, as each was painted soft white and had a golden tip.


    Looking at the stack of crummy practice bows to my side, I immediately manifested the corrupted bow and my maximum of two arrows.


    I could shoot the arrows, disperse them, and then re-manifest them in my hand, so the number didn''t matter.


    Noticing all the good spots were filled, I headed to the archery range''s left side, where the quality was significantly worse.


    The targets had holes and stains, and even worse, the bow Elves'' form was disgusting, even to me, a beginner!


    As I manifested the arrows, I ensured the tips were soft enough so the targets wouldn''t immediately collapse.


    "Hm?"


    Turning back around, I saw an open spot on the right side of the archery range as one of the elves slammed his bow on the ground before angrily walking away.


    "...bad archery day, huh?"


    Unnoticed by the other elves, who were so focused on aiming, I slipped into his spot before selecting the option for a 25-meter target.


    Nocking an arrow, I pulled back the black string before using my eyes to calculate the exact route my arrow should take.


    After finalizing my calculations, I released the string, allowing the arrow to fly forward so fast that unawakened people could not see it.


    Watching as the arrow perfectly hit the center of the target, I went back to the control panel to add a couple more targets and make them mobile rather than stationary.


    Firing my two arrows in quick succession, I watched as each one perfectly went through two targets by perfectly timing the point at which the targets were lined up.


    Unfortunately, these new targets did not survive my arrows. When my arrows made contact, the wood targets shattered into tens of pieces.


    Thankfully, my arrows made no noise, so I could spawn another set of targets from the control panel without being noticed.


    Changing the arrow''s size so that it was more aerodynamic and less wide, I nocked another arrow and allowed it to gracefully glide through the air, once again hitting the dead center of the target.


    Unfortunately, this single shooting process took well over 30 seconds, as I had to calculate the route necessary for my arrow perfectly.


    But... there was nothing I could do about it.


    Ultimately, I was an assassin, not a sniper or marksman, so there were no shortcuts to improving my bow proficiency.


    To decrease the time needed for an arrow shot, I just needed to practice¡ªand practice every single day.


    There was also no way to check my progress in the short term, as sometimes my shooting rate would be inexplicably faster before immediately dropping to below average.


    My main reason for coming to the arrow range today was not to shoot my bow but to analyze how the elves around me used their bows and then incorporate their techniques. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After glancing around for a minute, making sure not to keep my gaze on the same elf for too long, I found the perfect specimen.


    Adorned in an elegant white cloak with a visible symbol of the world tree, the elf has a crowd of people gathering around him and watching his every move, even though he hadn''t even begun to shoot yet.


    Pretending to drink some water, I watch the elf with long white hair draping down to his waist and amber-brown eyes walk toward my section.


    Following the lead of the other elves, who were no longer focused on shooting and instead on the white-haired elf, I stepped back and dropped my bow.


    As the section was full, there was no spot for the elf to use; however, in the next moment, the elf next to me bowed before immediately giving up his spot.


    He didn''t seem mad at giving up his spot; rather, he looked like he was honored to have done so.


    Well... he was giving up his spot to the prince of the Elven kingdom and the first successor to the kingdom, even in front of Alya.


    But... sadly, he would never actually ascend the throne.


    Well, I wasn''t complaining about receiving first-row seats to the show!


    Actually, it wasn''t just me who had dropped everything to watch the prince''s performance, as the elves around me also carefully observed the prince''s form.


    Watching him take his first shot, which took less than 3 seconds but still managed to hit the dead center of the target, I opened my mouth in awe.


    Even though I observed his every movement and muscle twitch with my eyes, locking it down in my memory, I could not see myself replicating it.


    The bow was naturally drawn to him... like it was a part of his body rather than a physical item.


    Like a hand, the bow appeared to be an extension of his body. Despite being a physical object, the bow seemed to be able to read the prince''s mind and follow his every instruction.


    The prince was a marksman... a marksman who had practiced for over ten years with his specialized weapon, receiving the best training and teachers possible.


    ...Just what was his weapon proficiency?


    Even Alya''s proficiency with this sword did not compare, and of course, my measly dagger proficiency was leagues below.


    That 3-second shot of his did not even use any mana or incorporate any of the techniques he had learned through progress in his bow art or weapon proficiency... yet it was already perfect.


    My corrupted daggers could probably stop it, though... couldn''t they?


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, I suddenly felt countless gazes on me before a soft and bright voice emerged.


    "Oh, and who might you be?"


    Showing proper etiquette, I bowed before gesturing to the Academy''s symbol on my jacket and replying.


    "A student of the Celestial Academy here on a visit."


    Scratching his chin, the prince warmly replied.


    "Oh, I did hear that a couple of visitors would be coming... but this soon? Well, no matter, I hope your time thus far has been pleasant in the kingdom. I''m Albis, the first prince."


    Nodding my head, I was prepared for this conversation to end as the disgusted gazes of the other elves was starting to piss me off.


    However... the prince had other plans as he glanced at my control panel, easily spotting my pitch-black bow, which stood out amongst all the other pure white-colored bows.


    "Oh? Did you, by any chance, come here to practice with your weapon?"


    "...why else would I be at an archery range?"


    As those last words escaped my mouth, I immediately felt the atmosphere around me shift as the disgusted gazes transformed into anger.


    ...I had said that out loud, hadn''t I?


    Discretretely picking up my bow and arrow upon realizing the hostile reactions of the Elves, I carefully observed Albert''s reaction.


    Activating the usage period of the dash, I prepared for the worst-case scenario as I looked up.


    But... there was nothing to observe.


    "*PFFT*, HA, HA, *PFFT* You r-really a-are."


    ...was it a fake laugh? Or was he laughing?


    However, my worries quickly faded as Albert, still laughing, dispersed the crowd and casually walked over to me, his figure devoid of the previous elegance.


    Was this another person...?


    "Well, let''s have it?"


    "Have what?"


    "An archery competition, of course!"


    Instantly, I heard countless elves around me break into gasps while staring at me, their eyes now wide.


    Well... they say losing is the best way to learn!


    Slinging the bow around my shoulder, I curiously asked.


    "What''s with all of them?"


    "Well, you are the first living being I''ve ever challenged to an archery battle!"


    "..."


    Breaking into laughter upon seeing my reaction, Albert gestured to two elves, who dashed over to our control panels and set up the competition.


    A competition like this had taken place in the book between Liam and some Elven general, so I practically knew the rules.


    Well, it wasn''t hard to understand.


    You shoot as many targets as possible within 2 minutes, and the closer to the center you hit, the more points you receive.


    Without further talking, the competition started as countless targets, moving as fast as the luxury bus, appeared before me.


    Nocking my arrow, I partially calculated the arrow''s route, decreasing the process to 10 seconds; however, my arrow hit near the edges of the target instead of the center as a result.


    Shooting three more times, I glanced at the scoreboard, my expression immeediatly stiffening immediately.


    [Home: 110]


    [Visitor: 12]


    But... the score wasn''t the reason for my expression change.


    In front of the scoreboard stood Albert, who was casually sipping a cup of tea while staring at me, his bow nowhere in sight.


    ...THERE WERE STILL 30 SECONDS LEFT IN THE COMPETITION.

 Chapter 87: Chapter 87:The Elven Forest [4]

    After gaining a mere ten more points in the last 30 seconds of the competition, I glanced at Albert''s bow, which was lying a few meters away from me, and the corrupted bow in my hands.


    Why the hell couldn''t my bow do that!?


    Of course, I knew it was a skill difference, but blaming myself wouldn''t do anything, so I needed to blame something else!


    Well, even if I couldn''t copy Albert''s technique, this trip wasn''t completely useless as I now know what a real bow looks like...


    Engraving the image of Albert''s bow, I dismissed the bow in my hands before re-manifesting it to mimic Albert''s bow completely, except for the color.


    *CLAP*


    *CLAP*


    *CLAP&


    Hearing the thundering applause and sneers, I considered putting my new elegant bow to use...


    Getting angry at losing now wouldn''t do anything. Anyway, my primary weapon was a dagger, so who cares about the bow?


    Not me, that''s for sure...!


    Raising his hand to silence the crowd, Albert approached me with a smirk... not a condescending one... but a genuine one.


    With his pure-white cloak and long blonde hair rustling in the breeze of the wind, Albert picked his bow off the ground before turning to me.


    "It was a good match!"


    "... are you fu- *AHEM* It w-was indeed."


    Walking up next to me, Albert placed his hand on my shoulder... and pat me on the back before returning to his original position.


    "..."


    Either not noticing or pretending not to notice my foul and confused temper, Albert continued in his joyful tone.


    "So, how was your academy''s trip through the forest and into the kingdom?"


    Dismissing the bow from out of Albert''s sight, I slung my backpack around my back before replying.


    "Nothing out of the ordinary, just a simple walk through the woods to get here."


    Rubbing his chin with his hand, Albert seemed to think briefly before asking again.


    "Nothing abnormal?"


    hm? Is something abnormal happening inside the forest that I don''t know about?


    Recalling the incident where some stacks of wood had blocked our path, I stayed quiet, simply shaking my head at Albert''s question.


    It was not because I had lost miserably to him. I didn''t want to add unnecessary variables to the event by divulging this information.


    If it were that important, Albus would ask the other students, like Liam, and receive his answer.


    As the crowd again encircled Albus once again, congratulating him on his win against me, I slipped out amongst the noise.


    Albert could be quite a useful resource in the future, just like Liam had Alya, but at the same time, the relationship was to be built slowly, didn''t it?


    *TAP~TAP*


    However, as I walked farther and farther away from the training range, I heard the sound of rapid footsteps approaching me.


    Turning around, surprising Albert, who was rushing toqES me, I asked.


    "What is it now?"


    Seeing that Albert wasn''t the type of person to be offended if I didn''t use a civil tone and no other Elves were around, I dropped the act from earlier and spoke to him normally.


    Taking a second to regain his composure, Albert brushed back his hair, revealing his amber eyes, and replied.


    "Did you have any plans after this?"


    "..? None in particular."


    Beaming with brightness, Albert nodded his head up and down before responding.


    "How would you like to visit the royal palace?"


    ...Being able to scout out the palace in advance would be nice... but what exactly was this prince planning?


    Challenging me to duel could be seen as him merely trying to test my skills, but inviting me to the Royal Palace was entirely different.


    In the book, even Alya had to convince the current Elven queen to allow the main cast into the palace when we had first arrived.


    Once again, patting me on the back, Albert did not wait for my response as he said.


    "No need for any thanks! I felt that the bow competition might have gone too far... so this is my way of making it up to you!"


    Gone too far?


    Aren''t you the one who scored 110 points in the first thirty seconds and then drank tea for the other one minute and thirty seconds?


    Considering I had nothing better to do and knowing the layout of the Elven royal palace would be nice for my plans, I nodded and followed Albert.


    Fortunately, Albert seemed to know a secret route to the palace, as the two of us were able to find it without being noticed.


    Stepping before me, Albert knocked on the huge metal gate before it promptly opened without any identification measures.


    Did that work for everyone?


    As the gates opened, the fount sitting right before the entrance to the house entered my view.


    Taller than the hut I was staying in, the fountain was unnatural. Water flew out at incredible speed, and despite all the water pressure, no water leaked out.


    A fountain can be a magical artifact..?


    Taking a moment to look inside the fountain, I was surprised to see countless leaves from the World Tree inside.


    Seeing my confusion, Albert smiled before replying.


    "For the royal family, it''s a sign of good luck and prosperity if the leaves of the world tree enter the fountain."


    Well, I was here, so their good luck had worked!


    Following Alber''s gaze, I looked directly above the fountain and saw a large branch of a world tree covering the royal palace.


    As we went deeper into the palace courtyard, I was also surprised to see that there were close to no guards; rather, only a couple of chiefs and servants were running about.


    Well, in the elf kingdom, revolts and tension were uncommon, if not nonexistent, so they didn''t have to worry about security.


    But, recently, there must been some tension rising about the elves due to our presence in the clearing.


    Though, as we can see from the academy''s terrible security systems, guards don''t do anything to protect, so I understood their lack of security.


    Finally, the two of us crossed through the massive courtyard as two massive double doors stood before us.


    Raising his hand, Albert''s hand shone a light green before he touched his glowing hand to the door, causing it to open immediately.


    That was what it looked like to anyone else in the world, but I could see a completely different story with my eyes.


    For a split second, I saw a light green spirit in the shape of a ball appear in Albert''s hand before it merged with his hand, causing it to turn light green. sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Could I ever get one of those?


    Pretending I didn''t see the spirit, I entered the palace immediately and noticed the countless glass chandeliers hanging above my head.


    One earthquake and all of this would be gone...


    Stopping in front of me, Albert turned around and curiously asked.


    "Well, what do you think?"


    "Extravagant but not in a bad way."


    "You know, saying it just looks nice also works, right?"


    "Now you''re just putting words in my mouth."


    "Am I? Your expression says otherwise."


    Erasing my expression of awe, I walked past Albert, examining the painting in front of me, and replied.


    "What? Are you going to challenge me to another bow duel?"


    "For your sake, I won''t!"


    As Albert led me around the massive palace, occasionally stopping to explain parts of the Elven history, I used the time to examine as much of the palace as I could, specifically looking for the secret entrances.


    But... there was none.


    Was my only way in here with a spirit like Albert?


    Looking out one of the windows on the top floor of the palace with Albert by my side, I felt somewhat weird, as the light had remained safe throughout the entire day.


    Even though it was almost 9 PM, it was still as bright as it was in the afternoon.


    "Is there no control remote for that thing?"


    Flustered, Albert stepped back before asking.


    "...by that saying ''that thing,'' are you referring to the world tree...?"


    "Yeah, you would think with all the Elven history you''ve been telling me about, they would be able to figure out how to do some proper lighting."


    Not wanting to further this topic of conversation, Albert returned to the window and responded.


    "...I''ll keep that in mind when I succeed to the throne!"


    How does he say stuff like that without a single bit of sarcasm?


    After a couple more moments, Albert and I headed down the stairs as it was finally time for my departure.


    At this point, I had already extended my stay in the palace for over three hours, and any time Albert tried to hint at my leaving, I simply acted oblivious, asking him more questions about history.


    "When the tree elves first LEFT the forest and encountered the ice elves, there was a slight conflict. Speaking of leaving, do you b-"


    "Interesting! Tell me more about these so-called ice elves!"


    "

 Chapter 88: Chapter 88:The World Tree [1]

    Having surveyed most of the mansion, I had the blueprint of it in my head, so I was content with leaving.


    Also, I learned quite a bit about Albus.


    Despite being terrifyingly strong... he was somewhat of a pushover. I was sure he would forcefully kick me out after the second out, yet he still let me stay for another!


    Leaving the palace and heading out of the gates, I dropped by the hut for a quick meal.


    As I entered the hut, I realized both Jin and Han were nowhere to be seen while the travel club president was eating at the table


    ...I''ll eat later.


    As I reopened the door and headed out, I used my eyesight to quickly scan the entire hearing before catching a glimpse of the two walking around with one of the Elven local specialties in their hand.


    The specialty large resembled ice cream from my word; however, the main difference was that you could bite right into it as the surface was made to be warm.


    Could an awakened even receive a brain freeze?


    Wasting no more standing around, I decided to head out of the clearing to scout to see if they had arrived yet.


    The World Tree doesn''t just randomly corrupt after being fined for over a thousand years; there has to be a cause for it.


    That cause is the dark elves.


    Like humans, elves can also become djinns, but the number of dark elves is much lower than that of djinns. It''s almost impossible for them to meet a demon, as they''re always stuck in this forest.


    But when there''s a will, there''s a way.


    As a result, only elves with the most hate and desire could transform into dark elves.


    Using their dark mana, they slowly began to corrupt the World Tree, hoping to wipe out the entire elven population.


    And while their plan worked perfectly, for now, they would soon realize something very important.


    The World Tree, or in this case the World Tree''s Spirit, cannot be ended from the outside world. To completely corruption the tree and take control of it, they must directly enter the tree and corrupt it from the inside.


    That''s why the Elven Queen has yet to take action on these dark elves. So far, they do not pose a significant threat.


    But she was soon to be proven very wrong...


    Considering the importance of this mission, the demons had personally sent their own, a B-rank at that, to help the C-rank dark elves.


    Unlike humans and other species who simply die, when a demon meets its demise, all the djinns contracted with it instantly die, all the demon''s blood-related family dies, and finally, the demon itself meets its end.


    Simply put, sending a demon out of the dark lands right now was a huge risk, but they had decided to do it anyway.


    Well, with Lily on their side, the queen should know about the demon and not underestimate the power of the dark elves.


    But that was exactly what I wanted.


    There were two goals that I needed to be accomplished.


    The World Tree needed to be saved.... and the spirit needed to be replaced.


    While the first part would likely happen naturally with Lily and the main cast''s help, our paths diverged in the second part.


    Looking at the guards, who were standing outside the only entrance to the clearing, I let out a sigh.


    There was only one problem.


    I was genuinely in the wrong here.


    In the book, the World Tree''s Spirit hadn''t been replaced and stayed the same... yet here I was trying to change that.


    Had I become my greatest nightmare, Lily...?


    Well, technically, I was purposely changing the plot, but it was for good reason!


    Later in this story, Alya and the main cast are forced to return to the Elven Kingdom as the spirit of the World Tree is fading away.


    The corruption sent by the Dark Elves and his already long lifespan had already put it on death''s door.


    But with the addition of the incoming wars and more demons leaving the Darklands, the spirit simply couldn''t hold on any longer.


    So... they replaced her.


    The World Tree is essential for the Elves as all their magic and power stems from it, so losing it would be incomprehensible.


    But then, who would want to volunteer to become the Spirit of the World Tree?


    Well, I''ve already met him...Albert.


    Thus, that entire ark was spent with the main cast finding a way to replace the Spirit with Albert before it dies.


    Of course, with Lily over there, they did not need for that long journey as she already knew the method.


    So, then, what''s my job?


    I need to convince Lily that something changed, and now the World Tree is already more corrupt and on death''s bed. She''ll see that and immediately speed up the events by replacing the World Tree early.


    Why was I trying to change the book''s events when my motto was to follow the plot?


    First, this change wouldn''t significantly impact the plot, which centers around the human realm. As long as the elves retain their power, what happens in their realm won''t have any significant impact.


    Sure, it would introduce some variables, but I was ready to accept that.


    But, the more important reason is... that it''s my only option.


    During their attempts to replace the World Tree spirit with Albert, the dark elves would take advantage of this by launching countless attacks.


    That was just a distraction, though...


    On the same day, for the first time in ten years, the demons would make a public move as they would attack not the Elven realm but the human one.


    As you can expect, the sudden attack caught the entire realm off-guard, and with Liam, the story''s protagonist, not here, it only got worse.


    Only after two days were the demons able to be stopped with the help of two top hundred heroes from the high dominion.


    When Liam and the cast returned from the realm, completely oblivious to the events, they could only describe what they saw as a wasteland.


    Confusion and shock immediately enveloped them as they stared out the carriage window at the area of the demon''s attack.


    A wasteland.


    Burned villages, trampled vegetation, no life to be seen in a hundred-meter radius, and finally, the dead body of someone I knew very well...


    Han.


    What was his use in the story?


    Just like me, another character fated to die just to help the protagonist''s personality advance...


    The village the demons attacked was the one that Han''s family had control of.


    Liam''s reaction to seeing a fellow academy student dead was to train even harder and become even stronger before the eventual counterattack.


    That was something that didn''t require Han''s death at all, though...


    Finally, my third reason was power.


    I knew I had to do something after seeing Albert''s performance versus mine in that bow deal.


    Especially since I plan to complete my dream advancement to C-rank soon, I need all the power I can get right now.


    You can never be too careful; I had learned that lesson too many times now...


    All I wanted was a fruit from the World Tree, which was very obtainable considering my goal destination.


    Waiting in the bushes about five meters from the guards, I waited for the perfect moment when both of them were turned away before dashing ahead and out of sight.


    Now, once again surrounded by the tower trees, I moved the corruption inside my body to combine with my mana in the center.


    Manifesting one black and red wing attached to my right shoulder, I ignored the pain and flapped it three times.


    Instead of moving forward in any direction, I moved upwards, along the trunk of one of the trees.


    Sitting on a high branch of one of the trees, I kept my wing before using my eyes to scan the part of the forest I was in.


    Nothing.


    Flapping my wing again, I appeared on an elevated branch of another tree before scanning with my eyes.


    Taking advantage of my limited time with the wing, I did the same actions until finally... there was something.


    Although I couldn''t see anyone or anything with the density of the trees, my eyes caught a faint sign.


    A misplaced leaf was sitting on the forest floor.


    Bingo.


    Sitting atop the elevated branch, I didn''t immediately rush in, but I first disseised my wing as I was running too low on time.


    With my wing gone, I manifested my two corrupted daggers alongside a mask to cover my face.


    Twisting my head, I tried to work around the trees'' density by specifically peering through their gaps, but there were no more signs.


    Besides that one misplaced leaf, there was nothing.


    Yet... that was a good sign for me.


    Dark Elves are pretty stealthy and sneaky, aren''t they? Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Jumping off the tree, I stabbed my daggers into the trunk''s bark to break my fall, the tree''s leaves turning grey shortly after due to my corruption

 Chapter 89: Chapter 89:The World Tree [2]

    Using the shadows cast by the towering trees and the trees'' branches partially covering the sun''s rays, I silently made my way toward the area.


    Climbing up a tree next to the misplaced leaf, I peered again through the forest, finding even more signs of a disturbance.


    While no footprints were left behind, I could see parts of the ground barely less elevated than others, indicating that pressure had recently been placed on that area.


    Jumping from branch to branch, I followed the path of the uneven area until the signs finally became clearer.


    Now clear footsteps were left in the ground, and the leaves were scattered about, indicating they no longer cared about hiding their presence.


    What had changed? Were they in a rush now?


    The attack on the World Tree was tomorrow, so what were they doing now?


    Speeding up, I manifested a blood-red and night-black wing on my right shoulder before raising my right hand.


    Tapping my hand, I flapped my wing five times in succession, using my eyes and the slow-down time to perfectly calculate the best route despite going faster than visible to a human eye.


    Releasing no noise, I appeared on one branch, perfectly avoiding another tree''s trunk, before appearing on another branch over 10 feet away.


    I went so fast that speed mirages were being left behind on the previous branches. I went at maximum speed until finally, after 8 seconds, I felt my mana starting to run low due to the dragon''s eye.


    On the other hand, the orb in my right shoulder, which was attached to my wing, seemed to be able to hold up for another 15 seconds.


    But that was because I combined the red substance with corruption instead of mana, so I wasn''t using any mana but rather my corruption.


    This would mean that after 15 seconds, I could still use my wings, but I would begin losing corruption for every second it manifested.


    As for the difference between using mana or corruption with the red substance, that was something I had yet to figure out.


    The only visible one was that my wing changed to blood-red and ocean-blue or blood-red and night-black, depending on what I used.


    Feeling my perception of time slow back to normal, I almost crashed into a tree after flapping my wing a final time, as even my eyes couldn''t keep up with the speed of these wings.


    Turning back around to spot more signs of unusual activity, I realized that in these seconds, I had sped through over half the gigantic forest of the Elven territory.


    Yet, despite that long distance, the footsteps and scattered leaves remained.


    Why were they traveling this far...?


    Seeing the trail of footsteps halt, with only a couple of trees in front of me, I stood still, perched on an elevated branch, and used my eyes to scan everything like a hawk waiting for its prey.


    Unfortunately, there was no prey in sight...


    *THUMP~THUMP*


    Hearing the sudden sound of pressure on the ground, I pushed back my black mask, adorned with the same blood symbol I had used during the cruise ship and coliseum incident, before immediately turning around.


    But there was nothing there.


    Using my eyes, I scanned the area below me for the source of the sound, but to my surprise, there was nothing.


    Nonetheless, sounds like that doesn''t just magically appear and disappear.


    Every effect has a cause.


    After taking out my corrupted daggers, I equipped my cloak and prepared to use the shadow cage in case anything happened.


    With my hands enveloped with corruption and my mana a second away from colliding with the blood-red substance, I waited for any signs.


    *...*


    Pure silence.


    Like a leaf in the wind, the sound had come before immediately vanishing.


    The trees rustled in the breeze of the soft wind, the sun''s rays peeked through small holes in the forest to illuminate small spots, the occasional chirping of birds as they flew by, and the sound of squirrels knawing at the wood.


    Something was wrong...


    Unable to put my mind onto whatever made me uneasy, I stood still, hunched over and perched on the tree branch with my daggers in hand, aware of any sudden attack.


    No... the sound.


    If whoever made that sound was trying to kill me, they wouldn''t have made that sound in the first place...


    Why would they make the noise, then?


    They had to have known I was here.


    If they had the hiding skills to evade my eyesight, they could see through my guise easily. It couldn''t be some passerby dark elf... could it?


    If it was a single dark elf, I could take them... but if they were multiple.


    Using my cloak to blend in with the darkness, I slipped down the tree trunk, hiding in its shadow.


    In front of me stood one of the small areas illuminated by the sun''s rays, the grass being dyed orange instead of dark green.


    Leaning with my back against the tree, I studied the small circle of light in front of me and the footsteps that ended right inside it.


    Earlier, I thought there were multiple footsteps due to the countless lower-elevation areas, but now there was just one set..?


    There were multiple footsteps earlier... I was sure of it with my eyes.


    The path also had no diversions; this was the only way it led.


    Rather than being happy upon realizing there was only one set of footsteps, my suspicions grew. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The other footsteps had been created by that one person as well, then...


    Why would he want to create false footsteps to indicate more people and that noise..?


    A trap...?


    If they were trying to catch my attention, it had worked perfectly.


    *RUSTLE~RUSTLE*


    Hearing the leaves around me rustle for a split moment, I immediately looked upward, keeping the mask on tightly, and spotted a figure.


    Levitating in the air right above the center of the illuminated spot, the figure of a tall man with a top hat and horns peeking out of it was visible.


    With the sun sitting right behind him, he looked as if he were some protagonist or chosen one, as the rays perfectly complimented his floating figure.


    Tilting his top hat downwards, the djinn gracefully began slowly descending down from his spot before asking.


    "Oh? Did I keep you waiting for too long? You must have been quite fast to get here before I even realized someone took the bait."


    Ignoring his question, I locked my gaze on the upper part of his top hat.


    The symbol that Astrid showed me and the teacher held was sitting comfortably on the top hat, the sun''s ray illuminating it perfectly.

 Chapter 90: Chapter 90:The World Tree [3]

    A trap...?


    The thought had never occurred to me.


    How could I, a self-proclaimed variable, be trapped if my existence in this scenario was never planned?


    How could someone set a trap for someone they didn''t know would be here?


    Traps had to be meticulously planned, well thought out, and personalized, so setting a trap for someone like me, whom you had no information about, would be impossible.


    Yet, it had worked perfectly at this moment, directly refuting my words.


    I was so focused on setting a trap for and hunting the dark elves that I hadn''t even realized I had walked right into another trap.


    As the figure descended into the forest, I got a better look at him, realizing his eyes were yellow, the key indicators of demons/


    He wasn''t a djinn... he was a full-fledged demon.


    Was this one of the demons planning to raid the World Tree...?


    Snapping out of my confusion, I didn''t wait for his complete descension as I slashed my daggers in the air, releasing an elemental slash barrelling right at him.


    Since the figure was a demon, the odds of a mere D-rank elemental even touching him were 0, but the main goal wasn''t to hurt him.


    It was to understand him: his tactics, way of dodging, way of attack, and personality.


    Would he be mad that I had attacked him before he landed?


    Staring at the elemental slash of night-black, the figure snapped his figure, causing an easter bunny to jump out of his hat...?


    Staring at the bunny made of the fire manifested on his hat; I almost applauded as the flame bunny jumped right in front of the elemental slash, causing an elemental reaction between fire and dark.


    As a result, a sudden amount of smoke enveloped the illuminated clearing before clearing a moment later, leaving the demon now standing on the solid floor.


    "Bit feisty, aren''t you?"


    He was amused... at my attack?


    Trying to get more information before the battle started, I asked.


    "Says the one who led me into a trap."


    Shrugging his shoulders, he pointed to the familiar symbol on his hat before saying.


    "Orders from the top. You are not, though; this isn''t my style. They are the opposite! Magician acts should be done in front of an audience where people can applaud, cheer, and eventually cry at your actions!"


    Talkative and a show-off?


    Seeing that he was still adjusting his suit and top hat without attempting an attack, I inquired further.


    "Cry? Aren''t magic acts supposed to be entertaining, not sad?"


    Tying his tie around his neck, the demon responded.


    "A play without drama and tragedy cannot be considered a play. Unfortunately, in this case, you are the tragedy. *tsk* Such a tragedy, there won''t even be an audience here to witness this world-class play..."


    "Are you even a magician? That''s a drama, not a magic act."


    "I''m an actor, not specifically a magician, my dear little tragedy."


    Realizing that all the information spewing out of his mouth was useless, I readied my daggers, awaiting his attack.


    Even though he was the demon, I still held the advantage through various cheat abilities.


    I would only reveal these secrets and give up my advantage if I knew using them would guarantee my victory.


    Staring at me with a wide smile, the demon touched his hands to his cheeks before looking downwards.


    The demon slowly rose from the ground until he levitated about two feet above it. Not skipping a beat, the demon took off his top hat, causing three doves made of the air element to fly out.


    Swinging my two daggers, I replied with three of my elemtantel slashes before stepping back.


    I knew that mere elemental slashes couldn''t come close to stopping those covers... but the slashes were enough to trigger an elemental reaction.


    What happens when dark and air collide? Pollution and Smoke in a Forest...


    The perfect indication to the main cast and Elves, who should already be on watch due to Lily''s warnings about tomorrow!


    As smoke covered the clearing, blocking the sunlight and the demon''s sight, I swiftly dismissed the three doves using my corrupted daggers and the new third movement I had obtained by upgrading my dagger proficiency.


    The Cataclysmic Burtst.


    The movements channel a devasting amount of magic energy together to create a powerful explosion that takes care of everything around it; however, as it uses magic energy or mana, the explosion cannot damage physical objects but only magic spells or shields.


    Watching the doves disappear from the explosions, I activated the dash''s usage period before peering through the smoke and spotting the demon, who was still levitating in the same spot.


    Jumping out of the smoke, I plunged my dagger into his levitating body; however, he was ready.


    Manifesting a pure-red umbrella in his hands, he threw it forward, expanding it to full size, which completely blocked my dagger strike.


    Activating my dash, I appeared 10 meters backward and into the smoke, already beginning to disperse.


    An umbrella user...?


    Haven''t heard of those, have I?


    As the smoke finally disappeared, the demon dropped to the floor, the umbrella over his head, blocking the sun, and said.


    "Such a tragedy that there won''t be an audience. I''ll have to recreate this act when I get back to the theatre... so don''t mind me if you say me taking notes."


    Demons go to the theatre...? Who in the right mind would watch a demon perform!? S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing a moment to regain some mana, I stalled for time by further questioning.


    "And who exactly is your audience eager to witness your plays."


    Shaking his head, the demon pointed into the forest while shaking his head and said.


    "Unfortunately, they''re busy with the World Tree. I don''t know if you''ve heard of it.... if you ask me, it''s not all that. I mean, it''s just a tree! My plays are much more interesting, yet everyone is obsessed with that damn tree."


    ...the attack had changed days from tomorrow to today.


    If this had happened over an hour ago, I would have thought Lily and Company had already been prepared for an attack, even if it had happened a day early.


    But... now it had changed.


    The appearance of this demon and, most confusing, the appearance of the unknown organization.


    If there were only three demons in the book''s battle, I was sure there would be at least ten in the battle now.


    They had reinforcements...


    Enough reinforcements where they could spare a demon just to make some stupid trap and capture a single person.


    *HA~HA*


    Snapping back to reality, I turned around to see the demon laughing hysterically in the middle of the illuminated area.


    "HA, SO EVEN YOU''RE MORE INTERESTED IN THAT DAMNED TREE THAN MY ACT WHEN IT''S RIGHT INFRONT OF YOU!? I''LL HAVE TO TEACH YOU A LESSON, WON''T I?"

 Chapter 91: Chapter 91:The World Tree [4]

    Reaching into his pocket, the demon clenched his fist before reopening it, revealing countless cards between his fingers.


    Throwing the cards right at me like a shuriken, the demon turned away briefly, manifesting more cards and sending them right at me.


    Standing completely still, I looked forward, dismissing my two daggers and summoning my corrupted bow.


    At the same time, I had already begun to calculate the perfect route my two arrows would need to take to hit intercept every card.


    Nocking one of my two arrows, I sent it flying straight at the five cards nearest me, as they were all lined up perfectly.


    Not skipping a beat, I nocked another arrow and aimed towards the right. Release the soft and elastic string from my hands, I watched the second arrow hit the first two cards before bouncing off one of the trees at the edge of the illuminated spot and hitting the other three perfectly.


    Scanning the area, I frantically looked around for the demon, but he was nowhere to be seen, once again avoiding me despite my enhanced eyesight.


    If they could spare a demon to deal with outliers like me, there must be tons of demons attacking the World Tree right now.


    Could Lily, the main cast, and the Elven queen defend all of them?


    Or would they have underestimated the number of demons due to Lily''s book knowledge and not been prepared, leading to their loss in the fight?


    In any case, I had to get back to the clearing as soon as possible.


    *THUMP~THUMP*


    Instantly turning around to the source of the noise, I saw the demon perched on one of the trees like me earlier with an umbrella facing towards me, blocking his lower body.


    Nocking one of my arrows, I aimed at the demon and released the arrow, barrelling right at him.


    Activating the dash''s usage period, I prepared for his attempt to dodge by aiming my other arrow at his right side.


    But, he simply stood still.


    Keeping the arrow still nocked in my bow, I watched the demon stand unfazed in front of my streaking arrow.


    Holding my breath, I watched the arrow get nearer and nearer to the demon unit, and finally, it was right in front of him.


    *SPLUNK~SPLUNK*


    The arrow passed right through his body like he was a hologram before lodging itself in the tree behind him.


    "...a hologram...?"


    Under the pressure of my arrow, the tree''s trunk instantly cracked, slanting to the right and on the verge of completely collapsing.


    Ignoring the tree, I gazed around the clearing before instantly finding the demon again... and another demon and another one.


    Three demons were perched on a branch of a different tree, watching me as if I were a museum exhibit.


    Attempting to discern the identity of the real demon, I looked up at the one nearest to me and asked.


    "Aren''t you the one supposed to be putting on the play? It seems like I''m the one doing all the work here."


    However, in response, they all opened their mouths at the same time, perfectly timing their voices in unison.


    "I need to set the exposition, don''t I? Don''t worry, you won''t be ready for rising action."


    ...Freytag''s pyramid?


    How did he know about that?


    Was that really a thing in this world, too?


    The pyramid describes the events that take place in a piece of literature: the exposition, which is the background and setting, and the rising actions, which are the time used to build up to the climax.


    He knew about all that... yet he got it wrong.


    Genuinely curious about whether he knew about the full Freytag pyramid, I corrected him.


    "I think you mean the inciting incident...also the pyramid is used for works of literature not plays and dramas..."


    Standing still, I watched the three figures open their mouths for a second, trying to dispute my claim before immediately closing them.


    "...h-how do you know that?"


    Was the Freytag pyramid some rare concept in this world or something? That would explain why I didn''t know about its existence while a demon of some powerful organizations did.


    "..? Because I do. Is there a problem?"


    Staring at me with a dazed expression for a second, the three figures simultaneously shook their heads before stammering around. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "N-no, let''s just continue this, alright?"


    ...Are all demons this... civil?


    He''s making sure I''m ready before he continues the fight..? Was this an intermission or whatever it''s called?


    "yeah...I''m ready."


    As I nodded my head, the three figures instantly sprung into action. Each one of them took off their top hat, and their open umbrella began shining an elegant gold hue.


    After examining the three, I decided that winning quickly was more important than keeping my abilities a secret.


    Even if they were winning, what if I returned to the World Tree, and all the power-ups were gone?


    All of this would be for nothing!


    Conserving my mana for the fight, I combined the blood-red substance with my corruption, manifesting a mixed wing on my right shoulder.


    At the same time, each umbrella lost its gold hue as a beam appeared from the middle of each umbrella, steadily heading towards me.


    Staring at the three beams: one to my right, one to my left, and one right at me, I carefully decided my next actions.


    Since two of the figures using the gold beam were holograms, wouldn''t their attacks also be holograms?


    So, two out of three of these attacks would do nothing to me...wouldn''t that be true?


    If I wanted to, I could flap my wing several times to maneuver around all three beams to dodge them.


    But that just put me on the defensive again, as he could prepare another attack while I was dodging.


    Raising my head, I slowed, allowing myself more time to think as the gold beams slowed, still approaching me but at less than half their original pace.


    Recalling the initial time I had hit the holographic figure, I compared that scenario in my head to the one in front of me, using my eyes to examine all the abnormalities.


    After a moment, a smile, unconscious, appeared on my face.


    "I think... I got it."


    Well, even if I didn''t, I still had a 66% chance of choosing the holographic ones!


    I had been quite unlucky recently, hadn''t I? I guess some good luck has to balance it out now!

 Chapter 92: Chapter 92:The World Tree [5]

    The sun.


    Looking at the sun''s rays, which overlapped with the three gold beams heading right at me, I saw something weird.


    The refraction created as the sun''s rays passed through the gold beams was inconsistent throughout all of the beams.


    One handled it normally, while the other had unusual patterns as they interacted with the sunlight, creating an interesting visual effect.


    However, upon closer inspection, the inconsistent beams had different visual effects at the point where the sun''s rays intersected them.


    Weren''t they supposed to be the same?


    ...how were the holograms different?


    Looking at the two suspicious beams heading right at me and to my left, I decided to ignore them for now.


    Even if the holograms were somehow different from each other, it didn''t change the fact that they were still holograms.


    I had confirmed earlier that the figures, aside from the demon, were holograms when I saw my arrow pass through one of them.


    As I raised my hand to speed up the backup time, I suddenly felt the area around me increase in temperature.


    Normally, a change like this would be unnoticeable to me, but it was to the point where I almost sweat from just standing still.


    Allowing my mana to drain further, I scanned my surroundings, instantly finding the source...


    Behind me, another beam, clearly not holographic, made of pure fire barrelling right at me.


    ...there were two demons, not one...


    The holograms were different because each one was of a different demon


    How could I not have noticed the two demons then?


    There was only one way...


    He must have just arrived.


    Recalling my conversations with the original demon earlier, I realized something.


    It was quite clear I was stalling; who would stop in the middle of a battle to ask some questions... but why had he gone along with it...?


    Was he stalling as well?


    How many demons are here if they can spare two whole ones just to deal with some random exploring the forest like me...?


    If they keep those two demons here instead of using them on the World Tree attack, their confidence in the attack succeeding must also be high.


    Reigning back in my thoughts, I realized the situation was dire; I needed to get out of her as fast as possible.


    Deciding to take on the second devil who had just arrived, I sped back up time and ran through one of the holographic beams, avoiding both the real ones and using a dash to appear in front of the source of the fire beam.


    Taking one-on-one battles would be my best chance at winning this battle, so I needed to take care of one of them.


    But as I appeared at my destination... there was nothing there.


    The start of the beam seemed to float above the ground, somehow still going further and further into the forest.


    A magical artifact, shaped like a button and shining bright red, was sitting on the ground below it.


    Hearing the grass rustling behind me, I immediately manifested my two daggers, spreading my mana and corruption around me and creating a small mana cage that only surrounded me before inputting the corruption.


    This shadow cage blended in perfectly with my black clothes, and due to its small size, it could not be seen by anyone besides me.


    "A true playwright is always prepared for any actor''s mistakes. It appears a mistake was made when you did not die just then."


    Looking down at the button on the floor with my wing ready to flap at the sudden movement, I replied to the voice behind me.


    "...What about the holograms...?"


    "Humans tend to believe the first answer they see without considering other options. *sigh* The human brain is such a repetitive and boring thing."


    Out of mana from using Dragon''s Eye for so long earlier, I saw the bright red button on the ground slowly sink, immediately causing me to flap my wings.


    But, as I moved forward at an insane speed, I realized that a mana cage completely encapsulated the area around the button, trapping me inside.


    Looking at the mana cage with my eyes, I immediately noticed that its composition was completely different from the teacher''s. It used demon attributes, shown by the blood-red dots spread among the blue cage.


    Corrupting that cage would be impossible for me.


    Outside the mana cage stood the demon, staring at me with a wide grin while weighing a similar button in his hand.


    "I would be quite the bad playwright if I didn''t explain the scene to the audience, wouldn''t I?"


    Desperate for any sort of information, I nodded my head.


    "From the start, I had backup plans upon backup plans set up. After all, this was my personalized trap. This cage around you was just one of them. This button in my hand will set off an explosion that can even kill a B-rank hero."


    Holding my two corrupted daggers, I walked toward the edge of the cage, my small shadow cage moving with me.


    The shadow cage was so perfectly sized that it was less than an inch from my clothes and head, surrounded by only me.


    So what if I couldn''t corrupt and take over it?


    Looking at my walking figure, the demon curiously observed me before asking.


    "Shouldn''t an actor narrate their actions? That wing is quite interesting..." S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Shaking my head, I kept my expression indifferent as I replied.


    "This isn''t a first-person-narrative, is it?"


    "You do know I''m the scriptwriter. I have control over what it is."


    ...Is he still going along with this plaything act...? It''s getting a bit weird now...


    After activating the dash''s usage period and getting my wing ready to flap, I walked right to the edge of the cage... and continued forward.


    Stepping through the barriers of the mana cage like it was nothing, I activated dash while simultaneously flapping my wings.


    The demon, who hadn''t even registered that I just casually stepped through his cage, stood still with his mouth open.


    My daggers, already in the perfect spot, stabbed right into the demon''s vital spots as I appeared before him.


    Not just two daggers, though...


    Using ALL of my corruption, I manifested over seven daggers, each immediately appearing in the air before stabbing right into every part of the demon''s body.


    Losing all control over his muscles, the demon stared at me, petrified, blood leaking out of his mouth as he attempted to talk.


    Seeing his body slump to the floor, I dismissed the shadow cage that perfectly surrounded my body and my daggers.


    Giving him one last stare as I headed in the direction of the World Tree, I replied.


    "I''m going to pick up my payment! An actor never goes unpayed, right!?

 Chapter 93: Chapter 93:The World Tree[6]

    Walking back to the Elven clearing, I used the rare moment of peace to catch my breath and recover.


    Although it hadn''t seemed like it as I casually walked through his mana cage, it had taken a lot of corruption and energy as I had to strengthen the barriers of the shadow cage to the max.


    "...guess I''m back to one arrow." sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing the familiar path leading to the World Tree, I quickened to a jog while occasionally scanning my surroundings for any more outlying demons.


    Fortunately, there were none around, so after a couple more minutes of jogging, the entrance to the clearing was in sight.


    No guards were at the entrance, and it was eerily quiet despite the clearing housing thousands of elves.


    Unable to peer through the entrance walls, I went through the entrance and immediately used my eyes to scan the entire clearing... but nothing was there.


    Looking through the windows of some huts, I could spot some frantic-looking elves shuffling about and staying quiet the best they could, but there was no one outside the huts.


    Looking inside one of the windows, I made eye contact with one of the children before he immediately stepped back and hurried out of sight with a terrified expression.


    Oh right... I''m still wearing a mask...that''s why, isn''t it!?


    No demons. No Lily, No main cast members, and no elven fighters were visible.


    All that stood in front of me were the abandoned streets and areas of the Elven realm. In the entire clearing, which was as big as the capital city of the human realm, it was just me who stood outside in the empty streets.


    Complete silence enveloped the city, and besides the lack of people outside, nothing was out of the ordinary.


    There were no damaged buildings, no signs of any fights, and finally, no dead bodies.


    My one fight with the demon from earlier did a shit ton more damage than this!


    Sighing as I realized that my rush was for nothing and I had put myself in danger for no reason, I strolled towards the trunk of the looming figure of the World Tree, which stood in the center of the clearing.


    Peeking inside the shops and food stands scattered around the clearing, I was surprised to see that all the goods were still there despite the lack of people.


    "Don''t mind if I do!"


    Grabbing the elves'' local specialty snack, which resembled a snowcone from my world, I continued, slowing my pace every time I took a bite of the snow cone.


    The cold, refreshing ice mixed with the sweet and tangy syrup made the treat so delicious that I even stopped for a second to relish its flavor.


    With a simple cover made of tree bark, the ice from the snow cone piled up on my head as I held the bottom of the cover at chest level.


    As my tongue turned a dark blue from the syrup, I felt the hot temperate''s effects wash away, leaving some coldness in its place instead.


    Seeing the massive and wide trunk of the World Tree come closer, I took a step back, figuratively and not physically, to reanalyze the situation.


    The elves of the realm must have been in a rush as they left all their products and goods in the open.


    The only question was then: What were they rushing to get away from?


    Looking around the empty, silent clearing, I couldn''t see any concerns or latent dangers waiting.


    However, I didn''t doubt that a battle was taking place right now.


    Lily, the elven army, and the main cast members were all gone, so some fight or event had to occur.


    The Elven queen must have also alerted all these Elven citizens to hide in their houses; they wouldn''t just run there and hide without specific orders.


    Or maybe the main cast and the Queen were all coincidentally out on vacation at the same time!? So now, I can enjoy life and forget about saving the World Tree!


    "...yeah in my dreams...What would these stupid characters do with me!?"


    Reaching the base of the World Tree, I once again scanned my environment, this time finding an abnormality.


    Visible to only my eyes, I could see the roots of the World Tree shaking and rumbling every so slightly... as if people were fighting and attacking inside it.


    Confirming my theory, I placed my hand on one of the roots, marking its exact spot and coordinating with my eyes.


    A second later, when I reexamined my hand''s location, I sighed as I looked down and saw that my hand had indeed changed locations due to the vibrations of the roots.


    The Elven Queen and main cast must have allowed the demons to infiltrate the World Tree to prevent the outside clearing from being destroyed.


    Then, inside the World Tree right now, they must defend the spirit inside the tree from the attackers.


    All my questions were answered now... yet I still had a problem.


    Staring at the root in front of me, which shook violently for a second before returning to normal, I placed my hand on it before removing it and placing it again and again.


    "...how exactly do I get inside this damn tree...?"


    Recalling how Albert, the Elven prince, had previously used the spirits to unlock the Elf mansion, I had somewhat of an idea.


    But where exactly was I going to get a spirit from?


    "Hey bro, I need to borrow your spirit."


    "...why?"


    "To save the world, you actually need to trust me, dude!"


    "Next time you''re trying to steal or kidnap something, think of a better excuse, man... this is just sad..."


    "..."


    Feeling a sudden pressure exertion on my shoulder, I immediately snapped out of my thoughts and tilted my head.


    The black cat stood on my right shoulder, licking its paws, once again oblivious to the events happening right now.


    Staring up, I could see the branch of the World Tree that the cat had jumped off as it had left some scratch marks.


    "...that''s at least 25 meters..."


    Looking at the black cat, who was now licking its fur, and at the World Tree, a sudden thought came to my mind.


    Don''t animals count as spirits...?


    Both have a conscience despite not being humans, and they both have wills and desires.


    Feeling the roots tremble even more, I stared at the cat on my right shoulder for a second.


    "You must forgive me... whatever existence you are..."

 Chapter 94: Chapter 94:Inside the Tree [1]

    After internally and externally to the cat sitting on my shoulder, I slowly lifted it up, carefully holding it in my hands.


    Lowering the cat in my hands, I walked closer to the World Tree''s trunk before carefully grabbing one of its paws and touching it to the trunk.


    ...


    Nothing.


    Absolutely nothing changed or happened.


    Turning back around, I attempted to back away, but even when I mustered half my strength, I couldn''t move.


    Looking down at the cat, I found the reason: its claws were embedded in the trunk, and it held on for some reason, like there was no tomorrow.


    ...That trunk''s wood was supposed to be harder than metal; just what the hell is this cat...?


    Letting go of the cat, I stepped back and watched the cat swinging its feet around with its claws attached to the tree like it was nothing.


    Ignoring the odd scenery of my cat, I recalled that Albert had hit the palace door with power combined with the spirit.


    Well, in this case, I assume I''ll have to attack the tree simultaneously with my cat, as it''s pretty much the same thing as both of us will still be attacking the World Tree.


    Wasn''t my cat technically already attacking the tree by clawing at it?


    Standing beside my floating cat, I manifested my two corrupted daggers before reaching back like I was throwing a spear and hurling my dagger at the tree''s trunk.


    In the case I angered the World Tree''s spirit by attacking it, I did NOT want to be right next to it.


    While dispersing my two daggers and ensuring my mask was on correctly, a sudden bright light enveloped me, forcing me to close my eyes.


    After a few seconds, I attempted to open them again, only to close them out of the pain immediately as the bright light was still there.


    This battle was a gamble on Lily''s part; she had essentially gone all in.


    If she won, there would be no civilian deaths or damage to the village outside, but if she lost, the entire village would collapse, and the World Tree would be gone.


    Finally opening my eyes again, I immediately scanned my surroundings, realizing I was surrounded by bark.


    In front of me stood the only way out. A path that seemed to lead me closer and closer to the center of the tree, where the spirit was held.


    Looking down, I saw my cat lying on the floor with its tummy upwards, so I swiftly scooped it up and placed it into my hood.


    Fastening to a jogging pace, I followed the path, occasionally feeling the tree rumble due to an attack.


    The closer and closer I got to these rumblings, the more I regretted my decision.


    This tree was my counter.


    The entire thing was surrounded by impenetrable walls, so even with my eyes, I could only see the area around me... like I was a normal person...


    The only good thing about this tree''s inside was the lack of light, so it would be relatively easy to sneak around unnoticed even if I wanted to.


    Of course, the problem was that this space was so narrow that just one person blocked the entire path, so how was I supposed to sneak past people...


    As the split continued to diverge and split, I would quickly find the one leading the center of the tree by using my eyes to peer as far as I could into both paths and finding which one was directed towards the center.


    This strategy wasn''t foolproof as it was possible that a path could loop around before heading to the center, but it was either testing or checking for three hours.


    As I silently walked through the path, a sudden rumble enveloped the tree, but this time, a sound came with it...


    *BRR~BRR*


    The spirit of the World Tree... the demons were already there.


    Immediately sprinting down the path, still silent but now leaving footsteps as my feet touched the ground, I manifested my two daggers.


    Had Lily and the main cast lost the fight already...?


    Peering down the path once again, I found myself proven wrong.


    Ahead of me on the path, I saw Lily, Albert, and the main cast, similar to me, sprinting towards the tree''s center.


    The demons had somehow gotten to the center before they did, and the Elven queen is occupied with a fight, so she can''t help now.


    Combining my corruption with the blood-red substance, I rapidly created a wing and flapped it several times, immediately closing the distance between Lily and I.


    Then, I stopped for a second and repositioned myself before using the wing to appear right below the roof and then dashing forward over the heads of the main cast members.


    Dismissing my wing to save energy, I continued my mad sprint to the center of the tree, and after a few more moments, I finally arrived.


    The path opened into a small cave, where a clearing was the size of a hut. More importantly, two demons were sitting down criss-cross on the floor.


    Behind the two demons were the roots of the World Tree, which were shining a malevolent red.


    I had two goals to accomplish.


    Ensure Lily and the main cast win the fight and corrupt the tree to the point Albert is forced to replace it. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Of course, one goal was more important than the other, but that didn''t mean I wouldn''t try to complete both.


    Thankfully, the clearing had no walls or barriers, so my eyes were of some use.


    Walking to the entrance, I was about to sneak in and find a place to hide when a sudden force propelled me backward, almost causing me to fall.


    Picking myself off the floor, I realized a mana cage was blocking the entrance; however, this mana cage was somehow invisible...?


    Unfortunately for the demons inside, they had used regular mana to create it instead of demonic infused, so I simply placed my daggers to the invisible barriers.


    Though I couldn''t see the progress, I felt myself gaining more and more power over the barrier until I finally had complete control without the demons inside even knowing.


    Changing the barrier settings, I didn''t completely dismiss as it could be useful but instead altered the properties so that anyone could just walk in.

 Chapter 95: Chapter 95:Inside the Tree [2]

    Still retaining control over the barriers, I could enter the clearing without being noticed, as the two demons were so confident in their barriers that they were staring at the spirit.


    Suspended in the air and floating in the middle was a foggy figure that even I couldn''t discern with my eyes.


    However, it was better than nothing, as all the demons could see with their normal eyes was just a bunch of fog gathered up that stretched from the floor to the roof.


    But just looking at it... I could feel the presence of a mystical entity.


    Just like how an A-rank gave up an imposing aura, this mystical entity emitted the same thing... but it wasn''t damaging.


    One could struggle even to move or stand up under the pressure of an A-rank''s aura, but with this entity''s aura, which was indisputably stronger than an A-rank, you had no physical effects.


    In fact, it was quite calming. I felt a sense of serenity wrap around my brain, removing all the stress and worries clashing in my head.


    With the Elven Queen fighting the majority of the demons someplace else, only two demons were stationed here, despite it being the most important point in the entire tree.


    With Albert''s insane bow skills, I was confident that the main cast could defeat these two demons quickly.


    Below the foggy figure floating in the air were the two demons, one holding a cube-shaped device.


    *THUD~THUD*


    As the sound of the main cast and Albert''s rapid footsteps finally made it into the clearing, the demons still showed no signs of life as they remained below the fog.


    One of the demons held a cube-shaped device with a small hole on the top, emitting black smoke that flew upwards toward the fog.


    As the black smoke slowly mixed with the cloud of fog in the middle of the room, my vision of the figure inside became less clear, and the pure white fog began to turn light grey.


    They were corrupting not the physical World Tree but the spirit and manifestation of the World 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.


    Staring at the corrupted daggers in my hand, I wondered why they had only brought one cube-shaped device to corrupt the cube.


    If they had brought about a hundred, the World Tree would have been gone by now!


    Looking away from the figure inside the partially grey fog, I focused on the device in the demon''s hand, perfectly capturing all its outward details.


    Searching around the clearing, I finally found a vantage point to stand on before discreetly climbing onto a rough rock protruding from the walls.


    Using the higher vantage point, I peered into the cube''s inner portion using the hole on the top that was emitting the black smoke.


    Using my eyes to memorize the exact details of the cube-shaped device, I stored the information in my head before shifting my gaze to the clearing''s entrance.


    *THUMP~THUMP*


    As the main cast and Albert walked through the mana cage, which was now under my control, I stepped back into the shadows, dismissed my daggers, and manifested the same device the demons were holding.


    Using the last of my corruption, I created a lid covering the top so the black smoke wouldn''t leak out.


    Since the device had so many intricate details and was so complicated, I had to use every single bit of my corruption to replicate it, so it worked perfectly.


    Unfortunately... that left me with no weapons or corruption for my wings.


    All I had was my mana in my chest, the blood-red substance flowing in my body, and my cat sitting in my hood!


    Reaching into my jacket pocket, I felt the cold and fragile glass of the countless potions lined up, each filled with a dark blue substance.


    All my preparation was really just finding a shit ton of mana potions...


    What would Raven say when he saw our expenses for this month when I get back...?


    All his hard work and time spent distributing scrolls, putting up advertisements, and hiring and interviewing people were used in a single day.


    ...Would he believe me if I said I was saving the world...?


    He wouldn''t... but Zeng probably would!


    Letting out a final sigh as I imagined Raven trying to hand in his resignation papers, I made sure I was out of sight before watching Albert enter the clearing.


    At the same time, the demons continued staring at the device on the ground with their backs turned away, still having complete faith in "their" mana cage.


    Wasn''t I just the best person?


    I had set up the perfect sneak attack for them!


    At this point, shouldn''t I basically be a main cast member?


    I sure as hell have done more for them than Zack! What does that guy even do besides provide emotional support!?


    Wait, aren''t I the entire main cast and protagonist at this point?


    I''m the one saving the world, not Liam!


    Me, Raven, Zeng, and the cat in my hoodie! We were the new and improved main cast!


    A savior from another world, a money-hungry kid from the black market, a villain who became a good guy, and finally, a random ass cat that could be a god with time travel magic!


    We even sounded like a real main cast from a magic book, didn''t we!?


    There was only one thing missing... none of us had good intentions.


    My goal was to leave this world and return to mine, and the rest of the members just wanted money or were animals who just wanted food.


    Unlike the pure-hearted Liam, the naive Lily, the humble Alya, and the good-natured Zach, who just wanted to save people and better the world with their actions.


    ... we were just a bunch of anti-heroes out for fame and glory, weren''t we...?


    Well, who cares about the journey there? It''s only the end goal that matters.


    Our groups were both saving the world, but my group was doing a lot better!


    For now, that main cast spot was ours!


    Scrapping those thoughts out of my head, I began unscrewing some of the mana potions in preparation while watching Albert nock his first arrow.

 Chapter 96: Chapter 96:Inside the Tree [3]

    -*- (An Hour ago)


    Inside the white palace, more specifically, the ballroom, the Liana, also known as the Elven Queen, sat at the front of the dining table.


    Beside her, on a smaller and less extravagant chair, sat Albert, who was staring at the cold food on the plate in front of him.


    On the other side of the table sat, Lily, Alya, Liam, and Kevin... but besides the primary members of the main cast, there were also two other guests.


    Ruby, who Alya had invited due to her saving them during the dormitory attack, and Irene, who had been coerced into coming by Lily, were awkwardly sitting side by side, staring at the countless utensils in front of them.


    Breaking the awkward silence, Liana stood up from her chair, which very much resembled a throne, with its countless gemstones and size, and turned to her son, Albert.


    "*ahem* Now that everyone''s here.


    As Albert''s face turned a rose red, and he inwardly cursed the damned person who had stayed for OVER three hours, the queen continued.


    "Everyone here should have already been informed about the situation tomorrow. However, that is not to say that the details are certain. For now, all we confirm is that an attack will occur on our realm."


    "The details, time, and location are all variables for right now, so do NOT blindly trust what you have heard earlier."


    Seeing the humans nod their heads, Liana delved into the defense and military side of things. He issued them special badges and explained the positions in which their defense forces would be located.


    For ten years, she had not even spoken to a human, but here she was now, trusting them with most of their military secrets.


    Glancing at her daughter, Alya, mid-explanation, Liana recalled how her daughter had pleaded with her to at least listen to her fellow human''s words.


    Unable to resist her daughter, Liana agreed and heeded their words, learning about the inevitable attack on their city.


    Obviously, Liana did not fully trust the human''s words despite Alya''s constant vouching, as she knew of humanity''s terrible nature, but in the end, she decided it was better to be safe than sorry.


    If the attack happened, they would be prepared and ready to fight with strategies already set up.


    But if it were the opposite, it would just result in a lot of wasted time and resources.


    It was a simple choice: either be prepared for and save countless lives during a battle or lose some resources that they could regain later.


    However, Liana had specifically left out the existence of the inside of the World Tree alongside the World''s spirit.


    Such information was too much to give to anyone; not even her daughter knew about those existences, as she had only disclosed it to Albert, her successor and the future ruler of the Elven realm.


    Finishing up her explanation of the strategies, Liana sat down before continuing to dig into the food below them, prompting everyone else to follow suit.


    Within a few moments, the silence was already gone as Liam and Kevin were already arguing about which of them would be able to kill a demon first.


    On the other hand, Alya bombarded Lily with questions, trying to gather as many details as she could about the future attack.


    It was her hometown with all her family, so seeing the usually calm Alya stressed and nervous wasn''t surprising to the others.


    Though, Alya didn''t dare pry too far.


    Within the main cast group, there was an unwritten rule already established.


    "Do not ask Lily where she receives this information."


    All four of them were among the smartest in the entire school, so they were able to see through Lily''s flimsy excuses when she attempted to persuade them to help her.


    Despite all that, they still decided to believe in Lily due to their friendship, and it ended up being true.


    Time after time, every time Lily came to them with information about the future, the scenario would always occur, albeit with some changes.


    At this point, it was normal for the group when Lily came to them asking for help, and all of them were happy to agree.


    Thus, an unbreakable bond of trust and comradery was born within their group. From their perspective, it was easy to see Lily was hesitant and nervous about giving up her source of information, so the rest of the group created that unwritten rule to make her feel more comfortable.


    At this point, the four of them were inseparable, despite how it may have seemed to outsiders who only saw the constant arguments.


    Thus, Ruby and Irene were awkwardly left to eat their food in silence.


    Of course, having invited Irene, Lily tried her best to drag her into the conversation. Still, with Alya''s constant, understandable questioning and Liam and Kevin''s arguments, such a thing was impossible.


    Tired of the silence, Ruby turned to Irene before asking.


    "So, did you get invited too?"


    Irene, who felt so out of place, finally looked away from her food as she confusedly stared at Ruby.


    "Invited to what?"


    Impatiently tapping her figures on the table, Ruby pressed further.


    "Their main party thing or whatever."


    Putting down a glass of water, Irene''s expression turned sullen as she responded.


    "oh... that? I was invited at the start of the scho-"


    *BANG* Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    *BANG*


    *BANG*


    Flicking her head from her food to out the window, Liana immediately checked her pager and saw the emergency alarm going off.


    Using her exceptionally good sight, which she had been granted through one of her countless contracts with spirits, Liana peered towards the entrance of the clearing.


    Demons.


    Not two demons like the humans earlier had mentioned.


    Not 5.


    Not 10.


    Not 20.


    More than twenty...


    Twenty was just the max Liana could see with her eyes from this location.


    Two demons could be taken care of quite easily... but twenty demons could destroy the entire clearing and the tree and the thousands of Elves living inside without breaking a sweat.


    Not skipping a beat, she returned her gaze to the confused Albert and others before loudly announcing.


    "LEAD THE DEMONS TO THE TREE!"


    A good ruler had to know how to choose between two bad options.


    Reveal the World Tree''s inside or have thousands of civilians die from the demons, which would be roaming the streets in a matter of minutes.


    Now, she also had some trust in the humans due to the demon''s attacks. The demons hadn''t publicly made a move in hundreds of years, so calling this a coincidence would be far-fetched.


    The humans in front of her had somehow predicted their attack.


    Albert, who had never seen his mother in such a frantic state, immediately followed her orders, rushing out one of the windows.


    Lily and others, who were somewhat surprised at the attack, immediately regained their composure and flooded out of the mansion through the double doors.

 Chapter 97: Chapter 97:Inside the Tree [4]

    Jumping out the open window, Albert rushed towards the designated location for the Elven reinforcements, his bow already in his hands and a quiver full of arrows on his back.


    Navigating through the city streets and jumping from object to object to avoid obstacles, Albert finally made his way to the highest points in the clearing, excluding the top of the World Tree.


    Heading up the hill, Albert felt a sense of relief as he saw over five hundred archers lined up from the emergency alarm.


    Lifting his elegant white bow above his hand with his right hand, Albert stared down at his soldiers, who were either confused from the sudden alarm or nervous as they had realized this was not a drill.


    Silencing the cacophony of noises from his soldiers, Albert''s voice rang out, even being heard from civilians in a nearby street.


    "THIS IS A NOT A DRILL! FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT REALIZED, THIS IS NOT A DRILL."


    Raising his bow even higher, Albert grabbed an arrow from his quiver with his other hand and held it by his side.


    Looking down at his quivering soldiers, who had grasped the severity of the situation, Albert suppressed his unease and nervous emotions, maintaining an indifferent facade.


    The Elven Realm hadn''t been attacked in hundreds of years.


    Sure, they had trained these soldiers and improved their weapon technology in that time... but they were still missing the most important thing.


    Experience.


    This was these Elven soldiers'' first time facing a crisis. A crisis where the death of themselves, their fellows Elves, and their families were on the line.


    No amount of training or technological advancement could have prepared them for this moment.


    The clash of emotions inside their brain, their natural instinct telling them to run away to survive, and their nerves and doubt.


    All those things would simply drag Albert''s soldiers down... his troops needed to be at their peak strength.


    As a leader, his job was to quash those emotions, leaving only fighting and battle imprinted in their minds, allowing for the most optimal performance.


    The thing was... Albert was never a good liar.


    Albert knew nothing about what was going on.


    Never in his life had he seen his mother that distressed, and she had even mentioned the tree, a secret that was only supposed to be known by the Elven rulers.


    The implications of those words and her mother''s expression were apparent to Albert.


    An unfathomable danger was approaching them.


    Would the Elven realm fall today? How many of his fellow Elves would die today? Was this battle even winnable? Would he survive this battle...?


    How could he stand there and tell his Elves that they and all their families would survive and to focus on the battle when he couldn''t even convince himself of that much?


    Was he even qualified to be their leader? The future ruler of the Elven kingdom... yet he could not even lead a single squadron of troops into battle.


    With his left hand raised, Albert placed an arrow in his upward-facing bow, carefully putting it against the bow''s soft, elastic string.


    He was never a good liar... but he was an actor.


    Staring down at his troops, knowing damn well that there was a high chance that many of them could die today, Albert simply acted.


    Just as he had acted naive and kind to the human visitors, he could do the opposite.


    He acted as if he was oblivious to everything. His mother''s odd behavior was pushed to the back of his mind.


    Who cared what danger was facing them?


    They were going to win this fight. It wasn''t a thought or a question circulating in Albert''s head.


    It was a concrete statement.


    Albert and the elves were going to kill whatever abominations were daring to attack their home and send them right to hell.


    One of them was dying today.


    Those abominations attacking them or Albert.


    As the emotions disappeared from Albert''s head, leaving his pupils completely lifeless, he placed the arrow against the string before pulling the string back.


    With his hands on his bow, Albert turned his emotionless gaze to the shivering soldiers below him.


    "I understand that you may all be worried, and there is a good reason for you to be worried. But worrying won''t do anything. It will simply drag you down here. Focus on your weapons in front of you and win this battle."


    Responding to Albert''s words, a single soldier spoke up from the crowd.


    "WHAT ABOUT OUR FAM-"


    Cutting him off mid-sentence, Albert locked his piercing gaze onto that soldier, speaking harshly.


    "Win here, then. If you care so much about saving whoever, then win. You all want to survive, right? Lose, and you, alongside all your family, die; it''s simple. What more do I have to explain to you all?"


    Turning away from the soldier, who was still trembling, Albert refocused his attention on the bow above him.


    Even if they won, there was no guarantee that his soldiers and their families would survive, but all Albert had to do was convince them that there was indeed a guarantee, giving them a false sense of hope.


    And Albert had just done that.


    Even if they didn''t know it, Albert''s words were imprinted in their minds.


    After all, Albert was their prince and future ruler; just like it was instinct for them to run, it was instinct for them to believe the words of their superiors unconditionally.


    Releasing the string of the bow and sending the arrow flying straight up at the fastest speed he could, Albert continued.


    "Ready your bows."


    Nocking another arrow in his bow, now facing the incoming demons, Albert didn''t turn around, not bothering to see if his soldiers were running or staying behind. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As his earlier arrow began its descent, flying straight down at speed completely invisible to the regular eye and even some awakened eyes, Albert waited until the descending arrow was right in front of his face before shooting his second arrow.


    As Albert''s arrow collided with his earlier one, they both were propelled at speed invisible to a C-rank and below''s eye towards the entrance of the clearing.


    "SHOOT!"


    As Albert''s two arrows reached the entrance, perfectly hitting the first demon who dared to enter the clearing, a barrage of over a thousand arrows flew over Albert''s head, heading in the same direction.


    Many elves could shoot up to three arrows simultaneously with their constant training, so Albert wasn''t surprised or happy upon seeing a thousand arrows flying over his head.


    Instead, he was shaken.


    He could now see the entrance of the clearing perfectly... where countless demons were already flooding into the clearing.


    The two guards stood in front of those charging demons, running as fast as they could away... but it was still too slow.


    His emotions emerged again for a short moment, causing him to clench his fists; however, in the next second, they disappeared.


    The loss of two people was a small price to pay for victory.


    Either lose two people and win the fight, or lose millions by being defeated.


    Just as the first set of arrows hit the ground, an urgent voice rang out throughout the entire clearing.


    "EVACUATE AND FIND COVER IN YOUR HOMES. THIS IS NOT A DRILL! I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL."


    The Elven evacuation drill had been set off, marking the start of their battle.


    Of course, Albert still remembered his mother''s words throughout all of this.


    Lead them to the tree.


    Albert''s plan was simple.


    Shoot all their arrows at the demons, forcing them to take cover at the World Tree''s trunk, where the branches were lower down and would block their arrow''s trajectory.

 Chapter 98: Chapter 98:Inside the Tree [5]

    Watching the thousands of arrows fly above them like stars falling from the sky, Lily stopped for a second, staring up in awe.


    "LET''S GO!"


    Interrupting Lily''s stargazing, or "arrow gazing," in this case, was Alya, as she forcefully grabbed Lily''s shoulder, dragging her through the streets of Elves and running around chaotically.


    Only a few steps behind them were Kevin and Liam, who paused the arguing momentarily upon seeing Alya''s seriousness.


    Though, this didn''t stop them from throwing small jabs at each other.


    "Yo, idiot, you almost tripped me." sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Liam sped up before responding to Kevin''s comment.


    "Maybe if you watched where you were going, we wouldn''t have this problem."


    "??? What the hell are you on about? You purposely walked in front of m-"


    Ignoring Kevin''s reply, Liam sped up even more, catching up with Lily and Alya in the front, and began discussing.


    Even though the Elven queen had only given orders to Albert, Alya was determined to help, and of course, the rest of the main cast didn''t dare refuse but insisted on helping.


    Even though the four of them had no idea about the enemy they were facing, they were still heading toward the attackers, saving and helping elves evacuate on their way.


    Seeing the burning desire and determination in Alya''s eyes, Lily reminded her.


    "Alya, our job is to help save the elves; Albert and the queen''s job is to defend the attackers."


    Even though Lily knew they could take out two demons she thought were attacking, she didn''t want to take any unnecessary risk and instead left the job to the strongest characters.


    Forced by Lily to nod her head, Alya and the rest of the main cast rushed even faster toward the entrance to the clearing.


    Far behind the main cast were the two invitees, Ruby and Irene, who were still following the main cast, albeit from a far distance.


    Awkwardly turning to Ruby, Irene hesitated for a moment before asking.


    "...so what are we supposed to do?"


    Ruby, staring at a particular stand, snapped out of her daze before replying.


    "Whatever we want to do? It''s not like we''re children... we can do whatever we want."


    "yeah..."


    Leaving behind the dazed Irene, Ruby walked through the crowds of Elves before stopping right in front of a stand.


    On the abandoned stand''s table sat the Elven realm''s local specialty, a bunch of ice topped with various syrups in a cone-shaped cover.


    A snow cone!


    Picking up the snow cone, Ruby licked the top of the ice momentarily, savoring the refreshing ice and sweet cherry syrup, before heading back to Irene.


    "Well, I''m gonna go help them... are you going as well?"


    Staring at the snow cone in Ruby''s hand for a moment, Irene nodded, prompting Ruby to head toward the main cast with the snow cone still in her hand.


    Since the sun was entirely blocked out by the branches of leaves of the World Tree, it didn''t melt, so Ruby was able to enjoy the entire trip to the entrance of the clearing.


    Alya, who had rushed forward to help another elf, arrived at the main entrance before the rest of the main cast, immediately spotting the two elven guards running from the incoming demons near the entrance.


    Not skipping a beat or waiting for the rest of her friends to catch up with her, Alya pulled out her sword, summoned her wind-contracted spirits, and created an air current.


    Seeing Alya, the two guards screamed in unison.


    "PRINCESS ALYA, LEAVE ITS TOO DANGEROUS HERE."


    The two guards were on the verge of death, yet they stayed true to their duties and protected the princess to the very end.


    Alya, seeing this, only stretched the length of her wind current further, draining more mana and forcefully pulling the two guards toward her.


    However... when she increased the size of her wind current, Alya forgot one thing.


    The demons could also use the wind current.


    The first two demons, one heavily injured by Albert''s arrow shots, emerged from the entrance and saw the opportunity, immediately catching the wind current behind the Elven guards.


    Unable to cancel the wind current, Alya could only run and watch as the two massive demons flew towards her.


    The non-injured demon was to attack Alya as a gigantic orb of darkness appeared between his two horns before surging right at Alya.


    Swapping to her ice spirit, Alya created a massive ice shield to protect herself and the guards; however, the ice shield cracked under the pressure of the dark energy ball.


    Diving out of the way, Alya stared in horror as the energy ball charged right at the two Elven guards, who were lying unconscious on the floor.


    *WHOOSH*


    An arrow that Alya barely managed to catch sight of appeared right above them before descending in a perfect spiral right at the non-injured demon.


    Then, Liam, with his light-blue sword, and Lily, with her water magic, appeared in front of the dark energy ball, stopping it completely.


    Using the opening, Ruby teleported right in front of one of the injured demons, creating three birds made of fire while Irene cast an inferno tornado.


    Coupled with the barrage of arrows reigning in every second, that demon quickly disintegrated under the fire attacks, falling on the ground with countless burn marks.


    On the other hand, Liam and Kevin took care of the other injured demon as they attacked in sync, giving the demon no time to counterattack or dodge.


    Their attacks were timed perfectly, so the demon had no time to think. After a few seconds, the demon eventually fell under the barrage of attacks.


    Feeling a page on her communication device, Lily gestured for everyone to gather up before taking the device out of her pocket and displaying it.


    [Albert: TO THE WORLD TREE, THE QUEEN AND I HAVE THE REST OF THEM THERE]


    In sync, the entire group voiced their thoughts.


    "...rest of them...?"


    As their group glanced around, they didn''t see any other demons apart from the two corpses lying on the ground.


    [A/N: I believe I''m done with the extra chaps, so I''ll go back to stockpiling for my next feature.]

 Chapter 99: Chapter 99:Inside the Tree [6]

    Hearing a beep on the page, the group returned their gazes to the navigator, which displayed another message of Albert hurriedly urging them to come to the tree before hurriedly dispersing.


    "WHICH WAY IS THE WORLD TREE!?"


    "YO... KEVIN LOOK UP, YOU DUMBASS."


    Zach pulled out his swords and used a buff spell on the entire group to increase their speed, so Ruby, Irene, Lily, Kevin, Liam, Alya, and himself all sprinted toward the looming figure of the World Tree.


    Throughout the streets, the elves, who still hurriedly rushed to their houses, stopped momentarily before blinking to confirm their eyes were working.


    The scene of seven students, all clad in school uniforms, sprinting through the streets could be seen¡ªone of them even had a snow cone!


    Why were they evacuating and forced to take cover while a bunch of little humans were free to roam the city..?


    Sighing, the elves continued their trip back to their homes, albeit less stressful and slower, as they no longer assumed they were in dire danger.


    As Ruby followed behind Alya, who was leading their group, she carefully examined the expressions of each Elves they passed on their way to the tree.


    Those were not the expressions of Elves who had seen demons...their expressions seemed more annoyed than scared and nervous. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But how was that possible?


    For the demons to have reached the World Tree, as Albert implied in his message, they must have crossed these same streets on their way there.


    There weren''t even any signs of fight or damage; everything looked the same as yesterday.


    Slowing down her pace, Ruby fell to the second last place or right in front of Irene.


    Running alongside Irene, Ruby was about to ask Irene about her suspicions when she saw Irene running ahead with an unusual smile.


    Curious at the change in attitude, Ruby turned to Irene mid-stride and asked.


    "Are you coming to help them fight even if there are more demons..?"


    During the carriage ride and dinner, Ruby and Irene developed a sense of camaraderie as they were in similar situations regarding the main cast.


    Ruby just didn''t want to join the main cast, but she was practically being forced to be. Lily bombarded her with invites and requests every second.


    On the other hand, Irene did want to join the main cast... just not this way. Sure, she had been invited months ago, but Irene knew it was a pity invite.


    It was clear that, unlike Alya, Liam, and Kevin, she had done nothing particularly special to prove herself.


    After the cruise ship incident, Lily asked if she would like to join their group without giving any tests or asking questions.


    Irene didn''t even remember being useful at all during the cruise ship incident, whereas Liam was able to block the final attack, and the others were each able to at least contribute to the fight.


    It was clearly a pity invite...but was that so bad?


    At this point, Irene herself didn''t know what she wanted.


    Life had been much simpler when she could simply force herself to cling to Kevin and follow him around.


    At least then... she had a purpose, even if it was a dog or something like that.


    But as she spent more and more time at this school, she discovered that she could no longer force herself to do things like that.


    Did she even want to join Lily''s group anymore...? Was that just another thing that she had forced herself to do?


    She had lost her sense of identity, grappling with the thoughts in her head, trying to discover which memories and thoughts were forced and natural.


    However, she could never find the answer... because it was right in front of her all this time.


    Even if the thoughts were forced, there were still her thoughts.


    Whose head were those "forced" thoughts in? Irenes and nothing in the world could ever change that.


    Whether forced or not, those thoughts belonged to only Irene; thus, they were part of her, a foundation on which her personality and behavior were built.


    So, why did it matter if the thoughts were forced or not?


    Irene''s thoughts were still there at the end of the day.


    After this realization, Irene was finally able to realize what she wanted.


    Using BOTH her forced and natural thoughts, Irene concluded that... she didn''t want anything.


    Why did she have to want something? Why did she have to have a goal that she needed to complete? Why did she have some overarching goal that made all her decisions?


    Why couldn''t she live in the present instead of worrying about the future?


    Live moment by moment and make decisions based on what you want, not on how they will affect the success rate of your goal.


    And at this very moment, Irene wanted to kill some demons and save some elves.


    Was there some moral obligation that forced Irene to decide that? Was there some peer pressure from the main cast?


    Nope. It was just what Irene wanted to do.


    Decisions didn''t need to have reasons behind them. Why did she have to prove herself and defend her decision against anyone?


    At the end of the day, who cares?


    It''s her life and her decisions.


    Turning to Ruby, Irene shrugged her shoulders, a small grin appearing, and replied.


    "I guess I am!"


    Seeing the unusually motivated Irene, Ruby dropped all thoughts of revealing her suspicions out of fear that it would dampen Irene''s attitude.


    Friends.


    They were a weird thing for Ruby... but she was certain of one thing about friendship.


    She didn''t want to lose it.


    The times she had spent chatting to Irene in the corner of the carriage while the rest of the main cast were off discussing antics about saving the world, the times she had spent playing hide and seek with Irene yesterday when the main cast was off talking to the elven queen, and countless other memories surfaced in Ruby''s head.


    It brought a sense of serenity and peace to her always stressed and chaotic mind. A peace that she didn''t want to lose.


    Replying to Irene, who had suddenly sped up, Ruby said.


    "Well, someone looks joyful today."

 Chapter 100: Chapter 100:Inside the Tree [7]

    After saying that, Ruby used her teleportations to move past the rest of the main cast and catch up to Alya at the front.


    The odds of the pagers being stolen or hacked are zero, so if Ruby''s suspicion is true, Albert or the queen must be defeated.


    Or a betrayal... but Ruby highly doubted that.


    But then there was the fact that Ruby was a traitor herself.


    An evil villain boss turned good is now invited to a group of crazy students who are determined to save the world from any danger.


    Sighing and scratching her head, pondering how this all started in the first place, Ruby turned to Alya and asked.


    "Say, princess, how strong are the prince and queen?"


    Looking straight ahead at the looming tree, Alya replied.


    "One single arrow from ''the prince'' could destroy a B-rank beast and my mother...I don''t even know."


    Since Ruby was already a part of their group in Alya''s eyes, she had no qualms about sharing such important information; however, that didn''t stop her from being curious.


    "And why do you ask?"


    "My curiosity got the best of me."


    "Heard the saying, ''Curiosity kills the cat?'' "


    Putting her hands on her head to form cat ears, Ruby replied.


    "And do I look like a cat to you?"


    Letting a slight laugh, Alya regained her composure before saying to herself. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "If only we had cats back at the academy...but of course, they have to be banned."


    "What''d you say?"


    Interrupting their conversations, the trunk of the World Tree came into sight, looking the same as it did yesterday... except for one thing.


    Albert was slumped against the tree, drenched in sweat, his bow and quiver resting next to him.


    Running past Ruby, Alya sped up for the next minute until she finally reached the exhausted Albert.


    Grabbing his hand and pulling him up, Alya asked.


    "Where did you all your troops go...?"


    Scratching the top of his head, Albert gave a smirk, which was clearly forced, and replied.


    "hah... I guess our mother is a better person than me... Here, I thought I was being a perfect ruler by lying to the soldiers earlier..."


    Recalling the memory of his mother, Liana, frantically sending all the Elven reinforcements away and telling them to evacuate with the citizens, Albert almost fell back onto the ground.


    He wasn''t a true leader... he was a fraud... once again.


    Leaders didn''t need to be emotionless and cold-hearted... well, they could be.


    There was only a requirement that a ruler needed to fulfill, and somehow Albert failed in that.


    Care about your subject''s lives.


    What an actor he was...


    After waiting for the rest of the group to catch up to Alya and him, Albert pointed at the World Tree, and in the most serious tone he could muster, he said.


    "In there is where we have to go."


    Seeing the group''s confused expressions, Albert didn''t even bother to explain but moved on to the next topic.


    "Well, I''m sure you''re wondering where all the demons are, huh? Well, they''re in that tree as well!"


    "..."


    Breaking the silence, Kevin''s annoying voice sounded once again.


    "So you''re telling me that we''re going inside a tree that is filled with demons...?"


    Seeing Albert nod his head at his question, Kevin was just about to ask another question when Liam suddenly slapped him on the back.


    "OW! WHAT THE HELL, MAN."


    Sighing, Liam said to Kevin.


    "Oh, come on, man, you do this every time. You complain about how hard the task is and how we''re all going to die, and we''re all stupid for doing this, but then you end up doing it anyway. Let''s just skip the complaining part, all right?"


    With a serious expression that did not fit his face in the slightest, Kevin turned to Liam and placed his hand on Liam''s right shoulder.


    "...I''m about to risk my life to do this shit, and you''re saying I can''t even complain about it?"


    "..."


    The whole group went silent.


    For once... Kevin might be right.


    Shouldn''t he be at least allowed to complain a bit?


    Opening his mouth in triumph and complaints already on the tip of his tongue, Kevin was about to speak when Albert, completely oblivious to Kevin''s attitude, interrupted him.


    "Alright... let''s move on. I''m taking you to the World Tree, and the eight of us have one job: Get to it and save it."


    Lily, who was also suspicious of the whole situation as she had come to the same realization as Ruby after seeing no Elven civilians scared in the slightest, asked.


    "Then... what about the demons?"


    Patting Alya on the shoulder, Albert replied.


    "That''s our mother''s job."


    Following Albert''s lead, the eight of them placed their hands on the rough and unpolished bark of the World Tree.


    Not explaining anything else, the group was about to enter the World Tree under Albert''s guidance when they heard a sudden sound.


    *MEOWWWW*


    Since the sound came from the other side of the massive trunk, they could not see the source, and with their hands already on the World Tree, it was too late to back out and find it.


    "Was that a ca-"


    As their surroundings distorted, and the eight of them appeared inside the World Tree, in a completely different place than Ren, another sound caught them off guard.


    *BANG*


    *BANG*


    As the sound of gunshots and cannonball shots echoed throughout the tree''s inside, the eight of them, even Albert, stepped back and instinctively covered their ears.


    *BZZT*


    Blinding their eyes, a sudden flash of bright purple appeared before dispersing right before them.


    In front of them stood a lady dressed in all black, with two revolvers in each hand and a lighting purple current surrounding her entire body, making her look like some sort of mythical figure.


    Breaking the silence first was Alya as she rushed towards the figure with no weapons in her hands.


    "MOMMM!"


    Taking Alya into her embrace, Liana tilted her head upwards and stared at the rest of the group before asking.


    "Let''s save the thanks for later. Trust me, you eight will be rewarded and revered at the very least."


    *BANG*


    Releasing Alya from her embrace, Liana tilted her two revolves up at the roof before asking.


    "Best of luck to you all. My appreciation cannot be expressed in words, but may the World Tree guide your path. Get back here alive, all of you. Or trust me, you''ll regret it!"


    *BZZT*


    Just like that, Liana was gone before the students could even blink.


    Leaving behind only a single spark of purple for the students, a streak of lightning could be seen deeper into the tree, following Liana''s back as she dashed back toward the dozens of demons.

 Chapter 101: Chapter 101:Inside the Tree [8]

    Zigging and Zagging through the various diving paths in the cave, leaving behind a trail of pure purple lightning, Liana moved faster than the speed of light as she navigated toward the sound of the demon''s footsteps.


    Twisting and turning to take the correct path, the streak of lightning made the shape of the letter "Z" behind her before she finally spotted some demons approaching.


    As the streak of lightning stopped with Liana, she took her revolvers out of her pockets and spotted three demons right in front of her; however, they also saw her.


    With gigantic battle axes, the three demons charged at Liana from different directions. Each attack was coordinated perfectly as they swung their axes at the same angle to prevent counterattacks or dodging.


    Flicking her revolvers up to the roof, Liana took one step forward, her foot completely covered in lightning and leaking onto the floor below as lightning sparks lit up the dark cave.


    Lunging downwards, Liana disappeared from the demon''s sight, leaving sparks of lightning on the ground with every step she took.


    As Liana moved so fast that she was invisible to the demon''s terrible eyes, she purposely left behind sparks of lighting, leaving a trail for the demons to follow.


    Noticing the sparks of lightning, the demons used them to locate Liana; however, that was exactly what Liana wanted.


    There was a delay.


    Liana moved so fast that by the time the lighting sparks appeared on the floor, she was already more than 10 feet away from that location.


    Twisting and turning, running up the roof, running on the walls, and sliding on the ground, Liana treated the cave as a playground.


    Running up the cave walls and running on the roof with her entire body facing the floor, Liana watched with a smile as the demons swung their axes at every spark.


    They were slowly losing their edge and becoming more frustrated.


    Increasing her speed to the maximum, lightning sparks started reacting with each other as small bits of fire appeared around the cave.


    Finally finding a gap in the demons'' formations, she stopped mid-sprint, causing gravity to actaully take effect, and propel her head-first downwards at the cave floor. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Doing a flip mid-air, Liana landed in the middle of the demon''s formation, with one demon to her right and two to her left.


    With her revolvers pointed in different directions, each at a single demon, Liana stopped her mad sprint for a split second.


    *BANG*


    *BANG*


    If you had looked down from the roof at the floor below at this very moment, it wouldn''t have looked like a battle in the slightest¡ªit would have looked like an art piece.


    The rough cave floors, the protruding rocks from the wall, and the three confused demons were just the backdrop¡ªthe canvas of the painting.


    And the art? The paint?


    It was the lightning.


    The entire cave was glowing a dark purple as the small sparks of lightning on the ground left behind by Liana had grouped, forming various intricate shapes that transformed the bland cave into a world-class art exhibit.


    It was not a battle or a fight... it was a masterpiece, an abstract painting.


    Even though Liana seemed to sprint around at light speed smoothly without care, her tracks of lightning sparks seemed to come together and form interesting yet abstract images that would enthrall any viewer and amaze any art critic.


    Her battle style wasn''t just powerful... it was beautiful, amazing, intricate, and elegant...


    The world around her wasn''t a battlefield... it was a blank canvas, waiting to be graced with Liana''s refined art style.


    As the two bullets barrelled out of the revolvers, the growing lightning sparks on the ground finally stopped.


    As the bullet flew mid-air at the frozen and oblivious demons, the lightning sparks on the ground accumulated and gathered together, forming one of those lightning bolt symbols you would see in a cartoon.


    The lightning bolt symbol was so large that it covered the entire cave floor, making it look like a dance floor as everyone''s feet were glowing purple.


    And the center of this symbol?


    It was right under Liana and the three demons.


    Splitting into two halves, the thousands of lightning particles finally started reacting and pushing against each other, causing gigantic purple flames to rise from the ground.


    Two walls of purple fire stretched up from the ground in an instant, the tip of the dark purple flames touching the bullets shot by Liana.


    The metal bullets did not combust under the insanely high temperatures of the fires; instead, they changed color from pure white metal to dark purple.


    There was even an artistic touch on the bullets, as the tips of the purple flames were formed so perfectly that they adorned a small lightning bolt symbol on the right side of each bullet.


    As the first bullet penetrated the first demon''s body, creating a hole directly through it, the flames and remaining lightning sparks dispersed, moving from the cave''s center to its edges.


    The remaining lightning sparks collided at the edge of the cave, forming a ring of purple fire around Liana and the two demons who remained alive.


    It was too late when the demons finally realized that the particles had disappeared and Liana had stopped. The second bullet pierced right through the first demon before curving mid-air and going right through the vital spot of the last demon alive.


    A collateral shot.


    Just like that... two A-rank demons and all the djinns under them had died.


    As the two demons dropped to the ground, causing the cave to shake under the weight of their body, the purple flamed surged, rising all the way to the roof of the cave.


    Looking at the scene around her, Liana sighed before snapping her figures, instantly extinguishing the walls of purple flames around her.


    "that''s 3 out of 23...well onto the next."


    The next second, Liana was gone, leaving behind a final spark of lightning.


    Once again, the figure of a woman with a streak of lightning following her lit up the dark and dull cave.

 Chapter 102: Chapter 102:The Center [1]

    After seeing Liana''s lightning trail and incredible speed, the group looked at the sparks of lighting in awe for a second before regaining their composure.


    Taking the lead was Albert as he immediatly ran in the opposite direction of Liana before gesturing to the students behind him.


    "THIS WAY!"


    Trailing behind the main cast with Irene, Ruby followed Albert as he led them through the various paths.


    Even though there was a chance of demons popping out at any wrong turn or a sudden sneak attack, Ruby''s mind was completely elsewhere.


    Where was he?


    First, he attempts to infiltrate the gemstone order before she catches him after looking into his soul. Then, he somehow remained awake and completely fine after the cruise ship incident, and finally, he somehow managed to take down the djinn during the dormitory attack.


    Once, it could have been a mistake; two could have been coincidences, but three were far too many.


    For the past three months, Ren had been involved in every important moment, and... it was all of his own volition.''


    He had been purposely placing himself in danger to save the same people who had spread malicious rumors about him.


    Recalling the rumors spreading at the academy about Ren being a terrible, selfish, and moral-less person, Ruby almost wanted to laugh.


    He had been there at all the most important moments behind the scenes, and despite there being no proof for the other incidents besides the dormitory attack, Ruby was inclined to believe that he had also contributed the most during those.


    Even Liam and Kevin, who Ren had basically helped save during the dormitory attack, were bad-mouthing him.


    Although Ruby knew that Ren was always involved in these important events, she still had no idea why and how.


    How had he known about Alya''s kidnapping beforehand and managed to infiltrate the squad despite only being a D-rank?


    How was he able to arrive at the royal dormitory during the attack when nobody else should have known about it?


    Why was he interfering in these situations?


    She had a lot of information, but somehow, none of it seemed connected, like a bunch of randomly plotted points on a line graph.


    Ruby knew that Ren had to be here somewhere based on his previous actions... but since she didn''t know or understand his methods in the slightest, she had no idea where.


    The chances of him being here were almost zero, considering the special entry method required to go inside the World Tree and the fact the demons were roaming around... yet Ruby couldn''t shake the feeling that he was somewhere here, just waiting for them...


    "Well... if it''s Ren... he''s probably already at the World Tree''s center, already fighting and saving the tree from death."


    Hearing Ruby''s muttering, Irene asked.


    "What''d you say?"


    Waving her hands, Ruby replied.


    "Nothing, nothing."


    "If you say so..."


    Although Ruby''s muttering had mostly been incoherent to Irene, she had managed to make out a single word.


    Ren.


    Recalling that she had gone to see Ren for help under the student council president''s instructions, Irene pondered whether Ren had gone to help them.


    The investigative reports did not mention him at all, but the student council president wouldn''t call him for no reason, right?


    Well... even if he had gone to help, he had probably arrived too late, as Ruby had teleported them and the rest of the students out while the official heroes took care of the djinn.


    As Albert''s pace suddenly increased, both Irene and Ruby refocused their thoughts on their current situation, speeding up to catch up with the group ahead of them.


    As they reconvened with the rest of the group, Albert began speaking while slowly increasing his pace, allowing everyone to keep up with him.


    "We''re almost there; be ready. We can''t be sure that the queen has all the demons detained; the possibility of a few outliers is high."


    While Irene, Lily, and Ruby drew their wands, the other five took out swords, bows, quivers, and other various weapons that the Elven queen had given them.


    Seeing a pure-white light illuminating the path ahead, Albert immediately recognized it as the the spirit of the World tree, sprinting ahead.


    Leaving the rest of the group behind, Albert nocked an arrow in his bow and charged straight into the center of the tree... where he spotted two demons with their backs completely turned to him.


    "...?"


    Not giving up the opportunity, Albert waited for the rest of the group to catch up before shooting his arrow at one demon while the others all simultaneously attacked the other one.


    With incredible speed, though not comparable to Liana''s lightning, the arrow pierced right through the first demon.


    As the other demon turned his head in shock, it was too late. Various spells such as fireballs, ice lances, water bullets, a light-blue shining sword, and a regular sword were barrelling towards him with no mercy. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Unlike the clean and precise death of the first demon by Albert''s arrow, this one was a mess. After disposing of the demon, the various spells reacted together, creating many explosions.


    Seeing the excited figures of the group behind him, Albert turned around after confirming the demons'' death to face the group.


    "That was luck; all luck. If it had been a confrontation, our victory would have been much longer... and maybe impossible. So, don''t get co-"


    Interrupting Albert''s speech was Kevin as he replied.


    "Hey, luck is a part of the game. So what if our luck won that fight; in the end, our attacks and spells won!"


    Chucking, Liam patted Kevin on the shoulder and replied.


    "So, when you win, it''s all you and no luck, but when you lose, it''s always luck''s fault. Make it make sense."


    Ignoring the two''s banter, Albert began examining the spirit of the World Tree from a distance, noticing a faint gray polluting the pure white color of the fog.


    The amount of grey would naturally clear up in a couple of days, but there was just one problem: the amount of grey would slowly increase.


    Staring at the device below the fog, Albert rushed over and picked it up, immediately noticing the black smoke it was emitting.


    Smashing it onto the ground with all his awakened force, Albert attempted to break it; however, the black fog kept coming out despite the outside being heavily damaged.


    Wasting no time, Albert tossed the device to Alya, who he obviously trusted the most among the group.


    "Take this out of here now; the longer it stays, the worse the tree becomes. You know how to leave, don''t you the tree, don''t you?"


    Alya and the others, who had been previously staring at the white fog in confusion and awe, immediately realized the connection between the fog and the World Tree''s condition at Albert''s words.


    Catching the device, Alya nodded her head before sprinting out of the room and back towards where they started.


    Upon seeing Albert''s way of entering the World Tree, Alya immediately deduced that to enter and exit the tree, she simply needed to use one of her many contracted spirits.

 Chapter 103: Chapter 103:The Center [2]

    After watching Alya wander back into the tunnels of the World Tree, Albert continued staring at the pure white fog, not saying a word.


    Behind him, the rest of the group, understandably, felt restless just looking at the fog. They had expected a long and drawn-out fight with some demons... but now they were just watching some fog?


    Putting their weapons back into their sheaths, the group awaited Albert''s next words... but they never came as Albert just continued mindlessly gazing at the fog.


    Whispering to Kevin right next to him, Liam asked.


    "Hey, go ask him what we''re supposed to do."


    Nudging Liam''s shoulders, Kevin met Liam''s gaze and replied.


    "Why don''t you go ask?"


    "...if you do it this time, I''ll do it next time!"


    "WHEN THE HELL IS THERE GOING TO BE A NEXT TIME!?"


    Behind the two''s bickering, Ruby was prepared to leave as she saw no signs of Ren, who was invisible to her unless she specifically looked at his location for more than a few seconds, and the battle seemed to be over.


    On the other hand, Irene looked disappointed before meeting Ruby''s gaze.


    What were they supposed to do now?


    Even further behind Liam and Kevin stood Lily, who stood there with her wand still ready to cast a spell, and Zach, who was just staring straight ahead without a thought.


    Not a thought behind those eyes...


    Finally, after what seemed to be ages, Albert noticed his companions growing increasingly restless, so he spoke with his gaze still locked onto the white fog.


    "Before leaving this place, we must ensure the tree is no longer corrupted. If we allow it to be more corrupted, serious consequences will ensue."


    Pausing for a moment, Albert scratched his chin before finally turning to face the group of students.


    "And don''t ask me how long we must stay here to keep guard. It could be an hour, a day, or even a week, depending on what the queen tells us. But don''t worry, you all are free to leave; what you have done thus far has already been a great help."


    Turning back to face the white fog, Albert raised his hands, waving goodbye, without even seeing their departure.


    Looking at Kevin, who was about to utter complaints, Lily sighed before gesturing for the group to huddle.


    "I think we should stay until, at the very least, the queen comes back and gives us some information."


    As Zach and Irene nodded their heads with affirmation, Liam also replied.


    "We''ve come this far, so it doesn''t make sense for us to leave without seeing the conclusion anyway. It is quite sad that our last few days of vacation here might be spent in this tree..."


    Patting Liam on the shoulder, Zach leaned over him and positively responded.


    "Don''t think of it that way, Liam. We''re spending our vacation in a magical tree that only the queen and the prince know about! How lucky are we!?"


    Stepping away from the ground, Ruby picked up a rock from the ground and stared at the normal cave for a second before muttering.


    "Nothing special or lucky about this..."


    Walking back over the group, Ruby had thought about leaving but quickly dismissed the idea, not because she wanted to stay but because she couldn''t leave.


    Staring at Albert''s standing figure from a distance, Ruby pictured the smirk on his face even without seeing it before sighing.


    "These kids would stay anyway to help... there was no need for you to lie or trick them."


    As the group concluded that they would stay until more information arrived, everyone began hesitantly gazing at Kevin, who had been unnaturally quiet throughout the entire discussion.


    There was only one question on everyone''s mind.


    How was Kevin going to react!?


    It was like a game show! sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Liam, holding his laughter, turned to Ruby and Irene before whispering.


    "We''re taking bets. I bet ten gold that he walks over to Albert and slaps him, and Lily puts ten gold that he just complains for an hour before giving up."


    Holding out his cupped hands, Liam smiled before asking.


    "You have any bets?"


    "...we''re good."


    As Liam turned away from Irene and Ruby, the whole group became silent as Kevin stepped forward, and approached the cave''s exit.


    Showing no emotion, Kevin simply shrugged shoulders in response to the group''s confused expressions before saying.


    "What? You guys can stay here, can''t you? You guys are more than enough to watch that stupid fog, so there''s no really no need for me. I''ll be taking my leave now!"


    "FUCK, MY PARLAY!"


    "..."


    Ignoring Liam''s outburst, Lily sighed before sitting on the cold, hard floor, oblivious to Kevin''s actions.


    This made Kevin even more angry as not even Irene and Ruby were paying attention to him as they were playing tic-tac-toe with rocks on the floor.


    The only one paying attention to Kevin was Liam, who was on the floor in shambles after losing his ten gold coins.


    Taking another step towards the exit of the cave, Kevin said.


    "I''M REALLY DOING IT!"


    But the outcome was the same: everyone in the room, except Liam, ignored him, more focused on whatever was in front of them.


    Zach, who had remained silent until now, glanced at Kevin''s departing figure before sitting down next to Lily and asking.


    "...aren''t you going to do something."


    Shaking her head in response, Lily picked up a stick and began drawing an image on the cave floor while speaking.


    "Don''t worry, Kevin won''t make it past the cave exit."


    Completely missing Lily''s point, Kevin quietly replied.


    "Look, I know Kevin can have a bad attitude, but I''m sure he won''t give up this time. I mean, look at him; he actually looks confident and ready to leave the cave."


    Putting down her stick and staring at the scribbles on the cave floor, Lily sighed before replying.


    "Zach... how exactly do you think he''s going to leave the cave?"


    Recalling their entrance to the cave and the spirit, Zach thought momentarily before realizing it.


    "...ah"


    Kevin didn''t have any type of spirit, and Alya was gone alongside Albert being busy; it would be impossible for him to find a spirit and exit the World Tree.


    In fact, there was no way for any of them to leave the World Tree!


    Snickering from the corner of the room, Ren said to himself.


    " ''Leave if you want,'' my ass *PFFT* "


    Noticing almost everyone''s realization, Albert turned around briefly, with the exact smirk that Ruby had imagined, and said.


    "Well... I can''t watch this thing all day; we''ll all just have to take shifts and split up the work!"


    ...What a shameless king!?


    Kevin, who was almost through the cave exit and out of sight, stopped for a second, turning around to face Albert dead in the eyes.


    "So you''re telling me that you''re not only trapping us here, but you''re using us so that you can get some rest...?"


    "...well when you put it like that.... I would like to think that w-"


    "Shut it!"


    Comprehending the situation, Kevin walked back into the center of the World Tree and sat next to Liam, who was hiding his eyes with his knees.


    Lightening up, Liam removed his knees and asked.


    "Bad day for you today as well, huh?"


    Ignoring Liam''s voice, Kevin simply put his head against one of the rocks, using it as a pillow, and attempted to drift off to sleep.


    Meanwhile, Zach and Lily drew on the cave floor with sharp sticks, and Irene was still playing tic-tac-toe with Ruby by her side.


    Looking at the students resting, Albert was somewhat tempted to take a break and pass on the shift to someone else, but it was too early.


    Albert didn''t want the damn night shift!


    Turning back around to face the white fog, Albert resumed his duties and observed the fog, making sure to be aware of any peculiarities.


    The World Tree needed time to recover after the demons'' actions, so it''s being further corrupted now, which could cause permanent issues.


    At least, that was what Albert had surmised based on his mother''s information, which he had learned only two years before.


    "hmm?"


    Although it was feint, Albert could now see a small black fog of grey, the same as the previous one, slowly creeping out of the wall.


    Although it was far from the fog, Albert immediately left to investigate.


    Was there another device that the demons had?


    With his bow in his hand, Albert carefully walked over the source of the smoke, but as soon as he reached the wall, the smoke completely disappeared...


    With his cloak wrapped around his face, Ren swiftly dispersed the device as Albert reached the cave wall before resummoning it on another side of the cave.


    It was like a game of cat and mouse.


    Ren knew that further polluting the World Tree spirit could be dangerous, so he wasn''t doing that.


    Remember, all he had to do was make it appear more corrupted.


    And how could he do that?


    By making its surroundings look polluted.

 Chapter 104: Chapter 104:The Center [3]

    -*- (Back to first person)


    Standing still for a moment upon witnessing the trail of smoke suddenly disappear, Albert rubbed his eyes before heading back to the center.


    "..I might have to switch shifts with them earlier than expected if I''m already sleepy enough to be hallucinating things..."


    On the other side of the cave, the lid of my copied device was already slowly emitting smoke again, causing a small stream of smoke to spread throughout the room.


    Positioning the top of the device so that the smoke was as far away from the center of the cave as possible, I glanced at Lily, who was simply drawing on the floor.


    "...do I have to make it more obvious?"


    Why was she sitting on the floor and scribbling on the ground like some toddler in the MIDDLE of A MAJOR INCIDENT?


    The queen was out there still restlessly fighting against demons while her son, daughter, and friends were playing TIC-TAC-TOE!


    Well, it wasn''t like they could do much against the hordes of demons... but still, shouldn''t they at least pay attention to the spirit of the World Tree right in front of them?


    Seeing Albert return to his original position in front of the spirit, I slowly amped up the smoke output.


    At the same time, I moved to the shadows right next to the cave exit, with a hand on my hood, which contained my cat.


    If I were to be caught before the tree appeared corrupted enough, I would have to deal with the entire main cast, Ruby and Albert, attacking me thinking I was an intruder... which, to be fair, I was.


    Dying or being heavily injured was not particularly on my schedule today...


    Seeing Albert start to scan my section of the cave, I once again dispersed the device before dashing over to another portion of the cave and re-manifesting it.


    At this point, the smoke was grouping together and growing in size, making it easily visible if you stared at the wall for more than a second¡ªbut, alas, no one did. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This was a good thing as I could release more corruption into the surroundings without being noticed, but at the same time, there was a limit I couldn''t pass.


    I purposely sent all the smoke in the same direction so it would group as if I had just sent it around randomly; the smoke would spread through the entire cave, eventually hitting the spirit of the World Tree.


    The problem was that if the group of smoke I was producing actually hit the World Tree, it would be immediately fully corrupted and in danger of dying.


    Also, was Albert even willing to sacrifice his life for the World Tree''s survival..? Well, he had done it in the original story, but what about now?


    He hadn''t developed any character that I knew of, so I assumed it was highly likely that he would agree.


    If not, there were always alternative ways.


    Well, you can''t get any rewards without taking some risks, right...?


    Holding the device steady in my hands and watching the smoke flow out, I glanced around the cave and saw Liam alongside Kevin with their backs on the wall, both clearly in a foul mood.


    Completely oblivious to their surroundings, the black smoke accumulated and accumulated until there was just a gigantic cloud of black smoke in the corner of the cave, wavering above the floor.


    Now, I just had to make it noticeable...but wasn''t it already way too recognizable?


    To be fair, there would be no reason for them to just randomly stare at the corner of the room, but what was I supposed to do?


    Moving that cloud of smoke would be impossible as it would simply disperse and hit the spirit of the World Tree in the white fog, and if I yelled out, "OVER HERE GUYS!" I would be more screwed than the spirit of the World Tree...


    Looking at Lily, who was still drawing on the cave floor with the tip of the branch, I surmised a plan.


    The branch tip would eventually become too dull to make marks on the cave floor, so Lily would be forced to look for other branches.


    And where will all the branches in the cave be?


    Coincidentally, under a gigantic, suspicious cloud of smoke!


    Were there easier ways to make them notice the cloud? Yes, but all of them would require someone else besides Lily to find out about the smoke first.


    Lily needed to find out about the smoke so she could immediately take command and give the group the solution mentioned in the story.


    If someone besides Lily found it, they could devise a different and unsuccessful plan before Lily could even say something, and in a rush, everyone would follow that plan.


    And then there was also the chance that Albert, who was essentially the leader of the group right now, would choose another plan over Lily''s, as Lily''s plan meant he would die.


    Even if Albert wanted to save the World Tree and his fellow elves, it was a natural instinct for him to want to survive.


    It was something that he couldn''t change as this instinct was deeply rooted in every single living body.


    Given the choice between a plan that involves his death and one that does not, all sense of reason will go out the window, and Albert will obviously choose the one without his death.


    If Lily had discovered the smoke first and had the chance to completely explain her plan, no one would suggest any alternatives, so Albert wouldn''t have had a chance to escape anymore.


    *CRACK*


    Tensing my entire body, I saw the tip of the branch break, causing Lily to look around for another one.


    Finding the group of branches I assembled near the cloud of smoke, Lily dusted her hands before getting up and walking over there.


    As Lily stopped a couple of feet before the pile of branches and noticed the floating cloud of smoke, I dispersed the device and moved toward the white fog in the middle of the room that contained the spirit.


    Using the shadow of the spirit''s fog to conceal myself, I waited as Lily''s lips slowly parted and... a sudden voice came from the cave''s entrance.


    "Albert, the device is stashed away, what d-"


    Watching Alya take another step, Lily sprinted towards her and screamed.


    "STOP NOW, ALYA, DON''T MOVE."


    But it was too late.


    The cloud of smoke I accumulated with my device scattered into thousands of particles as Alya stepped through the entrance, where the smoke was located.


    Using my eyes, I immediately calculated the trajectory of each of the thousands of smoke particles.


    A hundred.


    A hundred particles of smoke were heading right into the fog.

 Chapter 105: Chapter 105: The Center [4]

    It was far too many...


    Even If I slowed down time and used my dragon''s wing speed ability, I could only stop fifty of them at most.


    I had placed the cloud of smoke near the entrance so no one would be entering or leaving, and it was right behind everyone so no one would notice the smoke there.


    But... then, how was Alya already back..?


    I had calculated her entire path; it would have taken her ten minutes to leave the tree, five to store the device, and another ten to get back here.


    Yet, she had arrived in ten minutes, less than half of that predicted time.


    Sbe would have to have skipped the entire way back to this cave...


    Putting aside those thoughts, I tapped my right eye, slowing my perception of time, before combining the mana and blood-red substance, creating a dark-purple wing on my right shoulder.


    Since these smoke particles were made out of her pure corruption, they were different: they could completely pass through physical things, so simply standing in front of them wouldn''t do anything.


    What was the only way to stop the corruption then?


    With most corruption... or you could just completely overpower the particles with stronger magic, but that wasn''t something I could do.


    Dismissing the devices, I used all my corruption to create a jar about the same size as those pickle jars at grocery stores.


    Simply creating a gigantic jar to cover the entire room with my corruption wouldn''t work, as the jar would be too weak to withstand the impact of the smoke particles.


    Thus, I created a medium-sized jar but concentrated all my corruption into its exterior, making it strong enough.


    Stepping in front of the pure-white fog with a pickle jar in my right hand, I extended my hand to the right, catching the first two hundred particles.


    Then, moving the jar to my left hand, I caught three more particles.


    Then two more, then three more, then two more, then seven more, then ten more, then five more, then three more... but at some point, the particles started to get past me.


    Forced to step back, I found myself with my back right against the wall, with no room for any mistakes, as one missed particle would immediately enter the fog.


    From here, I could see Lily and Alya, who were still staring where the cloud of black smoke used to be, and Albert, alongside the rest of the group, staring at Lily as she had just screamed.


    Soon, their perception of time would catch up, and they would notice me...


    My jar, now half full of particles, struggled to maintain its shape as the particles clashed with my concentrated corruption in the exterior. To make it even worse, I hadn''t accounted for the fact that particles could have erratic movement, throwing off my predicted trajectories.


    There were more than two hundred particles... double my original estimate.


    Sure, one extra particle going into the fog wouldn''t do too much more... but if over a hundred particles entered the fog, the spirit of the World Tree would be in serious danger.


    Feeling my mana drain insanely fast due to my using mana for wings and slowing down time simultaneously, I sighed while continuing to catch the incoming particles with my jar.


    What now?


    If the World Tree becomes corrupted, the fall of the Elven realm is only a matter of time away.


    The Elven realm, one of the significant forces aiding humans in the future war of the demons, would fall in the third or fourth incident...


    We hadn''t even finished the academy arc yet...


    Worst of all, it wasn''t because of Lily or some variable.


    I had chosen to put the smoke there; I had willingly created the smoke, and I am going to have destroyed the Elven realm alongside the spirit of the World Tree.


    Catching ten more particles, I stayed until the end, ignoring my body growing fatigued due to loss in mana, and frantically moved around my jar.


    For the next second, not a single particle passed by me.


    The next second, one particle passed by me and entered the pure-white fog.


    In the third second, three passed by me.


    Then 4.


    Then 7.


    And finally, as my mana dropped to zero, I stood still with the half-filled jar in my hand, staring at the hundred particles heading right at me.


    No... not yet.


    I had only gotten fifty of the particles this far... I needed at least seventy to be happy with myself, didn''t I?


    Downing my remaining mana bottles in less than a second, I swiped my jar up and down once, catching the twenty particles about to hit the pure-white fog.


    Only seventy?


    I''ll need at least ninety to pay for dinner tonight.


    While mana potions increased your mana, they didn''t heal or alleviate the fatigue or pain of using mana.


    In fact, they only worsened it.


    Combined with the mana potions I had used earlier in my fight with the demon, I used about twice the maximum capacity today.


    As my arms trembled and my eyes involuntarily closed, threatening to lose consciousness, I continued swiping up and down.


    For the next five seconds, not a single particle passed by me.


    One hundred thirty particles is not too bad for my first time...


    However, that was it. My wings disappeared due to lack of mana, leaving me only with the measly remaining time I had left on my dragon''s eye.


    Once again, I faced over fifty incoming particles despite having no more mana.


    Was it enough?


    "...I guess it was."


    *BZZT*


    As the main cast slowly turned their heads towards the pure-white fog, catching up to the current time, the entrance of the cave glowed a dark purple, and a streak of lightning could be seen approaching. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Even with my dragon''s eye activated, I could barely see her.


    Going straight past the main cast, Liana briefly glanced at my mask and current position before turning.


    And turning and turning and turning.


    Like a NASCAR driver, Liana drifted and turned while going as fast as a car, even with my perception of time slowed.


    Zigging and Zagging around the particles with perfect precision, the streak of lighting behind Liana melted the smoke particles of corruption instantly as she ran past them.


    The entire cave turned a dark purple for a second as lightning beams shot out of Liana''s body, crushing over thirty particles at a time.


    At a single second, over three beams, each having a diameter of the entire cave, could be seen appearing for a short second before disappearing and reappearing in a different location, where more particles were located.


    Within the next five seconds, all the particles were gone, leaving behind a couple of lightning sparks on the ground.


    Stopping a few feet away, Liana focused on the white fog, which was partially tainted with black, before turning her attention to me.


    The next second, she moved.


    Right at me.


    Exhausted, drained of mana, and completely powerless, I watched as Liana moved towards me, slower than before, with her hand stretched out toward me.


    Despite the horror in my chest at that moment, a feeling of awe also appeared as I felt like I was watching a movie.


    The purple sparks on the ground glowing the cave a dark purple, the sparks of lightning flying off her body as she moved towards me in slow motion, and her indifferent expression as she approached me.


    All of it combined to create the perfect scene, the climax.


    Well, what happens to villains in movies...?

 Chapter 106: Chapter 106:The Center [5]

    As the streak of lightning-fast approached me, the sparks of lightning hanging off Liana''s body blinded me, forcing me to close my eyes.


    At the same time, my mana completely ran out, returning my perception of time to normal, so when I reopened my eyes, I couldn''t even see her, only the sparks of lightning on the floor.


    I had no weapons.


    If I dismissed the jar I had made out of corruption in my hands, all the particles inside it would leave the jar and head straight at the tree.


    Even at Liana''s speed, destroying all those particles before they reached the tree would be impossible, so the spirit of the World Tree would be further damaged.


    But... was that a bad thing for me?


    Staring down at the jar filled with particles clashing against each other, I seriously considered opening the jar and letting them all out.


    If Liana had to choose between me and saving the tree, as the elven queen, she would obviously prioritize trying to destroy as many particles as possible before they hit the tree.


    In that time, I could use my dash, which required no mana, and leave the cave before immediately exiting the World Tree with my cat in my hoodie.


    But, then, what would happen to the World Tree?


    No, who cared about what would happen to the World Tree..?


    It was between my damn life and this stupid spirit of the World Tree!


    Weighing the two options, I knew I had to choose as even though I couldn''t see Liana due to my lack of mana, I could still predict and calculate her speed with my eyes.


    Within two seconds, she would reach me.


    My life or some random tree.


    To any person, including me, this choice should be easy.


    As a second passed, I placed my hand on the lid of the jar, unscrewing the top, causing the particles at the bottom to rush upwards in search of freedom.


    Staring at the people in the room, who were about to notice my presence, I continued unscrewing as their gazes lingered on the lightning sparks on the ground.


    How many people here would die as a consequence of my actions?


    No... how many people in the world would die in the future war if I destroyed the Elven realm today?


    Why did I have the right to decide who lived and died in this world? Did being from another world make me some god?


    Hiding in the shadows, manipulating every important event like some puppeteer tugging on the strings of fate, controlling humans like dolls, and doing it all without a single person finding out.


    All of it was to save the world, wasn''t it?


    Then, weren''t my actions today completely contradicting that...?


    No, my true goal has remained unchanged since my transmigration to this world.


    My survival was the utmost priority now, just like it had always been.


    The flame that Ruby saw in my chest hadn''t grown any smaller... in fact, it would probably have grown even bigger and become even brighter since all the near-death incidents I''ve experienced.


    Ripping the lid of the jar, allowing a single particle to fly out, I held my breath, seeing the sparks of lightning on the ground slowly approach me.


    What if this didn''t even work, and Liana just completely ignored the spirit of the World Tree, leading to the death of me and the tree?


    Well, I would be a goner, so that wouldn''t be my problem then... so there was no point in thinking about it, right?


    As my heart rate quickened, and my legs attempted to tremble, but they couldn''t due to my lack of energy from using my mana, I stared straight ahead, the location where my eyes predicted Liana would be by combining her average speed and previous pattern of moving.


    Suddenly, my vision flickered momentarily as a white flash blinded me, and when I reopened my eyes...


    A person with silky, long black hair stood in the exact location I had predicted Liana to be, her backside only visible to me.


    With her hands waving desperately as the lightning sparks approached her, she turned around to face, revealing her blood-red eyes.


    Ah... she had teleportation, didn''t she?


    ...what''s the point of this mask if everyone already knows who I am...?


    Despite Ruby now blocking her path, the lightning sparks continued appearing ahead, revealing no signs of slowing down.


    Activating the dash I had been saving for my escape out of the World Tree, I stepped forward, speeding forward at Liana''s predicted location and Ruby''s current location.


    But... I was still slow; Liana''s normal speed far surpassed the speed of my dash.


    Ignoring the pain coursing through my body, more than double my usual maximum mana, I forced my head to tilt upwards and look at Ruby''s figure.


    Activating the dragon''s eyes with the mana I had regained in the short span of 5 seconds, I could see Liana''s figure for a short second.


    Over Ruby''s shoulder, Liana, with a streak of lightning following her, was heading straight at Ruby with the same indifferent expression.


    With her head turned towards me, Ruby seemed to see right through my mask as she waved with an indecipherable expression; her cheeks contorted, her mouth wide open, and her eyes locked onto the figure.


    ...didn''t she say that her flame of desire to survive was the same size and brightness as mine?


    "...what a liar.."


    Who was I to talk about lying... when this entire life was built on lies upon lies, though...?


    Her glossy, black hair glowed a dark purple and fell back, revealing her eyes as Liana and her streak of lightning-fast approached her.


    "well... I guess I''m quite the liar myself, aren''t I?"


    Throwing the open jar, full of particles, away from the tree and right at Ruby, my dragon''s eye forcefully deactivated causing blood to start leaking out of my eyes. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Unlike last time, though, there was no pain in my expression as my blood-red eyes turned to the color gold, and blood leaked out, creating a path from my eye to my lips.


    My last line of defense was gone.


    Sure, my survival was my highest priority, but that didn''t mean it had to match my actions, did it?


    Plenty of people, myself included, say getting into a good college is their highest priority, but then they slack off and play video games instead of studying.


    Humans are unpredictable and never consistent.


    People say something, then do the opposite.


    That is just the intrinsic nature of humans, isn''t it?


    Inconsistency is a human''s greatest challenge, yet it is their most common trait.


    As Ralph Emerson said


    "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines."


    People should not be afraid of being misunderstood and should know that it is okay to contradict themselves.


    People who think alike are more easily controlled.


    People can have ultimate freedom by contradicting themselves and never thinking the same.


    Looking down at my now empty hands, I started an internal countdown in my head.


    "10 seconds... that''s all I need."


    That was all I needed.


    Maybe my actions would actually match my greatest priority today... even after all of these inconsistencies along the way...?

 Chapter 107: Chapter 107:Faster and Harder [1]

    As my jar remained upright as it flew through the air, still preventing particles from leaving, I was unable to see Liana, but I imagined her expression was one of confusion and befuddlement.


    On the other hand, Ruby seemed to have not noticed the open jar barrelling towards her as she was still intently staring at my chest, where I assumed my fire of desire was located.


    Unable to reply to her with any expression or signal, my body slowly started to crumple up, falling to the ground as I didn''t even have the energy to stand up straight anymore.


    Nine seconds left for my cooldown and one second until Liana would reach her predicted location.


    Well, with my jar already thrown into play, the predicted location was probably a bit off...


    By now, everyone else''s perception of time had caught up to the present. Lily was staring at my mask with a confused and anxious expression, and Liam and Kevin were staring at the jar in the air.


    Albert and Alya focused on the sparks of lightning on the ground, knowing it was a sign of their mother arriving. Finally, Irene and Kevin stared dumbfounded at Ruby''s figure, which had disappeared right before them and appeared right before me.


    Holding my breath, I watched as the jar tipped downwards, finally causing some particles to fall out and head towards Ruby.


    Looking at the ground, which was the only thing I could see now as my head could no longer tilt upwards, I used the sparks on the ground to predict Liana''s new location.


    Eight seconds.


    With the jar now in play, Liana prioritizes destroying the particles and ignores me. This also causes her to slow down and reassess the situation, noticing Ruby''s figure blocking her current path.


    Then, Liana would undoubtedly recognize Ruby as one of the people helping her and alter her path to exclude Ruby''s figure in front of her and then include destroying all the particles with her beams of lightning.


    But then, what would happen to me after Liana destroyed all the particles..?


    Well, my dash cooldown should have regenerated by that time... right?


    Calculating the distance between the lightning sparks on the ground and the rate at which they were appearing, I was able to get an approximation of Liana''s current path...


    There was just one problem...


    Liana''s path had changed a single bit.


    Seven seconds.


    The next second, a lightning spark appeared right in front of Ruby, and the jar I had thrown continued tilting downwards, letting my particles out.


    Did she not see Ruby''s figure? Was she prioritizing killing me over destroying all the particles and saving the World Tree? Did she believe she could do both?


    As soon as that lightning spark appeared, I dispersed the jar, allowing every particle inside it to escape and scatter around the area in front of Ruby.


    The jar simply disappeared mid-air, returning my corruption to me and causing all the particles inside to roam free in the cave.


    I had already gone this far, so there was no point in stopping now.


    As the particles surrounded Ruby and the lightning-sparked around her, I continued by manifesting another smoke-emitting device with the corruption I had gotten back.


    Surely, she would slow down or change her path if another device appeared and a bunch more particles were heading for the tree.


    Six seconds.


    As I threw my new smoke-emitting device right at Ruby''s figure and the surrounding lightning sparks, I watched as the entire area turned into a dark cloud of smoke.


    The particles from the original jar combined with the output of my new smoke-emitting device, which had its output ramped up to the maximum, all accumulated together.


    Inside the dark cloud of smoke, countless lighting sparks appeared, causing a part of the cloud of smoke to glow a dark purple.


    If I hadn''t created the cloud, I would have thought it was a thunderstorm; the dark-black cloud of smoke combined with the lightning sparks created an exact replica of how a thunderstorm looked.


    Using my eyes, I peered into the smoke, immediately sighing upon seeing Liana''s figure in front of Ruby, inside the smoke.


    If Liana had slowed down to the point where I could see her even though I was a D-rank, she must have noticed Ruby.


    Though Liana had considerably slowed down, she still had no stopped completely as she ran through the cloud of smoke, her expression still somehow indifferent.


    Wait, why was she not panicked or anxious...? The spirit of the World Tree would be completely corrupted if she didn''t do anything in the next ten seconds...


    5 seconds.


    In the next moment, Liana was right in front of Ruby, only a couple of centimeters apart, but she still had not stopped moving.


    *BZZT*


    The next second, a purple flash exploded inside the smoke, overpowering the black cloud completely and turning it into a dark purple cloud.


    When I reopened my eyes, I watched in shock as Liana ran right through Ruby as if Ruby were a hologram.


    She had phased through a person.


    Liana had become the fastest person in the entire world, including demons.


    She had achieved the state of intangibility. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The state at which you move so fast that her state turned from physical to non-physical, making it possible for her to phase through physical objects.


    Quantum Tunnelling was the ability''s name.


    A phenomenon where particles can pass through potential barriers that they classically shouldn''t be able to at the quantum level of particles.


    In the book''s story, she had never achieved this level of speed... and no one else in the entire world had achieved this level of speed.


    She had changed states: physical to non-physical.


    An ability that was so strong that it was incomparable to teleportation.


    Looking at her figure as she passed right through Ruby''s body, I immediately noticed her change in state with my eyes as she was nothing...


    Her body was made of pure lightning.


    She had no physical body.


    Her entire body was shining a dark purple as her body was literally created out of lightning.


    Sparks of lightning flew off her body as she moved, covering the entire cave, not just the floor anymore.


    4 seconds.


    The entire cave, now doused in lightning, uncannily reassembled my shadow cage, but instead of corruption making the cage, it was pure and powerful lightning.


    The only downside to this new ability was that she was now completely visible even when running at maximum speed due to her body of lightning.


    3 seconds.


    The next second, she had covered the distance Ruby and I, her lightning body only a few meters in front of me...

 Chapter 108: Chapter 108:Faster and Harder [2]

    As sparks of lightning flew off her body and hit me as she rapidly approached me, my body''s condition deteriorated even more as the sparks of lightning burned right through my clothes, leaving burn marks.


    Only my stomach was left untouched, as even the sparks of lighting couldn''t penetrate through the magical artifact.


    Looking past Liana, I saw Ruby lying on the floor, and the others slowly lost consciousness.


    Being treated as a hologram by another person had probably caused Ruby to pass out as Liana''s lightning body had phased right through her, but I had no idea why they were slumped down on the ground for the others.


    Stopping right in front of me, the Elven Queen looked down at me as I kneeled on the ground in pain.


    Opening her mouth, which creepily had no teeth or gums but just pure lightning, Liana stared at my hands, still covered in corruption from my manifesting of the new device, and commanded.


    "Get rid of it."


    Behind Liana, all the smoke particles that came out of my original jar had been destroyed by Liana''s lightning strike from her change to a non-physical state, so the only thing left was the new device I had manifested.


    Barely managing to open my mouth while sprawled across my floor, the pants torn to pieces by the sparks of lightning, I muttered out.


    "c-can y-you move back."


    I literally could do anything but convulse in pain with the constant stream of lighting sparks flying off her body.


    Staring at the lightning sparks flying off her body at me, Liana''s eyes, made out of lightning, widened for a moment before she stepped back.


    This was her first time being in this state... but shouldn''t she be a bit more self-aware??? I mean, I was literally rolling on the ground in pain...


    Raising my hand, I dismissed the device on the ground next to Ruby, causing the cloud of smoke to grow smaller, and I also felt a bit more energized as the corruption returned to my body.


    Stepping further away from me, which I internally thanked her for, Liana raised her right hand, and her entire arm glowed a darker purple for a second.


    *CRACKLE*


    The next moment, a beam of pure lightning appeared in the palm of her hand and barreled right at the remaining cloud of particles.


    The beams instantly melted all the particles as it passed through the cloud, but it didn''t stop there as the beam went further and further until it hit the cave walls.


    Then... it passed right through the walls, creating a gigantic hole in the cave wall, and went further away, creating more and more holes in the walls of the entire tree.


    ...yeah use that one-of-one overpowered ability without testing it all; it''s a perfect idea!


    Forgetting about my presence for a moment, Liana''s mouth opened in awe and confusion as she stared at the countless holes she made in the tree.


    She had damaged the tree more than me at this point, but here I was, lying on the ground in pain!


    Justice is fake!!!; what the hell is this!?


    As Liana slowly turned back towards me, I immediately cleared all of my thoughts: What would happen if I got hit with that beam!?


    1 second.


    I needed one second until my dash''s cool down wore off; that second was all I needed. Well, that second activated the usage period, and then another second to actually dash forward.


    It had to be perfect.


    Liana''s speed was now almost three times as fast as my dash with her new lightning body, so with my calculations of her current speed factored in, I decided that I had to dash forward and leave the cave within a period of around three seconds. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    With the energy I got back from returning my corruption, I raised my hand and placed it on my hood, feeling the soft fur of my asleep cat.


    ...was he really sleeping this entire time?


    At this point, I wasn''t even mad that the cat had been happily resting while I was in this near-death situation; I was more astonished.


    Did none of the light from the beams and sparks of lightning or when I literally collapsed to the ground not wake it up...?


    Staring at me with my hand on my hood, Liana ensured she was far enough so that sparks wouldn''t hit me... before bowing?


    With head facing the ground below her and her back turned, Liana, with an indifferent expression, said.


    "I must thank you for allowing me to destroy all the particles. If you hadn''t removed the jar and allowed the particles to fall out slowly, there would have been a chance they hit the tree."


    Standing back up, Liana offered me her hand and continued expressing her thanks.


    "Although I came later, I was early enough to see how you heroically defended the tree''s spirit from the particles with that jar of yours. If you had allowed those particles to pass through and hit the tree, I can''t imagine what would have happened..."


    As the cave returned to normal, devoid of any smoke particles, Liana pointed to Ruby''s unconscious body and continued.


    "I understand why you threw the jar of particles, and I do not blame you. You were simply trying to save that human from being crushed by my rampage... that is my fault."


    Staring at her hand, which was also made of pure lightning, I hesitated for a moment.


    Does this queen have no self-awareness!?


    If I accepted her hand, I would be immediately electrocuted and fall to the ground in pain... but the damned queen of the Elven realm was personally offering her hand to me.


    ...Could I even reject that?


    However, despite that dilemma, I was relieved to see that the queen was not planning on killing me but rather thanking me.


    There was still one problem, though... she was expressing all these thankful words and bowing with an indifferent expression...


    Shouldn''t she show at least some emotion?


    Maybe the lightning body didn''t let her change her expression?


    Noticing my dilemma, the queen stared at her lightning hand before quickly contracting it. Then, just like I dismissed my corruption device, the queen de-manifested her lightning body, returning to a physical state.


    Taking her now normal hand, I stood up, my legs still trembling, and awkwardly looked around the room where everyone else was lying unconscious.


    Hm?


    As I turned to look at Liana, I noticed that she was wearing a rather awkward expression while scratching her hair.


    " *ahem* t-there is still one problem, I still may need your assistance for..."

 Chapter 109: Chapter 109: The Queens Mission [1]

    Staring at the queen with a deadpan expression, I simply pointed at my trembling legs and my mana potions, which were now empty as I had drunk them all.


    Behind her, there was the main cast, two powerful future villains in Irene and Ruby, her strong bow-using son, and the damned protagonist of the ENTIRE BOOK.


    But no, she chose to ask me...: a third-rate villain who is completely exhausted, out of mana, stressed out, in immense pain, and has just come out of a near-death scenario.


    Trying my best not to show my anger to the person who had just unlocked the ability to quite literally phase through things, I shook my head and replied.


    "ah... I don''t think I''ll be of much help to you in this state. However... if I were to recommend a couple of people to you..."


    Pointing at Kevin, Liam, Zach, and Lily''s bodies on the floor, I continued, using all the marketing knowledge I had gained from watching advertisements on the television on Earth.


    "Now, those three people, I can vouch for! With them, you won''t have to worry about a single thing; their power and work ethic are unmatched. You five w-"


    Putting her hand on her forehead, Liana ignored their bodies and replied.


    " *ahem* Unfortunately, I specifically require your device and jar to solve this problem."


    Wasting no time, I manifested the device, keeping the lid over it to block the smoke, and handed it to Liana.


    "This work?"


    Staring at the device in my extended hand, Liana hesitated for a moment before replying.


    "I''ll need both of them interchangeably... so you''ll need to be there to create them."


    "..."


    Staring at Liana, I realized that she wasn''t really asking me but telling me, so I de-manifested the device and accepted my fate.


    Seeing me nod my head, Liana took a mana potion out of her pocket and handed it to me.


    Even though every single muscle and cell in my body was telling me not to drink the potion or use any more mana today, I sighed before drinking the potion.


    As I gulped down the dark-blue liquid of the mana potion, Liana noticed my lack of motivation and said.


    "Of course, you won''t go unrewarded for undertaking this mission. Combined with your previous saving of the World Tree, I''ll personally see to it that you''re rewarded!"


    Yet, this didn''t increase my motivation in the slightest.


    I was already planning on stealing my rewards myself, so who cared if she was just giving them to me now!?


    I was gonna get them myself even if I didn''t do this mission with her!


    After putting the empty mana potion on the floor, I felt my body regain some of its former energy as I could actually move without feeling immense pain.


    But.. this was just a decoy.


    I knew that once the day was over, all the pain I had been avoiding through drinking potions would hit at once, basically paralyzing me.


    Well, that was a problem for me later!


    As I removed the potion from my face, I noticed Liana hesitantly staring at me.


    "Your face is a bit... yeah."


    Putting my hand under my mask and lifting it up for a moment, I immediately noticed my hand was drenched in blood from my overuse of dragon''s eye earlier.


    There was so much blood that she could see it just through the eyes and mouth hole in my mask.


    Well, it wasn''t hurting me, so I didn''t really mind it.


    Shrugging my shoulders, I ignored the blood on my face, not bothering to wipe it away, and said.


    "I''m ready to go when you are."


    Following Liana, I noticed that we were heading straight toward the center of the cave, where the fog containing the spirit of the World Tree was.


    Stopping right in front of the fog, Liana drew the shape of the jar with her hands, so I manifested it and waited behind her.


    Feeling the temperature suddenly grow colder, I saw an ice spirit hovering above Liana''s head.


    Seeming to communicate with the spirit, Liana pointed at the fog before making some gestures that even I couldn''t understand.


    Next, the spirit flew into the fog, disappearing from my sight, as the spirit seemed to combine with the fog and become one.


    *WHOOSH*


    A sudden gust of wind shot at us from the direction of the fog; I stepped back, putting my hands over my face. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, I had done it far too late, as the blood on the right side of my face flew everywhere, staining my cloak and hair.


    "..."


    "..."


    She really wants to say, "I told you so now," right now, doesn''t she?


    As the two turned to face the fog, I realized a whirlpool was in front of us made out of the fog.


    Like a tornado, the portal of fog tried to invite us in by using the wind current to pull us inwards.


    Seeing Liana purposely succumb to the wind current, I did the same and allowed myself to be pulled toward the fog until I finally entered the portal.


    A secret place inside another secret space, which is inside a tree? The author of this book must have been running out of ideas...


    Unlike a mana gate, my surroundings didn''t distort at all, as the environment around me automatically shifted without any downtime.


    Side by side with Liana, we looked around the fairy-like world as there was a single path in front of us, and a small, neat house stood at the end.


    There was nothing else.


    Just a small strip of land with a house at the end of it.


    Looking down from the edge of the small strip of land, I saw an endless void with nothing else in sight, and above us, it was the same.


    The only thing illuminating this entire space was the occasional light poles along the path to the house.


    Looking at Liana, who was surprised by me, I asked.


    "Have you never been here before...?"


    Looking at the house at the end of the path, Liana replied.


    "No... I''ve only heard about it from the diaries of the previous rules."


    Suddenly, the thought occurred to me.


    Was she planning to use me as the sacrifice for the World Tree instead of Albert...?


    She brought me to a place only she knew about, which was also inside the spirit of the World Tree.


    ...Was I going to become a spirit?

 Chapter 110: Chapter 110:The Queens Mission [2]

    Seeing Liana walk onto the path, I hesitantly followed behind her, keeping some distance between the two of us.


    Beside the path, the lush green grass, which was perfectly groomed, and the a couple of small trees were apparent, each looking well taken care of.


    Glancing further a the trees, I noticed some leaves were darker and almost dead while others were a perfect green, and it was the same with the grass as parts of the grass were golden, indicating a lack of water.


    Was this the affect of the corruption?


    Paranoid of tripping and falling off the small strip of land and into the void, I didn''t dare stare too long and returned the very middle of the path.


    Seeing me walking behind her like a puppy following its master, Liana''s expression changed as she let out an awkward laugh before slowing down to walk side by side with me.


    "I''m not going to push you off, you know?"


    "...I wasn''t thinking about that."


    Well, now I was!


    The scenery of Liana suddenly pushing me off the land and into the void during this stroll was now imprinted in my memory...


    Unlike me, Liana seemed enchanted by the fairy-like space as she often stopped to glance around and admire the small details, such as the perfectly groomed trunks of the trees.


    Though, she too had noticed the effects of corruption as every time we passed by a golden shade of grass or a brown leaf, she would let out a sigh before continuing on.


    Though she tried to hide it, with my enhanced eyesight, I could see her cheeks contort and twitch at those times.


    For her, it must be like seeing her entire world fall apart: her home, her family''s home, and her subject''s home.


    For the hundred years since the last demon war, she had confined herself to the Elven realm, so this realization must have been terrible for her.


    This was the first time the World Tree had been corrupted in history, and it had happened under her rule as queen.


    As we walked past another area that was lost due to corruption, a somber expression appeared on her face before she turned to me.


    "You should know why we''re here at this point."


    Looking at the golden and dry grass ahead of us, I replied.


    "To stop the corruption from spreading? But... didn''t we already do that?"


    Shaking her head, Liana sped up her pace as we neared the hut at the end of the path and replied.


    "No, we''re not here to stop the spread... we''re here to destroy it. All of it. Every single last bit of it."


    Inwardly sighing, I pretended to act oblivious as I replied.


    "And... how exactly would one person do that?"


    There was only one way. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Someone had to replace the spirit, resetting the state of the World Tree to its original form where there was no corruption.


    There were two of us here.


    Giving no answer to my question, Liana stopped briefly, and leaned against the trunk of a nearby tree while staring upwards the black sky, devoid of any stars.


    Gathering up my courage, I strayed away from the path and stood on a patch of grass, looking into the endless void that surrounded us.


    There was also a cat here... sleeping inside my hoodie.


    Of course, it couldn''t be the one to replace the World Tree as it was an animal.


    Shaking my hoodie and forcefully waking up my cat, I allowed to climb up to my head, where it sat down on my hair and staired out into the endless abyss with me.


    I wouldn''t be the one being sacrificed here today, as well.


    How did I know that?


    I wasn''t actually here, unlike the queen.


    I had first noticed it when I stepped onto the lush, green grass.


    My shoes didn''t press down on the grass and cause it crumple up and break; they simply passed through the grass like a hologram.


    Extending my hand, I tried to touch the tree trunk beside me, but my hand simply passed through it like it was nothing.


    My physical body was still in that cave, but my soul and essence were here.


    Seeing me stop, Liana walked up behind me, not stepping on the green grass, and watching my figure from the path.


    She didn''t want to harm this fairy-like world further by stepping on and destroying the grass.


    So, then who was going to be sacrificed, today?


    Putting her hand on her forehead and forcing out a smile, Liana said.


    "You know... a lot of people seem to know the future nowadays. First that girl... and now you."


    The method to enter the tree was only known by two people in the queen''s eyes: herself and her son, Albert.


    Since Lily also knew the method of the tree and knew the future; she probably assumed that since I also knew the method, I knew the future.


    Nodding my head, I laid down on the ground, allowing my body to pass right through the grass, and stared up at the sky.


    Technically, I was floating right now as my body should have passed through the path, but that wasn''t the thing on my mind, right now.


    I was brought here to facilitate the transfer of the spirits for the World Tree with my corrupted power.


    Gently taking the cat off my hair, I placed it on the grass, but it had the same affect as me: nothing at all, the grass remained the exact same.


    As the cat ran in circles around me, seemingly confused about why nothing it did had any affect on the grass or nearby tree, I turned around.


    I wasn''t one to stop someone from making a decision that they were already determined to make, but here, I felt like I had to at least try.


    Deep down though, I knew it was impossible.


    Her entire life, since she was a born, was dedicated to protecting her people, so how could she stray away from that goal during this desperate time.


    But before I could even say anything, Liana''s voice once again sounded as she sat down on the path.

 Chapter 111: Chapter 111:The Queens Mission [3]

    "What happens to the world in the future...if you know about it, of course."


    Seeing no reason to lie, I placed the black cat on my lap to stop it from franticly running around and replied.


    "We win, the demons are eradicated, and the Elven realm perseveres through some tough times but survives in the end."


    Watching her nod her head and intently stare at me for more information, I couldn''t help but ask.


    "You actually believe me?"


    I mean, I most definitely wouldn''t believe some random person who says they know the future.


    I would have just pushed off my entrance into the World Tree as some coincidence and not immediately assumed that person was the future.


    Letting out a slight chuckle, Liana turned to face the abyss of black surrounding us and replied.


    "Why not? If it''s true, then it''s true, and if it''s false, it''s still interesting nonetheless."


    At a loss for words, I let out a sigh and sat up straight for a moment to take off my cloak, which was drenched with blood.


    Even if it wasn''t my physical body, I still felt weird walking around with blood on my clothes.


    Laying the cloak down on the ground, which also had no affect on the grass, I laid back down and continued staring at the endless black sky above me.


    "Is that mask coming off as well?"


    "Don''t you have more important things to worry about than how my face looks?"


    "You know you''re the only human in the entire world to have seen this place, right? A show of thanks would be nice."


    "Haven''t I already done enough by saving that tree of yours?"


    Pausing mid-sentence, I hesitated before curiously asking.


    "By the way... don''t you blame me for all of this?"


    I could have done better and done a lot more to save the Elven Tree from ever being corrupted and even prevented the need for a sacrifice to be taken.


    Lily had done her best... but had I?


    Every bad incident that happened in this world... wasn''t I partially at fault for all of those?


    With my knowledge of the future, I could have prevented and stopped so many deaths, but instead, I chose to start a business to make money, steal powerful items, and be selfish.


    Voicing my thoughts aloud to the silent queen, I continued.


    "I''m the cause of all this...aren''t I? Yet, you don''t seem to mind it one bit. You don''t seem to even have the tiniest bit of hater or anger for me..."


    The burden of the entire world was on my back, pressing down on me at every moment.


    Even at this moment, constant scenarios were replaying in my head.


    Couldn''t I have done more?


    Wasn''t there a world where the queen didn''t need to sacrifice herself, and the tree was never corrupted?


    Why hadn''t I achieved that world despite having knowledge of the future?


    If someone else had been in my place... they would have saved the queen, wouldn''t they?


    Why couldn''t I? Why hadn''t I been able to save everyone?


    Every mistake I made resulted in deaths upon the deaths. Those deaths just added and added to the unbearable burden on my back.


    It came to the point where I couldn''t even enjoy vacations or talking to people anymore.


    Anytime I was doing anything fun, fulfilling, or entertaining, the constant thoughts always appeared in my head.


    Is this how you''re using your knowledge of the future? To enjoy yourself and have fun?


    Thousands of people die every day because you chose to have fun? Shouldn''t you be out trying your best to save the world?


    Every second you''re not doing something to save the world is wasted. Those precious seconds you used to have "fun" or "enjoy yourself" could have saved hundreds of people.


    Can you live with yourself?


    Happiness wasn''t a feeling I felt anymore.


    I couldn''t even remember the last time I thought about doing something for myself...


    Every second I spent not working to save the world or doing something about the future felt like hell.


    Sleeping felt terrible.


    Eating felt disgusting.


    How dare you waste time eating or sleeping when you have knowledge that could save thousands of people...


    Like a god, I could control people''s fates, whether they live or die, without them even knowing.


    But I was a human, both now and on Earth.


    I had my limits.


    Lily had the main cast to share the burden with... but I had taken it upon myself to carry the burden by myself, even if it meant constant sleepless nights and deep negative thoughts.


    Noticing my silence and inward turmoil, Liana stood up, took off her shoes, and stepped on the grass, the grass being slightly crushed under her physical body.


    Taking slow strides toward me, Liana sat beside me and replied in a soft and sweet voice.


    "You know what my spiritual contract allows me to do, right?"


    Nodding my head, I replied.


    "See the emotions of others."


    Shaking her head, causing me to sit upright in confusion, Liana replied.


    "I can see them, but I can also feel the emotions of others if I would like to."


    "..."


    "You know you''re just a child compared to me, yet you have ten times my worries. So, what if you knew about the future? From your emotions, I highly doubt that you willingly chose to regress."


    Putting a hand on my shoulder, Liana continued.


    "No one is telling or forcing you to save the world. Honestly, if you don''t want to save the world, then don''t. No one is going to force you to do anything."


    "It''s your life; don''t let how you spend it be affected by anything. Future knowing or not, you''re just a child at the end of the day. You make a mistake, so be it."


    Looking up at the endless sky in front of me, a genuine smile appeared on my face as I replied.


    "Is this a therapy session? Aren''t you the one about to die? Why am I the one who''s being treated."


    Laughing, Liana stood up and headed back to the path.


    "Looks like someone''s feeling better."


    Following her back to the path, she stopped for a second and turned around.


    "When I said ''don''t save the world,'' I didn''t m-"


    Waving my hands, I laughed and responded.


    "Don''t worry... I still want to save the world, not because of anyone else. Just because I want to. That''s all there is to it."


    Turning around, Liana also erupted into laughter and headed towards the distant hut.


    As we approached the hut''s door, Liana spoke in a half-serious and half-joking tone.


    "Well, I guess it''s time."


    [A/N: Well, that''s six chapters today as I was stupid and forgot to fill up my privilege.] sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 112: Chapter 112:The Queens Mission [4]

    As Liana walked up the stairs, her amethyst-purple eyes seemed to glow with more intensity than usual.


    In contrast to the darkness around us, her purple eyes stood out like a beam of hope in a world full of despair.


    Her long, elegant white hair cascaded down to her waist and stayed perfectly still as Liana moved upwards, as there was no wind or breeze in this space to move it.


    Going up the last step, the entire space around us was plunged into darkness as there were no more streetlights to illuminate our path ahead.


    Yet... I could still see Liana walking next to me.


    The only thing I could see in this world of darkness was Liana''s purple eyes.


    Her shining amethyst-colored eyes seemed to be floating in the air, as her entire body was invisible due to the darkness. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Even with my enhanced eyesight from the dragon''s eye, I couldn''t peer through the darkness as some sort of invisible force was blocking my eyesight.


    It was the first time I had been blind.


    Ignoring the sense of anxiety that enveloped me as I strode further into the darkness, I continued walking forward with a pair of purple eyes by my side.


    As we continued wandering further and further into the neverending abyss of darkness, my surroundings became increasingly visible.


    Not because of any streetlights but because Liana''s amethyst eyes were glowing brighter and brighter as we approached the hut as if responding to it.


    As Liana''s purple eyes started to illuminate the area around us, the trees and grass outside the path also turned purple, and the entire world around me seemed to bathe in the light of her eyes.


    Finally reaching the hut, Liana hesitated before the hut door for a second, so I said.


    "It''s not too late to stop now."


    Shaking her head, Liana replied.


    "No, it''s not that."


    "Aren''t you the one who told me to do what I wanted and ignore what others would think?"


    Placing her hand on the doorknob, Liana replied.


    "This is what I want to do, though."


    As she twisted the doorknob, I asked.


    "So, then, what were you thinking about?"


    Pulling back the door, Liana stepped into the hut without taking any precautions and replied.


    "I''m just thinking how my people... and my family would react to the news."


    "You''re about to die and turn into a spirit basically, but you''ll still be thinking about everyone but yourself."


    Strolling into the small hut behind Liana, I saw that it was basically a replica of the Elven huts that the academy students and I had slept in.


    Though there was only one floor, the layout was practically the same: two beds were on each side of the hut, and a couch was on the back wall.


    The only difference was what was lying in the middle of the hut.


    Instead of some desks, there was a large circle, with coordinates plotted on the outside and intricate symbols in the middle.


    In the center of the circle, there was a symbol of a diamond surrounded by a rectangle, and that rectangle was surrounded by countless triangles on every side.


    The tip of each triangle almost reached the outer circle, and inside each triangle was the symbol of the moon.


    To top it all off, inside the diamond at the very center of the circle, there was a large tree resembling the ones we had seen on our way here.


    Kneeling down on the floor and touching the outside of the circle, Liana finally answered my question... with another one.


    "Is there anything wrong with that?"


    Making sure not to walk through the magic circle, I walked around the room until I finally reached the couch against the back wall.


    "I mean, it''s your choice, so I don''t see anything wrong with it. But as a living being, wanting to survive''s in your nature."


    "And, what exactly are you trying to say."


    Looking up to the roof, where a large window was, I stared into the black abyss above us and responded.


    "You''re not being honest, but then again, that''s not a problem; after all, I haven''t been completely honest either."


    Walking into the center of the circle where the diamond lay, Liana placed her hand above it, allowing electric sparks to fall.


    However, the sparks did not fully fill the diamond as they left the symbol of the tree untouched.


    Although I hadn''t recognized this fairy-tale-type space due to its location, which is different from where the main cast and Albert arrived, I knew of this ritual.


    So, I wasn''t surprised or confused to see Liana walk slowly around the circle, allowing lightning sparks to fall on specific locations. However, to the outside eye, the locations weren''t connected.


    In the original story, the queen wasn''t even involved, so instead of pure lightning, Albert used ice crystals.


    After going around the circle once, Liana summoned a lightning spirit and made it hover above the circle''s center.


    Sighing, Liana finally turned to me and replied.


    "You really think I want to have a child tell me off before I permanently turn into a spirit?"


    Sitting down on the couch, I responded.


    "I was just repaying the favor. You gave me some thoughts, and I gave you some thoughts."


    Standing up from the floor, Liana intently stared at the circle while replying.


    "Really, is that all?"


    "I like to repay all of my debts."


    Chuckling at my answer, Liana looked up from the circle and gestured to me, so I reluctantly stood up from the couch and headed to her.


    Stopping next to her, I already knew what to do, so I manifested the corrupting device made by the demons and handed it to her.


    After standing there shocked for a second, Liana took the device out of my hands and fiddled with it before asking.


    "So, you knew from the start?"


    "Only halfway through."


    Walking over the sparks of lightning, Liana released the lid from the device and placed it right inside the symbol of the tree and below the lightning spirit.


    "Well, this is a lot easier now that I don''t have to explain anything to you."

 Chapter 113: Chapter 113:The Queens Mission [4]

    Silently waiting for a minute, Liana and I watched the smoke flow out of the device and into the spirit, creating a thunderstorm-like cloud.


    The cloud of smoke combined with the occasional lightning flash alongside the circle, which was now glowing a dark purple from all the sparks, made for a mythical-like scene.


    My face, bathed in the purple light even through my mask, stiffened as the occasional lightning strike strayed from the circle and came close to me, hitting the edge of the magic circle.


    On the other hand, Liana showed no changes in facial expression, even when a lightning flash struck down from the cloud right in front of her.


    "...thank god, I have this mask.


    "What was that?"


    "nothing."


    As the lightning storm cloud accumulated to the point where it was covering the entire hut roof, I dismissed the device and waited for Liana''s gesture.


    After another moment, Liana tapped me on the shoulder, indicating that everything was ready.


    In the original book, the main cast has reformed and used a demon for the ritual, but that was no longer necessary as I was here.


    Gathering the corruption in the palms of my hands, I didn''t try to manifest anything; instead, I allowed the corruption to leak out of my hand and fall to the floor.


    *DRIP*


    *DROP*


    *DRIP*


    As the puddle of corruption leaked from my hand and entered the magic circle, instead of combining or attracting with the sparks of lightning, it resisted them.


    The corruption repelled the lightning sparks, causing them to fly back and create a path straight to the circle''s center.


    A tiny river of pure blackness led straight to the tree symbol inside the magic circle full of lightning.


    Corruption was the medium that Liana needed to change into a spirit, and lightning sparks were her power that would fuse together with the corruption.


    As the corruption reached the tree symbol inside the diamond, I carefully managed it so that the corruption filled the tree, not leaking out.


    Thus, a magic circle with a night-black tree surrounded by purple lightning was created.


    Leaving the corruption inside the tree, I rubbed my hands and turned to Liana.


    "It''s done."


    Staring at the magic circle, Liana replied.


    "Looks a bit different from the memories I received from my ancestors... are you sure?"


    "Who do you trust more? Someone from the future or some scrambled-up memories."


    Although I had never seen or heard about the magic circle from the memories, I assumed, like the original book, it involved using the mana of a demon.


    I had just replaced the demonic mana with corruption.


    Giving me a single wave, Liana walked into the circle and stood right on top of the corruption, which I controlled and kept from spilling out.


    Bathed in the purple light, surrounded by the sparks of lightning and the pitch-black tree below her to top it all off, Liana already seemed like a goddess or higher being.


    Shifting my mask further downwards and pulling the cat into my hoodie, I carefully observed Liana as she clasped her hands together and jumped into the air.


    However, her descent never came.


    Levitating above the pitch-black tree and below the thunderstorm cloud, Liana sat criss-cross with eyes closed and her hands still clasped together.


    As a lightning bolt bolted out of the cloud and towards Liana, the bolt passed through Liana and hit the corruption below her instead of hitting her.


    The lightning bolt never disappeared... it was like I was frozen in time.


    Familiar with this type of situation, I watched as the lightning bolt, unlike the others, didn''t disappear after hitting its target but instead remained hovering over the corruption.


    Like a stirring rod, the lighting finally moved as it swirled around the corruption puddle, causing a whirlpool to form in the puddle of corruption.


    Liana, who seemed like a holographic being as a giant rotating bolt of lightning was going through her body, finally opened her eyes and stared down at the whirlpool forming below her.


    As the thundercloud disappeared, leaving only the swirling lightning bolt, I stared upwards through the window and into the sky, which was no longer pitch-black.


    A shooting star appeared for a second, entering my vision for a moment before disappearing back into the depths of the night-black sky.


    Make a wish, you say?


    At that moment, I extended my hands and touched the hut''s walls, and, unlike earlier, when my hand simply passed through it, I could feel the cold, hard wood.


    It wasn''t just my soul and spirit here anymore.


    Staring at the whirlpool below Liana, which was starting to resemble a portal, I felt a sense of ease as I realized I was no longer powerless in this world anymore.


    All my abilities were back.


    Peering with my eyes, there was no longer a force blocking me out. Despite the lack of lights, I could see everything outside the hut''s windows.


    In this world full of darkness, every detail was now visible to me.


    Stretching my hands, I preemptively activated the grace period of the dash while staring at the oblivious Liana.


    How was I going to save the world if I let the current strongest being in the universe slip away from me? S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Quantum tunneling was a one-of-one ability, like my time manipulation, so how could I just let it go?


    As Liana floated in the air, staring at the portal below here, which was finally starting to take shape, I walked into the magic circle, instantly causing my entire body to bathed in the same purple light.


    Albert was quite an entertaining and cool character in the book, so when he was sacrificed, needless to say, the fans weren''t happy.


    In fact, the backlash was so bad that after the novel ended, the author was practically forced to write a "What If Story."


    What if Albert was never sacrificed?


    Then, the question is raised: how is the World Tree saved?


    The author couldn''t risk sacrificing another character out of the fear that he would have to create another "What If?" story, so what did he do?

 Chapter 114: Chapter 114:What If? [1]

    Simply circumventing the entire plot by making it a way for that already overpowered protagonist, Liam, to become even stronger!


    Such was the method of authors who wrote books with overpowered characters.


    Standing at the edge of the circle with sparks of lighting surrounding me, I reconsidered my decision.


    Once again... I was gambling with my life.


    At this point, it felt like a daily thing...


    Were the "What If" stories contained in this world, or did they only contain the canon part of the story?


    Then, would I survive even if the "What If" plot was even in this world?


    Since it was a short "What If" story consisting of barely twenty chapters, the author had to make it entertaining by adding an interesting and nerve-racking boss fight.


    How could a boss fight be entertaining if there wasn''t a high chance of someone dying?


    In the end, no one died, but Liam literally had a plot armor while I was just some lousy ass villain!


    However, just like a gamble or bet, I would gain a lot¡ªand I mean a lot¡ªif I survived the whole ordeal.


    Of course, doing this wasn''t particularly in my itinerary or schedule, as who just sets up a plan where they have a high chance of dying?


    However, as I stared at Liana''s elegant and powerful figure floating above the portal, I kept telling myself it was necessary.


    Whether it was her incomparable power or the short moments we shared that persuaded me, I was already convinced.


    The prize of gaining power and, by far, becoming the most powerful D-rank, even past Liam, in history was also a nice little incentive.


    There was also some partial confirmation that the "What If" story was here as the shooting star had appeared, and I had returned to my physical body during the ritual.


    Still, then again, that could have happened in the original without them mentioning it.


    Combining the ocean-blue mana and blood-red substance in my body, I used the Dragon''s Transformation ability to turn both my legs into those of a dragon.


    With my new and improved legs, I could move through the field of electric sparks without being harmed.


    Using the claws of my dragon''s legs, I scraped away the lightning sparks before me, creating another path to the middle of the magic circle.


    Dispersing my mask and revealing my face, I waited for the last bits of my corruption to return before heading to the puddle of my corruption.


    Staring at the floating Liana, who was so focused on the portal below here that she didn''t notice my movements, I began using the corruption I had received from disbanding my mask.


    Making a shadow cage, I perfectly surrounded Liana''s floating figure, completely trapping her inside the cage.


    With no corruption left to my name, I arrived at the middle of the circle, in front of the portal that was now finally formed.


    Liana, who had noticed the portal''s completion, attempted to leave her floating position; however, the barriers of my shadow cage prevented her from moving a single bit.


    Right now, Liana wasn''t at her full power or even close as she had poured every single bit of it into the magic circle below.


    She didn''t expect to come out of this situation alive, so she had completely put all her power toward the circle... but that left her completely defenseless.


    Right now, she was far from being the most powerful living being. A mere C-rank was all she was.


    Confused for a moment, Liana tilted her head up before finally realizing that she was completely surrounded by the darkness of my shadow cage.


    Ignoring the floating cage, I stepped towards the portal. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She would regain her power quickly and break out of the cage, so I had little time to spare.


    Staring at the portal below, which seemed like a black hole, I dismissed my dragon''s legs and momentarily hesitated at the entrance.


    Moving the shadow cage with Liana away from the portal and outside the magic circle, I looked outside the hut''s windows, admiring the beautiful fairy-like space one last time.


    *BANG*


    Behind me, it seemed that Liana had already gained some of her power back as my shadow cage disappeared, revealing the figure of Liana.


    Turning back to face Liana, who couldn''t yet move due to using most of her regained power to break the shadow cage, I gave her the same simple wave she had used on me a few minutes ago.


    Although I couldn''t hear her because the portal behind me was making so much noise, I was able to read her lips.


    "what are you doing..."


    Not knowing whether she could hear me or not, I replied back.


    "You said to do what I wanted, right? This is what I want to do. Blame yourself for this!"


    Before Liana could activate her speed and head to me, I moved backward, falling back first into the portal.


    As my body entered the portal, it completely closed, leaving me stranded in darkness.


    After free-falling into the pitch-black void for a couple of seconds, I finally felt my surroundings shift, transforming the scenery around me into a pitch-black void... but with a tree in the distance.


    The first gamble had paid off.


    The "What If" story was real.


    *CRASH*


    Finally hitting something concrete, my back crashed into what I felt like wood, causing me to yelp in pain.


    Standing up, I observed my surroundings awestruck.


    It was like I was in outer space...


    The entire world around me was pitch-black except for a couple of stars in the distance that partially illuminated the void.


    There was no floor below me... I was just standing on an endless void of darkness somehow.


    Below, it was pitch-black; beside me, it was pitch-black, and only above me was there only semblance of something as a couple of stars could be seen in the distance.


    Instead of planets, just one gigantic tree stood in the distance, its root clearly corrupted as dark spots could be spotted on the brown trunk.


    Hesitantly taking a step forward, I was glad to see that I was still standing instead of falling into the endless void below me.


    But... I wasn''t floating or flying.


    It seemed like there was an invisible glass floor below me.

 Chapter 115: Chapter 115:What If? [2]

    While adjusting to this new space, I felt my corruption, all my mana, and even my energy had returned to me.


    I was no longer exhausted or hurt in the slightest.


    It felt like my body''s state had been reset to how it was yesterday.


    Using my newly recovered corruption, I manifested two pitch-black daggers, which were invisible as they blended in with the darkness of the space.


    Looking down at my hands, I saw nothing; if not for the fact that I could feel them, I would genuinely believe there was nothing in my hands.


    Getting used to the feeling of basically walking on nothing but pure darkness, I moved towards the tree at a walking pace.


    As I approached the tree, this outer-space-like world seemed to plunge further into darkness as the stars became farther and farther away.


    When I arrived at the tree''s trunk, only one star was left, barely visible through the branches of the tree.


    Moving my remaining corruption near the blood-red substance in my body but not yet combining them, I freed one of my hands and extended it.


    In front of me stood a trunk that seemed to tower forever, and I couldn''t see its top, even with my eyes. On that trunk, there were countless cracks.


    Peering through the cracks, I saw countless spots of black on the interior and even some small black shapes moving around inside the trunk.


    How do you remove corruption from a tree?


    You kill it.


    The physical manifestation of corruption lay slumbering and slowly spreading inside this tree, slowly taking control.


    Now, how was I going to lure it out?


    What does any monster want?


    More power.


    Dissolving the two daggers in my hands, I allowed my hands to be covered in the pitch-black aura of corruption.


    Extending my hands to touch the trunk, I offered the corruption in my hands as bait and watched through the cracks in the tree.


    Shapes of black figures move around and slowly accumulate in the center of the trunk, creating a big blob of corruption.


    Seeing the blob at its maximum capacity, I removed my hand and dashed outwards, my eyes still locked on the crack.


    Then, the big blog of corruption finally moved towards the crack, but instead of moving through the hole, the blob allowed bits of corruption to fall off it and onto the invisible floor outside the tree.


    Finally, as the last bit of corruption leaked out of the tree and onto the floor, I examined the crack one more time, ensuring that no corruption remained in the tree.


    There was no more.


    Looking down at the floor next to the tree, I saw the countless drops of corruption again accumulating, but... this time not to form a blob.


    Attacking the corruption right now wouldn''t do anything as it didn''t have a form yet, so I patiently watched the small droplets combine.


    Eventually, the droplets started eruptions upwards, creating a gigantic wall of corruption, and then they expanded outwards.


    Then, it all stopped as the corruption took on its final form.


    In front of me stood a human-like figure made of corruption, except there were no eyes. A pitch-black aura surrounded the figure, darker than even the void space we were in.


    The figure the corruption took on felt familiar... because it was me.


    In front of me was a replica of Ren.


    Manifesting my two corrupted daggers, I waited for the first attack of the corrupted figure... but it also waited.


    "...oh, right, it''s me too..."


    Combining the corruption and blood-red substance, I manifested a wing on my right shoulder before flapping it.


    The next moment, I was right in front of the corrupted figures, with my daggers already relentlessly slashing at it.


    However, every time my daggers slashed and made a hole in the figure, countless more bits of corruption filled those holes back in immediately, rendering my attacks useless. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Looking upwards, I saw the corrupted figure looking at me with a wicked smile on his face.


    The only reason Liam could damage this corrupted creature was because of his light-blue sword, which was made of pure divinity.


    Thus, the entire attack and attack pattern were different, so I had no idea what the monster would do next.


    All I knew was its moveset.


    Flapping my wing again, I appeared 10 meters away from the corrupted figure and watched as it slashed its long arm, releasing countless pitch-black slashes at me.


    Unlike the figure, I didn''t have instant healing, so I flapped my wing once, appearing 10 meters up in the air.


    Flapping my wing over 10 times, I intricately moved to new locations every second to avoid the slashes released by the corrupted figure.


    Seeing the figure slow its barrage of slashes down, I took a moment to dismiss the two corrupted daggers in my hand.


    Summoning an elegant, night-black bow in my hands, I nocked an arrow and aimed right at the figure''s head.


    Releasing the arrow, I watched as the corrupted figure stood completely still, letting the arrow fly right through his head and create a massive hole.


    The hole was then filled in the next second.


    He was immune to corruption...


    Dismissing my bow, I stared at the figure, whose body was just made of corruption, and pulled down the hood of my cloak.


    Not giving me any time to devise a solution, the corrupted figure pulled a sword out of the air in front of him, imbuing the pitch-black aura around him into the sword.


    The pitch-black swords then multiplied until ten were above him, and then, at his gesture, all the swords came flying at me.


    Then, in the next second, the corrupted figure also sprinted at me, the claws on his hands dangerously sharp.


    Dispersing my wing, I used Dragon''s Transformation to make both my hands turn into those of dragons, with claws at the end of them.


    Swiping at the incoming swords with my claws like they were nothing, I knocked them all to the floor.

 Chapter 116: Chapter 116:What If? [3]

    As the swords hit the invisible glass floor below us, they instantly shattered into thousands of pieces before turning into corruption and accumulating into multiple blobs on the floor.


    Facing the claw attack of the corrupted figure, I stood still, swinging my own dragon''s claws at him.


    As my claws hit his arms, his claws, in turn, hit my arm, leaving a trail of blood and corruption.


    Although I wasn''t immune to corruption, I couldn''t be corrupted.


    Wincing in pain, I dashed backward, ignoring the blood pouring out of my arm, and stared at the area of his corrupted body I had hit.


    There was a dent in his arm, albeit small, but the important part was that the dent wasn''t regenerating.


    From the dent, corruption flowed out of the figure''s body, weakening the figure and causing him to shrink in size.


    However, a moment later, he simply manifested a makeshift bandage made out of corruption and placed it over the dent.


    Matching his creepy grin, I de-manifested my dragon''s arm on my right, leaving the left side still a dragon''s arm.


    Using the blood-red substance I got back, I combined it with my mana and manifested a wing, much smaller than usual, on my right side. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The next moment, I was gone and right in front of the bandaged figure.


    Swiping my claws at him for a second, I briefly dodged his attack by instantly flapping my wing and appearing 5 meters away.


    Again, again, and again.


    Claw.


    *CLASH*


    Wing.


    Claw.


    *CLASH*


    Wing.


    Claw.


    *CLASH*


    Wing.


    The night-black was no longer dark and silent as our battle illuminated the abyss both above and below us.


    The fire that sparked every time our claws made contact, my blood-red and ocean-blue wing and claw shining every time I moved, and my golden eye that allowed me to perfectly time my attacks.


    *WHOOSH*


    Retreating once again, I stared at the figure, who now had multiple bandages all around his body, and flapped my wings once again.


    Appearing right before him, I slashed my claws at him, and he did the same.


    *CLASH*


    As our claws fought against each other, I removed the dragon''s claw from my left hand before instantly manifesting it on my right hand.


    Throwing my right hand, which was previously by my side, at him with the claws extended outward, I cut into his body, dealing yet another dent.


    But, in exchange, he thrashed his claws forward at my body, but before his attack could hit, I was already gone.


    *WHOOSH*


    Perfectly timing my moment to dodge, I appeared mid-air 5 meters above him and instantly dived downwards at his head with my right hand''s claws pointed straight downwards.


    Examining his surroundings for a second, the corrupted figure quickly noticed I wasn''t around him, so he looked downwards and then upwards.


    As his eyes locked onto my descending figure, it was too late, as my claws pierced straight through his head.


    *WHOOSH*


    Materializing 5 meters to his right, I de-manifested the dragon''s claw in my right hand and returned it to my left side.


    Looking down at my body, which had countless scars, and observing the corrupted figure''s body, I noticed that my bloody scars and his dents were practically in the same place.


    He had a dent in his right shoulder; I had one there, too.


    He had a dent in his right leg; I had a scare there.


    "...we really are one of the same."


    Placing a bandage on his head, the corrupted figure tilted his head at my words, seemingly trying to understand what I said.


    Failing to comprehend my words, the corrupted figure raised his palm to face me and materialized a beam of pure darkness.


    This wasn''t your usual beam, though.


    As I instinctively moved out of the way to dodge the beam, the beam followed me, twisting and turning to lock on me.


    Open his other palm, another beam of the same sort materializing before charging towards me as well.


    *WHOOSH*


    Flapping my wing countless times, I appeared all over the space, with the beams following me at every turn.


    The black beams followed me in the sky as I used my wings to float, and as I passed by the tree, the beams shot right through the tree trunk, creating two massive holes.


    "...probably shouldn''t destroy the thing I''m trying to save."


    The next second, two more beams manifested from above the corrupted figure''s nonexistent eyes and locked onto me.


    Moving in unison, the four beams charged towards me, and flapping my wing countless times, speed mirages formed at every location.


    However, this beam completely ignored the speed mirages and continued towards me, while in turn, I moved even faster, combining dash with the flapping of my wings.


    Dashing and flapping my wings while I waited for the cooldown to reset, I took full advantage of the large void, moving as away as I could from the corrupted figure while simultaneously dodging the beams.


    As my dash cooldown finally reset, I flapped my wing while using a dash, instantly taking me into the middle of where four beams met.


    As the two beams on my right and left met, large explosions sounded from my sides, causing a bout of smoke to appear.


    Dismissing both my wing and left-hand claws, I used the last bit of my mana and blood-red substance on one final dragon''s transformation.


    Covered in the smoke and not visible to the corrupted figure, my head instantly transformed into that of a dragon with countless spikes materializing.


    However, despite having a dragon head, I felt completely normal as my senses remained the exact same.


    As the smoke wore out, I opened my mouth, and inside, a beam of ocean-blue and blood-red materialized, creating a purple ball.


    Releasing all my mana and blood-red substance, I felt the purple beam grow until it was finally too big for my mouth to contain.


    Activating the dash one last time, I sped forward 10 meters, appearing a few meters away from the corrupted figure.


    As the corrupted figure stood there, shell-shocked, the purple beam materialized and instantly shot down right at the corrupted figure.


    Illuminating the pitch-black void, the purple beam moved at an incredible speed, seeming like a meteor in this outer-space-like space.


    As the end of the beam touched his body of corruption, it instantly made a hole big enough to cover his entire stomach.


    No bandage could cover that up.

 Chapter 117: Chapter 117:What If? [4]

    Closing my mouth, the purple beam disappeared, and the space descended back into darkness.


    Having no mana left, I plummeted to the ground while observing the corrupted figure''s body, which was breaking down.


    Corruption leaked out of the gigantic hole in his stomach, and with the massive losses of corruption, he couldn''t even manifest a bandage.


    The figure looked fine on the outside, as the pitch blackness of the void filled in the massive hole in his stomach, making him seem normal.


    However, with my eyes peering through the darkness, I could see tons of corruption leaking out and falling to the floor


    *BANG*


    As I crashed into the invisible glass floor, the corrupted figure''s body dissolved even more as he no longer had a head.


    Dusting myself off, I got off the ground, blood leaking from my countless wounds onto the floor.


    But, the blood descended further into the night-black abyss below the invisible glass floor until it finally disappeared from my sight.


    It seemed that the invisible glass floor... had some special properties that made it not like blood.


    Not leaving behind any trail of blood, I walked towards the puddle under the corrupted figure''s body, which, unlike the blood, was able to stay above the invisible glass floor.


    As the last bit of corruption leaked out of the figure''s hole, the corrupted figure completely disappeared, only leaving behind not a puddle.... but a lake of corruption.


    Kneeling down on the glass floor, I moved one of my fingers into the lake of corruption, instantly feeling a sense of unease and coldness down to my very bones.


    Peering into the lake of corruption, I attempted to see its bottom; however, I couldn''t even see through the surface with my enhanced eyesight.


    Shivering from the coldness, I persisted, placing the rest of my fingers into the corruption before moving forward.


    Placing my right leg into the lake of corruption, I felt it actually sink below the surface, indicating that it had somehow gotten past the invisible glass floor.


    After placing my left leg into the lake, I slowly descended further into the void below the glass floor.


    Finally, my head was the only remaining body part above the lake.


    Taking one last glance at the star through the tree branches, I let myself go, allowing my head and entire body to fully sink into the lake of corruption.


    As my eyes went under the lake''s surface, my vision was instantly cut off and shrouded by complete darkness.


    Attempting to move my body, I realized that no matter how much I tried, my legs and arms wouldn''t move a single bit.


    It was like I was swimming in a hard substance like oil.


    Further descending into the lake of corruption and the pitch-black void below, a sense of unease and powerlessness enveloped me. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Just die."


    "Give up and drown already."


    Ignoring the thoughts, I sunk further into a lake, and to my surprise, there was no pain anymore.


    In fact, I wasn''t feeling anything.


    Where was my body...?


    Who was I?


    Where was I?


    What am I?


    How did I get here in the first place?


    I was nothing...


    Just a leaf, forever bound to my tree, swaying in the breeze.


    A meaningless grain of sand on a gigantic beach.


    My memories became foggy, and no matter how much I tried to recall the past few months of life, nothing came.


    It was like everything I had up to this point was a dream.


    These memories began to fade away, and even though I could tell that I was losing them, I had no idea what they were or what they were about.


    I couldn''t even remember the fight with the corrupted figure I had just a few minutes ago... or was it a few minutes ago?


    Was it a few days ago... or months... or years?


    As my consciousness slowly slipped away, and my eyelids became unbearably heavy, my mind eventually cleared.


    Who was I?


    I had no identity.


    Who was I without my past experiences?


    An empty and lifeless expression appeared on my face as I sunk further into the void, not knowing how much time had passed by.


    Had it been a day? A month? A year? A century? A millennium?


    Who even cares?


    Only one word echoed throughout my mind.


    Corruption.


    Ah, I was a vessel, wasn''t I?


    I was surrounded by corruption, so I was corruption, wasn''t I?


    A particle of corruption... that was me.


    This was my home... surrounded by my fellow particles of corruption.


    Why was I trying to leave, then?


    A smile appeared on my empty face as I mouthed.


    "Ah, how stupid am I? Trying to leave my own home...didn''t my mother teach me better?"


    Mother?


    I had a mother, didn''t I...?


    Then, a sudden light enveloped me for less than a second before instantly returning my world to darkness.


    Instantly, a surge of memories flooded my head, causing my grin to disappear and a pained expression to appear.


    The scenery of a truck and the vivid streets of Japan replayed in my head, seemingly removing the shroud of darkness covering my eyes.


    I was that dead body on the road.... but wasn''t I a particle of corruption?


    How was I, human...?


    Then, a word echoed throughout my mind, replacing "corruption."


    Promise.


    A promise...?


    I had a promise to keep, didn''t I?


    As the scene played out, the flashing of blue and red entered my vision, and the loud ringing of sirens entered my ears.


    As my eyes slowly closed in that memory and blood leaked out of my mouth, my eyes became shrouded in darkness once again.


    I had to escape.... to keep a promise.


    What was that promise?


    I couldn''t tell you even if I thought about it for centuries...


    But I knew I had to keep it.


    That was all that mattered.


    I had to leave and fulfill that promise.


    A particle of corruption, a human, or whatever being I was, I had a promise to keep.


    That was all that mattered.


    There was also a single girl...whose foggy figure appeared before me for a single second before instantly dispersing.


    Returning to my senses, I mustered up all my force and opened the palms of my hand.


    Then, the lake of corruption slowly shrank and shrank, entering my body through the palms of my hands.


    Ignoring the overflow of corruption inside my body, I continued draining... and draining the lake until finally, I was out.


    Lying lifelessly on the invisible glass floor with my memories back, I simply stared upwards at the single star above me in the vast black sky.


    A star... huh?

 Chapter 118: Chapter 118:What If? [5]

    A single star had saved my life.


    Managing to shine through the darkness of the corruption, that single moment of light gave me a second of clarity.


    With that clarity, I could recall my most important memories, just for a single fleeting second, but that was all I needed.


    My past experiences and memories shaped me into the person I am today, so when the lake of corruption took them all away, I was nothing¡ªno identity or thoughts.


    Just a blank canvas.


    Rolling over onto my backside, I stared down into the pitch-black void below the glass floor, actually admiring it for once.


    Where had the lake of corruption gone?


    Straight into my body.


    Every single vein of my body flowed with corruption as my blood intermingled with the pitch-black corruption in my body.


    No longer was I limited to a single arrow... I could create an entire quiver and hundreds of arrows at the same time.


    More than that, I had discovered something new.


    Corruption was a living being just like me.


    It could move and form living objects, just like how the corrupted had come together earlier to form that corrupted figure I fought.


    I could create living and moving things if I used enough corruption...


    After lying down and silently staring into the night-black abyss below for a couple more minutes, I finally mustered the energy to stand up.


    Using some of the newfound corruption in my body, I manifested bandages and placed them all over my body to stop the blood from leaking.


    Limping across the invisible glass floor, I slowly approached the tree before slumping down against the trunk.


    Looking up, I saw the log now colored a perfect dark brown, and every single leaf was colored a pure green with no blemishes.


    All the cracks in the tree had healed, and the tree was even growing, new branches sprouting out of the trunk every second.


    It was no longer corrupted.


    The tree is back to its original state.


    More than that, as I continued glancing up the tree, I saw a shiny golden fruit hanging from one of the branches, just waiting to be picked.


    "ah... it can wait."


    Climbing up this tree and picking that golden apple in my current state was just impossible.


    Anyways... I was tired.


    Finally, giving into the burden on my eyelids, I closed my eyes, seeing the familiar sight of pure darkness.


    "...For someone with the best eyesight in the world, I''ve been seeing darkness a whole lot recently..."


    Using the log as a pillow, I leaned back and slowly drifted asleep. Even in this creepy outer-space-like area where I had almost died countless times, I immediately fell asleep.


    -*-


    Tapping her foot anxiously while staring at the closed portal on the ground, Liana resisted the urge to use her power and break the entire fairy-like space in half.


    "You said to do what I wanted, right? This is what I want to do. Blame yourself for this!"


    That what was the boy had said before jumping into the portal.


    Just when she had started to feel sympathy for him, he had been so infuriating.


    How could someone be so annoying and sad at the same time???


    Reeling her thoughts, Liana focused on the real problem at hand.


    The tree, what would become of it... now that a human had entered the portal.


    What would become of the human?


    The elves, herself, and their forest... what would happen?


    He knew the future, didn''t he?


    Did he know something about the tree that Liana didn''t know?


    He doesn''t seem like the type to go into situations without planning... but then again, Liana had only chatted with him for less than twenty minutes.


    As countless questions swirled inside Liana''s head, she realized that there was nothing she could do at the moment.


    Walking to one of the beds, Liana laid down, but didn''t close her eyes; instead, she stared through the window and at the pitch-black sky. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just letting time pass by, Liana emptied her mind of her worries while enjoying the moment of silence.


    How long had it been... since she was able to relax?


    Would she have seen this sky had she sacrificed herself earlier in the ritual?


    *CRASH*


    A sudden flash appeared and blinded Liana''s eyes. She instinctively looked at the portal she had been closely eying the entire time.


    As the portal opened up, Liana jumped off the bed and ran to the magic circle, only to see the masked boy walk out of the portal.


    His clothes were practically non-existent as his shirt was ripped in pieces, revealing his chest, and the bottom half of his legs were also visible.


    But, despite those large areas of no clothes, almost none of his skin was visible.


    He was covered in bandages, which, for some reason, were pitch-black.


    As Liana stared at the emerging masked figure in shock, he spoke before Liana could say anything.


    "Look for yourself; the tree is fine."


    Flicking away from the masked figure to the window, she immediately noticed that the grass was healed as it was colored a lush green, and the trees had completely healed.


    More than that, the space was no longer dark...


    A bright sun illuminated the entire area, making the space feel even more fairy-tale-like as the green grass and tree leaves seemed to frolic in happiness under the sun''s rays.


    Hearing a mutter from the masked figure, she turned around from the window.


    "happily ever after, my ass..."


    Collapsing on the bed, Liana was just lying on, the masked figure put his head on the pillow and went silent.


    At a loss for words, Liana stared at the slumped masked figure for a moment before sighing.


    "I-i don''t know what happened in there... but I must thank you. Not for just saving the entire elven kingdom... but for saving me as well..."


    However, the masked figure was unable to respond as Liana quickly noticed he was asleep...


    *CRASH*


    The next second, the masked figure rolled off the bed and onto the hard wood floor of the hut.


    But... that was not what made the loud crashing noise.


    His decent to the floor had actually been silent.


    On a wall across from the sleeping figure, there was a pitch-black mask lying down...


    It had flown off his head when he fell off the bed.

 Chapter 119: Chapter 119:The Good Life [1]

    Opening my groggy eyes, I realized that I was no longer in the fairy-world space as the structure of the room I was in was much different.


    After climbing up the massive tree to pick up the golden apple, I was absolutely exhausted, and sleeping in the outer-space-like world didn''t seem like a very good idea on second thought.


    Thus, I collapsed right on the bed right after leaving.


    Stretched my hands outwards, I lifted myself up from the pillow and sat on the bed while surveying my surroundings once again.


    I was in a suite room, almost double the size of my dorm room, with a massive king-size bed, two desks, a gigantic window to my side, and finally, two double doors that led outside.


    Feeling a sense of familiarity with the scenery with my eyes, I realized that this had to be a room inside the Elven royal palace as the furniture was similar.


    As the bed cracked and I got up from it, I looked down at my body, which still had the same tattered clothing.


    De-manifesting the corrupted bandages on my body, I was glad to see most of the wounds and scars had healed, but there were still some purple marks on my skin.


    Checking my cloak pocket and feeling the soft touch of the gold apple, I sighed before turning my attention to the food on the nearby desk, or around ten steps.


    But... it was so far away.


    Sitting back down on my bed and staring at the delicious food on the nearby table, I wanted to get up and eat so badly... but my legs refused to.


    Manifesting a boomerang, I tried to calculate the exact way I would need to throw it so that it would bring the food to me.


    However, that just caused my brain to hurt, furthering my already bad headache, so I quickly gave up.


    Then, as the memories of my time in the outer-space-like world slowly flooded my head, I thought of the perfect idea.


    A way for me to test a discovered ability and get some food at the same time!


    "living things, I can make those now....wait... where the hell is my cat...?"


    At this point, the cat had spent so much time and gone through so many near-life death situations with me that I considered him my pet.


    Quickly scanning my room, my worry immediately transformed into anger as my cat peacefully rested on the windowsill, enjoying the breeze from the outside world.


    Perhaps, sensing my gaze, the cat lazily threw its paw at me as if saying, "yeah, yeah, I''m here," before lying back down, angling itself so the breeze perfectly hit the fur on his head.


    Sighing, I returned to the task at hand and released some of the corruption, which shrouded my hands in a dark, black aura.


    Turning the black aura into a physical object, I put a massive lump of physical corruption, which resembled black slime, into my hands.


    Visualizing the image of a bird in my head, I closed my eyes and let my brain guide my hands into forming the shape.


    Feeling the soft yet cold slime in my hands, I moved my hands slowly and intricately, like I was making pottery.


    Thankfully, my high school back on Earth required students to take an art elective, and I chose ceramics, so I wasn''t completely clueless.


    Though the real reason I chose the class was just because the upperclassman said it was a free A+, I still learned a bit.


    After a minute, I opened my eyes and saw the shape of an animal that closely resembled a crow sitting in my hands.


    However, like a lifeless object, it was just sitting there, not moving at all.


    "...how do I give it life?"


    Recalling the formation of the corrupted figure, I infused more and more corruption into the crow; however, I did not allow its size or shape to change, simply filling the inside of the crow up.


    After a moment, I noticed a slight movement in my hands as the crow quietly flapped its wing.


    Staring at the crow, I thought.


    "Go get the plate with the chocolate croissant."


    *CACAW*


    As the crow stared at me with a confused expression, I repeated.


    "The plate next to the book."


    Leaving my hands, the crow flapped its wing, gracefully moving through the air before reaching the table and standing to the side of the plate.


    However, as the crow reached forward with its claw, I felt a weird feeling shroud my brain.


    I couldn''t just give orders to the bird... it felt like I could control it.


    Giving into the feeling, i felt my location instantly shift as I was no longer sitting on my bed, I was right next to the plate.


    Looking down at my body, I realized it wasn''t a human body below me... but the crow''s body.


    Looking at the bed, I saw my lifeless body slumped back onto the bed.


    I had... taken control over the animal. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Looking through the eyes of the crow, I realized that my sense of smell was actually enhanced as the sweet smell of chocolate strongly surrounded me.


    Grabbing the plate with my beak, I slowly flew the air before carefully dropping the plate onto the bedside table.


    Then, the next instant, my location transferred as I was back in my human body, lying down on my bed.


    Picking up the plate of food, I noticed the crow curiously looking at me.


    Could it eat?


    Taking a small crumb, I handed it over to the crow, and it indeed entered the crow''s beak; however, it simply passed right through his body, landing on the bedside table below the crow.


    Guess it couldn''t.


    Savoring the sweet chocolate in my mouth, I considered the usefulness of this ability.


    It was quite useful in day-to-day life, but in battle, it wasn''t the best.


    To switch bodies, I had to basically leave my physical body completely defenseless for that time, so if it was spotted, my death would be inevitable.


    However, after a couple more tests, I found a solution to the problem.


    I didn''t have to completely transform bodies; I could leave my body defenseless for less than a second and look through the crow''s eyes for that short second.


    Then, I could immediately return to my body, leaving it defenseless for less than a second while also having the eyesight of the crow temporarily.


    The crow would be a good scout and information gatherer... and that was just one of the thousands of animals I could possibly manifest.

 Chapter 120: Chapter 120:The Good Life [2]

    As I finished the croissant, I dismissed the bird, starting to feel the strain of keeping it alive for so long on my body.


    Picking up a mug of mint tea that was left on my bedside, I enjoyed the sweet and minty taste while staring out the window.


    The garden of the royal Elven palace was the only place in this entire world to have cherry blossom trees.


    Watching the pink leaves sway in the soft breeze that rolled in every once in a while, and the lush green grass below them all brought me a sense of serenity.


    This was the good life...


    At the same time, a sense of disappointment and sadness washed over me.


    If I wanted to, I could be living this life every day.


    Waking up in a mansion on the city''s outskirts with amazing food and beautiful scenery everywhere...


    Sipping a hot beverage while resting on the balcony of my mansion''s bedroom and bathing in the sun''s rays while simply enjoying the beauty of nature.


    Yet, instead of doing all of that, I decided to take the path of hardship and adversity to ensure this world''s safety.


    That was why these beautiful and amazing moments were bittersweet for me.


    It just reminded me what I was missing out on.


    I wasn''t immortal or anything.


    Every moment was valuable... but here I was, risking my life to save the world and carrying the burden alone instead of enjoying life.


    However, despite all that, a smile was resting on my face as I gazed out the window and saw the blooming of the cherry blossoms outside.


    Because, deep down, I knew it was the decision I wanted to make.


    No one made it for me. It was what I wanted to do.


    That was why I had to enjoy these small, fleeting moments where I could relax to the fullest... as I didn''t know how many of them I had left.


    Death could come at any moment; that was true.


    But that didn''t mean you had to spend every single waking moment of your life worrying about it; instead, make the best of your life before it''s gone.


    Don''t have a single regret.


    *KNOCK*


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, I heard a soft and gentle knock on my door, prompting me to respond.


    "I''m awake."


    I didn''t just teleport to the Elven royal palace after blacking out in the fairy-tale-like space; someone would have had to bring me here.


    As the door opened, revealing the figure of Liana, I put down my mug of tea and waited for her to come in.


    However... she just stood there.


    After a moment of awkwardness, she stepped into the room and sat on one of the nearby desks.


    Finally breaking the silence, she turned to face me and asked.


    "You seem to have healed."


    "Yeah, I needed the rest."


    "Not just physically... emotionally too."


    Gazing out the window and at the beautiful, swaying cherry blossom trees, I curiously asked.


    "Aren''t you at all curious?"


    After all, I had just randomly intervened in her ritual and stolen her portal entrance. Then I had just shown up with a bunch of bloody wounds on my body and magically saved the World Tree. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Shaking her head at my question, Liana replied.


    "We can talk about those things later; you''ve just recovered."


    As more memories of my journey to save the World Tree resurfaced, I let out a sigh while staring at the rabbits hopping around in the garden.


    "What is it?"


    I hadn''t planned to tell anyone in the world about my possessing knowledge of the future, so sitting in front of someone who knew that truth made me worried.


    It was uncontrollable; no matter how much I tried to convince myself that she was a good person and would never tell anyone, the doubts and worry still entered my thoughts.


    My second-biggest secret was now at risk of being exposed... even if the chance was probably less than 0.0001%


    Turning around to face Liana, ready with an excuse, I realized that I actually didn''t have to come with any.


    In her hand, Liana was holding the mask that had fallen off my head at some point during my blackout with an awkward expression.


    "...yeah that mask..."


    Putting the corrupted mask on the desk, Liana immediately started reaffirming to me repeatedly that she was very grateful and that she would never expose my identity unless I gave permission.


    Simply nodding my head over and over again, Liana finally took the hint and changed the topic by asking.


    "So, Celestial Academy, you go there as well?"


    Seeing no reason to lie to someone who already knew one of my biggest secrets, I nodded my head and replied.


    "Yeah, I''m a first-year."


    Almost immediately, Liana''s expression lit up as she enthusiastically replied.


    "Oh, a first year!? My daughter is one, too."


    "Yeah, it''s hard not to know that... Alya is one of the most well-known students."


    Ignoring my response, Liana silently began to scan my face and body for a second before standing up.


    "mhm, yep, perfect. It''s settled."


    "...what''s perfect? What''s settled...?"


    "Oh, don''t worry about that; it''s time I gave you some more time to rest. We can go over the important details once you''ve recovered."


    As Liana left the room, I checked my phone, seeing a barrage of messages from Han and Jin alongside a school email.


    [Jin: Ey bro, this is your final strike. Did you really sneak out without us?]


    [Han: You''ve been acting really suspicious lately, Ren.]


    [Jin: Seriously, if you knew a good spot, you could have brought us along with you.]


    Seeing tensions rising, I attached an image I had taken earlier in preparation for this exact situation: a picture of me pretending to work after being punished.


    [Ren: (Image) Does this really look like fun to you guys?]


    [Jin: ...]


    [Ren: Jin, you still down to come?]


    [Jin: uhhh, I would.... but I''m actually busy..]


    [Han: Getting caught is a rookie move, Ren.]


    On the other hand, the school email was simply telling us we would leave the Elven realm in two days, so I returned my gaze to the beautiful scenery outside.


    Then, remembering something very important, I immediately picked back up my smartwatch and went to the messages app.


    [Ren: Long time no see... or I guess, depends on what we say "see" means]

 Chapter 121: Chapter 121:The Good Life [3]

    Finally, getting off the bed, I put on a pair of neatly folded clothes and sat on the desk with my food.


    Feeling cold from the breeze, I manifested a black hoodie with corruption before allowing my cat to slip into the hoodie.


    As the cat fell into my hoodie and curled up to sleep, the thoughts came to my mind.


    ...Would he get along with the animals I made with corruption?


    How would he react if I just manifested a corrupted cat and put it in my hoodie with him...?


    Sighing, I turned my head and walked to the room door, glancing one last time at the cherry blossoms through the window.


    One moment, I was in a life-defining battle where the fate of the world was on the line, and the next moment, I was thinking about my cat and cherry blossom trees.


    "...the duality of mankind, huh?"


    Opening the door, revealing a gigantic hallway with royal banners and gold decorations hung on the wall, I stepped onto the red carpet ahead.


    The hallway''s width was double the size of my dorm room, and the openness of the gigantic hallway that stretched around the palace made it seem like a maze.


    "...how long would the walk to the kitchen be? Where are the directions and street signs!?"


    ...It would be easier to get lost in this massive hall than actually find your destination.


    Admiring the banners streaking across the elegant white walls, I noticed that they were actually covering massive windows.


    Manifesting a crow with corruption, I took full control of its body while my body fell lifelessly to the ground.


    Flying upwards until I reached the roof, I spotted the top of the banner and flew over before unstringing it.


    As the banner rose up to the roof, revealing the gigantic window behind, I returned to my body and dusted myself off.


    My enhanced eyesight still carried over when I transferred to my corrupted figures... but did my abilities like time manipulation?


    Looking out at the huge glass window, I was about to open it and escape the palace through it when a sudden noise interrupted me.


    *BAM*


    As the door of the room next to mine slammed open, Albert, with his hair all scrunched up from sleeping and in pajamas, walked out.


    "WHAT IS ALL THAT NOISE."


    However, as Albert looked at me, the source of the noise, he immediately covered his eyes and shrieked back.


    "MY EYES, MY EYES! TOO BRIGHT. MY EYES!"


    ...this banner was probably here for a reason, wasn''t it...?


    Scratching my head awkwardly, I waited until Albert finally removed his hands from his face, adjusted to the light, and stared at me.


    Silently staring at me next to the window, Albert rubbed his eyes over... and over again until his eyes turned red.


    "W-WHAT A-ARE YOU DOING HERE!?"


    "..."


    "I-I KICKED YOU OUT ALREADY, HOW DID Y-"


    *BAM*


    Interrupting Albert''s sentence, another door across from mine slammed open, revealing the groggy figure of Liam, who gave Albert the death stare.


    "Albert... I swear to god IF YOU DON''T SHUT THE HELL UP."


    *BANG*


    Zach, who was to the right of Albert''s room, also opened his door with a slightly less happy expression than usual.


    "Hey guys... what all this noise for? Can we please be civil and solve whatever dispute this is later? Our teammates are trying to sleep."


    *BANG*


    *BANG*


    *BANG* Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    *BANG*


    *BANG*


    As the sound of countless doors slamming open echoed through the massive hall, I turned to face a window with a slightly irritated expression.


    She just HAD TO PUT ALL OF OUR ROOMS NEXT TO EACH OTHER, DIDN''T SHE?


    As my fellow classmates and Albert''s confused yells sounded, I was about to use the opportunity to escape through this window... when, yet again, another voice interrupted me.


    This time... it was slightly older.


    "What''s all the noise for?"


    Ignoring the commotion going on in the hall, Liana walked up to the window next to me.


    "Oh... I don''t know. Someone thought that putting a bunch of high schoolers right next to each other was a good idea."


    After saving Liana and her fellow Elves, I felt that I had the right use sarcasm in the presence of the queen, but it was still a bit nerve-wracking joking around with someone who could kill me in less than a second.


    Well... not anymore.


    It would be at least 2 seconds now!


    Feeling the golden apple in my cloak pocket, I anxiously waited for the queen''s reaction, but thankfully, instead of reaching for a weapon, she simply chuckled.


    As Liana stepped towards the crowd to quell the commotion, I reached for the lever of the window to open it.


    "Not so fast."


    *CRASH*


    Instantly, the banner reappeared in front of me, blocking the window, and this time with electric sparks cackling on its every side.


    "...why?"


    Shaking her head, Liana replied.


    " *sigh* Skipping lunch and leaving already? I''m going to have to teach you some manners in preparation..."


    "Preparation for what?"


    Dismissing my question, Liana simply pointed in the opposite direction and replied.


    "The table is over there; you can go check it out while I bring everyone."


    ...shouldn''t she have servants or something to deal with them?


    "Is calming down high-school students a part of the Queen''s daily duties..?"


    "I''m a mother alongside a queen, you know? *tsk* Your mother really didn''t teach you anything, did she?"


    "...she taught me a lot."


    "Maybe you should have listened then."


    If only I had heard those words a bit earlier...


    As Liana headed to the main cast and Albert, who were currently in a heated discussion about who woke everyone up, I followed Liana''s directions to the banquet room.


    In my elven attire and sweatshirt, I admired the beautiful diamond chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and the intricate designs on each wall, which perfectly complimented the room''s mood.


    Sitting at the side of the table, I picked up a glass of water and tried to distract myself by counting how many diamonds were in each chandelier.

 Chapter 122: Chapter 122:The Good Life [4]

    Back in the gigantic hallway, Ruby, Alya, Albert, Liam, Kevin, Zach, Irene, and Lily all followed the Elven queen to the banquet room.


    Of course, this awkward atmosphere didn''t affect Liam and Kevin''s constant bickering as they continued arguing.


    "I TOLD YOU, IT WASN''T ME!"


    Matching Kevin''s tone, Liam shrugged his shoulders and replied.


    "yeah, yeah, that''s exactly what a guilty person would say."


    "...what the hell would AN INNOCENT PERSON SAY THEN!?"


    "Well, they wouldn''t say what you said... that''s all I need to know."


    "..."


    As silence finally descended amongst the group, Albert took the moment of silence to gather in his frantic thoughts.


    Was it all a dream...?


    Recalling the familiar figure of that damned person who had taken up so much of his time, Albert couldn''t help but shake his head.


    There was no way he could have snuck into the palace... the security was the best.


    Yeah... I was probably hallucinating from yesterday''s events when I saw him today...!


    As Albert began to create more and more delusional scenarios in his head to convince himself that he hadn''t seen Ren today, Lily silently walked next to Alya.


    After being knocked unconscious inside the tree, Lily suddenly woke up in the bedroom of the Elven palace with no recollection of how she had gotten there.


    Recalling the bout of the fog about to hit the tree before she was knocked unconscious, more confusion was added to Lily''s thoughts.


    How had the tree been saved?


    That much smoke should have killed it...


    Looking outside the window, Lily could easily see that the tree was back to its normal state.


    This was because of Lily''s special ability to directly see and understand magic.


    If a fireball spell was cast, Lily could read the spell procedure from the fireball and completely mimic it within seconds.


    Of course, the time would increase with more complicated spells, but given enough time, Lily could replicate any spell by just seeing it once.


    Lily could copy a world-shattering skill that took a magician millions of years to create within a few months.


    So, when Lily woke up, she immediately cast a spell to test if there was still corruption within the tree.


    When she cast a simple water spell, she realized that the magic was pure and clean, unlike before, when parts of the spell were tainted and corrupted.


    The only way for this to happen is for all the corruption within the Tree to be removed.


    The question is then begged: how?


    As more memories rushed into her head, Lily recalled the small purple light she had seen as her consciousness faded.


    The queen... did she save the tree?


    The only way for the tree to be completely cleansed of corruption is for someone to have replaced it... but the queen was still standing there, right in front of Lily.


    Was there another way to cleanse the tree...?


    If so, who had figured out the other way and done it? Had it been the queen?


    Sighing, Lily decided to put aside her thoughts for the time being: the present was more important than the past, after all.


    "You can''t move forward if you''re always looking back."


    Of course, this was only for the time being; as soon as Lily arrived back in the academy, she would continue her investigation.


    For now, all she had to do was act oblivious... which wasn''t hard considering everyone else was doing as well.


    Everyone in this group probably knew the World Tree had been healed as the Queen was no longer acting strangely, but they kept silent, not asking any questions.


    Even Albert and Alya didn''t ask their mother questions about the World Tree''s sudden and abrupt cleansing and what happened after they were knocked out.


    As Lily turned to Alya to strike up a conversation, Ruby and Irene also began talking.


    "You seem happier than usual."


    Puffing her shoulders up, Irene had a smirk on her face as she replied.


    "Well, I just helped save the World Tree and the entire Elven realm, so I''m quite content!"


    "And how do you know it''s saved?"


    "Do you really think we''d be leisurely walking around with the Queen if the Elven realm and World Tree were still in danger?"


    "I guess so."


    "And what about you, Ruby? You don''t seem that excited."


    Shaking her head as she recalled yesterday''s events, Ruby covered her face with her hands and replied.


    "n-no, I''m just as excited as you."


    Although Ruby knew there was a high percent chance that, for whatever reason, the queen didn''t stop and run her over, she still decided to teleport in front of Ren.


    But... in the end, it had paid off.


    She was alive... and Ren, or at least Ren''s phone, was alive.


    Ren was right... what types of criminals and villains were they...?


    Both of them had done more good than bad at this point!


    Were her and Ren even villains at this point...? No way... could they be considered heroes...?


    As the group arrived at the dining room under the guidance of Liana, they were all shocked to see someone already sitting down.


    Right at the edge of the table, a familiar figure sat, mindlessly staring upwards and completely oblivious to their existence. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "AHHHH"


    At that moment, a single person dropped to their knees with tears streaming down from their eyes as they stared at the roof.


    "WHYYYYY!?"


    "Get up, Albert."


    Regaining his composure from his mother''s words, Albert stood up and immediately asked.


    "Mother, why did you invite s-such a person to th-"


    Ignoring Albert''s question, Liana interrupted.


    "You''ll have to get along with that boy well, soon enough, so at least try to be friendly, alright?"


    Without waiting for Albert''s response, Liana left for her chair at the very top of the table.


    Then, as the rest of the group members stared at Ren''s figures with expressions ranging from confusion to nervousness to disgust to not even caring, Liana spoke up once again.


    "Alya, be a proper host and welcome our guest, will you?"

 Chapter 123: Chapter 123:A Completely Normal Meal [1]

    As Alya looked at her mother in confusion, I inwardly criticized myself for being distracted with Albert and not immediately escaping.


    Since we were all from the same school, Liana must have assumed we were all frids or knew each other, so she invited me to lunch with them.


    Of course, Liana couldn''t be farther from the truth...


    Pretding to ignore the gazes on me, I simply leaned back in my chair and stared out the window with a blank expression.


    What exactly was I going to say...?


    Recalling that the leaders of the human race were particularly close with the Elv leaders back in the demon war, I considered using my former last name... before quickly discarding it.


    I would rather be found out as a transmigrator than use the wretched last name ever again.


    As Alya and her mother seemed to be coming to a conclusion about whatever they were arguing about, Alya approached me with a sour look on her face while Liana watched from a distance.


    Who would have thought I would be having lunch side-by-side with the same person who completely ignored me not ev two months ago?


    Albert seemed done with his existtial crisis as he reluctantly got up from the floor and sat on the chair next to the ques.


    Momts later, the rest of the group regained their composure as they slowly made their way to the table... except for one person.


    While everyone was staring at me, Lily immediately turned a and walked back into the hallway.


    Th, within a few seconds, Lily reappeared before speed-walking past the rest of the group and immediately taking the seat on my right while Alya, under the glare of her mother, took the seat on my left.


    Sighing, I made eye contact with Liana, who responded with a gaze that seemed to say, "You''re Welcome!"


    ...who''s gonna tell her?


    Trying my best to ignore Lily, who was staring at me with her eyes practically sparking, I looked across the table where Ruby and Ire were sitting.


    To their side were Liam and Kevin, and on my far right, or next to Lily, was Zach, who was also staring at me... with a much more positive expression than the others.


    I''ll take it, I guess...


    As soon as everyone was seated, two elv servers, each wearing a suit, appeared before serving appetizers.


    Thankfully, that seemed to take most of the atttion off me as the servers used wind magic to carefully float each plate to us. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As my plate descded onto the napkin in front of me, I tried to keep my expression intact as a bowl of ram, topped with a scrambled egg, appeared in front of me.


    Staring at the bowl with a rich orange broth, thin yellow noodles, a pure yellow scrambled egg, and a huge piece of chick, I tried my best to look surprised while looking to the right out of the corner of my eye.


    How could I not recognize a classic bowl of ram!?


    But... how had it be replicated so perfectly...?


    Looking at the others, I noticed that everyone besides me was looking at the bowl of the ram like it was another everyday meal.


    Th, before anyone could take a bite, Liana''s voice echoed through the massive dining room.


    "Thank you once again for teaching us this delicious recipe, Lily! I must tell you, ever since you taught the chefs how to make it, the tire Elv kingdom has be gathering to get a taste!" ???§¦????.???


    ...what the...?


    Carefully turning my head to Lily like everyone else, I saw Lily staring right at me with a large smirk plastered on her face.


    Was this a test?


    Had she already concluded that I was also from Earth...?


    Trying my best to eat as messily as possible, I raised my spoon and tried to take a piece of chick before purposely allowing it to fall off the spoon, leaving only the broth.


    Tasting the delicious broth, I put on a forced smile and replied.


    "Wow... I don''t think I''ve ever had anything like this before. It''s... out of this world!"


    Watching Lily''s expression transform as the last few words came out of my mouth, I suppressed my inner laughter and picked up another spoon of broth.


    ...The ram was delicious, not because I was extremely homesick, but honestly, the mixture of flavors and ingredits was done perfectly.


    For the first time in a while, I was jealous of the main cast...


    While I had be eating the shitty school cafeteria food, they had be joying this!?


    What other Earth foods did Lily know had to make...?


    Watching me gulp down the bowl of ram, Lily put her hand on her elbow and replied.


    "Is it?"


    Nodding my head in betwe eating, I replied.


    "It is! I never knew you knew how to cook."


    Th, as the servers came into the dining room again, I could barely contain my excitemt as a small plate of kimchi descded right next to the ram.


    Maybe... this meal would be manageable.


    As if attacking my statemt, Lily finally asked the question everyone in the room was thinking.


    "So... you know the Elv Que as well?"


    At those words, everyone''s atttion returned to me as Alya stared at me with an intrigued gaze.


    How could an idiot like R know someone so formidable and powerful as the Elv Que?


    Of course, my reputation had be going upward ever since I stopped acting like R, but the previous damage to R''s reputation would take years to make up...


    Seeing Liana''s gaze turn towards me, allowing me to come up with a story, I was thankful she kept her word and did not tell anyone about our experices together.


    Indeed, I had be contemplating how to answer this question ever since I first saw Albert, but nothing had come to mind.


    It was like not studying for a test at all but expecting to get a good grade.

 Chapter 124: Chapter 124:A Completely Normal Meal [2]

    Studying is doubting your ability to perform under pressure, though.


    Studying is doubting your own pottial.


    And I never doubt myself!


    One of these answers had to be correct, no?


    Walking into the dining room with no answer to the question, those were thoughts swirling a in my head.


    But... as I looked a the room and saw basically everybody staring at me, my expression turned grim.


    Putting my hands on my head, I stayed silt for a second.


    This wasn''t a multiple-choice question that I could guess; it was a free response...


    As the room became unbearably silt and everyone''s gazes remained locked on me, I sighed before finally speaking.


    Partial credit was better than no credit, right?


    " *ahem* Actually, it was the craziest thing... I was just walking a the clearing wh.... wh... a bunch of demons sured me! I was about to be robbed and killed wh suddly a lightning bolt appeared in the form of the que and saved me!"


    "..."


    "PFFT"


    Turning my head to face Ruby, who was desperately trying to cover her mouth in order to stop the laughter from leaking out, I put on a deadpan expression and asked.


    "Is me almost dying and being robbed funny to you...?"


    "PFFFFFFFFFFT"


    Of course, this just caused Ruby to break into more laughter, and Ire, who was next to her, also began laughing.


    That, I had no idea why.


    Was laughter really contagious, like people say?


    Thus, the atttion was successfully redirected to the two people laughing as everyone else turned to stare at them with confused expressions.


    "PFFT"


    To Ruby''s right, Liam also started laughing uncontrollably... while pointing at me?


    ...was laughter really that contagious? ...I wasn''t feeling any urge to laugh.


    Looking back at Lily, I saw her practically dying to ask me more questions as her hands trembled, but thankfully, she decided to stop for now.


    Crisis Averted!


    As the waiters reappeared, bringing more plates of food that were unfortunately not from Earth, the table slowly broke off into cliques.


    Kevin, Liam, and Zach were chatting about their plans for the rest of the day while Ire and Ruby were snickering about something.


    Seeing those two girls together just felt right... yet a bit weird at the same time.


    Two future-powerful villainesses were chatting and laughing happily... while sitting next to the protagonist and his party members.


    The only area of the table that was completely silt was mine.


    Alya clearly wanted to talk to Lily, but I was in the middle. Lily wanted to ask me questions, but she didn''t want Alya to hear for some reason.


    Thus, the three of us were left in a stalemate. ???¦¥???§Á.?¦¨?


    Seeing our awkward silce, Liana looked at Alya with a weird expression before asking.


    "Say, Alya, wer''t you planning to go shopping this afternoon? Why don''t you bring some frids along.... like. Oh, I know! You can bring our new frid, R!"


    "..."


    "..."


    Alya stared at Liana siltly, her eyes colder than usual, and I pretded not to hear her by staring at my plate, resulting in the table becoming completely silt once again.


    Either taking advantage of the situation or wanting to help her frid, Lily broke the silce and replied.


    "Oh, I was thinking of going shopping...why don''t I come with you two?"


    Before Liana could ev reply, Alya immediately responded.


    "Yeah, sounds good!"


    Seeing Alya agree to the new plan, Liana begrudgingly nodded her head and gave us the thumbs up.


    Since I had giv the story of the que being my savior, I would have no right to disagree with the plan in front of everyone here, so I just siltly nodded my head in agreemt.


    It wasn''t like I had any plans to train, especially after what had happed inside the tree... but Jin and Han were complaining about me not going out with them...


    Sneaking away could be a possibility... but Lily would probably hold me back.


    But... it wasn''t like I had to pretd to like Lily anymore, as the time had far surpassed wh I had to act like R.


    So, th, couldn''t I just leave and ignore her?


    Yet... I didn''t want to... or I guess I couldn''t.


    It was weird... it felt like a part of my body was telling me to do one thing while the other was saying the exact opposite.


    All the other emotions or lingering feelings of R had disappeared... so why was I still feeling like this?


    They say one can''t reincarnate or go to heav if they still have lingering regrets...


    The real "R" had not completely disappeared from this world yet... there was just one regret holding him back from going to heav...or maybe hell, considering his behavior.


    His first love.


    No matter how cursed or forced his love for Lily was, one''s first love is always special and important.


    Unfortunately, in "R''s" case, his first love was unrequited...so his regret and emotions probably built up over the years, leading to this large pt-up feeling of regret in my body.


    Sighing, I turned to Lily to see if she still had any of Lily''s emotions, but simply looking at her didn''t tell me anything.


    She hadn''t flinched in disgust at all despite being so near to me, in differce to wh before her eyes flicked whever she saw me.


    Still, it was hard to tell if she was going through the same dilemma as me and was just hiding it. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Well... if its a simple shopping trip, I can deal with it if it makes this weird feeling go away...


    Having all the power in the world wouldn''t mean shit if I didn''t ev have complete control over my own body and emotions...


    Going with Lily on the shopping trip now was just a temporary solution, so I needed to figure something out soon.


    At least, the problem wasn''t too bad as the feeling only appeared occasionally wh I was with Lily.


    However, as I continued to nod, I felt a cold gaze coming from right in front of me, instantly causing me to shiver.

 Chapter 125: Chapter 125:Changes [1]

    *BZZT*


    Putting my hand under my desk, I checked my smartwatch and saw a message from the very person in front of me.


    [Ruby: Are you really planning to go?]


    [R: Well... it''s not like I have a choice.]


    [Ruby: Oh, so now, you decide to act like a normal human being wh making decisions?]


    [R: ... what do you mean by that?]


    [Ruby: Was trying to save the World Tree, completely alone as a mere D-rank, a good and rational decision?]


    [R: You know, there is no such thing as a good or bad decision, right?]


    [Ruby: Yeah, that''s what delusional people say wh they make a terrible decision for the hundredth time.]


    [R: Guess it''ll be the hundredth and one time, now.]


    Putting down my smartwatch, I looked up at the roof, seriously thinking about her words.


    Use the resources a me?


    What resources did I have?


    No one and nothing.


    I had some money, but that was it.


    Rav and Zg were useful occasionally, but what good were they in fighting battles and making strategies?


    I was the only one on the battlefield, risking mine and only my life.


    The main cast had various members, each powerful and useful in their own right: Zach with his buffing spells, Liam and Kevin with offsive attacks, Lily with defse, and Alya with long-range.


    They had connections that basically meant they could procure any needed items or resources for free.


    They had all the resources in the world.


    Everything... the main cast had it all: power, connections, money, knowledge of the future, and intelligce.


    All of that... and they still lost to me every single time.


    Every single evt, I was one step ahead of them and every time, it ded in the exact scario I wanted it to d.


    Not a single evt wt the way they had visioned it.


    All of it was my perfect victory and conclusion.


    They could have all the resources in the world, and I would still bet on myself winning every single time without any doubt.


    Resources didn''t mean shit.


    And I was the evidce.


    I didn''t need anyone to do what I did successfully.


    Unlike the main cast, I wasn''t ev saving the world for the correct moral reasons; I was doing it for myself.


    I didn''t have any conviction or moral superiority.


    Th, what made me so successful?


    That... was a question I couldn''t yet answer as I didn''t know it myself.


    Was it my ruthlessness or selfishness? Or ev my small bits of selflessness and occasionally kindness?


    Looking up from the table, I noticed that everyone was done, and both Lily and Alya were ready to depart.


    Waving goodbye to Ruby, who was getting dragged a by Ire, I siltly followed Lily and Alya out of the palace. ???¦¥??£¤?.???


    Leaving the main gates, I noticed that the guards were greeting us with slightly more positive expressions than earlier.


    The news of the humans supporting the Elves should have spread by now... I wonder how the rest of the world will react.


    The demons had made their first public move in over fifty years... and the future was more messed up than ever, mostly my fault.


    What would change?


    The future was still useful information to me, but it could also bite me in the back if I relied on it too much.


    But... it was slowly becoming less and less valuable like a stock.


    Ire''s transformation into a villain should occur wh we get back to school, and I had no inttion of forcing that evt.


    I guess this would be Lily''s first win over me if we''re ev counting it.


    Two major villainesses in Ruby and Ire are now partially heroes... that would make for an interesting future.


    After this trip, the main cast should ter a dream together and all advance to C-rank, and I would probably follow.


    Now that Ruby and Ire are back in the equation, though, would they ter a dream with the main cast or do it alone?


    Heading out of the gates, I followed Alya and Lily from a distance, only catching up to them once we stopped at the first store.


    As we headed into the store, which had a variety of hats and caps on display outside, I began experimting with "R''s" feelings.


    Watching Alya head to the cashier to ask about sizes, I sat down on the bch beside Lily and simply looked a, seeing how my feelings emerged.


    However, the feeling of regret was no longer there.


    It was like that for the rest of the day.


    Ev as I walked side-by-side with Lily through the bustling streets of the clearing, the feeling never appeared.


    Ev though I didn''t say a single word to Lily throughout the whole day.


    Ev though Lily didn''t say a single word to me.


    Ev wh I attempted to leave and ditch them as a test, the feeling never appeared.


    As the sun slowly set, bathing the city in a bright orange from above the branches of the World Tree, the three of us wt our separate ways.


    Well... that was useless.


    As the day ded and the new one started, I packed up my bags with Jin and Han, who were somewhat annoyed, and headed to the exit of the clearing.


    At the exit stood the Elv que alongside a bunch of guards who were supposed to see us off.


    As I was the last to exit the clearing, Liana was able to pull me aside for a short momt without being noticed.


    "Take this."


    "A pager?"


    "Just use it if you need me."


    ".I-"


    "And don''t say you won''t ever need help."


    After Liana esstially stuffed the pager into my hand, I followed the rest of my classmates and officially exited the Elv realm.


    The trip out of the forest was unevtful as we quickly arrived back at the plains, where our carriages stood.


    As we stood outside the carriages, it seemed that Liana had got the last laugh as the carriage Jin, Han, and I had arrived here on was gone. S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Instead, a bigger carriage stood with an official Elv crest and my name printed on it.


    But my name was not the only one printed on the massive carriage...

 Chapter 126: Chapter 126:Changes [2]

    Looking at Han and Jin, who stared at the carriage with their eyeballs wide, I couldn''t help but sigh.


    Unfortunately, their names were not printed on this carriage but on the one next to mine. S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Before I could think of something to say to them, Jin walked over to me and wrapped his arm a my shoulder.


    "Looks like you''re finally moving up in the world, R..."


    A momt later, Han reappeared and wrapped his arm a my other shoulder with a somber expression.


    "Yeah... don''t forget about us wh you''re at the top, alright...?"


    Shrugging their arms on my shoulders, I replied.


    "Look, you guys are being way too over dramatic...it''s just a damn carriage."


    Putting his head in his hands, Jin replied.


    "It always starts with ''just a carriage,'' man."


    Looking at Han, I expected him to be the voice of reason as usual, but instead, he simply nodded his head, agreeing with Jin''s words.


    "You guys ever heard of overreacting?"


    Walking to their carriage, Jin screamed back.


    "WE''RE NOT OVERREACTING MAN...YOU''VE BEEN ACTING LIKE A CELEBRITY RECENTLY."


    "...I forget to reply to your s a co-"


    "PFFT"


    "PFFT"


    Looking at Han and Jin, who burst out in laughter, I scratched my head and asked.


    "...what''s going on?"


    Shaking their heads while still laughing, Jin replied.


    "PFFT, we were just messing with you. Don''t worry, alright."


    Nodding in approval to Jin''s words, Han replied.


    "Make sure to get us some of those ''free complimtary gift bags,'' alright?"


    Seeing the two walk over to their carriage, still laughing, I sighed for the hundredth time this week and finally mustered up the ergy to ter the courage.


    The carriage''s interior was gigantic as it could easily fit over t people, and as Jin and Han said, countless free items were lying a.


    On my right, Kevin, Liam, and Zach sat down, and on my left, Ire, Alya, Lily, and Ruby sat down.


    Feeling their stares, I chose to sit in betwe the window and Zach, directly facing Lily.


    Taking my seats, I ignored the ongoing conversations and stared out the window, admiring the plain''s beauty now that the World Tree had be healed.


    Feeling an awkward atmosphere formed due to my sudd presce, I decided to try to sleep.


    Ev if they were technically my emies... I still felt odd intruding on their team bonding time, ev though it wasn''t ev my fault.


    ?????¦Ñ£¤?.?¦¨?


    Oping the window and allowing the soft breeze to ter the carriage, I covered my hands with my school jacket.


    Using my corruption, I created a crow much quicker than before and felt my body transform into a crow.


    As my body lifelessly slumped over, I decided to experimt as I raised the crow''s wings to my eye in an attempt to use my time-slowing ability.


    After a momt, I peeked out from under my jacket as the crow and noticed that it had actually worked as people''s mouths were moving in slow motion.


    Taking advantage of the time slowing, I slipped out of my jacket and escaped the carriage through the window.


    Flying into the op sky, I was once again an oddball, as my black crow body stood out among the sun''s vibrant yellow and lush gre grass.


    Before continuing to experimt, I attempted to do some aerial tricks to familiarize myself with flying with two wings instead of one.


    From doing flips in the air to testing my reaction time by free-falling in the air and flapping my wings to stop the fall right before I hit the g, I finally felt a bit more comfortable flying.


    Using that newfound confidce, I flew ev higher in the air, above the clouds, and began testing out my abilities.


    Unfortunately, I couldn''t use corruption as a crow, but on the bright side, skills were available to me, as I could use dash and time-slowing.


    My stats also worked as a crow as I could use my stealth stat to sneak a unnoticed in the shadows of the trees.


    As a crow, all my sses except eyesight were also hanced, and I could call other similar animals.


    *CA-CAW*


    At my sound, multiple birds flocked to me like a servant waiting for orders from their kings.


    I couldn''t speak or understand the bird''s language, though, so I was forced to use visual signals to command my small army of birds.


    At my cry, birds would gather worms and tree sticks before bringing them to me, in an attempt to please me.


    Feeling my corruption fading, I dismissed the crow and returned to my body in the carriage, immediately feeling a warm ssation under my head.


    Looking below, I realized that there was a pillow under my head, blocking out the carriage''s hard, cold wood.


    But, as I looked a the carriage, everyone else was asleep, with no pillows under their heads.


    Yet, in the back of my mind, I knew only one person in the carriage cared ough about my comfort.


    Taking the pillow from under my head, I quietly and carefully slotted it under Ruby''s head before returning to my seat.


    While my body was ergized from the rest during my body transfer, my mind was exhausted, as commanding a bird''s body was exhausting.


    About to drift off to actual sleep, I placed my hand on my elbow and stared out the op window, observing the mountain range in the distance.


    Slowly closing my eyes, I was about to drift off to sleep wh I suddly recalled something.


    Peaking my head back out the window, I stared behind us... but no carriages were following us despite five carriages having left after us.


    Rushing to the driver''s carriage area, I was shocked to see that the seat was completely empty.


    No mountain range was in sight wh we traveled to the Elv realm initially...


    *RUMBLE*


    As if confirming my worries, the carriage began to shake uncontrollably, causing everyone else to finally wake up.


    There was only one other place near the Elv realm where a mountain range was located.

 Chapter 127: Chapter 127:Stranded [1]

    The barrier betwe the Human Realm and Underlands, better known as the Demon''s realm.


    At the d of the war, wh the demons knew their loss was inevitable, they launched a full-out attack on the helm.


    Not caring at all for the survival of their species, millions of demons flooded the human realm, simply trying to kill as many people as possible.


    Seeing this, one brave hero sacrificed his life and all his magic force to create a mountain range betwe the Human and Demon realms to prevt the demon''s reltless attacks.


    Do you know want to know what the mountain range was called?


    Named after the hero who sacrificed his life, the mountain range was named the "Hajin Range."


    Yes... the very mountain range I wt to as soon as I transmigrated and discovered the Dragon''s Eye in.


    Quite the throwback... is what I would be saying if I wasn''t panicking.


    There was no possible way for our carriage to suddly appear here, over t thousand miles away from the Elv realm.


    Something had gone wrong... very wrong.


    Wh I meant the future would be uncertain, I didn''t mean that it would just randomly teleport me to the first place I visited after my transmigration!


    Looking at Ruby, who had wok up, I wondered if she had noticed anything as she had access to teleportation, but her clueless expression showed that she hadn''t realized anything.


    In fact, I was the only one in this carriage who knew we were over t thousand miles away from our intded location without a driver.


    ...oh, wait, a driver, we didn''t have one of those, did we...?


    Peeking my head back out the window, I immediately noticed we were nearing a cliff with a waterfall.


    ...god my luck stat just really hates me today, huh?


    Rushing past my confused classmates, I grabbed the carriage wheel, steering the horses away from the cliffside.


    However, this sudd change in direction caused the carriage to suddly tilt to the right, causing everyone to fall to their right side.


    *BAM*


    *BAM*


    *BAM*


    ...my bad.


    However, it seemed like my luck stat wasn''t done with me just yet...


    Turning a from the wheel, I immediately saw a body heading right at me, and before I could react, the body hit my stomach, knocking both of us to the g.


    *BAM*


    Coughing from the impact on my lungs, I slowly oped my eyes and saw a familiar figure lying down on my stomach.


    With her silky black hair stretched across my stomach, Ruby slowly tilted her head upwards, meeting my eyes directly.


    Her sweet aroma tered my nose, and the soft feeling of her skin and mine veloped me, sding shockwaves through my body.


    As our eyes met, her blood-red eyes seemed to shine with passion, and a bright red tainted her usual pale skin.


    Closing my eyes for a second, I could barely ev feel her on me as only her head rested on my stomach.


    It was... comfortable.


    The warmth suring us and the feeling of her tiny head pressing my stomach made everything else seem insignificant...


    What was this feeling...?


    Two unknown feelings had appeared in my body in two days now...


    After a momt of silce, Ruby was the first to move as she slowly got off my stomach and stood up while still staring at me.


    As the unknown feeling disappeared, I regained my composure and looked up at Ruby.


    With a bit of red marked on her usual pale cheek, Ruby examined her surings, looking at our other classmates, before turning back to me.


    "...what did you do now?"


    Still lying on the g, I raised my hands and replied.


    ???¦®?§²??.§³§°§®


    "I''m innoct this time... really."


    Looking betwe my body on the floor and the wheel right above me, she coughed.


    " *ahem* It certainly doesn''t seem that way."


    "Look outside."


    Following my instructions, Ruby looked out one of the windows, immediately noticing the change in our surings.


    Well, it wasn''t hard to notice it.


    We were supposed to be an empty plain with a bunch of carriages following up, but now we were in the forest, right next to a cliff and right in front of a gigantic mountain range.


    Slowly turning a to face me again, Ruby placed her hand on her forehead and said.


    "...you know I''m still your boss, right?"


    "..."


    "Tell me exactly what you did so we can fix this, alright? That''s an order, not a question, alright?"


    "...I TOLD YOU I DIDN''T DO ANYTHING!"


    Sighing, Ruby looked a to sure no one was watching us before replying.


    " *sigh* we''re going have to do it the hard way, ar''t we?"


    "...the hard way...? w-what is that?"


    Shaking her head, Ruby responded.


    "You''ll find out soon ough."


    But, thankfully, before Ruby could do anything, Lily''s voice sounded from behind us.


    "What was that...?"


    Quickly getting off the floor, I stared at Lily as she carefully walked through the carriage into the driver''s area.


    Glancing at Ruby and me with her eyes twinkling with suspicion, Lily asked.


    "What happed?"


    Pointing at the empty driver''s seat, I confidtly replied.


    "Our driver is gone."


    After staring at the empty driver''s seat for a momt, Lily replied.


    "...and where is he?"


    Shrugging my shoulders, I responded. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "No clue...wh I woke up, he was gone."


    At my answer, Ruby made eye contact with Lily with an expression that said, "Do you understand what I''m dealing with?"


    After the brief silce that sued, Lily took control of the carriage and stopped it before heading back into the main area where the rest of the main cast was situated.


    Peeking my head out of the stationary carriage, I looked at the mountain, trying to pinpoint our location.


    "BOO!"


    Seeing Ruby''s head also peek out of the window in front of my face, I stepped back in shock.


    "Hah, got you!"


    Regaining my composure, I stepped away from the window and replied.


    "Is this time for jokes? We''re stranded in the middle of nowhere with no idea how we got here."


    Staring at the mountain range, Ruby replied.


    "Just tell me what you did, so we can fix this already."


    "...FOR THE LAST T-"

 Chapter 128: Chapter 128:Stranded [2]

    *BAM*


    Interrupting me mid-stce, the stationary carriage somehow flipped over, sding everyone flying downwards to the floor.


    This time, I was prepared for more sudd shakes, so I raised my hand to my eyes, instantly slowing my perception of time.


    Using the well of corruption inside me, I magnified six ttacles that all appeared on my back before soaring upwards at an incredible speed.


    Catching me mid-fall, the ttacles plunged into the hardwood of the carriage roof, suspding me in the air.


    Creating multiple holes in the roof, the corrupted ttacles pierced right through the roof of the carriage.


    Controlling the ttacles while unstable hovering in the air, I attached them from the roof and made them plunge downwards at a slower speed.


    All five ttacles moved in differt directions: two wt to my right, two to my left, one to the back of the carriage, and one to the front.


    As both the ttacles and I plunged towards the g, I st the ttacles downwards at an ev faster speed until they finally made contact with the g.


    As the ttacles dug straight through the grass and dirt of the g, my body was finally stabilized in the air, hovering a couple feet above the carriage''s floor.


    Like a spider, I had six legs or ttacles, in this case, holding me up. Each one flew right out of my back, out of the hole in the carriage roof, and down into the g.


    From an outside perspective, it would seriously look like there was a massive spider inside of the carriage.


    Suspding in the air and looking downwards, I also saw Ruby falling straight at the hard g, so I manifested yet another ttacle, this time appearing above my shoulder.


    In a swift and fluid motion, the ttacle pierced through the air and wrapped a Ruby''s body right before she hit the floor.


    With the ttacles now carrying Ruby''s additional weight, I infused more corruption into the six ttacles, causing them to grow longer and dig further into the g.


    As the ttacles pierced right through the stone below the g like a knife cutting butter, I finally stabilized both Ruby and me.


    "AHHH"


    "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS"


    "KEVIN, WHAT THE H-"


    "I DIDN''T DO ANYTHING; STOP PROJECTING." Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As the carriage completely flipped over and loud screams could be heard from further inside the carriage, Ruby and I were the only ones to remain unharmed as my ttacles held us up the tire time.


    Feeling the carriage stop shaking and become motionless again, I dismissed the ttacles, causing both Ruby and I to fall to the g.


    Landing on my feet, I saw Ruby gtly descd to the floor and land on her back with a confused expression.


    ...I guess you really can learn from your former emies.


    This whole spider ttacle thing had be a spontaneous decision inspired by my first-ever battle with the djinn in the mirror room.


    The horror I felt wh seeing the ttacles for the first time transformed, as now I felt like Spider-Man wh I used them myself.


    How much have I changed since that first incidt..?


    Quite a bit... I guess.


    Still, recalling how the ttacles effortlessly pierced through both Liam and Ire''s bodies, a sse of horror still remained.


    Could I do that...? Did I want to do that?


    As the sun shone through the hole in the carriage room from my ttacles, Ruby covered her eyes and asked. §®¡Ì?¦®????.?§°§®


    "Do I ev want to know at this point?"


    Offering her my hand with a smile, I replied.


    "I learned a couple of new tricks."


    As she overlapped her hand with mine and gtly applied pressure to my palm to stand up, I felt the same sse of warmth from earlier.


    Why was it so comfortable... so natural?


    In that fleeting momt where our hands were joined together, it felt like time stopped...and not literally.


    All my worries and thoughts about our currt unknown ssation faded away, being overpowering a ssation of relaxation and warmth.


    Who cared if we were stranded and lost in the middle of a forest...? Who cared if we were about to die?


    The soft ssation of her hand pressing against mine seemed to overpower my mind, calming down my brain, which was moving at the speed of light, trying to figure out our currt situation.


    At that momt, there were no negative thoughts or worries inside my head.


    Only positive memories and thoughts flooded my head, causing a small and awkward smile to subconsciously appear on my face.


    If only this momt could last forever...it felt so comfortable and calming...


    However, that was just a dream.


    As Ruby stood up and removed her hand from mine, my mind quickly returned to internal chaos as I tried to make sse of our currt situation.


    How had our carriage be teleported over ,000 meters away from our intded location...?


    Interrupting my thoughts, I saw Lily and Alya appear as they tered the driver''s part of the carriage with Ruby and I.


    Behind her, I could see the carriage in shambles. The chairs were all flipped over, and the floor had dts from things falling, and there were dust clouds everywhere.


    On the other hand, the driver''s compartmt was in slightly better condition as I had partially stabilized it with my ttacles.


    Ignoring the destroyed carriage behind her, Lily looked right at me and asked.


    "Are you ready to talk now?"


    "PFFT"


    As Ruby broke into laughter at Lily''s words, I sighed before saying the same exact thing.


    "Like I said, the driver wasn''t here wh I woke up."


    Pointing out of the window, I continued.


    "Look, do you know where we are?"


    Glancing out the window, Alya, who had some territorial knowledge as she was the second successor to the Elv throne, muttered.


    "T-that''s the Hajin m-mountain range."


    "..?"


    Responding to Lily''s confusion, Alya continued.


    "I-it''s the barrier betwe the human and demon realm... which is over t thousand miles away from where we are supposed to be."

 Chapter 129: Chapter 129:Stranded [3]

    As Lily, once again, slowly turned to face me, I sighed and said.


    "Look, do you really still believe I did this?"


    "...I guess not."


    It seemed like Lily hadn''t hit her head too hard wh the carriage flipped over, as she had ough reason to deduce that I wasn''t at fault.


    Seeing the cloud of dust spread towards the driver''s compartmt with my hanced eyesight, I crouched down and jumped upwards.


    Going straight through the hole that my ttacles had made, I landed on the exterior roof of the carriage.


    Looking a, I saw a waterfall and a large clear nearby, and besides that, there was a gigantic forest suring us.


    Using my eyes, I tried to peer through the trees and to the edge of the forest, but the forest was so big that ev my hanced eyes couldn''t reach its d.


    Above me, the sky was a bright blue with no clouds in sight, and the sun shined right down on me, causing me to start sweating immediately.


    I wanted to remove my sweatshirt... but my cat was sleeping, and I didn''t want to wake it up...


    From below me and inside the carriage, Ruby''s voice rang out.


    "See anything up there?"


    Shaking my head, I replied.


    "It''s just a forest and a cliff, nothing unusual."


    However, as I continued surveying my surings, my thoughts became distracted and abstract.


    Sighing, I realized this would only slow down the time I would take to figure out our situation, so I inwardly told myself.


    "Fine... I''ll do it!"


    Crouching down again, I looked back inside the carriage through the hole before reaching my hand downwards and saying.


    "Here!"


    As the three girls stared at my hand in confusion, I looked away from the hole to avoid their gazes and asked.


    "Two pairs of eyes are better than one... does anyone want to look outside as well?"


    As silce descded in the carriage, I didn''t dare look inside to see what was going on; instead, I continued dangling my hand.


    Surely, this would work, right...?


    Still looking away from the carriage in silce, I felt a warm ssation veloping my hands as some pressed them to mine.


    Interlocking our fingers, I pulled the hand upwards with my awaked strgth, raising them through the hole in the roof.


    But... the figure that was the hand''s owner was not who I was expecting.


    Instead, on the roof next to me stood Lily, whose dazzling blue hair was rustling in the spring breeze.


    Well, my thoughts were back on track, so I wasn''t necessarily mad, but I felt a small disappointmt wh I looked at Lily next to me.


    Yet, ev with that feeling, as Lily''s ocean-blue eyes met mine, I felt memorized and could not force myself to look away.


    ???§¦??¦´?.?¦¨§®


    Letting go of Lily''s hands and un-interlocking our fingers, I finally gathered the ergy to look away and continued surveying our surings.


    Beside me, Lily did the same, except I would catch her occasionally gazing at my back with a confused expression.


    *BAM*


    Back inside the carriage, the sound of things loudly moving a echoed, presumably from Ruby and Alya helping the rest of the main cast to stand up. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After a few momts, I looked back in the carriage and saw Ire waiting inside with Liam, Kevin, and Zach behind her.


    The three of them were covered in bruise marks from falling, and their clothes were a mess, crumpled up and stained from the complimtary snacks.


    Liam gazed at my unbrushed and unblemished clothes with a malicious glint in his eyes, causing me to awkwardly avert my gaze.


    Leaving the job to Lily, I jumped off the carriage and onto the g, making sure to avoid the holes that my ttacles had made in the g.


    Using the shade of a nearby tree to avoid the sun''s rays, I took out my smart watch and attempted to use it, but unfortunately, there was no service.


    The humans wouldn''t dare put telephone poles this near to the barrier betwe them and the demon realm, so it wasn''t surprising.


    Leaning against the tree log, I watched everyone, one by one, jump off the carriage and onto the g with annoyed expressions.


    Once again, leaving the job of explanation to Lily, I climbed up the tree, standing on the highest branch, to get a better vantage point of the forest.


    There were no concerns about water or food since a waterfall was nearby, and we were in a forest with animals.


    If there were no external variables, we could escape this forest and head back to the human realm with ease.


    Of course, considering that our carriage had be somehow teleported over t thousand meters, it was safe to assume that at least one variable was prest.


    Manifesting a corrupted crow, I st it flying up into the air and only stopped it wh it reached the sky''s height.


    Making sure my branch was stable, I exchanged bodies with the crow for a second before instantly switching back.


    Catching myself on the branch, I sighed as I realized I hadn''t discovered anything, ev with the crow''s vision.


    Keeping the crow alive, I st it flying towards the waterfall and cliff while heading back down the tree.


    Jumping down from the lowest branch, I saw Lily and Ruby walk over to me while the rest stayed by the carriage.


    Shrugging my shoulders, I said.


    "Nothing new."


    Before Lily and Ruby could reply, Kevin''s voice sounded from behind us.


    "We''re a bunch of damn awaked with superpowers... why don''t we just... leave the forest? I mean, it''s not rocket scice; let''s just keep walking in a direction until we''re out of this damn place."


    Kevin''s solution had many problems, as wandering a in a forest with no information was practically asking for trouble, yet it was the only solution.


    Staying still would do nothing but waste time.


    Nodding my head to Lily and Ruby, I said.


    "I agree with him."


    We were the strongest D-ranks in the tire world in some mundane forest... escaping it should be easy.

 Chapter 130: Chapter 130:Stranded [4]

    Watching the main cast start discussing whether to do what Kevin said or not, I slunk back into the shadows.


    Switching bodies betwe me and the crow, I saw a vivid blue lake below the gigantic waterfall that was about the size of a skyscraper in New York.


    However, I still couldn''t find any traces of humanity as the forest remained untouched with no signs of anything moving.


    It was creepy...


    Shouldn''t there be at least some footprints from animals or some traces of blood from predators and prey fighting?


    Th again, this was a mundane forest devoid of any monsters, so the scariest predator here was probably a grizzly bear.


    Returning to my body, I saw that the main cast ahead of me had finished discussing and deciding their decision, not that it mattered to me.


    If they decided to stay, I would still leave.


    To be fair, I doubt they cared about my decision either.


    As their group slowly dispersed, Liam was the first to exit as he started to walk back to the carriage while exclaiming.


    "wow...this day should go down in history...we''re actually listing to one of Kevins'' ideas!" S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Before Kevin could snap back, Zach appeared behind him and started sympathetically patting him on the shoulder.


    "Ignore him, Kevin. Be the better person!"


    Well, that obviously just set off Kevin''s anger ev more as he ignored Zach and followed Liam, insulting words already on the tip of his tongue.


    That left Alya, Lily, Ruby, and Ire, who were trying to pick a direction to travel in as they all carefully examined their surings.


    If I couldn''t find any clues, what made them think they could?


    Seeing that they had made the decision to attempt to travel out of the forest like me, I turned a, ready to depart.


    Heading in the opposite direction of the waterfall and cliff, I ran at a slow pace until I was finally out of sight.


    Quickly suring that nobody was a me, I moved the corruption a in my body towards the cter, combining it with the blood-red substance.


    Ev though I had more corruption, I still couldn''t form two fully-sized wings as my blood-red substance was still lacking.


    Having one big wing was also much faster than having two small wings, but it came with some balance issues, which I was slowly getting used to.


    A wing appeared on my right side as the pitch-black corruption and blood-red substance combined to create a maroon-like substance before flowing to my right shoulder.


    Partially black and partially red, the wing stood out in contrast to soft gre grass and light-blue sky, but it didn''t really matter.


    No one would be able to see me while I was moving.


    Flapping my wing twice, I appeared twty meters in the air and above the trees of the forest.


    Flapping my wings non-stop, I moved through the air at an impeccable speed, only small speed mirages left behind at every location.


    As the wind rushed against my face and my hair flew back from the pressure, I continued speeding through the sky.


    Not caring about conserving corruption or mana, I also used dash every time the cooldown reset, moving ev faster.


    Flap.


    §®?¨N??§²??.???


    Flap.


    Dash.


    Flap


    Flap.


    Dash.


    Although I most definitely wasn''t moving faster than Liana, with the combination of dash and my corrupted wing flapping non-stop, I was only visible to those of low C-rank and above.


    Looking straight ahead, I noticed that despite my incredible speed, the d of the forest wasn''t getting any nearer.


    Deciding to experimt, I looked straight down at the forest instead of looking ahead while flapping my wing and dashing.


    Raising my right hand to my eye, I slowed my perception of time and examined the forest while I flew through the sky like a meteor.


    Behind me, a trail of black and red could be partially se, as my wing was also prest in the speed mirages I left behind.


    The perfect light-blue sky became tainted with the colors of blood-red and night-black every time I flapped my wings, but th, a momt later, the sky would return to normal.


    Examining the forest below me, I noticed something peculiar, causing me to stop after one last dash.


    Levitating high in the air with my wing, I stared down at the forest, feeling a familiar sight with my eyes.


    Was this forest the one I had se wh I first arrived in the mountainside town?


    If so, where''s the town?


    Spinning my head a with my perception time still slowed, I attempted to look for the town... but there wer''t ev any signs of humans.


    It was the same as earlier...


    Still levitating in the air, I switched bodies with my crow, immediately seeing a whole new sce.


    In front of the crow, I saw a bustling town at the bottom of the waterfall with countless huts and people frolicking a.


    The adults were making tools or food, and the childr were carrying buckets of water from the waterfall back to the village.


    Countless humans were also returning with hunting trips with bodies of dead deer and countless berries in their bags.


    Instantly, the sound of the waterfall hitting rocks and the chattering betwe the townspeople tered my ear.


    A mundane human village this near to the barrier betwe the human and demon realm?


    Well, I guess this is a good place, considering that the forest doesn''t have any monsters...


    Returning to my own body, I immediately felt my lifeless body rapidly falling towards the g.


    Dismissing my wing, I manifested six ttacles, each appearing from my back, and st them plunging toward the g at a faster speed than which I was falling.


    As I was a couple of meters away from hitting the g, the ttacles pierced through the g, catching me and prevting me from hitting the g.


    Held up in the air by my ttacles, I stared a for a momt, confirming that I felt a sse of familiarity here.


    Dismissing the ttacles, I descded to the g and commanded my crow to stay in the vicinity of the waterfall village.

 Chapter 131: Chapter 131:Trapped? [1]

    Walking a the forest, I tried to see if there was anything in particular that was triggering the feeling of familiarity, but there was not.


    Everywhere I gazed, my eyes kept feeling the same feeling, as if recognizing every tree and branch suring me.


    Keeping tabs on the waterfall village through the crow''s eyes, I slowly walked a the forest, observing and examining everything.


    "hm?"


    Only a few meters away from where I landed, a familiar waterfall and cliffside tered my sight.


    Switching to the crow''s body, which was at the bottom of a waterfall, I gazed upwards, and with my hanced eyesight, I saw my lifeless body lying on the g.


    "...that''s not possible."


    Considering the speed and time I was traveling for, I should have be hundreds of miles away from the water... yet here it was.


    Was this the external variable?


    Leaving the waterfall aside for now, I walked to the right and peered through the dse forest.


    A few meters away from the water, a flipped carriage lay, with holes in the g right next to it.


    "...? That''s not good, is it?"


    Slowly walking to the carriage, I thoroughly examined it before concluding that it was indeed the carriage I was in not only an hour ago.


    The familiarity with the trees I felt earlier... did I just go in a big circle?


    "...No, I was flying straight ahead in one direction, right?"


    Seeing that nobody else was a, I re-manifested the pitch-black and blood-red wing before appearing t meters in the air.


    At a slightly slower speed than last time, I flapped my wing, zooming through the sky while occasionally glancing at the g.


    After a few minutes of traveling in the sky, I descded to the g and glanced a for a second.


    "...it''s still there."


    The sse of familiarity was still there...


    Walking straight ahead, in the opposite direction of the carriage and waterfall, the sse of familiarity kept growing stronger... until a waterfall tered my sight once again.


    At this point, I had confirmed that I was going in the opposite direction of the waterfall, so I just siltly stared at the waterfall in shock.


    "...he jinxed it... just escape, my ass."


    Somehow, I had gone in a complete circle...


    Heading straight, I also spotted the flipped carriage only a few meters away, and beside the carriage lay an exhausted main cast alongside Ire and Ruby.


    "I TOLD YOU GUYS; NEVER LISTEN TO KEVIN."


    "...so you guinely believe that this shit is my fault."


    "I''m just saying the one day we decide to trust you, some bullshit like this happs. It actually cannot be a coincidce."


    "..."


    ??¨N§¦?¦Ñ??.?¦¨?


    Stepping betwe Liam and Kevin, Zach tapped both of them on the shoulder and said.


    "Look, we''re all tired from running and demotivated from not making any progress, but let''s just take a deep breath."


    Removing Zach''s hand from his shoulder, Liamn calmly replied.


    "Alright.. yeah, arguing isn''t gonna get us anywhere; let''s just rest for a bit and continue trying until something works."


    Nodding his head in approval, Kevin stood up, allowing the group to begin planning their next few steps.


    I guess they figured it out, too.


    No matter which direction you traveled in this forest, your destination was always this spot with the waterfall and flipped carriage...


    Lying down against a nearby tree and staring at the top of the waterfall, I took a momt to regain some of my lost mana.


    I had be in worse scarios... so I wasn''t as panicked just yet. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Usually, there was some impding danger that would lead to my death or the d of the world, but in this case, there wasn''t really a big problem.


    Sure, being stranded in this forest was annoying, but was it a world-ding problem?


    Slumping down again the trunk of the tree, I dismissed all my corrupted items except the crow and also began planning.


    There was one direction I hadn''t tried yet... and I doubt the main cast had tried it as well.


    It was also the same direction of the village that my crow had discovered.


    After sitting a in the shade for a couple of minutes, I reluctantly stood up and walked to the edge of the cliff.


    Looking downwards, I saw the waterfall accompanied by a steep drop; however, that wasn''t the real problem.


    The problem was getting back up off the clip once I dropped all the way down...


    There were tons of protruding rocks sticking out of the cliff, so I couldn''t just use my wing and constantly appear t meters upwards until I reached the top.


    I would have to flap my wing, calculate the route for my t-meter jump, th flap, and th calculate a twty times.


    It would take at least three hours for me to get back up, but I could go down in less than a minute.


    "Well... it''s not like I have a choice?"


    Jumping off the cliff, I manifested six ttacles from my back and st them plunging downwards.


    ...I probably looked like a gigantic flying spider from the waterfall village''s perspective, didn''t I..?


    Free-falling in the air, I used my eyes to examine the area of the forest below the cliff and saw something out of the ordinary.


    There were some tracks of humans as I saw tiny footprints and signs of fights, but that was too expected, considering there was a village.


    Weaving and turning to avoid the protruding rocks as I fell downwards, I turned myself a mid-air so that the ttacles and my back were facing the cliffside.


    Th, right as the bottom of the waterfall fast approached, I st the ttacles piercing backward, causing them to go right into the cliffside wall.


    Holding me in the air right above the bottom of the waterfall, the ttacles wt deeper into the cliffside, creating multiple holes before finally stabilizing me.


    Just like that, the sce of the human with ttacles coming out of his back, floating in the air next to a waterfall could be se.

 Chapter 132: Chapter 132:Trapped? [2]

    Staring at the pool of water below me, I saw my reflection, causing me to shiver as some flashbacks emerged in my head.


    Regaining my composure, I looked towards the side of the pool of water and saw the same village my crow had been watching earlier.


    Maybe this weird village had some clues...?


    De-manifesting the tentacles, I narrowly avoided the water by using a dash-mid air and landing on the edge of the pool. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Picking myself off the ground, I walked towards the village, which had a fence surrounding it and only one entrance, a large gate.


    Seeing children run out of the gate with large wooden buckets and approach the pool of water, I considered asking for directions before continuing.


    They probably wouldn''t know much, so it would be better to ask one of the adults.


    ...And it would also be suspicious and weird if some guy randomly showed up in your village in the middle of a forest and started asking your children for directions.


    Passing by the children, who either didn''t see me or ignored me, I neared the village gate and stopped for a second.


    Peering through the gate, I saw that beside the huts, there were also some trees that had been remodeled to create tree-house-like structures.


    Seeing them using fire to cook the dead animals and squish berries using their hands, I could easily tell that they weren''t very... advanced.


    With a stove and knives, they could do all of that in less than a minute!


    Then, again, there was probably a reason they chose to live in the middle of some forest instead of some urban town.


    Awkwardly waiting by the gate, I waited by the gate for an adult to come out, but after a couple of minutes, only kids continued coming back out.


    Peering back through the gate but still not entering, I saw the adults still cooking the animals and slicing the berries.


    "damn... can they hurry up already?"


    As I considered just going through the gate and walking up to one of them, another batch of kids left through the gate with the same wooden buckets in their hands.


    "...how much water do they need???"


    Well... I guess I can just ask one of the children to fetch an adult at this point.


    Watching the children gather the water in their buckets and carefully lug the bucket back to the gate, I leaned against the fence and attempted to put on my friendliest expression.


    As the children approached the gate, I leaned down a bit and waited.


    Seeing one of the children about to walk right past me and into the town, I crouched down to his height and said.


    "Could you please fetch one of the adults inside? I need to talk with one of them as soon as possible."


    "..."


    However, the child completely ignored my words, walking right through the care without even acknowledging my existence.


    Tempted to look at my expression through my reflection in the pool of water, I sighed.


    "Was I really that unfriendly that a kid hates me...?"


    Well, there''s always a next time.


    Making me smile slightly wider, I waited for the next child to approach the gate before again leaning down and asking.


    "Hello! Can you, by any chance, ask one of the elders to come out and help me?"


    "..."


    Completely ignoring me, the child walked straight past and through the gate before setting down his bucket of water.


    ...no, this isn''t my fault!


    They must have good parents who told their children, "Don''t talk to strangers! Stranger, Danger!"


    They must have really good parents to be ignoring me, a stranger, so intently and confidently!


    Finally deciding to enter the village, I stepped forward and in front of the gate, but at that moment, another batch of children appeared.


    Surely, they can''t ignore me if I''m right in front of them, right...?


    Standing in front of them, I was about to ask the same question when I paused mid-sentence.


    The two children who had ignored me from earlier were back with another bucket...?


    Then, before I could say anything, the children simply walked forward, forcing me to step out of their way.


    Like robots, the children walked down to the pool of water, filled up their buckets, and then immediately returned.


    This time, I simply watched them and carefully memorized the faces of all of them for next time.


    Then, a moment later, another batch of children emerged... but they were all the same children as the last batch.


    Peering inside the village through the gate after the batch of children left, I noticed that the adults were still cooking their meat and slicing the berries.


    Something was wrong...


    As the batch of children entered the town with their buckets, I stepped right in front of the gate.


    A moment later, the same children reappeared, but this time, I didn''t move out of the way and continued blocking the gate.


    The leader of the children hesitated and looked at me for a moment before stepping to the front and asking.


    "Who are you, and what do you need?"


    "I am an adventurer; I require one of the adults to speak to."


    Staring at me for a second, the leader stepped back and gestured for the rest of the children to follow.


    Still standing in front of the gate, I watched the children walk into a nearby hut with the same empty buckets in their hands.


    But... then a moment, the same children reappeared in front of me with the same empty buckets and no adult.


    The hut door hadn''t opened...had they gone out the backdoor or something?


    And why hadn''t they brought one of the adults like I asked?


    Blocking their way once again, I looked at the group of children with a confused expression and raised my hand.


    Staring at me with the same expression as last time, the children''s leader stepped up and asked.


    "Who are you, and what do you need?"

 Chapter 133: Chapter 133:Trapped? [3]

    Staring at the group of children with a confused expression, I muttered out.


    "w-what?"


    Letting out a groan, the children''s leader looked back at the rest of the children and said.


    "You guys go; I''ll take care of this guy."


    As I remained shellshocked in front of the gate, the children walked past me and towards the pool of water with their buckets.


    Not giving me time to regain my composure, the leader of the children stared at me and asked.


    "Can''t you see you''re blocking our way? What do you want?"


    Taking a couple of deep breaths, I looked at the child and said,


    "I just told you, didn''t I? I need an adult to speak with for some directions...I''m an adventurer who is a bit lost."


    Matching my confused expression, the child replied.


    "What do you mean "just told you?" This is the first time I''ve ever seen you."


    "..."


    " *sigh* If it''s an adult you want, I''ll get one for you... but there''s no need to lie or come up with stupid excuses."


    As the children''s leader turned around and headed for the same hut, the other children returned with their buckets full of water and reentered the village.


    ...what the hell was going on?


    Were these kids playing some kind of trick on me?


    No... he seemed genuine, right?


    "...I take back everything I said about them having good parents...if they can lie this well at such a young age, their parents must be criminals."


    Sighing, I watched the children''s leader enter the same exact hut as last time, hoping that this time an adult would actually come out.


    But...a moment later, even though the hut door did not budge an inch, the children''s leader, alongside the same group of children, reappeared in front of me.


    "Who are you, and what do you ne-"


    Interrupting the children''s leader midsentence, I stepped forward and replied.


    "Look, is this some kind of joke to you? Can you just grab an adult for me... the first time, sure, I''ll admit it was funny, but now it''s getting repetitive."


    Staring at me with a startled expression due to my annoyed tone, the children''s leader confusedly nodded his head before turning and heading to the same exact hut.


    I swear to god, I''m going in there myself if an adult doesn''t come out this time...


    While we waited for the children''s leader to return from the hut, one of the children with the empty buckets spoke out.


    "Sir...what were you talking about this ''joke?'' "


    ...So they''re all in on this goddamn joke, aren''t they...?


    Facepalming, I replied.


    "Look, I''ll give it to you guys; your coordination and acting are unmatched. But you have to know when a joke is over, alright?"


    "..?"


    "..?"


    "..?"


    As the children stared at me in silence with confused expressions, I resisted the urge to punch something.


    "Look like we have a bunch of comedians in this village, don''t we?"


    At my question, yet another child stepped back and worriedly asked.


    "Sir... what is a comedian?"


    Looking at the group of children, who were all wearing concerned and confused expressions, I actually felt like the bad guy.


    They were the ones trying to trick me... I''m not the bad guy!


    Closing my eyes and attempting to calm myself before I did anything drastic, I began thinking of what questions to ask the adult when he came. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Reopening my eyes, I almost collapsed to the floor as I realized that the group of children had completely disappeared.


    Turning around to face the pool of water, I noticed that they weren''t there either.


    ...Either they''re really good at coordinating and making elaborate tricks, or something is seriously wrong.


    As if confirming questions, when I turned back around to face the gate, the same group of children with their leader at the front was standing there...with no adult in sight.


    Realizing that something was off, I spoke before the children''s leader could say anything and hurriedly asked.


    "Do you remember me?"


    "...? No...who are you, and what do you need?"


    Oh god... I''ve been yelling at a bunch of children for no reason...


    It was a loop.


    The children weren''t constantly getting buckets of water; it was that every time they returned with their water, the loop reset.


    This made it seem as if the children were always gathering water.


    The same went for the adults who were cooking and chopping the berries as the loop ended before they finished, giving off the illusion that they were permanently cooking animals and making berries.


    Turning away from the village gate, I headed back to the gate of water.


    Talking to them would be useless... they would forget everything before I could get some useful information out of them.


    Sitting by the edge of the water pool, I saw the loop reset in real time as the same children came to the pool to gather water every thirty seconds without fail.


    It was a full circle, a loop.


    Just like I always ended up back at the flipped carriage and waterfall, these children always got water, and the adults always cooked and chopped.


    This entire forest was stuck in a loop.


    The only reason the main cast, Ruby, Irene, and I, are able to retain our memories is because we are awakened, so our mental fortitude is increased...


    But... what if we couldn''t?


    What if I unknowingly lived the same life over and over... and over again like these poor children and adults?


    What if I was one of those children, collecting water at every thirty-second interval while still thinking I was living a completely normal life?


    Terrible...it was terrible.


    This world truly was cruel...


    Sighing, I watched the children collect their water one last time before getting up and heading back to the cliff.


    I had a long hike ahead of me... and after that I had a long way to get out of this damned loop.


    But...one thing had changed.


    I wasn''t doing it completely for myself...those children deserved to live a normal life, not living in this artificial loop over and over again like a drone.

 Chapter 134: Chapter 134:Trapped? [4]

    The hike back up the cliff was exhausting as arduous as I had to stop, calculating the exact route I needed to take to reach the next rock, then summon my wing, and finally flap it.


    However, at least I had some motivation now.


    Halfway up the cliff, I stared downwards at the village, seeing the same group of kids gathering water in their empty buckets.


    How many times had it been now?


    Over 100 times...


    Since I had begun climbing this cliff to get back up, these poor children had gathered water over a hundred times.


    Recalling how I had loudly yelled and ridiculed the children, I almost lost my grip on the cliffside and plummeted back down toward the village. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    I was by no means a saint or good person for that matter... but still, there were some boundaries that couldn''t be crossed.


    As I continued my difficult journey up the cliff, a sudden thought popped into my head.


    How long had that village been stuck in the loop...?


    Days, months, years, tens of years, and even centuries... no one knew.


    Remembering how the village looked so old and had such little advanced technology, I could only sigh.


    It had to be more than ten years, at least, if the civilization was so little advanced that they still gathered water with buckets and cooked food with fire.


    How long had those townspeople been gathering the same water, cooking the same animal corpse, and slicing the same barriers?


    Were those children and adults... enjoying their life?


    I mean, they had no idea about the loop or repetitive actions, so in their heads, it would be just another normal day.


    Oblivious to how they had been repeating themselves for over ten years, in their minds, the children could actually be happy.


    Wasn''t I doing the same thing..?


    I had been acting oblivious to thousands of deaths and tragedies taking place around me, even though I knew about them, and giving the excuse that they didn''t involve me.


    Well, in the children''s and adults'' cases, it was different; they weren''t acting... they truly had no idea about what was going on.


    But, was me acting oblivious a bad thing...?


    I mean, I didn''t have any negative feelings, sadness, anger, or depression at myself when I ignored these events.


    It just felt normal... like it was regular and completely ok for me to ignore these things.


    And it was completely normal that I cared for my own life above the lives of others; in my head, there was nothing wrong with what I was doing.


    Sure, there were slight moments of guilt, but those feelings quickly disappeared when I imagined my death being caused by my intrusion in one of those tragedies.


    On the other hand, Lily was the complete opposite as she went out of her way to prevent every tragedy she could.


    As soon as she had transmigrated, she went straight into action, saving the town on the outskirts of the human realm from a djinn attack for the prologue event.


    What had I been doing as soon as I transmigrated...?


    Gathering overpowered items, honing my skills, and training in order to ensure my survival.


    To be fair, the two of us were in completely different situations.


    Lily spawned in as an overpowered character who already had tons of abilities, wealth, and items... whereas I was just some extra with nothing to my name.


    Well...it wasn''t like that mattered, though.


    Even if I had been transmigrated into the body of some important character with overpowered abilities and family backing, I would have done the same thing.


    In fact, I would have probably done more.


    I would have gathered more powerful items and abilities, once again ignoring the tragedies occurring around me.


    Our mindsets were different.


    Was one of our mindsets morally incorrect and seen as flawed by society?


    Yes, I wholeheartedly believed that if the people around me discovered or learned about my current mindset, they would ridicule me and look down at me with disgust.


    If Lily''s mindset was revealed, she would be celebrated as a hero by society and be given countless awards and presents.


    Even if the evidence shows that my actions gave way to a better end result, whereas Lily''s actions caused the world to end, peoples'' opinions wouldn''t change.


    |But why did society''s opinion of my mindset matter?


    Who were they to decide what I wanted to do with my life?


    I was completely fine with doing things like this.


    That was the only thing that mattered.


    If I didn''t want to do something, I didn''t do it. If I wanted to do something, then I did it.


    That was it... end of story.


    So, what if I was seen as flawed by others?


    Teleporting one up one last time, I took one last glance at the village below before slumping down on the ground.


    Exhausted, I fetched my crow from watching the village and ordered him to grab me some food.


    A couple of minutes later, the crow appeared above my body with a bright red apple in its claws.


    *MEOW*


    "...get one for the cat too."


    After dropping the first apple into my hands, the crow appeared a couple of seconds later with another apple, which I cut before handing it to my cat.


    Enjoying the sweet taste of the apple''s skin, I lay on the ground, watching the sunset, and the sky slowly turns black, indicating the start of the night.


    Heroes?


    Villains?


    There was no such thing.


    There were titles given to people by other people.


    Why did people have the ability and right to give others titles?


    They didn''t.


    Well... there were some heroes in this world.


    But other people didn''t give these titles to these heroes.


    The title of hero was assigned to Liam, Kevin, Lily, Alya, Zach, and now maybe Irene and Ruby by the creator of this world.


    The Author.


    He had the right to give out those titles... because he literally made the characters.


    "I guess that makes my title permanently a third-rate villain then..."


    Shutting my eyelids, I basked in the cold breeze of the night, slowly drifting off to sleep.

 Chapter 135: Chapter 135:A Loop [1]

    Waking up the next day, I felt more motivated than usual as energy coursed through my veins, and my brain was already spinning in circles, trying to find solutions.


    As soon as I woke up, the crow appeared above me before swiftly descending and sitting on the ground beside me. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The next moment, my black cat jumped out of my hoodie and onto the ground, staring at the grow with its eyes sparkling.


    Those two should get along, right...?


    Both animals'' exteriors were pitch-black, so the temperature was hotter for them, so after a moment, they both dashed a nearby tree.


    The crow, watching the cat lie down in the shade of the tree immediately after waking up, turned its gaze to me, seemingly saying.


    "You make me work all damn day, but this cat just sleeps..? What the hell is this???"


    It was true; for the entire day yesterday, I had kept the crow alive and hard at work, making sure it monitored the waterside village in case of any anomalies.


    The crow didn''t require corruption to keep it alive, but only to manifest it, so I had no problem keeping it alive as long as I wanted.


    However, the strain on my mind from switching between bodies started to grow, so I only checked on the crow at specific intervals.


    Also, joining my animals in the shade, I leaned against the tree and examined my surroundings.


    It was the same as yesterday.


    Usually, the breeze of the night sky should have blown away some leaves, and there should have been some animal tracks from nocturnal animals... but there was nothing.


    The area around me was exactly the same as it was yesterday.


    The position of the leaves, color of the leaves, and amount of leaves remained the same.


    Confirming something, I switched bodies with my crow and controlled it to fly toward the tree where it had gotten my two apples from yesterday.


    Approaching the tree, I saw that the apples were there despite my crow having picked them yesterday.


    "...apples don''t grow that fast."


    I truly was in a loop.


    Well, I already knew that, but it helped to know that the forest would also reset alongside the townsmen.


    "...can I just do anything to this forest, then?"


    Infinite wood, infinite plants, infinite fruits, and most important of all, infinite time!


    What would Raven say in this scenario?


    "hah... it''s been ages since I''ve seen that kid..."


    Would he confused that I hadn''t arrived when I said I would...?


    Or...did the loop also affect the outside world?


    For every day that passed in this loop, did a day pass in the world outside the world? ...or was it longer or shorter?


    Returning to my own body, I picked up the cat, allowing him to cover himself from the sun in my hoodie, and sent the crow to continue monitoring the waterfall town.


    Making my way through the familiar forest, I spotted the flipped carriage alongside the main cast, who were lying on the ground.


    "..damn it, why can''t Liam do some protagonist things for once and get us out of this damn loop!"


    *RUSTLE*


    Hearing the bushes behind me rustle, I immediately turned around.


    A couple of meters behind me stood Ruby, who was also chewing on an apple while staring at me.


    "What was that?"


    Shaking my head, I replied.


    "Nothing."


    Putting the apple down and walking towards it, Ruby responded.


    "I''m pretty sure you said something about a ''loop?'' "


    "Yeah... this whole forest in stuck in one gigantic loop."


    "mhm."


    Seeing her have no reaction to the news of the loop, I scratched my head and asked.


    "You knew?"


    Walking past me and towards the flipped carriage, Ruby replied.


    "Yeah, our group also figured it out yesterday... we''re surprisingly productive when Liam and Kevin aren''t arguing."


    Seeing the shock evidence on my face, Ruby smirked and said.


    "What? You realize you''re not special anymore."


    "...you do know your group of six discovered what I found out as a single person, right?"


    Stopping next to me, Ruby got on her tippy-toes and began patting my shoulder.


    "Keep the excuses coming; whatever helps you cope."


    "...really, that''s how we''re playing?"


    "I''m just saying we''d get much more done if we all worked together instead of you just going off to wherever."


    Shaking my head, I asked.


    "So, how''d you guys find out."


    "Well, we obviously noticed something was wrong when, no matter how far we ran, we also ended back up here."


    Pointing at the carriage, Ruby continued.


    "Since we were all suspicious, none of us dared to sleep tonight. We had flipped over the carriage, intending to sleep in it, but in real-time, we watched it magically flip right back over. Then, after some more tests, Lily told us that we were stuck in some kind of time loop."


    Well, considering there was an incident involving time loops later on in the school year, it wasn''t surprising that Lily had recognized this situation as a loop.


    Grabbing the sleeve of my hoodie but not my hand, Ruby tugged on it, pushing me towards her, and asked.


    "So, what do you think? Pretty genius, right? Are you going to join us now?"


    "You guys got lucky because you stayed up like idiots sleeping, you know? I actually discovered it through exploring."


    Pulling the sleeve of my hoodie harder, Ruby replied.


    "Whatever you say, Ren. C''mon, let''s go!"


    Shaking my head as she pulled me towards the carriage, I took out one of the precious eggs from a nest my crow had discovered earlier in the morning.


    Since the day reset every day, I basically had infinite eggs, so I could spare one.


    "Here, take this."


    "... an egg, really?"


    Shrugging my shoulders, I replied.


    "Well, it''s the best food you''ll find around here."


    "...thanks, I guess."


    Sighing, I glanced at the area around the carriage, ensuring everyone else was asleep, and asked.


    "Do you really want me to cook it for you?"


    "YES! I thought you would never ask!"


    Tugging my sleeve even harder, Ruby dragged me out of the trees and into the clearing where the flipped carriage was.

 Chapter 136: Chapter 136:A Loop [2]

    Walking out of the shade of the trees, I placed my hand over my forehead to block out the sunlight.


    Removing the hand from my forehead, I brushed back my hair before manifesting a pair of pitch-black sunglasses and putting them over my eyes.


    Feeling the sweat accumulate and drip down my body alongside my desire for water increasing, I finally decided to discard my corrupted sweatshirt.


    In times like this... I wish that not everything I made with corruption was black.


    I mean, who wants to wear a gigantic black hoodie in 100-degree weather???


    As my sweatshirt disappeared, revealing the countless corrupted bandages on my arms from my fight in the outer-space-like area, my cat also free-fell in the air.


    Manifesting a backpack with my corruption, I caught the cat mid-air before putting him in the bag, not zipping him up.


    Peeking his head out of the top of the backpack, the pitch-black threw his paw at my back, seemingly attempting to scold me for waking him back.


    Well... I guess I didn''t have it as bad as my crow or cat.


    They must be burning up; after all, they''re entirely pitch-black.


    Ruby, who had been tugging on the sleeve of my sweatshirt, turned around in confusion as the cloth in her hands had disappeared.


    Before she could even speak, I manifested a black cap and placed it over my hair, completely blocking the sun from hitting the rest of my face.


    ...Wasn''t I getting a bit comfortable using corruption?


    Nah, these were all essential things to get me through the day!


    Clad in white pants and a white, both with the Elven realm logo, I inwardly thanked Liana for giving me some clothes.


    Staring at my black hat and sunglasses, which were actually quite elegant as their color was completely black without any blemishes, Ruby asked.


    "Aren''t you getting a bit too comfortable? I mean, you look like you''re going on vacation at the beach."


    Shaking my head, I replied.


    "These are essentials, though. Seems like someone''s getting a bit jealous; correct me if I''m wrong!" Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Turning back around to hide her face, Ruby replied.


    "You are, in fact, wrong; I actually have more important things to worry about, like comfort."


    "I told you they''re essential! "


    Hearing Ruby scoff, I looked at her attire, which included some pants that resembled jeans and a long-sleeve shirt adorned with the Elven realm logo.


    As Ruby sped up towards the carriage, I tried to catch up, but every time I got remotely close to her, she just sped up even more.


    Was she really annoyed?


    Well, to be fair, I was basically showing off my comfort to her... but I was planning to give her a hat if she just asked!


    Activating the usage period of the dash, I created yet another pitch-black hat using the dash and appearing right behind her.


    Before she could speed back up, I placed the black hat on her and side-stepped to her right side.


    Stopping for a moment, Ruby smirked before taking a hair tie out of her pocket.


    After tying her elegant black hair into a ponytail, Ruby brushed her bangs back into the hat and adjusted the hat so that her ponytail flowed out of the little hole in the back.


    Seeing Ruby continue to walk, I asked.


    "Happy, now?"


    Walking back towards the carriage, Ruby shrugged her shoulders and replied.


    "If you had two hats in the first place, why didn''t you just give me one?"


    "...that''s not, wait, you just saw me create it w-"


    Speeding in front of me again, Ruby turned around to face me and winked, her ponytail fluttering as the breeze came in.


    Following her, I glanced around my surroundings, seeing the rest of the main cast fast asleep under the shade of the trees.


    She was calling me unfocused, yet her group was fast asleep this entire time!?


    Well, they did stay up the entire night to confirm the loop, but still, I had to hike up a damn mountain yesterday, and I was awake!


    Walking past the sleeping cast, I met up with Ruby, who was beside the carriage with the egg in her hand.


    Seeing me approach, Ruby shook her head.


    "We don''t have all day, you know."


    "You do understand; I''m the one cooking for you, right?"


    "Good job, you''re doing the bare minimum. Want a trophy?"


    Chuckling at her sarcasm, I took the egg out of her hand and manifested a frying pan with my corruption.


    ...What could possibly go wrong when cooking food with corruption!?


    Staring at the pan that appeared in my hand, Ruby clapped her hands before watching me carefully crack the egg open, allowing the yolk to fall onto the pan.


    The sun was so hot that you quite literally fry an egg, which was both a good and bad thing.


    Placing the frying pan on the part of the flipped carriage, exposing the egg fully to the sun, I leaned against the carriage and tried to make sense of our situation.


    A Loop has a start and end condition.


    I had already figured out the start condition was when a new day started, as the forest would reset at that time.


    However, discovering an end condition in this massive forest would be a problem, to say the least.


    It could be anything from stepping on a certain rock or pulling a specific branch...or in other words, it was completely up to luck.


    We could escape in the next minute by accidentally triggering the conditions, or in the worst case, never escape and be stuck in this loop forever...


    As the egg finished cooking, I grabbed a leaf, cleaned off the surface, and put the egg on the leaf before handing it to Ruby.


    Ruby''s words were right...searching a group would be much faster as we would be able to assign certain locations to people and work together.


    However, to work efficiently with the main cast, I would need to expose the full range of powers.


    Three days.


    That''s how much time I was giving myself before I gave up and joined the main cast.

 Chapter 137: Chapter 137:A Loop [3]

    Leaving the corrupted hat with Ruby, I watched her eat the fried egg with a happy expression before departing.


    De-manifesting both my backpack and frying pan, I placed the cat on my shoulder and headed towards the waterfall.


    I didn''t have much corruption to spare today.


    Instead of flying at incredible speeds above the forest like last time, I simply walked through the forest like I was taking a stroll.


    However, it was far from that.


    As I walked around, my eyes scanned every single inch of my surroundings, looking for anything that had changed or an abnormality had occurred.


    My head swiveled in all directions like an owl as I walked through the forest, memorizing every single bit.


    Today, I wasn''t searching for the end condition.


    I was simply memorizing the layout of all the trees, branches, leaves, bushes, and everything else inside the forest.


    Tomorrow, the search would begin.


    In order to recognize an abnormality in the forest, I would first have to know what is normal in the forest.


    That was the goal of today.


    Once I knew what was normal, I could begin seriously searching for abnormal occurrences and hopefully find the end condition through that.


    Stopping after two hours of non-stop walking, I slumped against a nearby tree and began caressing my head.


    My brain was more than overloaded with information about the forest; I wasn''t even 10% done with discovering its full layout.


    This wasn''t sustainable or possible for one person...


    Thankfully, I wasn''t just one person.


    I was a person with the ability to create countless animals with my corruption.


    I didn''t just have one mind; I had as many minds as the amount of animals my corruption could create.


    Manifesting a new crow, I stored all the information on the layout of this part of the forest inside its subconscious before allowing it to roam free.


    As my head released and discarded the information, I got up from the tree with a sigh.


    Although my brain was ready to accept information, it didn''t mean that it wanted to.


    My entire head was burning up, and my head was pounding as I simply stood still.


    Memorizing the layout of this gigantic forest was an insane and arduous task, but it was necessary.


    And there was no one else who could do it besides me, leaving me with the task.


    Manifesting five new crows, I sent them all in different directions, intending for them to memorize the layout of the forest themselves.


    While they were slower than me, I mentally and physically couldn''t spend the entire day walking around the forest.


    As the crows flew up into the sky, shrouding the light-blue sky with darkness, I walked to a nearby tree where a familiar nest sat.


    If I was going to do this, I would need a lot of food to sustain myself, as I would be burning thousands of calories.


    Climbing up the tree, I laid on the tallest branch with my head propped against the trunk and stared around.


    ?¦É%§á??#-$§Þ?&§ñ@?-#?@§ä-§à&§ñ¦É?@?-?§Ú%-?!?¨N¦Å??!?§ñ?


    Taking in my surroundings and absorbing my information while feasting on a fried egg was a new experience, to say the least.


    As my ravens slowly filled out their mind with information about the new forests, I allowed them to rest before summoning another batch of ravens.


    Despite the insane amount of corruption I had gained from the outer-space-like space, I was, for the first time, running dangerously low.


    De-manifesting my hat and sunglasses, I leaned further against the tree, using the shade to block out the sun.


    At this point, I was at my maximum: eleven ravens and one single hat.


    *CA-CAW*


    Watching the crows with filled minds and memories land on the branch next to me, I sent off the new batch to different areas of the forest. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Like statues, the old crows simply stood on a branch lifelessly with theirs closed and hearing blocked off.


    If they opened their eyes, they would receive new memories and information from this area, forcing them to discard their information about the part of the forest they explored.\\


    Well, it was only for today.


    Once I had the entire forest layout in my head and the heads of my crows, I could use my corruption to create an intricate map with every single detail.


    After creating the map, I could discard all the memories from my crows and use the map to identify abnormalities.


    "...this certainly doesn''t feel like a day..."


    Having lost track of time due to my mind being filled with information, I could only stare up at the sky to prevent myself from receiving new information.


    Finally, the sun began to set, plunging the entire world into the darkness of the night, and my new crows returned, their heads packed with information.


    Patting the new crows on their hands as they landed, I jumped down from the tree with my eyes closed.


    Feeling my legs land on the ground, I infused my hands with physical corruption and began to follow my brain''s instructions, molding a map of the area I had explored.


    Finishing up my area of the map, I reopened my eyes, finally able to look at my surroundings without fearing losing memories, and moved onto the crow beside me.


    Tapping the crow on the head, I felt my head flood with the crow''s memories, instantly causing me to shut my eyes in pain.


    With my eyes closed once again, I used the physical corruption to manifest the crow''s explored area.


    Dismissing the crow as its area had been mapped, I moved on to the next one


    Then, I moved on to the new crow.


    Then, the next...


    then, the next...


    then the next.


    "t-the last one."


    Struggling to stand-up straight, I dismissed the last crow as his memories flooded into my head.


    Moving my trembling hands with my eyes closed, I intricately mapped out the last area of the forest, completing the map.


    Clearing my head of everything related to the forest''s layout, I almost cried tears of relief as I stared at the map in front of me.


    "i-it''s perfect."

 Chapter 138: Chapter 138:A Loop [4]

    Looking at the small yet elaborate map lying on the floor behind me, I collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.


    It had hurt and been so painful... yet it was worth it.


    Every detail of this gigantic forest had been captured on a single map that was less than a thousandth the size of the forest.


    Of course, the map was only usable to me or others with comparable eyesight to mine, as its scale was around one to a thousand.


    The trees of the forest were barely visible to most awakened, and to mundane humans, the map would just look like a huge blur.


    Since I had memorized the directions on creating the map while making it for the first time, I could de-manifest and create it at any moment I wanted to.


    Lying down on the floor, I peered through the dense branches above me and saw the half-crescent moon shining right down on me.


    I had done it.


    Even though I had spent over half the day simply looking at the sky with my eyes closed to prevent myself from losing information, the sky was more beautiful than ever right now.


    Freedom.


    I had the freedom to actually open my eyes and look at the world around me.


    "...I''m getting out of this damn loop no matter what."


    If I went through all that pain and suffering just to be stuck in this loop forever, I would jump off that cliff myself.


    De-manifesting the map, I basked in the breeze of the night sky before feeling my cat jump off my shoulder and onto my head.


    Standing on my face and blocking my mouth, my cat threw its paw at my hair, seemingly patting me on the head.


    "y-yeah, yeah, I know I''m the greatest to ever do it."


    Closing my eyes, I felt my consciousness slowly drift further and further away until I finally fell asleep.


    Waking up the next day to the sun''s rays shining down on my body, I couldn''t even get up as the toll of yesterday''s work was finally catching up to me.


    Dragging my body over to the shade of a nearby tree, I simply leaned against a log and surveyed my surroundings.


    The hard part was done.


    Everything that happened now was out of my hands.


    I had done everything I could to give myself the greatest chance of identifying the end conditions of this loop.


    Now, all that was left... was getting lucky.


    And I had been pretty unlucky recently, especially with this sudden transfer to this loop.


    Resting in the shade of the tree for a couple more minutes, I finally gathered the energy to get up and eat breakfast.


    As the calories and nutrients from the egg slowly replenished my body, I manifested the map and started to plan what areas I would go through the day.


    Feeding a bit of the egg yolk to the cat, who trying to go back to sleep already, I slowly walked towards my first area of exploration.


    Stopping at the border of the entrance for the first area, I combined my corruption with the blood-red substance to create a black and red wing.


    Making a small bag perfectly fitted for my cat, I put it around my shoulder and placed my now-sleeping cat inside.


    Levitating above the forest, I stood for a moment, appreciating how I could actually see, before sighing.


    It was up to luck now... sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Was that a good or bad thing?


    Only time will tell...


    Next, I manifested the map of the forest and made it float right below my legs, using it as some type of hoverboard.


    Activating the usage period of the dash, I flapped my wings before dashing, looking down at the forest and my map the entire time.


    Limiting myself to the first area, I scanned the entire perimeter by flying by, slowly encircling the area until I reached the middle.


    First Area.


    Nothing.


    "...not a good sign."


    My stats say that my luck is either G- or S+, so I don''t find it immediately; my luck likely isn''t S+.


    Then, that leaves one option left for my luck stat.


    G-.


    But who knows?


    Luck works in mysterious ways!


    At least, that was why I was trying to tell myself not to lose motivation.


    Letting out a sigh, which was at least my hundredth in this loop alone, I moved on to the next area, using the same exact method.


    Starting from the edges and working my way through the area of the forest until I reach the exact center.


    Finishing the second area without any sign of abnormalities, I decided to take a short break by checking up on the main cast.


    If my luck was G-, then my best chance at finding the abnormality was with the main cast, who had higher-than-average luck stats.


    Marking the two areas off my map, I de-manifested my wings, descended to the ground, and moved toward the area where the carriage was located.


    Walking past the waterfall area on my way there, I peered downwards and saw the same children gathering the same water at the same exact location.


    All of a sudden, all my complaints disappeared.


    At least I didn''t have it as bad as them.


    Over ten years of just... gathering water non-stop.


    And the worst part?


    They didn''t even know... they wholeheartedly believed they were living a normal life.


    What were the challenges I had to go through compared to that?


    Nothing.


    Manifesting a black hat, I tipped it downwards to cover my face... as I didn''t know what expression I was wearing.


    MVLeMpYr.com-exclusive-content


    And I certainly didn''t want other people to see whatever expression was currently on my face.


    Reeling in my emotions, I arrived at the carriage area and saw both Kevin and Liam scanning the area around the carriage.


    Slipping into the shadows and using my stealth skill, I watched as they carefully touched every tree, branch, and even bush in the forest.


    Lily must have come up with the same strategy as me.


    Manifesting a crow, I sent the raven to spy on the two in case they discovered something abnormal.


    It was very possible that they could discover something but not know it.

 Chapter 139: Chapter 139:Conditions [1]

    Watching Kevin and Liam search their assigned area with amazing teamwork and efficiency, I sighed before turning around.


    Since Liam was the protagonist, it was likely that he would find the end condition due to his higher luck stat, so I ordered the crow to keep watch over him before departing.


    It was six people versus one...while I had the better strategy, they had more coordination and efficiency.


    I couldn''t search the same amount of area their group of six did, but they couldn''t easily recognize the end condition as I could.


    My crows couldn''t even come close to keeping up with the speed of a mundane human, especially not six D-rank humans.


    Effort didn''t matter in this scenario.


    No matter how much effort I put in, considering my luck stat was most like an abysmal G- and my lack of manpower, the odds of me finding it were zero.


    But then, why was I still searching? Why I hadn''t joined up with the main cast, the group was more statistically and logically inclined to find the end condition.


    Why was I being so stubborn about staying alone?


    These people weren''t my enemies.


    I had said it myself; the author determined these people to be heroes.


    They had the same goals as me; they just used different methods.


    But, then, who was my enemy?


    Who were my teammates, my friends, and my acquaintances?


    Entering the next area, I manifested my wings and flew above the trees with my map at my feet.


    I knew the answers to these questions, but I chose to ignore them.


    The likelihood of us finding the end condition would increase if I joined them, right now, yet despite knowing that, I decided to stall for time.


    I knew that finding the end condition alone in three days was close to impossible.


    Activating the usage period of the dash, I flapped my wing before using a dash, reappearing twenty meters ahead in the air.


    "Not there."


    Circling around the perimeter of the area, I looked like a drone, staring downwards at the ground while floating.


    There were reasons I didn''t want to group up.


    Obviously, I would have to display my abilities, but another reason was a lack of familiarity and an excess of animosity between us.


    It was like transferring to a new school and asking yourself to join a completely new friend group.


    I coudln''t just forcefully include myself in the group; they had to actually accept me, and considering my attitude...I would have to show something amazing to join.


    Sighing, mid-dash, I knew that it was no longer a choice.


    Three days was the maximum I had given myself.


    Stopping mid-thought, I halted in the air and looked downwards at the specific tree, noticing that its structure was different as it was missing a couple of leaves.


    It was possible that today''s breeze might have caused some leaves to fly away... but it was possible that this tree was something else.


    Slowly descending downwards, I landed atop the tree, alternating gazing at the map and the tree below me to confirm it.


    "i-it is different."


    Jumping from the top of the tree and onto the ground, I stared at the tree''s trunk before manifesting a corrupted dagger.


    Raising the night-black dagger, I slashed the tree, slightly leaving a mark on its otherwise unblemished brown trunk.


    Then, I simply left.


    Flapping my wings, I once again appeared ten meters above the forest, took out my map, and continued searching the area.


    Finding nothing else different, I then moved on to the next area.


    Then, the next.


    Then, the next.


    As the night descended, plunging the whole world into darkness, my figure became invisible in the sky as my insane speed, combined with my stealth stat, allowed my figure to disappear.


    Seeing the half-crescent moon in the sky above me, I descended to the ground and dismissed my wing.


    As soon as my two feet touched the cold, hard ground, my entire body collapsed out of exhaustion. exclusive-content-MvLeMpYr


    "one... abnormality in twelve hours. Well... it''s better than zero."


    While, unlike yesterday, my work wasn''t mentally taxing, my physical body was still suffering from the sheer amount of corruption and energy I was using.


    You can''t go from using some corruption daily to using a lake of corruption in a single-day...yet I had.


    And I had no one to blame but myself.


    During my search, I spotted countless main cast members in the vicinity and completely ignored them, continuing my solo search.


    How much time had been wasted since my crows or I had searched the same areas? S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    That was something I didn''t want to think about.


    Stubbornness was a flaw that, instead of discarding, I embraced and used.


    "i-it''s not like it matters; I''m joining them tomorrow.... unless."


    There was a faint hope shining in my heart that just a single dagger mark would remain on a tree in a forest.


    Barely keeping my eyes open, I stared upwards at the countless stars shining in the night sky.


    Unfortunately, there were no shooting stars this time.


    Closing my eyes, I swapped eyesight with my first crow one last time, seeing the waterfall village, before allowing myself to sleep.


    As the sun rose, shining its rays right in my face and forcing me to wake up, I reluctantly stood up from the ground.


    Today was going to be a hard day.


    Either I would find the end condition and have to solve whatever puzzle or fight whatever monster myself... or I would become a part of what I used to hate the most.


    And I do mean "used to."


    What did I hate the most now?


    Gazing at the floor below me as I made my way to the marked tree, I cleared my face while manifesting my pair of corrupted daggers.


    Tilting my head upward as I approached the trees, I picked an apple before handing it to my cat, who had just woken up.


    *MEOW*


    "yeah, yeah, I know this is second time, this week."

 Chapter 140: Chapter 140:Conditions [2]

    powered-by-MVLeMpYr


    Nearing the tree, I had left a dagger mark on, I noticed some other abnormalities as I glanced between my map, which was floating above my hands, and the area around me.


    The leaves on the forest floor were crumpled and spread out while yesterday, they had been placed perfectly under a tree.


    There were slight indications of activity as some areas of the ground were slightly more elevated than others.


    Manifesting a crow, I sent it flying up ahead of me and towards the tree to scout the area for any other abnormalities.


    I had already discovered there were no animals in the forest...so was it one of the main cast?


    Had the abnormality with the tree yesterday also been caused by the main cast...?


    As my hope slowly faded away, I continued on my way to the tree from yesterday, occasionally switching bodies with my crow for a slight second.


    I had actually gotten quite used to the feeling.


    For the split second I entered the crow''s body, my body would become lifeless and start falling to the floor, but after a while, I had gotten so fast at it that I could return and catch my body before it hit the floor.


    The same kind of thing also happened with my one dragon wing as when I first started using it, I was always imbalanced, but after while, I adjusted and adapted to the point where I didn''t even feel off balance.


    It wasn''t practice that made me able to adjust so perfectly.


    Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.


    Through my dozens of battles with opponents such as the corrupted figure, I had gotten the perfect practice and experience, so I was able to adapt easily.


    Simply training against AI dummies, practicing alone in a room, or sparring with others would not yield the results I had achieved.


    A true experience where you and thousands of others'' lives were on the line was the perfect practice in this case.


    Catching myself before I hit the floor as I returned to my body, I discovered that in other areas, the forest was completely fine.


    It was only this subsection that coincidentally contained the abnormal tree that I had marked in it.


    Was this a sign of good fortune?


    I sure as hell wasn''t getting my hopes up, but it was something, at least...


    *CRACKLE*


    Hearing the sound of leaves being crushed in front of me, I immediately activated the grace period of dash before slowing my pace to a stop, hiding myself in the shade of the nearby trees.


    Attempting to see the source, I peered through the dense trees; however, when I saw the seven familiar figures in front of me, I almost sighed out loud.


    Lily, Alya, Zach, Kevin, Liam, Irene, and Ruby were all searching the area right next to my marked tree, now only a couple of seconds away from discovering it.


    My G- luck stat was not only not helping me find the end condition... but it was also hurting me. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Well, if they found the tree I had marked, they would probably assume it was me as they knew I was also in this forest with them.


    The only problem was how messed up they had in the area.


    Now, I couldn''t tell what was abnormal and what wasn''t... as they had completely changed the area around the tree.


    Leaves were spread all around the floor, flowers were stepped on, and rocks were being moved around.


    What if one of the leaves were in the end condition...?


    I guess we''ll never know... until tomorrow when the forest resets again.


    Keeping a faint bit of hope, I looked at the tree, which hadn''t yet been messed up by the main cast, Ruby, and Irene''s tampering.


    Scaling the tree next to me, I used a dash, instantly appearing on the branch of another tree ten meters away.


    Not making a single sound or any signs, I pounced from branch to branch until, finally, I was only a couple of trees away from the marked one.


    Right below me stood Ruby and Lily, who were seconds away from discovering my marked tree.


    I had two options here.


    Either risk having the area messed up and go for the tree to quickly check it before the main cast arrives... or just expose myself.


    If I didn''t do something now... I would have to wait until tomorrow to check on the tree, wasting a lot of time in the process.


    And those children would have to gather water during that wasted time, caused purely by my stubbornness.


    "...86,400 seconds or one day divided by 30 seconds."


    2880 times.


    That was the amount of times they would have to gather water if I waited until tomorrow to do something.


    Still tired from the creation of the map, I didn''t bother to manifest a hat or sunglasses as I descended the tree.


    Placing my right foot on the tree''s trunk, I slid down the tree like I was on a skateboard, arriving right in front of Ruby and Lily.


    As the two had their backs faced the other way, they didn''t notice me at first, so I patiently waited.


    As the two slowly turned to face me, I didn''t give them any time to react as I waved my right hand with a smile and said.


    "Fancy seeing you two here!"


    Looking at me with the same confused expression, Lily was the first to break the silence as she muttered.


    "y-yeah, it is. how exactly di- Oh... never mind."


    ...she didn''t forget I was here with them too, right?


    Giving Lily a nod, I turned to Ruby, who had a more animated expression as she replied.


    "Finally came to your senses and realized it''s useless working alone?"


    Shaking my head, I said nothing as I walked between them and towards the tree.


    "Just gonna slip by you guys here!"


    Not waiting for their reaction, I slowly walked towards the tree, ensuring that I wasn''t making any chances.


    A dagger mark.


    It was there.


    A deep dagger cut was imprinted in the trunk of the tree.

 Chapter 141: Chapter 141:Conditions [3]

    Seeing the dagger mark on the tree ahead of me, I immediately halted and stared, allowing both Ruby and Lily to catch up to me.


    After looking at me with the same confused expressions, the two of them slowly followed my gaze, spotting the marked tree in the distance.


    Staring at the tree with her mouth wide open, Lily managed to mutter out.


    "P-please t-tell me you didn''t just do that."


    Regaining my composure, the spark of hope inside me ignited into a fire as I replied. thanks-for-reading-on-MVLeMpYr


    "Yesterday, I did it yesterday."


    A loop''s end condition is only identifiable by one factor: the loop does not affect how it acts, in this case, how it looks.


    The tree in front of me was not affected by the loop, as despite everything around it being reset, it remained the exact same as yesterday.


    But then the question is sparked.


    Shouldn''t I have already triggered the end condition and ended the loop then?


    If I had marked the tree yesterday, and it was indeed the end condition, the loop should have ended right then, and all of us should have escaped the forest.


    Leaving the two shell-shocked figures behind me, I walked up to the tree, tracing the imprint of my dagger on its trunk with my hands.


    The depth, size, and shape of the imprint was an exact match to my dagger.l


    There was no denying it; this tree was the end condition.


    Trying my best to keep the fire of hope intact, I tried everything: punching the tree, kicking it, tapping it, flicking it, banging it, and last of all, just staring at it.


    Yet, nothing happened.


    Leaning against the tree trunk, I momentarily swapped bodies with my crow, making it fly forward, but just like me, the crow ended up back at the flipped carriage no matter how long and far it flew.


    The loop was still intact.


    Returning to my body, I saw Ruby and Lily walking over to the tree with concerned and confused expressions.


    Oh yeah, I must have looked like a psychopath kicking and punching a tree like a child...


    Commanding the crow to continue flying forward, hoping something would change, I turned to the two girls approaching me. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Staring at the tree behind me, Ruby asked.


    "So... is this the end condition you were talking about, Lily?"


    Moving out of Lily''s sight, I crouched down and manifested my corrupted daggers.


    "If what Ren said is true... then this has to be the end condition."


    Allowing Lily to examine the tree, I started digging at the ground with my daggers, trying to get a view of the tree''s roots.


    Maybe the entire tree was the end condition, but we had to touch a certain part of it to trigger the end condition?


    Placing her hand on the tree, Lily shouted to the other main cast members, who hadn''t yet noticed me.


    "Liam, Kevin, Zach, I think I may have found something. Can you go check if the loop is terminated, and we can leave?"


    Immediately turning around and stopping his search, Kevin excitedly replied.


    "Really?"


    Zach shared the same sentiment as he happily looked over to Lily.


    On the other hand, Liam was scratching his head as he replied to Lily.


    "If this loop really is over and we can leave, how are we supposed to tell you? We''ll be out of the loop..."


    Holding my laughter in, I hid my expression by continuing to dig at the ground below the tree.


    "ah... yeah."


    Seeing Lily''s confusion, Alya emerged from the shade of a nearby tree and replied.


    "How about this; if you three aren''t back within two hours, we''ll assume the loop has ended and leave with you."


    Liam, Kevin, and Zach slowly nodded their heads before waving and departing, not even noticing my crouching figure a few meters away.


    At this point, it wasn''t my stealth stat; they just weren''t paying attention...


    Well, I could tell them that the loop was still alive... or not.


    Weighing my options, I allowed them to leave as more people would just cause more trouble.


    We had already confirmed that this tree was the end condition, so we didn''t need three extra people all searching this small tree.


    It was also possible that my crow, for whatever reason, was just stuck in the loop while humans could leave.


    Seeing the dark brown roots in the ground, I reached my hand, ignoring the dirt, and tightly gripped them.


    Switching bodies with my crow, I once again attempted to see if the loop had terminated, but my crow ended up in the flipped carriage.


    As Liam, Kevin, and Zach''s figures disappeared, Irene emerged from the trees and stood aside from Alya, watching us with a curious gaze.


    Noticing me, Irene was about to ask a question when Alya subsequently silenced her, prompting me to continue searching.


    Moving on from the root of the tree, I ignored Lily, who still had her hand on the trunk, and scaled the tree, sitting on the lowest branch.


    As I began examining each individual leaf and branch, a testament to my desperation, Ruby, Alya, and Irene followed our lead, examining the lower half of the tree.


    " *ahem* What exactly are we doing to this tree...?"


    Responding to Irene''s question while continuing the search, Ruby replied.


    "Apparently, it''s the end condition from our talks earlier."


    Nodding her head in confusion, Irene responded.


    "...Shouldn''t the loop have already ended, then?"


    "That''s why the others aren''t here."


    "So, then, why are we still searching?"


    As Ruby turned to Lily for an answer to Irene''s fair question, Lily pointed at me.


    "He seems to know something that we don''t, and he''s still searching the tree."


    As the four girls shifted their gazes to me with confused expressions, I climbed up onto another branch before sighing.


    Indeed, my behavior had been too suspicious for Lily to not have noticed something at this point.


    Why would Ren leave the main cast instead of clinging to them for help?


    Why had I marked a tree?


    Where had I been for the last three days?

 Chapter 142: Chapter 142:Conditions [4]

    Staying silent for a moment, I continued checking the remaining leaves on the branch I was on before turning around.


    Looking downwards at the four girls, I contemplated my options.


    Considering that this a new situation, as I had no idea what to do with this damn tree, their perspective and insight would be useful. MVLeMpYr.com-chapter


    Lily was already suspicious of me due to my behavior thus far, so would it even hurt me if I made her more suspicious? S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    On the other hand, I could simply take the easy way out and spout some nonsense, as they would soon realize what I had when Liam, Kevin, and Zach returned.


    But then, unlike me with my crow, they would have to wait an hour every time they tested something.


    They would need to send the three boys out to confirm whether the loop ended and then wait for their response.


    The only reason I had allowed the three boys in the first place was because I wanted to confirm my suspicions about the tree in a less crowded environment.


    But now my suspicions were confirmed, as I learned that despite this tree being the end condition, it had not yet terminated the loop.


    ...I had run out of excuses.


    If I don''t tell the main cast about the scenario now... every second from now on will be considered wasted in my head.


    I wasn''t all-knowing or the smartest person in the world; Lily or others could have opinions or insights that could unearth the problem behind this tree and its end condition.


    However, what was stopping them was that they didn''t have the same amount of resources as me.


    Thirty seconds had passed since Lily had spoken her words about me... that was one more time that those children had been tormented by this loop and forced to collect buckets of water.


    Reaching the top of the tree and where the last few branches and leaves stood, I examined them before swapping bodies with my crow.


    The same result; my crow ended back up at the carriage.


    The same flipped carriage is placed in the same area, next to the same waterfall, and beside the same village.


    Nothing had changed.


    Turning my head upwards to the sky, I broke the silence by simply shrugging my shoulders and replying.


    "Thirty minutes from now, your other group will come back to you guys with the story that the loop is still alive. Then you''ll test something; then the exact same scenario will occur... over and over again."


    Still looking at the tree in front of me, I didn''t bother to see their reactions but simply halted my search and allowed my crow to return to me.


    Insanity.


    Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.


    Searching this tree anymore was insanity.


    Perhaps I was wrong when I said finding the end conditions was the hardest part of ending this loop...


    At least then, all I had to do was search the forest for some physical object and make a map.


    I could make a concrete plan and follow it, and no matter how unlucky I was or how much it took, I would eventually uncover the end condition.


    While it was exhausting and difficult, it would only take a couple of weeks to search the entire forest,


    However, triggering the end condition was more... abstract.


    There were no guidelines, boundaries,... or any sort of logic that created the trigger.


    It could be anything.


    From touching a specific part of a tree''s root to flying around the tree hundreds of times and then doing a backflip...it could quite literally be anything.


    Unlike how the end condition had to be contained inside this forest, the trigger had no limits or confines.


    How many things were there in this world again...?


    Ah... this could take years, couldn''t it?


    In the book, all they had to do was touch the end condition, and like magic, the loop just ended...


    After a moment, my pessimistic thoughts were finally interrupted as I heard Lily''s voice respond from below me.


    "Are you suggesting that this tree isn''t the end condition?"


    Holding in my natural response of "What is an end condition?" to avoid suspicion from Lily, I shook my head as I continued staring at the sky, which was slowly plunging into darkness as the sun began its descent.


    "No, this tree is most definitely the end condition... after all, it is the only thing that remained the same in this forest."


    Not expecting any response, I allowed the crow to land on my shoulders before turning my gaze to the forest below me.


    Like me, Lily''s knowledge was based on the book, so my words were a direct contradiction.


    I was saying that despite all of us touching the tree, the end condition, the loop wouldn''t end... directly negating the book.


    As Lily''s mind raced in circles trying to understand my words, Ruby asked.


    "So then... how do we terminate this loop?"


    Jumping off the tree and landing right next to Ruby, I replied.


    "Now, that is a question I can''t answer."


    Even though I inwardly knew it was stupid and useless, I started searching the tree again... starting from the same roots and slowly making my way back up the top of the tree.


    Every second I spent not doing something or at least trying to terminate this loop was wasted.


    I had already died once... every second that I lived now was precious and not to be wasted.


    You might say that I had already wasted plenty of time relaxing and training, but I don''t consider those moments wasteful.


    And that''s all that matters to me.


    Stopping her search of the tree, Lily simply gazed at me, presumably trying to see if I was lying or not, before turning to the other three girls.


    "If what he says is true...then we might be stuck here for months... or even years... or forever."

 Chapter 143: Chapter 143: Conditions [4]

    As audible gasps could be heard from Ruby, Irene, and Alya, I continued my search, checking the trunk of the tree.


    Taking my dagger out, I began carving at the tree, trying to trigger something, before shrugging my shoulders and asking.


    "Any ideas?"


    Turning around, I saw Lily seemingly come up with something, so I moved out of the way and watched her.


    Seeing Lily manifest a gigantic bubble of water, all of us held our breath, watching with interest as the bubble kept expanding and expanding until it encircled the entire tree.


    As we were all awakened, we could all hold our breaths for at least five minutes, so the four of us all allowed the bubble to consume us as well.


    Looking around the rapidly expanding bubble, I was surprised that my clothes weren''t drenched, but besides that, everything else was the same. MVLeMpYr-unofficial-text


    After all... I could see underwater with my eyes.


    For the others, the water probably distorted their surroundings, and they were most likely feeling dizzy.


    Finally, as the water bubbles finished expanding, consuming the marked tree and us, Lily put down her wand.


    *BOOM*


    Instantly, the water bubble exploded, causing a downpour of rain and soaking all of our clothes.


    Ignoring my drenched shirt and pants, I immediately looked at the tree, which was also drenched.


    The leaves were all soaked in water, the brown trunk had slightly darker parts, and water was still dripping through the branches of the tree onto us.


    Sitting down on the ground, which was also covered in water, I switched bodies with my crow.


    My crow, which had been sitting on top of the tree, was also drenched, so after shaking the water off its feathers, I began flying. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Soaring above the forest, I spotted the flipped carriage before immediately flying straight forward at my fastest possible speed.


    As I flew above the forest, the remaining water droplets dripped down from the crow''s feathers and onto the forest below, making it seem like it was actually raining.


    After a minute, I looked downwards and halted my flying, flapping my wings with just enough force that I was able to float in the air.


    ...and guess what was right below me?


    A flipped carriage... with four boys surrounding it with confused and surprised expressions.


    Returning to my body, I prepared myself for the hard and cold feeling of the ground on my head, but instead, I was unexpectedly met with a warm feeling...


    Instead of immediately opening my eyes like I usually did when I returned to my body, I stayed still and basked in the warm sensation, allowing myself to relax.


    Then... a moment later, I returned to my senses as the burden on my back reappeared.


    Ten seconds had been wasted... one-third of a loop for those children back in the village.


    Forcing myself to finally open my eyes, I was immediately met with the scene of Ruby''s face less than a meter away from mine, our eyes meeting almost immediately.


    Her eyes were sparkling a bright red, resembling a high-quality ruby gemstone, and her expression was contorted with concern as she stared at my face.


    Her cheeks were flushed a bright red, and her elegant black hair was straight from being drenched with water.


    Water dripped from her hair and face onto mine, connecting us despite the small distance between us.


    Lost in the depths of her ruby-colored eyes, my mind went blank as I simply stared at her, not muttering a single word.


    Contrary to her normal and composed appearance, her hair was messy and all over her face, covering parts of her eyes and nose.


    Her eyelashes fluttered as she stared at my face, not yet realizing I was awake, and her hands trembled as she held my head, saving it from the cold, wet ground.


    Above her, the orange sky, illuminated by the setting sun, combined with the water droplets from Lily''s bubble to create a rainbow, forming above Ruby''s head.


    ...this timing couldn''t be any better, could it?


    Wait, what was under my head, then...?


    Turning my head slightly, prompting Ruby to turn her head and notice I was awake, I was immediately met with her drenched blue pants.


    Basking in the scenery in front of me alongside the warm feeling under my head, I closed my eyes once again.


    I had time manipulation as an ability, didn''t I?


    This didn''t have to be one of those fleeting moments that I looked back on in a couple of days, did it?


    If it was me... I could make this moment last forever.


    No...I couldn''t.


    Unlike me... some people didn''t have the choice to decide what moments they lived and didn''t.


    There was also a world out there that would need my help, whether they wanted it or not.


    Lifting my head off Ruby''s lap, I met Ruby''s eyes, and before she could say anything, I scratched my and asked.


    "So, what''d I miss?"


    Releasing her hands from my black hair, which was also drenched and all over my face from the rain, Ruby stared at me, simply muttering.


    "...you just collapsed onto the ground...we''re the ones who missed something."


    "That? Oh, that happens sometimes; don''t worry about it.


    Turning to Lily, who had shifted her gaze from the drenched tree to me, I shook my head and continued.


    "Didn''t work."


    "And you''re sure it didn''t?"


    "You can wait another hour and see, so what reason would I have to lie?"


    Alya, who had seen the whole thing coming, made an icicle shield to stop the water from hitting her, asked.


    "...why exactly did you choose to pop a bubble on it?"


    Glancing at me for a second, Lily sighed before pointing to her eyes and replying.


    "The tree seemed to have some sort of magic connected to it...so I tried to replicate the tree''s magic spell, but instead input the magic into a water form instead of a tree."


    While I considered whether I should act surprised or not at the fact that Lily revealed her ability to see and replicate magic spells with her eyes, Ruby got back up and asked.


    "If no else wants to try, I think I have an idea."

 Chapter 144: Chapter 144:Conditions [5]

    As Ruby stood up from the ground, the blush disappeared from her face, and she subsequently brushed her hair off her face.


    Not even glancing at me, Ruby waited for the nods of approval of the other three girls before pulling out her magic wand.


    "Well, go ahead then!"


    Seeing the four girls completely ignore my sarcastic response, I sighed before dusting the dirt off my pants and stepping back.


    Keeping my crow elevated in the air above the forest, I watched with interest as the tip of Ruby''s wand turned a dark red, and bouts of fire began to crackle on the ground below here.


    Interestingly enough, despite the ground not being completely dry from the water''s earlier downfall, Ruby''s fire seemed to ignore the wet ground, as it only grew despite the water being right below it.


    Instead of creating an elemental reaction between fire and water, the fire seemed to coexist with the water as the two substances basically ignored each other.


    Returning my gaze to Ruby, I saw the tip of her wand combust as a small flame formed on it before Ruby pointed the wand at the tree.


    The fire on Ruby''s wand seemed to expand and expand until a small flame, in terms of width, not length, stretched all the way from Ruby''s wand to the tree trunk.


    Then, Ruby stepped back before thrusting her wand forward, immediately causing the large fire to explode outward.


    Barely managing to keep my eyes open despite the flash bang I had just witnessed, I saw the flame expand to form the figure of a phoenix.


    The phoenix made of fire seemed to come to life as its wing flapped, propelling it right at the tree.


    With a size comparable to Lily''s bubble, the tip of the flame that created the phoenix was barely a centimeter away from me before it moved toward the tree.


    Of course, the phoenix made of Ruby''s fire did move particularly fast as there were still some lingering water particles in the air, but that just added to the mystical-like scene.


    Despite not having to slow down, I saw a phoenix made of pure fire move in slow motion toward a tree drenched in water.


    "Hollywood could never do something like this..."


    Feeling my body begin to sweat as a result of the fire, I stepped back and watched as the phoenix consumed the tree, completely removing it from my sight.


    Then the phoenix disappeared, and the fire that made it up spread to the tree, causing the trunk to burst into flames.


    Not just the tree, though... the fire phoenix was so big that several other trees in the vicinity, as well as even the bushes on the ground, caught on fire.


    Under the orange sky, the bright fire complimented it perfectly, spreading further up the tree trunk and up to its branches.


    ...isn''t this going to cause a wildfire?


    Eh, the loop will just reset tomorrow, right?


    But... what if this method of Ruby''s actually terminates the loop... and this wild fire just starts burning down trees for real?


    ...I''m just gonna escape this loop and then think about the repercussions later.


    Then, surprising even me, Ruby stepped forward and threw her wand out of her hand and right at the tree.


    Looking at the wand resting at the base of the burning tree, Irene walked up beside Ruby and asked.


    "What are y-"


    *BOOM*


    powered-by-MvLeMpYr


    But, before Irene could finish her sentence, all the flames stopped spreading... and instead began to restrain itself.


    The trees in the vicinity that were previously on fire were now fine as the fire seemed to retreat.


    After a few seconds, the vicinity that was previously all on fire was now fine except for a single tree that kept burning.


    All the fire had accumulated into one big inferno, forming on the base of the marked tree.


    The fire engulfed the entire tree and, like a skyscraper, seemed to go above the clouds, creating a beacon of light in the orange sky.


    The next moment, the skyscrapers of flames began to descend as Ruby''s wand absorbed the fire, making the inferno shorter and shorter... until it was gone.


    The fire had left faster than it had come.


    One second, our entire vicinity was on fire; the next, it was all gone except for one tree; and finally, it was all gone.


    To say it was amazing would be an understatement.


    Even Irene, a fire magic prodigy, could not believe what she had just seen.


    The ability to control and form fire so perfectly to create a phoenix, and the way she was able to control it, suppressing all the fire with a single wand throw.


    Turning to Ruby, who was walking over to pick up her wand with a smug expression, I smiled and asked.


    "So... did that have a purpose, or were you just trying to show off?"


    Picking up her wand from the base of the tree, Ruby replied.


    "Well, it could have worked, couldn''t it have?"


    Smiling even wider, I redirected my attention to the tree... and it had been through a lot.


    First, it was fine.


    Second, it was slashed with a dagger.


    Third, it was bombarded with water and drenched.


    And finally, fourth, it was attacked by a phoenix made of fire and assaulted by an inferno of flames taller than a skyscraper.


    But, despite all that, the tree remained unfazed besides a couple of burn marks on its previous unblemished brown trunk.


    Despite all the trouble it was giving me... I had to admire its resilience.


    While everyone was focused on the masterpiece Ruby had just performed and how it affected the tree, I took a moment to swap bodies with my crow.


    Flying forward from the flipped carriage, I passed through the sky, which had now descended into darkness unnoticed.


    Looking downwards as I flew, I turned right back around when I noticed the same flipped carriage below me after a couple of seconds.


    Returning to my body, I immediately heard Ruby explaining her logic to Alya, Lily, and Irene. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Pointing at the tree, Ruby began.


    "You might not be able to see it... but that tree has a desire. That desire is to be destroyed, so I manifested the phoenix in an attempt to destroy it."

 Chapter 145: Chapter 145:Conditions [6]

    As the entire clearing descended into silence, I stood there paralyzed while staring at the tree.


    The tree is... suicidal?


    What the hell does that even mean!?


    Ruby stared at us with a confused expression as if saying, "Why are you guys so surprised...isn''t this normal?"


    Finally breaking the silence, Lily ignored Irene, Alya, and I''s shellshocked figures before pointing at the marked tree and asking.


    "...you''re saying that the tree wants to be destroyed?"


    As Ruby nodded her head at Lily''s question, I was at a loss for words as I couldn''t even fathom the fact that trees could have desires.


    Closing the distance between me and the four girls, I was about to start questioning Ruby when Irene asked.


    "...do all trees have desires, then?"


    ...really?


    So we''re not even interested in escaping the loop anymore; we''ve all just become botanists!


    Wow, thank god, we''re trapped in a forest with thousands of trees all around us! We can study them all and have loads of fun staring at them all day!


    After thinking it over for a second, Ruby replied.


    "Well... trees are technically living things, so yeah, all of them have desires. But that doesn''t mean I can see all of them. Like, I can only see the desire of this tree, not all of the other ones."


    Slowly comprehending her last few words, I immediately forgot my last question and spat out before anyone else could interrupt me.


    "...couldn''t you identify this tree as abnormal from the start then?"


    Had all my hard labor and exhausting days been useless...?


    Couldn''t she have just found the tree easily by just looking at every tree and then finding whatever one had a desire?


    Looking at my depressed figure, Ruby pointed at her eyes and said.


    "I can only see desires if I focus my eyes, so I can only do that for ten minutes at a time. Anyway, I only saw this tree for the first time an hour ago, so I wouldn''t have found it earlier than you."


    After a moment, I straightened up my posture and looked back at the tree while Alya began speaking.


    "Anyway...you said the tree wants to be destroyed, right?"


    As Ruby nodded her head once again, Alya replied.


    "Isn''t the trigger... just destroying the tree, then? I mean, if the end condition wants to be destroyed, shouldn''t we destroy it?"


    While I contemplated her words, Ruby pointed back at the tree and replied.


    "Like I said, that''s what I thought when I cast that fire phoenix... but it survived my fire phoenix, so I''m not sure destroying it is going to be easy."


    Stepping forward, Irene took her wand out of her pocket and said.


    "Let me give it a try."


    Without even waiting for any response from us, Irene walked towards the tree with her wand glowing a fiery red.


    Shaking my head, I stared at Irene''s departing figure and said.


    "Are we really going to be dumbasses and go one by one when we could all just go... at the same time?"


    "..."


    What is this a horror movie?


    Are we all going to look for the monsters one by one just to get picked off until we all die at the end?


    Slowly nodding her head, Alya also took out her sword and pointed it at the tree.


    "Irene, I think attacking at the same time would be a more time-efficient strategy."


    Abruptly stopping, Irene turned around and said.


    "You think I don''t know that?"


    Running at Irene, Ruby broke into laughter and asked.


    "So you just wanted to show off, then?"


    "So, when you do i-"


    Interrupting the two''s bickering, Lily also took out her wand and walked towards Ruby and Irene.


    Manifesting an elegant-black bow made of corruption, I strung it around my shoulders before walking in front of the three girls.


    Shortly after, Alya also stepped beside me with her sword, which was now covered in particles of ice, causing me to shiver.


    Behind me, three colors started shining as Irene''s wand shone a light red while Ruby''s was a dark red, and Lily''s was an ocean blue, resembling mana.


    Seeing the three girls behind us ready, Alya raised his ice-covered sword while I manifested an entire quiver of arrows.


    As the four ready girls stared at my unprepared figure, I slowly took three arrows out of my quiver and strung them all at the same time.


    One arrow was at the top, one at the middle, and one finally at the bottom, each having a pitch-black tip in contrast to the bright colors shining around me.


    As I pulled back the bowstring, nocking the three arrows, the area once again descended into silence.


    Wait... who''s gonna tell us when to attack?


    Taking the moment, I smiled before yelling.


    "ATTACK!"


    What a commander I was!


    Leaving the rest of the attacks in the dust, my arrows were the first to move, barrelling towards the tree at a pace invisible to unawakened.


    In the next millisecond, the rest of the spells departed in synchrony, lighting up the night sky as the contrasting dark red and light red of Ruby and Irene fought against the dark blue of Lily and ice blue of Alya. story-source-MvLeMpYr


    It was like a meteor shower...


    Since my arrows didn''t have to be controlled, unlike spells, I looked away from the tree and watched as the four girls controlled their spells to coexist alongside each other without reacting while simultaneously targeting the tree''s trunk.


    The four spells of varying colors created a beam that should have looked like purple... but none of the colors combined, each spell not daring to stray away to touch the other colors.


    Looking away from the beam for a second, I saw each girl holding their wands completely still while staring directly at their individual spells.


    Even if one of them were to mess up, the others would be able to readjust to their spells before the stray spell had time to react with the others. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Their ability to be so precise when using such a great amount of power was... scary.


    Could I defend against that beam of red and blue...?

 Chapter 146: Chapter 146:The Trigger [1]

    Finally, as the red and blue beams neared the tree, the four girls simultaneously moved their wands, Ruby and Irene moving to the right while Lily and Alya moved to the left. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Sychrnozing with their owner''s wand movements, the four spells all strayed from their paths, combining with the spells next to each other.


    First, the light blue and light red beams combined create a light purple color that could be mistaken for maroon.


    Next, the dark-blue and dark-red beams mixed together, forming a purple color, that was dangerously close to being black.


    The light-purple beam took the top, while the dark-purple beam flew right below it, making sure not to combine.


    Then, a millisecond before the beams hit the tree, they once again combined, but before the colors could even fully mix, the beam struck the tree.


    My arrows, which had hit the tree long ago, were also struck by the beam, causing them to push further into the tree trunks.


    Since my arrows were also created by corruption, they reacted slightly with the beam, causing a bit of black to mix into the purple.


    The next moment, the night-black sky seemed to transform into the day as all our surroundings were illuminated by a bright light, forcing all of us to close our eyes.


    Having predicted the burst of light, I was the first to reopen my eyes, revealing the night-black sky once again, tainted by a few white stars.


    Shifting my gaze downwards, I didn''t first notice anything about the tree... but as I stared at the ground, I saw a massive dent.


    From my location to the area of the tree, the entire grass and ground were removed, revealing the stone and dirt.


    Shellshocked at the power of our group attack, I dropped my bow onto the ground... but then I suddenly sank even further into the ground.


    The stone below me had been partially broken by our group attack as well, so just the drop of my corrupted bow had broken it!


    Activating dash, I immediately appeared ten meters upwards and to the right, looking downwards at the four girls who had just opened their eyes.


    Following their gazes, I finally looked at the tree... if it could even be called a tree anymore.


    All that was left was a small stump that barely stuck out of the ground.


    The rest of the tree had either been completely destroyed by the beam or been disintegrated by the impact.


    Most of the trunk, the branches, and the leaves... were just gone without a trace, like they had never existed in the first place


    ...if our group attack couldn''t even destroy the whole tree, there was no way I could even come close to destroying it alone.


    As the four girls silently climbed out of the dent in the ground made by our beam, I headed towards the remaining tree stump.


    Avoiding the countless fallen trees on the ground that had fallen from just witnessing the beam and my arrows, I finally arrived at the tree stump.


    The top of it was burned and fully black, but that didn''t matter to me.


    My three corrupted arrows were still there and alive!


    Each of them was now facing downwards, stabbed fully in the tree stump, only their bottoms visible.


    As the four girls caught up to me, I dismissed the tree arrows and sat down on the tree stump.


    Holding my breath, I swapped bodies with my crow, allowing my human body to lie down on the burned tree stump.


    Looking downwards from the sky with my crow, I could easily spot myself and the four girls as there was a huge clearing without any trees and a gigantic dent in the ground.


    After staring at my slumped body for a moment, I began flying forward from the flipped carriage.


    Each time I flapped the crow''s wings and moved forward, my hope and expectations only grew.


    Would this be it?


    Could I finally escape this damned loop?


    But the fire of my hope was soon extinguished as the familiar scene of a flipped carriage accompanied by three exhausted boys appeared.


    All this time, Liam, Kevin, and Zach had been running forward to terminate the loop.


    Sighing, I didn''t immediately return to my body but stared at the carriage below, wondering what the next step was.


    The end condition was destroyed.


    Was it impossible to escape the loop now?


    How could we terminate the loop when there was no end condition anymore?


    I had been so caught up and hopeful that Ruby''s idea would work that I forgot to consider the consequences... if it didn''t work. your-chapter-source


    Were we stuck in this loop forever now?


    Would a new end condition spawn in... or was our fate to be stuck in this loop forever like those children gathering water?


    All hope was lost.


    Returning to my body, I grimaced, but the expression was soon taken over by one of pain as I hurled towards the ground.


    "OW!"


    Instead of the burned and hot tree stump under my back, there was now a rough and uneven surface.


    Getting up and rubbing my back, I immediately noticed that I was no longer in the same place, as there were no trees around me.


    Peering through the darkness, I spotted the four girls alongside the rough and ragged rock walls surrounding all of us.


    We were in a cave?


    Wasn''t I just lying on a tree stump...?


    What the hell did I miss?


    Looking upwards, I saw a small hole, and through the hole, I saw the night-black sky accompanied by a half-crescent moon.


    We were underground...


    Looking to my right, I also spotted the burned tree stump.


    ...A secret underground cave under a tree stump of an end condition of a loop?


    Not getting my hopes up yet, I carefully stood up before making my way to the four girls, who had all grouped up.


    Making no noise as I walked through the underground space, I swiftly arrived to the place.


    Walking up right next to Ruby, I interrupted their conversation about who knows what and asked.


    "So, what''d I miss?"

 Chapter 147: Chapter 147:The Trigger [2]

    In the pure darkness of the gigantic underground and the huge empty space, my voice reverberated through the entire cave, causing all the girls to jump back in shock.


    Seeing through the pure darkness with my enhanced eyesight, I was able to see Ruby fall back in shock.


    As she was about to hit the ground, I softly grabbed her shoulders and hoisted her upwards, preventing her from hitting the ground.


    *BAM*


    *BAM*


    *BAM*


    Helping Ruby stand up, I kept my hands on her shoulders until she was finally able to stand up again.


    Moving around her, I saw her eyebrow raise for a moment with a dead-serious expression on her face, and she had a hand on her wand, which was in her pocket.


    Not wanting her to completely destroy the cave with another phoenix spell, I quickly whispered.


    "It''s me, Ren."


    Almost immediately, her expression changed to a slight smile while her eyebrows returned to neutral, but in turn, a faint red, matching her eyes, could be seen on her cheeks.


    Did she not recognize my voice?


    Turning around in circles to face me... or where she thought my face was, she was actually looking straight at a wall, her eyes shined a dangerous blood-red.


    Glancing away from the Ruby for a moment, I immediately noticed the other three girls sprawled out around the cave.


    Lying on the cold, hard, and rough floor of the cave were Lily, Alya, and Irene, with expressions that did not look so positive.


    Should I tell them about the loop not ending now... or later?


    Ruby, who couldn''t see through the darkness, threw her hands around for a moment like a lost puppy before finally feeling the fabric of my clothes to the right of her.


    Seeing him swing her arms around in an attempt to slap my sweatshirt, I laughed and whispered into her ear.


    "Two times in a week, really?"


    Hearing my voice again, Ruby immediately found my new location in the darkroom before grabbing the top of my sweatshirt right below my chin.


    "Both those two times were your fault, you know?"


    Allowing her to continue holding onto my sweatshirt, I raised my hands like a caught criminal and said.


    "Oh, how will I ever repent for my sins!?"


    As Ruby pulled me upwards by my sweatshirt and hoisted me up in the air, I saw a smile appear on Ruby''s face in the darkness.


    "Maybe like this!"


    *BAM*


    The next second, I was sent flying downwards to the floor, just like the four girls a moment ago.


    Anticipating the reaction and punishment from Ruby, I raised my hand and slowed time, ready to catch myself with my corrupted tentacles before I hit the ground.


    However, as I gazed up at Ruby''s face, a couple of feet above me, I slowly de-manifested the corrupted tentacles and allowed myself to descend.


    How could I ruin the cute smirk on her face?


    Maybe it was the fact that my hope was at an all-time low due to our destruction of the tree not ending the loop... but the weirdest things brought me solace.


    That smile was one of those few things.


    It was weird; I had never been like this when I first started hanging around Ruby or any girls, for that matter.


    I had always put up mental boundaries stopping myself from getting too close... but now that those boundaries were down, weird things started happening to me. S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    From seeing Ruby''s way of trying to save me during the World Tree incident to the recent memories with her and others in this loop, I was starting to change.


    Normally, my mind would only consist of planning and ways to get stronger, but some foreign memories were starting to slip in.


    It was weird... I could dismiss distractions such as this, but these memories came back no matter how much I avoided them.


    After saving the World Tree, I had just given up on trying to avoid them, but at the same time, I hadn''t fully accepted them.


    They were just there...not doing anything or having any purpose, but they were still there.


    Yet, they seemed to emerge at the weirdest moments.


    How could I be feeling happy right now when the only escape plan we had managed to come up with failed?


    Why was there a smile on my face right now, even though I had just learned that escaping this loop now was practically impossible as the end condition was gone?


    Of course, this wasn''t the first time as Raven, Zeng, and I had grown close enough to where I didn''t feel any need to act around them, but at the same time, this feeling was something different than that.


    Rather than a fun and happy feeling like when I joked around with Zeng... it was more of longing.


    A remembrance.


    A desire to see that smile remain on her face.


    Shaking my head as I fell, I closed my eyes and prepared for the impact of the ground.


    The mind really was a strange thing...


    If I couldn''t even understand my mind and feelings sometimes, then who could?


    powered-by-NovelFire


    Dropping to the floor, I held in my yelp as my head hit the rough floor before lying down on the floor for a moment, staring up at the cave roof.


    Looking upwards, I saw the four girls had gathered while Ruby pointed at where she thought my lying body was with a smirk on her face.


    Putting her hands on her head to make bunny ears, Ruby winked at me... but she wasn''t me as she was staring at the ground next to me.


    What an idiot!


    *PFFT*


    Feeling a smile and laugh involuntarily come out of my mouth as I stood back up and joined the girls, I decided not to question it anymore.


    At a hopeless time like this, where the end seemed so far away, maybe a bit of smiling and fun wouldn''t be so bad...

 Chapter 148: Chapter 148:The Trigger [3]

    "Here!"


    As I joined the group, announcing my presence with a much quieter voice than last time, Lily stared at me while dusting off her pants.


    "Well, now that everyone is here, let''s go."


    Also staring at me with a malicious expression, Irene agreed.


    "Yeah, let''s get the hell out of this place and then out of this damn loop. I can''t wait to sleep on a bed..."


    Also chiming in from my left, Ruby replied.


    "Even the school cafeteria would feel like heaven after this experience..."


    From my right, Alya nodded her head before also adding in.


    "Don''t forget, we also have to figure out the cause of this loop... but I can''t disagree; some relaxation after this would be otherworldly."


    Sounding from in front of me, Lily continued.


    "Yeah... it really feels like we''ve been going from stressful experience to experience lately. I mean, first that World Tree incident and now this..."


    ...Do I really have to be the one to say it?


    No, come on...I can''t say it now.


    Even as I continued pondering the right way to tell them the information about the loop not ending, they continued to happily discuss what they''d do.


    "I think I''ll go straight to the sauna and stay there for a couple of days... when we''re out of this thing." powered-by-NovelFire


    "The dorm room beds sound amazing..."


    "I''m going straight to a restaurant to eat some proper food..."


    "Oh, can I join you? My stomach is practically dying."


    "Probably..."


    As Ruby half-agreed to Irene''s request to join her for dinner, I seriously contemplated just acting oblivious and letting them figure out the loop wasn''t terminated.


    No... that would take at least an hour, including the time to climb or fly out of this cave and locate the exit.


    Sighing, I decided to soften the mood before immediately dropping the bomb to try and preserve some morale.


    Finding an opening in their discussion, I interjected.


    "Oh, it wasn''t that bad, was it? I mean, we didn''t have our lives on the line or anything...we were just trapped for an indefinite amount of time!"


    Immediately, the whole cave went quiet as everyone shifted their gaze to the direction where my voice came from.


    Hearing the sound of a foot slamming into the ground reverberating through the cave from Irene''s location, I stepped back.


    With an angry tone, Irene exclaimed.


    "Oh, so is not dying the bare minimum now? Oh great, we''re just trapped in a loop for who knows how long without any route of escape... BUT IT''S ALRIGHT BECAUSE WE''RE NOT DYING?"


    After pausing for a moment to catch her breath, Irene immediately continued.


    IS TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR A NORMAL LIFE WHERE WE JUST GO TO SCHOOL LIKE STUDENTS. I mean, some saving the world every once in a while is fine... but BACK TO BACK IS NOT OK!"


    ...do they even know what I''ve had to go through?


    To be fair, none of us had the right to complain, as we all chose to do what we did, knowing the consequences.


    ...But someone had more of a right to complain¡ªit was me!


    I was the one to be dragged into this world... after I died.


    Wait, did I have the right to complain?


    Millions of people die every day, but only I was granted a second life... that was at least what I was assuming.


    As the other girls agreed with Irene hastily, Ruby was the only one to look at me with a suspicious gaze.


    Yeah.... I would never say something like that.


    Seeming to notice Ruby''s gaze on me, Lily interrupted the silence and carefully asked me.


    "And, do you have anything to say?" S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Turning to face away from them, scared to see their expressions, I started.


    "Well... how do I word this..?"


    "..?


    Turning to face me, or what was actually Ruby, Irene replied.


    "Spit it out."


    " *ahem* You see, unfortunately, the loop has not ended yet. Trust me, I''m just as disappointed as you."


    After a moment of silence, Lily reached out her hands, making sure I was still there before in a eerily calm voice replying.


    "Is this something you just learned?"


    "...yeahhh."


    Getting out her tippy toes, Ruby leaned against me before placing her mouth to my ear, allowing me to feel her every breath as she inhaled and exhaled.


    "Choose your next words very carefully."


    ...that was a long inhale and exhale.


    Alya, who had been silent up until now, raised her hand... before immediately lowering it as she realized no one could see and replied.


    "I can confirm that the loop has not ended as well."


    Irene, who was still clinging onto the tiny hope I was lying, almost collapsed to the ground, trembling while Lily regained her composure.


    Ruby took out her hand and cast a fire torch, illuminating the five of us and the area around us, before asking Alya.


    "How are you able to confirm that?"


    ...she didn''t ask me?


    Looking at Lily, Alya held out her hands, which were glowing green, and replied.


    "After destroying the tree, I was able to make contact with the tree''s spirit. Its physical body wasn''t that tree... that is somewhere else.


    Almost immediately, Irene popped right up from the ground and exclaimed.


    "THEN ASK IT HOW WE DESTROY THE TREE!?"


    Calming down Irene, Alya replied in a monotone voice.


    "What do you believe I''ve been doing this whole time?"


    Seeing Alya''s gaze, Ruby raised her wand and increased the size of the fire, lighting up the entire cave.


    Well, it didn''t matter to me, but Alya seemed to care as she cupped her glowing green hands before raising them into the air.


    Lily looked at Alya''s hands, not asking any questions, but her body language and expression were relaxed, as if she knew what Alya was doing.


    As Alya''s hand reached the highest possible hand, Alya uncupped her hands, and almost immediately, thousands of green particles emerged from her hand and flew towards the cave wall.


    She was tracking the tree using its spirit...


    Oh, right, this tree is suicidal, so the spirit is probably helping us!


    All of us stood still, until all the particles disappeared from Alya''s hands, forming a path straight into one of the cave''s walls.

 Chapter 149: Chapter 149:Déjà Vu [1]

    Nothing had to be said as the five of us immediately followed the path until we came to the wall.


    The green particles seemed to go straight through the wall, so it was clear that we had to break down this wall.


    The question was how, though.


    One single mistake could result in the entire cave collapsing, or just hitting the wrong portion would cause the entire cave to break.


    Then, finding the path of green particles would be much harder when they were covered by rock and dust.


    Well...I had some experience with this kind of stuff, didn''t I?


    Not saying anything, I stepped in front of the girls, who had stopped in front of the cave wall, and raised my hand, indicating for them to wait.


    Peering at the wall with my eyes, I analyzed how it supports the cave''s entire structure and found its weak points.


    Hm?


    Making sure I was seeing things right, I glanced away from the wall and back.


    ...this part of the wall didn''t support the cave at all. brought-to-you-by-NovelFire


    We could do anything we wanted to it, and nothing would happen to the rest of the cave.


    This couldn''t be a coincidence, could it?


    Raising my right leg, I manifested a cover of corruption which covered my entire leg in a pitch-black substance.


    As I swung my right leg back in preparation for a kick, I heard some people cry out behind me.


    "IT" ''S COMING DOWN."


    "HE''S GONNA BREAK IT." sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "WHY DID YOU SAY TRUST HIM, RUBY!?"


    Glancing back for a second, I noticed that Irene was already ducking on the floor while covering her head with her hands.


    Thankfully, it seemed the rest of the girls had some trust in me as Lily, Alya, and Ruby remained standing, albeit with their wands ready in case something happened, and watched me with curiosity.


    In a swift motion, I kicked my right leg forward, the outer-layer of corruption directly coming into contact with the wall.


    The corruption layer, combined with my awakened strength, easily demolished the wall, turning it into complete rubble.


    As expected, the cave remained perfectly fine, but behind the wall, a path was revealed that led deeper downwards.


    Haven''t I been in this scenario before?


    Pretending as if nothing happened, Irene stood up before joining up with me and the other three girls.


    Turning to face us, Ruby asked.


    "...Is it really a good idea to just walk down some random path?"


    Didn''t I do that once?


    Calming myself as I stared into the tunnel ahead, I confirmed there was no sense of familiarity with my eyes.


    My eyes remember and see everything... so I couldn''t have been in this tunnel or tunnel in a similar place before.


    Walking past the group and into the tunnel, Lily replied from behind her back.


    "Well, we don''t have a choice, so yeah."


    Nodding our heads, Alya and I followed her deeper into the cave while Irene and Ruby hesitated for a moment before following.


    Seeing the path curve and turn in various directions and abruptly stop before continuing, a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu began to envelop me.


    This path couldn''t have been naturally made... it was too erratic and strange in its movement.


    Since all of us wanted to escape the loop as fast as possible, we walked forward in silence, leaving me time to think.


    Keeping one hand on a corrupted dagger I had just manifested, I began recalling information about the tree.


    I did see something familiar when I replayed an image of the tree before it was destroyed in my head using my eyes.


    In the distance, behind the tree, the Hajin Mountain range stood, my starting point and a very familiar location.


    Realizing we had been walking for quite a bit without being sent back to the carriage, I stopped for a moment, prompting the girls to follow.


    Without saying anything, I leaned against the cave wall before swapping bodies with my crow, which was in the outside world.


    After flying to the location of the destroyed tree with the crow''s body, I began flying toward our current location if we were above the ground.


    Spotting Liam, Kevin, and Zach staring at the destroyed tree, I stopped for a moment, watching them crawl through the hole where the stump used to be and into the underground cave.


    They would catch up to us soon enough, so I continued my flight towards our current location.


    Although I couldn''t see my current location as the ground was blocking my body from the crow, I counted the steps we had taken from the underground step.


    Thus, I flew from the tree stump in the direction of the tunnel using the same exact distance.


    However, just as I was approaching the distance I had calculated, the world around the crow suddenly distorted.


    As soon as the space restabilized, the crow was in the sky... right above a flipped carriage and near a waterfall.


    We had escaped the loop... but somehow, the loop was still active.


    Keeping the crow above the flipped carriage, I returned to my body, immediately seeing all of the girls staring at my slumped body with angry and confused expressions.


    Grabbing my arm, Ruby pulled me up before sarcastically saying.


    "Are you really sleeping at a time like this?"


    Staring at me, Lily asked.


    "So, what did you find out from whatever that was?"


    I guess they had figured out that my fainting three times in a row wasn''t a coincidence.


    Contemplating my answer for a moment, the memories of the waterfall village instantly popped into my head.


    If I told them that we escaped the loop... they would leave immediately, wouldn''t they...?


    Then... what about the still active loop.


    But the loop was still active, and those children were still gathering water relentlessly without even realizing it...


    As the sound of Liam, Kevin, and Zach''s footsteps reverberated through the cave and reached our ears, I shook my head and replied.


    "Nothing."

 Chapter 150: Chapter 150:Déjà Vu [2]

    As the sound of Liam, Kevin, and Zach''s footsteps grew closer, the girls finally heard them, prompting them to stop and look back at where we came from.


    As they stared behind us, I took a moment to glance forward at the path of green particles ahead.


    Peering through the darkness of the cave, I attempted to find the end of the path, but the cave twisted and turned so much that it was impossible.


    Looking upwards, I began analyzing the roof and walls of the cave.


    Not that I wanted to, but escaping in this situation, regardless of whether the loop was over or not, was impossible.


    The walls were shaky, and there were weak spots all over the roof, so any attempt to forcefully break your way upwards would result in the entire tunnel collapsing.


    Looking back behind us, I saw Liam''s figure fast approaching us as, for some unknown reason, he was sprinting.


    Trailing behind him were Zach and Kevin, each sweating and panting from trying to leave the forest all day while Lily tested.


    All three of them had their weapons in their hands and were constantly surveying their surroundings as they ran toward us.


    Well... I guess it would be kind of weird to come to your meeting location just to see the massive destruction caused by our purple beam earlier.


    Honestly, I had seen warzones with less destruction.


    As Liam''s figure became visible to the four girls, prompting them to rush towards him, the thought suddenly came to my head.


    What happens when the loop resets at the end of the day?


    Will the trees and end condition that we destroyed regenerate?


    That would mean that the holes and entrance to this underground space would regenerate, sealing us off from the outside world.


    If so, how would we escape then?


    We''re basically trapped here if we stay longer than the end of the day, aren''t we?


    "...wait, my crow!"


    Although I couldn''t send any more crows to the outside as they would have no way to escape this underground space, I still had one of my crows flying above the carriage.


    The area right under the destroyed tree wasn''t as unstable as this tunnel, so it could probably withstand a crow''s beak.


    If worst comes to worst, I could have him use his beak to make a small opening in the ground and then use my dragon''s wing to fly through it.


    I''d just have to hope that my crow can make a hole in the ground before the day ends and the loop resets.


    Wait, why am I even thinking about escaping?


    Shaking my head, I leaned against the cave wall, carefully not to apply too much pressure, and watched the main cast reunion from a distance.


    For a solid minute, Lily explained everything that had happened to the three boys, prompting them to slowly shift their gazes to me.


    Making sure not to meet their gazes, I turned away and continued trying to peer forward, angling myself so I could see farther into the cave and through the twists and turns.


    Seeing Lily finish her explanation of the recent events, including the destruction of the tree, I picked up my corrupted daggers and headed deeper into the cave alone.


    The only reason I had stayed to watch Lily was to explain to ensure that she knew nothing about us escaping the loop through this tunnel.


    I had also already gathered all the information I needed from the group, as Alya had already created a path straight to the tree and essentially told us that the tree wanted to be destroyed.


    Of course, I wasn''t cocky enough to believe that I could single-handedly defeat the tree after seeing the strength of its decoy body, which we had barely managed to destroy with my power combined with the girls.


    It wasn''t the fact that the boss was strong that stopped me from attempting to kill it alone.


    I had faced much tougher opponents; in fact, the corrupted boss I had fought within the World Tree was probably stronger than this one.


    But... I had information on that corrupted boss.


    Sure, I didn''t know its weakness or anything, as Liam had killed it with divine power, but I knew all of its possible moves, so when the beams started appearing from his hand, I knew how to destroy them.


    On the other hand, this tree... and this loop as a whole was completely unknown and a mystery to me.


    Time and time again, my book knowledge proved useless in this loop.


    The book said that destroying the end condition would end the loop, but that didn''t work here. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The book also never mentioned anything about our surroundings resetting every twenty-four hours.


    It was almost like this world. It wasn''t even part of the book; it was a different timeline or even world.


    None of the book''s knowledge could be applied here besides some concrete rules that were very vague, like how I knew how to identify the end condition but not just immediately find it.


    Hearing the last bits of their conversation as I left, I hurried my pace.


    While Ruby and Irene split off from the main cast and headed to the side, Alya walked up in front of the exhausted and sweating boys before asking.


    "Come on, let''s go, what are we waiting for?"


    Raising her hands in confusion, Lily stood next to Alya and replied.


    "Alya, the boys are completely exhausted, we can sp-"


    "They can rest once we''re out of this loop. Let''s hurry it up." NovelFire-article


    Temporarily surprised at Alya''s outburst, Lily stood still before regaining her composure and calmly replying.


    "Give me at least a minute or two, Alya; speeding through this tunnel isn''t going to solve anything anyway."


    Snorting at Lily''s response, Alya tilted her head with a condescending expression and arrogantly replied.


    "And, standing here doing nothing will solve our problem?"


    Stepping in front of the unusually irritated Alya, Liam asked.


    "I know we''re all stressed, but just like you said earlier to Kevin and I, let''s not f-"


    From behind Liam, Kevin matched Alya''s arrogant tone and added in.


    "You''re a princess, not a hypocrite, so act like it."


    Looking right at the panting Liam and Kevin, Alya cocked her head and said.


    " *tsk* Years could have passed in the real world while we''ve been stuck in this loop, and here we are, resting when we''re at the very end of it all."

 Chapter 151: Chapter 151:Déjà Vu [3]

    Not waiting for a response, Alya stepped away from the group and leaned against a nearby wall while waiting and tapping her foot, causing the sound to reverberate throughout the cave.


    *TAP* S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    *TAP*


    *TAP*


    Leaving the main cast behind, I ventured deeper further into the cave, surveying my surroundings carefully as I walked.


    I had to make sure that there were no exit routes to this cave so the main cast would be forced to fight the real body of the tree and finally put an end to the loop.


    If they were just a random path out of here somewhere in this path, their group would most likely take it, leaving me behind alone to fight the tree''s real body.


    Surprisingly, though, as I continued deeper into the cave, the tunnel did not diverge, so there was only one path that could be taken.


    Were my worries for nothing?


    ...did the tree spirit plan this so that we would be forced to kill it?


    "...I''ve never heard of a suicidal spirit before..."


    As I continued walking deeper into the cave, the green particles began to group up and accumulate more.


    Before, I would see a new green particle every five seconds I walked, but now, I was seeing two of them at least every three seconds.


    Were all my worries for nothing?


    Was I already reaching the end of this path?


    Considering whether to risk going further forward and maybe running into the tree''s real body, I sat down for a moment.


    Wasn''t this a little bit weird?


    First, we seemed to escape the boundaries of the loop as we were no longer teleported back to the carriage.


    However, this was completely false, as even though we "escaped" the loop, we were still forced to follow this odd and unnatural path.


    It was a false... a red herring.


    We were just as trapped as we were in the loop in this tunnel.


    Next, after destroying the end condition, we quickly learned that it wasn''t actually the main body and that its real body was somewhere else.


    But...hadn''t Ruby said that the tree was a living thing?


    How would it be a decoy body if it was an actual living thing?


    I had dismissed this earlier as it was possible for the tree to have a skill or trait that allowed it to create clones of itself, explaining the existence of the tree.


    But... now that the inconsistencies and odd things were increasing, I couldn''t just ignore it.


    Once An Accident, Twice A Coincidence, Three Times A Pattern.


    How many odd things have happened since the destruction of the tree?


    There were simply too many to count.


    The random appearance of the tree spirit that somehow communicated with Alya.


    The secret tunnel was clearly human-created as it was too erratic for nature to have formed it.


    Us somehow escaping the boundaries of the loop.


    This path somehow did not diverge at any point.


    This cave seemed to have no exit or way out, as there was only one way forward...straight.


    How hadn''t I noticed all these inconsistencies at the start...?


    Hope.


    After we had destroyed the tree with our purple beam, and I found out that the loop hadn''t ended, my hope had been shattered.


    It has disappeared.


    The same could be said for the girls as when I gave them the news about the loop not ending, their expressions visibly grimaced and saddened.


    We were all at an all-time low since entering the loop.


    ...UNTIL


    Alya''s sudden discovery of the tree spirit basically gives us the path ahead to destroy and end the loop through the green particles.


    Wasn''t this too convenient?


    Right, we were at an all-time low, and the spirit suddenly appeared and gave us hope again.


    Since we were hopeless and had no other idea of what to do, we just trusted and followed the path that the spirit had given to us without any qualms.


    All my hope and faith was now in the spirit and its instruction.


    Anything it says, I would have done... just like how I''m following its path of green particles right now.


    Normally, I would have been suspicious and questionable, especially when seeing a random spirit appear... but here, I had just blindly followed its instructions, believing its words without considering anything else.


    A false sense of safety.


    My emotions had been played... and manipulated.


    I had been played.


    What was at the end of this path?


    I had just blindly assumed it was the real body of the tree... but what if it was something else?


    All of our exit routes were cut off as there was no escaping this tunnel.


    There was only one way: forward.


    A trap...a trap.


    Didn''t this perfectly match the definition of a trap...?


    But, then... who was trapping us?


    Digger further back into my head and eliminating all my blind faith in the spirit, I discovered one glaring inconsistency.


    The tree stump.


    What had happened when I had switched bodies with my crow?


    The tree from earlier was one of the toughest and hardest things I had ever seen in the world.


    My power, combined with the four girls, had barely managed to destroy it.


    Only the trump had remained after our beam. the place mvlempy _r


    But... then, how did that stump suddenly disappear?


    This trunk that had withstood the impact of our powerful beam had just... suddenly vanished without a trace?


    How could that be?


    What the hell had happened when I switched bodies with my crow...?


    Something was wrong... something had to be wrong.


    Rushing in the opposite direction, I tried to peer through the darkness and find the main cast; however, just like last time I couldn''t.


    There were countless rocks and walls in my way, forcing me to continue running to get a better angle.


    I had all the information in my head... but there was one part missing.


    I was missing one puzzle piece.


    And the holders of that missing piece were the four girls.

 Chapter 152: Chapter 152:Déjà Vu [4]

    Twisting and turning my body through the various turns, I sprinted backward, a sense of stress spreading throughout my entire body.


    I had to figure out what had happened while I was using the crow''s body and how the tree stump had suddenly disappeared.


    Though even without that information, a preliminary explanation was already forming in my head.


    All the inconsistencies and strange things are tied to one thing.


    The sudden appearance of the spirit that was "suicidal" after our purple beam destroyed most of the tree.


    Something was definitely off with that spirit...


    Making no noise, I increased my space to sprint and dashed forward after activating the usage period.


    Manifesting a dragon''s wing right now was dangerous and unnecessary, as if there really was an enemy trying to trap us; I was just showing off one of my powerful traits.


    Also, it would only save me around two minutes of running... and what could possibly happen in two minutes?


    ...maybe I should just use the wing.


    Pushing the idea out of my head, I dashed forward as soon as the cooldown reset before peering through the darkness.


    Slowing my pace to a jog, I sighed and wiped the sweat off my face as the seven figures of the main came into view.


    Like me, the four girls and three boys were blindly following the path of green particles ahead of them.


    They also all had their weapons out and were on standby, ready to defend or attack in case anything showed up.


    Shaking my head, I hid behind a rock and watched intently, waiting for a perfect moment to pop out.


    Why would our enemy reveal itself to us?


    We were the ones trapped with no escape and no information.


    Our enemy had all the time in the world.


    The seven main cast members and I were not going anywhere anytime soon.


    Again, that prompted the question... who exactly was our enemy?


    My first thought, of course, was the spirit, the only connected trait between all the inconsistencies and strange things.


    But... how could an intangible thing be our enemy?


    Spirits were different from us... they didn''t possess physical bodies; instead, they had astral forms.


    These astral forms were impossible to damage or hurt, as any physical or magic attacks would just go straight through the body.


    However, that meant that the spirit also couldn''t attack us due to its astral body; just like how we couldn''t touch it, it couldn''t touch us.


    Or could it...?


    If the spirit couldn''t hurt us itself... then it could simply use a physical object or person.


    What exactly was at the end of this green particle path...?


    The most obvious answer again was a person that the spirit had contracted, as the spirit could actually influence that person to attack us. read more on mvlemp-yr


    However, most spirits, except a couple of important exceptions, which definitely could be this spirit, could only have one contractee.


    Didn''t Alya say at the start that she had contracted with the spirit?


    Contracting with a spirit wasn''t necessarily hard...in reality, it was as simple as making a handshake.


    No documents, forms, or procedures were involved.


    If a spirit voiced that it would like to contact you, all you would have to do is agree, and that was it.


    Just like that, a bond between you and the spirit was immediately formed.


    The process could take less than a minute.


    The spirit granted a portion of its power to you, and in turn, you gave the spirit some of your energy when you used its power, allowing the spirit to survive.


    To maintain its astral body, a spirit had to some contractors as its body required at least some energy to survive.


    Peeking out above the rock, I honed on Alya, who was the only person to have communicated with our perceived enemy, the spirit.


    ...how didn''t I see this earlier?


    Did my loss of hope just suddenly cause my brain to turn off?


    Having spent so much time recently with Alya in the loop, I had subconsciously formed a visual profile of her with my eyes, including her normal expressions, hand movements, and leg movmements.


    Recreating her normal way of walking, including the distance she moved her hands and legs each stride, I coped down in front of me. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Comparing it to the figure of Alya right in front of me... they were completely different.|


    While the normal Alya moved her right foot and hands at a 49.5-degree angle usually, this Alya was far off with around 67 percent angle.


    Also comparing the breathing patterns of the Alya in my head and the Alya in front of me, they were off as the Alya in front of me breath a faster rate.


    Of course, in a normal circumstance, something like this would be normal as she could have just gotten less sleep or been more stressed, causing her walking motion and breathing pattern to be different.


    But, with all the things going on, and the inconsistent surrounding the spirit, I couldn''t just disregard the fact that she was also acting abnormal.


    It couldn''t be a coincidence that after taking and contracting with the spirit, she was acting abnormal.


    Since Alya was the only one who contracted the spirit, she was the only one able to see and communicate with it.


    Even with my amazing eyesight, I couldn''t just look into the astral dimension where the spirit''s astral body was located, as there were boundaries separating the different realms.


    In other words, she was my one way to actually confirm if the spirit was leading us into a trap.


    Moving forward towards the cover of another rock, I kept my gaze locked on Alya, who continued acting abnormally.


    There was just one problem remaining now...


    While a human couldn''t kill a spirit... it could kill the tethers keeping the spirit''s astral body alive.


    Without any tethers or contractees, a spirit would have no energy to maintain its astral body and, therefore, disappear.


    If the spirit was confirmed to be my enemy and the loop''s end condition...how could I make it disappear?

 Chapter 153: Chapter 153:Déjà Vu [5]

    There was only one answer: destroy all its tethers.


    "...well, let''s not do anything too drastic yet."


    As Lily, Alya, Kevin, Zach, Irene, Ruby, and Liam all passed by my new hiding spot, I tapped my eyes, instantly slowing my perception of time.


    Instantly, all seven of their figures seems to freeze and their pace slowed to basically a stop, their legs moving in slow-motion.


    Communicating and talking with Alya wouldn''t be easy... not because of all the main cast members around her but because of the possibility of the spirit influencing her.


    How could I trust anything she said? content source mvlempy r


    What if she had already been compromised by the spirit and was leading us right to the end of this path, where the trap stood?


    A contracted spirit can remain by their bond''s side for as long as it wants to and talk to them, making it able to influence their bond''s emotions without them even realizing it.


    At the same time... I couldn''t just kill Alya and destroy the spirit''s only tether, making it disappear and lose its astral body.


    Planning for the worst possible scenario, I decided to just assume that the spirit was our enemy and needed to be destroyed, which wasn''t a far-fetched guess at all, considering all the information I had.


    To break a bond formed between a human and a spirit, two parties needed to agree to separate the agreement.


    Convincing the influenced Alya to destroy the bond would be hard but not impossible... if I had the help of the main cast, who were actually Alya''s friends.


    On the other hand, I doubted that the spirit would just agree to terminate its agreement as it would basically be sentencing itself to death, losing its last tether and only support to its astral body. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But... if the spirit wanted to lead us into this trap, which was at the end of the path, it would want a bond which was strong.


    Since Alya, the spirit''s only contractee, was here, the trap at the end of the path had to be a physical thing, like a treasure chest that opens the floor below it when you touch it.


    In that case, the spirit would want to have the best possible contractee, so that even if the trap doesn''t work, it''s still able to outpower and destroy everyone.


    As the four girls at the back of the group stepped right back my rock in slow motion, I slipped backward, hiding in their shadows,


    Then, like an assassin, I silently stood up, manifested a corrupted mask, and moved to my right, where Alya and Lily stood.


    Raising my hands, I slipped the mask around the bottom portion of Lily''s face, immediately covering her mouth.


    Tightening the mask around her face before she could realize what was happening, I pulled the mask backward and slipped into the shadows.


    With the trailing mask behind me and Lily pulled behind me, I hid behind another rock before pulling Lily under, hiding us from the main cast.


    Lily, who had noticed what was happening, stared at my face with her eyes wide, but my corrupted mask still restricted her from making any noise.


    Ignoring her, I glanced forward, and as if confirming my theory, the usually observant Alya didn''t even seem to notice the disappearance of her best friend, Lily.


    Slowing back down time, I looked back at the wide-eyed Lily, carefully removed the mask covering her mouth, and indicated for her to be quiet.


    As the mask''s grip tightened, Lily raised her hands and furiously threw off the mask off her face before asking.


    "And, what exactly was that!?"


    Pointing ahead at the fleeting figure of Alya, who still hadn''t noticed Lily''s disappearance, I whispered back.


    "Something''s wrong with your friend."


    Still fuming, Lily turned to me before grabbing my ear and whispering right in.


    "You really think I didn''t know that!? She''s a hundred times closer to me than you. If you had noticed it, why wouldn''t I?"


    "...I had to confirm."


    "Oh, so then, instead of practically kidnapping me, maybe try asking me when she''s out of hearing range? Just an idea."


    Raising my hands in defeat, I slowly and carefully explained the details of what I had found out about the spirit, leaving out some parts.


    Of course, I didn''t mention that killing with the spirit right now would require killing her, but Lily could fill in the blanks.


    Taking a minute to comprehend my mass load of information, Lily''s expression transformed from furious to a grimace as the realization slowly set in.


    Not bothering to ask any questions or verify my information, she turned to me and hurriedly asked.


    "You didn''t bring me here and tell me all of that just to tell me you don''t have a plan, did you...?"


    Shaking my head, I explained.


    "I do... but it''ll require some help."


    After glancing over the rock to make sure the main cast, oblivious to Lily''s disappearance, was out of sight, I got up from above the rock and dusted off my pants.


    Turning to Lily, who was below me, I preemptively said.


    "Don''t make any noise."


    But before I could even do anything, Lily''s expression immediately turned a bright red as she stared at me with a weird expression.


    Standing up, Lily carefully and eerily calmly asked.


    "What exactly do you mean by that?"


    "...? just watch."


    Ignoring the bright red Lily, I dove inside my body, finding the lake of corruption spread inside my body.


    Raising both my hands, I allowed the corruption to ooze out of my hands and onto the floor.


    Within seconds, the floor below Lily and I was covered in a dark and stick black substance that further spread across the floor with each second.


    Creating a mental image in my head, I kneeled down to the floor and allowed my brain to move my hands through the corruption below me.


    Like a sculpture maker from the Renaissance, I carefully and intricately used the corruption below me to make a figure.


    This was my Mona Lisa!

 Chapter 154: Chapter 154:Painting a Self-Portrait [1]

    Kneeling from the ground, I slowly used the corruption to mold a pair of legs before standing up and creating the stomach.


    Moving to the right and left, I formed the two arms before standing up fully to recreate the neck and head.


    Slowing down the movement of my hands as I began creating the face, I tried my best to recreate my exact face, using the same nose, eye, and mouth measurements.


    Recalling my occasional visits to museums during school field trips as I tried to make figures made of corruption in front of me as real as possible, I sighed.


    ...I really wasn''t an artist... in the slightest.


    I wasn''t an artist; I never claimed to be an artist... but here I was, making a self-portrait.


    In comparison to the sculptures of Michelangelo, I didn''t even think mine had the honor of being within 100 miles of it.


    Finishing the face, I moved up to the head, creating small noodles of corruption and sticking them together to resemble my hair.


    Thankfully, my hair was jet-black, so I didn''t have to worry about that part standing out... but unlike me, the entire sculpture was painted pitch black.


    So black, in fact, that it could barely even be seen due to the darkness shrouding the cave around us.


    ...how was I going to pull this off?


    Finishing the last few stands of hair, I took a step back and stared at the immobile pitch-black figure, made of corruption, motionless, standing in front of me.


    There was just one problem...sure, it looked like me if you squinted your eyes a bit, but any sane person could easily tell that it wasn''t me.


    From its eyes without pupils to its... lack of clothes, one could easily tell the difference between me and it.


    In front of me stood a figure made of pitch-black corruption with the exact same height, body shape, and face as me.


    The motion figureless was only visible to me as the darkness around shrouded us, but turning behind me, I could see Lily staring at my moving figure with a strange expression.


    To her, it just seemed like I was randomly moving around my hands with no intended goals or purpose.


    Well, no one ever understands famous artists from their time.


    I mean, look at Vincent Van Gogh. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He was dirt-broke, and no one even wanted to buy his paintings, but now, people would chop off their hands to buy one of his pieces.


    The same can be said about countless other artists... some people are just ahead of their times!


    Now, did I see myself as Van Gogh?


    I would like to think that there were some similarities between the two of us!


    Both of us were misunderstood and unrepresented during our times!


    ..but that was the extent of our similarities.


    Manifesting two daggers, I shrouded them both with a blood-red substance in my body before lifting them up and using them as a torch.


    Illuminating the cave with the blood-red red aura covering the daggers, the sculpture was now visible to people beside me.


    Feeling my blood pressure increase slightly as the sculpture entered Lily''s vision, I added a few last-minute corrections, like fixing its hand placement.


    Is it what it feels like to open your first exhibit?


    Turning back to Lily, who was staring at my sculpture, which from her point of view just suddenly appeared in front of her, with her eyebrows squinted, I asked.


    "...any suggestions?"


    Squinting her eyes even further and raising her eyebrows to the max height, she stayed silent for a moment before muttering out.


    "...is that supposed to you?"


    Well... she can at least tell it''s me, so that''s a good sign, isn''t it?


    Nodding my head, I pointed at the motionless sculpture in front of us before saying.


    "This is how we kill that spirit."


    As soon as those words came out of my mouth, I heard a sigh almost instantly come out of Lily''s mouth, prompting me to curiously ask.


    "Did you really think I''d kill the elven princess?"


    Shrugging her shoulders, Lily walked closer to the sculpture, examining its backside before responding.


    "You never know?"


    Having the stamp of approval from Lily on the initial structure of my self-portrait, it was time to move on to the next part.


    Placing my head on my forehead, I put the daggers down, extinguishing the light in the cave, and asked.


    "...could you wait over there and face the wall for a bit?"


    Peering through the darkness, I tried to see Lily''s expression; however, she was hidden behind the sculpture.


    After a couple of moments of brief silence, Lily emerged from the sculpture and walked towards the wall before muttering.


    "...yeah, do what you need to do."


    "...?"


    Hiding behind the rock from earlier, I once again confirmed that Lily was looking at the cave wall before carefully removing my sweatshirt and shirt.


    Holding the two clothes in my hand, I silently made my way to the sculpture and placed my shirt and sweater on the corrupted figure, covering its pitch-black, corrupted body.


    Looking down at the rest of my clothing, I sighed before taking off my shoes and carefully putting them on the sculpture.


    ...there was just one last step left.


    Turning around, I made sure that Lily was facing the wall before raising my hand to my eyes and slowing my perception of time.


    Was it a wasteful use of mana? Yes. stay updated with m,v,l,e,m p _y,r


    Did I care? No.


    First removing my pants, I felt a sense of coldness envelope me instantly as I began to shiver,


    Having removed my socks earlier, the sense of coldness from the cave combined with the cold, hard ground against my floor almost brought me to the floor.


    "...it''s too damn cold."


    Lifting the jeans off me fully, I stared at the corrupted figure, who was now looking a bit more realistic as it wasn''t completely pitch-black anymore.


    Not wasting any more time, I placed my pair of jeans on the corrupted figure, covering its lower body and, finally, its legs.

 Chapter 155: Chapter 155:Painting a Self-Portrait [2]

    Looking at the corrupted figure in front of e, I actually thought it seemed human-like if we included the fact that it had no eyes and a pitch-black face.


    Well... this is the best I''m going to get.


    Using my remaining corruption, I manifested a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt before quickly putting them on.


    The corrupted figure and I had essentially switched places.


    Looking at Lily, who was getting ance while staring at the wall, I said she had started tapping her foot.


    "Alright, now, what do you think?"


    As I raised my blood-red daggers, creating a makeshift torch and illuminating the figure to her, Lily didn''t even bother to say anything. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Instead, upon taking one glance at my now fully clothed corrupted sculpture, she immediately covered her eyes.


    ..?


    She had been fine with it earlier... but not now with the clothes.


    Was my clothing style that bad..?


    However, as I continued pondering while staring at the silent Lily, who was muttering incoherent words while still covering her eyes, I realized something.


    Join us at m-vle-mp,yr.


    ...am I a rom-com protagonist or something?


    How the hell did I not manage to understand this situation could be completely understood?


    To be fair, when someone''s life, Alya in this scenario, is on the line, I''m not going to be thinking about how my actions are going to be misinterpreted.


    Still...this wasn''t a damn rom-com book!


    This was a fantasy...why was I being so oblivious?


    Sighing, I shook my head as an expression of disappointment appeared on my face due to my severe case of oblivion, and I quickly said to Lily.


    "I have an extra pair of clothes."


    Opening her eyes and glancing at me, she redirected her attention towards the figure before saying.


    "And you didn''t think to mention that first?"


    "I mean, you said, ''Do what you need to do,'' didn''t you?"


    "...you think that gives you a reason to strip down and exchange clothes with your sculpture? I was obviously thinking that you were going make clothes out of whatever that slime substance is."


    "But, that would make it look even less r-"


    Interrupting mid-sentence, Lily walked toward the corrupted figure and said.


    "Alright, that''s enough; we have more important things to do right now."


    Holding in the urge to respond back, I watched as Lily carefully scrutinized the sculpture before turning to me.


    "It''s realistic... creepy realistic. But, the face gives it away."


    Raising my hands, I held in the urge to tell her to do something about it instead of just criticizing me before replying.


    "Well, it''s the best we''re getting."


    Moving the sweatshirt up to cover the sculpture''s pitch-black further, Lily asked.


    "You do know that the one way to break a spirit contract is for both sides to agree, right?"


    As I nodded my head in approval, Lily continued.


    "I do understand your plan here is to make the spirit break its contact with Alya by giving it a contractee who is more powerful...but what exactly does this sculpture have to do with it?"


    Glad that I didn''t have to explain any of the plain to her, I got up and walked in front of Lily, standing right before the motionless and lifeless corrupted figure.


    Humans were animals, too, right?


    As the corrupted figure and I were the same height, due to him being a replica of me, I raised my hand to my height before placing it on the corrupted figure''s forehead.


    Feeling the cold and slimy feeling of the corruption, I resisted the urge to immediately remove my hand and instead pushed my hand further into the corruption.


    My hand slowly went through the slime-like corruption until it finally completely emerged in the corruption.


    From Lily''s standpoint, it looked like I just shoved my hand right into the forehead of the corrupted figure.


    As the slimy sensation enveloped my hands, I moved the last of my corruption out of my chest into my hand that emerged into the corrupted figure''s forehead.


    "...never thought I''d run out of corruption after receiving that lake."


    Making a raven required a small amount of corruption as it was a small and uncomplex animal... however, creating a human clone of myself was a different story.


    It would take up almost 50% of my corruption, even though I basically had a whole lake of corruption flowing inside me.


    As the corruption flowed up of my hand and into the corrupted figure, I made sure to hold my hand steady, not allowing for any disruption.


    If I was disrupted during the process, I would have to restart, and there was also the possibility that I put too much corruption in.


    This sculpture, despite its solid and pitch-black appearance, wasn''t made out of hard substance like stone or concrete.


    It was made out of glass.


    If I input too much corruption into a single part instead of slowly spreading it around the corrupted figure''s body, it could shatter.


    "LILY!"


    "LILY, WHERE DID YOU GO!?"


    "LILY, WE''RE OVER HERE."


    As countless voices entered my ears, I didn''t stress or increase the speed at which I was inputting corruption, painting my composure.


    It was a miracle that the main cast had taken this long to notice Lily''s absence as if they had just noticed a minute earlier, I wouldn''t have been able to make the corrupted figure in time.


    Well... it wasn''t really a miracle.


    I was sure the cause of them not noticing Lily''s disappearance immediately was Alya... or the spirit that influenced Alya.


    The whole group must have been in a rush to reach the end of the path due to the spirit''s influencing Alya, so they probably hadn''t been looking backward, therefore not noticing Lily''s absence.


    As the last bit of corruption left my body and entered the corrupted figure, I sighed and wiped the sweat off my forehead.


    If the mechanics were the same as creating the crow, this should work.


    Just like with the crow, I had inputted the corruption equally in the body, making sure to increase its size or change its shape in the slightest.

 Chapter 156: Chapter 156:A Decoy [1]

    Reoving my hands from the corrupted figure''s head, I watched as the hole in its forehead that I had made instantly healed.


    "LILLLY!"


    "IF YOU CAN HEAR US, SAY SOMETHING."


    Almost immediately, I dismissed my two daggers, extinguishing the light from the room and plunging it back into darkness.


    Peering through the darkness of the cave, I spotted Alya leading the main cast towards our direction.


    As the voices of the main cast members grew nearer and nearer, I was about to explain the plan to Lily when another main cast voice caught me off guard.


    "I told you guys there was something up with that bastard, Ren."


    "Liam, have you finally lost it? Do you really think that he could do anything to her?"


    "Kevin, see, you''re doubting me now, but I swear to god, when we find Lily, and she says it''s something to do with Ren, you better get down on your knees and beg for my forgiveness."


    Staring at Lily with a deadpan expression, I sighed as I gestured toward the corrupted replica of me.


    Am I just that predictable..?


    Also, really, what vendetta does Liam has against me?


    Nothing good could come out of the protagonist of the book having a grudge against me...


    Well, he should be pretty happy when Kevin has to get on his knees and apologize, right?


    As Lily turned her confused face to the corrupted figure, a sense of relief washed over me. I felt a strange sense envelop me as I stared at the figure.


    Staring at the corrupted figure, I ignored the strange feeling inside my body and instead thought.


    ''Walk and stand next to the girl.''


    The next moment, the previously lifeless and motionless corrupted figure took a step towards Lily and then another step.


    And just like me, the corrupted figure moved silently through the cave; however, that it didn''t quite have my stealth stat.


    Well, I can''t have everything, can I? Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Being able to create a clone that had the same exact powers and the same strength as me was just a dream... for now, at least.


    Though it would still be unnoticeable to an unawakened, Lily''s improved senses from being a D-rank allowed her to sense the figure''s movement.


    Every time the figure moved, it sensed a small shockwave through the floor, and since I was standing right next to Lily, she knew it wasn''t me.


    The main cast was also too far away for their movement shockwaves to reach us, so it had to be something else.


    Making sure the main cast was a suitable distance away, I summoned one small dagger, allowing only the tip of it to be covered in the blood-red substance.


    Lily, who was staring at me, slowly turned around, staring at the corrupted figure slowly moving towards her.


    Staring at the incoming corrupted figure. Lily subconsciously took a step back before staring at me.


    Making sure that my voice didn''t leak out, I quietly whispered.


    "Well, all you have to do is convince that spirit that this version of me is stronger than Alya."


    Staring in the direction of the voices of the incoming main cast, Lily took a moment before nodding her head.


    ...she took it better than I thought she would, didn''t she?


    I mean, she had just seen me bring an inanimate object to life... so shouldn''t she at least have some reaction?


    Well, considering our time situation, she was probably just ignoring that and trying to save Alya, but still accepting it without any questions is insane.


    ...this was not going to be easy to explain after we escaped the loop... but I didn''t have to explain it in the first place, so it didn''t matter!


    Slipping away in the darkness, I hid behind a rock and watched as the main cast approached Lily and the corrupted figure.


    I had to be trailing behind them in order to give my corrupted figure the correct orders, so it wouldn''t seem suspicious.


    Switching bodies with the corrupted figure would be a terrible idea right now, as I would basically just leave my body out in the open.


    Even if I hid my body somewhere, the spirit would probably find it eventually, as in the astral realm, everything was hallucinatory.


    In the spirit''s eyes, there weren''t any walls... everything was just transparent.


    It was basically like spirits had my eyesight, but unlike me, they could see through walls and other physical objects.


    Although the spirit couldn''t directly damage me due to it being in the astral realm, it could influence Alya to do something, so I wasn''t willing to risk it.


    As I extinguished the last light, the room, however, wasn''t plunged into darkness.


    Instead, a new light source emerged in the shape of the fire levitating right above Ruby''s hand.


    While I did want to inform Ruby of the current situation, that would just be impossible right now.


    Two people disappearing in the span of ten minutes would be far too suspicious to the spirit and Alya.


    I was also quite curious: would Ruby be able if it was me or not?


    Did the clone have the same desire burning inside me or not?


    I was also sure that Ruby wouldn''t reveal the identity of the corrupted figure even if she discovered it wasn''t me.


    As the cave emerged back into the light, the entire main cast paused upon seeing Lily... and Ren, or what they thought was Ren.


    However, that wasn''t what brought the most shock to them.


    Covering the corrupted figure''s face was Lily''s sweater, and Lily was on her tippy toes, seemingly trying to wipe something off his face.


    "Well... I have to give props for creativity."


    Staring at the scene in front of them in shock and silence, Liam was the first to speak, as he exclaimed. Dive into chapters on |empyr.


    "I TOLD YOU, WHAT DID I SAY? KEVIN, TELL ME WHAT I SAID. GET DOWN ON YOUR KNEES, NOW!"


    Kevin, with his mouth open, stared at the scene in front of him, ignoring Liam''s screaming.


    Breaking the silence, Lily stepped forward, leaving her sweater covering the corrupted figure''s face, and said.


    "I found him starving and thirsty lying against one of the cave walls."

 Chapter 157: Chapter 157:A Decoy [2]

    ...I can''t say it wasn''t a bad idea or bad explanation for her being with me, but I still felt offended.


    Really, did I have to be portrayed as a pathetic person who had to cling to Lily for assistance in escaping the cave?


    Sighing, I shook my head and turned towards Ruby, not surprised at her current suspicious and confused expression.


    Well, desire or not, I''d be pretty disappointed if she thought that figure alongside Lily was the real me.


    After another brief moment of silence, Alya waved her hand at Lily before gesturing for her to come forward.


    Sending an order for the corrupted figure to follow Lily, I watched with interest as Lily, the corrupted figure, and the rest of the main cast stood in silence.


    After a moment, Kevin looked at the corrupted figure, which still had something covering its face, before shaking his head and saying.


    "You''re really thinking of taking him with us, are you Lily?" Read today at NovelFire _em _pyr.


    Stepping in front of the corrupted figure, Lily defended me by replying.


    "We wouldn''t have found this place without him. What good did you guys do running around the forest while he helped us find this place and the exit?"


    The entire group hesitated for a moment, shell-shocked at Lily''s sudden defense for, before Kevin muttered out.


    "...you''re the one who told me to r-"


    Interrupting Kevin mid-sentence was Alya, as she stepped in front of Kevin, staring at the corrupted figure and replying.


    "Enough. Lily''s right, we may not like it, but he could prove to be useful."


    Fainting hearing something from the other side, I turned around and barely managed to hear Liam whisper.


    "Yeah, useful as a fucking bait."


    ...really dude?


    It was ironic as I was in fact currently using them as a bait right now, so I didn''t take his words too personally.


    Reexamining Alya''s expression, I saw her eyes light up with a spark before returning to normal as she took the lead of the group.


    As the other main cast nodded their heads at Alya''s words, Ruby''s nod was somewhat forced and skeptical... at least that was what I thought it was, they departed.


    I still had one question remaining.


    Did Alya know she was being influenced and essentially possessed the spirit or not?


    It was possible that the spirit was communicating to Alya through their contract and telling her that something bad would happen if they didn''t immediately go to the end of the path.


    On the other hand, it was also possible that the spirit was manipulating Alya''s sense of time by telling her that every second that passed in this loop was a day on the outside.


    Whatever the spirit was telling her though, it was clear that he had one goal.


    Reach the end of this path with all of us.


    As the main cast began walking in the direction of the end of the path, I also started moving, using the darkness of the cave to trail behind the main cast by a couple of steps.


    For the time being, Lily did not say anything or attempt to showcase the corrupted figure''s strength to Alya and the spirit, so I simply observed.


    If we rushed and were caught somehow by the spirit, we would lose our chances of escaping.


    The spirit was part of that tree that we had destroyed, and that tree was the end condition, so in other words, this spirit was also an end condition.


    Something we had to kill to get rid of the loop.


    The spirit had all the cards in this scenario; if he wanted to, it could just leave us here and run away, leaving us trapped in the loop forever.


    It had all the leverage.


    Hearing a conversation spark up between the group, I got a bit closer.


    Irene, turning to Lily, Alya, and the corrupted figure who was at the front of the group, asked.


    "So, what''s up with your face? Suddenly, you''re scared to show it. Finally, looked in a mirror and realized something was wrong?"


    ..?


    I understand Liam''s hate a bit, but what the actual hell did I do to deserve that insult from Irene?


    Struggling to keep my mouth closed, I instructed the corrupted figure to simply turn to Lily in response to Irene''s question.


    The corrupted figure could not communicate, so I had to let Lily know that so she could respond on my behalf.


    Noticing the corrupted figure''s expectant gaze, Lily seemed to have an idea as she stopped mid-walk and turned back to face Irene.


    "I-i saw him fighting an A-rank beast back in the cave, and it gave him a bloody scar. I think he''s covering his face to prevent the blood from leaking out." Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Almost wanting to run over and thank Lily, I sighed in relief from behind the rocks.


    At first, I thought that we were going to be caught as since the spirit could see through anything in the cave, it would be alerted if a monster were to appear, so it would know that Lily was lying.


    Fortunately though, Lily had mentioned that it was the underground space that we had first fallen into, not the secret tunnel that we were currently in.


    Working with instead of against other regressors who have a ton of knowledge is kind of nice sometimes!


    Examining the expressions of the main cast, I saw Kevin and Liam give me a weird expression while Ruby''s entire face was slanted while staring at the back of the corrupted figure.


    huh?


    Did she really still think it was me after what Lily said earlier?


    Irene stared at the silent corrupted figure for a moment before shaking her head and staring at Lily, clearly not believing the story.


    On the other hand, Alya''s eyes flashed a cold silver for a moment before returning to normal as she quickened her pace, not questioning Lily''s statement.


    The bait had been set... all that was left was to wait.

 Chapter 158: Chapter 158:A Decoy [3]

    And wait, I did.


    As the group went further into the tunnel and became closer to the end of the path that I had perceived earlier, I followed behind, aware of any movements from Alya.


    At this point, it was pretty easy for me to determine that...


    Alya wasn''t necessarily Alya.


    Now, that may sound like an oxymoron, but it is true.


    Alya isn''t the one in control of her body; whether she knows it or not doesn''t make a difference.


    She was simply a puppet being controlled by the spirit.


    Now, that didn''t necessarily mean that Alya didn''t have control of her body, but it was also possible that the spirit was manipulating her, swaying her actions and emotions through his words.


    From her rush to reach the end of the path to her occasion glances at the corrupted figure of Ren, someone who she wouldn''t pay any attention to earlier, and her unusual manner of walking.


    "can''t have a heroine dying, can I..?" S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Sighing, I continued following, getting a bit closer as I heard a conversation spark off, breaking the awkward silence.


    Trailing at the behind of the group with his sword ready, Kevin angrily asked.


    "Look, princess, I know you said that this path is the way out, but it really doesn''t seem like it anymore."


    As Alya turned around to face Kevin, not slowing her pace a single bit, she was about to reply when Zach suddenly interrupted.


    "Kevin, we''ve always trusted each other to the end, so what good would not trust each other now do? If she''s wrong and you''re right about this not being the way out, then so be it, but we''re a team."


    Nodding from beside Kevin, Liam also chimed in.


    "I mean, what else were we supposed to do this in the tunnel, Kevin? If you have any suggestions about how to get out, let''s hear them!"


    Shaking his head, Kevin ceased his complaining before speeding back up to catch up to Alya''s increasing pace.


    However, just as Kevin sped up to catch up with Alya and the rest of the group, Liam halted, immediately falling behind.


    Thinking for a moment, Liam seemed to be staring at the green particles with his eyes slanted.


    This time, everyone was much more alert due to Lily''s previous disappearance, so within a few seconds, the rest of the main cast had stopped, staring at Liam''s stationary figure.


    *TAP*


    Tapping her foot rapidly, Alya coldly asked.


    "Got something to say?"


    It was quite obvious that Alya, or "Alya," wanted to rush to the end of the cave, but she wasn''t going to outright force everyone.


    Whether it was because the spirit controlling Alya wanted to seem less suspicious or because the real Alya wasn''t a bad person, I did not know.


    Raising his hand and jumping into the air, Liam''s hand passed through one of the many green particles in the air.


    Landing swiftly on the ground, Liam managed to gather his words as he turned to the main cast and pointed at the green particles in the air.


    "Look, don''t get me wrong, I''m not agreeing with Kevin or not trusting Alya, but does anyone not find it suspicious that this path of green particles is the only way out?"


    Walking towards the main cast, Liam continued.


    "I mean, this is a cave, isn''t it? Shouldn''t there be multiple paths diverging, not just one long and twisting one?


    Almost immediately, the temperate of the cave began to drop as, unbeknownst to the others, a small layer of ice formed on the blade of Alya''s sword.


    Shivering, I looked at Alya, whose eyes were sparkling with a dangerous aura, and her stance had changed to one preparing to fight.


    The spirit''s maximum power would be that of Alya''s as Alya was its only contractor, so it definitely couldn''t kill or majorly injure Liam, especially with the rest of the main cast here.


    But... the spirit could disappear and leave us.


    That would be detrimental.


    If the spirit disappeared, we would be trapped in here until it reappeared.


    Our only way of escaping was killing the spirit, as it was the end condition and the only way to terminate the loop.


    Tensing myself up, I stared at Liam before giving an order to my corrupted figure which was standing next to Lily.


    Thankfully, I had prepared for this situation as I knew that the main cast wasn''t stupid and that one of them would most likely figure out the abnormalities in the cave just like Lily and I.


    As Alya''s legs tensed, my corrupted figure opened its mouth, which, though blocked by the face cover, was still noticeable as the cover twitched upwards.


    At the same time, from behind a nearby rock, I placed my hand over my mouth, making it as seem as if something was covering my mouth.


    "mmph, I don''t see any way besides forward, even if mmph is suspicious."


    your m,v,l,e,m,p,y,r story


    Remembering his words earlier, I continued in a mocking and sarcastic tone.


    "If you have any suggestions, I''m sure we''d all be glad to hear them."


    Seeing the room''s temperature slowly drop, I turned to Lily, prompting her to continue.


    Even if my point was correct, I was just an outsider in this main cast group, so no matter what I said, my points would be irrelevant and ignored.


    I just needed to build a base for Lily to continue off on.


    Meeting the corrupted figure''s gaze, well, where she thought it was, there was cover blocking the figure''s face, Lily replied.


    "As much as I hate to say it...he''s right. We have no other options, and this is probably the closest we''ve ever been to escaping."


    "...if you all say so."


    "*PFFT*"


    As Kevin chucked, Liam returned to the main cast, his sword already drawn and presumably reading to attack at any moment.


    Well, at least I knew the spirit''s first target when we arrived now!


    But was using the main character as bait really a good idea?


    "Well, when has anything I''ve ever done been a good idea!"

 Chapter 159: Chapter 159:A Dead End [1]

    Thus, our expedition into the cave continued at a much faster pace than usual, showcasing Alya''s desire to reach the end of the path.


    Hm?


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    Desire?


    Could Ruby have already read Alya''s desire and noticed something was off?


    The normal Alya''s desire would be to protect her friends and possibly return home, so it would be quite unusual for her desire to suddenly switch.


    Glancing at Ruby as I followed them, I tried to discern if she knew anything, but she was acting normal, her wand drawn and lighting up the cave with a bright fire while she was talking to Irene.


    Returning my gaze to Alya and the corrupted figure, I was surprised to see Alya''s pace actually slow down as if she were waiting for something.


    Looking around, I also realized that we were just at right about the point that I had noticed something suspicious and turned around.


    The path''s end was nearby.


    The green particles in the air were accumulating and showing up more and more often, and the number of twists and turns ahead was decreasing, the path actually going somewhat straight.


    Unfortunately, there were still some obstacles blocking my sight ahead, so I could just peer to the very end of the path.


    As we continued ahead at a slower pace, I glanced at my corrupted figure, which was walking side-by-side with Lily and right behind Alya.


    The only requirement for a spiritual contract was for the contract to be signed between a spirit and a living thing.


    As I saw with my raven earlier, the creations from my corruption were considered living things, so the corrupted figure definitely met the criteria.


    There was just one problem... how was I supposed to know if the contract had been signed with my corrupted figure and Alya''s contract had been terminated?


    We couldn''t just ask Alya as the spirit would realize something was off, making him possibly disappear, leaving us with no chance of escaping the loop.


    Well, I guess that only left me with one way of determining the validity of the contract.


    Since my corrupted figure didn''t have a mind of its owner, if offered a contract by the spirit, it would, by default, accept as it would be unable to reject unless I ordered it not to.


    Who knows?


    Maybe the contract between my corrupted figure and the spirit had already been signed.


    Only the corrupted figure and the spirit would know.


    Even Alya could be completely oblivious to her contract''s dismissal as it was clear that the spirit had some control over her mind by now.


    If that had already happened, this entire plan would have been a bust... as we had already won.


    To kill a spirit, one simply had to kill its tenants.


    In other words, if the contract had already been signed, all I would have to do was dismiss the corrupted figure, dismissing and killing the spirit alongside it.


    Wiping those thoughts out of my head, I noticed the frequency of green particles increasing further. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was far too early to dismiss the corrupted figure.


    If the spirit was not yet contracted with it, it would surely sense danger and possibly leave if a person just disappeared in front of it.


    I also had only one chance, as I would have neither the time nor energy to recreate and mold the corrupted figure if I dismissed it.


    "Crazy how I don''t have enough time when I can slow time. I can''t imagine what normal people feel like..."


    There was also the question of what would happen if I simply switched bodies with my corrupted figure.


    But that was not a risk I was willing to take.


    What if the contract was transferred from the corrupted figure to me, making the spirit able to influence me?


    Then, the only end to end this damn loop was for me to die as I would become its tenant and contractee.


    Clearing my head, I crept closer towards the main cast as the accumulation of green particles grew larger and larger.


    In reality, I had no intention of allowing the spirit to reach the end of the path.


    What was at the end of that path?


    I had no interest in knowing.


    Using my last bits of corruption, I manifested two pairs of daggers, a bow with a couple of arrows, and a mask to cover my face.


    If the spirit had not yet contracted my corrupted figure, I was going to make it.


    Killing Alya was off the table, but coming close most definitely wasn''t.


    Fusing the blood-red substance and ocean-blue mana in my body, I manifested one dark purple, on the borderline of being black, wing on my right shoulder.


    Using the wing to levitate in the air, I activated the grace period of dash before waiting for the perfect moment.


    Just as Alya was about to leave the ten-meter range of my dash, I raised my hand to my eye, slowing time.


    Finding a gap in between the group of main cast members, I calculated the perfect angle I needed to dash at.


    Placing my dagger at where Alya''s right hand would be, the hand holding her sword, I removed my hand from my eye before using a dash.


    *WHOOSH*


    Blowing away the green particles above me as I dashed forward, in real-time, I saw the expressions of the main cast members below me transform.


    Liam, who was already on guard from his suspicions, immediately lit up his sword a light blue; however, he was still slow to catch me.


    Liam swung his sword, just barely missing my legs, as I propelled forward with my dagger aligned straight with Alya''s arm.


    As Lily hesitantly raised her wand, a smile appeared on my face.


    Bracing myself for the incoming attacks and spells, I stared at the blank-eyed Alya before lowering my daggers.


    Giving an order to the corrupted figure, I further grinned, feeling a sense of relief as I flapped my wing.


    Did the spirit think I was stupid?

 Chapter 160: Chapter 160:A Dead End [2]

    In reality, the spirit could be contracted with anyone at this point.


    It could have been contracted with Ruby, Irene, Alya, Kevin, Zach, Liam, and even Ruby currently.


    There was just one living thing it couldn''t be contracted with besides me.


    The corrupted figure.


    Spirits can see anything, can''t they?


    They should have been easily able to see through my corrupted figure, instantly not recognizing it as a human.


    At that point, the spirit should have definitely realized that something was off.


    From there, the possibilities could be endless.


    The spirit could have recognized that Alya was obviously the most suspicious person, prompting them to switch to another person.


    That person could have been anyone besides my corrupted figure.


    Attacking Alya right now wouldn''t do anything, as there was a possibility that the spirit was contracted with another member of the main cast.


    Then, everyone here was my enemy.


    Appearing ten meters up in the air, I levitated in the air before dismissing my only escape route from this underground space.


    Over two hundred meters above me, a single pitch-black crow that was flying the night sky, blending in completely, suddenly disappeared.


    This time, it didn''t disappear because it was blending in so well with the night sky...it truly disappeared, leaving no trace.


    Instead of a sense of panic overwhelming me as I floated in the air with time-slowed, a sense of relief flooded through my body.


    I was going to win; why would I need an escape route?


    If you have an escape route or backup plan ready, then you''ve already lost, both mentally and physically.


    Feeling the corruption from the crow flood into my body, I didn''t waste a second as I immediately used the new corruption.


    At this point, everyone was right under my levitating figure, their spells and swords already swinging and aiming at me.


    Right where I needed them.


    Sending shockwaves through my body, I allowed the ocean-blue mana to flow out of my body, crystalizing around all of us.


    The mana left my body, slowly accumulating and surrounding all of us until it was done.


    In less than a second, an entire ocean-blue mana cage was surrounding us, preventing anyone from leaving and entering.


    The next second, a small dot of pitch-black color appeared on the blue mana-cage, blemishing it.


    The next, there were countless more black dots appearing all over the mana cage until, finally, they had overtaken the mana.


    NovelFiremp yr content


    The red wand of Irene and Ruby, the blue wand of Lily, the blue sword of Liam, the grey sword of Zach, the blue sword of Alya, and the red sword of Kevin all disappeared.


    They were still there... but the pure pitch-blackness of the shadow cage suppressed their colors, not allowing them to be seen.


    The room was pitch black... no one could see what was in front of them or even their own body.


    No one could see their hands or their weapons in front of them.


    Levitating right below the roof of the shadow cage, I stared downwards at the seven main cast members, each of them... still aiming at me.


    The next moment, all the spells and countless sword slashes flew at me, prompting me to flap my wing, appearing on the floor.


    "WHERE IS HE!?"


    "THIS IS ME, YOU IDIOT."


    Leaving the cast members chaos, I strolled through the shadow cage, silently, carefully maneuvering around the main cast members until I finally reached someone.


    In front of me stood a silver-haired girl with ocean-blue eyes, her ice-blue sword being held shakingly in her arms.


    Alya was acting irregularly despite the fact that the spirit should have already negated their contract with her.


    If the spirit simply had manipulated her to forget everything, Alya would be acting normally, yet here she was, trembling right in front of me.


    And even before I implemented the shadow cage, she was still rushing towards the end of the path.


    What the spirit hadn''t manipulated her memories... but instead, used them against her.


    Alya, who had regained all her memories of being manipulated after breaking the contract with the spirit, would have realized that the spirit wouldn''t have just left her be.


    It would have found another target.


    Someone else in the main cast.


    The spirit must have told Alya something along the lines before ending the contract.


    "Take us to the end of the path, or ___ dies." S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Taking off my mask and revealing my face, I reached out, grabbing Alya''s shoulders and stopping her from trembling.


    Not giving her any information, I simply leaned into her ear and whispered.


    "Who is it?"


    Having her body forcefully stopped from trembling, Alya immediately flicked her head, turning to face the sound of my voice.


    Seemingly recognizing the sound of my voice, I felt Alya''s body begin to shake even more, but again, I gripped her shoulders, stopping her from making any sound.


    After a moment, she somehow turned right into me, despite there being no light, and whispered in a quiet voice.


    "h-he said it was Zach."


    ...he chose the least powerful person out of everyone here?


    Patting her on the shoulder, I whispered back.


    "It''s done...just be patient."


    Leaving behind the scared Alya, I flapped my wings once, teleporting right in front of Lily and my corrupted figure.


    Tapping her on the back, I quietly whispered.


    "It''s not Alya...I need you to relax them. Make them feel as if this is just because of the cave."


    Then, without waiting for a response, I flapped my wing, appearing right above Zach, with my corrupted figure silently making his way to Zach as well.


    "...I''m sorry about this, Zach...but don''t blame me if I enjoy it."


    Like a seagull flying into the ocean to scoop up a fish, I flew head-first downwards right at Zach.


    At the same time, Lily''s loud voice could be heard echoing throughout the mana cage.


    "EVERYONE, CALM DOWN, THIS IS NORMAL, IT''S GOING TO GET DARKER AS WE GO FURTHER INTO THE CAVE."


    Stopping a meter before I hit Zach head-on, I waited for his reaction.

 Chapter 161: Chapter 161:A Dead End [3]

    Suspended in the air right above Zach''s head, I watched as he slowly opened his mouth before immediately closing it.


    Her face transformed from confused to one of disgust as he muttered out, believing that nobody else could hear him.


    "Damn liar."


    He can see the shadow cage, which is not surprising but still trippy.


    He was a direct counter to my corruption ability.


    Ordering the corrupted figure to stop a couple of steps away from the corrupted figure, I smirked as I drew in the shadow cage, making it smaller and smaller.


    If the spirit could have escaped the shadow cage, it would have done so by now, yet here it was, standing still and observing the situation.


    It was also possible that he was simply observing, waiting for an enemy to appear, and then making a plan.


    Unfortunately, I had to assume the first theory was correct as my mana was running lower and lower with everyone second.


    The shadow cage would drop in less than two minutes, and when that happens... the spirit would be set free, taking our hopes of terminating the loop with it.


    Well...it''s now or never.


    Not bothering to make it seem as though the corrupted figure was speaking, I shouted out.


    "IT''S KEVIN!"


    I could kill Kevin, yes, but could I trap him and showcase the corrupted figure''s ability at the same time?


    I had to trap the spirit, making it seem as if it would die if it were Kevin''s body, and at the same time, make the corrupted figure''s body appealing to it, making it want to switch bodies.


    Looking around at the main cast members and seeing the surprised expressions on all of them... except Alya, a smile slipped onto my face.


    The tables had turned.


    I used to have to fight 1v20s, but now it was the opposite.


    All of the main cast and I versus one single person.


    Oh, how nice it was to be on the side with a greater amount of people!


    As I plunged my dagger downwards, allowing myself to plunge toward the ground right at Kevin, Lily reaffirmed my words.


    "KEVIN HAS BEEN POSSESSED, WE HAVE TO... K-KILL HIM!"


    Thanking Lily for actually saying "kill," as the spirit needed to believe that it would die if it stayed in Zach''s body, I threw my first attack at the corrupted figure.


    However, I did not expect it to hit.


    The main cast could easily take care of Kevin...my job was to showcase the corrupted figure''s body.


    Flapping my wing, I appeared right beside my corrupted figure with my night-black bow and arrows in hand.


    Feeling a presence behind me, I turned around and saw Ruby cluelessly wandering around with her wand.


    Oh right... they can''t see, can they?


    Without sight, they were just a bunch of useless people who had no chance against the spirit.


    Thankfully, I believed that the spirit couldn''t see in the shadow cage as it had barely managed to dodge my dagger attack by ducking at the last minute.


    But, that also was a double-edged sword as that meant I couldn''t showcase the power of the corrupted figure to it.


    That would mean that the spirit would attempt to take over another main cast member instead of the corrupted figure, making our situation even worse.


    "...can''t I have one good thing!? Why does everything come with side effects...?"


    Leaving the corrupted figure and the retreating Zach behind, I flapped my wing three times, grabbing Ruby, Lily, Irene, and Alya in less than a second.


    To them, it would have looked like they were teleporting as I seamlessly grabbed one before moving on to the other.


    Dropping the four girls next to Kevin and Zach, I hesitated for a moment before whispering to Lily and Alya in a deadly, serious voice.


    "Try to kill him. You have to make it seem real, or else the spirit won''t believe it."


    As Alya was at a loss for words, Lily muttered back.


    "H-how c-can we, h-"


    Sighing, I shook my head.


    "If we don''t do this now, the situation will only get worse. Would you rather Zach possibly die... or we all die instead?"


    Without any hesitation, Alya broke out of her trance and replied.


    "We all die."


    Some people are just fundamentally different, I guess...


    As Lily nodded her head and turned her expectant gaze to me, I asked.


    "Do you trust me?"


    In unison, the two girls replied.


    "No."


    "Nope." Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Sighing, I turned away and replied.


    "Well, you''re going to have to."


    "...?"


    Leaving the main cast behind, I whispered back in a dead serious and cold-hearted voice.


    "I will kill Zach myself if you don''t."


    Some things needed to be done.


    Did I seriously have any intent to kill Zach?


    Read today on NovelFire _em _pyr.


    No.


    But those were the words that Alya and Lily needed to hear.


    And... just like the spirit needed to believe that he would die, they believed that I would genuinely kill Zach if they didn''t listen.


    Not waiting for a response, I flapped my wing, appearing next to my corrupted figure once again with my bow in hand.


    Now, it was time to solve the problem of lighting.


    Dismissing my mask as there was no longer a need, I manifested two daggers.


    Finding the blood-red substance in my body, I embed both my daggers with the substance, causing them to shine a bright red.


    Corruption and my blood-red substance could coexist instead of one trying to overpower the other, just as they fused together to create my wings.


    In the pitch-black room, one figure was illuminated and seen despite the immense darkness: my corrupted figure.


    Looking around, I saw the entire main cast with sullen faces as they gazed at my corrupted figure in the distance.


    I had stepped back to prevent myself from being seen, hiding behind the corrupted figure''s back.


    Putting one of the daggers in the corrupted figure''s hand, I nocked an arrow in my bow before aiming.

 Chapter 162: Chapter 162:A Dead End [4]

    As I pulled the delicate black string of my bow back and placed the bow in front of me, making it seem as if the corrupted figure were using it, I examined Zach''s crumbling figure.


    If he had not been aware of Zach''s lack of power when comparing it to the other main cast members, he would know now.


    Right now the spirit''s hope of winning the fight is the fact that he believes that the other main cast members won''t kill Zach as he is their friend.


    Through the walk to the cave, the spirit must have noticed the closed camaraderie and sentiment shared between the main cast members.


    Therefore, right now, he should believe that the main cast wouldn''t kill Zach no matter what happened.


    Not only that, but it was also clear from the spirit''s lack of energy or just standing still instead of trying to escape that he had no plans of attacking.


    Just like he had used our emotions to manipulate us into following the path at the start, he was once again influencing our emotions, disallowing us from killing Zach and him.


    Unfortunately, this time around, he wasn''t in control of everything from behind the scenes.


    He was on the front stage, in the form of Zach''s body, standing in front of the entire main cast and I.


    And just like an actor, he was attempting to elicit emotions out of us, not excitement or happiness, but sympathy and sorrow at seeing one of your best friends being controlled.


    Truly, he was an astounding actor.


    If I hadn''t been here, there was no doubt in my mind that Lily, Alya, and the rest of the main cast wouldn''t attack, not daring to harm Zach''s body.


    Then, it was simply a game of blackmail.


    The spirit had all the bargaining chips while the main cast was broke and penniless.


    Unfortunately, an extra was going to make an appearance in this performance.


    A true extra, one that neither belonged in this world or performance.


    Releasing the arrow, I aimed right above Zach''s shoulder, calculating the trajectory so that the arrow would barely miss him, just flying by his cheek.


    However, that didn''t mean Zach wouldn''t be hurt.


    The spirit in Zach''s body, who neither had the capabilities nor skill to dodge my arrow, simply stared at the corrupted figure, not noticing me, and watched the arrow fly toward him.


    Instead of making an attempt to dodge to the right or deflect the arrow with a sword, the spirit in Zach''s body simply watched, a shrewd and cunning smiling apparent on his face.


    As the arrow flew right past Zach''s head and above his shoulder, a deep cut appeared on Zach''s face, blemishing his "priceless" face.


    The spirit did not flinch as blood leaked out of the cut on Zach''s face, simply staring at the corrupted figure and the main cast, who had not joined me.


    Everyone was now on stage, illuminated by the blood-red aura surrounding my daggers, which seamlessly co-existed with the darkness of the shadow cage.


    Hiding behind the corrupted figure, I turned to Lily and said.


    "My arrow won''t miss next time."


    Looking at the horrified expressions on Alya and Lily, who were the only two close enough to hear me, I picked up another arrow.


    Seeing no way of reasoning with me, the two simply stared at my bow for a moment before turning right back around.


    Then, in a purposely loud voice, Lily screamed out.


    "WE HAVE NO CHOICE...IT''S EITHER ZACH DIES OR US!"


    Guess someone else here is a natural-born actor.


    The smile on Zach''s face disappeared, being replaced with a cold expression as his teeth gnawed each other before reappearing.


    However, completely wiping the smile of the spirit, the rest of the main cast did not object to Lily''s statement, simply staying silent.


    Looks like we have a whole group of actors over there....


    Well, I''m an extra who wasn''t even cast by the director or author in this scenario, so who am I to judge?


    Pulling the elegant string of my bow once again, I watched with interest as the main cast rushed toward Zach.


    Even with my blood-red aura lighting up this area of the shadow cage, the colors of their attacks still weren''t visible.


    They appeared for a split second before becoming immediately consumed by the darkness of the shadow cage, vanishing without a trace.


    Watching the colorless attacks of Ruby''s fire, Lily''s water, and Alya''s ice charge at the corrupted figure, I released my arrow.


    However, instead of fully pulling back the string, I simply did it halfway, giving Zach more than enough time to dodge.


    But that didn''t mean that the attacks of the others wouldn''t hurt him.


    After sending the arrow off, I immediately dismissed the bow and commanded the corrupted figure to charge forward.


    Holding the dagger covered in a blood-red aura, the corrupted figure charged forward silently.


    Turning to the side, I saw Alya staring at me with an expectant gaze instead of her friend Zach, who was being bombarded by attacks.


    Raising my hand, I copied the salute that I had seen the Elven soldiers do during the attack on the clearing.


    Putting my right hand to my heart, I tapped it with my index finger once before swiftly raising my hand upwards and touching my nose.


    Finally, I tapped my index finger to my nose before throwing my entire right hand upwards, my index finger sticking out.


    Leaving behind the confused Alya, I activated the grace period of dash before immediately dashing to the side.


    Instead of dashing straight behind the corrupted figure, I appeared ten meters to the right, not in the area illuminated by my blood-red dagger.


    As Zach desperately dived to the right, barely avoiding my arrow, countless fire spells, ice attacks, and sword slashes hit him. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    *BANG*


    Being sent flying by the attacks, Zach''s back crashed into the barrier of the shadow cage, sending him right to the ground with an uncontrollably yelp.

 Chapter 163: Chapter 163:A Dead End [5]

    However, no more spells or sword slashes came as Zach swiftly descended to the floor, battered and bruised.


    Well, they didn''t know the script of this performance I was hosting, so I couldn''t blame them.


    They weren''t really acting... just doing improv.


    Not going forward myself, I sent the corrupted figure towards Zach''s injured body, the blood-red daggers still lighting the area around the corrupted figure.


    Despite the fact that no more attacks or spells were going to be thrown, the climax was just starting.


    Everything before was just the exposition and rising action.


    Ordering the corrupted figure to open its mouth, I spoke from behind, shrouding myself in the darkness of the shadow cage to avoid detection of the spirit.


    "Give it up."


    *PEW*


    Lying on the ground, propped up against the barrier of the shadow cage, Zach spat out a handful of blood before turning to face the corrupted figure.


    A shrew smirk appeared on his face; Zach pointed at the countless injuries on his body before cockily asking.


    "Are you really going to allow your friend to die?"


    Pointing the tip of the dagger at Zach''s bruised body, illuminating Zach''s terrible state and condition for the rest of the main cast, the corrupted figure opened his mouth.


    Hiding in the darkness with my dash''s usage period already activated, I spoke.


    "Fortunately, he''s not my friend."


    *CLASH*


    *CLASH*


    As those last few words escaped my mouth, I could hear the sound of weapons dropping to the floor, reverberating throughout the shadow cage.


    Almost instantly, those sounds of swords and wands dropping were replaced by footsteps, once again echoing throughout the cage.


    Lots of footsteps.


    I didn''t even have to turn around to know that there were countless people charging at me.


    Looking behind the corrupted figure, Zach held his smile up high before using the last of his energy to point in the direction of the sound.


    "Looks like his friends won''t let you."


    Commanding the corrupted figure to continue staring at Zach''s bruised body emotionless, I dashed forward.


    Still shrouded in the darkness, I was now side-by-side with the corrupted figure, barely escaping from the area lit up by the daggers.


    *RUMBLE*


    The next second, the entire shadow cage began shrinking.


    Without turning back and ignoring the sound of the footsteps readily approaching me, I snapped my figures.


    In an instant, the entire shadow cage shrunk and shrunk, faster than at which the pace the main cast was sprinting at me.


    Just as the main cast was illuminated by the blood-red daggers of my corrupted figure, the shadow cage finished shrinking.


    The next second, the shadow cage cut off, creating new barriers, encircling only me, the corrupted figure, and Zach.


    Though I could not hear it, by turning around and peering through the darkness, I could see the entire main cast banging on the barrier of the shrunken shadow cage.


    A moment later, the main cast picked up their swords and wands before casting spell after spell...sword slash after sword slash... and shouting some words that I couldn''t quite make due to the shadow cage separating us.


    Not wasting any more time, I turned around and stared at Zach''s injured figure, still oblivious to the shrinking of the shadow cage.


    Controlling the corrupted figure to raise the daggers upwards, illuminating the entire shadow cage except for a small part in the corner where I stood, the corrupted figure watched as Zach''s smile cracked.


    Commanding the corrupted figure to match Zach''s smile and open its mouth, I said from behind.


    "Looks like it''s just me and you now."


    As the shadow cage started shaking and trembling from the spells and sword slashes of the main cast, I sighed.


    They were quite good actors... when they didn''t know they were acting.


    Usually, I would have just blamed Lily and Alya for not trusting me, but this time, I had actually wanted them to not trust my words.


    This all just added to the effect that I seriously wanted to kill Zach; why else would I blockade off the main cast?


    Taking one last glance at the main cast, I sighed. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I went from a 20v1 to a 1v20 with seconds...I''m back where I started."


    Seeing the smile on Zach''s face stay unchanged, I also smiled in the shadows before commanding the corrupted figure to raise its daggers.


    Like an executioner, the corrupted figure raised the daggers as high as possible before staring down at Zach''s figure.


    Remembering the behavior profile I had created of the corrupted figure with my eyes, I formed a mental hologram of the corrupted figure in my head.


    Placing my mental image of the corrupted figure side-by-side with the real one, I closely watched as the dagger began its descent, aiming right at Zach''s neck.


    Raising my right hand to my eye, I slowed down my perception time, focusing all my attention on the descent of the dagger below me.


    Right beside the real dagger was the mental image of the dagger and corrupted figure I had created in my mind.


    All I had to do was watch the differences.


    And a difference there was.


    As the dagger was about halfway to reaching Zach''s neck, it slowed for less than a second, allowing the mental image of the dagger I had created to surpass it.


    Without skipping a beat, I immediately dismissed the corrupted figure, causing the blood-red dagger to drop to the ground, narrowly missing Zach''s neck.


    Confirming that my actions had been successful, Zach''s expression transformed from a cocky grin to one of confusion as he stared around the room.


    Letting out a sigh, I wiped the sweat that had accumulated on my face.


    Was it really all done?


    Was this loop finally done?


    As the corruption returned to me, I gasped, feeling a pain in my chest.


    Covering my chest with a hand, I turned around, seeing a hole begin to form in my shadow cage, allowing countless spells to fly toward me in slow motion.


    *BANG*

 Chapter 164: Chapter 164:Not a Dead End?

    Using the last of my energy, I created a small shield made of corruption before lowering my other hand and slowing back down time.


    Preparing myself for the impact of the spells hitting my shield, I kneeled down on the ground, also creating a small barrier around me to protect my body from any strays.


    "..."


    "..."


    However, that impact never came.


    Exhausted from simply kneeling down on the ground, I finally collapsed, allowing the shield to disappear and return to my body in the form of corruption.


    Maybe... they had forgiven me?


    Looking upwards at the roof of the cave, I expected to hear a joyous and heartfelt reunion... but there was nothing.


    No sound.


    There weren''t even any footsteps or voices reverberating throughout the large cave.


    Struggling as I attempted to turn around, I tilted my head upwards and stared at the edge of the previous shadow cage where Zach was... or had been.


    As I gazed at Zach''s previous location, I opened my mouth in surprise as Zach''s body was nowhere to be seen.


    In fact... as I slowly turned my head, I quickly realized that there was no one else around me.


    I was alone in the cave.


    Regaining some of my energy, I used a wall to stand up before glancing around once a gain, feeling a sense of similarity.


    I was still in the same cave... the people had just disappeared.


    Maybe I had passed out, and they had just left me to leave the loop?


    Did it have anything to do with the spirit that I had just killed?


    Leaning against the wall, I simply stayed still, surveying my surroundings and allowing my body to recuperate.


    After about five minutes, I finally felt my legs again, which was both a good... and a bad thing, considering how sore they were.


    Limping across the cave, I looked up and down for a moment before dropping to the floor.


    Manifesting a crow with my regained corruption, I sent it in the direction we had entered the tunnel before once again lying down.


    Waiting about five minutes, I prepared my head for a surge of information before promptly switching bodies with the crow.


    Finding myself in the area we had originally been, under the tree stump, I immediately stared upwards.


    However... the roof was blocked off, leaving me no way out.


    If the loop had been terminated, everything that had happened in our last loop would have become a reality, so our destruction of the tree and ground below should have been apparent.


    Yet... staring up at the completely fine and untouched roof, I couldn''t deny it.


    ...Had the loop not ended?


    Immediately reenergized, I de-manifested the crow before jumping upwards and walking forward.


    Spirit or not... there was still only one way forward.


    Manifesting two corrupted daggers, I lifted them up, before shrouding them with the blood-red substance and lighting up the area around me.


    At the same time, I also manifested a wing, allowing me a path of escape in case anything happened.


    Holding my arms both up with a dagger torch in both hands, I carefully walked further and further into the tunnel.


    At this point, I was too tired and exhausted to feel emotions, so I didn''t have any anger at the loop, not ending or feeling stressed, considering my situation.


    I simply walked forward with an emotionless expression, keeping all my available attention on my surroundings.


    This was now the furthest I had ever been in the cave, so everything around me was new.


    Yet... it was still all the same.


    This is not to say that the layout was the same or that my eyes felt a sense of similarity; it was just the same setting around me. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Rocks all around me and dirt under me.


    However, one thing had changed: the path was now going straight without any twists or turns.


    Eventually, I stopped for a moment before peering into the darkness ahead of me...seeing the end of the path.


    Only a mile away stood a wall.


    This end of this path... led to a wall.


    Just a regular wall made out of rocks.


    Making sure that there were no abnormalities or enemies ahead, I sighed before flapping my wings.


    *FLAP*


    *FLAP*


    Continuing to flap my wings and appear ten meters ahead each time, I eventually reached the end of the path.


    Standing in front of the sold rock wall, I immediately tried to look for any weak spots or hidden tunnels behind... but there was nothing.


    "well, now, what the hell am I supposed to do."


    I had done it all...from testing my body mentally by creating an entire map of the forest to using my body to the maximum physically by fighting the spirit.


    Slamming my hands into the floor furiously, I lost all motivation.


    Before... there was always a path forward.


    First, my hope had been to find the end condition.


    Next, it had been following the path of green particles.


    And finally, it had been killing the spirit and triggering the end of the loop.


    But... now there was nothing.


    And there was no one else around me.


    The main cast had just disappeared as if they had been holograms this entire time.


    Once again, slamming my hands against the floor, my blood-red dagger slipped out of my hands and hurtled towards the rocky wall.


    The next second... a fire appeared.


    Out of pure nothingness, I watched as the formerly normal wall of me erupted into flames.


    But... it wasn''t just any fire.


    Lying on the ground, furious and confused, I watched as the fire slowly liquified... until all that was left was a puddle of what seemed like blood.


    Unable to comprehend what was in front of me, I stared in confusion at the puddle of what seemed like blood before me.


    The next second, a bright light enveloped me, forcing me to close my eyes.


    [You and your party have completed the Dream!]


    [Calculating Completion Rate [--*--] ] ---> [Error: Value cannot be calculated]


    [Your rewards will be handed out accordingly!]

 Chapter 165: Chapter 165:Ranking Up [1]

    Reopening my eyes, I realized that I was no longer in the cave... or anywhere for that matter.


    In front of me sat a system menu that I stared at, shellshocked.


    [You and your party have completed the Dream!]


    [Calculating Completion Rate [--*--] ] ---> [Error: Value cannot be calculated]


    [Your rewards will be handed out accordingly!]


    A dream...


    You''re telling me that was all a dream!?


    Around the system menu, I seemed to be in a pitch-black void as everything around me was covered in darkness.


    Still lying down on the floor, I looked upwards at the never-ending abyss of black darkness above me.


    I was too tired to be angry...


    As my surroundings distorted once again and the system menu promptly disappeared, a sudden jolt coursed through my body.


    Closing my eyes due to the pain, I felt my surroundings adjust as I was no longer lying down but somehow sitting down.


    ...it really was all a dream.


    Keeping my eyes closed for a second longer, I contemplated just manifesting a crow and swapping bodies to avoid this current situation.


    A very peculiar word was mentioned in my congratulations for completing the dream.


    "you and YOUR PARTY"


    ...my party?


    Wasn''t I just fighting against them to kill the spirit and Zach, not only a couple of minutes ago?


    One could say the main cast should get down on their knees and thank me for killing the spirit and allowing us to complete the dream.


    However, that one would most definitely be wrong.


    After all, in their eyes, I had just attempted to kill one of their friends, even going as far as to threaten them as well.


    Misunderstanding upon misunderstandings...


    That was my entire life at this point.


    Of course, it was mostly my fault as I had never bothered to clear up these misunderstandings. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Realizing that I couldn''t muster the energy to use my corruption to manifest a crow, I sighed before listening to the conversations around me.


    I really had no choice here...


    Though, since I was still pretending to be passed out, I could not see who was talking; it was very easy to identify people by just their voices.


    Somewhere to my right, Liam screamed out.


    "ZACH, ZACH, WHERE ARE YOU?"


    As soon I dismissed the corrupted figure, they must have been blinded by the sudden light before receiving the system message like me, so they didn''t end up seeing me kill the spirit and not Zach.


    From beside me, I felt a pair of shoulders slump against mine before a warm and soft voice spoke.


    "hah...I''m right here. Liam, what''s all the c-commotion for."


    Before Liam could reply, Kevin''s voice spoke from my far right as he tried his best to remain nonchalant while responding.


    "Oh, we''re not surprised or anything after watching you come this close to death? I knew your self-awareness was terrible, Zach, but this is simply astounding."


    From in front of me, Lily''s distressed voice immediately replied.


    "Really, is this the time for sarcasm, Kevin?"


    "Oh, so I can''t use sarcasm when we''re in a near-life death situation, AND when we''re just sitting in a carriage? Tell me, when am I su-"


    *CRASH*


    From all the way in front, a deep and elder voice spoke.


    "KEEP IT DOWN BACK THERE!"


    "..."


    "..."


    Time...time... how much time had passed in the real world?


    Around three days had passed in that dream... but since the main cast and I were still inside the carriage, that would have to mean less than half a day had passed here.


    Trying to confirm my theory, I slightly opened my eyes for a brief second before staring out the window.


    The lush-green grass and the leaves of the several trees in the distance swaying in the wind, the orange sky shining over anything, and last of all, a sense of familiarity with my eyes.


    We were indeed still on our trip back to the Celestial Academy.


    Closing my eyes once again, I stayed completely still and continued listening in.


    After a couple more friendly words for their reuniting with Zach, Lily finally asked from across me.


    "Zach...what exactly do you remember?"


    After a moment of silence, Zach replied hesitantly.


    "The last thing I remember is being shown a system menu... and before that, when we found... Ren and Lily together."


    It seemed that the spirit had not manipulated or done anything to Zach''s memories, so he remembered everything correctly except the portions of his memory when the spirit had possessed him.


    Irene, who had been quietly chatting with Ruby until now, asked from my far right and across the carriage.


    "So...I''m guessing we all saw that system menu, then... right?"


    After a moment of silence, where I guessed the others nodded their heads, Irene continued.


    "Does that mean... all of that... those last four days were all just a dream..?"


    Breaking the unbearable silence that descended from Irene''s question, Alya looked behind her, ensuring the carriage driver wasn''t listening, before replying.


    "But...how can that be possible? The last time we entered a dream, all of us had to agree...this time, we were just hurled in..."


    From beside Alya and Irene, Ruby curiously asked.


    "I did my first dream alone, but Zach, Kevin, Lily, and Liam...you four did it together, right? Maybe it had something to do with that?"


    After a moment of silence, Liam replied.


    "Yeah... when the four of us entered our first dream, only one of us had to click the button... then the rest of us were just teleported like magic."


    ..?


    So, I was dragged into this scenario because some idiot here decided they wanted to enter a damn dream at this very moment?


    ...Also, what are these mechanics?


    Is there no consent?


    I can be teleported into a dream just because I''m sitting in the same carriage as the person who clicked the button...?


    What kind of bullshit is this?


    *BANG*


    From my far right, the sound of a fist hitting the wood of the carriage reverberated throughout the area.

 Chapter 166: Chapter 166:Ranking Up [2]

    As the bang reverberated through the carriage, an angry Kevin furiously asked.


    "So, which idiot decided this was a good time to enter a dream, then?"


    "..."


    "..."


    I didn''t know who was more stupid, the person for deciding to enter a dream while we were all exhausted in a damn carriage, or Kevin for asking.


    I mean, are you just going to say that it''s you if he asks?


    No, you''re gone stay silent and lie!


    Maybe that''s just me, though...these guys are the heroes of the world; surely, they''ll be honest and admit their mistake if they were the ones who entered the dream!


    "..."


    Yeah, never mind, this world is doomed.


    Seeing the rest of the group start to point fingers, I continued closing my eyes and enjoyed the last few moments of relaxation.


    Of course, these fingers would end up pointed at me in the very end.


    "...only the person who entered the dream would say something like that."


    "oh really, Liam? What the hell do you think someone would say if it wasn''t them."


    "...not what you said."


    Ignoring the bickering between Kevin and Liam, I was about to pretend to suddenly wake up from the dream.


    However, before I could even open my eyes, Lily''s stern voice echoed throughout the carriage.


    "Does it really matter who entered the dream? We''ll are fine, and we also... just advanced to C-ranks!"


    Oh yeah... I was a C-rank now, wasn''t I?


    Opening a tiny sliver of my eye, I carefully maneuvered my hands so as not to be seen by the main cast.


    Raising my hand, at last, I stared at the new and improved stat menu that was sitting in front of me.


    ===Menu===


    User : Ren Montclair


    [Class: Proficient Assassin: (Level 3: 58%) ]


    -> Stealth : C+


    -> Moderate Dagger Mastery : 53%


    -> Arts: Eclipse Blade [3/5]


    [Stats]


    -> Rating : C-


    -> Strength : D


    -> Agility : C+


    -> Stamina : D+


    -> Magic Power : C


    -> Luck: G-S {Conditional}


    -> Intelligence : C


    -> Charm : C


    [Traits]


    -> Passive: Dragon''s Will [3 / ?]


    ---> Dragon Eyes : Your eyesight is enhanced.


    ---> Dragon''s Transformation : You are able to harness a physical part of a dragon.


    ---> Dragon''s Blood: ???


    [Skills]


    -> [[E] Dash] : Not requiring any mana usage, the skill allows the user to move 10 meters from their current location in any direction with a cooldown period of 7 seconds. The skill does not instantly move the user but temporarily increases the user''s speed until they move 10 meters.


    -> [[C] Sky Flash] : Requiring the usage of mana, the skill allows the user to create a bird-like animal. This bird-like animal will fly through the sky at the user''s discretion until the user decides to "pop" it. When "popped," the bird will blind every person in a five-meter radius for two seconds. The bird can be used twice every hour.


    =======


    Completely ignoring the increase in stats and my useful new skill, I stared at the three question marks next to my new Dragon''s Will ability.


    Was this system playing games with me?


    Why the hell was it giving me an ability... without even telling me what it was!?


    What the hell was I supposed to do with the information!?


    I couldn''t just test everything in the world until I finally learned the ability, so... right now, it was essentially useless.


    "Dragon''s Blood."


    As the word "blood" echoed throughout my head, a faint memory played in my mind.


    Maybe it had something to do with that puddle of blood I saw before I was removed from the dream...?


    Turning my attention to the skills menu, I was surprised to see that the usefulness of my new skill was actually quite nice.


    I could paralyze something with my serpent slash, make them lose their sight with a shadow cage, and now, finally, blind them with my Sky Flash.


    What couldn''t I do at this point?


    Finishing examining my new and improved stats menu, I peered out of the corner of my eye across the room.


    Alya, Ruby, and Irene were eagerly checking their stats menu as they, like me, had forgotten about their dream improving it.


    Ruby had a slight smile on her face, while both Irene and Alya were visibly excited as their smiles were plastered all over their face.


    You''re welcome for that, by the way!


    Closing my eyes once again, I decided that was the perfect time for my performance!


    As I opened my eyes a bit, my mouth slowly opening, I was once again interrupted as Liam finished looking at his stats menu with a smile and asked.


    "So... Lily and Alya, care to explain what happened back there?"


    "..."


    Seeing Alya slightly uncomfortable, Lily replied.


    "From the start... I noticed something was off with Alya. I was only able to confirm it when Ruby pointed out her weird hand gestures to me."


    Staring at Ruby for a moment before looking away, Lily continued.


    "From there, I was able to confirm that Alya was not nervous or anything, but in fact, acting abnormal for no reason. Then, I recalled how Alya had mentioned briefly that she had become contracted with the spirit."


    "That, combined with Alya''s abnormal behavior, easily led me to the conclusion that something external was affecting Alya... and the only external thing was the existence of the spirit."


    Scratching his head, Liam further questioned. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "But... didn''t you say the spirit was inside Zach at the end?"


    Is that my cue?


    Leaning back in the seat, I silently stretched my hands and slowly opened my eyes, acting as if I had just been awakened.


    " *PFFT* "


    However, as my eyelids popped up, I heard a small chuckle escape the mouth of someone across the room.


    Was I that obvious..?


    Lily, being one of the first to notice that my eyes were open, stopped mid-explanation and stared at me, prompting the rest of the carriage to follow suit.


    But, just as I was about to speak, I felt a sudden pressure on my right shoulder.


    *THUD*


    Slowly shifting my head to the right, I saw Zach''s head resting on my shoulder, his eyelids completely closed, revealing his dark eyebags, and his mouth entirely closed.

 Chapter 167: Chapter 167:Ranking Up [3]

    Forgetting about everyone else staring up, I stared at Zach''s head, which was comfortably resting on my shoulder in confusion.


    Somehow, Zach has none of the scars or wounds I had inflicted on his body during the fight when his body was possessed by the spirit.


    Recalling my fight with the spirit and Zach''s terrible state at the end of the fight, I kept my shoulder steady, allowing his head to sit comfortably.


    How he had fallen asleep after just learning that his body had been possessed during a dream was something I could not fathom.


    Aren''t you supposed to be freaked out or even angry that someone stole your body...?


    Ignoring the pressure on my right shoulder, I looked upward at the main cast while Zach continued dozing off.


    Met with the confused and silent gazes of the three boys and three girls around me, I didn''t know what to say.


    I was never really much of a... explainer or creative thinker.


    I was more the type to memorize a formula and do countless problems until I was able to solve every single type of problem.


    While others would simply use and combine the concepts they had learned to solve word-problems, I would simply memorize the method to doing each type of problem.


    It wasn''t actually learning as I wasn''t putting the concepts to use, rather just memorizing them and writing them down... but the learning part of school doesn''t actually matter.


    All that mattered was obtaining good grades and getting into a good university.


    When you''re going to the best university in your world, no one is going to question your capabilities, no matter how stupid and dumb you act.


    Shifting my gaze to Lily, I looked at her expectantly, prompting her to continue explaining.


    "From there... I met up with Ren, and it seemed that he had noticed something odd as well."


    Pointing at me, Lily continued.


    "Since the spirit might find out about the plan if I told you guys, Ren and I crafted a plan to lure the spirit out."


    Seeing me nod my head at her explanation, Lily finally explained the climax.


    "From what I saw...the spirit had actually taken over Zach instead of Alya, so we had to fight Zach to free him from the spirit''s control."


    Looking down at her lap and avoiding everyone''s gaze, Lily hesitated before muttering out the last few words in a defeated tone."


    "W-we had to make it actually seem as if the spirit thought it was going to die... or else it would simply use Zach''s body as a hostage." S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "T-that''s why Alya and I kept telling you guys to try and kill him and that we''d explain what we meant later.


    "W-we n-never m-meant t-"


    *BANG*


    As Liam stood up from his seat with a bang, everyone''s gazes immediately shifted from me to Liam as he slowly walked towards Lily.


    Shifting her gaze up from her lap, Lily stared at the approaching figure of Liam, and so did everyone else.


    The mood has done a complete 180-degree turn.


    The joyful feeling from everyone looking at their new and improved stats menu had disappeared... replaced with a serious and grave one.


    Seeing Liam standing next to Lily, I sighed, preparing myself for his next words.


    Looking Lily straight in the eye, Liam asked in an unusually serious tone.


    "And what about Zach? Did not you see his state when you returned? It took over five healing scrolls to get him to the conditions he is right now... and even that is far from perfect."


    Staring at a hole in Zach''s shirt, Liam continued.


    "And... that... that''s not even going to last. When the effect of the healing scrolls wears off, he''ll be back to that condition."


    Looking away from Lily, Liam slowly turned to face everyone in the carriage, ensuring he made eye contact with every person, even me.


    "Did you all not see his condition...spitting out blood, shaking and trembling uncontrollably,... and... and he could barely move."


    Putting his head on his forehead, Liam stared directly at Lily before slowly asking in a hurt and conquered tone.


    "Tell me again, Lily... Alya... whoever else was involved, was this part of your damn plan?"


    Feeling Liam''s piercing gaze locked on her, Lily immediately looked down for cover before finally managing to mutter out.


    "N-no, w-we were just trying to escap-"


    *BANG*


    Slamming his hand on the wall right above Lily''s sitting figure, Liam interrupted her before staring directly at her face.


    From behind Liam, Kevin finally emerged as he rushed up from his seat and to the right behind Liam.


    Seeing the severity of the situation, Kevin didn''t dare joke around as in a calm and non-sarcastic tone, he said.


    "Look, Liam... a lot has happened. But now is not the time to fight. We can talk about it later... a better time. Our emotions are all over the place because we''ve just escaped that hell we were in, so none of us are in the right state to have an effective discussion."


    Irene, who remained unphased by Liam''s sudden punch to the wall, continued.


    "Nothing good is going to come from talking right now... you''ll just say something you will regret later. Trust me... I have a lot of regrets."


    On the other side of Lily, Alya remained motionless, simply staring blankly at the floor with a blank expression.


    However, even after all those words, Liam did not remove his hand from the wall above Lily, continuing to stare directly at her.


    "Tell me. Did you know it would come to this or not? Did you at all believe that Zach would end up in this state? Was there even a hint of doubt in your mind?"


    "i-i"


    Seeing Lily squirming helplessly under Liam''s piercing gaze, Kevin grabbed Liam''s shoulder, forcefully pulling him away from her.


    "Not now."


    The next second, Liam''s shoulders shined a bright blue as he shrugged them.


    *BAM*


    Kevin, caught completely off guard by Liam''s use of mana, lost his grip on Liam''s shoulder and flew back, hitting the wall of the carriage.

 Chapter 168: Chapter 168:Ranking Up [4]

    Staying in my seat with Zach slumped on my shoulder, I watched as Kevin staggered to get up, staring daggers at Liam''s back.


    This carriage... is going be destroyed.


    Well, that''s actually an... understatement.


    I wouldn''t be surprised if this entire area was decimated to pieces as a result of the fight was about to take place.


    Liam, ignoring Kevin''s gaze and approaching figure, continued staring directly at Lily before once again asking.


    "Did you know that there was even a slight possibility that this would happen?"


    Watching her frantically search her mind for a response just to end up with nothing, I sighed.


    How could she have known?


    She didn''t come up with any plan... I just told her to do something, and she followed out of desperation without knowing anything about what would happen next.


    Well, she wasn''t exposing me or anything, so I guess that was a decent sign.


    Seeing Kevin grab his bag and take out his sword before preparing to charge at Liam, I finally moved.


    These people had been risking their lives for each other and relying on each other for over three months at this point.


    All of them would risk their life for each other without hesitating for even a moment.


    All of them completely trusted each other.


    If Lily had told Liam that she had no idea that Zach would end up like this right now, then Liam would instantly believe her.


    That would resolve the entire situation.


    Yet, Lily didn''t do that.


    She kept silent... because I presumed she didn''t want to lie.


    If she lied, their entire foundation of trust that had been slowly built up through countless events where they worked together to save others... and even themselves would break.


    Even if no one besides Lily knew it was breaking, it was still broken at the end of that day.


    So, Lily kept silent out of fear that the foundation of trust would crumble and collapse.


    It was interesting how a bond of trust formed amongst them that took countless near-life experiences and days spent together could be broken... by just a single lie.


    It was as if the pyramids in Egypt, the greatest human technological achievement at that time and taking years to create, could crumble just because a single small rock was thrown at them.


    A friendship could take years to make but a single second to break.


    Well, it wasn''t even a lie.


    Yet, I guess Lily still considered it lying.


    After all, she had decided to listen to my plant, so she had probably considered the risk that came with that, one of them probably having to do with the main cast members getting hurt.


    Seeing Kevin about to confront Liam with his sword in hand, I stood up from my seat, slowly allowing Zach''s head to fall on the cushion of my seat.


    However, no one even noticed me as everyone''s gazes were locked on Kevin, Liam, and Lily.


    Ruby and Irene were simply huddled up in a corner with their wands ready to attack, while Alya wore a dreaded expression while staring ahead.


    Ruby and Irene could be considered outsiders, so they had no obligation to help resolve this issue... not that they could even if they tried.


    As Kevin was about to attack Liam''s defenseless back, I spoke in a loud and emotionless tone, instantly attracting everyone''s attention.


    "She didn''t know. It was my plan from the start."


    Dropping his sword mid-swing, Kevin stared at me while Liam slowly turned around to face me, his eyes burning with anger.


    Lily didn''t budge as her gaze remained locked on the ground while she desperately tried to think of something, and the other three girls simply stared at me as well.


    Still standing beside Lily, Liam''s hand began to shine a bright blue as he stared at me.


    Raising his fight into the air, Liam''s eyes flickered a bright red for a moment before he replied.


    "Repeat that." S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Leaning against the carriage wall, I shrugged my shoulders and cockily replied.


    "You heard me. I did it; your friend over there had no idea."


    Seeing the anger begin to light aflame in Liam''s eyes, I chuckled and continued.


    "It was actually quite funny, you know. She had no idea that one of her precious friends was going to hurt while following my orders like an obedient puppy."


    "She really thought her friends were going be saved without even realizing that she was going to be the reason one of them almost died."


    "Desperation really does a number on the human brain, doesn''t it?"


    "..."


    "..."


    As my final words escaped my mouth, everyone in the carriage remained still, their gaze locked on me.


    Everyone seemed starstruck as their mouths were wide open; even Lily and ALya seemed shocked.


    Yet, one person remained still with their mouth closed, silently staring at me.


    The entire carriage remained silent for a moment; not a single soul dared speak.


    Only a soft chuckle that escaped from my mouth eventually broke the silence.


    Raising my chin up high, I matched Liam''s gaze, looking directly into his eyes with a smile.


    "I mean, even now, she doesn''t know. The smartest student in the school? *HAH* I''ve seen beggars smarter than her."


    ...oh yeah, I hadn''t replied to Raven''s messages in over a week, had I?


    Before anyone could react further, Liam charged toward me, his fist covered in a light-blue divinity and already swinging toward me.


    Standing directly still, I simply used the dash I had prepared earlier, appearing ten meters to the right.


    Stopping his strike mid-slash, Liam continued his relentless attack, charging right at my new location.


    This match-up really was the best for me.


    I knew Liam''s every single attack, ability, behavioral pattern, personality, and trait.


    After all he was the protagonist of a book I had read for over a year...I knew everything about him.


    Causing the carriage to shake further, Liam jumped into the air, closing the distance between us.


    Recognizing his "Sky Plunge," or the second movement of his art, I smiled and raised my hand to my eye, instantly slowing my perception of time.

 Chapter 169: Chapter 169:Ranking Up [5]

    It seemed that Liam hadn''t completely lost his mind from my words as he opted to use one of the weaker attacks in his arsenal.


    He was still trying to keep the carriage somewhat intact while hurting me at the same time.


    Unfortunately, it didn''t matter what attack he used... because I knew all of them.


    "Sky Plunge."


    An attack where Liam imbues his fist with divinity and then jumps in the air before barrelling downwards at the ground.


    However, the real trick about this attack is that Liam is able to change locations right as he is about to reach the ground.


    You could be in the perfect place to dodge his plunge, but in the next second, Liam would disappear and reappear right behind you with his fist hurling at you.


    If it was your first time seeing Liam''s attack, the odds of you dodging it were close to zero.


    Even for me, who knew the exact attack description and effects, it could be quite hard to dodge.


    How could I predict where he would teleport to at the last moment to attack me?


    Well, with my time-slowing ability, why would I even bother to try and predict?


    Seeing Liam begin his descent, his light-blue fist hurling towards me already, I slowed my perception of time and waited.


    Even though my perception of time was slowed, Liam was actually moving quite fast, so I couldn''t be too careless.


    Keeping my eyes on Liam and ignoring the horrified and confused expressions of everyone else in the carriage, I patiently waited.


    As Liam neared me, his figure suddenly disappeared, prompting me to swivel my head a full 360 degrees like an owl


    Finding his new location, which was to the right, I immediately dodged to the right, watching Liam flying right past me


    *BANG*


    As Liam''s fist collided with the carriage floor, the entire carriage shook, throwing the sleeping Zach off his seat.


    Standing back up and looking at the hole in the carriage floor that his fist had caused, Liam looked even more furious as sparks of fire began to dance in his normally passive eyes.


    Cockily and slowly clapping my hands, I said to Liam''s back.


    "Is that all?"


    I needed Liam to get out all his anger right now, or the problem would continue to resurface and cause further problems in the main cast.


    It was also quite entertaining watching him struggle while I seamlessly and easily dodged his attacks.


    To Liam, I would probably seem like some oracle who could see the future and dodge his attacks easily, and he wouldn''t actually be too far off with that assumption.


    Seeing Liam regain his composure and charge back at me, this time with a sword in his hand, I simply stood still.


    "Ravage Rush"


    A much stronger skill, and Liam was already preparing to use it.


    Seeing his grip on his sword, which was placed slightly lower than usual, and the irregular style of running, I could already predict it.


    Usually, Liam would charge right at me to take a one-on-one combat fight, yet right now, he was running at an angle.


    As Liam''s sword approached me, I manifested two corrupted daggers before immediately activating the dragon''s transform.


    As my right hand slowly shifted to that of a dragon, gaining scales, claws, and an abnormal red and green color, I readied the two daggers.


    Finally reaching me after many unnecessary detours, Liam swung his light-blue sword, prompting me to raise my daggers.


    Calculating the trajectory of the sword in my eyes, I raised my daggers before immediately turning my head around, not bothering to watch and see if my daggers actually blocked his sword.


    As the cold steel of Liam''s sword clashed against my daggers, pushing me back, I simply let myself fall back.


    The next second, the pressure exerted on my daggers disappeared.


    Not skipping a beat, I turned around completely, placing the daggers right below my chin.


    Then, the next moment, before I could even see Liam with my eyes, his sword seemed to manifest from the air and immediately slash down on me.


    Ready for the sudden attack, I didn''t hesitate to block it, forming an "X" with my two daggers to block the full force of the sword.


    Again, as the metal of his sword collided with my daggers, I immediately removed my daggers.


    Like clockwork, Liam''s sword emerged from the air on the other side of me, striking right at me.


    *CLASH*


    *CLASH*


    In the carriage, only the sound of my daggers blocking his constant and relentless sword strikes remained.


    Every time my corruption interacted with his divinity, a bright light would appear, blinding everyone besides Liam and me, who already knew to look away.


    *CLASH*


    *CLASH*


    Blocking another slash, I immediately turned around, seeing Liam''s sword appear out of the empty air to my right.


    *CLASH*


    *CLASH*


    Strike after strike.


    Block after block.


    We were at a stalemate.


    At least, that''s what Liam thought.


    As Liam continued slashing at me with his sword, and I kept blocking with my daggers, I was slowly memorizing the pattern of his attacks.


    Unlike his Sky Plunge, where he could choose where he reappeared, the Ravage Rush had a predetermined pattern of moving that Liam could not alter.


    Ah, it takes me back... doesn''t it?


    The countless hours I spent in the training hall, fighting AI dummies and slowly but surely memorizing their attack pattern, were finally coming to fruition.


    Seeing Liam''s slashes remain their high speed and high power even after so long, I smiled.


    After all, his talent was his inability to give up and his persistence. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In other words, he essentially had infinite energy.


    That''s why, instead of just giving up on the Ravage Rush and choosing another ability, he kept using it.


    He was hoping that I would get tired and miss a block, handing him the win.


    To think, the talent that made him the protagonist of this world was actually slowly leading him to his downfall.


    He was just giving more and more time to memorize the pattern.


    *CLASH*

 Chapter 170: Chapter 170:Ranking Up [6]

    As I blocked the last sword slash, I slowly turned to my right, allowing my two corrupted daggers to disintegrate in my hands.


    Grasping at what seemed like the air with my right arm, which was using Dragon''s Transformation, I stepped forward.


    Almost a second later, Liam''s sword once again appeared from nothingness right below my Dragon''s arm.


    As the glowing light-blue sword lunged right at my defenseless body, I simply stood still, allowing it to near my vulnerable body.


    With every passing moment, the cold steel tip of the light-blue sword got closer and closer to my chest.


    Then, just as the tip of the sword was about to plunge into my chest, the owner of the sword finally appeared.


    The whole point of Liam''s skill Ravage Rush was to make it seem as if Liam was every place around you at every second.


    Above you, below you, to your right, and to your left; the ability made it seem as if Liam was everywhere but nowhere at the same time.


    This effect is displayed by teleporting Liam''s sword first, and only after the sword is nearing its victim will Liam appear and take control of it.


    In other words, the sword can''t do anything to me until its owner, Liam, appears and actually uses it.


    As Liam appeared, immediately grasping the hilt of the light-blue sword, he prepared to plunge the sword forward and right into my chest.


    However, before he could even take full control of his sword, I clenched the area next to my Dragon''s arm, which seemed like air a moment ago.


    There was no air... just a neck.


    With my improved strength, flexibility, and reaction time from the Dragon''s arm, my right hand instantly grasped Liam''s neck. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Staring him directly in the eyes, I simply smirked cockily before gripping his neck even harder.


    "Is that all? For some who wants to save the world, you really are pathetic."


    Stretching my left hand out, I immediately slapped away his flailing arms, which were desperately trying to touch his sword, which was only a meter away from my chest.


    Seeing his expression overcome with dread, I lifted his body up even higher before remarking.


    "You can''t even protect your own friends; how do you expect to do anything else?"


    Not wasting another second, I lifted Liam up by the neck before throwing him across the carriage just as he had done with Kevin.


    *BANG*


    As Liam''s back collided with the wall of the carriage, I reached downward with my Dragon''s arm.


    As I was about to grab the hilt of Liam''s light-blue sword, it suddenly moved.


    Then, before I could react, the light-blue sword, like a magnet repelling itself, hurled away from me.


    Watching the light blue sword soar through the air with an eagle, I sighed as I watched it land in Liam''s hand, which was still on the floor.


    Still on the ground, Liam stabbed the light-blue sword into the floor of the carriage, creating another hole.


    Using the help of the sword, Liam slowly stood up, ignoring the hole in the wall behind him, and glared at me.


    Glancing around the carriage, I ignored the expressions of the others and instead looked for any obstacles that would prevent me from reaching Liam.


    Glancing at the floor below me, I subconsciously said out loud.


    "Was that always there?"


    Right below Liam''s previous location, when he had appeared and I grabbed him by the neck, there was a slight burn mark.


    The fire seemed to have been placed there like a trap, but for some reason, it had been deactivated instead of causing a massive fire.


    Looking upwards, I glanced at Irene and Ruby, the two fire mages in the room; however, they seemed oblivious as they kept switching between looking at me and Liam.


    Shaking my head, I looked at the furious Liam before re-manifesting my two corrupted daggers.


    He was letting his hatred take control of his fighting style.


    In other words, his fighting patterns and use of abilities would be completely different from the book as his behavior is unpredictable right now.


    Letting this go on any longer could result in damage or even a loss for me.


    Getting cocky just because I had some knowledge about him was not a thing I wanted to do.


    He was the protagonist of the book, the one favored by the world and gods, no matter how pitiful he seemed right now.


    Dismissing my Dragon''s arm, I watched the claws and scales disappearing, turning my arm back to normal.


    Using my new skill, I manifested a regular bird, this time green and not black, and allowed it to remain in my hands.


    As Liam prepared to attack once again, instead of attempting to dodge, I simply turned around and faced the windows.


    Releasing the bird, I ordered it to fly out of my hands and right at Liam''s figure.


    As Liam raised his sword, finally noticing the bird, it was too late.


    Still looking at the wall, I "popped" the bird.


    Not skipping a beat, I turned around and saw the entire carriage covering their eyes and essentially blind... except for one person.


    Alya, who had been staring at the floor, finally looked up in confusion before locking her sullen gaze on me.


    Seeing everyone else was blind, I waved before pointing to Liam, who was desperately covering his eyes.


    "Don''t worry, I''m just taking care of his annoying attitude; he''ll be fine."


    As I dashed at Liam''s figure, he finally removed his hand, but it was far too late.


    Just like Liam''s Sky Plunge, my flash was incredibly powerful and useful... at first, but after that, it completely fell off.


    Every time after their first time witnessing the flash, people could look away from the bird, avoiding its blinding ability.


    But for the first time... it was powerful.


    It was just a bird, how could people expect it to suddenly blind them?


    Raising my daggers, I manifested yet another green bird in my hands while still dashing forward.

 Chapter 171: Chapter 171:Aftermath [1]

    Liam, seeing me mid-dash, prepared to swing immediately; however, his stance quickly changed as he saw the green bird in my hands once again.


    Thinking he was smart, Liam immediately turned the side and covered his eyes with his arms, prepared to avoid the "popping" of my green bird.


    Playing along, I said the bird flying forward right at Liam, but instead of looking away like last time, I simply continued running at Liam.


    Who said I had to "pop" the flash?


    Why couldn''t I just let it fly and let it do its own thing!?


    An owner has to give their pets some freedom!


    Controlling the bird, I sent it flying ahead of me and straight at Liam, who was still covering his eyes.


    As the bird passed right by Liam, I stopped in my tracks and manifested a pitch-black bow alongside a couple of arrows in my hands.


    Watching Liam with his eyes still blocked off, I nocked an arrow before aiming right at him.


    He was like a statue, simply sitting there with his eyes closed, waiting to be hit.


    With Liam''s countless abilities and arts, dodging an arrow from my bow, even with my enhanced eyesight involved, would be easy.


    His speed stat was by far the highest, so no matter how fast I shot the arrow, he could outpace it and dodge faster.


    So, I had to make him stationary.


    As Liam slowly removed his arms, thinking he had dodged my flash, it was already too late.


    Releasing the elegant white string of the bow, I sent the arrow flying at Liam''s stationary body.


    However, that wasn''t the true shot.


    Less than a nanosecond later, another arrow went flying, aiming to the right of Liam''s current location.


    This shot was honestly a gamble, but I assumed Liam would dodge to the right as he was right-handed.


    Proving me right, Liam, who had barely enough time to react to my first arrow, immediately dodged to the right.


    However, as Liam dodged to the right, I manifested another bird in my hands, this time a corrupted pitch-black crow.


    *CA-CAW*


    Focused on the crow in my hands instead of the arrow stealthily and silently flying at him, Liam once again looked away and covered his eyes with his arms.


    He was far too predictable.


    As Liam slowly removed his eyes, assuming that the flash was over, the arrow reached him, and without any time to react, he could only watch the pitch-black tip of the arrow reach him.


    Having perfectly calculated the trajectory of the arrow with my eyes, I watched as it, instead of directly hitting Liam, went right through his shirt.


    Grazing the right part of Liam''s chest, the arrow passed right through his shirt and then right out, dragging Liam along with it.


    With his shirt attached to my flying arrow, Liam flew backward at the wall and was the true target of my arrow.


    Finally, reaching the wall, the arrow embedded in the carriage wood instead of passing right through it.


    *BANG*


    A second after the arrow hit the carriage''s wall, Liam also hit the wall back first, slumping down on the ground.


    With the blue flames dancing in his eyes, Liam attempted to stand up, but the arrow attached to the wall and his shirt prevented him.


    Then, before he could try again, four more arrows were flying right at him, courtesy of yours truly.


    Like the arrow before, the four arrows did not hit Liam directly, instead passing right through his shirt and grazing the right part of his chest.


    Within a second, the four arrows hit the wall, attaching themselves to both Liam''s shirt and the wall.


    Slowly walking towards Liam''s slumped body, I watched him attempt to stand up countless times, failing due to the weight of the arrows. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As I neared him, Liam desperately threw his arms to his chest, attempting to tear the shirt he was wearing.


    *RIIIP*


    Slicing his shirt in half with his sword, Liam again attempted to stand up... just to fail again.


    Standing right in front of Liam with my hand pressed down against his head, I watched him squirm as I increased the pressure of my hand on his head every time he tried to stand up.


    Looking down at his shirtless figure, I smiled and said.


    "Are you done yet?"


    *CLASH*


    Still slumped down against the wall, Liam swung his sword upwards right at my hand, but I easily blocked the sword with my bow.


    Since the bow wasn''t as sturdy as my daggers, part of it disintegrated under the pressure of Liam''s sword, causing me to lose corruption.


    As Liam continued pressing his sword against my bow, I swung my right leg at the sword, knocking it right out of Liam''s hands.


    *CLANG*


    The sword flew back from my kick before promptly hitting the ground right below Ruby and Irene''s seats.


    Ignoring the sword below them, the two girls continued staring at me... but in a weirder way than usual.


    They were looking at my backside instead of Liam and I.


    Making eye contact with Ruby, I saw her trying to discreetly point her wand behind me while mouthing some words that I couldn''t make out.


    Turning my bow backward so that it was facing the wall behind me, I stared right at Liam before shooting an arrow backward without even looking.


    *BANG*


    Taking a short glance behind me, I saw Kevin''s figure pressed against the wall of the carriage with my arrow, which was attached to his shirt and the wall, keeping him from standing up.


    Shaking my head, I smiled and replied.


    "Looks like your friend is down for the count as well."


    Of course, that wasn''t true, as Kevin would probably recover within ten seconds, but seeing the slight sliver of hope remaining in Liam''s eyes disappear was enough for me.


    As I dismissed my bow and manifested my two corrupted daggers, Liam stopped trembling.


    Finally making eye contact with me, Liam spoke in a dead-serious tone.


    "Tell me why, at least... tell me why you were fine with killing Zach."

 Chapter 172: Chapter 172:Aftermath [2]

    Chuckling at his question, I disrupted our eye contact and looked at the window above us, which had cracked from Liam, and my arrows had crashed into the wall.


    Looking at the beautiful scenery of the plain outside, with the moon illuminating a small lake before us, I smiled.


    Shrugging my shoulders, I responded.


    "Someone had to do it. It was the only way out, and he didn''t even die, did he?"


    Of course, I knew what I was saying was stupid.


    Yeah, he just almost died because of me, so everything is ok and alright! No need to worry or get angry because he''s alive in the end!


    Taking my bait, Liam''s eyes shined an even darker blue, matching the color of the mana inside my body.


    Looking at the two daggers in my hand, Liam questioned further.


    "...you''re terrible. At first, I thought you were just some stupid, obsessed maniac... but this is much worse. Do you just see the people around as pawns who can be disposed of at any time of your choosing?"


    Raising his voice so that the entire carriage could hear our conversation, Liam lashed out, struggling against my head on his head.


    "Do you believe you''re some god that gets to choose who dies and who lives? How can you look at someone like Zach and genuinely believe it''s ok...to sacrifice them? It''s like... you don''t even see others as humans."


    Continuing to look out the window as the carriage moved, I didn''t interrupt Liam and continued listening to him rant on.


    Stopping his struggle, Liam continued in a dark tone.


    "Your sarcastic and joking way of speaking... at first, I thought it was just because you were a dumbass."


    "But... you''re just a psycho. You talk sarcastically because you don''t see the people you''re talking to as real people... just things to pass the time."


    "You can''t talk seriously or discuss earnestly because you don''t seriously see the people around you as humans."


    Looking at my head, which was outside the window, Liam continued.


    "Even now, as I''m speaking to you, you continued staring out the window, ignoring everything I said. A normal person would react in some way, whether it''s getting angry or sad... but you just don''t listen."


    "It''s like... like I''m not even a person in your eyes. Just an object that you can use and take from."


    Sighing as I continued staring out the window, I finally raised my hand, but before I could talk, Liam once again said.


    "See, a normal person would have just told me that I have no right to tell you who you are... but you simply ignored me as if my words are worth dogshit."


    Through a remaining glass piece from the broken window, I could see Kevin slowly getting up with his sword in hand.


    Also seeing the large figures of the buses in the distance, I replied in an emotionless tone, matching Liam''s profile of me.


    "Would you rather have died or been stuck in that loop forever? Deep down in your heart, you must know that if I hadn''t done that, we would still be that in that forest."


    Looking down at Liam and meeting his eyes, I continued.


    "You must be truly delusional if you haven''t realized by now that I''m the reason for our escape. Without me, all seven of you would be wandering around aimlessly with no way of escaping."


    Not flinching at my words, Liam continued staring into my eyes before looking at his sword below Irene and Ruby.


    Letting out a small chuckle, Liam hesitated before replying.


    "You think you''re one to talk about being honest? You seem to know me quite well from the way you recognized all my attacks without even flinching."


    Well, I hadn''t at all tried to hide it, so it wasn''t surprising.


    For me to have predicted his Sky Plunge and how his Ravage Rush ability was used was too much of a coincidence.


    Seeing me not deny his claim of me knowing him well, Liam chuckled again before continuing.


    "Then you know I don''t really give a shit if you were the one to let us escape the loop."


    "For all I care, I could have died in there and been fine, simply knowing that everyone around me was fine."


    Raising his head and meeting my eyes, Liam matched my smile and replied.


    "That would have been a better scenario than seeing my friend almost die...without not even being able to intervene or help... just sitting there and watching."


    Wiping the smile off my face, I took a glance at the remaining glass shards on the window before sighing.


    Standing up and releasing my hand from Liam''s head, I replied in a monotone voice.


    "Look, you can die if you want; I could honestly care less...but don''t drag me in your ridiculous masochistic fantasies."


    Picking up the four arrows from Liam''s shirt and setting him free, I jumped on the windowsill before taking one last glance.


    Irene''s face was twisted as if she was sad to see the fight end, while Ruby wore an expression that I couldn''t decipher.


    Something in the middle of being intrigued and sullen is all I could say.


    Alya and Lily wore grim expressions, and Kevin seemed to be angry as he still charged at me, knowing that his sword slash would never hit.


    Lily seemed to know I wasn''t going to do anything drastic as her wand was resting on her lap.


    Alya held her ice-blue sword in her right hand, but her body was still trembling, so even if she fired at me, her attacks would most likely miss.


    Liam was still shirtless and slumped against the carriage wall with a defeated expression despite knowing he could get up at any moment.


    And finally, Zach was still sleeping, using my seat as a pillow for his head.


    Turning back around, I jumped out of the carriage window... and right onto the roof of the carriage. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 173: Chapter 173:Aftermath [3]

    Sitting atop the carriage as it slowly moved across the plain, getting closer and closer to the looming figures of the buses ahead, I closed my eyes.


    Feeling the soft breeze of the wind hit my face; I sighed before lying down and staring upward at the night-black sky above me.


    It had been a while since I had been to the academy.


    Of course, considering what had just happened inside the carriage, that was the least of my worries... is what a normal person would think.


    But, honestly, it was just like Liam said.


    I didn''t care about his opinion of me.


    Sure, in the past, I would have cared what Liam thought about me as he was indeed the protagonist and the hero.


    That was the past, though.


    I had already established myself in this world, gained countless powers, even having the Elven queen as an ally, and gained enough wealth to last me a lifetime with Raven''s business.


    No longer could I be wiped out just by someone else''s word.


    I was strong enough to stand alone without having to worry about being assassinated or killed at any time.


    Sure, there were still a bunch of people who could kill me with one sword strike, and I wouldn''t be cocky enough to believe that my knowledge of the book would help me out when fighting them.


    Unlike the current Liam, they were monsters, so even if I knew their attacks, there would be nothing I could do to dodge or avoid them.


    I still wasn''t strong enough...


    There was someone I needed to reach and kill with my own hands.


    A promise that I had made to myself ages ago... when I was still in the honeymoon phase of transmigration.


    Then maybe... I could relax.


    That''s what she would have wanted for me, right...?


    Looking at the stars shining in the pitch-black sky alongside the half-crescent moon, I raised my hand, attempting to grab at them.


    "Maybe... it''s not too far away anymore...the end."


    Enjoying the soft and cold breeze of the wind brush against my face, I only got up after the carriage abruptly stopped.


    Before the carriage doors could open and the main cast could exit, I jumped off the roof, heading in the direction of the nearby bus.


    As I walked past the carriage, an elderly voice somehow reached my ears despite the soundproofing of the carriage, which was, of course, especially given to us by the Elven Queen.


    "WHAT THE HAPPENED HERE?"


    "..."


    "SO NO ONE WANTS TO TALK!? THE WOOD, THE WALLS, IT''S ALL BROKEN."


    "..."


    "...AND WHY IS HE SHIRTLE-"


    *BANG*


    Interrupting the elderly voice of the carriage driver, the door of the carriage shot open, causing me to speed up.


    Taking a short glance back, I saw the carriage driver, who was easily identifiable as an elf due to his ears, screaming out from behind the emerging main cast.


    "YEAH, THAT''S RIGHT, GET THE HELL OUT!"


    However, as the grim-faced Alya exited the carriage, the elf''s expression and way of speaking quickly changed.


    "Have a safe trip back to the academy, princess, Alya! Make sure to write the kingdom letters of your adventures and school lessons!"


    Holding in a chuckle, I stepped onto the stairs of the bus before quickly heading to the back.


    Only after the familiar figures of Han and Jin entered my sight did I sigh, finally relaxing my face and allowing my body to unwind.


    Back to the academy...huh?


    What new hell awaits me there...?


    Well, I already knew the countless hells and incidents that awaited me at the academy due to my book''s knowledge...but that didn''t mean new ones couldn''t pop up.


    Getting closer to the back of the bus, I saw Han and Jin slumped down on the armrests, so I took a seat on the other side of the aisle without waking them up.


    De-manifesting my daggers, I leaned back against the chair, not yet allowing my eyes to close.


    Looking out the window at Han and Jin''s side, I saw the main cast entering, each wearing an expression that personified sorrow, defeat, or anger.


    Only Zach, who remained oblivious to the whole situation, wore a relaxed expression as he walked from the carriage to the entrance of the bus with the help of Liam''s shoulder.


    Burning bridges... huh?


    Well, I had probably scorched the earth...


    However, that didn''t mean the Earth couldn''t recover.


    Just as how the earth, first a world full of volcanos, lava, and single-celled bacteria, had transformed into the Earth with skyscrapers, countless innovative inventions, and evolved humans, our relationship could transform.


    Of course, this wouldn''t be of my accord. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Recalling the first event that would occur after my return to school, a slight smile appeared on my face.


    "Might be sooner than they expect..."


    Seeing the main cast take the seats at the front of the bus, I finally closed my eyes, feeling my consciousness slowly drift further and further away.


    *BZZT*


    *BZZT*


    Hearing my smartwatch catch up to the countless messages that I had missed during my trip, I shrugged my shoulders before silencing it.


    Some things never change...


    -*-


    "REN, WAKE UP!"


    "WHEN DID YOU GET HERE!?"


    Stretching my hands upward, I slowly opened my eyes. Immediately, I saw the figures of Han and Jin looking at me, and I looked out the window.


    Right outside the window was a whole bunch of familiar things...


    The Celestial Academy building was as beautiful and opulent as ever, with its towering pillars and large entrance gate embedded with countless gemstones just for the hell of it.


    Shrugging my shoulders, I replied to the two boys.


    "Right after you idiots fell asleep."


    Rubbing my eyes, I slowly got up before following Han and Jin off the bus.


    Exiting the bus and stepping foot onto the bridge outside of the academy, I glanced at the sea of water below.


    ...I had forgotten to get any souvenirs for Raven and Zeng.


    What kind of boss was I!?

 Chapter 174: Chapter 174:Aftermath [4]

    Seeing the rest of the students begin walking across the bridge and towards the looming academy gate, I quickly caught up with Jin and Han.


    Tapping both of them on the shoulders, I asked.


    "Think you could do me a favor?"


    Shaking his head, Jin immediately replied.


    "Oh, after abandoning us for your new famous friends, you suddenly want a favor from us? HELL NO!"


    Nodding his head, Han implicitly agreed before also turning around and ignoring me.


    Wrapping my right arm around Jin''s shoulder and my left arm around Han''s shoulder, I smiled as I slowly took a piece of paper out of my sweatshirt pocket. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Shaking my arm off his shoulder, Jin was about to speed up and leave me behind before he saw me pulling something out of my pocket.


    Handing him the piece of the paper, I smiled and replied.


    "Don''t tell me you guys actually thought I could be friends with them? They''re just a bunch of goodie-two-shoes."


    Skeptical at my reply, Han immediately responded back.


    "So then why did y-"


    However, before he could finish his sentence, Jin quickly exclaimed as he slowly read the three pieces of paper from my hand.


    "THREE FAST-PASSES TO THE SCHOOL CHRISTMAS WONDERLAND!?"


    Christmas.


    It is one of the few traditions from Earth that the author of this book had bothered to implement in the story.


    It was also the location of the next incident.


    Next week, the entire school would turn into a Christmas wonderland, with candy canes, snowmen, mistletoe, and other Christmas-related decorations plastered everywhere.


    Students were even required to wear a winter-themed uniform with countless red and green ribbons.


    ...some unlucky students would also have to volunteer for the event, dressing up as nutcrackers, countless Christmas elves, and even Santa.


    Every corner of the academy''s island would be decked in decorations, making it impossible for anyone not to know it was Christmas.


    ...I think they spent more money on decorating the academy than paying our teachers and professors.


    What was the reason the school was going all out for this event?


    It also served as a recruiting session for Knight Orders to scout out potential candidates for their teams.


    During this time, leaders of Knight Orders would be allowed free entry into the academy, even being allowed to watch students take classes and spar amongst each other.


    Imagine just being in class and having a bunch of adults who could destroy the entire academy and kill every student at the snap of a finger, just watching you take notes and listen...


    Well, that was my reality now!


    A week from now, the school will be flooded with random adults who would just creepily watch you in an attempt to discern your skills.


    For many students, this event could define their life if a Knight Order leader takes an interest in you; your life could massively change for the better.


    This was also the time when my "father" would officially recruit Liam, giving him full access to the guild''s vast information network, storage of weapons and skills, and finally, his own wealth.


    Looking up at the perfectly blue sky, devoid of any clouds, and the bright sun intensely shining down on everyone, I opened my mouth in awe.


    "...could anyone predict it was going to snow a week from now?"


    Seeing Jin jump up and down in excitement, I quickly shushed him down before saying.


    "Don''t be too loud... don''t you know how hard I worked to get these!"


    As Han looked at the three tickets in shock, Jin practically hugged me while murmuring his thanks over and over again.


    How did I get these exclusive tickets?


    Well, a low-rank like me didn''t even get the mid-tier tickets for the Christmas event, so there was only one way.


    Steal!


    Liam and the rest of the main cast had enough connections to get new tickets if they simply told the academy that they lost their tickets, so it didn''t even matter.


    Anyway, I needed some payment for putting up with them for the entire loop!


    In a much more cheerful and sympathetic voice than earlier, Jin exclaimed.


    "So, you were just using and playing them to get tickets! That''s my boy, Ren!"


    Shaking his head in disbelief after confirming the authenticity of the tickets, Han also added.


    "I a-almost c-can''t believe it. O-only the top 10 ranks of each year get these tickets..."


    Slapping Han on the shoulder, Jin replied.


    "That''s Ren for you!"


    Taking the three tickets back from Jin, I asked.


    "Think I could get a favor now?"


    Not skipping a beat, Jin immediately responded.


    "Of course! But, don''t get too cocky, these tickets are cool and all... but you can''t just abandon us again."


    Nodding my head, I promised Jin and Han that I would hang out with them in the week before explaining.


    "Just tell the guards at the front gate that I''m already inside; I have some things to do outside the academy for a bit."


    Seeing the two boys nod their heads, I waited until everyone had their backs turned... before diving straight off the bridge and into the water!


    *SPLASH*


    Finally escaping the hot rays of the sun, I basked in the cold feeling of the water before diving down even further.


    Using my eyes, I looked right through the water, seeing every fish, piece of seaweed, and rock in the area.


    Taking as much as needed since I didn''t have breath due to the ability I had gained in my first dream, I finally found a couple of blue crystals.


    While these crystals were rare, they did respawn and regenerate at certain locations every couple of months.


    Picking up two dark-blue crystals, I looked around a bit longer before finding two oddly shamed clam shells.


    Taking the clamshells, I pushed off the ground, heading straight for the surface of the water.


    Feeling the sun immediately shine down on my face as it emerged from the water, I covered my eyes before making my way back to the capital city.

 Chapter 175: Chapter 175:Aftermath [5]

    Fully emerging from the water, I walked under the bridge before leaning against a nearby wall and resting in the shade.


    Walking around the capital city in a drenched academy uniform was bound to attract some unnecessary attention, especially with the Knight Order recruiting session starting soon.


    Manifesting a pair of pants and a sweatshirt with corruption, I simply put them on over my academy uniform.


    The corrupted clothes seemed to be waterproof as they completely stopped the water from dripping off my body without even getting wet in the slightest.


    Walking out from under the bridge with my four crystals and odd-shaped clam shells, I made my way through the bustling capital city.


    Arriving at a familiar warehouse, I de-manifested my corrupted clothes before walking up to the entrance.


    *TAP~TAP*


    After knocking the door, I didn''t bother to wait for a response, instead using my key to unlock the door.


    Opening the door, I was surprised to see the entire warehouse shrouded in darkness as all the lights were off and the windows were blocked off with various objects.


    Walking into the warehouse, I put down the crystals and clamshells on one of the various tables scattered across the gigantic room.


    Peering through the darkness, I sighed as I saw that the entire room was basically the personification of the term "messy."


    The kitchen area was overflowing with plates, the cushions of the couches were all over the floor, countless food stains lay on all the furniture, and countless mugs of coffee were on every table.


    Well, it wasn''t if I hadn''t expected it.


    Leaving a former beggar, who had just experienced his first taste of real money, and a djinn, who was previously a ruthless villain, home alone for a week was bound to cause some problems.


    Shaking my head, I turned on the lights, revealing two sleeping figures.


    Raven, with his over-grown dark-black hair, was lying on one of the couches, while Zeng was passed out on a table, with his pure white hair almost touching the floor.


    Instead of waking them up, I walked over to my area of the warehouse, which Zeng and Raven had thankfully left untouched and clean.


    Changing into another pair of the academy uniform, which was actually dry, I manifested a corrupted dagger.


    Taking the two odd-shaped clam shells, I began cutting at them and changing their shape, trying to sculpt something.


    Finally, after a minute or two, the clams were the perfect size and shape.


    Sighing, I de-manifested my dagger before heading back into the main area of the warehouse.


    Without any hesitation, I grabbed the TV remote before looking at the TV, which seemed to have been turned on for over a week straight.


    Maxing the volume to the maximum with the remote, I connected the television to my smartwatch.


    Seeing my smartwatch mirrored on the TV screen, I smiled before heading to my saved videos app.


    Long ago, when I visited a nightclub with Jin and Han, I took a short video of the band after seeing Astrid singing.


    There was the slight possibility that she would attempt to get me expelled or suspended to prevent me from finding out about her secret, so I took a short video just in case.


    Well, of course, that possibility was zero now, considering all that had happened between us, but I had just never bothered to delete the video.


    Clicking on the video, I watched it appear on the television screen before sitting down on one of the few clean chairs.


    "What''s your ETA? What''s your ETA?"


    " *Mmm-hmm* what''s your ETA? What''s your ETA?"


    "We can go wherever you like. Baby, say the words, and I''m down."


    "All I need is you on my side."


    Hearing the blasting music that resembled Korean pop from Earth, Raven''s eyes immediately flicked open before closing back.


    Grabbing a nearby cushion, Raven crumpled it up before desperately attempting to cover his ears.


    "We can go wherever you like, now where are you?"


    "What''s your ETA? What''s your ETA?"


    Getting off my chair with a freshly made cup of coffee, I looked down onto the couch where Raven was sleeping.


    Seeing Zeng''s eyes also flash open, I slowly turned the volume down before removing the cushion from Raven''s ears.


    Finally, looking upward, a small smile appeared on Raven''s face as he saw me... and what I was holding in my hand.


    Without any hesitation or greeting me, Raven grabbed the cup of coffee from my hand before rushing it to his face.


    Sighed, I sat on the armrest of the couch before turning to Raven, who was now sitting up.


    "You do know caffeine is a drug, right? So... you''re basically a beggar turned drug addict. Really moving up in the world, aren''t you, Raven?"


    Shaking his head with a smile as he sipped the piping-hot cup of coffee, Raven shook his head and replied.


    "A rich drug addict, get it right!"


    Wiping the bottom of my pants as I stood back up, I sighed before responding.


    "Is it too late to say, ''Don''t let the money get to your head?'' "


    Wiping the remnants of the coffee off his mouth, Raven smiled and replied.


    "Waaaaay too late."


    Putting down the cup of coffee on the table, Raven stared at the television, which was still playing the video of Astrid singing, before asking.


    "Anyway, when''d you get back, boss?"


    Scrolling through the messages that Raven had sent me, I replied.


    "Just now." Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Looking around the dirty and chaotic room, I added.


    "Looks like you guys had a party without me?"


    Pulling up our message logs, which showed the countless messages I hadn''t responded to, Raven immediately replied.


    "If you''re going on vacation, why can''t we!?"


    Shaking my head with a smile, I turned to Zeng, who was sluggishly and slowly walking over to the couch where Raven and I were sitting.


    Seeing my face next to Raven''s figure, Zeng wore a slight grin before saying.


    "Welcome back, boss."

 Chapter 176: Chapter 176:Presents [1]

    Seeing Zeng''s sly smile, I pulled out the clam shells that I had carved earlier with my corrupted daggers.


    Gesturing for Zeng to come over, I stood up and carefully placed each of the carved clams on his horns.


    Each clam perfectly fit his horn, not being too small or too big, and instead of his horns being bright red, they were now the metallic metal of the clam shells.


    With Christmas coming up soon, there was no way Zeng could go outside with his bright-red horns showing, but with the metallic-colored horns, he could pass as... a reminder cosplayer?


    Anyway, it was much better than the bright red horns that stood out to everyone.


    Standing back up, Zeng touched his horns, feeling the odd texture of the clam shells on them instead of the usual rough feeling of his red horns.


    As Zeng rushed to the mirror, I looked back at Raven... who was entranced with Astrid''s singing on the television.


    I had brought her to the warehouse once already, didn''t I?


    Did he not recognize her?


    Drawing Raven''s attention away from the television, I sat down on the couch before asking.


    "You need anything?"


    Shaking his head while raising his cup of coffee, Raven gazed back at the television before replying.


    "...no, this is perfect, the b-"


    Stopping mid-sentence, Raven seemed to have a revelation as he immediately turned to face me.


    "wait... why are you being so nice...? What the hell did you do this time???"


    Waving my hands up and down to calm the anxious Raven, I smiled and replied.


    "Nothing...at least not yet!"


    Slowly meeting my eyes, Raven''s hand trembled, causing some coffee to spill on the floor.


    "...so you''re telling me you know you''re going to do something that''s going to cause me a lot of problems."


    Nodding my head, I replied.


    "Yep."


    Putting down the cup of coffee, Raven got up from the couch and replied.


    "Here''s an idea! If you know it''s going to cause problems... then don''t do it!"


    Getting off the couch as well, I sympathetically tapped Raven on the shoulder and added as I passed by.


    " *sigh* In a perfect world, Raven..."


    "WHAT TH-"


    Ignoring Raven''s outburst, I headed to the warehouse door with a couple of supplies I had gotten from the painting subspace.


    Opening the door, I was surprised to see a familiar figure standing right outside the warehouse, seemingly waiting for me.


    Seeing her long blonde hair and light-red eyes sway in the wind as she leaned on the outside of the warehouse, I hesitated for a moment, realizing she hadn''t noticed me.


    Stepping outside the warehouse, I scratched my head before asking.


    "...is there something you need, student council president?"


    Not at all surprised at my voice, Astrid got off the wall before walking right in front of the door, trying to peek inside the warehouse.


    Attempting to block her entrance, I once again asked.


    "..hello?"


    Finally giving the time of the day, Astrid looked up at me before saying.


    "I thought you''d be here since you didn''t come back with the others at the front gate."


    Confused, I once again asked.


    "so...do you need anything?"


    Nodding her head, Astrid answered.


    "As you know, the student council is responsible for ensuring that the Christmas Wonderland next week is perfect."


    Reaching out her hand, Astrid put a piece of paper in my hands.


    [Staff Pass - Ren]


    "You''ll be needing one of these."


    Looking at the piece of paper in my hands, I hesitated for a moment before sighing.


    "You have something else, don''t you?"


    Maintaining her emotionless expression, Astrid replied.


    "Do you really think I''d come all the way out here just to give you a piece of paper?"


    Stepping out of the way, I allowed her to walk inside before shortly following behind.


    Who cared if she thought the warehouse was dirty!?


    It was her decision to come here, not mine; why should I suffer?


    However, as she took her first step into the warehouse, I suddenly recalled something.


    Grabbing my wrist, I immediately looked at the smartwatch... realizing that the video was still playing.


    ...


    As I disconnected my smartwatch from the television, I heard a loud scream come from inside the warehouse.


    "BOSS, WHY THE HELL DID YOU STOP PLAYING IT!?"


    "..."


    Mustering the courage to look up, I saw Astrid frozen in place, with her gaze locked on the television, which was now blank.


    Ah... this isn''t a good look for me, is it?


    Attempting to reconcile the situation, I stepped into the warehouse before pointing at Raven, who was making yet another cup of coffee.


    "...he''s a really big fan."


    After a moment of silence, Astrid, continuing to stare at the blank television, replied.


    "Give it."


    Realizing I had no choice, I hesitantly took the smartwatch off my wrist before handing it over to Astrid.


    She was the student council president, after all... I had no chance of winning in a one-on-one duel against her.


    Of course, I wouldn''t die or receive any major injuries as I had countless escape routes from this warehouse...but did I really want my entire warehouse to be destroyed just because of a video?


    Scrolling through my smartwatch, Astrid finally moved, taking a seat on one of the stools lying around near the kitchen area.


    Heading to the kitchen, where Raven stood with a cup of coffee, I almost collapsed, seeing Raven looking at me with a grin.


    Staring at Astrid, who was still scrolling through my smartwatch, Raven curiously asked.


    "Boss.. are you guys swapping smartwat-"


    "Shut it."


    Mumbling about how unfair I was, Raven sat across from Astrid with his cup of coffee in hand.


    A couple of seconds later, Zeng also emerged from the closet, proudly brandishing the metallic-colored horns on his hands.


    Seeing Astrid pay no attention to Zeng, I sighed in relief.


    Maybe... passing him off as a reindeer would work!


    Taking a seat on the last stool, I silently took back my smartwatch before once again asking. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Now, what is it?"

 Chapter 177: Chapter 177:Presents [2]

    Looking around the messy and disorganized warehouse for a moment, Astrid inhaled for a moment before turning to me.


    Finally changing her expression, an artificial and fake ass smile appeared on her face as her red lips slowly parted.


    "I''ve received some information that the ch-"


    "No."


    "b-"


    "Hell no."


    "..."


    The last time I had gotten involved with Astrid, I had been time-traveled and found a cat, which was resting in my area of the warehouse right now.


    Though I couldn''t say I completely regretted it as I gained the Dragon''s Transformation ability from absorbing the blood-red sword, there was no way I was doing it again.


    Seeing Astrid still looking at me with an expected expression, I sighed before asking.


    "Who exactly are you receiving this information from?"


    One time could have been a coincidence, but for Astrid to receive another piece of information that required my help was weird.


    Why couldn''t she go to the school or to her large family or the countless connections she had made as her student council president term?\\


    Why did it have to be me?


    Shaking her head, Astrid replied.


    "If I knew that, would I really go to you for help?"


    ...so she''s trusting a random piece of information given by some random guy that she doesn''t even know?


    Well, it worked last time, so I can''t really complain...


    Curious as to what the information would be, I asked.


    "Alright... I''ll hear you out, but don''t get your hopes up."


    Placing her two hands on the table, Astrid took out her own smartwatch before projecting the screen of the smartwatch onto the table.


    On the table in front of me lay a three-dimensional replica of the academy, complete with all the correct trees and bushes.


    Well, I could do that too now with corruption!


    Nodding my head and prompting Astrid to continue, I watched as she pinched her figures, zooming in on a specific portion of the academy by making the scale larger.


    Pointing at the academy''s multipurpose room, Astrid asked.


    "You should know about what''s happening here, right?"


    Nodding my head, I replied.


    "The winter ball."


    How could I not know?


    Right now, I was currently receiving countless messages about Jin and Han about that very topic!


    [Jin: SO YOU ALL KNEW ABOUT THIS BALL THE ENTIRE TIME!?]


    [Ren: Hate to break it to you, but I think everybody beside you knew.]


    [Han: I saw posters for it three months ago...]


    [Jin: I''M ALREADY BEHIND. WHAT IF ALL OF THE GIRLS HAVE BEEN ASKED OUT ALREADY!?]


    [Ren: ...don''t think you''re going have to worry about that, not gonna lie.]


    [Jin: And what is that supposed to mean?]


    [Han: Yeah, you''re one to talk after that Lily incident at the start of school, Ren.]


    [Ren: Low blow dude...]


    Putting my smartwatch on Do Not Disturb, I looked back up at the three-dimensional replica of the building where the ball would take place.


    Looking up at me, Astrid asked.


    "Aren''t you curious about why I pointed at the building for the ball?"


    "An area where the entire student population gathers for a night? A villain and djinn''s greatest dream."


    " *PFFT*"


    From beside me, Raven almost fell off his seat while struggling to contain his laughter.


    Ignoring the confused Astrid, Raven screamed out.


    "YOU HEAR THAT, ZENG? IS THAT REALLY YOUR FANTA-"


    Pushing Raven off the chair and interrupting his screaming, I watched him head over to Zeng and sit on the couch next to Zeng before returning my attention to Astrid.


    "Sorry about them."


    "It''s fine; it''s probably my fault for dropping by so abruptly."


    Pulling her stool closer to me, Astrid further zoomed in, revealing the inside of the ball room building.


    It looked like just what I had expected, resembling those high-school dances that my friends had told me and constantly gossiped about... as my mother had never allowed me to go.


    "While they''re out wasting their time, you''re creating a better future for yourself." S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Only a certain amount of students are allowed each year into the top colleges; do you want to give up this headstart just because of some silly school event?"


    There was a gigantic and currently empty room with a high ceiling with windows and doors all over the place.


    Above the flat and empty floor and just below the ceiling, there was just a short ledge that allowed you to see everything below.


    Turning my head to Astrid, I asked.


    "And why exactly are you showing me this...?"


    Picking up a pencil, Astrid started counting all the entrances into the building out loud, even including the glass roof.


    "one... two... three... four... five."


    "...seventeen...eighteen. nineteen."


    Interrupting her count, I said.


    "Alright, I get your point, but what are we supposed to do about it? Can''t we just leave it up to academy security and the heroes?"


    Rapidly shaking her head, Astrid immediately replied.


    "And you trust them?"


    ...the book''s characters are actually... becoming self-aware of the cliches that the author wrote into the plot!


    Normally, I would have agreed with her point, but this time, I shook my head in disagreement.


    In the main plot of the book, it was the same scenario: a ball with hundreds of students and countless entrances.


    Yet, nothing happened.


    There were no djinns, villains, or problems.


    The reason for this?


    Of course, not the useless and nonsensical academy security.


    An incident would take place during the Winter Wonderland, but before the ball, and in that incident, the djinns would be majorly defeated by Liam and company.


    Thus, the djinns had no resources or energy to attack and invade the ball despite the potential it had for them.


    Responding to Astrid''s confused expression, I said.


    "Ironic how the student council president doesn''t even trust her own school? But, instead, she trusts a random piece of information."


    Not wasting another moment, Astrid stood up from the stool, giving me one last glance before saying.


    "I''ll take that as a no to helping."


    Without waiting for my response, Astrid turned around and swiftly exited the warehouse.

 Chapter 178: Chapter 178:Presents [3]

    As Astrid swiftly departed from the warehouse, I used corruption to manifest crow, ordering it to keep a close eye on Astrid.


    I had learned time and time that the belief that this world would follow the book''s plots exactly would only lead to danger.


    Maybe there was some unknown threat and waiting to attack the school during the ball.


    Opening a window and letting some sunlight shine into the disgusting room, I watched the pitch-black crow fly out into the light-blue sky before returning to the couch.


    Leaving the two boys behind in the warehouse, I followed after Astrid, leaving the warehouse only a few minutes later.


    Enjoying the short stroll, I sighed as the looming figure of the academy front gate came into view.


    Taking one last glance at the body of water below, I crossed the bridge before entering the academy, giving a short nod to the heroes tasked with protecting the gate.


    Still tired despite having slept for almost the entire bus ride, I made my way to my dorm room before collapsing on the bed.


    For the incident during the Winter Wonderland involving the main cast, I didn''t plan to do anything.


    As I said before, I had a slight feeling that I would be requested soon enough.


    Besides that, I had three things on my to-do list.


    Advance to the fourth movement of my shadow arts.


    Considering how much I had been using shadow cages and corrupted in physical form now, I was definitely more than ready to advance.


    At this point, I used corruption at least once every hour, so I wasn''t surprised at how my mastery progressed.


    Normally, a movement would take, on average, three months to a year to perfect... but then again, a normal person doesn''t do what I do.


    Saving the Elven kingdom and advancing to C-rank in the same week?


    Light work.


    The next and by far the easiest task was to keep a close eye on Astrid.


    With my crow following her constantly, I wouldn''t have to worry about this too much as I could just switch bodies with the crow occasionally to check up on her.


    And finally... the hardest and most elusive task.


    Dragon''s Blood.


    The only clue I had was the pool of blood that I had seen at the end of the dream earlier...or was it?


    After I had defeated the spirit through my use of the corrupted figure, everyone in the main cast, including Ruby and Irene, had been teleported out of the dream and received the notification that they had advanced.


    So... why did I still remain?


    Shaking my head, I stared up at the ceiling, allowing my eyes to close, slowly feeling my consciousness slip further and further away.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    *BZZT*


    *BZZT*


    *BZZT*


    With my eyes still closed, I immediately slammed my hand down on my smartwatch, not worrying at all about whether it was broken or not.


    *BZZT*


    *BZZT*


    "TURN OFF DAMN IT."


    Opening my eyes, I covered my ears before finally turning off the annoying alarm that I had set up on my smartwatch.


    Slowly removing the blankets and getting up from my body, I sighed as I moved to the shower.


    Classes...


    huh, it had been a long time.


    After returning to the academy from the Elven realm and resting, I had spent the last two days essentially rotting in my room.


    What did they call it back on earth?


    Procrastinating... or in other words, I was somehow bored with a bunch of shit to do.


    Apart from switching bodies with my crow every once in a while, I had just been lazing around in my room.


    But sadly, today was the end of that. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Not of my own accord.


    Today was the start of the new week... and that meant classes would begin once again today.


    Getting into the shower, I let the steaming hot water drip down my hair for a couple of minutes before finally getting out.


    Grabbing a towel and scrunching up my hair to dry it, I stared at the calendar on my smartwatch/


    [5 Days until the Christmas Wonderland starts.]


    Plenty of time!


    Putting on the academy uniform, I grabbed my backpack before departing from my room.


    Leisurely making my way down the stairs and toward the building of my class, I took in the views of the academy.


    Around me were at least hundreds of kids, all also making their way to their classes, and countless teachers could also been rushing to get to their classrooms on time.


    To my right was a park where lucky students who didn''t have classes today could be seen lounging around, and to my left were countless buildings, each having their own design.


    The buildings for magic classes had gigantic wands alongside pictures of spells all over their walls, while the buildings for combat had swords, axes, and spears.


    Only second-year and above would take specialized classes, so, unfortunately, I had to walk past those beautiful buildings.


    Looking at the bustling atmosphere full of students and the gigantic and amazing campus around me, a sudden thought occurred.


    Is this what it feels like to be a university student?


    Opening the doors to my building, I walked through the hallway, finally stopping in front of a familiar-lookingdoor.


    Well... they should have had some time to calm down since that, right?


    Sliding open the door, I simply looked at the floor, trying my best to recall the exact pathway to my desk without looking up.


    If I can''t see them, they can''t see me!


    Walking up the stairs to my seat all the way back, I finally looked up and saw both Jin and Han sitting in their respective seats.


    Taking a seat in the middle of them, I put my head down on the table, awaiting the ringing of the bell.


    When you''re transmigrated, you would expect to live life, doing whatever you want and exploring the new world, having fun all the time.


    ..yet here I was, taking a class like some normal university student.

 Chapter 179: Chapter 179:Presents [4]

    Shaking my head, I ceased my complaining.


    Not everyone gets a second chance at life after dying once, so complaining wasn''t the thing to do.


    Anyway, it wasn''t like anyone was forcing me to stay at the skill or anything; I was just doing it all out of my own volition.


    *DING*


    Slowly raising my head as the sound of the bell echoed throughout the classroom, I saw the sliding door slowly open, revealing the familiar figure of Professor Zia.


    She had been treating me rather nicely, considering the fact that I had attempted to hurt her favorite student, Liam, on the first day of school, so I had no qualms about her.


    As the class descended into silence, Professor Zia slowly walked up to the whiteboard before writing in large letters on the chalkboard.


    [Christmas Wonderland]


    Sighing, I looked away from the whiteboard at the massive windows to my side.


    As the words "best behavior," "recruiting," and "pivotal moment in your life" emerged from Professor Zia''s mouth, I zoned out even further.


    Wasn''t this just college applications all over again!?


    Instead of writing essays and putting down our extracurriculars, we had to show off our combat prowess and good behavior.


    Looking next to me, I noticed that both Han and Jin were actually paying attention and... at least trying to take notes on what she said.


    Making sure nobody was watching me, I put my head on the desk and covered both my eyes with my elbow.


    The next second, I was no longer in the classroom but hovering above another building as a crow.


    Flying over to a tree, I perched on one of the branches before shifting my gaze to a nearby building.


    Looking down as the crow, I peered into a nearby window, seeing Astrid sitting by her desk, simply working on documents.


    "...again?"


    For the last three days, all she had done was train, work on documents, eat, and sleep.


    Did she give up on the information because of what I said?


    ...no, Astrid isn''t the type of person who ignores a warning of danger, no matter how false and stupid it may seem.


    Leaving the crow on the tree branch, I returned to my body, instantly having my vision blocked by my elbows.


    Removing my elbows, I was shocked to see that the front of the classroom was empty as Professor Zia had disapeared.


    Turning to Jin and Han, who had already reverted to their old ways and were using their smartwatch, I asked.


    "Where did the professor go?"


    Han, looking away from his smartwatch, replied.


    "Oh, we didn''t want to say anything because you were sleeping, but apparently she''s giving us a free period right now."


    "For real?"


    Responding to my question, Jin scoffed and replied.


    "It''s just one period, though... we have to be back by the end of lunch. At this point, why doesn''t she just give us the whole day off?"


    Nodding my head in approvement, I waved goodbye to the two boys before getting out of my chair.


    Paying attention to gazes I could feel tracking my movement, I walked back down the stairs and exited the classroom.


    Having skipped breakfast in the morning, I walked through the hallways, eventually arriving at the first-year cafeteria.


    Standing in front of the cafeteria, I almost dropped to the floor upon seeing the massive line already formed.


    Interrupting my lampooning, a family sweet and soft voice spoke from behind me.


    "Seems like every class got the period off today."


    "Really, what makes you say that?"


    "Isn''t it too early in the morning for sarcasm?"


    Shaking my head at Ruby''s question, I replied.


    "Sarcasm waits for no one!" Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As more footsteps sounded from behind us, Ruby quickly said.


    "Well, I would stay, but you must know Liam and Kevin hate your guts right now."


    Paying no mind to the smile that, for some reason, was on her face, I replied.


    "Doesn''t matter to me."


    Swiftly turning back around, I stepped into the line for the food.


    However, Ruby also stepped into the line right behind me.


    "Wait... don''t tell me you''re jealous?"


    "Jealous of what? Did you not see beat the shit out of them!?"


    Tapping me on the shoulder, Ruby whispered so that only I could hear.


    "They''re some pretty important and influential people, so if I got on their backside by hanging out with you, my identity could be at risk."


    Genuinely surprised, I whispered back.


    "You''re still a villain?"


    "...honestly, I don''t even know at this point...but yeah, technically, I''m still a squadron leader of the Gemstone Order."


    "Just choose a side and stick with it, then."


    Stepping back out of the line, Ruby curiously asked.


    "So, what side are you then?"


    "Try guessing, it''s a 50/50."


    Smirking even further, Ruby replied.


    "And what do I get if I guess correct?"


    Confident that she wouldn''t guess it right, I responded.


    "I''ll do anything you say for a day if you get it correct... but if you lose, you have to try and piss off Liam for me."


    "...that''s what you want?"


    As I nodded my head at Ruby''s question, she waved, revealing a large grin on her face, before heading in the direction of footsteps behind us.


    ...she never guessed?


    After waiting an arduous ten minutes in line, I finally grabbed a tray of eggs before heading outside.


    Finding a nearby bench, I dropped my backpack on the ground before laying the tray of food on my legs.


    Staring at the plate of eggs in front of me, memories of the plate of noodles that Lily had prepared in the Elven realm flashed into my head.


    "...I never did get the recipe out of her, did I?"


    Well... it''s probably too late for that now.


    Weighing the pager that the Elven queen had given me in my hand, I genuinely considered using it to ask for the recipe.


    She did say to ask for help any time, didn''t she?


    "Is this spot taken?"


    "...hm?"

 Chapter 180: Chapter 180:Presents [5]

    Looking up from my lunch tray, I saw a girl about the same height as me standing next to the bench.


    Her golden-blonde hair and matching golden eye color sparkled in the sunlight, making it seem as if she was the reincarnation of the sun itself.


    However, my eyes weren''t drawn to her looks at all... instead, I saw a particular badge that was hanging on her chest.


    A gigantic cube that seemed to be alive as it had four legs and a pair of eyes was displayed on the badge.


    ...was that a Pokemon?


    Nope, it was the badge given to members of the royal family currently presiding over the human empire.


    Charlotte.


    The empire''s famed princess was known for her ability to manipulate light magic, using reflections and sunlight to create various new spells at just the age of sixteen.


    Glancing at my tray full of food, I shook my head before standing up.


    "I''ve just finished, it''s all yours."


    On the outside, Charlotte would have seemed like a kind and amicable person to anyone as she always wore a smile and brightly colored clothes.


    Here she was right now, even daring to sit next to a fallen noble like me, who had been disowned by their own father.


    A member, even being in the vicinity of someone with my reputation, was unthinkable, yet here she was.


    She seemed to have a gentle aura surrounding her as she passively gazed at me, not making any assumptions or insulting comments in her head despite the countless negative rumors surrounding me.


    However, as an avid book reader, I knew it was all an act.


    The real Charlotte was... very different.


    She was definitely not someone I wanted to get involved with right now, especially when I already had so many things on my plate.


    Standing up with my tray, I began walking away, not glancing back at Charlotte to see her reaction.


    Walking around my tray, I finally found a new spot to eat in a somewhat secluded area in the park surrounding the building.


    Hiding from the "sun" in the shade of the trees, I sat down on the bench before picking up my fork once again. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    *CRASH*


    However, just as I picked up another piece of food with my fork, a sudden loud sound sounded in front of me.


    Almost falling off the bench from shock, I put down my fork, ensuring none of the food that I had waited ages for spilled, and looked up.


    Peering through the forest with my eyes, I saw a familiar figure slumped against a tree in the distance.


    She seemed to be interacting with the air in front of her as she waved her hands around and opened her mouth, but my eyes couldn''t see anything there.


    Well, if it were anyone else, I would have just thought they were some loser talking to their imaginary friend... but it was an Elven princess.


    Carefully setting down my tray on the bench, I got up and started walking towards the source of the sound.


    Surprisingly, it wasn''t Liam who had the biggest change after my fight with him... but Alya.


    She had probably thought it was all her fault as she was the one who voluntarily contracted with the spirit, starting everything off.


    Of course, that also meant she was the one who got us out of the loop, as she allowed me to kill the spirit, but I doubted she saw it like that.


    All of Zach''s external injuries had healed as he had incurred them with his fight with me in the dream... but from the spirit''s possession, there were some internal issues.


    From what I observed in class, he seemed to have major attitude swings pretty often, and occasionally, his feet would start trembling for no reason.


    The guilt weighing on Alya must be immeasurable as Zach could suffer from this internal problem for the rest of his life... and in Alya''s head, it was all her fault.


    Since nothing like this was ever mentioned in the book, I couldn''t do anything to help Zach but just observe from a distance.


    Looking at Alya from a distance, I started wondering.


    Alya had been possessed by the spirit, but she wasn''t suffering from any side effects like Zach.


    What was the reason?


    Shaking my head, I got even closer to Alya, watching her fully lie down against the tree trunk and emotionlessly staring upward at the sun.


    "...well, I guess that''s another thing added to my list of things to do."


    Recalling Zach''s happy face in the classroom despite the side effects of the spirit''s possession, I sighed.


    Why do bad things always happen to good people?


    If it was some evil villain who was suffering the side effects, I wouldn''t feel a thing of guilt or sympathy.


    I could just ignore it and go on with my day.


    But looking at Zach, who was putting on a false facade and a mask of happiness to stop his friends from worrying, and Alya, who was being crushed under an immense of guilt, my chest began to ache.


    "tsk, I really hate this."


    Why was I feeling this guilt in my chest?


    I had simply done what I was supposed to do...none of the things I had done to Zach mattered, as those wounds had all healed after his dream.


    "Guilt is a weight that will crush you whether you deserve it or not."


    Shaking my head, I emerged from the protection of the trees and walked towards the oblivious Alya.


    Stopping a few steps in front of her, I hesitated, watching her silver hair sway in the breeze, and her eyes remain motionless, locked onto the sky.


    What was I doing?


    Taking on more tasks while I can''t even complete the ones I already have?


    Was this even worth it?


    *WHOOSH*


    As the breeze flew by, brushing Alya''s hair back and revealing her face, she finally looked away from the sun, slowly shifting her gaze downwards.

 Chapter 181: Chapter 181:Feelings [1]

    "...well, it''s a bit late to turn back now."


    Accepting my fate and washing away my doubts, I walked closer to Alya, stopping a step in front of her.


    Noticing me, Alya simply stared for a moment before looking back up at the sun, not having any reaction whatsoever.


    Leaning downward and raising my hand to block her sight of the sun, I quietly said in a serious tone.


    "Are you just going to give up and feel bad for yourself for the rest of the time, sitting under this tree?"


    "..."


    Nothing.


    Alya simply ignored my words, shifting her gaze slightly so that she could see the clear blue sky.


    Shaking my bed, I spoke once again.


    "Self-pity is a sin. Here you are washing away in sadness while Zach is the one who is actually suffering."


    "See how he''s still smiling? He''s the victim, not you. So, why the hell are you acting so sad for?"


    Seeing her eyebrow slightly raise and her finally showing some reaction, I continued.


    "Do you seriously think you have the right to pity yourself? Zach''s the one suffering, not you. You''re just using pity as an excuse to doze off, aren''t you?"


    In order to break Alya out of this emotionless, apathetic, and detached state, I had to make her angry.


    Make her feel something.


    Right now, she was just a piece of grass, flying in the breeze, letting the world take her wherever without caring in the slightest.


    Responding to my provocations, Alya''s face twisted as she turned to look at me right in front of her.


    The next second, the entire forest seemed to get much colder as the grass below me started to freeze.


    "Well, I can''t say I didn''t ask for it."


    Activating the usage period of the dash, I immediately dashed backward, narrowing and avoiding an icicle.


    Getting up from the tree, Alya''s face began to show some emotion as her teeth grinded against each other in anger.


    Pulling a clean steel and silver sword out of the icy cold air, Alya immediately covered it with ice before pointing it at me.


    Without saying a word, Alya thrust her now ice-blue sword forward, sending dozens of icicle spears whirling at me.


    Then, she slammed her sword into the ground, embedding it deep in the forest floor.


    *RUMBLE*


    The next moment, the temperature dropped even more as the ice began to slowly spread from the hole created by Alya''s sword.


    Within two seconds, the entire floor below me was covered with ice.


    Making sure not to slip, I side-stepped to the right before jumping sideways onto a tree.


    Boosting off the tree, I cleaved through the branches above with the two corrupted daggers that I had manifested.


    As the sun shone down through the holes I had created in the branches, the icicle spears hurling at me became significantly weaker, melting in the heat of the sun.


    Using my two daggers, I simply slashed at them once, shattering them into thousands of pieces before they melted under the sun.


    As I successfully avoided Alya''s first barrage of icicles, a scream suddenly and abruptly came from her side.


    "AND WHAT DO YOU KNOW!?"


    Slashing at another incoming ice spear with my daggers, I replied.


    "Does it matter what I know? I know enough to see what you''re doing is wrong."


    Receiving no response from Alya, I sighed before combining the corruption in my body with the blood-red substance.


    The next moment, a large wing, colored night-black and blood-red, formed on my right shoulder.


    Flapping my wing countless times, I weaved in between the icicles, dodging them without even destroying them.


    Dashing forward while simultaneously flapping my wing once, I appeared in front of Alya with my daggers ready.


    Responding in time, Alya slashed her ice-blue sword forward, causing me to dodge to the right.


    And just in time, a wall of ice formed in the spot I was just right in, stretching at least ten meters forward.


    Before I could attack again, Alya once again plunged her ice-blue sword into the ground.


    Flapping my wing, I watched in awe as a platform of ice below Alya appeared, slowly raising her higher and higher into the air.


    As I appeared upward into the air, the platform finally stopped elevating Alya, leaving her right below the branches and blocking her from the sun''s rays.


    Thrusting my daggers forward, I tried to slash down the ice platform, but every hole my dagger made in the platform was instantly replaced with more ice.


    It could regenerate.


    Raising her sword, tens of icicles appeared right above me before hurling downwards at me as if it were hailing.


    Realizing that there was no path out with my wing and my eyes, I simply stood still. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As the icicles neared me, I slashed my corrupted daggers at the air ten times, creating ten holographic daggers.


    As ten holographic daggers appeared alongside the two real ones in my hands, I smirked before sending the holographic daggers flying at her.


    Not wasting another second, I slashed my corrupted daggers up at the sky, sending countless night-black slashes.


    As the night-black slashes and icicles hit each other, countless elemental reactions occurred, causing bouts of smoke to appear.


    Flapping my wing, I flew through the smoke, avoiding some of the icicles that my night-slashes had failed to hit or destroy.


    Emerging from the smoke, I saw Alya''s face transform into confusion as her sword simply passed through the holographic daggers.


    Using her confusion, I manifested a green bird in my hands before sending it flying right at the elevated platform.


    Looking away from the platform, I "popped" the flash, feeling a beam of light appear behind me.


    Without wasting another second, I flapped my wing countless times, appearing right on the platform and beside Alya.


    Looking at the blind Alya in front of me, I simply kicked her leg, causing her to lose balance and fall off the platform.


    Jumping off the platform right after her, I watched as her eyes recovered from the flash, only to realize she was free-falling downwards.


    [A/N: Top 10 in weekly powerstones for +5 Chapters. We are only 100 powerstones away!]

 Chapter 182: Chapter 182:Feelings [2]

    Falling right behind Alya, I took a moment to repair my corrupted daggers, which had gotten damaged from my blocking of the icicles.


    Releasing more corruption out of my body and seeing the cracks in my daggers disappear, I created another green bird, ready ton end the fight.


    However, as the green bird appeared in my hands, I suddenly felt the temperatures surrounding me instantly decrease.


    It was to the point where I was beginning to lose feeling in my hand as I couldn''t even move it anymore.


    Eventually forcing my head to look downwards, I saw Alya still free-falling towards the ground, just like me.


    Could she have done something?


    Looking even closer, I peered through the air, finding Alya, whose eyes were locked onto the ground right below her.


    And, just as the ground was revealed to my eyes, a large ice spear appeared, and before I could react, it began flying upwards.


    ...was she committing suicide?


    Staying still for the moment, I watched as the ice spear, its tip as sharp as a high-tier sword artifact, flew further and further upward.


    But, it moved up a faster and faster pace...


    Then, as the ice spear reached Alya''s body, I was about to use a dash to stop her from doing whatever it was she was attempting.


    But before I could do anything, the ice spear simply passed through Alya''s body as if she were a hologram.


    The next moment, the large and sharp ice spear was already upon me, closing the distance between Alya and me within less than a second.


    Moving my legs, I attempted to use a dash, yet as I desperately commanded my leg to move in any direction, nothing happened.


    My leg simply remained still, ignoring my commands.


    It was too cold...


    Seeing my legs not move, I attempted to raise my hand to my eyes to slow my perception of my time.. but it was the same.


    My hand stayed in the same place.


    I had lost control over my entire body...


    Unable to do anything, I simply watched as the ice spear barrelled forward at my free-falling body.


    As the tip of the ice spear touched the jacket I had on, my body''s temperature decreased even further.


    My thoughts began to slow, and I couldn''t even form a coherent thought... or even think for that matter.


    My eyes began to close involuntarily, and silence slowly descended upon my ears.


    Finally, the ice spear moved forward a centimeter, stabbing straight through my jacket and embedding itself in my stomach.


    Letting out a small yelp as the ice spear further pierced my chest, I could only watch... or at some points, my eyes would completely close.


    Breaking past the skin layer of my body, the spear began tearing through my muscles and ligaments.


    My free-falling downwards, combined with the spear moving upwards, caused the spear to blitz past any form of protection I had without slowing down a single bit.


    Then, just as my eyesight blurred and eventually became completely dark, a sudden jolt of energy enveloped my body. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Was it adrenaline!?


    Not wasting the single moment of freedom I had back, I immediately grasped the body of the ice spear with my hands.


    Expect it to be hard to pull out due to how deep it had penetrated my chest, I yanked the spear outwards with all the power I had.


    Yet, to my surprise, the spear came out without a single problem, simply allowing itself to be yanked without any resistance.


    However, a massive amount of blood was covering the ice spear, making it seem as if it were colored blood-red and not ice-blue


    Feeling my body temperature increase and slowly regaining control over my body, I kicked my legs forward as I neared the ground.


    Staring at the ice spear in my right hand, I immediately lost my train of thought as I noticed that it had... melted.


    There was no longer a tip on the ice spear.


    It had completely melted away, leaving just the body.


    Was that why it had been so easy to pull out?


    Landing on the ground with my feet, I immediately peered around my surroundings, trying to find Alya.


    Not finding Alya, I immediately took off my jacket before pressing it into my chest.


    Even if the ice spear was no longer there, the hole it had left was still very visible.


    As my white academy jacket became stained red from all the blood, I winced... in disgust, not pain.


    "...wait, why am I not hurting? Why do I feel normal?"


    Staring at the deep wound in my chest, I once again confirmed it was there before staring at my hands.


    Maybe it was the adrenaline?


    No...it doesn''t last this long.


    Staring at my right hand, I attempted to look for clues on the culprit, the ice spear, yet there was nothing left in my right hand.


    Besides my hand being drenched in water, it was simply normal, not holding or keeping anything.


    ...the ice-spear had already melted?


    This entire area was surrounded by trees and branches, so it couldn''t have been the sun...


    Recalling the blood that covered the ice-blue spear, I removed my jacket and glanced downward at my wound.


    My wound was still there...but I wasn''t feeling any pain.


    Was this the effect of the dragon''s blood ability?


    Not feeling any pain from injuries?


    ...and melting ice somehow?


    Wrapping my jacket around the wound and applying pressure, I carefully walked forward, scared that a rush of pain would just appear from the deep wound in my chest.


    "...wait."


    Stopping dead in my tracks and looking around, I sighed upon not seeing Alya anywhere in the vicinity.


    I had been overconfident, thinking I could just beat her without any problems... but I was majorly proven wrong.


    Well... there was also the fact that I WAS TRYING TO SAVE HER.


    The only reason I hadn''t realized my body slowly losing control was because I was trying to save Alya as I thought she was attempting to end herself with the ice-spear.

 Chapter 183: Chapter 183:Feelings [3]

    "...this is why I hate being the good guy."


    Seeing Alya about to be impaled by the ice spear, I had forgotten about myself and focused on saving her.


    I mean, seeing her gloomy and lifeless expression earlier when she was resting against the tree, it wasn''t that far-fetched.


    Wait, was that part of her plan?


    No... she couldn''t have known I was going to try and save her, right?


    Shaking my head, I continued walking out of the forest, almost completely forgetting about the deep wound in my chest as there was no pain to remind me of it.


    Creating a cover of corruption, I placed it over my wound before throwing my bloody jacket into the forest behind me. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Lowering my shirt and hiding my cover of corruption that was blocking the wound, I walked out of the forest, acting as if nothing had happened.


    Yet, just as I was about to head back to class, I saw a familiar figure sitting with my tray right next to her.


    Making eye contact with Charlottle, my eyes almost almost closed from the "brightness" emanating from her.


    As she saw me emerge from the forest, a smile emerged on her face as she waved at me, beckoning for me to come closer.


    Glad I had taken off the bloody jacket earlier, I slowly walked towards Charlottle until I was standing right in front of her.


    Scrutinizing me with a smile on her face, Charlotte joyfully asked.


    "Say, I just saw the Elven princess emerge from that same spot with her hair and clothes all over the place. Her hair was all crumped up... not a very suiting look for a princess."


    "..."


    "And I''ve just seen you emerge from that spot with messy hair and clothes all over the place."


    "..."


    "If I didn''t know any better..."


    Forcing a smile onto my face, I interrupted Charlotte mid-sentence and responded.


    "Ah, it must have been a coincidence. I didn''t see the Elven princess anywhere in the forest. I simply went for a quick nap and ended up like this!"


    The perfect alibi!


    I was sleeping, which caused my clothes and hair to be all messed up, and it also matched my lazy and arrogant attitude that rumors believed I had!


    Patting myself on the chest, I inwardly smiled.


    Yet, despite my perfect excuse, Charlottle kept her gaze locked on me, her smile only widening as the last words came out of my mouth.


    Placing her hand on her elbow, Charlotte looked up at me, making eye contact, before asking in an overly happy voice.


    "Is that so? I could have sworn that I heard the Elvin princess mutter "Ren," "Damn Ren," "Ren" at least a hundred times."


    "..."


    "Then again, I have had some problems with my ears in the past, so I might have just been hearing things. If what you''re saying is true, then my ears must have been acting up."


    "..."


    Staring at my crumbling expression with a smile, she continued in her exaggerated, jolly tone.


    "I''ll have to make an appointment with the royal doctor immediately! I have to thank you for informing me of this. Without you telling me that you had napped earlier, I would have never realized that my ears were acting up!"


    ...is this what they call guilt-tripping?


    Well... what am I supposed to do now?


    Matching her exact smile, I waited for her to finish before replying in a completely serious tone, devoid of any sarcasm or jokingness.


    "I am honored to have been useful to the princess!''


    Getting down on a single knee, I placed my hand over my heart before looking up at the confused Charlottle and continuing in my overly serious voice.


    "I shall remember this moment for the rest of my life! A lowly noble like me was able to help someone so magnificent as the kingdom''s princess!"


    Seeing her confused expression, I tried my best to hold in my laughter and smile, staying on the ground.


    I bet she didn''t expect me to double it!


    Would a normal person have just admitted their lie and owed up to their mistake earlier?


    Yes.


    Was I a normal person?


    No!


    Seeing her continue to stare at me with a befuddled expression, I awkwardly remained on the ground.


    I couldn''t just get up without her acknowledging me...that would ruin the whole skit I had just acted out!


    Finally breaking the silence, Charlotte shifted her gaze upwards to the sun before saying.


    "You know... you''re a lot different than rumors, aren''t you, Ren?"


    Getting up, I continued with the act, scratching my head and smiling at the princess''s praise.


    That''s right, I''m not a pawn that you can use and manipulate, so stay away!


    Raising my hands, I replied to her question in a confused tone.


    "Am I?"


    *RING~RING*


    Saved by the bell!


    As the bell rang, Charlotte stood up from the bench, giving me one last glance before walking away.


    After ensuring that my corrupted bandage was working, I pulled back down my shirt before walking back to the school building.


    Sliding open the classroom door, I resisted the urge to immediately grab Alya and slam her against the table before heading to my seat in the back of the class.


    I''d get my revenge... soon enough.


    However, even though I was doing my best to ignore Alya after what had just happened, she seemed to not care.


    From the corner of my eyes, I could see her gaze locked onto my every movement as she carefully observed me while wearing a surprised expression.


    What!? Surprised I''m alive, are you!?


    Sitting down in my seat, I greeted Jin and Han, who had stayed in the classroom the entire break.


    Looking up from his smartwatch, Han asked.


    "Anything good in the cafeteria today?"


    "...ask someone else."


    Ignoring Han''s confused expression, I checked the time before putting away my smartwatch.


    As the sliding door opened, revealing the figure of Professor Zia, I leaned back in my seat, trying to think of a way to get everything done.

 Chapter 184: Chapter 184:Feelings [4]

    As Professor Zia walked to the lectern, I was about to lean forward and pick up my pencil to pretend to take notes when a sudden pain coursed through my body.


    Leaning fully back on my chair, I immediately placed my hand on my chest, the area of the pain, removing my feet from the ground.


    With nothing to hold me back, my chair fully tipped over, causing both me and it to swiftly fall to the ground.


    But.. that wasn''t my worry.


    "AH SHIT, WHAT IS THAT."


    Ignoring my descent to the other ground, I clenched the corrupted bandage that was covering my wound with a pained expression. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    *CRASH*


    As the chair and I collided with the ground behind us, causing a loud sound to echo throughout the silent classroom, I lifted up my shirt and forcefully ripped off my corrupted bandage.


    I had used corruption to patch my wounds before, so why was it hurtling like hell right now?


    As my pain receptors blared, sending shocks of pain throughout my entire body, I glanced downward at my revealed stomach and the wound on it.


    ...the wound was the same as it was last time.


    The exact same.


    Losing my focus as more pain flooded through my entire body, I yelped, once again sending another sound through the empty room.


    "AHHH"


    After placing one hand on my wound to stop further blood from leaking out, I pulled down my shirt and managed to gather enough energy to look up.


    Both Han and Jin were looking at me with surprised faces and through the gaps in the chairs and desks, I could see Professor Zia also looked at me oddly.


    Feeling another surge of pain incoming, I screamed out.


    "I NEED TO USE THE RESTROOM!"


    Staring at me slumped over on the ground, Professor Zia sighed before loudly replying.


    "Next time, use your break-time for things like this... but I''ll allow it this time."


    I thanked Professor Zia internally for being one of the few teachers who actually cared about their students, and I gathered enough energy to raise my hand.


    Taking my raised hand, Jin pulled me up from the floor, and after a couple of seconds, I was able to balance by myself.


    With one hand still under my shirt, blocking the blood from overflowing, I awkwardly walked down the steps, trying my best to act normal.


    However, the other children in the classroom, of course, began to speculate.


    "Did he piss himself!?"


    "Is he faking to get out of class!?"


    "Did he piss himself, so he could skip class!?"


    "...why is there a blood mark on his shirt?"


    "wait... is he on his period!?"


    ...really, that''s the conclusion that the top students and future heroes of the world came to after looking at me!?


    Shaking my head, I tried my best to ignore all the whispers by simply looking down at the floor as I neared the exit.


    Sliding open the door, I didn''t glance back but immediately sprinted towards the bathroom.


    Reaching the bathroom, I immediately pulled up my shirt and took another glance at my wound using the mirror.


    "...it''s the same?"


    The severity and size of the wound were the same as they had been when I exited the forest.


    This, in itself, was, of course, not surprising as there was no way my wound could heal that fast... but why was I feeling the pain now?


    Did my adrenaline wear off!?


    Grabbing some tissues, I removed my hand, which was covered in blood by now, and tried my best to clean it up.


    After putting in some water, I forced myself through the pain to reattach the corrupted bandage I had put on it earlier.


    Exhausted and in pain, I leaned against the sink and raised my hand.


    If there was anything that could explain this phenomenon, it was my system.


    ===Menu===


    User : Ren Montclair


    [Class: Proficient Assassin: (Level 3: 58%) ]


    -> Stealth : C+


    -> Moderate Dagger Mastery : 53%


    -> Arts: Eclipse Blade [3/5]


    [Stats]


    -> Rating : C-


    -> Strength : D


    -> Agility : C+


    -> Stamina : D+


    -> Magic Power : C


    -> Luck: G-S {Conditional}


    -> Intelligence : C


    -> Charm : C


    [Traits]


    -> Passive: Dragon''s Will [3 / ?]


    ---> Dragon Eyes : Your eyesight is enhanced.


    ---> Dragon''s Transformation : You are able to harness a physical part of a dragon. [???]


    ---> Dragon''s Blood: In times of danger, you are able to keep a calm mind despite external wounds.


    [Skills]


    -> [[E] Dash] : Not requiring any mana usage, the skill allows the user to move 10 meters from their current location in any direction with a cooldown period of 7 seconds. The skill does not instantly move the user but temporarily increases the user''s speed until they move 10 meters.


    -> [[C] Sky Flash] : Requiring the usage of mana, the skill allows the user to create a bird-like animal. This bird-like animal will fly through the sky at the user''s discretion until the user decides to "pop" it. When "popped," the bird will blind every person in a five-meter radius for two seconds. The bird can be used twice every hour.


    =======


    Wiping the blood off my hand with water, I stared at my Dragon''s blood ability, which was no longer filled with "???"


    "...so I just have adrenaline, but it lasts longer, now?"


    Staring at the last few "???" by dragon''s blood, I began wiping the water off my hands with some paper towels.


    "It definitely has to be related to how my blood melted the ice spear...but why is it still ??? If I figured it out?"


    Feeling the pain levels decrease, I took one last glance at my system menu before walking out of the bathroom.


    It wasn''t like I wanted to go back to class, but it was just... I had nowhere else to go.


    However, as I emerged from the bathroom, I saw a familiar figure with long silver-white hair leaning against the wall.


    Heading towards the classroom, I said as I walked by her.


    "Come to apologize for that?"


    Not moving from her spot on the wall, Alya hesitated before muttering out.


    "w-why did you try to help me during the fight? N-none of this would have happened if you just dodged."


    Stooping in my tracks, I turned back and said.


    "Do I need a reason?"


    Looking at the looming classroom door a bit further down the hall and imagining what I would hear when I came back, I sighed and walked back to Alya.


    "Ready to do something about Zach, now?"

 Chapter 185: Chapter 185:Feelings [5]

    Surprised at my question, Alya hesitated for a moment before shamelessly muttering out.


    "a-after that, you want to help?"


    Shaking my head and dismissing her worried, I replied.


    "You made the attack non-fatal on purpose; it was simply to immobilize me for a bit."


    Pulling up my shirt and taking off the corrupted bandage, I pointed at the area of my stomach that it had hit.


    If my blood hadn''t melted the ice spear, it simply would have hit a couple of ligaments that would have caused me no permanent pain, and it definitely wouldn''t have come close to killing me.


    In fact, with some healing scrolls, I could have been just fine in a matter of hours.


    Of course, now that my blood had melted the ice spear, stopping it early, I would be fine with a couple of healing scrolls and less than an hour.


    The only reason the pain had been so drastic at first when I was in the classroom was because of my ability.


    All of the pain that I had ignored earlier through my ability had come rushing at me all at the same time, making it feel worse than it actually was.


    Putting back on my corrupted bandage, I continued.


    "I clearly instigated the fight... I should have expected to get hurt."


    Seeing her hesitantly nod her head, admitting that she hadn''t tried to kill me, I smiled before asking one question that had been weighing on me.


    "But... why did you just leave after sending that ice thing at me?"


    Staying silent, Alya awkwardly fidgeted her hands before reaching into her pocket and taking out a couple of magic scrolls.


    Revealing her hands to me, I saw at least five healing scrolls sitting in her hands.


    ...so she wanted to win the fight but not hurt me?


    Is that not counterintuitive!?


    Taking the healing scrolls, I applied them to the area of the wound, yelping each time a scroll was used.


    If I had to compare a healing scroll to something from Earth, it would be shots or vaccines.


    They hurt at first when applied when they puncture your skin to push the antibiotics inside your body, and after that, your body gradually begins to heal.


    But, as seen with Zach, healing scrolls had their limits.


    While they could patch external wounds, internal wounds could not be fixed.


    Even with external wounds, they also had their limits.


    Using too many healing scrolls within a certain period of time could lead to countless negative side effects on your body, so one also had to limit their use of the scrolls.


    Feeling the pain steadily began to decrease, I turned to Alya before reaching out my hand.


    "All good?"


    Reaching out her hand, Alya nodded her head and hesitantly shook my hand before awkwardly looking away.


    "And, what do we have here?"


    Shocked at the stern voice echoed from behind us, Alya and I jumped back in shock before slowly shifting our gazes ahead. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Only a few meters in front of us stood Professor Zia, her glasses slanted as she looked at the two of us with an intrigued expression.


    Immediately removing my hand from Alya''s, I tried to shift the topic and control the conversation by asking her a question.


    It was a simple trick; the person who asks the questions is always in control of the conversation.


    "What happened to the class...?"


    Shaking her head and removing the clear glasses from her eyes, Professor Zia walked forward, closing the distance between us.


    Standing in front of her tall and imposing figure, I immediately rephrased my answer and said.


    "Ah, I just finished using the restroom and happened to meet Alya outside."


    Alya, behind me, also nodded, confirming our alibi.


    Sizing me up with her eyes, Professor Zia stared right into my eyes before saying.


    "If you''re in pain or danger, let me know. As your teacher, it''s my job to maintain your well-being both inside and outside the academy."


    "You don''t just howl in pain like a werewolf under a full moon because you need to use the restroom."


    Not waiting for a response, Professor Zia turned around and reentered her classroom, leaving Alya and me behind.


    Looking down at her shoes, Alya whispered.


    "I-i''m s-"


    Waving my hand, I interrupted her and said.


    "We said we''re all good, right?"


    Walking in front of me, Alya headed into the classroom, leaving me behind in the hallway.


    Leaning against the wall, I caught my breath for a second before switching bodies.


    Leaving my body alone in the hallway, my surroundings immediately shifted as I was once again perched on a tree branch, looking downwards through a window.


    Seeing Astrid still signing documents and writing down school-related things, I sighed.


    Was she even planning to do anything?


    Was I just wasting my time!?


    Switching back to my original body, I caught myself before falling to the floor and walking toward the classroom entrance.


    However, catching something out of the corner of my eye, I stopped and looked out one of the many windows.


    In a nearby set of bushes outside of the window, a dog stood, its white fur sparkling in the sun.


    However, just as I noticed the dog''s presence, it immediately fled, running and hiding behind a tree.


    Seeing the dog reminded me of something else...


    "...wait, did I feed my cat!?"


    Imaging my hungry black cat waiting alone in my dorm room, I sighed before opening the classroom door.


    Maybe there was a reason for all the pain and bad luck I was feeling today...


    Ignoring the gazes on me, I swiftly walked to the back of the classroom, fixing my seat, which was still on the floor, and sitting down.


    Turning to me in unison, the two boys.


    "You alright, Ren..?"


    "There''s no need to fake sick... just say you don''t w-"


    "I''m fine, alright? Just a bit of a stomach ache."


    Seeming to have a realization, Han said.


    "Is that why you didn''t want to talk about the cafeteria food...?"

 Chapter 186: Chapter 186:Help [1]

    *RING~RING*


    As the bell rang once again, signifying the end of the school day, I exhaustedly got up before following Han and Jin to the exit.


    As the sliding door opened, the sound of countless students talking and walking in the hall immediately flooded my ears.


    Sighing, I recalled how silent the entire school had been earlier when exams were upon us.


    "...I missed when there were exams...at least, the school was quiet then."


    From in front of me, Jin immediately remarked.


    "Are you insane!? Do you not remember how hard we had to study just to barely pass in the end?"


    Shrugging my shoulders, I replied.


    "Who''s ''we?'' I did far better than barely pass."


    With a smirk, Jin pointed to a nearby chair before putting his hand on his stomach and saying.


    "Need I remind you of what just happened an hour ago?"


    "...alright, you win."


    -*-


    "I''ll do anything you say for a day if you get it correct... but if you lose, you have to try and piss off Liam for me."


    Confused but interested, Ruby turned to Ren before saying.


    "...that''s what you want?"


    Seeing Ren nod, Ruby turned around and ran towards Irene, who was alongside the rest of the main cast.


    "Where''d you go?"


    Meeting up with Irene, Ruby replied.


    "I wanted to get a headstart on the line... but after seeing the food, I''m fine."


    Chuckling at Ruby''s response, Irene curiously asked.


    "Is it really that bad?"


    As Ruby nodded her head, Kevin spoke up from behind the two of them.


    "Well, thank god, we have Lily and her amazing cooking skills!"


    Turning before they reached the cafeteria, Irene, Ruby, Lily, Kevin, Liam, and the limping Zach all stood in front of the seemingly useless door.


    Taking a key out of his pocket, Liam moved forward to unlock the door while Kevin spoke out in disbelief.


    "I still can''t believe the principal gave you, out of EVERYONE, a personal room to use."


    Not responding to Kevin''s words, Liam opened the door, revealing a large room that had countless couches, windows to the outside, some cooking devices, and even a couple of board games lying around.


    And hanging from the ceiling was a sign that read.


    [The Hero''s Hangout]


    All of them, having been to the room countless times to plan and hang out, moved their respective places.


    Ruby and Irene took their seats on a couch right in front of the windows while Lily moved to the center, where a couple of cabinets were.


    The three boys all took their seats on chairs before placing their backpacks on the table in front.


    As Lily took out a couple of snacks she had prepared earlier from the cabinet, Irene naturally walked over due to the smell.


    "What are those?"


    Warming up the snacks, Lily replied.


    "I call them Tanghulu. When I was young, I would always buy them from the street vend- I mean, my mother made them for me."


    Taking a stick, Lily carefully took some of the freshly picked grapes from the cabinet and put them through the stick.


    Putting the stick of grapes on a plate, Lily took a bowl filled with water before adding a couple of cups of sugar.


    Next, Lily elevated the bowl of sugar and water before casting a fire spell right below it.


    Watching the sugar crystalize, Lily started creating more sticks of fruits.


    Finally, as the bowl was at the right temperature, Lily picked up the stick of grapes and slowly placed it into the fire-hot bowl of sugar and water.


    After ensuring that the fruit was completely coated with sugar, Lily removed the stick and placed it into a bowl filled with water.


    Using an ice spell to ensure the bowl was cold enough, Lily hovered the stick of grapes over the bowl for about a minute.


    Then, Lily placed the finished stick of fruits onto the plate.


    After repeating the process ten times, Lily was left with a plate filled with countless sticks of fruit, ranging from strawberries to grapes to oranges.


    Under the sunlight, the sugar-coated sticks of fruit sparkled, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.


    The sweet aroma of the sugar-coated fruit sticks wafted through the room as Lily moved the plate to the table where the three boys sat.


    "It''s ready!"


    Ruby and Irene moved from the couch to the table, and after placing the plate, Lily also took a seat.


    As each of them reached for a stick of fruit, Liam put his hand forward and opened his smartwatch.


    A moment later, a three-dimensional replica of the school appeared on the table, projected from Liam''s smartwatch.


    Taking a bite from one of the grape sticks, Liam asked.


    "What''s the plan this ti-"


    However, before Liam could finish his sentence, Zach interrupted from beside him.


    "...aren''t we missing someone?"


    Shaking her head, Lily replied. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Alya needs some time... to cool down. Don''t worry, I''m checking up and watching her to make sure nothing bad happens."


    Seeing Zach calm down and not respond, Liam continued.


    "According to Lily, in a week''s time, the academy will be infiltrated during the winter fest."


    "From there, the djinns will aim to first create a barrier surrounding the entire school, stopping people from both leaving the school and coming inside."


    "That we will allow to happen."


    Completely distracted by the strawberry stick in front of her, Irene asked.


    "So, get to the point, What are we going to do?"


    Using her hands to zoom in on the courtyard area of the school, Lily answered.


    "First, the djinns will create an artificial drill using some device to cause a fire or another natural disaster."


    "As per protocol, all students will evacuate to the courtyard area, just where the djinns want them to be."


    "From there, the djinns will pop out of the ground, trees... anywhere possible, and try to cause as much chaos as possible."


    Finishing his stick of fruit, Kevin asked.


    "But, then, what''s their main goal? Just to kill and kidnap as many people as possible?"

 Chapter 187: Chapter 187:Help [2]

    Shaking her head at Kevin''s question, Lily replied.


    "No, with all the heroes around because of the Knight Order recruitment sessions and the increased security, the djinns know that their chances of dealing any significant damage to the student population are zero."


    Ruby, eating a stick of bright-red strawberries that complimented her blood-red eyes, then asked,


    "Then, what is it they''re trying to do?"


    Moving out from the courtyard on the replica, Lily zoomed into the building where all administrators, including the principal, worked during the school day.


    "A vault."


    Even though Lily''s words would have seemed absurd to anyone else in the world, as she was just saying that there was a secret vault there, the members of the main cast did not blink an eye and instead continued to listen attentively.


    Continuing on, Lily further zoomed into the building before saying,


    "Their main goal is to draw everyone out to the courtyard. Then, a small group of them will sneak into the building, intending to rob the vault."


    As Liam removed the three-dimensional replica of the school from the table and closed his smartwatch, Kevin asked.


    "I get that what they''re doing is bad and all... but why are we interfering? It''s not like the last times when people were going to seriously die. Why don''t we just let them take it."


    Gazing around the room and seeing everyone either exhausted or somewhat injured, Lily had to admit that Kevin had a point.


    The state and health of the main condition were probably at an all-time low, so a break during the Christmas event could help heal that.


    However, despite all of that, Lily still replied.


    "In the short run, your point is correct. However, think about it in the long term. Imagine how much more powerful and hard to defeat the djinns would be if they got their hands on whatever is in that vault."


    As Kevin slowly nodded at Lily''s point, Liam questioned.


    "What exactly... is in that vault, Lily?"


    At Liam''s question, everyone''s curious gaze slowly shifted to Lily.


    What could be hidden in a vault that was so important that it was hidden under the administrator''s building?


    A building where the principal, one of the strongest heroes at the moment, and countless other strong individuals resided.


    Yet, when faced with the curious gazes, Lily remained silent, choosing to keep her mouth shut.


    Shrugging her shoulders, Lily hesitated for a moment before replying.


    "I don''t know... but it has to be important if it''s inside the administrator building.


    Standing up from the table, Liam said.


    "Alright, let''s all start thinking of a plan. Tomorrow, we can reconvene and all discuss the ideas we came up with before coming to a final decision on our plan." Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Following in Liam''s steps, the two girls got up from their chairs before heading to the same couch.


    As Irene sat down, putting her legs on the couch and fully relaxing, Ruby walked towards the window.


    Instead of a wall, there was just a very large window.


    Of course, this was a major talking point when the main cast first discovered Liam''s place.


    Who wants to plan and work where everyone can see them from the outside?


    After countless harsh words, everyone finally calmed down after Liam''s explanation.


    According to Liam, the window served as one-sided because the principal had embued it with illusion magic, making it a one-sided window.


    To the people outside looking in through the window from the outside, the room would seem like an empty classroom, but to the people inside the room, they could see everything outside.


    As Ruby approached the window, a dog with pure-white fur suddenly veered off the normal path and headed straight for the one-sided window.


    Lifting her head above the couch, Irene glanced out the window before asking.


    "Is it that dog again?"


    Nodding her head, Ruby tried to stay as composed as possible while she replied.


    "Yeah... it''s back again."


    Since there were hundreds of student-owned pets in the Celestial Academy, normally, a single dog would be unremarkable and unnoticeable.


    However, to the main cast, this dog seemed different.


    Despite the principal imbuing illusion magic into the window to make it one-sided, the dog seemed to be staring at them right through the window... as if it could actually see them.


    Of course, they all trusted and believed in the principal''s ability, so it was quickly dismissed by everyone.


    Making sure nobody was looking, Ruby walked straight in front of the window, placing her hand on the glass.


    At the same time, the white-furred dog raised its right paw to the window.


    As Ruby''s hand and the dog''s paw overlapped through the window, Ruby suddenly placed her hand on her head, almost falling to the ground.


    Like Ren, who gained the ability "Sky Flash" in his recent dream, Ruby had also earned some abilities in her time.


    However... Ruby hadn''t simply earned the ability through a dream.


    This skill was gifted to Ruby when she had first taken control of her squadron by the higher-ups of the Gemstone Order.


    "...you''ll forever be in my debt."


    Recalling the worlds that had been recited to her when she had received the skill book, Ruby shivered.


    Leaving the Gemstone Order wasn''t an easy thing for her...


    At first when Ruby had received the ability and spotted the rank of it, she had been ecstatic, practically thanking the gods.


    There were less than fifty of these skill books in the world, yet she, a lowly D-rank at the time, had managed to receive one!


    Screaming on the inside, Ruby had to pinch herself tens of times to ensure it was real life.


    However, as time passed, the joy slowly turned to confusion.


    How could she, a new member, have received such a rare skill?


    Other members who had been part of the order for countless years hadn''t received a single gift in all their time, yet she received a one-of-one skill book within her first week of joining.


    She had received the ability to split a soul...

 Chapter 188: Chapter 188:Help [3]

    [[S] Soul Split] : Requiring a large amount of the mana, the skill allows the user to transfer part of their soul to ANY living thing in the world. With your soul in another living thing, you can take control of that thing and use it like a puppet, having full control over its memories and actions...


    However, in order to imprint your soul on another being, your part of the soul must be stronger than theirs. If the part of your soul you send fails these conditions... that part of your soul will disappear forever.


    This action can be performed an infinite amount of times.]


    Looking down at the dog, which was lifelessly gazing at her, Ruby telepathically commanded.


    "Keep an eye on Ren."


    As the dog ran off and disappeared from the window, Ruby turned around and leaned against the one-sided window.


    Finally, the confusion that Ruby had after receiving the skill turned into fear.


    An unpayable debt.


    Upon seeing the skill''s rank, Ruby immediately activated it, causing the book to disintegrate and turn into her ability.


    That action could not be reversed.


    Ruby now owed an S-rank book... or infinite debt to someone she didn''t even know.


    At first, Ruby had only joined the ranks of the Gemstone Order in order to take revenge... and after that, she would live in peace, having the closure that the right people had died.


    However... that future now seemed impossible to Ruby.


    She felt trapped...


    What would happen if she left the Gemstone Order?


    Would she be pursued by the person who had given her the book, come after her, and keep her until the end of time?


    If someone could give her an S-rank skill book so easily... their power had to be unimaginable.


    She was simply a pawn, waiting to be moved and taken by the Gemstone Order.


    That''s why Ruby felt every second she spent was borrowed.


    Was her life even hers anymore?


    It was ironic...


    The skill she had been given gave her the ability to turn other people and living things into puppets... yet she felt more like a puppet herself after receiving it.


    Just because she had consumed the skill, she now owed a higher-up of the gemstone order a debt that she would not be able to pay off in her lifetime.


    If she could... Ruby would go back and throw away that skill book in an instant.


    It wasn''t even her life anymore.


    The looming fear that one day she would be suddenly called to the Gemstone Order headquarters and forced to follow the commands of whatever Elder was always there for the rest of her life was always there.


    Every day she spent felt amazing and fulfilling... just because she knew that this life could be taken away at any moment.


    Yet, that looming fear always stood tall, casting a dark cloud over her life.


    It felt like she was living on borrowed time.


    That was why Ruby''s desire to live was such a big flame... or at least, that was what Ruby thought as she couldn''t actually see her own desire.


    That was why Ruby was interested in Ren when she first saw the flame of his desire.


    Ruby felt like she saw herself in Ren... except unlike Ruby, Ren wasn''t locked down.


    He was free... without a single burden or fear on his back


    However, instead of envying and hating Ren for having what she didn''t, Ruby observed him from the background.


    Recalling his state after his fight with the teacher during the Attack on the Academy incident, Ruby could only smile.


    Without any care for credit or glory, Ren simply did what he wanted to do.


    Sometimes, he was evil, caring about money and magical artifacts, and sometimes he was good, saving countless lives.


    He did whatever was on his mind, no matter the dangers or consequences that came with it.


    Nothing seemed to matter to him... there were no shackles holding him back.


    Was that what it meant to be truly free?


    Ruby could not answer that question as she was not truly free... so she looked at Ren for the answer.


    Ren was a torch... an inspiration for Ruby in the world of darkness.


    She longed to live like him... but she didn''t know how to.


    Icarus from Greek mythology had flown close to the sun with the pair of wings that his father, Daedalus, had created, and as a result, he had died.


    Ruby, who had been consumed by her desire for revenge and to get stronger, had foolishly consumed a skill book without considering the consequences or implications.


    While Ruby had only lost her freedom instead of her life, she still considered it the same thing.


    How could one live without freedom?


    Was it truly living if you were simply a puppet forced to follow someone else''s orders?


    "...one day where Ren has to listen to all my orders."


    Could Ren teach her the true meaning of freedom during that day?


    Every time Ruby was with Ren, it felt like the shackles binding her to the Gemstone Order simply disintegrated and disappeared.


    It felt like... she was living her life, and that looming fear of being a puppet like her ability disappeared.


    One day of that was something that Ruby couldn''t imagine.


    A day of freedom, where she didn''t have to worry about being imprisoned by that Elder from the Gemstone Order and becoming a puppet.


    "I''m going to win that bet."


    At that moment, the dog with white fur suddenly sped up, running faster than even the students rushing to class behind it.


    As Ruby''s eyes sparkled a fiercer red than usual, Irene spoke up, interrupting Ruby''s thoughts.


    "Up for a board game? We have nothing better to do."


    Sitting down on the couch, Ruby was about to start playing when a sudden sound interrupted them. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    *RING~RING*


    As Irene knocked the board game off the coffee table in anger, Ruby picked up her backpack and headed to class.


    Ruby knew that her observing Ren wouldn''t do anything as it was clear he would put an artificial act.


    That''s why she sent her first puppet... the white dog!


    Pushing back her long-silky black hair, Ruby smiled before sliding and opening the classroom door.

 Chapter 189: Chapter 189:Help [4]

    -*-Leaving Han and Jin and going my own separate way, I rushed over to my dorm room with my backpack almost falling off my back.


    Accustomed to the crowd of students in my way, I maneuvered my way through, occasionally hearing an "OW" or "WHO WAS THAT!?" as I passed by.


    Running up the stairs of my dorm building, I looked downward and took my keycard out of my pocket, not paying any attention to my surroundings.


    At this point, I had already memorized the path to my dorm room, so it wasn''t anything new.


    However, as I approached my dorm room and looked up, a familiar figure was resting with her back against my dorm door.\\


    With her long white hair resting against my doorknob, she simply stared downwards at her smartwatch as if she were pressed for time.


    Seeing her, I slowed my pace and quietly walked over to my dorm room.


    But, before I could even catch my breath and say anything, I spotted another familiar figure with blonde hair resting on the wall, facing my dorm door and Alya.


    Astrid was here, too?


    Didn''t I just see her in the student council room with my crow?


    Had she finished signing whatever documents and was now trying to recruit me again?


    Also, how did they both get here faster than me...?


    I thought I had created the optimal route!


    Catching both of their attentions, I asked as I approached.


    "...is there something I can do for you, student council president?"


    As for Alya, I already knew the reason so there was no need for me to inquire.


    Glancing between Alya and me momentarily with a confused expression, Astrid hesitated before replying.


    "By any chance, am I interrupting something?"


    Hm?


    Looking at her expression of confusion shift into a sly smile, I stopped in my tracks and stared at her once again.


    Where was the serious Astrid?


    Staring at her body for a moment, I confirmed that her movements and posture were aligned with the Astrid in my mind before sighing.


    "Don''t you have better things to do?"


    Shaking her head, Astrid replied.


    "I do... but that can wait."


    From the other side of Astrid, Alya stared curiously at Astrid and me but remained silent.


    After taking a moment to look around and examine her surroundings, Astrid leaned in before whispering to the two of us.


    "I think it''d be better if we discussed this somewhere... more private."


    Nodding my head, I gestured for Alya to move away from the door before grabbing my keycard.


    Opening my door for the two girls behind me, I watched as Alya hesitantly stepped foot in before regaining her composure.


    On the other hand, Astrid simply strode into the room as if it were already hers.


    Letting the door slam shut, I walked in and immediately went to the pantry.


    Letting the two girls get comfortable, I quietly took out a piece of steak before placing it on a pan.


    Holding the pan in the air, I manifested a single corrupted dagger before infusing it with the blood-red aura in my body.


    Placing the blood-red tip of the dagger to the bottom of the pan, I watched carefully as the steak began to cook.


    Cutting open part of the steak, I confirmed it was a perfect medium rare before de-manifesting my dagger and putting down the pain.


    Grabbing a pair of tongs, I picked up the cooked steak before placing it into the bowl on the floor.


    Ignoring the two girls in my room, the black cat, perhaps smelling the steak, jumped off the bed and slowly walked toward the bowl.


    Licking the steak for a moment, the black cat closed its eyes and silently stood still for a moment.


    Giving its approval, the cat reopened its eyes and began to chew on the steak that I had already cut into smaller pieces.


    Putting away the pan, I turned to the two girls lounging on a nearby couch and asked.


    "Again, Astrid what is it you need? Haven''t I already given you my answer?"


    Closing her light-red eyes for a moment, Astrid hesitated before replying.


    "Can''t I try again?"


    Recalling how she had swiftly left after hearing my answer earlier on, instead of trying to persuade me, I asked.


    "Why try now? Have you already run into an obstacle?"


    Alya, somewhat interested in the conversation, leaned back on the couch cushion before inquiring.


    "Why would the student council president need your help, Ren?"


    Before I could respond, Astrid looked at Alya and asked.


    "Are you by any chance interested in helping? You are a part of the student council, so think of it as part of your duties."


    Was she ordering or asking Alya to help?


    Staring at Astrid on the couch, I once again re-examined her sitting posture and hand movements, allowing them to overlap with the imaginary figure of Alya I had created using the details my eyes remembered.


    They were in sync.


    But then, why was she acting so odd?


    Maybe desperation leads to changes in behavior.


    Looking at Alya, I shrugged my shoulders and replied.


    "It''s your choice. Just a reminder, though... we have a limited amount of time." S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Turning around and looking at my happy cat, I glanced at the calendar.


    By the end of this week, Zach''s situation should be resolved as Kevin and Alya would be almost a necessity to the incident that would take place next week.


    Although I had no idea how to resolve Zach''s current scenario right now, that didn''t mean I didn''t have any leads or clues.


    One of those leads was actually sitting right in front of me.


    As I turned back around to face the two girls, Alya thought for a moment before replying.


    "I can help... later on. I can''t give you an exact time for now."


    Getting off the couch, Astrid clapped her hands before nodding her head and turning to me.


    "About what we talked about earlier... I think I have an idea, but it would require your help."

 Chapter 190: Chapter 190:Help [5]

    Walking to the window of my dorm room, Astrid turned to face us before pointing at the large courtyard below.Since my dorm was facing the forest, you could see the large field used for student evacuations quite clearly as it was an area without any trees.


    Following Astrid''s finger, I saw countless students playing games, eating on a blanket, or taking their pets for a walk.


    ...this is literally a college campus, isn''t it?


    Looking up at Astrid, I asked.


    "So what''s your point?"


    Looking out the window, Astrid said.


    "It would be too obvious if the djinns went into the ballroom to attack students...that would be too expected."


    "Even the academy security should have sent enough heroes to fully block off all ballroom exits."


    "I mean, it''s obvious that with so many entrances into the ballroom, it would be the best place for the djinns to infiltrate."


    "A little too obvious..."


    "The djinns know that the principal and other powerful heroes will be guarding the ballroom, so they would be stupid to attack there."


    ?


    Didn''t she say back in the warehouse that the main reason she was worried about the wall was the amount of entrances into the ballroom?


    Was she just going back on her point completely?


    Ignoring her contradictions, I nodded my head, prompting her to continue with her theory.


    Gazing at the large courtyard in the distance, Astrid continued.


    "That''s why the djinns won''t attack in the ballroom. Instead... they''ll lure everyone out to the courtyard."


    "In such a big space like the courtyard, it''s not the quality of the heroes that matter... but that quantity."


    "If they''re only ten heroes and over a hundred djinns, there''s nothing the heroes can do, no matter how powerful they are."


    "They can''t just nuke everything or randomly attack, as then the students would be hit in the crossfire."


    "With so many djinns and so few heroes, the courtyard will essentially be a playground for the djinns where they can cause chaos with little to zero casualties."


    As Alya began listening intensively, seeming to understand what we were talking about and why the ballroom was involved, I grabbed a cup of water.


    Using the cup of water to cover my expression, I grimaced.


    This scenario was a bit familiar...wasn''t it?


    It was!


    It was the exact same plan that the djinns would use in the incident, which was a few days before the winter ball, to rob the vault.


    As Astrid stared at the two of us, waiting for our reactions, I further frowned.


    What were the odds that she came to the exact plan of the djinns?


    I mean, how did she go from signing documents all day under the watchful eye of my crow to coming up with this insane theory?


    Had she been thinking of plans while signing the documents? S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    What kind of multi-tasking!?


    Pretending to think about her idea, I placed a hand on my head and put down my cup of water.


    Looking downwards, I watched as the black cat finished his bowl of steak before scurrying across the floor and jumping onto my bed.


    Instead of sprawling down on my bed like usual, the black cat walked to the very edge before raising its paw and throwing it forward at another window, which was right by my bed.


    Looking out of the window and the clear blue sky, I recalled something.


    "...my crow!"


    If Astrid had done anything besides signing my documents, the crow would have seen it!


    Although I might have been in the body of the crow at the time, I could still transfer the memories of my crow to me.


    From there, I could go through the crow''s memories to discover how Astrid had come to this conclusion.


    Was it truly out of pure coincidence... or something deeper?


    Slowly nodding my head, I pretended to agree before asking.


    "I''m going to use the restroom; give me a minute. You can give the rundown to Alya meanwhile."


    Opening the bathroom door, I ensured that I was out of sight completely before leaning against the sink.


    Letting my consciousness drift, I accepted the weird feeling of my body, instantly feeling my surroundings shift.


    Closing my eyes, I wasn''t surprised when I found myself no longer in the bathroom but yet again perched on a tree branch, staring downwards.


    However, that emotion quickly transformed.


    Why was my crow still here?


    Didn''t I order it to follow Astrid, no matter what?


    Calming my mind, I looked downwards and almost fell off the branch upon seeing Astrid sitting on her desk, mindlessly signing documents.


    What...was going on?


    I had confirmed that she was Astrid with my eyes...yet with my crow''s eyes right now, I was seeing something else.


    There were two Astrids?


    "...no this one has to be the real one."


    If my crow was following this Astrid, then no matter what I saw, this one had to be the real one.


    But.. then, who was the Astrid currently in my dorm room...?


    How had she perfectly mimicked Astrid''s movements and behavior to a tee?


    Staying my crow''s body for seconds longer, I dived off the tree branch, catching myself as I approached the height of the window,


    Levitating by softly flapping my wings, I looked straight through the window, confirming that the Astrid was real, just in case.


    And her sitting posture, way of signing documents, and signature were all the exact same as the one imprinted on my mind.


    Keeping the crow on the "real" Astrid signing documents, I returned to my body, finding myself already on the floor.


    Rubbing my head, which had banged into the sink, I quickly picked myself from the floor.


    I had only expected to be in the crow''s body for a second or less to transfer memories, so I had just leaned against the sink, thinking I could catch myself.


    Anyway, there are more important matters to deal with right now.


    An intruder was now in my dorm room.

 Chapter 191: Chapter 191:Intruder? [1]

    Leaning against the bathroom door with my ears touching the door, I tried to ascertain if the intruder had done anything in the time I had been in the bathroom.However, as I listened, it seemed that Alya and "Astrid" were conversation normally as "Astrid" attempted to explain the situation.


    From through the door, Alya''s voice spoke.


    "So you''re saying that djinns will attack during the winter ball... but there''s no guarantee as to how or where they''ll attack."


    "Yes... that''s why I need as much help as possible. If you could convince Ren...it would be a great help."


    "But... why Ren? Wouldn''t you much rather have the help of a top-ranked student like Liam or Kevin?"


    "You don''t have to protect to act oblivious; I know you''ve seen Ren fight as well."


    "I-i have no idea what you''re talking about."


    "Oh, come on, look at your clothes. There are clear black marks all over, no matter how much you try to help it."


    "..."


    "That''s obviously from that elemental slash attack he does." sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "..."


    "Anyway, it''s not like I don''t doubt Liam or Kevin''s power. I''ve seen that fight and work as part of the student council. They''re most likely on par with Ren''s power or maybe even stronger."


    Hearing the couch cushion crack through the door, I assumed that Alya was recalling the fight in the carriage at Astrid''s words.


    Once again, Astrid''s voice spoke despite Alya''s silence.


    "His planning skills and ability to come up with things on the fly, when needed, is what proves his worth to me."


    "y-yeah, I s-see why you choose Ren."


    Hearing another cushion crack, but from father away, I immediately stepped away from the day as I assumed Astrid stood up.


    Speaking a louder tone than earlier, Astrid''s voice sounded.


    "Is he alright in there...? I mean, you heard that crashing sound earlier, too, right?"


    Rushing away from the door, I hid in the shower, immediately closing the curtains and covering myself.


    This intruder had managed to deceive my eyes... the thing I prided myself most on as I used to believe... that my eyes could see everything.


    They were not someone I could take easily...a plan needed to be made.


    As I manifested two pairs of corrupted daggers, Astrid knocked on the door before saying.


    "Is everything good in there?"


    Internally facepalming in the shower, behind the curtains, I readied my two daggers.


    How could I have not noticed this wasn''t the real Astrid?


    Would the real Astrid, the famed student council president known for her serious persona, really check up on someone in the bathroom...?


    I had relied on my eyes too much...just like I had earlier been dependent on the plot of the book.


    Just because their movements were the same, I had assumed that she was Astrid, despite all the bits of abnormal dialogue I had noticed from her.


    I had made the same mistake twice.


    Clearing away my worries, I stayed silent for a moment before screaming in an awkward tone.


    "uhh... I need some help in here!"


    Where was the optimal place to fight?


    A big and open room where Astrid, who had the power to cast plant and tree spells, could abuse the hell out of it.


    ...or a small room where spells would be essentially useless.


    Calming my emotions, I inwardly muttered as silence descended upon the room inside and outside.


    "It has to be done... no matter my pride."


    After a couple of moments of silence, Astrid finally responded from behind the bathroom door.


    "what...what exactly do you mean!?"


    Trying to keep my tone as calm as possible and devoid of any sarcasm, I seriously replied.


    "It''s exactly what I said. There''s a bit of a... problem in here."


    "..."


    "..."


    As silence once again descended upon the room, I began to make preparations, playing the physical corruption in my hands.


    Manifesting a makeshift arrow trap, I carefully positioned it right above the door before also making a lever.


    Connecting the two together, I stared at the system, which, as soon as the door opened, would send arrows flying downwards at the person entering.


    Finally, Astrid responded.


    "and... what exactly do you want me to do about it...?"


    Staying silent, I pulled out my smartwatch before... immediately realizing that I didn''t have Alya''s number saved anywhere.


    Finding Ruby''s contact, I rapidly messaged.


    [Ren: I need Alya''s #, asap.]


    [Ruby: ***]


    [Ruby: I sent it, but why? Aren''t you at odds with everyone, basically?]


    Reminding myself to check for her reply later, I copied and pasted Alya''s number into my messaging app before opening up a group chat with her.


    [Ren: This is Ren... there is a problem.]


    [Alya: ...I know, I''m right outside the bathroom too. Can you just finish and come out so we can discuss it? This is getting ridiculous.]


    [Ren: I''M BEING SERIOUS]


    [Alya: All right... then.]


    [Ren: I''m going to make Astrid come into the bathroom, then I need you to shut the door right behind her.]


    [Alya: ...you know, those rumors weren''t too far off. What you''re asking me to do is quite literally... yeah.]


    Shaking my head, I quickly typed another response.


    [Ren: That''s not really Astrid... it''s someone disguised as her. I need you to trust me, just this once. If you don''t, we could be in serious trouble.]


    [Alya: Alright... but I would never have been involved if something happened.]


    [Ren: When she opens the bathroom door, close it behind her.]


    Closing my smartwatch, I picked up my two daggers before replying to Astrid.


    "...can you come in; there''s a problem with the sink, I''m trying to figure out."


    Hearing someone practically collapse behind the door, I immediately continued.


    "I am fully clothed; there is nothing sexual about this."


    Maybe should have said that first, huh?


    From the shower and behind the curtains, I manifested a stick of corruption before making it long enough to reach the doorknob.


    After another bit of silence, "Astrid''s" voice finally sounded again.


    "If you say so... but I swear to god if this is some ploy."

 Chapter 192: Chapter 192:Intruder? [2]

    Pretending to sound hurt, I replied."Do you really not trust me after everything?"


    "...alright, open the door."


    Keeping my two daggers ready, I slowly inched the corrupted stick forward, placing it right under the door knob.


    Waiting a moment, I slowly lifted up the corrupted stick while simultaneously moving farther back into the shower.


    With the glass of the shower against my back, I completely lifted up the stick, causing the doorknob to lift as well.


    Trying to give Alya more than enough time to react, I slowly inched up the door with the stick while holding my corrupted daggers in the other hand.


    As the door opened fully, I waited in anticipation, watching Astrid slowly take her first step into the room.


    At the same time, in a forest far away, my pitch-black crow began frantically flying at the window.


    Attempting to catch the attention of the real Astrid, who was currently signing documents, the crow frantically threw its beak at the window as hard as possible.


    After a couple of seconds, the sounds finally reached Astrid''s ears, prompting her to stare up from her papers and at the out-of-place crow banging on her window.


    As Astrid walked up the window, the pitch-black crow stopped banging its beak on the window before moving to the right.


    Like an artist using a paintbrush, the crow precisely used its paintbrush, or beak in this case, to trace the words "Ren" on the window.


    Unfortunately, Astrid didn''t understand the crow the first time, still looking confused, but as the crow began to trace ''Ren" once again, the real Astrid seemed to have an epiphany.


    Seeing Astrid dash out of the student council room, the crow moved from the window, flying in the direction of my dorm building.


    Back in the bathroom, I watched as "Astrid" fully entered the bathroom, staring at the sink and mirror on the opposite side of the shower where I was located.


    *BANG*


    As the bathroom door slammed shut, "Astrid" immediately twisted her head, staring at the closed door.


    "...where are you, Ren?"


    As Astrid shifted her gaze upward, looking around the room for me cluelessly, I further tugged at the corrupted stick, which she hadn''t noticed due to it blending in with the black walls of the bathroom. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Then, before she could react, the arrow trap I had prepared earlier triggered, sending countless corrupted arrows I had made down at her.


    As the arrow flung down at the oblivious "Astrid," I gripped my two daggers, letting the corrupted stick fall to the ground and disintegrate.


    Flinging away the shower curtains and revealing myself, I immediately boosted off the wall, with the tip of my daggers pointing straight.


    *BANG*


    While I flew through the air at "Astrid," I could hear another bang sound from outside, signifying Astrid''s arrival.


    Thinking that Alya would explain the situation and what I had told her, I slashed my daggers at the helpless "Astrid."


    However, stopping me just as my daggers were about to hit Astrid, the arrows from the roof each arrived at "Astrid" as well.


    That wasn''t what caused me to stop, though...


    From behind the door, the sound of the real Astrid screaming out echoed.


    "W-wait! Stop... it''s me! Just¡ªplease, it''s me!"


    With my daggers a centimeter away from hitting "Astrid," I stopped upon hearing the real Astrid''s screams outside the door.


    ..?


    Were they both fake... why was she stopping me?


    In front of me, the fake Astrid simply stood still, only getting hit by one corrupted arrow while easily catching the others mid-air.


    Staring at me and my daggers, the fake Astrid simply smirked before sarcastically raising her hands and saying.


    "Nooo, please don''t hurt me! I''m so scared!"


    "...?"


    At that moment, the bathroom door also swung open revealing the real Astrid and Alya, who were waiting right outside.


    Swapping my gazes between the Astrid in front of me with her hands up and the Astrid outside of the door staring at me, I felt a headache coming on.


    "i-i don''t even care anymore...just what the hell is going on...?"


    -*-


    Leaning back on the couch, I alternated my gazes between the two Astrids once again, who were sitting side by side, before asking.


    "So... you''re telling me you can clone yourself!?"


    While the Astrid I had previously thought to be fake stared out the window with a smirk, the real Astrid shook her head before once again explaining.


    "It''s kind of like cloning...I can replicate myself, but each time I do that, I have to give an emotion to that clone."


    Pointing to the fake Astrid with a sly grin, the real Astrid continued.


    "So... she has my... sly and clever side because I didn''t think I would need them."


    Recounting how the real Astrid had just been signing documents for almost three days straight, I began to understand.


    That''s how she had signed and read all those school documents without being bored...


    Continuing, Astrid grabbed the should of the clever and sly Astrid, a clone, before pointing at the hole my one arrow had made.


    "As you can see, we still share the same soul essentially. If she gets hurt, then I also get hurt; if she dies, I also die."


    Nodding my head, I tried to recount if Astrid had any abilities like this in the main story, but nothing came to my mind.


    All she was in the book was some Earth and Plant mage renowned for her power and brains.


    Deciding not to ask about the origins of her power as I doubted she would answer anyway, I sighed before asking.


    "Would it have been too hard for you to just tell me this earlier?"


    My nerves were still shaken... and worst of all, I was beginning to lose trust in my prized possession, my eyes!


    At my words, the clever and sly Astrid gazed at me before chuckling and saying.


    "And what fun would that be?"


    Ignoring the clever and sly Astrid, I looked at the real one before asking.


    "So, she doesn''t just blindly follow your orders, huh?"

 Chapter 193: Chapter 193:Intruder? [3]

    After nodding her head and staring angrily at the clever and sly Astrid for a moment, the real Astrid turned before saying."You can call her Astra when I''m around, so there''s no confusion."


    As I looked around the room, I remembered that Alya was also in the room with us as she had been staying silent the entire time.


    Glancing between Astra and Astrid, I asked.


    "So...again, why... exactly are you two here?"


    Keeping silent, Astrid glared at her clone before sighing and replying.


    "I never told Astra to come to you for help...so I don''t have a clue either."


    As the room descended into silence, Astra finally turned around from the window, staring at Alya and me for a moment.


    Shrugging her shoulders, Astra replied.


    "What? We weren''t getting far by ourselves, so some reinforcements could help!"


    Not giving me any time to respond, Astrid immediately replied.


    "Well, you''ve heard his answer; it''s time to go."


    ?


    When did I answer again!?


    I was going to say no if they asked anyway... but why was Astrid putting words in my mouth?


    As I opened my mouth to respond, Astra, who was by the window again, chuckled before saying.


    "Reverse Phycology? Good one, Astrid!"


    "...we''re going."


    As Astrid and Astra left the dorm room, I sighed before finally turning to Alya, who had not spoken a single word.


    "Let''s just forget about that... and focus on helping Zach."


    Nodding her head, Alya hesitated before replying.


    "Earlier...you said you had a way to help him?"


    Getting up from the couch, I walked to the windowsill, where my cat was resting under the sun, before abruptly picking him up and placing him in my arms.


    Zach''s condition had been caused by a spirit... so, therefore, the way to remedy and cure his condition would also be a spirit. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Sitting on the couch with the cast resting in my arms, I said.


    "I think... at least, that I have spirit of my own."


    A normal animal couldn''t travel back in time, and it wasn''t unheard of for spirits to have a form in both the astral and physical world, so logically, it was possible that my cat was a spirit.


    In fact, we have already seen an example.


    Although in a weaker state, the spirit in the dream that had passed Zach had manged to influence the physical world by leaving green particles for us to follow.


    And the contract?


    When I took the cat from my younger sister, Audrey, it could have technically been a way for me to form a contract.


    The cat had agreed by stepping into my arms and leaving Audrey, and I had agreed by accepting the cat from my younger sister.


    Also, what happened to my younger sister?


    After seeing her, the coliseum exploded, and I had traveled back in time, so technically, I had never even met her.


    Yet, the cat sitting on my lap right now was proof that I had.


    ...I can worry about that later.


    As Alya slowly got up from her chair, curiously staring at my cat, she hesitantly asked.


    "Are you sure? To me... it seems like a normal animal."


    Shaking my head, I honestly replied.


    "I''m not too sure, but it''s the only lead we have. I don''t see any spirits around with you."


    "That''s because they''re in the Astral R-"


    "Exactly."


    Kneeling on the ground in front of me, Alya carefully examined the cat before placing her hand on it and petting it.


    As Alya''s hand swiped across the silky, black fur of the cat, it let out a soft meow before stretching out its back as if asking for more.


    "...oh, when I pet you, you ignore me, but when she does, it''s different. I see how it is..."


    Looking up from the cat and at me, while still petting, Alya asked.


    "What was that?"


    Glaring at the cat, who was still stretching its mask and basking in pleasure, I replied.


    "nothing too important."


    Nodding her head, Alya got up from the ground and sat beside me on the couch before asking.


    "And... what now?"


    As the cat jumped off my lap and ran back towards my bed, I replied.


    "Well, first, I need you to bring Zach here... then we can talk about the next steps and see if my method works."


    Nodding her head hesitantly, Alya pulled out her smartwatch and started typing while I got up from the couch.


    Since Zach had been possessed in a dream, he wasn''t actually hurt or damaged internally.


    It was more of a psychological problem like depression, anxiety, or any syndrome that could have arisen from dangerous circumstances.


    To solve it?


    I was no therapist or anything near that, as I could admit that I was quite insane myself, but I knew of exposure therapy!


    Staring at my cat, which was lying restlessly on my bed, I sighed.


    "the hard part is getting him to agree."


    Normally, you could communicate with spirits, yet this cat had just been meowing at me for three months straight without saying a single legible word!


    As I sat down on the bed next to the cat, Alya said.


    "He said he''ll be here in a few minutes."


    "That fast?"


    "I kind of overexaggerated my condition a bit..."


    As I attempted to negotiate with my black cat, dangling a piece of steak in front of it, the door suddenly shook.


    Glancing at me with confusion, Alya got from the couch and walked to the door to let Zach in.


    As I continued "negotiating" with the black cat, who was just lying down on his back and ignoring me, the door burst open.


    Before I could even turn around and respond, Zach''s footsteps rapidly advanced through my hallway.


    Then, just as I turned around, Zach dashed towards me while screaming.


    "THIS IS TOO FAR, REN!"


    "..."


    Stepping to the side to dodge Zach, I watched as he jumped and promptly landed on the bed beside my cat.


    Not saying a word, I simply stared at Alya with a deadpan expression.

 Chapter 194: Chapter 194: Intruder? [4]

    "Was that really the best way to do it..?"Turning around to avoid my piercing gaze, Alya shrugged her shoulders before replying.


    "It was the fastest way..."


    Shaking my head, I turned to Zach, who was slowly lifting himself from the bed and asked.


    "What exactly were you t-...on second thought, I''m alright."


    "..?"


    Glancing between Alya, the completely clean room, and I, Zach pondered for a moment before asking.


    "Wait... I th-"


    However, before Zach could finish his sentence, Alya interrupted.


    "You thought wrong."


    Continuing, Alya assumed a deadly serious tone before pointing at me and saying.


    "We think we might have a way to help you.."


    As soon as those words came out from Alya''s mouth, Zach''s amber-brown eyes seemed to light up with hope.


    Yet, a second later, that fire in Zach''s eyes disappeared as he shook his head and replied.


    "I really do appreciate you two trying to help me...but after everything, I''m not too sure I have any hope left."


    Zach must have gone through countless attempts by the main cast to restore himself back to his main conditions, each resulting in failure.


    Imagine having your hope extinguished over and over again... until finally, there''s no more left.


    The worst part?


    Zach couldn''t even show any emotions like defeat or exhaustion.


    The main cast all felt partially responsible for what happened to Zach as they had all failed to notice Zach''s possession by the spirit.


    The guilt they were all feeling, especially Alya, was already immense.


    The only way to alleviate that guilt?


    Zach had to pretend to be fine... every second of the day, concealing his true pain.


    If Zach showed the least bit of sadness, the burden on the main cast would increase tenfold, and Zach knew that.


    That''s why he simply put on a mask of false-happiness, hoping to alleviate the worries of the main cast.


    Even in his current terrible conditions... he was still thinking about the emotions of others.


    A true team player... that was Zach from beginning to start.


    Picking up the cat and placing it on my lap, I replied.


    "I can''t guarantee it''ll work, but it''s at least worth a shot."


    Tired and exhausted, Zach laid down on my bed, staring at the ceiling, before asking.


    "Alright, what do I need to do this time?"


    Lifting the cat from my lap, I placed it right in front of my head, making it look directly into my eyes.


    Holding the cat right in front of me with its whole body dangling in the air, I sighed.


    "Now... how do I make it break its contract with me?"


    As Zach and Alya stared at me in confusion and unease, I tried inwardly... and outwardly commanding the cat to break the contract.


    And, as anyone could tell, nothing happened.


    After around a minute of me making eye contact with the cat non-stop in pure and awkward silence, the cat seemed to finally get sick of it.


    Squirming between my hands, the cat dropped from my hands downwards, landing leg-first on the bed.


    The next second, the cat elegantly walked over to Zach before jumping on his lap.


    ...what the hell is going on?


    Looking around the room, I saw Alya and Zach looking at the cat with expressions of anticipation and excitement.


    ...did those idiots really think this was part of the plan!?!?!?


    Waiting a moment and staring as my black cat settled down in Zach''s lap under his gaze of expectation, I got up from the bed.


    This plan... most definitely had not worked.


    To be honest, I honestly had no idea what I was expecting.


    But could you blame me?


    That cat had traveled back in time with me!


    Purifying someone''s soul and solving their internal issues were nothing compared to that!


    "...purifying?"


    There were purification magic rituals, but they wouldn''t be developed till much later.


    The main use of them was to purify djinns, reverting them back to humanity, alongside curing disease.


    Of course, such a ritual was very complicated.


    And I wasn''t some brainiac or something with photographic memory, so there was no I would be able to find it and use it.


    It was probably somewhere in my memory as it was one of the few illustrations that the author had released alongside the book, but finding it would be impossible.


    Sure, I could draw out its main symbol that was present, but making all the lines at exact distances and other smaller details was not a realistic option.


    If only I had the Dragon''s eyes back in the real world.


    Well, I probably wouldn''t have died in the first place if I had the ability to perceive everything and slow time though...


    With the incident fast approaching, which would need the main cast at max morale alongside Zach in his best condition, waiting over a year for the ritual to be invented wasn''t an option.


    Leaning against a nearby chair, I watched Alya and Zach''s expressions dry up as the cat simply lay down in Zach''s lap, not doing anything beneficial or useful.


    A moment later, the cat jumped off Zach''s lap before slowly walking towards me.


    "Oh? Are you finally deciding to listen to me?


    Alya, from the chair next to me, asked, breaking the silence


    "...is it talking to your cat normal for you?"


    "..? Is this now the time?"


    As the cat approached me, Zach sat up on the bed before leaning against the windowsill and staring outside.


    Ignoring Alya''s gaze, I leaned down to the level of the cat before making eye contact with it once again.


    Ignoring my gaze, the cat simply continued walking until it was eventually right in front of me. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Standing in front of me, the black cat let out a soft meow before stretching out its back, exposing it fully to me.


    From beside me, Alya asked.


    "I think... it wants to be pet."


    Raising my hand, I moved it along the cat''s back, feeling its soft fur brush against my fingertips.

 Chapter 195: Chapter 195:Intruder? [5]

    Then, just as my hand reached its head, the cat suddenly moved, forcing my hand off it.Ignoring my and Alya''s gaze once again, the cat abruptly turned around before making its way back toward the bed.


    Did it do something?


    It had never asked me to be petted before, had it?


    Why now?


    "well...it can''t hurt to watch for now."


    Leaning against the kitchen counter, I intently watched as the cat jumped onto the bed before making its way to Zach''s head.


    Standing right beside Zach''s hand, the cat threw its paw at his head as if petting him.


    Nudging my shoulder from the right, Alya questioned.


    "Is this part of the plan?"


    Keeping my gaze on the black cat, I replied.


    "Who knows at this point?"


    Shaking her head, Alya curtly replied.


    "I know you said that doing anything is worth a shot earlier... but I think I''m starting to disagree."


    Watching as the cat continued throwing its paw around, hitting all the space around Zach''s head, I answered.


    "You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don''t take!"


    "...looks like your cat is taking the shots, not you, though."


    While the cat circled Zach''s head, throwing its paw in various directions and locations, Zach simply closed his eyes.


    I couldn''t even blame him.


    This was probably the most unserious situation I had ever seen.


    We had gone from trying to cure Zach''s serious issue with his soul to just watching a black cat walk around on a bed like it was some sort of special museum exhibit.


    Well... that was how it looked in their eyes, at least.


    Through my eyes, which were far superior due to my Dragon''s Eye, I could see a cat with the power to travel back in time with me walking around Zach''s head while throwing its paw around!


    Finally, after what seemed like an eternity due to the awkward silence, the cat stopped right in front of Zach''s head.


    Letting out a soft meow, the cat threw its paw forward.


    However, this time, the paw actually hit Zach''s face.


    As the cat''s paw landed on the dead center of Zach''s face, his eyes suddenly flickered open in confusion and pain.


    Paying no attention to Zach, the cat simply repeated this motion once more in front of the shell-shocked Zach.


    From my side, Alya also seemed befuddled as she replied awestruckly.


    "Is he... getting ordered around by a cat?"


    "It''s not ''a'' cat. It''s MY cat!"


    "...and what is the difference?"


    Smiling and bringing my hands together in preparation for applause, I replied.


    "You''ll see!"


    Either my cat was really obsessed with Zach''s head and face... or the black cat was actually doing something.


    As if confirming my suspicions, all the lights in the dorm room turned off, plunging our surroundings into darkness.


    Paying no mind to the sudden descent of darkness, I peered through with my eyes, seeing the cat, now standing right over Zach''s head.


    A second later, a bright light suddenly emerged from my right side as Alya used a simple and basic fire spell, also known as a torch.


    However, the torch only illuminated the area around us, not managing to fight its way through the darkness of the room.


    Even the windows, that had previously displayed the bright rays of the sun, were covered by the darkness.


    Thus, the entire room was left in the darkness, besides the small area around Alya and I.


    Extending her hand and holding her torch out further into the dorm room, Alya asked.


    "Can you see anything?"


    Watching as the cat slowly shifted its gaze away from Zach and upward at the roof, I replied.


    "I can see everything."


    As Alya made her way through the pure-dark dorm room with her torch lighting up her way as she walked forward, I remained still.


    "...should I tell her that she''s walking towards the kitchen and not the bed?"


    Looking away from Alya and the cat, I specially examined Zach, looking for any facial expression changes.


    Yet... there was nothing.


    It was as if he were frozen in time.


    His eyelids, mouth, and the rest of his body did not budge a single bit.


    Normally, Zach would have been terrified or curious from seeing the lights suddenly turn off, yet here, he remained still, like a stone statue.


    Slowly looking upward from Zach, I met eyes with the black cat, our blood-red eyes looking right at each other despite the darkness of the room.


    "...is it waiting for my confirmation?"


    Nodding my head, the cat broke away from our eye contact, staring at the ceiling above us.


    The next moment, the entire room, previously shrouded in an impenetrable darkness, seemed to light up. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Hanging from the roof of my dorm room, a familiar symbol lay, hovering right above the position of Zach''s face and the cat.


    "That cat... really is something else, isn''t it?"


    The symbol lying on the roof was familiar to me... because I had just spent the last twenty minutes trying to recall its illustration from the book.


    On the roof above Zach''s face lay a gigantic circle, and in that circle was a human sitting in a chair with her elbow resting on his knee.


    With his hand pressed up against his face, the figure inside the circle seemed to be pondering something.


    The Thinker... or the main symbol of the purification symbol.


    Did it read my memories...?


    Alya, now able to see the bed in the distance due to the glowing red symbol on the roof, dropped her torch on the ground in shock.


    "w-what is that!?"


    Recalling my short-lived minutes as a sculpture in the loop when I had recreated myself using corruption, I smiled and replied.


    "A sculpture."


    Too shocked to be confused at my words, Alya simply watched as the symbol slowly descended from the roof, getting closer to Zach''s face with nearing second.


    Finally, as the symbol met Zach''s face, a bright light appeared, blinding everyone in the room.

 Chapter 196: Chapter 196:Intruder? [6]

    As I opened my eyes, the room was back to its normal state as the lights were on, and the bright sun was once again shining through the windows.It all seemed... like a dream or something artificial.


    Yet, as I stared at the proof, lying on the bed beside Zach''s motionless body, I couldn''t deny what had just happened.


    "you know what... Raven can take a pay cut for a bit. I''m sure he''ll be happy if he knows it''s going to the good cause of feeding my cat premium beef every day!"


    Alya, opening her eyes a second later than me, surveyed our surroundings before immediately rushing to the bed where Zach lay.


    Using my skill, dash, I arrived at the bed earlier than her, immediately and carefully lifting up my cat.


    As the cat crawled into my arms, with its eyes still closed, Zach''s eyes finally flickered open.


    Leaving Zach behind, I carefully placed the cat into the bed I had bought before turning around.


    On the bed, Alya was helping Zach get up from the bed, already bombarding him with questions.


    "Do you feel any better, Zach?"


    Rubbing his eyes, Zach stared down at his hands and body for a moment before confusedly saying.


    "I-i can''t see any change... but I don''t know how to describe it. It feels like I''ve gotten better."


    Walking up in front of Zach, I curiously asked. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "What do you remember from the last minute?"


    Scratching his head, Zach quickly replied.


    "I remember the pain of being hit in the face by a paw... but from there, it''s all jungled up. I went from being in this dorm room... to being back in the academy to being back in my old... house."


    Indeed, the purification ritual sent its user into their soul, so what Zach was seeing were probably his most important and cherished memories.


    Could I see her again in my soul if I got purified...?


    "No... it''d be no use. That wouldn''t be my mother... just one created by my memories."


    A smile appeared on Zach''s previous emotionless face, and Alya reciprocated his happiness before helping him off the bed.


    Walking around the room, Zach''s smile only grew as he seemed to realize that it wasn''t just an illusion... his incurable conditions had been cured... or not yet.


    Seeing the two smile so brightly, I turned to Zach and said.


    "This isn''t the end of it. The ritual takes three days to complete... so you''ll have to come here every day for three days at this time."


    "If you don''t do this, you''ll be reverted to your original states... and then, you''ll truly be in trouble."


    Nodding his head, Zach quickly checked the time using my clock on the wall before taking out his smartwatch.


    Getting off the bed, Alya slowly approached me with a grateful expression.


    "I-i didn''t think it would work this fast... we just discussed today at lunch."


    Shaking my head, I replied.


    "Take it as a lesson. Nothing will come if you just wallow in self-pity and give up instead of doing something about your circumstances."


    Wiping a small drop of water that seemed to be sweat from her face, Alya chuckled.


    "And, you''re some kind of inspirational speaker now? But... I am truly grateful. If you do need anything EVER in the future, please do contact me."


    Nodding my head, I also let a smile creep onto my face as Alya led the recovered Zach out of my dorm room... or at least tried to.


    "THANK YOU, REN!"


    "I''M SORRY FOR EVER THINKING ANYTHING BAD AB-"


    "YOU''RE AMAZING!"


    Zach, refusing to leave, bombarded me with grateful words as Alya attempted to drag him out.


    Then, just as Alya got distracted while opening the door, Zach rushed out of her control, sprinting towards me.


    With a wide smile, Zach opened his two arms widely while approaching me.


    Then, with full force, making it feel like a bear hug, Zach wrapped his hands around me.


    Slowly pushing him away, I simply replied.


    "It was the least I could do."


    After a minute of Zach attempting to hug me and thank me, Alya finally managed to get him to leave.


    "Guess... it''s just me and you again."


    Turning to my cat, who was fast asleep on the bed I had bought him, I smiled for a moment.


    Although I didn''t like to rely on the cat due to its mysterious nature... whenever I did rely on it, the outcome was always successful.


    Walking to the kitchen, I opened the cabinet before digging deep inside and finding a premium steak that I had been saving for a special occasion.


    Boiling up the pan with a basic fire spell, cooking the steak to perfection, I looked out the window, admiring the clear-blue sky one last time.


    *BZZT*


    Putting down the pan and plating the steak, I took out my smartwatch as a sudden vibration shocked me.


    [Ruby: You''re a hero; final answer.]


    Maybe I am?


    Maybe I''m not?


    In the end, does it really matter as long as I''m doing what I want to?


    Washing my hands, I promptly replied.


    [Ren: You do know, I would have taken either answer, right?]


    [Ruby: ...what does that mean?]


    [Ren: We both do what we said or in other words, even if you got it correct, you have to mess with Liam for me.]


    [Ruby: That doesn''t seem fair.]


    [Ren: Seems fair to me!]


    [Ruby: I''ll remember this when it''s the day I get to command you around.]


    Smiling, I put down my smartwatch before walking over to my bed and sitting down.


    Earlier, I had planned to watch over the upcoming incident to ensure the main cast was all right... yet Astrid had already beaten me to it.


    Without even knowing it, Astrid had discovered the cause of the breach...not for the ballroom but the Winter Wonderland incident.


    All the work that I had put off and had been worried about for the past week... had just disappeared.


    "hah... who am I kidding? Something''s bound to go wrong."

 Chapter 197: Chapter 197:Emergence [1]

    With Astrid aware of the possibility that the criminals could bring everyone to the courtyard and attack from there, precautions would already be taken.Knowing Astrid... or the not-cloned one, she would already be using her connections to gather people in the courtyard.


    And if that didn''t work out, she would it herself, setting countless traps and escape routes in the courtyard in case anything happened.


    With nothing to do anymore... I could actually help out with that.


    Within around three days, and definitely before the Christmas Wonderland incident, the entire courtyard would be rigged with traps and have countless escape routes.


    There was also the chance that Alya coordinated with Astrid to make their planning more efficient.


    While Astrid took care of evacuating and helping the students, the main cast would protect the vault under the faculty building.


    "...the vault, huh?"


    What was in it?


    Although I was curious and most certainly interested in what vault could be worthy of protection by the school principal, someone among the top ranks of heroes, the process would be lengthy.


    Of course, I didn''t have access to the vault as there would be keys required; however, in the book''s plot, it was said that the djinns attacking somehow had obtained a way to bypass these security measures.


    That would mean I have to trick both the main cast and the attacking djinns into getting the key and then somehow arriving at the vault.


    The process was lengthy and would be difficult... but the real question was.


    Was it worth it?


    Well, there was also another solution.


    Shaking my head, I watched from the window as Astrid walked towards the courtyard.


    "...wait, is that her clone, or is it actually her?"


    Sitting down on the couch and leaning backward, I dreamed of the treasures that could be in that vault.


    Looking around my room... I had nothing.


    Every item and weapon I had used was made out of corruption.


    I quite literally had no "real" magic artifacts or weapons in my possession.


    There were the flimsy mana rings on my finger that had been useful to me earlier, but now, with the number of abilities I had that required mana, they didn''t help that much.


    My mana rings were rare and uncommon artifacts that simply boosted my mana capacity as a passive.


    Not to badmouth corruption as it was definitely powerful and more than strong enough... but unlike magical weapons, corruption didn''t come with any abilities.


    For example, Liam''s sword, which was a divine artifact he had obtained before reaching school, as described in the prologue of the book, had countless powers.


    Nullify magic spells, create natural disasters like hurricanes, and like my corruption, his weapon was soul-bound, or he could summon it at any time.


    Of course, not every magical artifact had these overpowered abilities, as Liam had the highest rarity artifact, which was divine.


    I mean, even Zach''s axe, an Epic artifact, had a passive ability that allowed him to gain 0.5 stats of strength temporarily every time his axe successfully hit an opponent.


    And Kevin''s sword has the fearsome ability to quite literally make someone weaker.


    Every time Kevin landed a sword slash, the opponent''s sub-states and rating would drop until, finally, they were a flimsy E-rank.


    This means that, given enough time, Kevin could turn an A-rank hero into an E-rank by just using his magical artifact.


    Though his artifact was classified as Mythic, a rank below divine, his sword artifact was still powerful given enough time.


    Even Lily, Ruby, and Irene, the non-weapon users, had countless magic accessories that slowed the time it took time to cast.


    Their wands were all at least epic artifacts, with Lily having a Mythic Artifact that allowed her to store spells and instantly use them at later times, matching perfectly with the trait that allowed her to replicate spells.


    And here I was... with some low common, uncommon, and rare mana artifacts that were barely of use to me.


    Making up my mind, I instantly stood up from the couch with newfound motivation.


    I was going to commit.. a robbery! S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, this was like robbing Fort Knox, the U.S.A. reserve that holds over 274 billion dollars in gold bricks, or Area 51, the military base famed for its security and obscurity.


    Allowing the criminals to break in would be impossible as the main cast would surely put a stop to them before I could get anything.


    So, what if the vault had already been opened before the djinns even arrived?


    Looking at my hands, I reconsidered my decision for a moment before taking out my smartphone.


    [Ren: you know... I think the principal could be of help.]


    [Astrid: And, what do you mean by that?]


    [Ren: You are the student council president... she would be inclined to help and believe you if you explained the circumstances.]


    If the main cast, school principal, and Astrid came into contact to stop the Christmas Wonderland incident from happening... this robbery might just be possible, even if it''s a less than one percent chance.


    Stretching out my hands, I reluctantly got up from my bed before heading down the building stairs and outside.


    In a few minutes, a very familiar building popped up.


    The Training Hall...


    It''s been a while... hasn''t it?


    Opening the doors of the hall, I was immediately surrounded by the sounds of countless students panting and breathing heavily while attempting to stand straight.


    Usually, I came in the dead of night when the training hall was nearly empty... but coming in the afternoon was definitely an experience, to say the least.


    Pinching my nose, I walked past the hundreds of strength training equipment at weights, arriving at the familiar area.


    "Ah... I''m right back where I started."


    In front of me stood a set of secluded rooms, each marked with a sign that said something like.


    [AI Dummy Training Room #5]


    Rubbing my hands together, I located a vacant room before walking in and shutting the door.


    "Been a while, buddy... I still haven''t forgotten all those times you made me feel pain."


    Not wasting a second, I walked over to the control panel and set the difficulty.


    [Which Difficulty Bot would you like to choose?]


    [User: Stage 1 Dummy]


    [...are you sure Stage 1 is the correct difficulty fo-]


    [User: I''m sure.]

 Chapter 198: Chapter 198:Emergence [2]

    Grabbing a towel, I wiped the sweat that had accumulated on my face from the past three hours of training.Staring at the metal dummy laid out across the floor, I smiled before de-manifesting my daggers.


    Grabbing a piece of paper and pencil from my pocket, I wrote "Maintenance Required."


    Slapping the note on the wall, I took one last glance at the AI dummy, which was practically in shambles, before heading to the door.


    "How does it now feel now, damn bot!?"


    Wait... they don''t have security cameras here, do they...?


    Cringing internally as I realized that some security personnel may have just watched me scream countless curse words at an inanimate AI Dummy while harming it to the maximum, I sighed.


    "Revenge feels good at first... but what follows is always a period of self-reflection and emptiness that causes you to think, ''Was it worth it?'' ."


    Thankfully, my journey of revenge was not yet complete, so my body was still filled to the brim with energy.


    Sliding open the door, I embraced the cold breeze that had slipped in through the door before wrapping the towel around my neck.


    As I exited the AI dummy room I was in, I saw an excited student, who had been waiting by the row of AI dummy rooms, immediately ran towards me.


    As he passed by me, I heard this random student exclaim.


    "Finally...I''ve been waiting three hours for a room to open up! I can''t wait to test out my new abilities and power-ups! This is going to be the highlight of my week!"


    "..."


    Yeah...who''s gonna tell him?


    Resisting the urge to smile and break out in the laughter, I just let the student pass by me and entered into the AI dummy room I was just in. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Quicking my pace as the random student entered the room, I stopped to get a fruit before arriving back at the main area of the training hall.


    As I walked by the countless machines, I was quickly surprised to realize that there were no familiar figures in sight.


    Even Liam, who had been known for training every single day, was nowhere to be seen.


    Had Astrid already coordinated with Alya and the rest of the main cast?


    Well...maybe not the real Astrid, but the cloned one could have, considering how excited it was to team up with Alya earlier.


    The real Astrid is probably off-signing documents or something like that.


    Heading out of the training halls, I closed my eyes for a moment, allowing the cold night breeze to cool me down.


    However, just as I opened my eyes, a soft and sweet voice that reminded me of cakes and candy sounded from in front of me.


    "Oh...what a surprise it is meeting you here, Ren!"


    In contrast to the night-black sky and the waxing crescent moon above, a girl with long, curly blonde hair and matching orange eyes stood in front of me.


    Trying my best to resist the urge to ignore her, I calmly replied.


    "Princess Charlotte! That''s two times in a day I''ve met you...how lucky can I be!?"


    Then, before she could respond, I quickly moved out of the way and starting walked toward my dorm building.


    "I would hate to interrupt your schedule of training, so I wish you the best!"


    Yet, as I attempted to walk another step forward, I felt the back of my shirt being pulled back, holding me in place.


    Slowly turning around, I made eye contact with Charlottle before curtly asking.


    "Do you need something?"


    Shaking her head, Charlottle simply smiled, causing the few students watching our interaction to immediately contract diabetes.


    "Ah, I just needed someone to show me the royal dormitories... my new dorm building for the rest of the year."


    Thinking for a moment, I came to the conclusion that the event had been sped up.


    At the beginning of the second year, the fight for the crown and the next successor of the King of The High Dominion would start.


    Of course, the two contestants, the prince and princess, couldn''t live in the same building, which would cause some major problems, both violent and non-violent.


    And since the prince was supported more than the princess at the time, he got the ability to choose or stay in the building from the king.


    Thus, at the beginning of the second year, Chartlotte was forced out of the building, reserved solely for those from the Royal family, and into the next best building, which was usually reserved for the top ten ranks of each year.


    Regaining my composure and gathering my thoughts, I scratched my head and pretended to reply ashamedly.


    "Unfortunately... I do not live in the royal dorms... due to extenuating circumstances that are out of my control, so I am unable to lead you there."


    Charlotte obviously knew that someone with my backstory and personality wouldn''t be in the royal dormitory, but she still decided to ask me.


    Was she trying to embarrass me or something?


    No...I had probably been one of the few people so far she had told about her departure from the Emperorial dorms, so she would be embarrassed in this situation.


    There was also the situation of the fight for the crown starting now instead of at the end of the second semester.


    But that wasn''t something I could do or change.


    What''s done is done.


    The real challenge is adapting and evolving to not be blown away be these new developments.


    Hesitating for a moment, Charlotte, for some reason, smiled even more before replying.


    "Is that so? I had just asked the student council president for directions... but she told me she, alongside the other first-year occupants of the royal dorm building, was busy."


    Raising her hand, Charlotte pointed at me before saying in a slightly less sweet tone.


    "Instead, she told me that I could talk to you for directions."


    "..."


    Really Astrid?


    After everything that happened during the attack on the dormitory incident!?

 Chapter 199: Chapter 199:Emergence [3]

    Pretending to scratch my head in confusion, I replied."Ah, did the student council president? I wasn''t notified..."


    Shrugging her shoulders, Charlotte gripped my shirt even harder with her hands before asking.


    "Well...do you know the way?"


    Trying to think a way out of this situation, I placed my hands upwards and pointed my figure up, like a lightbulb suddenly lit up above my head, and replied.


    "Ah, now that I think about it, I used to live at the royal dorms before school started!"


    Since Ren''s "father" didn''t want to see his son as he believed him to be a disgrace, he had actually sent Ren off earlier to school.


    And since Ren was still a high noble and a representative of the Montclair family at that time, the principal was unable to decline.


    Thus, Ren was placed in the Royal dormitories and had to live there until school started.


    What kind of father sends their son... their own blood at the first chance they get without any goodbyes?


    Instead of trying to change or discipline Ren, his father simply sent him away... essentially giving up on him.


    Ren was only sixteen when he was sent away, yet his father had already thought of him as a lost cause.


    That was just the start of it; by the time Ren was eleven years old, it was clear that the entire Montclair family had given up on him.


    A child.


    Instead, they used all their resources on Ren''s older brother, attempting to shape him into the future leader.


    And, instead of fighting against the family''s decision, Ren''s father accepted it, even playing into it, by ignoring Ren whenever he tried to grasp his attention.


    He was eleven when his family had already given up and abandoned him.


    What did they expect Ren to do?


    How did they expect his future to end up?


    Of course, a ten year with no one around him to talk to is going to end up as a delinquent with no morals.


    I would imagine that after the age of at least thirteen, Ren would have realized that his entire family had abandoned him.


    Imagine that, being a thirteen-year-old with a full future ahead of you


    Yet, you were already considered a failure as everyone that you''ve loved and trusted for the entirety of your life had given up on you.


    Snapping back to reality, I noticed that Charlottle was awkwardly waiting in front of me, so I quickly said.


    "I can show you the way."


    Seeing Charlottle nod her head, I walked forward, leaving behind the couple of students who had been curiously watching the interaction.


    "The worst of the academy... and the purest person in the academy talking? What is this a reality TV show!?"


    "...the nice guys never win..."


    Charlotte and I were indeed an interesting pair...on the surface, but in reality, we were actually quite similar.


    As Charlottle followed me, passing by the sullen and interested students, I quickened my pace, attempting to avoid any further conversation.


    Opposite magnets attract... but similar magnets repel.


    However, Charlottle quickly caught up, walking side by side with me, and asked.


    "You know, if I didn''t know any better, I would think you were an influential figure both inside and outside the academy."


    Shaking my head, I asked.


    "What exactly do you mean by that?"


    "First, in the forest with the Elven princess, and now, somehow, you''ve gained the trust of the student council president, Astrid."


    "..."


    "And now you''re with me, the princess, through a series of coincidences. I wonder, perhaps, are you more than you let o-"


    Interrupting Charlotte mid-sentence, I let out a sigh of relief upon seeing the familiar building of the Royal dormitory in the distance.


    "We''ve arrived!"


    Instead of looking at her new home for the next year, Charlotte instead stopped and looked at me with her eyebrows raised.


    Trying to avoid her question and any more conversation, I walked up to the security guards before gesturing to the figure of Charlottle behind me.


    "She''s here to move in." S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The security guards, of course, familiar with the princess of the human realm, did not hesitate to ask for any evidence.


    Within a heartbeat, the gate around the Royal dorms was open to Charlotte.


    As Charlotte walked past the gate into the dorm, I made sure to follow behind her from a distance.


    Just as I stepped foot into the garden surrounding the dorm, I heard the security guard''s voice sound from behind me.


    " *ahem* sorry, we can only allow inhabits of the dorm inside."


    Pretending to act sullen, I simply nodded my head, hiding the smile on my face, and started to walk back.


    Yet, just as I turned around, another familiar voice sounded from behind me.


    Standing right next to the security guard was Charlottle, who had a smile plastered all over her face.


    "Oh, don''t worry, Ren, it seems the guards have changed their mind! You are allowed in... not just today."


    Approaching me, Charlotte held her hand, revealing a small square-shaped piece of paper that had obviously been torn from a notebook.


    [Permanent Visitor Pass to Royal Dorms]


    As I stared at the paper, Charlottle forced it into my hand before continuing.


    "They''ve made it just for you!"


    "Have they now...?"


    Again, I walked past the gate and security guards while stuffing the piece of paper into my pocket.


    "Like, I''ve ever going to use this..."


    Entering the main building, Charlotte simply walked past all the luxurious decorating and chandeliers like they were nothing.


    Following behind her, I asked.


    "Is there something that requires my presence, here?"


    Nodding her head, Charlotte turned around, yet again with a grin, before saying.


    "Ah, of course, I have to move all my luggage into my new room."


    "..."


    Staring at Charlotte''s empty hands, I stood still for a moment and asked.


    "And... where might your luggage be?"


    Walking to a nearby window, Charlottle pointed at the very relevant faculty building in the distance.


    "The guards have moved it to the faculty building."


    "...and they couldn''t move it here!?"


    Shrugging her shoulders, Charlotte turned around and replied.


    "You see... my brother is quite the petty person."

 Chapter 200: Chapter 200:Emergence [4]

    Walking back to the royal dormitory with countless bags and pouches hanging from my shoulders and hands made me feel like a pack horse, but I persevered.After all, for the sake of getting on the good side of the princess, it was necessary.


    Yet, I also showed some defiance, such as a pack horse refusing to move under the force of its owner by trying to slip away at every chance.


    I had to seem reliable, but at the same time, someone who the princess couldn''t easily control.


    She had just been pushed out of the Emperial dorms, a clear power play by her brother, so she would be in the mood for revenge.


    And for that revenge, she would have connections and people to support her... and I wasn''t trying to be one of them.


    But on the off chance that the princess did win the crown over the prince and the plot of the book was wrong once again, I had to seem favorable to her.


    It was like I was walking on a tightrope; if I seemed to be controllable, then the princess would turn me into a puppet and command me to do her bidding.


    But, if I seemed like a terrible and unhelpful person, she would punish me harshly if she became the queen.


    There was one good thing about the whole situation, though, that kept me from just pretending to pass out to avoid doing the work.


    The location of Charlotte''s bags.


    I had already made my decision to see what was inside the vault by messaging Astrid and suggesting she ask the principal.


    Making my last round, I quickly dropped off some bags to Charlotte, who was patiently standing outside the royal dorms, before nodding to the security guards and heading back.


    During the last few rounds, I hadn''t been able to look around as I didn''t have a valid excuse to look past the bags... but now I did.


    Opening the familiar doors of the faculty building, I saw the receptionist let out a sigh upon seeing me again.


    "You again?"


    Pointing to the last few bags by the desk, the receptionist glanced at me before quickly looking away.


    Walking over to the last two bags lying on the ground, I stared at them in silence for a second before looking upward.


    Scratching my head awkwardly, I looked at the receptionist and asked her.


    "The princess said there would be three bags left..."


    Not even looking up from her documents, the receptionist simply gestured her hand before saying.


    "Some of them must have been lost in transportation; you can have a look around."


    Nodding my head, I placed the two bags on my shoulder before walking forward past the receptionist''s desk.


    As I passed by the desk, I heard her mutter.


    "This is why I hate getting caught up in these family disputes."


    Hm?


    Was it already public knowledge that the princess and prince were beginning their fight over the crown?


    Stopping for a moment, I peered back, examining the documents on the desk that the receptionist was looking at.


    [Incident Report #43: Maintenance required on AI Dummy Room #5]


    [Incident Report #44: Cleaning is required in the bathroom in the first-year building (Blood). The investigation over the massive amounts of blood found in the bathroom is pending.]


    [Incident Report #45: Dorm Transfer of Princess (Rank #4) to Royal Dormitories.]


    [Incident Report #46: Early recruitment dispute of Liam (Rank #1) Relegated to principal) ]


    [Incident Report #47: ***** - From Astrid, student council president. (Confidential, hand to the principal.) ]


    Shaking my head, I walked further into the hall, using my eyes to memorize my surroundings, the location of each door, room, air vent, and other possible thing that could be useful.


    Walking by the countless closed doors that contained the offices of all the administrative officers at the school, I slowly stopped as I reached an intersection point of the hall.


    There were two paths, to my right and left, each looking identical.


    Knowing my time here was limited, I chose the right path without thinking and continued walking.


    Finally, seeing a labeled room in the distance, I peered ahead, seeing a small signing hanging on one of the doors.


    [Principal''s Office.]


    What is this elementary school?


    Standing still for a moment, I pretended to kneel down and tie my shoes, which actually didn''t have laces.


    Without any hesitation, I turned right back around and started in the direction I came from. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    An S-rank hero would definitely be able to detect my presence, even through a wall, and then realize I wasn''t supposed to be here!


    Arriving back at the intersection, I decided this was enough reconnaissance for now, so I turned right.


    However, blocking my path ahead and back to the receptionist''s desk was a familiar face holding a clipboard in her hands.


    "...professor Zia?"


    Equally shocked, Professor Zia pushed away her black bangs and readjusted her glasses before replying.


    "Ren...and what might you be doing here?"


    Gesturing to the bags hanging off my shoulders, I quickly replied.


    "Ah, you see... I''m helping the princess with moving her bags."


    Staring at the High Dominion symbol on the bags I was holding for a second, Professor Zia took off her glasses, revealing her amethyst-purple eyes, and asked.


    "Ren, as a teacher, it is my responsibility to ensure your well-being, so be honest with me. Is anything going on?"


    "...what do you mean?"


    "The princesses of BOTH the elven realm, Alya, and the human realm, Charlotte, are suddenly talking to you...? We both know that can''t be a coincidence."


    "..."


    Writing something on her clipboard, Professor Zia continued.


    "Is anything going on... such as blackmail? Even if they''re the princesses, they have no right to take advantage of you in school groun-"


    Rapidly shaking my head and waving my hands, I thought of a way out before immediately replying.


    "No, no, nothing like that? I-i''m just trying to build up my connections for the future!"


    Tilting her head, Professor Zia stared me for a second before asking.


    "And that''s it?"

 Chapter 201: Chapter 201:Emergence [5]

    As I nodded my head, Professor Zia looked around the room for a moment, seemingly realizing where we were.Then, slowly turning her sharp gaze to me, her concerned expression disappeared, instead replaced by a stern one.


    "You should leave now...today isn''t a good time for you to be wandering around here."


    "..?"


    Knowing she wouldn''t answer if I asked, I simply nodded my head and awkwardly squeezed by her.


    It probably had something to do with Astrid notifying the principals or the other incident reports lying on the reception desk.


    Arriving at the receptionist''s desk, I simply waved before heading out of the door and back into the cold air of the night.


    As I approached the royal dormitories, walking right by the security guards, I could see Charlottle impatiently tapping her foot up and down as she waited for me.


    ...couldn''t she just wait inside?


    Seeing me, Charlottle gestured for me to come closer before asking.


    "Did you go off a side mission? What could have possibly taken you so long?"


    Pointing to one of the bags hanging off my shoulders, I replied.


    "They misplaced one of your bags... so I had to find it."


    "that damned brother of mine... just has to be petty until the end."


    Ignoring her complaint, I handed her the two bags before exhaustedly asking.


    "Is that all...?"


    Charlotte responded, staring at me with an irritated expression.


    "You know, we could have gotten this done a lot quicker if you didn''t try to leave at every chance you got."


    Shrugging my shoulders, I replied.


    "A shooter misses 100% of the shots that they don''t take!"


    "...all of your shots missed and failed because you were caught by me every time."


    Turning around to face the security guards, who were awkwardly watching the two of us from a distance, I said.


    "I''d rather go 1-100000 than 0-10 because that means, at least, I didn''t give up!"


    If you couldn''t tell by now, I was quite the basketball fan back on Earth.


    Waving me off, Charlotte grabbed the two bags and said.


    "Alright, that''s good... for now."


    Immediately turning back around, I furiously replied.


    "FOR NOW!?"


    Opening the doors of the royal dormitory, Charlotte hid her expression while saying.


    "I didn''t get you that unlimited visitor pass for nothing, did I? You''ll report here after school to help with other things."


    "..." sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Then, before I could argue or dispute her command, she entered the royal dorms, letting the door slam shut behind her.


    As I stared at the closed door of the royal dormitory, the thought occurred to me.


    Why don''t I just go help the prince?


    Shaking my head, I completely dismissed the thought before heading towards the gate.


    The prince, unlike Charlotte''s outward appearance, wouldn''t accept, let alone, speak, to someone of my status.


    It was unfortunate really, if his personality was different and he was able to accept me as his helper, I could guarantee his win over Charlotte for the throne.


    Heading past the security guards, who stared at me with disbelief and confusion, I manifested a scarf before tying it around my neck to prevent the cold air from reaching me.


    Three days...in three days, Christmas Wonderland, alongside the official start of recruitment, would begin.


    Then, in around five days, the first incident would begin.


    Time really passes by quickly... huh?


    "...never thought I''d still be in this damn school."


    Staring up at the night-sky filled with stars and the moon as I walked, old memories flooded my mind.


    This place really was... my new home.


    I was no longer some random high-schooler out of the billions of people living on Earth.


    I was someone capable of changing this trajectory of this world, essentially having the power to decide whether it was destroyed or not.


    On Earth, none of my decisions had any effect on the rest of the world.


    One day, I could have just died on Earth... and the world wouldn''t change a single bit.


    The planet would keep spinning; time doesn''t stop for anyone.


    Yet, here, my death could directly alter the world, even destroying it... or saving it.


    A split-second decision made by me could cause a war to start or millions of deaths to occur.


    Arriving back at my dorm building, I opened the doors before quickly heading up the stairs.


    Opening the door, I saw my black cat peacefully resting on my bed despite it having its own bed.


    Staring outside the window while peacefully petting my cat, I allowed myself to slowly drift off to sleep.


    Would I miss this world if I accomplished my goal of returning to Earth...?


    ...


    ...


    ...


    *BEEP~BEEP*


    *BEEP~BEEP*


    Waking up the loud ring of my alarm, I resisted the urge to smash it before rolling out of my bed.


    Shutting off the alarm, I headed to the bathroom and took a quick shower before promptly changing out of my clothes.


    Walking to the kitchen, I cooked a quick meal for my cat, waking it up before heading out of my dorm.


    Checking my smartwatch, I quickly realized that I was going to be late due to the extra time I had taken to cook.


    Shrugging my shoulders, I leisurely walked out of my dorm building, ignoring the frantic students rushing to their classes around me.


    The last two days they had consisted of me just zoning out during classes and planning for the future robbery.


    Zach''s treatment was going better than expected, and with this being the last day of his treatment, he would be fully recovered in time.


    And as for the princess, thankfully, Charlotte hadn''t given me any work... yet she was still trying to piss me off.


    After Zach''s treatment, for the past two days, I would report to the entrance of the royal dormitories.


    And every time, Charlottle would simply nod her head upon seeing me.


    "You''re free to go."


    "...? So you made me come all the way h-"


    "Do you want to work? If so, I have plenty of things you can do."


    Shaking my head, I sighed before leaving the premises of the royal dorm with an irritated expression.

 Chapter 202: Chapter 202:Recruiting [1]

    Heading into class today and seeing all my fellow classmates and professors made me feel kind of melancholy.I didn''t necessarily like most of them... or all of them, but seeing their laughs and smiles so apparent in their expression was nice.


    Everyone was simply being themselves without anything covering their true feelings.


    The next time I had class, there would be plenty of strangers, all hoping to recruit the next big shot and up their guild ranking.


    For that reason, every student in the classroom would wear a mask of emotionlessness and determination, hoping to show the recruits how their determination and perseverance.


    There would be no smiles or laughs.


    The classroom would be pure silence, every student paying or attempting to pay attention, and every move a student made would be calculated.


    A student dropping an eraser?


    Normally, someone else would pick it up, but tomorrow, that eraser would be ignored out of fear that the recruiters might see them not paying attention.


    Even Jin and Han, who had been studying how to be good students, would put on a mask to impress the recruiters and prove their worth.


    There were some exceptions.


    The main cast and other top-ranking students in my class wouldn''t have to put on masks.


    Because... they were naturally full of determination and courage, always paying attention in class.


    And they didn''t have to impress anyone.


    Alternatively, it was the recruiters who had to try and impress the top rankers, as almost every recruiter would be fighting for them.


    As I slid open the door to the classroom, everyone immediately looked at me before Professor Zia sighed and said.


    "I won''t punish you for me being late today... but don''t be late tomorrow, alright, Ren?" S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    She truly was a nice teacher who cared about their students, no matter how terrible and bad they were.


    Of course, I did hear some scoffs as many of my classmates did not expect me to be recruited at all.


    However, Liam, Kevin, and the rest of the main cast glanced at me with interested expressions.


    What Knight Order would I join?


    Nodding my head, I ignored the countless gazes before heading to the back of the classroom where Jin and Han sat.


    As I pulled out my chair and sat down, Han turned to me and whispered in a serious tone.


    "Professor Zia is right. Don''t be late tomorrow, Ren."


    Glancing at Jin, who was trying his best to pay attention, I whispered back.


    "Don''t you have someone else to worry about more?"


    Shaking his head, Han replied.


    "We live right next to each other... so I''ll make sure he gets up on time. If slamming on his door doesn''t work, I''ll have to resort to more extreme... actions."


    As I let out a laugh at Han''s plans, he seemed to have a revelation before turning to me and asking.


    "If you want, I can also wake you up tomorrow."


    Shaking my head, I replied.


    "Nah, don''t worry about me. Focus on yourself... you know, Han, you gotta get recruited, too, right?"


    Shrugging his shoulders, Han nodded his head before redirecting his attention to Professor Zia, who had begun lecturing.


    Leaning inward with my chair, I rested my head on the desk in front of me as I usually did before covering my arm with my head and taking out my smartwatch.


    Earlier in the year, I had to take notes and make sure to understand every single concept to ensure a good grade on the test.


    That was because of my incident with Liam at the start of the year, alongside all the terrible rumors surrounding me.


    The academy was looking for any chance they could to kick me out, so if I even came close to failing, I would be kicked out and put on the streets.


    However, it had been a while since then.


    The rumors around me had calmed down, albeit I still received glances or glares when I walked down the hallway, and I hadn''t been involved in any serious incidents or any disciplinary trouble.


    In fact... I had even been an exemplary student.


    During my duel before the trip to the Elven realm with the transfer student, I had represented our school proudly by defeating him easily.


    That had also led to me receiving an... interesting letter upon my arrival back to the academy.


    [Student, Ren, you have been selected and will soon be tested to see if you are ready to rank up to D-rank.


    More details and the date of the test will be sent out after the Winder Wonderland event, but the faculty and administrative team applaud you for your recent hard work and effort.


    Please let us know if they are anything we can do to help or improve your conditions during this waiting time.


    If you pass this rank-up test, you will be among the fifty students who are currently D-rank.]


    Closing the mail app on my smartwatch, I glanced at the main cast, who were a couple of seats in front of me.


    Thankfully, I wasn''t the only one in this situation.


    Soon, the main cast would probably receive the selection notification for ranking up to C-rank, and like me, they would be put an awkward situation as they were already a rank C hero.


    With all that being said, there was no need for me to waste my time paying attention or studying.


    I was no longer a liability to the school... but a useful asset.


    As for exams, near-passing grades weren''t hard to achieve, considering notes were posted on the online school forum.


    Since I couldn''t plan for my soon-to-be robbery and didn''t need to take notes, school was a break for me.


    *RING~RING*


    As the bell rang, signaling the start of our lunch break, I stretched my arms before getting up from my chair.


    As I walked behind Han and Jin to the classroom exit, Professor Zia suddenly stepped forward, blocking by path.


    Giving me a pitiful glance, Han and Jin exited the classroom, leaving the two of us alone.

 Chapter 203: Chapter 203:Recruiting [2]

    Tapping her foot up and down, Professor Zia stared at me in silence, making me feel even more awkward.Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Professor Zia asked.


    "You know what I''m about to say, right?"


    Professor Zia''s whole job was to help her students get recruited, become heroes, and, most of all, not end up jobless on the streets.


    The number source of djinns across all cities in the human realm is, of course, failed heroes who have either lost everything or given up on life.


    Slowly nodding my head, I took a moment to brace myself before saying.


    "Actually... I have no intention of joining any Knight Orders."


    "..."


    "..."


    As Professor Zia stared at me with shock evidence on her face, I stared out the door, hoping that anything could save me.


    It was like telling your high school teacher that you weren''t planning on going to college!


    Not bothering to hide the anger and surprise in her voice, Professor Zia put down her papers and textbooks before asking.


    "Then, why exactly are you at this school? Why did you choose to come to a school renowned for its incredible recruitment percentage just to not join a Knight Order....?"


    Well, it wasn''t like I had a choice in the matter, but I couldn''t just tell Professor Zia that the safety of the entire world relied on me staying at school and fixing any mishaps with knowledge of the future.


    Opening my mouth, I was about to spout out another excuse when a sudden voice interrupted me.


    "That''s because he''s already in a Knight Order. To be more specific, my Knight Order!"


    Turning to the open doorway, where a familiar figure with golden-blonde eyes and matching eyes stood, I took back my previous wish almost immediately.


    "..."


    Turning away, Professor Zia also stared at Charlotte, who was confidently standing in the doorway.


    After a moment of silence, Professor Zia shook her head before turning her head and asking.


    "...is this true?"


    Glancing at Charlotte, I saw her furiously nodding her head up and down with a smile that could captivate almost anyone.


    Well... it''s not like I''m actually going to join her new Knight Order or anything.


    I can just use it as a cover to avoid recruiters in the classroom, and that means I won''t have to act to impress anyone!


    If I wasn''t in a Knight Order, it would be suspicious and weird if I just avoided all the recruiters without even trying to be interested... but now I had a reason.


    Nodding my head, I watched as Professor Zia''s expression quickly transformed from confusion and anger to somewhat relaxed.


    Is she always this nice towards all her students?


    I mean, her reputation wouldn''t suffer or anything if I turned out as a villain as she was already a renowned teacher, yet she still cared.


    Recalling my high-school teachers, who would do the bare minimum, barely ever showing up to office hours and answering questions, I sighed.


    Picking back up her documents, Professor Zia walked over to her desk before sitting down and waving me off.


    Hesitating for a moment, I slung my backpack around my shoulders before heading to the exit door of the classroom.


    Just outside, Charlotte was leaning against a wall, hearing golden hair sparkling and fluttering under the sun''s rays, which were shining in from an open window above her.


    ...is she just the sun at this point?


    What are the odds that there is an open window right above her, and that window happens to be where the sun seems to be shining the most!?


    ...just named character things, I guess.


    Seeing me exit the classroom, instead of walking over to me, Charlotte simply gestured to me from the wall.


    Sighing, I walked up to her before asking.


    "And, what was all of that about?"


    Shaking her head, Charlottle got off the wall before replying.


    "Saw you were in quite a tricky situation, so I, of course, came to your aid as a good person!"


    ...wasn''t she the one winning in this situation?


    She just got me to "join" her Knight Order for free, which would probably give me a couple thousand gold from a recruiter.


    Seeing her smirk and proud expression, I held in my laughter before sarcastically saying.


    "What would I do without you!?"


    Charlotte simply nodded her head at my sarcasm before walking further down the hallway.


    ...did she know I was being sarcastic or not!?


    What does that head nod mean?


    She doesn''t seriously believe I was being serious when I said that, right!?


    As I caught up to her, the two of us walked through the empty school hallways and into the school cafeteria.


    As the loud sounds of students chattering and eating flooded my ears, Charlotte took a quick glance at the cafeteria... before simply walking away. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Staring at the trays of the passing by students, I hesitated before asking.


    "...I''m hungry th-"


    "What was that, Ren?"


    "It''s for the sake of the vault robbery, Ren!"


    "Just listen to her for three days, and then you don''t ever have to talk to her again."


    Closing my eyes and ignoring the smell of the food in front of me, I walked past the cafeteria, following Charlotte as she went deeper into the hallway.


    By the time I caught up to Charlotte again, she was standing still, waiting in front of a closed door, which seemed to lead into a classroom.


    After giving me an irritated glance, Charlotte turned to me and said.


    "You know, I was invited to join some secret organization within the school."


    "Hmm?"


    "Apparently, they work in the shadows, helping to protect the school and the students."


    "...sounds pretty...wei- cool, I mean!"


    Considering Charlotte had a bad ending in the book as she lost the crown race to the prince, it wasn''t surprising that, like Irene, Lily was trying to help.


    However, why did Lily wait so long?


    Seeing Charlottle pensively stand in front of the door, I curiously asked.


    "And....did you join?"

 Chapter 204: Chapter 204:Recruiting [3]

    Surprisingly, Charlotte, without skipping a beat, immediately shook her head before moving on from the door.Walking to her side, I attempted to pry further and curiously asked.


    "And why not?"


    Looking forward and further into the hallway, Charlotte sternly replied.


    "Why should I? It was an invite that I recently got, and I turned it down after thinking about it. That''s all there is to it."


    As Charlotte increased her pace, knowing I was about to ask more questions, I immediately replied before she was out of earshot.


    "Doesn''t that sort of group perfectly suit you? I mean, saving the school...and you''re the princess. Those two kinda go together, don''t they?"


    Chuckling at my response, Charlottle tilted her head and asked.


    "What? Are you jealous? Did you want to be invited to this little, secret organization?"


    Stopping mid-stride, I stared at her with a deadpan expression, causing her to burst out into laughter.


    Seeing me serious, Charlotte stopped laughing for a moment before earnestly replying to my question.


    "Didn''t I just tell you? I already have a group... my knight order, so I can''t be associated with two groups at the same time."


    As we neared the end of the hallway, the dim and brown colors of the hallway walls faded away, instead being replaced by massive windows.


    Instead of walls, there were just windows that started from the ground and reached all the way up to the ceiling.


    Blinding the light, I covered my eyes for a moment before asking.


    "You''re serious about the Knight Order?"


    In the original book, nothing about Charlotte creating a Knight Order had been mentioned, so I had initially assumed she was joking.


    Yet, it seemed she was serious... yet another deviation in the plot.


    Well, then again, I was the cause of this one, albeit unknowingly, so I would just have to adapt.


    Also, there was another thing I would have to adapt to.


    If Lily didn''t know that I somehow possessed knowledge of the future by now, it would be a miracle.


    Whether she knew if I was a transmigrator from Earth like her or not was still a mystery... but I think it should be quite obvious to her I''m not the original "Ren."


    That would mean that the main cast alongside Lily would probably have counter-plants and contingencies already setup in case I ever intervened again.


    Though...some of the people in the main cast did owe me quite a bit, so it wouldn''t be life-threatening dangerous.


    Shaking my head, I stared at Charlotte, who had stopped to gaze out the windows and at the beautiful garden outside.


    What if she was a part of the main cast already...?


    What if she had accepted Lily''s invitation and had just lied to me?


    What if this is one of Lily''s contingency plans?


    Lily could have told the student council president, Astrid, to recommend Charlottle to me...making our meeting outside the gym where it all started a coincendence.


    Was Charlotte a spy?


    Perhaps, noticing my piercing gaze locked onto her, Charlotte turned around to face me before saying in a serious tone.


    "Look, I don''t know what relationship you have with that secret group. But, listen, you''re a part of my group now. I already denied them... for this little group, so don''t even think of leaving."


    "That also goes both ways, as you are a part of my faction... or ''Knight Order,'' I won''t think of leaving you for that secret group. Understand?"


    Regaining some of my confidence, I slowly nodded at Charlotte''s question while staring out the window.


    Why was Charlotte putting so much trust in me?


    Why was I putting trust in her?


    *RING~RING*


    Snapping back to reality as the sound of the bell echoed through the hallway, I hesitated before deciding to change the topic.


    Staring outside the window, I asked.


    "...what exactly was the point of you walking with me?"


    Turning around and preparing to head to her class, Charlotte replied.


    "Team bonding is pretty important, you know?"


    With those last words, Charlotte departed, leaving me alone in the area surrounded by windows.


    Taking a moment to enjoy the silence before the students came crowding into the hallway from the cafeteria, I kneeled down and examined the flowers outside through the window.


    "Hm?"


    Seeming to be trying to hide inside a bed of flowers was a little black-dog.


    Unable to touch or pet the dog through the window, I stared as it awkwardly attempted to scurry further into the bushes and out of sight.


    "Thank god... I only have one pet."


    Turning away from the window, I headed back to the classroom, making my way through the crowds of students.


    The rest of us passed by quite quickly, considering there were no interruptions as everyone was on their best behavior.


    *RING~RING*


    As the bell rang, signaling the end of the class, I got from my chair before, waved goodbye to Jin and Han, and headed back to my dorm room.


    Today was Zach''s last day of treatment.


    Walking up the stairs, I was once again shell-shocked to see both Alya and Zach already waiting outside my door with expectant expressions.


    "...how do you guys get here so fast...?"


    In unison, the two main cast members replied.


    "...we have movement skills, don''t you?"


    Furiously shaking my head as I unlocked the door, I replied. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I do... BUT WHY ARE YOU USING THEM IN SCHOOL!?"


    Imagine me just dashing through the hall and flapping my dragon wing, traveling so fast that no one could even see me.


    Sure, it would be cool and an efficient way to save time, but the second I stopped, I would look weird and out of place... with a dragon''s wing literally attached to my back.


    Closing my eyes, I opened the door and held it open for Zach and Alya before allowing it to slam behind them.


    Ignoring my question, the two of them headed into the room before promptly settling on my couch and bed.

 Chapter 205: Chapter 205:Recruiting [4]

    Seeing Zach enter the room, my cat let out a grumpy sound before arrogantly getting up from its bed and jumping on mine.After the first day, my cat simply took control, so Alya and I didn''t even need to go through the process anymore.


    Well, I was needed for the first step of the process, but besides that, my black cat could conduct it himself without any problems.


    As Zach hesitantly walked towards the bed, where my cat was already sitting, I headed to the kitchen.


    After the process, my black cat would be extremely hungry and fatigued, sleeping more than usual, which I genuinely thought was impossible, so I needed to be ready.


    As I picked a piece of chicken from the fridge, Alya took a seat on the couch before asking.


    "So...this is the last day? And, then, he''ll be back to normal...?"


    Shrugging my shoulders, I replied.


    "I think so, but who knows? Don''t you know that law? ''Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.'' "


    Shaking her head, Alya replied.


    "I''ve never heard that before...?"


    "*tsk* this shameless author, using the rule without even defining it in the book."


    Hearing my mumbling, Alya questioned.


    "What was that?"


    I replied, beginning to cook the steak over a small flame of fire I had created using the blood-red substance in my body.


    "Nothing at all."


    As we finished our conversation, I heard the bed creak as Zach finally gathered the courage to sit down on the bed.


    Eventually, looking up from the ground, Zach turned to me and said.


    "...I think I''m ready."


    Ignoring him, I simply gestured to the cat as I had done the previous days and replied.


    "You''ll need some rest after this."


    Jumping off the bed, the cat slowly walked towards me, making sure to articulate its every moment like it was a model on a runway.


    Shaking my head, I watched as the cat finally reached my shoes before slowly raising its paw to my leg.


    After a couple of seconds of holding its paw to my leg, the black cat sat back down for a second before turning around.


    Then, just as before, the cat walked over to the bed before jumping on and landing right next to Zach, who was trembling.


    Sitting down on a chair next to Alya, I watched with interest as my cat simply sat there and stared at Zach.


    Sighing, I screamed out.


    "Zach, LAY DOWN!"


    Finally taking the hint, Zach glanced at us one last time, his amber-brown sparkling with hope, before lying down on the bed.


    And, just like last time, the cat placed its paw right over Zach''s head, causing the lights in the room to turn off.


    Turning to me in the darkness, Alya asked.


    "...is the lights turning off part of whatever treatment method this is?"


    Peering through the darkness of the room, I pointed at my cat which was beginning to form the symbol.


    ''Nah, I think he just wants to look cool."


    "...it''s cat, how do y-"


    "Look, your friend is getting cured right now, is this what you want to think about!?"


    As the two of them glanced back at Zach''s lying figure on the bed, the familiar symbol began to form on the ceiling.


    A moment or two after its completion, the symbol slowly began to descend from the ceiling until it finally became interested in Zach''s face.


    *BZZT*


    Ignoring the vibration coming from my smartwatch, I watched Zach as the lights eventually turned out and the symbol disappeared.


    Then, like nothing even happened, my cat jumped off the bed before groggly walking to its food bowl.


    As my cat devoured the bits of chicken I made, Zach slowly got up from the bed, holding onto a nearby wall to stand.


    Breaking the silence, I got up from the chair and clapped my hands.


    "All good?"


    Despite the exhaustion he was probably feeling from the ritual, Zach, with his hand holding him up straight, managed to let out a smile.


    "Yeah...I think I''m going to be alright."


    Depleted of most of his energy, Zach mustered just enough energy to lean downwards, bowing down right in front of me.


    "T-thank you."


    Stopping him before he could mutter another word, Alya turned to me, a smile also apparent on her face, and said.


    "Thank you for everything...I''ll repay you... somehow... eventually."


    As the two walked out of my dorm room, Zach limping and smiles beaming off both their faces, I sat down on the bed.


    Picking up my smartwatch from my desk, I scrolled on the internet for a bit, trying to distract myself.


    Tomorrow... was going to be interesting.


    Of course, though, I still had today to go.


    Checking my smartwatch, I finally opened the messages app and saw a message from a familiar sending waiting for me.


    [Charlotte: Where are you?]


    [Charlotte: You do know punctuality is a requirement for this Knight Order, right?] S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [Charlotte: ...alright then. I''ll wait inside; message me when you''re here.]


    "...why does that last message sound so ominous?"


    After spending a couple more minutes simply lying on my bed and looking out of the window, I finally mustered up the energy to get up.


    Today would be another day when I could get some intel about the location around the faculty building.


    The royal dormitory was already close to the faculty building, so I could scout the outside, and Charlotte occasionally would tell me to get things that her brother had "forgotten" to give her from her old room.


    A visual image of the hallways, vents, and window locations was already starting to form in my head.


    Seeing the documents on the receptionist''s desk also helped me keep up with the news around the academy.


    Leaving my dorm building, I brought a jacket with me as the sky above no longer held a clear sky with a sun.


    It was instead overcast with a dull, gray color, with wispy, thin clouds spread all throughout.


    "...snow huh? It''s been a while..."

 Chapter 206: Chapter 206:Recruiting [5]

    Walking toward security guards, who were already familiar with me by now, I waved my paper pass before heading inside.Opening the familiar doors of the royal dormitory, I took a quick glance inside, ensuring that nobody was around.


    Peering through a crack in the door, I sighed upon seeing the common room and hallway were empty.


    Taking out my smartphone, I sent a quick message to Charlotte.


    [Ren: I''m outside.]


    *BZZT~BZZT*


    Not even giving me time to look away from my smartphone, Charlotte immediately replied.


    [Charlotte: And, what exactly are you waiting for? The snow? Come in.]


    ...little does she know.


    Opening the doors fully, I entered the luxurious hallways before taking off my jacket and wrapping around my waste.


    A moment later, I heard a slight noise echo from further down the hallway while a familiar soft and calm voice spoke.


    "You''re late."


    Shrugging my shoulders, I replied.


    "Am I?"


    Shaking her head as she walked past me, Charlottle muttered.


    "Don''t act stupid; you know I can see the ''silenced'' and ''read'' notifications on your smartwatch."


    Walking through the lavish hallway, I looked upwards, admiring the diamond chandeliers hanging from the ceilings.


    Meanwhile, Charlotte paid no attention to expensive decorations, continuing to lead down the wall.


    After another minute, Charlotte and I actually arrived at a place that was familiar to me.


    Along the walls of the hallways were countless paintings, each already familiar to me from my first time in the dormitory with Ruby.


    Finally, Charlotte stopped in front of a seemingly normal painting before turning to me.


    Then, she promptly removed a key from her pocket for before raising her hand to the painting.


    Without a second of hesitation, she trusted the key forward right at the painting.


    But, instead of going through the canvas and tearing the painting, the key simply passed through the painting as if it were holographic.


    Seeing Charlotte standing normally as if her hand was not literally inside a painting, I blurted out.


    "A subspace...?"


    Smirking at my awestruck face, Charlotte nodded her head before gesturing to me.


    A second later, Charlotte jumped through the painting, her figure disappearing from my sight as she went further and further into the painting.


    In the next moment, Charlotte was nowhere to be seen, leaving behind the painting only.


    Scratching my head, I imagined Charlotte angrily waiting for me before hesitantly stepping forward.


    Jumping into the painting, I subcouscisley braced myself for impact as I had no idea what was on the other side of the painting.


    However, just as I passed through the painting, I reopened my eyes, finding myself standing upright.


    Awkwardly removing my hands, which had covered my head in fear of the impact, I glanced at the room.


    ...it was underwhelming, to say the least.


    The room was relatively small compared to my gigantic warehouse... and just like my warehouse when I first got it, it was empty.


    There was no furniture, tables... or objects for that matter.


    Besides a couple of boxes filled to the brim that sat next to the wall, the room was completely empty.


    The walls weren''t even painted, and you could see scratches and holes all around the room.


    Shaking my head, I asked.


    "...is this room really...?"


    Opening up one of the boxes, Charlottle explained.


    "The principal was able to give me this room... because at least someone saw how unfair this situation was."


    Gesturing for me to come over, she continued.


    "But that was all. The principal insisted on remaining neutral in the battle between my brother and I, so she said this all she could give me to even out the playing fields."


    Picking up one of the boxes, I grumpily asked, despite already knowing the answer.


    "And who will be doing the cleaning?"


    "*PFFT* Us two!"


    "...is this really a Knight Order!?"


    The next two hours consisted of Charlotte and I setting up the extra room that had been given to Charlotte by the principal without the prince''s knowledge.


    Picking up another box and setting up a desk, I questioned. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "You have plenty of servants and people who would help; why are we the ones doing the hard labor?"


    Arranging the various materials and shutting the drawers, Charlotte shook her head and replied.


    "You never know who you can trust."


    "..."


    "I can''t just keep all my paperwork and items in my room... I''m sure my brother has already taken precautions by bribing the servants and maids."


    As I continued talking with Charlotte about how she had obtained the secret room, I also learned that the room wasn''t actually a subspace.


    The principal, renowned for illusion magic, had just embedded one of her spells into the painting.


    The painting was actually an illusion and just an entrance to this secret room.


    So, unlike my actual subspace, this room couldn''t be removed as you moved the entrance painting; the magic would fade away, revealing this room to everyone.


    Wiping the sweat off my face, I finished setting u the last couple of placards before turning to Charlotte.


    Seeing her clean and set up things like a servant or assistant, I almost couldn''t believe she was a princess.


    In the book, she was portrayed as a robot, with her sole goal being to win the fight against her brother at the cost of anything, even sacrificing others.


    Yet, seeing her like a normal person, my feelings started to change.


    "And, what are you looking at?"


    Shaking my head, I replied.


    "We''re done."


    Although the room was still a bit rugged, it was starting to come into shape as there were couches and tables all over, even a small kitchen area in the corner.


    Sitting down on one of the couches, Charlotte said.


    "Alright, we''re done for today; you can go... I have to finish some things."


    Nodding my head, I headed up the stairs, arriving back at the entrance.


    Peeking my head out of the painting, making it seem like I was just a floating head in the air, I ensured that no one was around before jumping out.

 Chapter 207: Chapter 207:Visitors [1]

    Not wasting a second, I exited the Royal Dormitory before arriving back at my dorm.Although today consisted of just physical labor, I gathered plenty of information about the principal from Charlotte''s stories.


    Know your enemy better than yourself.


    That was a line I took to heart... and one that I could actually use, considering I had read and followed the adventures of the very characters I was fighting for over two years.


    Slumping into bed, I glanced at the windowsill where my cat was sleeping before closing my eyes.


    Tomorrow was the first day of official recruitment, and my days of relaxation would come to an end.


    ...


    ...


    ... Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Awoken by the sun''s rays beaming down on my face and the sound of chirping birds from outside the window, I sighed.


    It was false!


    Today was the first day of snow, yet the sun was still shining as brightly as ever, and clouds were not even visible in the light blue sky.


    Not only that, but light blue skies and bright suns usually represent a good day, but I was sure this was going to be the opposite!


    Shaking my head, I walked over to the kitchen before preparing a quick meal for my cat, which was still asleep in its bed.


    Washing my hands, I headed to the bathroom to shower and get ready.


    Putting my academy uniform on and tightening the collar around my neck, I glanced at the clock out of the corner of my eye.


    Thankfully, I was on time and had some spare time.


    Though I wasn''t planning on getting recruited, the people in our classrooms would be powerful people with tons of connections, so arriving late and making them have a bad first impression of me would be stupid.


    I straightened my hair in the mirror and applied a product similar to chapstick from Earth. I checked the email application on my smartwatch.


    [Dear Students, this is the first official day of recruitment, so please behave in the best way. Not only are you representing the academy, but you are also representing yourself today.


    You are a marketer trying to sell your product, yourself in this case, to the countless recruiters around the academy.


    With that in mind, here are some basic instructions and rules that will be followed for the next week.


    1. If you are recruited and accept the offer, place a pin on your academy uniform so you can signify to other recruiters that you are taken and their time is not wasted on you.


    2. Weather expectations. As everyone knows, we are officially entering the season of snow... despite the unusually sunny skies right now, so please wear extra clothing to avoid being cold.


    3. Once recruited, you have three days to accept the offer. If you don''t accept or don''t reply within three days, it will be considered a rejection of the offer.


    4. On your school smartwatch, an app has been installed that gives you information about all the guilds that recruiters are coming from. Please use this make an informed decision should you be recruited.


    5. Consider the recruiters around you as teachers. Do not disturb them if it is not necessary, but you may ask questions. It is up to the recruiter whether they would like to answer you or not.


    6. Finally, the courtyard will be under maintenance for the next few days, so do not come near to the surrounding area unless you would like to be punished.]


    Shaking my head, I grabbed a piece of toast before heading out the door and down the stairs of my dorm building.


    Maintenance?


    That was the best excuse they could give to prevent people from going to the courtyard?


    Surely, just saying you had to water the grass for the next couple of days would be more logical and believable.


    Taking a bite of the toast covered with butter, I winced upon seeing countless unfamiliar adults walking around the academy with clipboards.


    The visitors have arrived...


    The student around me, usually rushing and running to get to their classes on time, were walking with their shoulders pushed upwards and chin up, overly showing their jawlines off.


    Also, looking around, I realized that I was the only one with food in my mouth...


    Cramming the piece of toast into my mouth, I wiped the crumbs off my hands before following in their example.


    But... after only a moment, I gave up, lowered my shoulders, and adjusted my posture for the worse.


    Walking like a pretentious prick was harder than I thought...


    Arriving at the first-year building, I opened the door, immediately seeing the hallways practically empty except for a couple of scrambling students.


    "...was five minutes early to class too late...?"


    Enjoying the silence, I walked through the halls, nodding my head at each recruiter who passed by.


    However, most of them simply ignored me or were too busy writing on their clipboard to reciprocate my nod.


    Unfazed, I arrived at my classroom and took a glance inside through the open door.


    Inhaling as my gaze swept across the fully crowded classroom that resembled those college lectures with a one-teacher to over two hundred students ratio, I stepped back for a moment.


    All of the top-ranking students, including Liam, Lily, Irene, Ruby, Kevin, Alya, and even Zach, were in this classroom, so I shouldn''t have been surprised.


    Yet, as I stared at the sheer amount of recruiters crammed into the small classroom, my mouth opened in shock.


    "ALL OF THIS FOR SOME HIGH-SCHOOLERS!?"


    Besides the ton of recruiters crammed against the classroom walls, all of the desks... beside mine were filled.


    Even Professor Zia was there early as she stared at my empty seat with an expression that I couldn''t even decipher.


    Putting my head down, I walked into the classroom, already expecting everyone to stare at me.


    However, as I looked up, I noticed that instead of staring at me, the last person to arrive, my classmates were looking at the whiteboard behind Professor Zia.

 Chapter 208: Chapter 208:Visitors [2]

    Not wanting to stop mid-stride and turn around to look at the whiteboard, I quickly made my way to the seat between Jin and Han.Before looking at the whiteboard, I took one last glance at the crowd of recruiters who were eagerly staring at us.


    It was clear that there was a hierarchy among the recruiters as the ones with stronger Knight Orders had small desks set up for them so they didn''t have to stand.


    Finally finishing my sweep of the recruiters, I sighed upon realizing that there were no familiar figures.


    Maybe... he had sent an agent.


    Finally looking upward, I stared at the big white words, written in chalk, plastered all over the whiteboard.


    [Technique Demonstration]


    [For this entire day, up until school officially ends, you and your classmates will be participating in a skills demonstration.


    This skill demonstration will take place in a magic space created by the school administrators.


    In this magic space, students will participate in a battle royale where they fight against their classmates to earn the top ranking.


    Before entering a magic space, all of your weapons and armor will be confiscated, leaving you with only your skills.


    Similar to a battle royale, loot chests, which include various weapons and artifacts, will spawn around the magic space.


    Upon eliminating one of your classmates, you will receive all of their items and artifacts alongside an increase in your final rating.


    Do not consider your health when fighting, as you will be automatically eliminated and removed from the magic space once you are injured to the point where you can no longer fight.


    Students may also voluntarily exit the magic space and forfeit if they would like to.


    If you have any more questions, please ask your assigned teacher before the demonstration starts.


    This demonstration will include over four hundred students, as all of the first-year will be participating.


    As mentioned before, your rating can be increased.... or decreased, and this rating will determine your final placement.


    For example, a student with seven eliminations, who was the tenth student out, may receive a higher placement than a student with zero eliminations, who was the hundredth student out.


    HOWEVER, this rule does not apply to the top ten rankings.


    Once there are ten students remaining, ratings are dismissed, and your placements are completely determined by how many students were out before you.


    Again, this is a ''demonstration'', and therefore, your results will not impact your grade or anything school-related.]


    Shaking my head as the last few words on the whiteboard, I shifted my gaze towards my anxious classmates.


    Won''t affect anything, my ass.


    This demonstration could make or break your entire life.


    Secure a top ten spot in the battle royal and receive a contract from a Knight Order that could quite literally change your life.


    Get out first or second and be in last place; your reputation would be tarnished, and your hopes of getting into a high-ranking Knight Order would disappear.


    It was like taking the SAT or ACT... but ten times worse.


    Looking down at Professor Zia, who was awkwardly standing by her lecture, I almost smiled.


    Her expression practically said, "Don''t blame! I had nothing to do with this demonstration. I actually advocated against it!"


    Of course, having read the book, I knew this was going to happen, so I wasn''t surprised like everyone else.


    *RING~RING*


    As the bell rang, Professor Zia finally spoke, breaking the awkward atmosphere surrounding the classroom.


    "I hope all of you have read and understood the rules listed above."


    "..."


    "I''ll take that as a yes...Before we get into any questions, be aware that the entirety of this ''demonstration'' will be broadcast to the recruiters."


    Covering her face and expression with her hand, Professor Zia paused before continuing.


    "Recruiters are also able to... help students in ways. Each recruiter will be assigned an equal amount of points, no matter the power of their Knight Order."


    "These points can then be used to gift students that the recruiter selects food, weapons... and the location of other students."


    Raising her head, Professor Zia glanced at the silent classroom once again before awkwardly asking.


    "Are there any questions?"


    The classroom remained silent; people who actually had questions were too scared to speak up due to the crushing atmosphere, and others were completely blinded by nerves.


    Right as Professor Zia was about to turn around, a hand suddenly raised from the center of the class, drawing both the recruiter''s and student''s attention.


    Glancing at the raised hand, Professor Zia quickly asked.


    "What is your question, Lily."


    Already knowing the question, I covered my face, not willing to show any changes in my expression.


    "You said that this is a solo event... but our alliances able to be made."


    Power of teamwork!!!


    After taking a moment to think, Professor Zia replied.


    "Yes... the academy cannot stop alliances from being made among students."


    After that, the mood around of the classroom got better as people weren''t on as much edge as earlier.


    Following Lily''s question, Professor Zia glanced at the recruiters before gesturing to them.


    Within seconds, the crowd of recruiters exited the classroom, leaving just Professor Zia and us students.


    Professor Zia said, putting down her piece of chalk.


    "Do not move from here for five minutes. After that, you''ll be automatically transferred into the magic space."


    With those last words, Professor Zia turned around and exited the classroom, sliding the door shut behind her.


    After a couple of moments of initial silence, some discussions began, all of course relating to the battle royale. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Turning to Jin and Han, I contemplated asking them to team up so I could help them increase their placement.


    Well... that was even if I stayed that long.


    Checking my smartwatch, I saw a quick message pop up.


    [Charlotte: I know you''re wondering, so I''ll tell you. I''ll be participating, not as a student, but as a Knight Order recruiter. My brother will also be doing the same.]


    Was there even a point to me participating in this ''demonstration?''

 Chapter 209: Chapter 209:Visitors [3]

    Of course, the prince and princess couldn''t be recruited as they were a part of the imperial family, so it would be useless for them to compete.Looking up from my smartwatch, I saw Jin and Han being oddly reserved and quiet about the whole situation instead of confused and stressed.


    Further into the classroom, I could that besides us three and the main cast, who Lily had likely told about the event, everyone else was stressed and shivering.


    Turning to Jin and Han, I curiously questioned.


    "Are you two not nervous?"


    Speaking from my right, Jin immediately replied in a proud voice.


    "The instructions and board said it won''t be worth anything or contribute to our grade, right? Why should I care then!?"


    ...do I tell him?


    This was like when your teacher gave you an exam and said that your grade doesn''t matter as it is for "practice" and "personal reference."


    Then, then the next day, that very same teacher would walk in pissed with the graded papers, asking why everyone did so horribly and asking us if we thought she was a terrible teacher.


    Before I could make up my mind, Han awkwardly laughed before saying.


    "Enough with the joking, Jin. Honestly, I''m not stressed or anything because what is that going to do to help me? I''ve... just accepted these circumstances like a leaf being blown away in the wind."


    Shaking my head, I chuckled, breaking the silent atmosphere within the classroom, and replied.


    "That poetry elective has done numbers on you, Han."


    Also laughing, Jin quickly added.


    "Don''t forget, he''s also talking ''philosophy.'' Who cares what a bunch of old guys who were alive thousands of years ago think?"


    Pausing for a moment, Jin smiled before saying.


    "They''re dead, and we aren''t. Clearly, we''re doing something right and they''re doing something wrong!"


    ...it would be a good point if... yeah, never mind.


    Ignoring our jokes, Han looked at the board for a second before turning back to us and asking.


    "So... we''re forming an alliance, right?"


    Surprised, Jin asked.


    "Is that even a question?"


    As the words came out of Jin''s mouth, Han tried to discreetly look at me out of the corner of his eyes.


    Folding under the pressure of Jin and Han''s stares, I waved my hands up and down before replying. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Of course, we''re forming an alliance... there''s just one problem."


    Pointing to the area of writing at the edge of the board, I said.


    "...all of us are going to be spawned into the magical space at different locations... so how exactly are we going to meet up?"


    After thinking for a moment, Han seemed to have a light-bulb moment and rapidly turned around and said.


    "I got it! We don''t know anything about the location and setting of the magical space... but there has to be a center. Let''s just all meet there and form an alliance from the center!"


    Shaking my head, I indicated that Han and Jin should be quiet for a moment before pointing at the group of students right in front of us.


    "Yeah, Alice is right; let''s just meet at the center."


    "Every magical space has a center, and it''ll be easy to get there, so we can all just meet up there."


    Sighing, Han leaned back in his chair while Jin continued to think.


    Shifting my gaze upwards, I glanced at the clock, seeing that there were still around three minutes before we were transported.


    And just as the three-minute mark passed by, I finally noticed it happening.


    On the right side of the room, around fifteen students, more coming with every passing second, had gathered.


    The teacher said alliances could be made... but they didn''t say how large these alliances could be.


    Thankfully, as a seemingly weak and feeble student, I wasn''t the target of the alliance.


    It was simple.


    The weaker students knew that the strong students, in this case, the main cast, would team up.


    Thus, if they faced them one by one, of course, their chances of losing were a hundred percent.


    So... it was simple, around thirty of the students, in this class one, would form an alliance with the main goal of defeating the main cast.


    Of course, these students didn''t think far enough to decide what would happen if they could actually take down Ruby, Liam, Kevin, Lily, Alya, Zach, and Irene.


    But, it was pretty obvious; they would all turn on each other to secure the most eliminations and highest placement possible.


    One might think that this alliance would obviously not work and the main cast would easily pound them as there was no trust amongst each other.


    Everyone in the alliance only cared about securing the highest placement possible and getting recruited.


    Unlike them, the main cast all trusted each other and had amazing teamwork due to the countless traumatic experiences they had been through together.


    Yet, it wasn''t as it seemed.


    There were over four hundred students in the grade.


    There were thirty students in this class of forty who were planning to join the alliance of the main cast.


    That''s 75% and if we apply that to the four hundred students, that''s over three hundred students that would likely be in this one alliance.


    And for this battle royale scenario, big alliances were perfect.


    They could monopolize the supply drops using their large numbers to slow the main cast down while others gathered crates.


    What they failed to comprehend... is how this would look to recruiters.


    Who cares if you placed ninth place when you just teamed up with over three hundred students to defeat a small group of ten students!?


    Not only that, but these ten students they were teaming up against were the exact students who the recruiters desperately wanted!


    Shaking my head, I turned to Han and Jin before asked.


    "You''re not planning on joining whatever that group is, right?"


    As Han nodded his head furiously, Jin said.


    "How am I going to stand out when I''m teamed with them!"


    The next second, Han and I''s expression immediately changed.


    "...are you saying that you''re going to stand out more with us because we''re w-"

 Chapter 210: Chapter 210:Visitors [4]

    As I heard the alliance became formalized, with the meeting spot of the magic space''s center, I glanced at the main cast.Even with all the gazes directed at them, each jealous or fueled by negative emotions, the four girls and three boys remained calm.


    They just talked amongst each other, pretending as if no one else in the classroom existed.


    Turning my head to Han and Jin, I scratched my head before making a decision.


    If Lily was going to use her future knowledge to help her friends, why couldn''t I just it to help Han and Jin?


    Those shameless people were already probably discussing the setting of the mana space and how they were going to use it to their advantage!


    Gesturing at the two boys to come closer to me, I leaned forward, making sure nobody was watching us, before whispering in their ears.


    "When you spawn into the magic space... you''ll see a massive tower on the east side of the map. Let''s all meet there, alright?"


    Leaning forward, Han skeptically asked.


    "How exactly do you know that will be true?"


    "Just trust me, alright? Even if I''m wrong, nothing will change."


    As Han and Jin nodded their heads, I leaned back in my chair, making sure not to draw any further suspicion.


    Telling Han and Jin more about the magic space now would be useless as, contrary to their calm and composed appearances, I could tell they were nervous.


    I mean, the desk was quite literally going up and down from all their fidgeting.


    Anyway, unlike the main cast, we weren''t going for a win or anything, just a high ranking so Han and Jin could get recruited.


    Our time was going to be much easier... maybe a bit fun if time permitted.


    Looking as the clock reached the one-minute mark, I sighed before forming a tiny piece of physical corruption in my hands.


    Would the magic space be able to take this away from me?


    The next second, the black piece of corruption disappeared, instead placed by a blood-red ruby gemstone I had manifested using the Dragon-red substance or Dragon''s Inferno as I had nicknamed it.


    I was sure the magic space wouldn''t be able to take this away due to its special nature.


    Surprisingly, this battle royale in the book had no interference from djinns or any evil organizations... but I knew not to trust the book.


    *TIC*


    *TOC*


    *TIC


    As the clock counted down the last few seconds, I closed my eyes, preparing for the instant change of surroundings that would occur.


    As my vision turned black, I felt my surroundings shift as various abnormal sounds flooded my ears and the sunlight beamed down on my face.


    Not wasting a second, I opened my eyes, immediately staring down at my hand.


    Testing all of my powers, I smiled as I saw a piece of physical corruption and a ruby gemstone form in my hands.


    Dispersing the two items, I glanced upward at the sky, peering all the way up until my vision hit the barrier of the magic space.


    In the air, I could see countless drones flying around, each equipped with a security camera and various other equipment.


    "...guess no Dragon''s wind today."


    Considering the fact that many djinns would probably watch the recordings in some shape or form, revealing the full extent of my powers would be stupid.


    One of my biggest strengths was my unique and weird powers that nobody could expect from just looking at me.


    If the djinns, who I would eventually have to fight, formed a profile of me using this information I handed to them for no reason, then that strength would be taken away.


    Glancing to the east side, I peered through the forest that I had spawned in before easily spotting a massive and looming tower.


    Activating dash''s usage period, I sprinted forward, using the dash ability every time my cool-down reset.


    Within a few minutes, I had reached the end of the forest, dashing forward into the fields of grass that awaited me ahead.


    This magic space consisted of almost every environment you could think of: forests, deserts, beaches, oceans, plains, mountains, and even volcanos.


    They had done this so that no elemental mage, like a fire mage, had an advantage during the entire space.


    Sometimes... they care about the students... sometimes, they don''t, I really don''t get this school.


    Wiping a beat of sweat that had formed on my forehead, I peered ahead, noticing Jin already waiting at the base of the tower.


    Not reveling in my bad luck at being spawned so far from the tower, I continued sprinting forward, noticing many people as I passed.


    Yet, none of them initiated a conversation or attempt to attack, instead ignoring me and sprinting towards the center of the magic space.


    During the five minutes before all of us had been transferred into the magic space, we still had our technological devices.


    Someone had probably spread information about the alliance against the main cast through various first-year group chats and forums.


    "...it''s not so bad being the common enemy anymore!"


    It''s ironic how the heroes are always seen as enemies...


    First me, and now the main cast.


    Finally arriving at the base of the large tower, resembling a watch tower from the medieval ages, I said to Jin. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "W-when did you get here?"


    Shrugging his shoulders, Jin smirked and replied.


    "At the very start! I quite literally spawned it right next it."


    Holding back my fist, I sighed and asked.


    "Any news of Han?"


    "Nope, but is it still early? He''s probably on his way."


    Nodding my head, I leaned against the tower, hiding my face from the beaming sunlight ahead.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    "It has to have been at least thirty minutes, now... where is that guy!?"


    Shaking my head, I sarcastically replied to Jin.


    "Not everyone is as lucky as you... have patience."


    However, as another fifteen minutes passed, my wariness also started to grow.


    Peering through the area around us, I sighed upon seeing Han nowhere in sight.

 Chapter 211: Chapter 211:Battle Royale [1]

    Voicing my concerns, Jin hesitantly asked.


    "Could he have run into some trouble on the way here...?"


    Nodding my head, I answered.


    "We''ll wait ten minutes more... and then move."


    Nodding his head, Jin responded.


    "Yeah... looking for him in this huge area is close to impossible... so we should start soon!" sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Sighing, I shook my head and continued glancing around, hoping for any sign of a fight or human tracks.


    The only reason I had stayed in this tournament in the first place was to ensure both Jin and Han got a high enough placement to be recruited.


    *BOOM*


    *SUPPLY DROP INCOMING*


    As the words echoed throughout the entire stadium from a gigantic speaker hanging from the top of the magic space, Jin and I''s gaze shifted upward at the sky.


    Peering through the entire sky, I found a small balloon slowly descending from the top of the stadium.


    The main cast wouldn''t go for the first supply drop as they knew it would be crowded with enemies.


    Rather, they would save their energy and go for the supply drop spots that were farther away from the center of the magic space.


    And they knew as time went on, the alliance of over three hundred students would be weakened further and further as arguments would start.


    Many students also betrayed the alliance, eliminating their fellow classmates in hopes of getting a higher rating.


    All in all, the main cast didn''t have to worry about the alliance as time would take them out itself... is what they would think.


    Recalling the message that had popped up on my smartwatch just before we were being transported, a slight smile formed on my face.


    [Charlotte: Change of plans...Bertus is planning to compete in the battle royale. I think... he''s just trying to go for first place to increase his fame and start gathering followers.]


    [Ren: Does that mean you''ll be competing?]


    [Charlotte: ...don''t be stupid, I''ll surely lose]


    [Ren: Aren''t you and the prince similarly matched? What''s the difference.]


    [Charlotte: Oh, the difference is quite small! He''s just become the leader of an alliance with over half the school in it! Don''t worry, I can surely win against that!]


    For whatever reason, it seemed that the plot had once again deviated from the book, as instead of recruiting his fellow classmates to his Knight Order, Bertus was actually competing.


    Shaking my head, I peered upward into the sky again, confirming that there were no drones around me.


    As expected, none of the recruiters wanted to watch Jin and me stand around while doing nothing, so there were no drones.


    Manifesting a slick, black bow, I grasped at the string below, pulled it back, and manifested an arrow.


    Nocking the arrow, I aimed right at the balloon that was holding the supply box that contained the artifacts in the air.


    Next, while the arrow was still pressed against the string of my bow, I manifested an object that resembled a boomerange from Earth.


    Confirming the trajectory of the slowly descending supply drop with my air, I released my arrow, spiraling towards the supply drop.


    Creating a beautiful arc as it flew, the night-black arrow seemed like a piece of bacteria, invading the pure-blue sky above with darkness.


    In less than five seconds, the glossy black arrow had already traveled all the distance necessary, piercing the balloon of supply drop.


    With nothing to hold it back from free-falling toward the ground, the supply box suddenly accelerated downward at the ground.


    At the same time, I threw the boomerang-shaped object forward, matching its trajectory to the same as the arrow I just shot.


    However, I slightly lowered its end point before throwing it.


    As the supply drop plummeted downward, its top cracked open under the pressure of the air, causing artifacts and various items to flow out.


    Taking a bit longer, the arrow, the boomerang, finally reached its endpoint or the exact area where the items were flowing out of the supply drop.


    Catching a couple of items that spilled out of the supply drop on its top, the boomerang suddenly made an abrupt turn.


    With countless items on it from the supply drop, the boomerang began flying back at me, dropping a couple of items in the forest below as it passed.


    Opening my hand wide, I allowed the boomerang-shaped object to land in my hands before turning it down, causing the remaining items to fall onto the ground.


    "Well... something is better than nothing."


    As I stared at the countless objects scattered on the ground, Jin walked over to me in confusion.


    Shifting his gaze downwards, Jin scratched his head for a moment before asking.


    "...where did these come from?"


    Recalling a certain rule from earlier, I didn''t hesitate to reply.


    "Ah... one of the recruiters gave us a gift! We must be really entertaining and recruitable right now!"


    "...but we''re just standing still. I mean, we''ll still take it!"


    Shrugging his shoulders, Jin leaned down and began looking through the items.


    While Jin scrummaged through items, I leaned downwards, picking up small circular items that Jin had missed.


    A compass.


    Not wasting a second, I immediately set the target of the compass object, scrolling through the entire directory of first years until I finally found Han.


    As I confirmed the target, I watched the compass disintegrate apart before eventually disappearing.


    The next moment, a map of the entire magic space appeared in my hands with an X marked on the northern part of it.


    A compass would be too overpowered in a battle royale event, so instead, they just gave you the current location of any person one time.


    Seeing Jin pick up a few potions alongside a cool, iron sword, I gestured to him and said.


    "Alright, let''s go find Han."


    "You sure, you don''t want anything?"


    Smiling, I pointed to a drone that had just arrived on my location and was currently floating above us.


    "I think a certain princess has me covered on that part."

 Chapter 212: Chapter 212:Battle Royale [2]

    Turning away from the drone hovering a bit above us, I watched Jin pick up the last few items before departing from the tower. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Glancing at the map that displays Han''s location from the time I used the compass, I sighed.


    Clearly, he had run into some trouble on the way here, but as I could see earlier, the normal students weren''t causing any trouble.


    All of them simply went to the center of the magic space to meet up with the alliance without bothering to do anything else.


    I''m a hater or a doubter of Han''s power... but if he ran into some trouble, he would probably already have been eliminated.


    Yet, as I could see from the map, Han was still in the game.


    That left just one possibility.


    The main cast had gotten to Han before I did.


    They woudln''t eliminate him as he wasn''t a threat to them, and they also were some of the few people not heading the center.


    With Jin by my side, I gestured to the map before saying.


    "Han''s over here."


    Nodding his head, Jin sped up his pace after glancing at the map, prompting me to speed up as well.


    Jin and the old "Ren" had probably participated in battle royales together in what would be called middle school on Earth, so he probably knew what a compass item was.


    Crossing through the forest, I dashed forward, following after Jin, who had a movement skill that allowed me to double jump.


    He could quite literally jump on the air and boost himself forward without losing any balance.


    Hm?


    Staring upward, I noticed that the drone, which I assumed belonged to my Knight Order or Charlotte, was still following us.


    Doesn''t she have other people she needs to follow and recruit?


    Pausing for a moment, I glanced at the forest ahead and peered through the branches, seeing a desert.


    To arrive at Han''s current location, we would need to cross a lot of obstacles present in the desert and forest ahead.... unless.


    Waiting a moment, I screamed out to Jin, who was ahead of me since I had stopped.


    "WAIT A MOMENT!"


    Pausing, Jin turned back before staring at me with a confused expression.


    Gesturing for him to come toward me, I pointed at the drone that was hovering right above the forest.


    Seeing the drone, Jin crossed his hands before responding.


    "yeah, yeah, congrats, Ren, you''re popular with the recruiters."


    Shaking my head, I replied.


    "no, no, not that."


    Watching the drone simply levitate above us, I smiled before gesturing for Jin to follow me.


    Climbing a nearby tree trunk, I stood on one of the branches, and before the drone could react, I jumped forward.


    Stopping myself from free-falling, I gripped onto the bottom of the drone, causing it to slightly lose its balance.


    The next second, Jin followed. As he was about to free-fall through the air, I grasped his hand, adding further pressure to the drone.


    Looking at the camera that was at the front of the drone, holding us up from following, I smiled and said.


    "One taxi ride to here!"


    Barely staying in the air, the drone simply stared at the map for a solid minute before finally looking away.


    Keeping my hopes alive, the drone slowly floated away before quickly gaining pace, dragging Jin and me along with it.


    Looking downward at the forest as we flew over, I said to Jin.


    "See, now, isn''t this much better."


    Loosening his grip on my hand, Jin seemed to not notice my words as he stared down at the forest in awe.


    Ah, this is his first time flying, isn''t it?


    I was like that once...


    Shaking my head, I watched as the scenery below quickly transformed from forest to desert, and the drone began to gain pace.


    Although we weren''t traveling much faster than simply running, it was still much nicer and more energy-efficient!


    As the air blew back my hair, I alternated gazes between my map and the scenery below me, confirming we were in the correct location.


    Looking up at the drone, I said.


    "Look around here for a bit."


    Obeying my instructions, the drone lowered its height, hovering right above the swamp-like environment we were currently in.


    Gripping the rails below the drone even harder, I pulled Jin up to my height before saying.


    "Hold onto this."


    As Jin let go out of my hand and gripped the rails, I pulled myself upward before catching my balance on top of the drone.


    Standing on top of the drone, I peered downward through the entire swamp-like area, looking for any sign of Han.


    Fortunately, I didn''t just find a sign of Han... but I found him.


    "That''s not the main cast..."


    With three people, seemingly normal students, facing him, Han was helpless as he was tied against a tree, unable to move.


    Not wasting a single second, I grabbed Jin''s hand before combining the Dragon''s Inferno with the corruption inside my body.


    A second later, a large wing sprouted from my right shoulder, in complete contrast to the vibrant colors around us.


    Flapping my pitch-black and blood-red wing, I didn''t wait for Jin''s reaction, immediately disappearing from the top of the drone and ten meters forward.


    *FLAP*


    *FLAP*


    Reaching Han, I floated above the three students for a second before immediately flapping my wing.


    Disappearing from the air, I appeared on the ground, with Jin on the ground next to me.


    Manifesting two corrupted daggers, I silently walked up to two of the students.


    *SLASH*


    *SLASH*


    The next moment, the bodies of the two students disintegrated into thousands of pieces before disappearing.


    Dashing forward, I watched the last student''s face transform from happy to horror before also taking him out.


    *SLASH*


    Jin, regaining his standing on the ground, stared at the disappearing student''s bodies in silence.


    Meanwhile, I walked over the tree and cut the ropes binding Han to the tree before helping him up.

 Chapter 213: Chapter 213:Battle Royale [3]

    A moment later, countless items and various artifacts began appearing in the locations where the three students used to be.


    Ignoring the items, I immediately de-manifested both my wings before bending downwards.


    Now that I was officially on the elimination leaderboard for the battle royale, more drones would start to appear.


    I wasn''t against revealing my power and abilities, but I wasn''t going to do it if it wasn''t necessary or a requirement.


    Wiping the dust off my hands, I helped Han to his feet before turning back to the awestruck Jin.


    Shrugging my shoulders, I replied.


    "I picked up a couple of tricks, you know?"


    Standing up and readjusting his pants, Han chuckled before responding to Jin.


    "Did you know? Well, I''m not complaining after that!"


    After bowing in thanks, Han went over to Jin and began rationing out the items that we had picked up from the supply drop earlier.


    Seeing them finishing distributing the items, I walked over and curiously asked Han.


    "So...what happened to you?"


    Avoiding Jin and me''s curious gaze, Han looked at the ground before ashamedly admitting.


    "I found a chest... but before I could loot it, five students popped up. I was too distracted by the items to notice them, so they easily beat me."


    Thinking for a moment, I questioned.


    "How come they didn''t just eliminate you and instead kept you alive?"


    Looking up from the ground, a slight smile began to take form on Han''s face as he eagerly replied.


    "I told them I knew where another chest was, so they didn''t kill me. I just told them a random location, and they sent two students to go look for it while the three you took out stayed with me."


    Tapping Han on the shoulder, I praised.


    "Good thinking!"


    As Han''s expression quickly lightened and he no longer felt ashamed, the three of us departed, not allowing the other two students to see us.


    While it was true that a lot of students were in the alliance led by the prince, Bertus, just as I had seen, some students did not join.


    The main cast weren''t the only ones roaming the forest with us... there were some stray students around.


    For the next hour, the three of us simply walked through the forest while keeping an attentive watch on our surroundings.


    Occasionally, I would use my eyes to peer around the entire forest, finding a couple of chests in the process.


    Then, instead of heading directly to the chests, I would pretend to get lost or make some random turn because "I heard something."


    Then, like magic, the chest I had found be lying right in front of out path ahead.


    As one last chest appeared in the distance, right below a nearby tree, Jin stared at me for a moment before happily exclaiming.


    "...HOW LUCKY ARE WE!?"


    Han, on the other hand, gazed at me for a couple of seconds before turning away without questioning our "luck."


    Usually, Jin would be happy to see another chest, but at this point, all of our arms were filled with items, so we didn''t even have space for more.


    We were probably the most geared students right now.


    Grumpily opening the chest, the three of us began searching through the items, trying to find a more useful one than we already had.


    A half-Health potion or double-mana potion."


    In unison, Han and I replied.


    "Double-mana potion."


    Thus, as the two of us stood up from the final chest, Han was equipped with his usual crossbow while having a quiver filled with arrows tied to his back. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Each arrow in the quiver was special, its tip colored with different colors like green or purple, representing a poison arrow or an immobilization arrow.


    As the official marksman of our group, Han also had a green cloak that allowed him to blend in with our surroundings.


    Although Han wasn''t necessarily the best with the bows and other long-ranged reasons, his movement ability, Gravity Flux, essentially forced him to.


    Just as it sounds, Han''s ability allowed him to manipulate gravity for a short period of time, making his weight absolutely zero.


    Although the ability was extremely powerful, it was hard on Han at first; if he used it, he would immediately start flying upwards as there was nothing holding him to the ground anymore.


    Letting out a chuckle, I recalled the time when Jin and I had to fish Han out of a tree because he accidentally activated the ability.


    However, as Han got used to the ability, it actually became quite powerful as it allowed Han to walk on walls and ceilings and fly if he could control it.


    While this ability would be useless for close-combat fighters like me and my dagger, the ability allowed Han to easily avoid spells or hide in places that no one would ever check while firing a relentless barrage of arrows.


    On the other hand, Jin was equipped with slick and silver odachi, which was currently held in a scabbard that was hanging around his waist.


    The long and thin sword resembled a katana; however, unlike a katana, the odachi''s blade length was far longer.


    This was both a strength and a weakness, as the odachi allowed for stronger strikes than a katana because of its increased blade length.


    However, the katana''s shorter blade length made it faster and much more manageable to use.


    This meant that despite Jin having a sword, I was the close-combat dealer of our group because of my daggers.


    My daggers were small and curved, so I could swing them countless more times in a single second than Jin could swing his odachi.


    The odachi wouldn''t be able to keep up the relentless barrage of swings that a broadsword could do.


    The swings of odachi required time; however, that also meant that each swing carried an immense amount of power with it.


    So, instead, Jin played more of a flex role as he was able to play both long range due to his increased blade length and short range with the odachi occasioanlly.

 Chapter 214: Chapter 214:Battle Royale [4]

    Jin''s movement ability was more versatile than Hans''s as it was useful for any sort of weapon user, even magic users.


    Portal blink allowed Jin to create small portals that he could only travel through and that could take him to any location within a thirty-meter range.


    This ability was still far worse than teleportation, as creating the portal required time and effort.


    However, unlike teleportation, the portal created from the ability stayed alive until it was used.


    And... Jin could create multiple portals at the same time.


    He could quite literally have over five portals just standing there, waiting for him and only him to use them.


    This meant Jin could plan out his teleportation before even using them by creating multiple portals ahead of time in a certain place.


    Imagine a field filled with countless magic portals, each leading to a place that Jin designated them to and only for his use.


    While it was true that enemies could destroy these portals before Jin used them, that would also divert their attention away from Jin, giving him an opportunity to attack.


    Glancing away from my teammates, who were walking slightly behind me, I continued walking forward before a thought glimpsed my mind.


    Was it a coincidence?


    Spatial, Time, and Gravity.


    All three of us had abilities of domains that were the pillars of our universe, the only things holding our world together.


    Well, we didn''t have full control over the domains as our abilities could only be used for a certain amount of time and required mana.


    Shaking my head, I walked out of the forest and back into the plain, seeing the medieval-looking tower in the distance.


    Then, just as Han and Jin stepped out of the forest, a sudden loud voice echoed from the center of the magic space.


    *ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS*


    *ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS*


    *THE MAGIC CIRCLE WILL SLOWLY BEGIN CLOSING IN.*


    *PLEASE HEAD TOWARD THE CENTER OF THE CIRCLE*


    *FROM NOW ON, IF ANY PART OF YOU TOUCHES THE BOUNDARIES OF THE MAGIC SPACE, WHICH ARE CLOSING IN, YOU WILL SLOWLY BEGIN LOSING HEALTH*


    *ONCE YOUR HEALTH REACHES ZERO, YOU WILL BE ELIMINATED*


    *SHUDDER*


    As the last few words echoed throughout the gigantic stadium, a sudden metal grinding sound echoed throughout the stadium, indicating that the borders would start closing in.


    Thankfully, having known about this, I chose the tower, which was pretty close to the center, but we would have to move eventually.


    Arriving at the medieval tower, I noticed that another drone had joined in, as there were no two of them following me.


    Ignoring them, I leaned against the tower, hiding from the beaming sun that was beginning its descent.


    Eventually, Han and Jin arrived before anxiously looking around, making sure the barriers were far away.


    Shaking my head, I took out a piece of paper before throwing it to the two of them.


    Catching the map mid-air, Han opened it up and stared at it for a moment confusedly.


    Catching a glimpse of the map, Jin suddenly spoke up.


    "Is that the map we used to find Han!?"


    Nodding my head, I replied.


    "Indeed, but now look closely."


    As the two began intensely searching the map, I sighed before continuing.


    "The edges of the map."


    On the corners of the map, a sharp purple color was beginning to spread further and further toward the center with every second.


    Thinking and staring at the map, Han suddenly had a revelation, as he had said.


    "Are those the boundaries...?"


    Nodding my head, I replied.


    "Yep, with this map, we can see how far the border is from us at any time by just finding our location on the map."


    Seeing that the tower''s location was far away from the purple color on the map, the three of us sighed before joining me in the shade.


    After a couple of moments, an awkward silence took over as the three of us rested in the shade, enjoying the wind breeze, while the two drones stared at us.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Outside of the magic arena, in a room where a bunch of recruiters were, Charlotte, staring at the screen displayed by her drone, stood up angrily.


    "IS THAT EVEN A GODDAMN BATTLE ROYALE ANYMORE!? WHAT THE HELL AM I WATCHING!?"


    Sharing his same sentiment, other recruiters beside her exclaimed.


    "I''VE SEEN PG-13 MOVIES MORE VIOLENT THAN THIS."


    "IS THIS A VACATION OR A WARZONE!?"


    "I DID NOT TRAVEL TEN DAYS TO SEE A BUNCH OF STUDENTS DOING A HELLUVA OF LOT OF ANYTHING!"


    Further back into the same room, a group of older-looking people, each wearing a badge that read "Celestial Academy," sighed simultaneously.


    One of them, turning to the only person sitting in a chair amongst them, said.


    "Should we do something?"


    Expressing the same sentiment, another school executive leaned downward and said to the sitting woman. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Headmaster Seraphina... over half of the students have joined a big alliance and are just walking around while taking control of the center."


    "...the rest of the students are either resting... or walking around aimlessly with no goal."


    Shaking her head, the Seraphina tipped her glasses before smiling and saying.


    "Just wait... you''ll miss it all if you start complaining now."


    Ignoring the impatient and restless executives, Seraphina pushed back her elegant ocean-blue hair before staring at a certain screen.


    On the screen lay the top-ranked students: Liam, Kevin, Lily, Irene, Zach, Alya, and Ruby.


    Each of them was holding their signature weapon while seeming to just be walking around with no goal in mind.


    However, the location of these top-ranked students was very peculiar, considering their power level.


    Right behind them, the barrier of the magic circle could be seen slowly closing in, but the main cast showed no rush.


    Smiling, Seraphina continued watching the screen with interest.


    It wasn''t just Seraphina that was watching the screen with the main cast; however, some other notable figures had their gazes locked on it.


    One recruiter, with blood-red eyes and jet-black hair, seeming to be slightly older than a graduate of Celestial academy, watched it fiercely.


    "Liam, huh... let''s just see if father was lying or not."

 Chapter 215: Chapter 215:Battle Royale [5]

    In the arena, right next to the incoming barriers about to overtake them, Kevin turned to Lily and Alya, who were leading the group.


    "Seriously, what are we doing!? If we don''t pick up the pace, the boundaries will overtake us, and we''ll be eliminated."


    Shaking his head, Liam sighed before saying.


    "Kevin, for the hundredth time, we''re just trying to stay alive. We already got looted up, and all have weapons, so there''s no need for us to explore."


    Pointing at the barriers, slowly creeping nearer and nearer to them, Liam continued.


    "As long as we stay by these barriers, we can''t be attacked." sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Thinking for a moment, Ruby questioned Lily''s plan.


    "What if we get trapped and encircled? With their alliance numbers, over half the school, they could just block us off. Then we wouldn''t be able to escape the barrier and be forced to fight for our lives."


    Dismissing Ruby''s worries with the wave of a hand, Lily said.


    "Keep in mind that this alliance consists of over four hundred students who have never interacted before this. They could never carry out a complex plan like that, and even if they did, it''s not like we couldn''t fight out way through."


    Besides Lily, Alya slowly nodded her head, showing some hesitancy about Lily''s plan but agreeing with it overall.


    Seeing Kevin and Ruby done questioning, Liam sped up the front and pulled Lily aside for a moment.


    Making sure nobody else was listening, Liam whispered in Lily''s ears.


    "What about... him? What if he shows up...?"


    Recalling his defeat back in the carriage, Liam was already filled with rage, but he knew better than to let his emotions get the better of him.


    However, Liam wasn''t just filled with rage... but rather a sense of curiosity and sadness.


    How had Ren known about all his moves and skills?


    There were trillions of aspects and abilities in the world, yet Ren had somehow managed to know every single Liam used without even thinking.


    For example, during Liam''s sky plunge, Ren had already dodged the attack far before he had even come close to the ground.


    It was as if... Ren had known his abilities and aspects from the start of the battle... maybe even before that.


    Not only that, it felt like Ren had trained himself specifically to dodge his attacks, as he was able to dodge Liam''s barrage of sword attacks without blinking an eye.


    Did he have a trait or ability or even skill that allowed him to see the abilities of others?


    That was the most obvious answer by far... however, there was a little seed of doubt in Liam''s mind that was beginning to grow.


    ...was there a spy inside the main cast?


    They were the only ones who had seen Liam''s full capabilities and attacks as he had sparred against them and fought with them countless times.


    Was someone... feeding information about his abilities and attacks to Ren?


    Although Liam didn''t want to believe it... he couldn''t stop the thought from growing in his mind.


    Liam hadn''t dared express this thought, especially with the state their group was in now after Kevin''s injury and Alya''s subsequent abadonement.


    But now that things were coming back for the better, with them even receiving the help of the principal along with the student council president for their next mission, the idea had to be entertained.


    Glancing backward at Alya, Ruby, Kevin, Irene, and Zach, Liam felt ashamed to the core.


    It was shameful that he was suspicious of the very same people who had risked their lives to help him and fight with him.


    Their bond was not one that could be broken.


    At least, that was what Liam thought before Zach''s injury and Alya''s temporary leave from the main cast.


    Now... he had realized just how fragile their relationship was.


    A relationship that had built through countless near-death experiences and months could be destroyed... in a matter of seconds.


    How... cruel and unfair was that?


    Liam had always taken their relationship for granted, thinking that these people would always be at his side... yet now, he realized just how precious they were to her.


    That was why every time he felt the suspicious rise in his chest when he looked at them, he wanted to puke.


    He had to let out his suspicions somewhere... anywhere.


    Tell anybody... just so it would disappear.


    Just so things could go back to normal.


    Turning to Lily, Liam let out a sigh before leaning down and putting his mouth to her ear.


    Lily was the first person Liam had met at the academy... the second person in the entire world to treat him like a human.


    All his life, he had been treated as inferior and had been called insults because of his background.


    And just when the first person to have helped him left, Lily appeared in the form of a helping hand.


    She wouldn''t betray him... she couldn''t in a million years.


    They were now in a battle royale.


    A team battle royale.


    Liam needed to fully trust his teammates, and he knew that.


    One single second of hesitation could lead to his or the other members of the main cast being eliminated.


    With these feelings flowing through his head, Liam wasn''t confident that he could follow his teammates as usual.


    "it''s now... or never."


    Looking at Lily''s purple and blue hair fly backward due to the calm breeze, Liam whispered.


    "Hey...don''t you think it''s weird that Ren... beat me."


    Realizing how cocky he sounded, Liam paused for a moment before continuing.


    "I mean... how he already knew all of my moves. And when I asked him about it... he didn''t even deny it; instead, he simply accepted it with his silence and shifted the topic."


    Surprisingly, Lily didn''t show any surprise at Liam''s question; instead, she sighed as if she had expected the question to be asked long ago.


    Did she know something?


    No... she couldn''t have.

 Chapter 216: Chapter 216:Battle Royale [6]

    As countless chaotic thoughts flooded Liam''s head, sending him into a frenzy, Lily finally responded, her voice soothing Liam''s head and quelling his internal chaos.


    "Thought you would never ask?"


    Shaking her head with a smile, Lily paused for a moment mid-stride, causing Liam to now be ahead of her.


    Lily had already spent countless hours contemplating how she would answer this question.


    Of course, she naturally wanted to tell the truth... but would the truth deal more damage than lying?


    How was she supposed to tell everyone here that she wasn''t "Lily."


    She and, most likely, Ren wasn''t from this world.


    They were outsiders.


    And most devastatingly of all, how was she supposed to tell everyone here that they were just a bunch of characters?


    Of course, Lily didn''t seem them as mere characters, but as humans who were equal to her... but how would they see it?


    How would they react upon knowing that their entire life was already determined by some author?


    How they react upon realizing that their creator or "god" was just some musty forty-year-old living alone in some apartment, writing for money and solely money.


    A mental breakdown combined with other negative reactions would most likely occur.


    How were you supposed to react after finding out that your entire world and entire life were just a book?


    Lily was going to tell the truth to them... eventually, just not now.


    She knew she was being selfish... but sometimes being selfish is ok, right?


    At least, that was how she justified her actions in her head.


    Sometimes, self-delusion is a powerful weapon... but don''t forget that it''s also a double-edged sword.


    Turning to Liam, Lily replied.


    "Him and I... are very similar."


    Not waiting a single second, Liam immediately replied.


    "How so...?"


    In his mind, Lily and Ren were the two most opposite and polar beings in the world.


    One was a ruthless and aggressive freak who would do anything to achieve his goals, even at the cost of other lives.


    And the other?


    Someone who cared more about the lives of others than her life.


    Lily would be the first one to step into danger.


    In fact, in Liam''s mind, none of this would have been possible without Lily.


    The main cast... all the people behind them right now would have just been a bunch of acquaintances to Liam if not for Lily.


    Zach, Kevin, Ruby, Irene, and Alya, the people Liam valued the most right now, would have just been... a bunch of strangers.


    Lily had used her knowledge to save others... when she could have just ignored it.


    Instead of succumbing to a human''s traditional behavior and solely caring about her survival, Lily risked her own life countless times to prevent tragedies.


    In conclusion, Lily was the most selfless and kind person Liam knew... while Ren was... malicious, not quite evil, but if he had to sum it into one word, it would be malicious.


    Catching up to Liam, Lily said.


    "In the way... we both possess knowledge of the future."


    At that moment, Liam paused.


    Lily had knowledge of the future...


    Although he had expected something like that... hearing her admit so blatantly sent a jolt through his body.


    Then, as Liam began to comprehend the sentence, another jolt passed through his body.


    Ren...Ren had the same knowledge as Lily.


    Looking at Lily, Liam could see that this wasn''t something Lily had known all along but rather something she had discovered recently.


    Still... he had to ask.


    "When did you find out about... him."


    Showing no reluctance or resistance to answer Liam''s questions, Lily continued walking and responded.


    "Recently... after the carriage incident, my suspicion grew. Then, eventually, I pieced it all together."


    "Is your knowledge... the same as his."


    "Yes, the exact same."


    Stopping himself from asking Lily where the two of them had obtained this knowledge of the future, Liam sighed and looked up at the light blue sky above.


    Ren... he was a worse person than Liam thought.


    Instead of being like Lily, he had simply ignored the knowledge.


    Wait...


    Stopping again, Liam locked eyes with Lily.


    "t-the cruise ship... the unknown figure. You said he has the same knowledge as you... was that him back then that fought against us."


    Showing no uncertainty, Lily nodded her head, also having come to the same conclusion.


    No... he was far worse.


    He hadn''t just ignored the knowledge... he had used it to his advantage.


    Ren... he had deliberately tried to stop them.


    Although Liam couldn''t discern what his true intentions were... he was sure of one thing.


    Ren had been stopping them, preventing them, and hindering them at every turn and situation.


    That was all he needed to know.


    Ren clearly knew Lily also possessed knowledge of the future, as he had seen their plan on the cruise ship unfold, which should be a clear indication that Lily knew the future.


    If he had good intentions, he would have... perhaps teamed up with them or helped Lily.


    But... he had done the opposite, stopping them.


    It was clear his intentions were bad or maybe even... evil.


    Staring up at the light-blue sky, Liam asked himself.


    "Why are... people like him given advantages? Why does... he have knowledge of the future?"


    From beside him, Lily brought Liam back to reality.


    "All that matters is that we know now. We adapt and persevere."


    Calming his nerves, Liam glanced back at the main cast, and thankfully, there was no feeling of repulsion or suspicion anymore.


    However, as an image of a boy with jet-black hair and blood-red eyes appeared in Liam''s mind, an unquantifiable size of hatred formed.


    So much so that just thinking of him caused Liam to shake in anger. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    They had been trying their best, risking their damn lives, and working together to stop people from dying.


    All for what?


    For someone else with knowledge of the future to appear and stop them?


    All their efforts...were canceled out.


    The cruise ship... how many more servants on board could have survived?


    Alya''s kidnapping... the traumatic experience that still terrifies her to this day. Was Ren a part of that, too?


    The Elven Tree...how many more militants and soldiers of the Elven army could have been saved?

 Chapter 217: Chapter 217:Closing In [1]

    "Alright, let''s get a move on, guys."


    Getting up from the ground, I leaned against the tower and glanced at the map that was in Han''s hands.


    Thankfully, besides a couple of people I saw while peering through the forest who had just passed by us, there was no one in the vicinity.


    However, that would soon change.


    The magic space had already been reduced by fifty percent of its original size, so the alliance would begin their hunt now.


    Assuming they had a brain, they would most likely attempt to create a wall or blockade of humans that stopped the main cast from progressing toward the center.


    This would make the main cast slowly lose health to the closing boundaries as they would be unable to move forward.


    However, since we were technically not a part of the alliance, Han, Jin, and I were also in danger of being trapped in the very same way.


    Staring upward, I stifled a chuckle as the two drones from earlier had finally disappeared.


    I''d have to ask Charlotte later if she was entertained watching me rest in the shade for over an hour.


    Staring up at the sky, I saw that the color had changed from a light blue to an orange as the sun began to set.


    Time in the magic space flowed by much slower than in the outside world, so I wasn''t losing any time to plan.


    Signaling for Han and Jin to get up, I grouped up with them before pointing at the map and saying.


    "We have to find a place to hide until the top ten."


    Although I knew of the tower from the book, I had forgotten basically every other important place, so I now had to rely on the map like a normal person.


    As the three of us scanned each inch of the map meticulously, Jin suddenly looked away from the map at the ground, confusing all three of us.


    Han, worried at the incoming barriers, angrily looked at Jin and said.


    "Take this seriously, man. Our futures are on the on the line."


    Ignoring Han''s words, Jin leaned down before placing a hand on the ground, crushing the grass under.


    Finally responding, Jin simply looked up at us and said.


    "What if we don''t hide on the map?"


    Ignoring Han''s irritated expression, I curiously looked down at Jin and asked.


    "What exactly do you mean by that?"


    Grabbing his scabbard, Jin gracefully removed his odachi before holding it high in the air, allowing the sun to reflect off its cold, clean metal surface.


    Blinded by the sunlight reflecting off the odachi, I covered my eyes before carefully watching Jin''s next movements.


    In a swift and graceful motion, Jin flipped his odachi so that its tip was facing the ground.


    Then, the next moment, Jin plunged the odachi into the ground so that only the hilt was visible, while the rest of the sword was embedded in the ground.


    Han and I, curious, watched as Jin removed the sword before repeating the same actions over and over again like a miner searching for gold.


    Finally stopping, Jin removed his odachi one last time before shaking all the dirt off it, returning it to its earlier and cleaner condition.


    Staring at the countless holes formed in the ground, Jin leaned down and examined each of them carefully before standing back up.


    Then, gesturing at the holes in the ground, Jin put his odachi back in his scabbard before cheerfully exclaiming.


    "What if we hide underground? I just checked, there''s nothing stopping us from doing it!"


    ...really?


    Temporarily stunned, I leaned downwards and confirmed that there was, indeed, nothing stopping us from heading underground.


    ...was the a loophole in the plot of the story?


    Had the author really made no restrictions against this?


    Looking at Han, I saw him shrug his shoulders before hesitantly replying.


    "...he might just be onto something with this one."


    Thus, for the next thirty minutes, the three of them used their power magical artifacts that were coveted by everyone in the world for their combat power... to stab at the dirt.


    Realizing that we wouldn''t make a big enough hole to fit us before the border closed in on this at this point, I manifested three shovels with corruption.


    Shrugging my shoulders, I handed the shovels to Han and Jin, who thankfully accepted them without any questions or complaints.


    Finally, after about twenty more minutes, there was a large hole in the ground, big enough to fit all three of us.


    The creator of this plan, Jin, was the first to jump into the hole, and upon seeing him unharmed or not losing health, the rest of us followed.


    Landing on the cold, dirt floor, I looked around and touched the walls, confirming everything was stable.


    After that, I turned back to Jin.


    "Well, guys... it''s time to go tunneling!"


    "...but making this hole already took sooooo long!" sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Do we have too...?


    Hearing a groan come from Jin and Han, I immediately said.


    "Yo Jin, this was your idea. Why the hell are you complaining!?"


    As Jin continued to sigh and began digging toward the center of the magic space, using the map and corrupted shovel, Han asked.


    "...why don''t we just make the hole closer to the center and start tunneling from there? We''ll save a lot of time."


    Pointing at the tower above, which was still visible through the hole we made in the ground, I replied.


    "Trust me...this tunnel will be useful in the future."


    Accepting my vague explanation, Han picked up my corrupted shovel before heading to Jin and helping create the tunnel toward the center of the magic space.


    On the other hand, I grabbed my own shovel and began filling in the hole in the ground, making the tunnel no longer visible from the surface.


    As the sunlight slowly disappeared from my filling in the hole, Han grabbed an arrow from his quiver and placed it on the wall.

 Chapter 218: Chapter 218:Closing In [2]

    As the sunlight slowly disappeared from my filling in the hole, Han grabbed an arrow from his quiver and placed it on the wall.


    The next second, the tip of Han''s arrow exploded, creating a small fire on it that allowed the arrow to serve as a torch.


    Air wasn''t a problem in this cave as there were multiple cracks that we made in the surface, allowing small bits of sunlight to pour in.


    However, the holes in the ground were discreet and too small to be noticed by anyone... at least we hoped they were.


    It wasn''t like we could plant a tree down here for oxygen... could we?


    Wait, could we?


    Brushing off the stupid thought, I finished filling in the hole before heading over to Jin and Han who were making progress on the tunnel towards the center.


    Checking the map, I made sure that our pace of digging forward was faster than the pace at which the borders closed in.


    Thankfully, our pace was fast enough...for now, so we didn''t have to worry about that as long as we kept digging.


    Shoveling at the wall ahead with the corrupted shovel, I sighed.


    Was this even a battle royale anymore?


    First, we camped outside a tower for an hour, made a quick detour to rescue Han, and now we were just shoveling.


    Stopping for a moment, I stared at the two boys ahead of me, realizing how stupid we were.


    This wasn''t Earth... why the hell were we using shovels!?


    We were in a world of magic... why the hell were we limiting ourselves to some physical objects that could be found anywhere on Earth!?


    Turning around, I made sure that there were no drones in the tunnels, and thankfully, none had gotten through when we made the initial hole.


    De-manifesting the corrupted shovels, I watched Jin and Han confusedly stare at their hands, wondering why their shovel had just disintegrated in front of them.


    Wrapping my arms around their shoulders, I said.


    "Hey...hear me out on this..."


    ...


    ...


    ...


    *BANG*


    *BOOM*


    *BANG*


    *BOOM*


    "Why... didn''t we just do this in the first place...?"


    "I''m not going to lie... I didn''t see the vision at first... but I... believe you."


    Looking at the tunnel, which used to stretch only two feet and could barely hold all of us inside, completely transformed, I smiled.


    Leaning against the wall, I responded to the gazes of admiration from Jin and Han by saying.


    "Think outside the box!"


    In reality, I had just recalled something that my chemistry teacher had taught me back in school about explosions.


    First, I used my corruption to manifest a makeshift storage area that had walls around it, preventing things from leaking out.


    Then, Jin infused his odachi with the water element before striking it into the corrupted storage area, causing a flood of water.


    Once the water was fully spread out across the pool, with none of it leaking out, I used the Dragon''s Inferno, or blood-red substance in my body, to cast a fire spell.


    The fire, combined with the water, created a massive amount of vapor, covering the whole cave and blocking our sight.


    Despite all of that, Han took out an arrow, which had embued with Earth magic when he had found it in the chest, and nocked in his crossbow.


    Not wasting a second, Han released the arrow forward, creating a hole in the wall of vapor that had formed.


    Then, just as the arrow was about to go inside of the water and fire, it suddenly disappeared.


    Instead, a wall appeared, covering the pool of water from Jin''s odachi and fire from my Dragon''s inferno.


    Then, as the vapor slowly faded way, no more vapor came out as the pool of fire and water was fully blocked off.


    Then, as the vapor wasn''t able to escape, pressure began to slowly increase and increase until the pool finally burst out, causing an explosion.


    *BOOM*


    *BOOM*


    In less than a second, the area of our small tunnel had more than ten times its size!


    Looking away from Jin and Han, I glanced at the map, seeing the pace at which the boundaries were closing was starting to increase.


    Due to the massive explosion, our tunnel had gotten closer to the center, but there was still a way to go.


    Thus, for the next hour, the three of alternated between mining forward, reinforcing the tunnel so there wouldn''t be cave-in, and resting. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As I manifested corrupted pillars that stretched from the floor of the tunnel to the roof, Han used his sharpshooter ability, "Tempest Barrage," to shoot countless arrows from his crossbow at the same time.


    These arrows were so sharp and piercing that they would not only fly straight through the rocky walls but keep going for another couple of meters.


    After enough holes in the wall were created by Han''s arrows, Jin would use his odachi''s ability, "Void Cleaver."


    This would cause his silver odachi to be outlined by a dark black, and with each strike Jin dealt with, the odachi would cleave, dealing damage to everything around it without actually physically hitting it.


    The wall, already weakened by Han''s arrows, would fall from the Jin''s slashes, which hit the wall not only at the point of intersection but all around it due to "Void Cleave."


    Subsequently, I would finally manifest yet another corrupted pillar, keeping the cave from collapsing in on itself.


    You might be wondering why I would use corruption to keep the cave from collapsing when it was so important to me.


    However, by using corruption, I could de-manifest the pillars at any moment, making the cave collapse forcefully.


    As we reached the center of the circle, according to the map, we finally rested.


    Dropping his odachi on the floor, Jin slumped against the wall before looking upward at the ceiling.


    "So...everybody else is up there right now?"


    Nodding my head, I replied.


    "We''re not the main targets... so our disappearance won''t be noticed in the slightest."

 Chapter 219: Chapter 219:Closing In [3]

    Putting his crossbow on the ground, Han stared up at the ceiling before asking.


    "I get your plan...hide until they all fight it all out. Then, in the end, we just pop out and take the top ten placement for ourselves."


    Pausing for a moment, Han pointed at the cave, which was completely empty beside us, and said.


    "Isn''t it counterintuitive though...? If we''re down here, then the recruiters can''t even see us! I mean, the drones won''t even be able to find us down here."


    Shaking my head, I replied.


    "Were they going to watch us in the first place?"


    Seeing pure silence from Han, I was about to get up when a barrage of noises suddenly echoed through the tunnel.


    *STEP*


    *STEP*


    *STEP*


    As silence washed over the cave, I gestured for the surprised Han and Jin to be quiet before pointing upward.


    Pointing at the ceiling, I smiled and said.


    "Looks like they''re finally on the move."


    The real battle royale was just about to begin.


    Of course...we wouldn''t be watching it down in this cave, though.


    Sitting back down, I leaned against the wall opposite to Jin before saying.


    "Well... get comfortable. We''re going to be here for a while."


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Back in the spectator room, several recruiters could be seen physically standing up and crowding around a single screen.


    Seeing this, the school administrators broadcasted the video everyone was watching onto the main screen, which resembled a jumbotron you see at a sports game back on Earth.


    The most important recruiters already had the center seats, so they were sitting down while the others desperately tried to get closer to the screen.


    The principal, amused by the recruiter''s sudden change in behavior, commented.


    "Didn''t I tell you already? Time solves everything."


    The school executive behind her, with a hand on a badge that said "Celestial Academy," sighed before nodding.


    On the screen lay over a hundred students, all of which were running through the forest at a certain location.


    As the tons of students rushed towards the barrier that was closing in, instead of away like sane people, loud shouts came from within the crowd of recruiters surrounding the jumbotron.


    "THEY FOUND A COMPASS!"


    "FINALLY, SOME FIGHTING!"


    "HOW WILL THE TOP RANKERS DEFEND AGAINST THIS!?"


    "CAN WE GET THE GOOD PART!?"


    Among all the shouting, a boy resembling a recent graduate of Celestial Academy turned his gaze away from the television.


    Pushing back his long black hair bangs, the boy slumped down against the chair before staring at the recruiter next to him.


    Noticing the blood-red eyes locked on him, the other recruiters sighed before in a calm and emotionless tone.


    "Kaneki, is there something you need?"


    Chuckling at the seriousness of his tone, Kaneki, once again, pushed back his bangs... somewhat dramatically this time, before replying.


    "You really do never change, don''t you? Lighten up a bit, Kazuki."


    Looking away from Kaneki and back at the jumbotron, which was displaying the rushing students, Kazuki replied.


    "I heard your father has his eyes on a certain student. Shouldn''t you be paying attention and observing?"


    Chuckling, Kaneki further slumped down in his chair, his legs laid out on the ground, and responded in a joking tone.


    "Oh? And isn''t your brother, Kevin, also participating? I don''t see you observing carefully and watching."


    Seeing no response from Kazuki, who had his gaze now locked on the jumbotron, Kaneki covered his eyes and sighed.


    "I know what Father said one day... but this is driving me insane. The top-ranked student of the Celestial Academy graduating class... and successor of a top-ranked order doing this?"


    "Why couldn''t he just have some recruiters do this boring work like every other ranked guild?"


    Glancing at Kazuki, Kaneki reworded his thought.


    "Besides... the top-ranked guild in the entire world."


    Today was more of a preliminary day for recruiters just to weed out the terrible students, so it wasn''t like Kaneki could recruit someone if he wanted to.


    As Kaneki sat up straight and started watching the jumbotron, he heard a sudden whisper come from the side where Kazuki sat.


    "Isn''t your brother participating too?"


    Propping his head on his elbow, Kaneki smiled and replied.


    "You and him did get along pretty well back then, didn''t you?"


    Considering Ren and Kaneki''s father were important figures and former heroes, many parties and banquets were hosted at their houses.


    And Kevin''s family, being the owners of the top-ranking knight order in the entire world, were, of course, invited.


    Seeming to recall some vague memories, Kazuki glanced at the screen and responded in a soft tone.


    "We did...he was quite the interesting one. I haven''t seen him since that day... though."


    Shrugging his shoulders, Kaneki replied.


    "It really is a tragedy what happened to him, but I can''t say I''m particularly sad." sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Kaneki and Ren were never too close, as Kaneki was always dragged off to training sessions and private tutoring.


    As the successor of the family, Kaneki was always busy studying and training to meet the higher expectations placed on him, so he barely ever saw Ren.


    By the time Kaneki finished all his studies, Ren had already been dismissed and disowned by the family.


    However, the younger Kaneki might have felt some grief seeing his brother treated so poorly, but the new Kaneki was different.


    Shaped by the lessons of his father and taught to be cruel and unforgiving for the sake of being his successor, Kaneki simply went on with his life with a shrug after hearing the news.


    Not upset at Kaneki''s disregard for his brother, Kazuki simply sighed and picked up a plate of food from a waitress who was passing by.


    Before returning his gaze to the jumbotron, Kazuki asked one last question.


    "Oh... and when is your father coming by?"


    ...


    ...


    ...


    "GO"


    "THE MAP SAYS WE''RE ALMOST THERE."


    "KEEP RUNNING."


    "THIS IS FOR EVERY NORMAL STUDENT WHO WASN''T LUCKY ENOUGH TO GET SOME OVERPOWERED ABILITY!"


    "PREPARE FOR BATTLE!"

 Chapter 220: Chapter 220:Closing In [4]

    Emerging from the forest were over a hundred students, some equipped with weapons that were broken or shabby and others simply just using their fists.


    Dressed in their academy uniform and running under the setting sky, the students seemed to be an actual army.


    And their commander?


    None.


    The group of students seemed to be without any order or direction as loud, contradicting screams could be heard, and there was no leader at the front.


    Rather, all the students were...rushing to the back instead of the front.


    "Hey dude... let''s go to the back."


    "Yeah, let them weaken the top-ranked students, then we can sweep in and get the kill."


    "FREE ELO!"


    Thus, the speed at which the students rapidly decreased as the students at the front kept running backward while the students at the back refused to run faster.


    Finally... the group of students came to a halt.


    As loud screams echoed throughout the magic space and things started spiraling out of control as students began to argue about who should be in the front, a loud voice emerged.


    Silencing every other voice, a student, wearing what seemed to be an artifact that resembled a crow on his head, spoke in a tone filled with determination and courage.


    "We''re here...forget about yourselves. Remember, what we''re here for is not to win... but to make sure that the top-ranked students win."


    "TO BE RECOGNIZED, EVEN THOUGH WE MAY BE WEAKER, WE ARE STRONGER AS A TEAM!"


    "TO SHOW WE ARE IMPORTANT TOO!"


    "WE ARE NOT PAWNS TO BE DISCARED JUST BECAUSE OF OUR LOWER STRENGTH...WE ARE PEOPLE TOO!"


    Seeming not to recognize the irony of the prince of the empire saying such things, the students erupted into cheers.


    "WE CAN DO THIS!" sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS BEAT THE TOP RANKERS!"


    "I LOVE YOU ALL!"


    "I''D SACRIFICE MYSELF FOR THIS CAUSE!"


    Bertus, climbing up onto a tree on the outskirts of the forest, stared forward at the vast group of students on the plain just in front of him.


    Illuminating by the orange color of the sky, Bertus seemed almost... divine, and adding onto that, he also purposely made every move he made dramatic, showing his confidence.


    Slowly removing a map from his pocket, Bertus glanced at it before pointing a medieval-looking tower in the distance.


    Looking down at the group of hundred students below him, Bertus yelled out.


    "THEY WILL ARRIVE SOON. IT''S NOW OR NEVER."


    Glancing at the other sides of the forest, Bertus ensured that the other students in the alliance had arrived.


    Around the outskirts of the forest that surrounded the plain where the tower was, countless students could be seen hiding in bushes, out of sight from almost everybody.


    Of course, Bertus was standing on the tree, so he was in an elevated position and could easily see them due to the large number of them hiding.


    Seeing some students begin to tremble as time slowly passes, Bertus doesn''t show any signs of losing confidence and instead exclaims.


    "WHO WILL WIN!?"


    As Bertus''s voice echoed throughout the plains, the students slowly shifted their gazes upward once again.


    "WHO WILL WIN!?"


    Hearing his voice the second time, the students didn''t hesitate to follow their selected leader.


    "WE WILL WIN!"


    "WHO WILL WIN!?"


    "WE WILL WIN!"


    Ending the chant, Bertus clasped his hands together before gracefully jumping off the tree and entering the crowd of students gathered on the plain.


    Making his way through the crowd, Bertus eventually arrived at the front, the place where nobody dared to go out of fear that they would be eliminated first and used as bait.


    Showing his full confidence, Bertus showed no hesitation as he walked forward, leaving the crowd of students behind him.


    Following after him like a pack of wolves followed their leader, the group of students carefully advanced, getting closer and closer to the tower with every second.


    Discarding the map, Bertus snapped his fingers once.


    The next second, a small sword, resembling a rapier but with a longer blade and hilt, appeared in his hand.


    A soul-bound weapon.


    Even the laws and rules of the magic space couldn''t stop soul-bound weapons from reaching their master.


    A weapon that could only be used by one person and was bound to their soul and only theirs.


    And upon death?


    The weapon wouldn''t find a new master.


    It would self-destruct.


    If its master died, the weapon would die along with it.


    There were no transfers of ownership.


    It was a soul-bound weapon till the end.


    They were impossible to craft and make... only available from loot from monsters that were nearly impossible to kill.


    Weighing the exquisite sword in his hand, Bertus recalled the day when his father had gifted both him and his sister their own soul-bound weapons.


    From the moment he touched the sword for the first time, Bertus felt an overwhelming sense of pride.


    Unlike other weapons, soul-bound weapons increased their strength over time.


    Depending on your type of soul-bond weapon, you will receive a milestone, such as killing demonic beasts with the sword, and once you complete that milestone, your sword will be automatically upgraded.


    What is the reason why soul-bound weapons are so valued and desired?


    There is no limit to their milestones.


    Soul-bound weapons have no power ceiling.


    They can be upgraded an infinite amount of times as long as you keep reaching the sword''s milestones.


    Stopping a couple of meters away from the tower, Bertus smiled before raising his sword, allowing the blue tassel attached to its hilt to sway in the wind.


    Win or lose this battle... Bertus had already accomplished his goal.


    The entire student body was on his side.


    Even now, they were looking at him from behind with gazes of admiration and reverence.


    Seeing the purple color of the closing boundaries slowly approaching them from a distance, Bertus gestured to the students behind him.


    "It''s time."


    Within a couple of seconds, seven figures could be seen, each walking toward the crowd of students with no fear.

 Chapter 221: Chapter 221:Closing In [5]

    With his sword resting in his scabbard, which was dangling from his waist and almost touching the ground, Liam raised his hand.


    Taking a step forward, Liam distanced himself from the rest of the main cast before turning around to face them.


    Lily may have been the strategist and plan maker with her extensive knowledge... but on the battlefield, Liam was the undisputed leader.


    Even Kevin had learned to accept it... although he did still occasionally challenge LIam for a spar to claim the spot of leader.


    Slowly unsheathing his sword, LIam weighed the broadsword he had obtained from an early chest in his hands. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In contrast to the weapons held by Zach, Kevin, and Alya, Liam''s was by far the worst as the metal had already started to rust.


    The hilt''s material was rough, causing bumps to appear on Liam''s hands as he tightened his grip around the sword.


    On the other hand, Kevin''s broadsword seemed to be almost brand new, and it even had a basic ability known as a firewall.


    Every minute, Kevin could swing his sword, creating a wall of flames that separated him from his opponents.


    Zach''s battle axe also had an ability known as "rage," where Kevin''s strength stat would increase by two sub-ranks for a minute when he used it.


    Alya''s rapier had a similar ability to Zach, but instead of increasing her strength, the rapier would increase Alya''s speed by two-substations for a minute.


    Combined with the fact that the weight of a rapier was significantly less than a broadsword and battle axe, Alya was by far the fastest in the group, living up to her mother''s title as the fastest being in the entire world.


    Even the wands held by Ruby, Lily, and Irene had some special abilities, such as reduced mana consumption or increased output of certain elemental spells.


    In comparison, Liam''s sword was just a plain, regular old iron sword with no abilities or special quirks.


    That was because it did not matter what sword Liam used.


    The true power was vested not in the sword, a vessel of power, but in Liam himself.


    Raising his sword upward, Liam allowed it to shine as the orange sky seemed to beam down on it and only it.


    The next second, Liam''s sword was no longer visible.


    Then, before anyone could react, Liam''s sword burst into flames before they eventually descended.


    The rusty, old iron sword Liam''s had quite literally transformed.


    All that could be seen was the bumpy hilt of the sword, and above that, a divine blue color formed around the blade, preventing the rusty sword from being seen.


    While everyone else had been massively nerfed, losing the main weapons that they centered their battle style around, Liam had almost been buffed.


    Staring at the descending sun above, Liam started to rush as he pointed his sword forward before breaking out into a sprint.


    Using his movement ability, gliding steps, Liam appeared to run on the air, increasing his pace even further.


    Behind him, Kevin, Alya, and Zach swiftly followed, barely keeping up with Liam, while the wand users stayed a bit farther back.


    As a looming tower came into sight, Lily screamed out from behind the pack.


    "THEY SHOULD BE HERE."


    After capturing a student who was attempting to run to the center to meet up with the alliance, Lily discovered a major change from the book.


    There was now a leader of the alliance.


    The prince, Bertus, had opted to compete in the battle royale instead of bowing out like in the book.


    In other words, the main cast couldn''t simply walk around, waiting for the alliance to fall apart as arguments ensued.


    With a leader, the alliance was now an entity capable of rivaling the main cast if they used their large numbers to their advantage and worked as a team.


    Staring at a map in her hands that she obtained from using her compass to track Bertus, Liam screamed out.


    "FIRE!"


    In unison, three beams of light appeared from behind Liam, from the wands of each of the girls.


    The first beam, colored an ocean blue, shot forward faster than the pace at which was Liam was moving


    *BANG*


    The top of the water beam was a light orange due to the sky above while the bottom remained a dark-blue, creating an interesting mix of colors.


    The two colors, in harmony, charged forward, advancing nearer and nearer to the looming tower in the distance


    Like a bullet going through a person, the ocean blue pierced the massive tower, creating a massive hole.


    Acting like it was nothing, the beam continued forward and forward, not allowing anything to slow its pace.


    In contrast, two red beams, one light-red and one dark-red, appeared from the sides of the ocean-blue beam.


    However, these beams did not pierce the tower.


    Just as the two beams were about to hit the tower, Ruby and Irene suddenly jumped to the right, causing the beams to curve around the tower.


    In between the ocean-blue beam was light-red beam was Liam with his light-blue sword, and between the ocean-blue beam and dark-red beam on the other side was Zach, Alya, and Kevin.


    Fully trusting in his teamate''s control over the beams, Liam charged forward, ignoring the fact that if the any of the beams slightly moved, he would be eliminate from loss of health.


    As the Liam, Alya, Kevin, and Zach reached the tower, the beams disappeared, revealing the horde of students on other side.


    Their formation was a mess from the beams, and utter chaos was ensuing due to the massive amount of eliminations caused by the magic beams.


    Wasting no time, Liam gestured for his teammates to move forward while he stayed back at the tower.


    Finally, after a couple of seconds, Liam spotted his target.


    Hidden amongst the horde of students was a particularly student with a crown sitting on his golden-blonde hair.


    Noticing Liam''s penetrating gaze, the student turned around, making eye contact with his light-blue eyes.

 Chapter 222: Chapter 222:All-Out-War [1]

    On Earth, instead of taking down whole countries when at war, the strategy was always to simply take down the leader.


    Destroying whole armies and millions of people because of the war was unjustifiable as many citizens and innocents would be involved, and it would take too long of a time to find everyone.


    Thus, countries simply opted to take the leaders.


    Instead of engaging in full-scale wars with entire countries harboring enemies, countries aimed to take out the leader most of the time.


    This entire group of students was like a chicken, and Bertus, the leader of the alliance, was the head.


    Sure, a chicken can survive for around a minute after its head is cut off.... but what happens after that?


    It dies.


    Liam knew this better than anyone else.


    Growing up in the slums, Liam saw countless leaders killed and replaced during his time... yet the other members of gangs were left unharmed.


    They blindly followed their leader.


    And what happened when there was no leader?


    The scramble for a new leader would come, causing massive internal wars and disputes.


    Continuing to make eye contact with the prince and leader of the alliance, Bertus and Liam smiled, simply waiting for his movement ability to cool down and reset.


    In front of him, he could Alya manifesting countless icicles while simaltenously attacking with her small and short rapier.


    Zach seemed to wear a guilty face and was opening his mouth to say "sorry..." every time he swung his axe.


    Finally, Kevin seemed to be in his natural habitat as a dark-red aura surrounded him as he eliminated student after student.


    Just when the students finally got over their nerves and decided to group up and fight against Kevin, a flame wall would appear, instantly destroying their formation.


    There was actually no reason for the main cast to participate in this battle royale.


    They could be placed last and still be bombarded by recruiters.


    That''s why the other students believed it to be so unfair and that the main cast was a bunch of selfish bastards.


    In reality, what the students failed to realize is that if the main cast did what they wanted them to do and eliminated themselves... none of the important recruiters would be watching anymore.


    By staying in the battle royale, the main cast was actually giving the group of students more exposure as more recruiters would be inclined to watch!


    However, there was another reason why the main cast was participating in the battle royale instead of leaving.


    Having the vouch of the student council president, Astrid, wasn''t enough to garner the full trust and participation of the principal.


    And it just so happened that the principal was hosting a battle royale, which she needed to make entertaining in order to please the school executives.


    Thus, a deal was made.


    If any member of the main cast placed first in the battle royale, the principal would agree to help.


    It was quite ironic.


    The whole point of the main cast''s mission was to protect the school''s vault, yet the principal of that very same school was asking for payment from the main cast.


    But, in a way, it wasn''t.


    That was because of a very important reward that the principal of the school was giving alongside her participation, which she was planning on doing anyway.


    They would get one choice of item from the principal''s vault.


    In other words, it was a very roundabout way for the principal to reward the main cast for their efforts, and she also got some benefits at the same time.


    What items could be important was that they had to be personally guarded by the top academy in the human realm and the principal?


    To be fair to the principal, she already believed that the main cast would place first without a doubt, so it wasn''t an unfair deal.


    Raising his light-blue sword, Liam charged forward, running on the air and increasing his elevation with every step.


    Bertus pulled out his sword before moving to an area where fewer of the students were crowded, preventing student casualties from their fight.


    Sure, Bertus had accomplished his goal and earned the admiration of the students... but as the prince, he also hated losing.


    Arriving at his required elevation in the air, Liam used his Sky Plunge attack, barreling downward at Bertus with his sword ahead of him and facing downward as well.


    Jumping to the side, Bertus narrowly avoided his attack, quickly adjusting his grip on the sword.


    *BANG*


    Expecting the dodge, Liam paused his plunge mid-way, activating his movement ability to reposition himself right above Bertus.


    Then, falling head-first, Liam plunged his sword downwards, right at Bertus''s head.


    *BANG* S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Barely managing to parry the attack, Bertus held his sword slanted right above his sword, narrowly preventing the tip of Liam''s sword from piercing his head.


    Disengaging, Liam jumped backward, using his movement ability to gracefully fall to the ground.


    Bertus, dusting himself off, ignored Liam and instead placed one hand in his pocket before removing something.


    Then, a moment later, Bertus threw the ball-shaped object from his pocket into the air.


    *CRASH*


    *DRIP~DROP*


    *CRASH*


    *DRIP~DROP*


    The next second, the clear orange sky was nowhere to be seen, instead replaced by countless grey clouds.


    Bullets of water streamed down from the sky, accompanied by lightning strikes that targeted everyone on the plain indiscriminately.


    "...a weather ball."


    Having heard of the item before from Lily, Liam curiously stared at Bertus, wondering why he had chosen rain out of all things.


    Raising his sword to the sky, Bertus grinned.


    "You know... the center always has the best loot."


    Bertus, whose specialty was known to be electric magic, suddenly swung his sword forward.


    From the tip of Bertus''s sword emerged a beam of pure yellow electricity, amplified by the downpour of water.


    Not waiting any longer, Liam charged forward, making sure not to lose his footing in the mud that formed below him.

 Chapter 223: Chapter 223:All-Out-War [2]

    However, just as Liam reached Bertus, the electricity suddenly surged backward into Bertus before covering his entire figure.


    Then, a surge of electricity erupted from Bertus''s body, throwing Liam backward and leaving countless burn marks on his body. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Landing on his feet, Liam stared at Bertus, whose entire body was surrounded by a yellow color that seemed to sparkle.


    "...infinite elemental reactions."


    The rain and electricity made by Bertus constantly made elemental reactions at every moment... so if Liam even got close, he would be overwhelmed and be thrown back.


    Electricity was unlike fire and other elements.


    A fire spell would require a water spell or another similar spell to react; however, electricity was different.


    Electricity was already in its pure form, just like fire''s pure form was lava, so it was able to react with... nature itself.


    Therefore, the electricity coursing out of Bertus''s body was able to react to the natural rain above despite it not being a spell.


    That also meant that Liam could not use elemental reactions as his spells couldn''t use the natural rain, as they required another spell to react.


    The constant outpour of water from the sky combined with the constant output of electricity from Bertus seemed... unstoppable.


    As long as Bertus had mana, electricity would keep surging out and causing infinite elemental reactions with the rain.


    The ground under Bertus seemed to quake and shake as the electricity surrounding Bertus''s feet combined with the water droplets, creating multiple elemental reactions.


    It was to the point where Bertus''s physical body couldn''t even see; only the current of electricity surrounding his body could be seen.


    Even that was impossible to look at since every time the electricity made an elemental reaction with rain, a bright light would appear, blinding whoever was looking at Bertus.


    Covering his eyes and looking away from Bertus, Liam smiled.


    Bertus''s strategy should have completely countered Liam, as with the elemental reactions, Liam was unable to get close to Bertus.


    And as Liam was a sword user, his primary form of attack was close-combat.


    As Bertus made a rapid dash towards Liam, electric sparks flew off his body, and bright lights blinding everyone in the vicinity appeared from the elemental reactions.


    Looking away from Bertus to prevent being blinded, Liam sighed before muttering.


    "well... I guess I have to thank that bastard."


    Fortunately, Liam was already prepared for a situation like this... not because of Bertus but because of a very particular green parrot using person.


    As Bertus''s blitzing electric figure got closer and closer, Liam took a deep breath in before exhaling.


    At that moment, the light-blue hue surrounding Liam''s sword started moving, covering the hilt of his sword before flooding onto his hand.


    The light-blue hue flowed through Liam''s body before finally reaching his face.


    Just as Bertus approached Liam, the hue suddenly shifted one last time upward, creating a mask that perfectly covered Liam''s eyes.


    Turning back around, Liam met Bertus directly, not bothered at all by the constant bright lights flashing from the elemental reactions.


    Bertus, swinging his sword forward at Liam, allowed the electricity to flow off his sword, making it seem bigger than it actually was.


    Liam, looking at the incoming sword slash, raised his own light-blue sword to parry the attack.


    However, instead of aiming for the base of Bertus''s electric sword, Liam aimed for the tip of the electric sword.


    Liam did this as if he blocked the tip or the weakest part of the sword, he would be able to pull his sword away faster and disengage, preventing himself from being harmed by the electrical explosions occurring around Bertus.


    Smiling upon seeing the movement of Liam''s sword, Bertus watched as Liam''s sword simply passed straight through the electricity.


    Not feeling the pressure of his sword hitting another, Liam immediately felt something was wrong... but it was too late.


    As Liam''s sword passed the electric sword, Bertus immediately lowered his sword before thrusting it forward at Liam.


    Liam was able to block the physical sword, but the same could not be said about the electricity.


    At the very tip of Bertus''s electric sword, a water drop fell, causing one single elemental reaction.


    *BOOM*


    Flying backward, Liam landed on the ground, rolling around in the mud with a hole in his shirt, revealing a black wound on his stomach.


    Seeing Liam on the ground, Bertus did not hesitate.


    Weren''t princes and royal families supposed to have pride?


    Why was he attacking when Liam was clearly defenseless on the ground?


    There was no pride in battle.


    It was kill or be killed.


    Bertus knew that he was only winning right now because of the gear he obtained from the center and this was his battleground.


    However, once Liam adjusted... things could be very different.


    *SPLISH~SPLASH*


    *SPLISH~SPLASH*


    Lying down in the mud, feeling the raindrops hit his face with every fleeting second, Liam dropped his sword.


    "...haven''t I already been here once..?"


    Recalling the memory of the carriage battle as he had been utterly defeated, Liam tried to lift himself up.


    "Liam, your greatest power is your perseverance!"


    "Liam, you never give up; that''s why you''re strong!"


    "Even after a loss, you won''t be disheartened; you''ll just train harder!"


    Shaking his head, a creepy grin appeared on Liam''s face.


    Working Harder?


    Perseverance?


    Not Giving Up?


    Who cares about those things.


    All this time, Liam had been fine with losing fights.


    His mindset was that if he lost, it would be a good thing.


    It meant that he had a reason to train and work harder to surpass that person.


    No...he was just a loser.


    That''s all it was.


    At some point, subconsciously, he had been alright, maybe even happy, with losing.


    Whether it was losing at sparring with stronger opponents like his teachers or not getting the top grade on an exam, Liam had never cared.


    For him, it was just another reason to work harder and become stronger.


    A loser''s mindset.

 Chapter 224: Chapter 224:All-Out-War [3]

    Accepting loss before even starting.


    A loser''s mindset.


    Maybe it was during his first real loss with Ren that he realized... or maybe even earlier.


    Looking up at the incoming Bertus and his electric sword, Liam realized something.


    He didn''t want to lose.


    He never wanted to lose again.


    "Losing makes you stronger!"


    No, it doesn''t.


    The words are right... but the mindset that comes with those words is wrong.


    Sure, if you lose, you''re bound to get stronger as you''ll realize what you did wrong and improve on those things.


    But by saying those words, you''re already accepting the fact that losing is a possibility.


    If you''ve done that, you''ve already lost.


    In this hopeless situation, with his clothes tattered and all muddy, facing inevitable defeat by an electric sword, Liam said one thing.


    "I guess I''ll win."


    It was easy to say that... but it was hard to carry it out.


    Not caring for the state of his clothes anymore, Liam immediately rolled to the right, using the mud to gather momentum.


    Just as Liam rolled, Bertus''s lightning sword struck Liam''s previous spot, missing Liam barely and stabbing him into the mud.


    Using the moment to stand up, Liam glanced at Bertus''s sword... which was starting to lose some of its electric power.


    Not wasting more time, Bertus struggled for a second before yanking his sword out of the mud and pointing it at Liam.


    However, as Liam gazed at the electric sword, now partially covered by mud, he noticed something interesting.


    Mud is an insulator.


    Electric currents cannot pass through mud, which is a barrier to electricity.


    And proving that logic, the spots of Bertus''s electricity covered by mud were visible instead of being covered by the electric current like every other part of the sword. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Not having his sword as he had dropped it earlier, Liam alternated gazes between his two dirty hands and the mud below.


    At the same time, Bertus charged at Liam with his sword, causing bright lights to appear as she and blind nearby students.


    Still having his light-blue mask on, Liam paid no attention to the flashing lights and instead leaned down.


    In the face of Bertus''s daunting charge, Liam threw his hands at the mud, covering them completely with the disgusting substance.


    Not paying any attention to the electricity sword, Liam pretended to slip, falling back-first onto the mud below.


    However, instead of simply getting back up and dodging the incoming attack, Liam rolled around in the mud like a pre-schooler.


    As his white clothes and academy uniform gradually turned brown as a result of the mud, Liam finally looked up.


    Right in front of him stood the fearless Bertus, his electric sword already swinging straight down at Liam''s head.


    Instead of rolling away like last time, Liam simply raised his hand, acting as if it were a sword and attempting to use it to parry the electric sword.


    As the electric sword neared Liam''s completely muddy hand, Liam suddenly moved his hand forward.


    Passing right through the electricity current surrounding the sword like it was nothing, Liam grasped Bertus''s physical sword.


    Feeling the metal of the sword hit his hand, Liam flinched, feeling a stinging sensation as blood began to flow out.


    However, his goal had been achieved.


    With his muddy hand on the sword, Liam did not hesitate a moment before using all his awakened strength to yank the sword.


    Bertus, surprised by the sudden change of events, could not do anything as his sword slowly fell out of his grasp.


    After all, Bertus was a D-rank, while Liam was a C-rank, so their basic and non-boosted strength couldn''t compare.


    As the sword fell to the muddly floor, the electric current surrounding it disappeared, leaving the normal metal blade on the muddy floor.


    If it could even be called that... considering it was completely brown and blended in with the mud.


    Ignoring the stinging sensation, Liam jumped upwards before tackling the motionless Bertus, who was still surrounded by an electric current, and dragged him to the floor.


    As Bertus became increasingly muddy, both from Liam''s clothes and the floor below him, the electric current surrounding him also disappeared, revealing his physical body.


    Thus, the scene of the two students, one the top-ranked out of all the first-years and the other the prince of the entire empire, completely covered in mud and on the floor, was revealed.


    As the two furiously fought for control, wrestling and rolling around on the dirty mud ground, Liam finally gained the advantage with his greater power from his higher rank.


    Sitting on top of Bertus''s body, Liam gasped for air while Bertus did the same, panting and exhausted.


    Dragging over his sword, which was nearby, Liam made sure Bertus remained completely still.


    Gripping the hilt of his sword, which was also covered by mud and colored brown, Liam managed to gasp out.


    "Winning is pretty fun, you know. I don''t think I''ll ever lose again."


    Looking at Liam like a madman, Bertus pointed at a nearby drone, which had captured their entire muddy brawl.


    "Was it worth it? Seriously?"


    Their entire bodies were covered in mud, and their hair, clothes, and faces were colored brown.


    Feeling a bit of mud enter his mouth, Bertus hissed before giving up on escaping and staring at Liam.


    Bertus could already imagine the headlines.


    "PRINCE FIGHTS IN MUD WITH FELLOW CLASSMATE!"


    "PRINCE COVERED IN MUD DURING SCHOOL!"


    All the admiration he had gained during the battle royale could be gone, depending on how his classmates perceived it!


    Paying no attention to the drone, Liam stabbed the sword downwards, piercing right through Bertus''s heart.


    The next second, Liam was no longer on Bertus''s body but instead back on the muddy ground.


    Groaning, Liam removed the light-blue mask from his eyes before standing back up.


    Beside his eyes and the small area around them, the rest of him was covered by mud, making Liam practically unrecognizable.


    Looking around the battlefield, Liam realized that besides a few stragglers, it was completely empty.

 Chapter 225: Chapter 225:All-Out-War [4]

    As mud dripped from every part of his body, Liam slowly moved through the battlegrounds before finally finding someone recognizable.


    Right in front of him, Liam could see Kevin with his red broadsword, eliminating the last few students.


    His iron sword, covered by a dark red hue, stood in contrast to the ocean-blue falling raindrops, making him visible to everyone on the battlefield.


    Yet, no matter how many students grouped and tried to fight, Kevin''s sword slashes inevitably took them down.


    Even without any spells or magic, Kevin''s pure skill with the broadsword allowed him to weave in between the various attacks and spells thrown at him while simultaneously counterattacking.


    It was a masterclass.


    Kevin did not have a single stat like Alya''s speed that was above the rest; all his stats were practically the same.


    However, what set Kevin apart from the rest was his sword art.


    Crimson Fang.


    Standing still, allowing much rain to drench his muddy body, Liam watched in awe as Kevin activated his latest move from his sword art.


    Red Reaver.


    The red hue surrounding Kevin''s sword expanded and grew massively.


    Just like how Bertus''s electric sword earlier, Kevin''s physical sword was no longer visible.


    The red hue grew and grew further and further away from the tip of his sword with every student Kevin elimanted before it finally reached its max.


    The red hue, now stretching far above Kevin''s sword, made it seem like Kevin was not holding a sword anymore but a really longer spear.


    Then, as the last few students recklessly approached Kevin, he swung the massive sword down, the red hue following.


    *CRASH*


    Instead of hitting the students, Kevin''s sword swung into the muddy ground.


    Just as the sword hit the ground, the red hue surrounding it burst out, surging to the ground.


    The muddy ground was now shining a bright red as the red hue flooded out of Kevin''s sword, which was embedded in the mud, and towards the students.


    Seeing this, the students attempted to dodge, but like an assassin, the red hue followed them with no mercy.


    As the ground under the group of students started glowing a dark red, Kevin yanked his sword out of the mud.


    Then, with his sword pointing at the students, Kevin muttered.


    "Cleave."


    *BANG*


    The next second, the red hue exploded from the ground under the students, surrounding them.


    And before the students could react or dodge, the red hue had already enveloped their bodies.


    Swirling around the students'' bodies, the red hue immobilized them while also stealing their health with every passing moment.


    In just a few seconds, the group of close to fifteen students had all been eliminated.


    As Kevin eliminated the final students, solely using his pure swordsmanship and no abilities, he suddenly turned around and saw Liam''s muddy figure behind him.


    Without skipping a beat, Kevin snarled before gripping his red broadsword and sprinting towards Liam.


    "YOU THINK SNEAKING UP ON ME WILL WORK!?"


    "..."


    Too exhausted by the fight with Bertus earlier to dodge or fight back, Liam could only wave his hands up and down before screaming.


    "ITS ME, LIAM. IT''S ME. STOP, PLEASE KEVIN!"


    Stopping a few meters away from Liam''s muddy figure, Kevin pointed his sword forward with a confused expression.


    "...you''re who...?"


    Raising his hands up to show he had no weapons, Liam stammered out.


    "It''s me, Liam. Alright?"


    "...what happened?"


    Shaking his head, Liam walked up to Kevin and grabbed one of the potions he was holding.


    Drinking the health potion, Liam replied.


    "I won, alright?"


    "...but your clothes, your face, yo-"


    "Come here."


    "NO, STOP. NO!"


    Kevin, also exhausted from the countless fights, could only watch as Liam leaned down and used his hand to make a snowball made of mud.


    Raising his hand with the muddy snowball, Liam was about to launch it at Kevin when an angry voice rang out from behind him.


    However, before Liam could reach the confused Kevin, a voice rang out from behind them.


    "...And what the hell is going on over here!?"


    Kevin, seeing Liam stop for a second mid-throw because of the voice, immediately ducked downwards.


    Then, as the muddy snowball was released from Liam''s hand, Kevin was able to narrowly dodge, watching the snowball fly right above him.


    Seeing Kevin duck, Liam immediately looked ahead and saw another figure right behind Kevin''s ducking figure.


    "WATCH OUT!"


    But it was too late.


    Alya, who had been walking over to Kevin, was oblivious as a muddy snowball came flying at her, pelting her right in the face.


    Just as the muddy snowball pelted Alya in the face, Lily appeared next to Irene and Ruby before saying,


    "I think that''s... everyone here."


    As the three girls approached Kevin and Liam, Lily alternated gazes between Liam, Kevin, and the disgusted Alya for a moment.


    Sighing, Lily took out her wand before gesturing for Alya to come over. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Here. Alya, I''ll get it off."


    "..."


    Pointing to Liam, Lily said the silent and disgruntled Elven princess.


    "Can you stand next to him?"


    After Alya and Liam were standing side by side, Lily took out her wand and cast another water beam aimed at both of them.


    As the water washed over the two of them, everyone else looked away in disgust... except Kevin.


    "MAKE SURE THE DRONE IS GETTING THIS SHIT!"


    Alya, having only her face muddied, stepped away after a moment while Liam simply stood there, allowing the water to hit every point of his body.


    Gritting his teeth, Liam stared at Kevin, who was frantically trying to make sure every drone in the area was looking at him.


    "That...he''ll pay."


    As Liam got the last bit of mud off him with the water and Lily put her wand down, a sudden loud voice sounded from the top of the stadium.


    *TEN STUDENTS REMAINING*


    *THERE ARE TEN STUDENTS REMAINING*


    Curiously, Ruby asked in the awkward silence.


    "So...now what?"


    Patting her friend on the back, Irene said.


    "Well... only one of us can and needs to win."

 Chapter 226: Chapter 226:Finale [1]

    In the end, there could only be one winner.


    Usually, this would be the time in the movie when everyone would begin to turn on each other.


    Since there were seven of them, and only one could be the winner, something had to be done.


    And in most cases, this would be where a betrayal or internal fighting would take place.


    However, as the members of the main cast glanced at each other, there were no signs of distrust or betrayal. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Only... confusion.


    Liam, trying to regain some of his former dignity, was simply staring off into the distance dramatically, trying to show he did not care in the slightest.


    On the other hand, Kevin finally managed to stop laughing and stared at Alya, trying to think of a way to apologize.


    After all, it was his fault that the snowball had hit Alya.


    If he had taken the hit instead of dodging it, she would have been completely fine.


    Ruby, pleasantly surprised at the fact that no one was considering betraying each other for the win, curiously looked around.


    Alya was simply staring at her drenched clothes with an indecipherable expression, her rapier resting in her sheath.


    Zach was rummaging through the items that they had gathered while looting the chest, trying to find a tissue or towel to dry both Liam and Alya.


    And finally, Irene was playing with her wand, spinning it like a pencil, without a care in the world.


    As silence descended after Irene''s remark, Lily fidgeted for a couple of seconds before finally asking.


    "...well, does anyone want to win?"


    "..."


    In all reality, it didn''t matter to any of them who won, as all of them had a hundred percent chance of being recruited.


    As long as one of them wins, fulfilling the principal''s deal, they will be fine.


    What they didn''t know was that the principal was already satisfied and ready to give them the item, no matter if they won or lost.


    After witnessing the fights that took place a couple of minutes ago, especially between Liam and Bertus, she had been pleasantly entertained.


    And if she, a top-ranker was entertained, it was easy to say that the rest of the recruiters and school administrative were.


    Liam couldn''t lie; he did feel an urge to raise his hand and win the battle royale.


    But would this really count as a win?


    This was more like... charity.


    And Liam didn''t need any free handouts!


    Seeing no one was raising her hand at her question, Lily sighed before asking once again.


    "Does anyone... want to nominate another person to be the winner?"


    "..."


    Ruby and Irene alternated glances while Lily stared at Liam, and Kevin just stared at Alya, who had regained her composure and was now paying attention.


    And finally... Zach seemed like a bobbly head as he desperately tried to glance at every member of the main cast, showing that he wanted to... nominate all of them!


    Having already predicted something like this, Lily sighed before asking once again, breaking the awkward atmosphere.


    "Why don''t we let luck decide?"


    Pretending to act nonchalant, Liam stared at the tower, which had a gigantic hole in it, before asking in an emotionless tone.


    "And how do you suggest we do that?"


    Trying his best to hold in his laughter at Liam''s act, Kevin snorted before also curiously turning to Lily.


    Thinking for a moment, Lily stared at the seven of her teammates before replying.


    "Why don''t we... we play... rock paper scissors!"


    "..."


    Ignoring the confused expressions of her teammates, Lily urged them to huddle up around her.


    Once everyone was paying attention, Lily formed a scissor, rock, and paper with her hand one after one before explaining.


    "Scissors beats paper. Paper beats rock, and finally, rock beats scissors?"


    Making a fist with one of her hands and laying out a hand with the other, Lily moved her fist down, hitting the paper before saying.


    "Do this motion three times; then you make with your hands the choice of rock, paper, or scissors that you want."


    Being the smartest students in the academy, the main cast easily understood the instructions of the game within a couple of minutes.


    Finally, all seven of them turned to face each other before making the same fist with one hand and laid out hand with the other as Lily.


    "3"


    "2"


    "1"


    "ROCK!"


    "PAPER!"


    ...


    In the first round, Ruby lost as she was the only person to form scissors out of everyone.


    Stepping out of the huddle without any complaints, Ruby watched the second and third rounds take place.


    During the second round, both Kevin and Irene were taken out as they were the only ones to form paper, while everyone formed scissors.


    And, finally, during the third round, Alya and Lily were taken out as they both formed rock while Liam and Kevin made paper.


    Thus, in the last round, Kevin and Liam stood face-to-face, staring at each other with fierce expressions.


    Sighing, Liam said.


    "You do know... this is a game of luck, and the results really don''t c-"


    "I''ll win anyway."


    Shaking his head, Liam smiled.


    He cared just about the outcome of the game as Kevin, despite his last words.


    Liam was simply trying to lower Kevin''s confidence, but seeing that it didn''t work, he changed into his true self.


    "Nah, I''d win."


    "3"


    "2"


    "1"


    "ROCK"


    "PAPER"


    Shifting his gaze from Kevin''s hand to his face, Liam smiled and shrugged his shoulders.


    "What''d I say? I told you that I would win."


    Then, acting as if it didn''t matter to him in the slightest, Liam simply walked out, leaving the furious Kevin behind.


    However, stopping Liam from walking away, Lily sighed and said.


    "We still have to figure out how to do this."


    From the sidelines, Ruby seemed to recall something as the words, "THERE ARE TEN STUDENTS REMAINING" echoed through her head.


    Smiling, Ruby shrugged her shoulders and asked.


    "Should all of us just eliminate ourselves besides Liam?"


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Back down in the tunnel, below the surface of the magic space, Han and Jin asked.


    "REN, WHY ARE WE GOING BACK TO THE TOWER!? WE''RE GOING TOWARD THE CLOSING BARRIERS NOT AWAY!"

 Chapter 227: Chapter 227:Finale [2]

    Raising my hand, I gestured for the two boys to be quiet before stopping right at the beginning of the tunnel.


    Right above me, I could see the initial hole we had created right under the tower to enter the tunnel.


    After all the sound of footsteps had disappeared, I knew that there would be no more students left at the center.


    So, Han, Jin, and I ran backward, following the sound of the footsteps to the area where the battle would take place.


    The three of us needed to swoop in when everyone was weak so that we were able to claim a top-ten place.


    However, a sudden announcement from the center of the magic space surprised me, throwing off my entire plan.


    *ATTENTION*


    *ATTENTION*


    *THERE ARE NOW TEN STUDENTS REMAINING*


    *ATTENTION*


    *THERE ARE NOW TEN STUDENTS REMAINING*


    ...the seven of them had taken out the entire four hundred students themselves, without any of the main cast being eliminated?


    Even I expected that there would be some casualties, with maybe even Zach being eliminated... but in the end, they had managed to defeat the entirety of Bertus''s army.


    Initially, I had planned to go above ground with Han and Jin and take care of any stragglers that were remaining.


    The kills would bring some further recognition to Han and Jin, and we wouldn''t seem like a bunch of spawn campers hiding underground.


    Yet... it was far too late for that now.


    We had accomplished our main goal... so I wasn''t angry at the change in events.


    Rather, I was surprised at the main cast''s powers.


    I didn''t even think I could come close to singlehandedly wiping out over four hundred students.


    Maybe a hundred, but after that, my mana would probably start to run low, and I would get overwhelmed.


    Guess... the power of teamwork is real!?


    Well, it wasn''t a fair comparison as they had seven people while I was solo, but still, those seven defeating over four hundred students was still quite the accomplishment.


    As the sound of the announcement echoed throughout, even reaching us in the underground tunnel, Han and Jin jumped up and down in happiness.


    "WE DID ITTTTTT!"


    "WE DID ITTTTT, I CAN''T BELIEVE IT! QUEUE THE INSPIRATIONAL MUSIC!"


    Looking at Han and Jin, I shrugged my shoulders and asked.


    "What now?"


    In unison, the two looked at me with confused expressions before raising their hands.


    Jin, facepalm, simply just stared at me while Han finally replied.


    "Ren...WE WIN NOW!"


    "..."


    Ah... they don''t know.


    They don''t know that the other seven people besides us are all the main cast and are all teamed up together.


    They don''t know that we''re absolutely and literally fucked if they so much as see us.


    Looking at the determined and excited expressions, I couldn''t bear to tell them the truth... so I simply kept quiet.


    At the same time, countless footsteps started echoing from the ground above us, signifying the main cast was there.


    Han and Jin, also hearing the footsteps, were about to try to burst through the ground to get some eliminations.


    Stopping them before they could unsheath their sword and pull out their crossbow, I raised my hand and pointed upward.


    Thankfully... I didn''t have to tell them.


    The voices above would.


    As the sound of the footsteps slowly came to a halt, I put my head to the top of the tunnel, attempting to hear every part of their conversation.


    After a couple of seconds of useless chatter... and what sounded like rain? I honestly couldn''t tell if there was still a fight going on because of the cluster of noises.


    Finally, one clear voice emerged from the chaotic sounds around me... a familiar one. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "well...does anyone want to win?"


    ...


    Leaning down, I glanced at Han and Jin, who looked like their entire world had just been shattered.


    Imagine your enemies already discussing who would win when you''re still in...they basically thought of us as nothing!


    And the worst part... you can''t even refute it!


    They were bound to defeat the three of us.


    Maybe if Han, Jin, and I had fought together for a long time, learning how to adjust to each other''s special movement abilities, we could have had a chance.


    But, the main cast had months of experience fighting together and learning how to perfectly integrate all of their ability in a cohesive team fighting style.


    If Han, Jin, and I fought... it would look like a complete mess.


    To be honest, I don''t think the three of us had ever fought together...


    And, since Han and Jin didn''t know the full scope of my abilities, our playstyle would be limited even if we had the experience.


    As silence sounded from Lily''s question, I sighed.


    That idiot, Zach.


    Why had he not volunteered?


    It was a free win...


    What the hell had I spent all that time healing him for!?


    Who cares if it''s a charity win!?


    It''s still a win, regardless!


    Shaking my head, I sighed and watched as Han and Jin crumbled into pieces while our opponents played rock-paper-scissors to decide the winner, acting as if we didn''t exist.


    Seeing Liam decide as the final winner, I put my head down and leaned against the wall, turning to face Han and Jin.


    "Well... as you can see, we have two options no-"


    However, before I could even finish my sentence, Jin''s furious voice sounded from across the cave.


    "We''re beating those dumbasses, no matter what. Alright?"


    His anger was reasonable, but it also caused him to make.. an irrational decision.


    Since I had no qualms with continuing to fight, I stared at Han, who also nodded his head, full of anger.


    Glancing between the furious expressions of my teammates and my hands, I wondered.


    Why don''t I feel mad?


    Han and Jin weren''t the weird ones... I was.


    Our opponents had just acted as if we didn''t exist, pretended like we were air.


    Maybe... I still view this world as a game... a novel.

 Chapter 228: Chapter 228:Finale [3]

    Shaking my head, I quickly dismissed the thought.


    After all I had been through... the pain, the joy, the sadness, and the desperation, I knew this was my new life.


    From risking my life to simply enjoying my life as a student at a magical academy... this was my new world.


    That was a fact I couldn''t deny.


    Going back to Earth...


    I couldn''t deny the fact that the thought always sat in the back of my head, ready to be used at any time.


    However, for now, it bound to stay there, a hidden thought and ideal stuck in the backlog of my brain.


    Of course, the scenario where I would have to make a choice between going back to Earth and staying in this world had popped into my head.


    How could it not?


    If I returned to earth, the fact was I would have left this world in exchange.


    The me at the start of the transmigration, I would have easily said yes, as I couldn''t give less of a shit about the people in this world... or the world itself, for that matter.


    But... now, what would be the answer?


    If I had been told, then I could return to Earth right now, but I have to make a decision in a minute... what would my answer be?


    Sighing, I shook my head.


    "I''ll have an answer when the time comes..."


    To be fair, if someone was given the option of staying in the regular, basic, and old world of Earth and staying in this cool new world filled with magic and other various things, the answer would be easy for a majority of people.


    Leave for the world of magic, where you could quite literally become a wizard, swordsman, and hero.


    You could gain magic powers... leaving behind the autonomous world of Earth.


    Let me phrase it like this...


    Would you rather work a 9-5 on Earth... or gain magic powers in a new and interesting world and become a hero?


    Even millionaires, those with comfortable lives, would probably choose to transmigrate into a world of magic.


    Infinite oppurtinites.


    The answer should be quite easy... but I couldn''t help but hesitate.


    In my defense, I had a valid reason. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    I had spent over sixteen years of my live on Earth, creating memories and building relationships... yet here, I had spent only six months.


    But in those six months I had spent in this world, more things had happened than in the entire sixteen years I had spent on Earth.


    I had never risked my life on Earth.


    I had never skipped class on Earth...


    Messing around with Raven and Zeng, making the autonomous school days fun with Jin and Han, and even having those text-message chats with Ruby every so often.


    I had never... had this much fun on Earth.


    On Earth... realistically, my existence didn''t mean a thing.


    If I died, the planet would keep spinning, and in the grand scheme of things, not a single thing would change or be affected.


    Yet here... I had a purpose, a reason to live.


    I had the power and knowledge to make an impact on this world.


    If I had to give an answer right now...


    It would be this world without a doubt.


    But... who knows, things can change in the blink of an eye.


    Looking at Han and Jin, filled with emotion and ambition to win this battle royale, I smiled.


    "Alright... let''s win."


    Not wasting any more time, I signaled for the three of us to follow me.


    The conversation between them right now would probably be useless information, and the barrier was closing in, so we had to go.


    Heading deeper into the tunnel, the three of us navigated our way back to the center of the magic space through the rocky terrain.


    Glancing at the map, I sighed before handing it to Jin.


    Putting my hand in my pocket, I pulled out the last compass I had gained from looting before sitting down.


    Sitting down criss-cross, I stared at Han and Jin before once again asking.


    "This will be a three versus seven... are you sure you want to w-"


    "YES."


    Nodding my head with satisfaction, I let a grin creep onto my face.


    When I first transmigrated, these boys did not care about a single thing, even studies, and often skipped class.


    Yet now, they were different.


    They were motivated, and not just because of the pressure of their parents.


    The three of us had changed each other.


    Manifesting a corrupted stick, I glanced at the map in Jin''s hand before beginning to carve on the wall.


    Ignoring the confused gazes of my teammates, I quickly made an exact map of the entire magic space on the wall with my stick.


    I even marked the different terrains, such as forests, rivers, volcanos, and mountains.


    Acting like my math teacher, I stood back and used my stick to gesture to various places on the map.


    Pointing to the dead center of the map first, I made a small circle before explaining.


    "We will stay in this tunnel until the barrier closes into this circle."


    Seeming to realize something, Han raised his hand like a student... before quickly lowering it upon seeing Jin break into laughter.


    " *PFFT* Are you going to call him Professor Ren next?"


    Han asked, not paying any mind to Jin''s remark.


    "What if we don''t fight them at all...we can just stay in this tunnel. The barriers will close in... and technically eliminate all of us at the same time, right? Then it would be a tie!"


    Shaking my head, I replied, having already thought of this strategy.


    Unfortunately, being in the barrier did not eliminate you immediately; instead, it slowly decreased your health.


    "Think about it...they must have over a hundred healing potions. They eliminated over four hundred students, so they got all their loot."


    That''s why we couldn''t just camp here in the tunnel until the barriers closed in, covering the entire map.

 Chapter 229: Chapter 229:Finale [4]

    Nodding his head in agreement, Han returned his attention to my drawing of the map.


    On the other hand, Jin simply stared at my map awestruck before slowly asking.


    "Ren... are you an artist or something?"


    In reality, when I copied things down with my eye, I wasn''t actually drawing; rather, I was tracing.


    After memorizing the image of the map in my mind, I simply used my eyes to project it onto the wall and then traced it using my corrupted stick.


    Still... I like to think of myself as an artist...although I was basically a plagiarizer.


    As I nodded my head in response to Jin''s questions, a moment of silence ensued before Jin questioned.


    "Ren...are you a hidden genius or something? Like one of those one-in-a-million prodigies...? Seriously, I think you can become one of those magical artis-"


    "IS THIS THE TIME!?"


    Seeing Jin go silent, I shook my head and replied.


    "To win, we have to be focused; are you sure y-"


    "for the fiftieth time, Ren. I, Jin Senair, want to win. Alright?"


    Nodding my head, I pointed the corrupted stick at the ceiling before saying.


    "That''s why we have to pop out of here at the perfect time."


    "We have to make them think we''re doing Han''s useless strategy, so they let their guard down."


    Tapping my corrupted stick against the ground, I thought for a moment before also adding.


    "I may need to call in a favor... or two as well."


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Back in a room above the magic space, countless recruiters were standing up with their mouths open and staring at a gigantic television screen.


    Even the two alumni of Celestial Academy were sitting upright in their chairs while staring at the jumbotron screen right above them.


    Kaneki was leaning forward, his blood-red fiercely locked on Liam''s figure on the screen, his legs shaking in excitement.


    On the other hand, Kazuki was slightly less relaxed, leaning back in his chair as he passively watched the fight take place.


    Even the principal, Seraphina, and her fellow school administrative had their attentive gazes locked on the screen.


    There was not a single person in the entire recruiter room, consisting of more than a hundred people, not looking at the jumbotron screen. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The other fifty screens in the room displayed the scenes of Kevin, Alya, Lily, Ruby, Irene, and Zach fighting...yet no one was looking.


    All those screens were simply playing... with no viewers.


    If someone walked into the recruiter room right now, they would think that everyone on another screen besides the jumbotron was a prop.


    On the jumbotron screen, the image of Liam''s muddy figure sitting on top of Bertus''s muddy figure could be seen.


    As absolute silence took over the room, Liam''s figure on the screen slowly picked up a sword before stabbing it downwards in a swift and clean motion.


    The next second, Bertus''s body was no longer on the screen, leaving Liam''s muddy figure and sword alone.


    Pictured on the screen was the movie-like scene of Liam kneeling down an a heap of mud with a fierce expression.


    Dropping his sword on the screen, Liam lifted his head up, staring at the sky as the rain finally began to subside.


    "..."


    *CLAP*


    *CLAP*


    "ABSOLUTE CINEMA!"


    "I WAS WRONG...SO WRONG; FORGIVE ME!"


    "I-I CAN''T... WILL I EVER EXPERIENCE A FIGHT LIKE THIS AGAIN!?"


    "M-MY EYES WERE BLESSED TODAY!"


    "I-I DON''T WHAT TO SAY!"


    In a single second, the silence disappeared, replaced by countless people applauding and cheering.


    Some recruiters could even be seen teary-eyed despite knowing that they couldn''t recruit Bertus or Liam in their wildest dreams.


    That was just how good the fight was...


    Smirking, Kaneki leaned back in his seat, before taking out a small notebook and start jotting down some notes.


    Contrastingly, Kazuki started glancing at the other screens, taking note of the screen displaying Kevin''s fight for a second.


    Kevin could be seen overwhelming over ten students alone, displaying his impressive swordsmanship while also demonstrating his battle IQ.


    Yet... Kazuki seemed to be the only one watching as everyone else was jumping up and down while celebrating the feast that had just been served to their eyes.


    In fact, the sound of clapping and celebrating was so loud that almost everyone missed the loud announcement.


    *THERE ARE TEN STUDENTS REMAINING*


    *ATTENTION*


    *THERE ARE TEN STUDENTS REMAINING*


    Ignoring Kaneki, who was adamantly taking notes with a smile, Kazuki immediately glanced at every television in the vicinity.


    "ten people...?"


    Despite the announcement clearly saying ten people were remaining, Kazuki could only see seven on the screens.


    There were over a hundred drones in the magic space... it would be impossible for them to miss three students.


    At the start, it may have been possible, but now that the magic space was less than 75% of its original area, it should be impossible for the over a hundred drones to not know where three students were.


    Unless... those three students had deliberately hidden themself away from the drones.


    Glancing back, Kazuki attempted to see if the school administrative were panicking or nervous as the announcement may have been a mistype or glitch.


    But...nope, they were acting completely normal.


    As the sounds of clapping and cheering disappeared, everyone but Kazuki curiously stared at the television.


    There were seven people left, and there could only be one winner.


    Everyone in the room was curious and interested.


    Would a betrayal take place?


    Would they fight to the death?


    How would they decide the winner amongst themselves?


    Yet, their curiosity soon disappeared as they realized that the group of students was going to play a luck-based game to decide.


    However, the recruiters weren''t disappointed as they still managed to witness the amazing and thrilling fight between Bertus and Liam.


    Kaneki, finished with his notes, glanced at Kazuki with a confused expression.


    "What''s up with you? Even I have to admit, that fight was brilliant. Both of them displayed incredible mastery over their respective weapons and skills."


    Shaking his head, Kazuki replied.


    "Don''t you find it odd?"


    Shrugging his shoulders, Kaneki asked.


    "What''s odd?"


    "That there''s ten students remaining, yet we can only see seven."

 Chapter 230: Chapter 230:Finale [5]

    Stopping for a second, Kankei vaguely recalled the announcement that he had just heard a few seconds prior.


    "Hmm?"


    Confirming Kazuki''s words, Kaneki glanced at every single screen beside the jumbotron one, indeed finding that there were no other students.


    As Kaneki was about to turn around to check exactly what Kazuki had done with the school administration, a second later, Kazuki stopped him and said,


    "It''s not a glitch."


    While Kazuki seemed interested in the missing three students... even more so than he was in the battle from earlier, Kaneki simply shrugged his shoulders.


    "So what? The three missing students are probably just a bunch of campers hiding in some vague place."


    "...still, shouldn''t the drones be able to see them?"


    Shaking his head, Kaneki sighed.


    "I swear, you always get worked up over the weirdest things, Kazuki. Even when you were student council president, you always ignored the bigger issues for smaller ones."


    Not able to refuse Kaneki''s claim, Kazuki leaned back in his chair.


    However, that didn''t mean he calmed down in the slightest.


    Every few seconds, Kazuki would glance at the over thirty screens in the room, trying to find a glimpse of the three missing students.


    Seeing his friend act like an owl, swirling his head to look at every second, Kaneki tapped his chair before getting up.


    Kaneki pointed to the principal and the school administrative group behind them.


    "Look, if you''re so interested, let''s just go ask the principal. She''ll know what''s going on, alright?"


    Still sitting down, Kazuki paused for a moment and replied in a fuming tone.


    "What makes you think she''d tell us? Don''t you remember our days in the student council!? We had to casework without even knowing what the damn case was!"


    Grinning at the sudden throwback to their school days, Kaneki responded.


    "Look, it''s different now. We''re not just some students she can blow off. We''re representing the top knight orders in the real as recruiters."


    Following Kaneki''s lead, Kazuki stood up for a second before heading towards the school administrative section.


    Passing by the security with a nod, Kazuki and Kaneki approached the principal''s desk, drawing the attention of the school administrators.


    Seeing her view of the jumbotron was blocked, Seraphina glanced upwards, seeing the face of two of her former students.


    Smiling, Seraphina asked.


    "Oh? What do we have here...my former student council president and vice president? I must say, I was very disappointed when the two of us didn''t come visit during the school festival this year."


    Matching the principal''s smile, Kaneki replied.


    "Ah, my father and younger sister went, as I was busy... with other things. I did hear that it went splendidly from the two of them, though."


    After examining the expressions of the school administrative one last time, Kazuki answered.


    "Unfortunately, I was unable to make it as well."


    Looking at Kazuki, Seraphina replied.


    "You should have come...your brother, Kevin, is a real talent, you know? Maybe on par with you."


    Pausing momentarily, Seraphina glanced at Kaneki before immediately returning her gaze to the two of them.


    "What seems to be the problem, my dear students?"


    Seeing Kaneki gesture to him, Kazuki sighed before replying.


    "I was wondering...where are the last three students? I can''t seem to see them on any of the screens available."


    "Hmm?"


    Trusting Kazuki''s judgment, Seraphina didn''t glance at the screens for confirmation and instead looked behind her at the school administrative. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    One of the school administrators, in a pure-black suit, stepped forward and answered.


    " *ahem* It seems... our drones aren''t able to locate the three students who are not on the screen. Our drones are currently searching."


    Pausing for a moment, Seraphina, now interested in the subject, replied.


    "Let me know the identity of these students."


    Since they could check for all the students eliminated, it would be quite easy for one of the school administrators to just check which students hadn''t, using the database.


    Nodding their heads, the administrators scurried to the back, leaving Seraphina and her former students alone.


    Left in the awkward silence, Kaneki asked, trying to stall for time until the administrators came back.


    "How is the student council doing nowadays?"


    Smiling, Seraphina replied.


    "Oh, you may know the student council president, Astrid."


    Recalling the name, Kazuki paused and replied.


    "Ah, the first year we invited?"


    As Seraphina nodded her head, she pointed at the seven students on the screen before replying.


    "I believe Kevin, Liam, Lily, and Alya are also on the council."


    As Kaneki nodded his head, Kazuki seemed to pause for a moment, counting in his bead, before eagerly asking.


    "And... who''s the last member?"


    "..."


    "..."


    "...ah, it may have slipped my mind. I do believe it''s a boy from the same class as them, though."


    As the three finished their conversation, the school administrators reappeared, holding three files with them.


    Taking the files from the administrators, Seraphina quickly glossed over each of them, her face growing more and more interested with every passing document.


    Unable to see from behind the desk, Kazuki and Kaneki attempted to lean over the desk and see the files; however, they simply couldn''t.


    Grinning, Seraphina handed the three documents back to the administrators before shifting her gaze to the two waiting boys.


    "Are you sure you two would like to know? It might ruin the great surprise later!"


    In unison, the two boys replied.


    "YES!"


    "hmm... I''ll give two names. I believe it''s ''Jin'' and ''Han.'' "


    Not knowing any of the two names in the slightest, Kaneki glanced at Kazuki, but he also did not know either of the names from anywhere.


    Sighing, Kaneki shook his head and asked.


    "Did we waste all this time for a bunch of randoms?


    Disappointed, Kaneki left the two behind and headed back to his seat, returning his attention to the jumbotron.


    On the other hand, Kazuki patiently waited before once again asking.


    "And the last student remaining?"


    Shaking her head and seeming to think for a moment, Seraphina replied.


    "Ah... I can''t quite remember. I do believe he is a boy from the same class as those two... though."

 Chapter 231: Chapter 231:A Dream [1]

    Realizing that he wasn''t going to get any more information from the principal, Kazuki waved before heading back to his seat.


    Yet, as he stared at the jumbotron, his mind began racing with the possible scenarios.


    For those three students to have escaped both the main cast and the visions of the drones... they couldn''t just be normal.


    Maybe they could be professional hiders or campers... but they weren''t normal, to say the least.


    Also...those three students had to have heard the top ten announcements.


    No doubt, it should have been the three student''s goal to reach the top ten.


    So... why hadn''t they eliminated themselves yet?


    If they had achieved their goal and were happy with the current situation, there would be no reason for them to stay.


    If they had hidden in the first place, they would most definitely know that they had no chance of fighting and beating other students.


    The fact that they were still participating meant one thing...


    They were planning to win or, at least, die, trying.


    It was also possible that they were trying to be eliminated in a "noble" way to impress recruiters... but they had also hidden, showing they had no nobility inside them.


    Shaking his head, Kazuki began intently watching as the border slowly closed, making the magic space smaller and smaller with every fleeting second.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    At this point, the hype surrounding the recruiters in the main cast had transformed into pure boredom as they stared at the magic area, which was now less than 7% of its original area due to the closing boundaries.


    The magic space consisted of a small forest surrounded by an area that was completely flat and plain.


    Exactly where the very center of the map was a large statue that could be seen, depicting the founder of the celestial academy, who was not the same person as the current principal.


    The statue stretched far above the trees nearby with a cloaking hanging from his shoulders that cast a long shadow all the way from the plain center to the surrounding forest.


    In the wand''s right hand was a wand that was glowing a light yellow.


    While this wand may have seemed like a useless decoration, it actually helped the main cast keep a lookout as the small orb on top of the wand, colored a light yellow, illuminated the center area.


    On one screen, the seven members of the main cast could be seen simply walking around the statue with their weapons out and ready for use.


    Since the center of the magic had already been looted and used by the alliance at the start, it seems almost barren.


    Countless chests were left open with various useless items left inside, and there were occasional footsteps indicating human activity.


    However, since the student alliance of over four hundred students had been here recently, the footsteps were still fairly new.


    This meant that the main cast could not distinguish the new footstep marks from the old ones, leaving them anxious every time they passed by a set of footsteps.


    And the other televisions?


    Either empty, displaying the battlefield from the year, which was now closed off by the boundaries, or simply showing the same view as the jumbotron.


    While some people still believed that the main cast were still deciding who the winner would be... some of the more popular knight order recruiters were coming to a similar conclusion as Kazuki.


    "Where are the last three students...?"


    "Can they just end this already!? We know who the winner is."


    Thus, every so often, a recruiter would walk up to the principal and ask the same questions as Kazuki and Kaneki did earlier.


    The constant disruption of people getting up and walking to the principal, combined with the fact that basically nothing was going on in the battle royale, started to anger Kaneki.


    Staring at the large screen, Kaneki angrily said.


    "Can we just end this already? Is this school dragging it or something? I know they need funding... but they can''t be this desperate."


    Kazuki, now considering the possibility that the missing three students were just a bunch of dumbasses and not some genius who were biding their time, sighed as well.


    "Let''s just wait, alright? It''s not like we have anything better to do."


    "Speak for yourself."


    "...? Don''t you want to see if your favorite prospect wins?"


    Shaking his head, Kaneki replied.


    "It doesn''t make a difference at this point...after my father sees the recording from earlier, I''m sure he''ll attempt to recruit Liam."


    Turning away from each other, the two shifted their gazes, tapping their hands on the wood of their chair as they passively stared at the jumbotron screen.


    However, on a screen at the very edge of the recruiter''s room, a peculiar scene suddenly occurred.


    Yet, because every recruiter gathered in front of the center jumbotron because of the fight earlier, there were no audience members.


    On the peculiar screen, the ground... could be seen rising?


    However... this wasn''t just any patch of ground.


    The small area of ground right under the gigantic statue seemed to be rising.


    This also lifted the statue up, yet as the statue was already so tall, no one could tell its height was actually change.


    And for less than a frame, a small head with black hair could be seen peaking out of the ground, with his head touching the bottom of the statue.


    But the next frame, the small hole was covered up by a patch if dirt, hiding the head from the drone.


    Oblivious to this change, Seraphina glanced back at the school administrators, but they shrugged their shoulders, signifying they had no new intel on the location of the three missing students.


    Then, the barrier finally closed, blocking off the surrounding forest.


    The magic space, once as big as the island Celestial Academy was on... was now as large as a classroom. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    *RUMBLE*


    At that moment, the entire ground suddenly shook, making it seems like an earthquake was occuring.

 Chapter 232: Chapter 232:A Dream [2]

    Feeling the ground shake below him, Liam immediately tightened his grip on the sword before stepping backward until his back was the hard stone of the statue.


    By doing this, he was eliminating the possibility of being attacked from behind and from the right and left sides unless the attacker had an angle on him.


    As the rest of the main cast followed suit, making their backs touch the statue, Liam looked upwards.


    The sky was pitch-black, as there were no stars or moon in this magic space to light it up.


    Looking up at the glowing yellow orb, the only thing preventing the magic space from plunging into darkness, Liam yelled.


    "LILY, EVERYTHING ALRIGHT UP THERE."


    A moment later, a sound from the yellow orb echoed down the statue.


    "YES!"


    Though it was in no way confirmed that Ren, their biggest weakness due to him also ahving knowledge of the future like Lily, was part of the last three students, the main cast had decided to assume it was.


    Thus, Lily, having some knowledge of Ren''s abilities through their various encounters, was camping the light-yellow orb.


    From his display during the fight with the spirit who had passed Zach, Lily assumed that Ren had some power or boost in power when fighting in darkness.


    Lily, oblivious to the slight and slow raises in the height of the statue, looked downwards, scanning the classroom-sized magic space for any students.


    However, things soon became obvious for the recruiters watching on the jumbotron back in the room.


    "hey...is the tower tilting?"


    "...was it always like that?"


    "Is this the leaning tower of fireballs?"


    Lily, obviously realizing that the tower was starting to tilt to the right, immediately yelled.


    "T-THE TOWER IS FALLING! THE TOWER IS FALLING!"


    Swiftly turning back around, Liam stood there shocked for a moment, watching as the tower slowly tipped over, like a tree being chopped down from the stump.


    Lily, losing her balance as the statue began to fall to the right, got propelled on the shoulder. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Knowing that if the statue fell, the magic space would lose its only light source and be plunged into darkness as the light-yellow shining orb would break, Lily clung onto the statue''s shoulder with everything she had.


    Down below, Liam and the other main cast members immediately regained their composure before coordinating a plan.


    Alya, having done something like this before in the Elven Kingdom since trees often fell over and caused a huge damage risk, yelled out.


    "I CAN STOP ITS FALL WITH MY ICE MAGIC! KEVIN AND LIAM USE YOUR SWORDS TO KEEP IT FROM FALLING UNTIL I''M DONE!"


    Heeding Alya''s instructions without any hesitation, Liam and Kevin sprinted towards the right, where the statue was about to fall.


    Right now, there was an imbalance in forces as more force was being exerted on the left side of the statue, causing it to fall.


    All Liam and Kevin had to do was temporarily stall the falling of the statue, giving Alya enough time to freeze its base and restabilize it by exerting equal force on the right side.


    This would create an equilibrium in forces, causing the statue to remain at a standstill.


    However, this did mean that the statue would be permanently slanted instead of upright after Alya froze its base.


    If they wanted to make it upright again, Liam and Kevin would have to exert more force on the right side than the left, making it lean left.


    But, this was highly risky as if they exerted too much force on the right, the statue would just fully fall to the left before Alya could freeze it.


    Coming to the same conclusion, Kevin and Liam nodded at each other before pulling out their swords.


    Each of the two used various sword arts and techniques they had gained from progressing in sword art mastery.


    Liam, using his "gigantamax" skill, which he gained from progressing in mastery, instantly made his sword quadruple its original size.


    This allowed his sword to reach all the way up the falling statue''s side and exert force on it to stop it from falling.


    On the other hand, Kevin used his sword art mastery progression skill, "Piercing Sword."


    The tip of Kevin''s sword immediately soared forward, becoming sharper and sharper as it expanded further away from Kevin.


    Eventually, the tip of Kevin''s sword touched the statue''s side and began to exert more pressure on it.


    However, as Kevin''s sword tip began to exert pressure on the statue, the boys quickly realized something was off.


    The statue was no longer falling to the right... but it was falling to the left.


    They had exerted too much pressure.


    On the statue, Lily flung to the left, falling back onto the glowing yellow orb and feeling a huge amount of pain.


    Realizing their mistake, the boys immediately lost their grip on their swords, exerting less pressure on the statue.


    Yet... this again caused the statue to flip to the right and immediately start falling.


    And once again, Lily was propelled right, hitting the ear of the statue stomach-first, barely managing to cling on.


    As the boys tried to find the equilibrium of the statue that stopped it from falling, Alya dashed towards the base of the statue.


    Despite not being told anything, Kevin followed suit, running after Alya.


    Ruby and Irene, seeing Zach, headed over to Kevin and Liam, helping them find the equilibrium and casting stamina buff spells.


    While being flung from side to side as Kevin and Liam attempted to find the equilibrium of forces, Lily was still keen.


    Whenever she had the chance, she would look at the magic space, attempting to find any signs of Ren or any other student.


    Yet... there was nothing.


    Reaching the base of the statue first, Alya was about to pull out her wand, but suddenly, the ground began to shake.


    *RUMBLE*


    However, this time, it wasn''t all of the ground in the magic space that was shaking.


    *RUMBLE*


    Only the ground right under Alya and in the proximity was shaking, looking like it was about to give in.


    *RUMBLE*

 Chapter 233: Chapter 233:A Dream [3]

    "ak, w-what is this!?"


    Losing her footing, Alya tried to move closer to the base and pull out her sword; however, she couldn''t focus enough to use her sword.


    Glancing around, Alya tried to discern if she was the one being affected by this strange phenomenon.


    "I-is anyone else feeling this!?"


    Yet, as she glanced around and saw Zach running normally, without any signs of the ground shaking below him, she immediately realized something was off.


    *RUMBLE*


    Then, right as Zach was about to reach her, the ground finally collapsed, causing Alya to free-fall downwards.


    Thankfully, realizing something was off, Alya already managed to pull her sword out, but that didn''t stop Zach from worrying.


    "w-what, ALYA!?"


    "WHE-WHAT HAPPENED!?"


    As Alya fell deeper, Zach''s screams slowly faded away, and darkness slowly overwhelmed the light.


    Knowing that the fate of the statue, whether it fell or not, depended on her, Alya immediately plunged her ice sword into the ground as she landed.


    Not bothering to look around or find the culprit of the ground collapsing, Alya looked downwards at her sword, which was embedded into the ground.


    Feeling the temperature in the underground area grow colder, Alya immediately began manifesting an ice pillar, slowly lifting herself up.


    Though she knew that the ground collapsing was unnatural and there was likely an enemy nearby, Alya did not wish to engage in a fight.


    She knew that Kevin and Liam wouldn''t be able to hold on much longer, so she had to get to the surface and stop the statue from falling with her ice magic.


    However, as Alya slowly rose up into the air, closer and closer to the surface, a very familiar voice echoed throughout the underground area.


    "Can I call in... a favor, my dear princess?"


    Stopping dead in her tracks and halting the ice pillar from rising, Alya stared downward at the source of the voice.


    Despite knowing that Ren was most likely part of the three other students due to his display of strength during the carriage battle between him, Kevin, and Liam, Alya still stood shell-shocked upon hearing his voice.


    Unable to form a coherent word due to the shock, Alya simply stared down in silence at the emerging figure below her.


    "..."


    A few seconds later, the same voice echoed again in a slightly awkward tone.


    "You did say any time, didn''t you..? Or am I mistaken?"


    Realizing that time was ticking, and the statue would soon begin to fall, Alya regained her composure and replied.


    "...I-i, y-yeah, I did say that."


    Leaving the cave''s darkness, Ren walked towards the ice pillar.


    The light-yellow orb of the statue illuminated his figure through the hole in the ground that was created when the floor under Alya collapsed.


    With two pitch-black daggers in his hand, Ren tapped the ice pillar with one of them before muttering.


    "Brings back memories... huh, not nice ones."


    Starting to rise herself and the ice pillar up again, Alya stared downwards at Ren in disbelief.


    "Are you... trying to guilt trip me!?"


    With a smile, Ren looked up, making eye contact with Alya, and responded.


    "...is it working?"


    Continuing to raise herself closer to the surface, Alya ignored Ren''s question, simply waving it off before curiously questioning.


    "Am I to assume this floor... and statue was all your work, then?"


    Shrugging his shoulders, Ren began tapping at the ice pillar before replying.


    "So...about that favor!"


    " *PFFT* "


    Unable to keep her laughter in at the shamelessness of the figure below her, Alya burst into laughter while staring at Ren.


    Sighing, Ren shook his head and interrupted Alya''s fit of laughter.


    "...I guess that''s a no."


    Since she couldn''t increase the speed at which the ice pillar rose and there were still twenty seconds before she returned to surface height, Alya continued laughing before asking.


    "I can hear you out if that makes you feel any better."


    Thinking for a moment, Ren tapped his foot up and down before looking up at Alya once again.


    "Will you go to the winter ball with me?"


    "..."


    "..."


    As Alya immediately lost her focus due to Ren''s words, the ice pillar stopped rising, causing more time to be wasted. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Standing on the ice pillar and glancing at Ren down below, Alya began to recall how he had acted in the past.


    The Ren she had seen over the past few weeks would never say something like that!


    Then, at that moment, it clicked for her.


    At this moment, Ren and she were enemies!


    She had been fooled because, during her times with Zach and Ren, she had been so used to being on Ren''s side, not the opposite!


    With her face red, Alya realized her mistake and desperately began trying to calm her mind.


    But, the precious seconds had already been wasted.


    A couple of seconds later, the ice pillar began rising again... but when Alya looked down, Ren was simply standing there.


    Then, the next moment... Ren quite literally disintegrated before her.


    It looked as if he had just melted right in front of her.


    Pieces of his body had just deformed before completely disappearing, leaving the area where he was a moment ago empty.


    Dismissing Ren''s creepy skill, Alya stared upward with her ice-sword ready, thinking about how she had just been fooled.


    "...that dam-"


    "What was that, Alya?"


    Looking up at Zach''s confused face, Alya simply waved her hands up and down before replying.


    "nothing... just nothing. A little...trick."


    Waving off Zach, Alya immediately pointed out her sword before sprinting around the base of the statue, covering the base with a layer of ice every time she circled around it.


    Liam, Lily, Irene, Ruby, and Kevin, who had been oblivious to Alya''s fall, sighed in relief as they saw the ice beginning to form.


    *WHOOSH*


    *WHOOSH*


    Yet, Lily''s relief was short-lasted.


    Sitting atop the shoulder of the statue, Lily''s face quickly transformed as she saw three crossbow arrows heading straight for the right side of the statue.

 Chapter 234: Chapter 234:A Dream [4]

    Not wasting a second, Lily leaped off the ear of the statue and back onto the shoulder, barely managing to balance.


    After finding her footing, Lily immediately pulled out her wand before using one of the spells she had copied from a teacher.


    Almost immediately, a gigantic shield made of pure blue water appeared, covering the statue''s right side.


    As the arrows hit the water shield, they were immediately repelled away, now heading in the opposite direction.


    Not letting her guard down, Lily spotted two more arrows, which had their tips colored a peculiar green.


    Seeing them heading towards the left side of the statue, Lily reinforced the shield by embueing more mana.


    Then she moved her wand to the left, dragging the water shield to the left side of the statue as well.


    Further away from the statue, through a very slight and unnoticeable hole in the ground, Han aimed his crossbow out.


    Seeing his arrows blocked once again, Han rapidly closed the hole before falling back down into the underground.


    Looking at the massive area of space, Han sighed for a moment, appreciating their hard work, before sprinting to the area right under the statue.


    They had cleared out the entire underground, making it no longer a tunnel but an entire cavern close to the size of a classroom in the Celestial Academy.


    Shivering as he passed by the gigantic ice pillar, which was now just randomly in the middle of their cave, Han spotted Jin.


    Seeing him, Han immediately yelled out.


    "YOUR TURN."


    Nodding his head, Jin walked over to the area, which was filled with countless portals that were waiting to be used by Jin.


    Spotting the over five portals just sitting, Jin thought for a moment.


    "...ah, which one was I supposed to use first?"


    Examining each portal, Jin attempted to identify which one had been created first by their mana flow.


    Each portal had a golden arc on the exterior, and inside the arc, it was pure-purple, so he wasn''t able to see where the portal would take him.


    Finding the correct magic portal, Jin unsheathed his long and sharp katana, pointing it forward.


    Taking one last glance at the massive cavern they had created, Jin grinned before jumping head-first into the portal.


    The next second, the portal disappeared, leaving Han alone in the cave.


    Illuminated by the light-yellow orb of the statue''s wand, Jin stood right next to the statue''s base.


    Then, without a second of hesitation, Jin began hacking at the layers of ice around the statue''s base with his katana.


    Finishing another circle around the statue''s base, Alya quickly spotted Jin, who was hacking at the layers of ice she had labored desperately to create.


    Seeing Alya nearby, Jin stopped hacking and began running around the base of the statue, hacking with his katana with the ice as he passed by.


    Following his lead, Alya chased after him, but her efforts to add more ice were canceled out by Jin''s hacking, which weakened the base.


    "...what is that."


    Pausing midchase, Alya saw a portal with a golden arc and purple outside form to the right of the base.


    However, realizing that the statue was continuing to be weakened by Jin, she ignored it and sprinted after him, still adding layers of ice as she ran around the base.


    Lily, noticing the arrows had halted, frantically looked around the classroom-sized magic space, trying to find the culprit.


    However, instead of finding the culprit... she found something much worse.


    In the far right corner of the magic space, with his back to the closing barrier, stood a familiar figure.


    Holding a dagger in each of his hands, the figure made eye contact with Lily... before waving his daggers at her as if he were a teammate and not an enemy.


    Not fooled, Lily opened her mouth to let Liam and the others know... but as she glanced around another time, she noticed something else.


    "...what...?"


    Another "Ren" was standing in the far left corner of the magic space, waving his two pitch-black daggers as well.


    ...they weren''t waving at her; they were waving at himself!?


    Regaining her composure, Lily yelled out.


    "INCOMING FROM THE RIGHT AND LEFT."


    Ignoring Lily''s callout, Liam and Kevin stayed still and continued to keep the tower in place, having already found the equilibrium. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    On the other hand, Ruby and Irene nodded at each other before splitting up, Ruby heading to the right while Irene went to the left.


    Seeing the "Rens," the two of them paused for a moment before slowly pulling out their wands, the tip sparkling a fiery red.


    Ruby, staring at the figure of "Ren" in front of her, sighed before saying.


    "You know... you really do seem like a villain right now."


    Ren was dressed in a pitch-black outfit, with two night-black daggers dangling from each of his hands.


    Smiling, Ren replied.


    "I knew you''d choose this side."


    Leaning to the right, Ruby matched his smile and questioned.


    "Why is that?"


    Mirroring Ruby and leaning to the right, Ren answered.


    "And how do you know that this is the actual me?"


    Shaking her head, Ruby replied.


    "Didn''t I already tell you? Being sarcastic and lying isn''t for you."


    Knowing she had probably found out his clone trick from their time in the dream, Ren sighed and replied.


    "You do know, you''re supposed to choose the other side."


    Walking over to Ren with her wand still lit up in her hand, Ruby tilted her head to the right and asked.


    "Am I?"


    On the other side, Irene, calm and composed, stood upright with her wand aimed right at Ren.


    As sparks began to generate on the tip of her wand and the temperature began to increase around her, Irene replied.


    "Once a dumbass, always a dumbass."


    Cocking his head to the right, ignoring the fact that Irene was casting a spell, "Ren" smiled and replied.


    "I guess I am?"


    Surprised by his lack of dodging or moving for that matter, Irene sighed and said.


    "Have you accepted your fate?"

 Chapter 235: Chapter 235:A Dream [5]

    As the fire began to form on the tip of Irene''s wand, growing with every fleeting second, "Ren" simply stood still while staring at Irene.


    At this point, Irene already had the spell ready and could fire it off at "Ren" at any time... yet she didn''t.


    Currently, "Ren" wasn''t a threat... he was just standing there, doing nothing.


    He had even dropped both of his daggers to the ground, showing that he was not a threat.


    Seeing "Ren" stay silent without any intentions of answering her question, Irene sighed before raising her once again.


    "This was just a big waste of time."


    And just as Irene was about to shoot the fire phoenix spell at "Ren," his voice suddenly stopped her.


    "Was it?"


    "...?"


    Silently staring at the grin on "Ren''s" face, Irene sighed once again before letting the fire phoenix soar out of her wand.


    The next second, a phoenix made of pure fire appeared before rapidly flying at "Ren," who still hadn''t moved.


    Faced with the scorching hot phoenix, Ren didn''t seem to move, at least that''s how it seemed to Irene.


    And, back in the recruiter''s room, outrage was starting to grow as the phoenix soared towards the unmoving "Ren."


    "IF HE WAS GOING TO DO THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE, WHY DIDN''T HE JUST ELIMATE HIMSELF!?"


    "WE WAITED AN EXTRA THIRTY MINUTES FOR THIS SHIT!?"


    "ARE YOU KIDDING ME? HE JUST WASTED ALL OF OUR TIME TO DO THIS!"


    When the arrows shotten from Han''s crossbow appeared, and the statue began to fall, the excitement amongst the recruiters was at an all-time high.


    They had assumed there was going to be a big, thought-out plan as the three students had been missing for the entire battle royale.


    Surely, they could have come with something in the three hours they were hidden from the sight of the drones.


    Yet... as they stared at the statue, which was beginning to stabilize as Kevin and Liam found the equilibrium, and "Ren," who was basically forfeiting and allowing himself to be hit by Irene''s phoenix spell, that excitement rapidly transformed.


    They had gotten their hopes up for nothing.


    "SO, WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY DOING ALL THIS TIME!?"


    "DID THEY TAKE A NAP OR SOMETHING!?"


    "THE BATTLE ROYALE SHOULD HAVE ENDED AFTER THE BERTUS AND LIAM FIGHT!"


    However, the recruiters were oblivious to one thing.


    They were two Rens.


    On the jumbotron, only the "Ren" facing Irene was visible, so they had no idea that another Ren was currently with Ruby.


    In fact, no one, not even the principal, noticed there were two Rens.


    Only Lily, Ruby, Irene, and Ren himself knew that there were currently two of him on the battlefield.


    Ren hadn''t been doing nothing while Han and Jin began clearing out the secret tunnel, transforming it into a large and wide cave that encapsulated everything under the statue.


    He had been looking for a blind spot.


    There were currently only five drones in the magic space, as the other ninety-five had been removed.


    The magic space was only size of a classroom, so having a hundred drones would cause the drones to constantly bump into each as there wasn''t enough space in the air.


    Ren, noticing this, immediately looked for the drone''s blind spot.


    However, this wasn''t done so that Ren could conceal his powers.


    It was so... he could call in a favor.


    With Ruby in a complete blind spot where no one except Lily, who was too far away to hear anything, could see them, Ren chuckled.


    "So...are you in?"


    Standing in front of Ren, with her wand still up and shining so that Lily could see it, Ruby sighed and replied.


    "You know... you really gain nothing from doing this, right?"


    Shaking his head, Ren hesitated before replying.


    "Do I have to gain something? Can''t I just do something because I want to do it?"


    Smiling, Ruby glanced at Ren''s face.


    True freedom... a beam of light.


    That was what Ren was to Ruby.


    They were opposites... at least, the old Ruby was the opposite of Ren.


    One followed their commander''s words out of pure fear and showed complete obedience, while the other did whatever he wanted, no matter the consequences or obstacles in the way.


    Someone who was truly free from all constraints.


    There was nothing stopping him from doing what he wanted, even if it meant outsmarting the six smartest students in the academy.


    The other, a drone, obeying all their orders without a single complaint.


    Maybe... that was why they got along so well at the start. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    They do say opposites attract.


    Raising her hand and lifting one finger up, Ruby responded.


    "One condition."


    Not waiting a moment, Ren eagerly replied.


    "What is it?"


    "Let me join this as well.


    "...?"


    Confused, Ren stared at Ruby for a second before asking.


    "...but your team...the main cast? You''d be going against them... why w-"


    Shrugging her shoulders and turning around, Ruby replied.


    "As a hero and villain... and rumored creep once said, ''Can''t I just do something because I want to do it?'' "


    "...really had to add the last title on, did you? The school rumors just got over that one."


    As Ren chuckled, staying in the blind spot, Ruby fired her spell.... at the ground, causing a bout of fire to burn the grass in the area.


    Seeing Ren nod, Ruby turned around before reentering the vision of the drones with a smirk on her face.


    Back on the jumbotron screen, Kazuki and Kaneki stared at the screen, which displayed Ren, who was standing completely still despite being about to be hit by a phoenix spell that would definitely eliminate him.


    Feeling the glances on him from the other recruiters, Kaneki sighed before saying.


    "See, what I mean? It''s not even the fact that he''s weak that angers me. It''s just his eccentricity. There was absolutely no need for him to do all of this."


    Ignoring Kaneki, Kazuki watched Ren''s figure closely before replying.


    "What if there''s a secret plan behind all of this that leads him to win, despite all odds?"

 Chapter 236: Chapter 236:Winnable [1]

    Shaking his head, Kaneki sighed before responding.


    "I wouldn''t even care. I swear, even if he had a plan behind all of this, there was still no need for him to do all of this. There definitely was a less eccentric and infuriating way that he ignored for no reason whatsoever."


    "..."


    Seeing Kazuki silent, Kaneki continued.


    "I mean, he has to know he''s pissing off all the recruiters by doing this, right?"


    Knowing the Kaneki was most likely right, Kazuki nodded his head before returning his attention to the jumbotron.


    Then, as the beak of the fire phoenix touched "Ren," the room went silent, waiting to hear the voice that would announce his elimination.


    Yet... that voice never came.


    On one of the smaller screens, Alya caught up to Jin, who was still rapidly hacking at the ice layers on the statue''s base.


    But as Alya thrust her rapier forward, Jin jumped in the portal, disappearing without any trace. The portal vanished when he entered.


    Ren, staring and seeing that Jin had vanished, stretches his hands outwards.


    "Well, it''s time to get some eliminations."


    From a distance, Ren timed it perfectly so that he dismissed his corrupted figure right as the fire phoenix was about to hit it.


    Unfortunately, Ren did lose some corruption in the process, and part of the phoenix melted the corruption; however, it was worth it in his mind.


    Feeling some of his corruption return to his body as he dismissed that figure, Ren manifested a pitch-black bow and a couple of arrows.


    Nocking an arrow in his bow, Ren aimed directly at Liam and Kevin, who were about to let go of their weapons as the statue was beginning to stabilize due to Alya''s icing the base.


    Seeing this, Lily didn''t hesitate and yelled out from atop the statue.


    "KEVIN, LIAM... REN''S ARROWS INCOMING."


    Pausing for a moment, Lily attempted to find Ruby, who had been in charge of taking care of the right Ren, but she was nowhere to be found.


    Had she been eliminated...?


    Unfortunatlely, Lily was unable to check the amount of people left in the battle royale, so she just had to make assumptions.


    Only after five people were left would another announcement be made.


    Ruby had been eliminated... at least, that''s what Lily believed, considering Ren was standing there while Ruby was nowhere to be seen.


    Spotting the bunch of fire right under Ren and his bow, Lily sighed, confirming her theory.


    That was Ruby''s spell...


    Considering the skill Ren had displayed during the carriage battle, it wasn''t surprising that he had managed to defeat Ruby.


    But what was confusing to Lily... was how he did so silently without anyone noticing.


    If Ruby had called for help just once, she would have been saved by Lily''s spells or someone else...yet Lily did not hear a peep from the right side.


    Shaking her head, Lily blamed her own incompetence as she had failed to counteract Ren once again.


    Internally promising to avenge Ruby, Lily created a water shield before placing it right in front of Liam and Kevin.


    Looking at the statue and the orb of glowing yellow light, which Lily was on, Ren sighed before pointing to a nearby drone.


    They were all isolated, just like he had planned.


    Alya was freezing the statue, Zach was trying to figure out the situation underground, Liam was to the right of the statue, and Kevin was to the left.


    Finally, Irene was simply staring at the wall, confused as to where Ren had went and how he had dodged her spell.


    "I guess I''ll put on a show."


    In the next second, two gigantic corrupted pillars, each exactly the size of Ren''s shoe, plunged out of the ground.


    Like stilts, the pillars sprung Ren up into the air until, finally, his face was at the exact height of the top of the statue.


    Matching his long legs, two corrupted arms, matching Ren''s arms as well, appeared from Ren''s chest and plunged outward.


    After being completed, these arms were the exact length of the statue.


    And in those gigantic arms appeared a pitch-black broadsword, which reached all the way from Ren''s hands to the ceiling of the magic space.


    "..."


    Utter silence.


    In the recruiter room, not a single word could be heard.


    After no announcement of elimination, which could only be heard by them and not the participants, and seeing Ren appear on the other side of the magic space, initially, recruiters were shellshocked. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Cloning?


    Was that even an ability?


    Sure, it had been heard of... but for a student, first-year let alone, to pull it off and trick the smartest and strongest students in the first year was amazing.


    However, that marvel soon transformed... into even more marvel.


    On the jumbotron, Ren now seemed like a giant as he was as tall as the statue, with his sword poking at the tip of the magic space.


    He was quite literally the height of one of the academy''s buildings...


    Staring at the pitch-black giant on their screen, no one dared to speak, scared that they would miss what happened next.


    They, alongside the main cast, were so focused on the giant Ren''s actions that they failed to notice five soaring crossbow arrows.


    The arrows had a normal tip... but attached to them was a familiar potion.


    Landed around Ren''s corrupted shoes, the arrows created a rectangle that perfectly encapsulated Ren.


    Then, in a slow and... very unclean and unpolished motion, Ren swung his gigantic broadsword downwards.


    Lily, realizing that it was impossible for her to protect the statue anymore, leaped off, landing next to Alya at the base.


    Liam and Kevin... immediately took their opportunity.


    The bigger the target... the easier it is to hit.


    And Ren, right now, was one really big target.


    *SWOOSH*


    As Ren''s massive broadsword severed the statue in half, causing the orb of light to fall to the ground, Liam and Kevin began relentlessly attacking Ren''s corrupted legs.


    However... as they began attacking, they started feeling more and more sleepy.

 Chapter 237: Chapter 237:Winnable[2]

    Cut in half, one part of the statue fell to the left while the other fell to the right.


    Irene, seeing this and realizing that the right part of the statue was about to land on her, immediately used her movement ability, "Flame Jump."


    Looking at the bout fire created by Ruby, which was behind Ren, Irene blinked before immediately feeling her surroundings shift.


    The next second, she was on the opposite side of the space and right behind the gigantic Ren, who was surrounded by Liam and Kevin.


    However, as Irene stood there simply watching, her eyelids began to droop... and she slowly began to lose energy, her legs sinking deeper and deeper into the ground.


    The same could be said for Kevin and Liam; however, the adrenaline was keeping them from completely falling asleep.


    Dismissing his corrupted legs and arms, Ren returned to his original size, narrowly avoiding a duo attack from Kevin and Liam.


    Even though his legs were made of corruption, Ren had lost... a considerable amount of health as the attacks still affected him.


    The corrupted legs were a part of Ren''s body for that period of time, so if someone hit them, it would count as hitting his body.


    Therefore, he was still losing health when Liam and Kevin attacked his corrupted legs and not his actual body.


    The loss of health was still significantly reduced, though, as his physical body wasn''t hurt.


    However, his physical body had still been attacked relentlessly as the duo performed multiple ariel attacks to specifically target the part of Ren''s body that wasn''t pitch-black.


    It seems they had noticed that the corruption was acting as a protective barrier for Ren.


    Not that he planned or calculated this... but Ren was so low on health that one single sword slash from Liam could take him out.


    Staring at the familiar potion bottles, which were currently emitting a gas, Ren smiled before putting his hand in his pocket.


    "Brings back memories... doesn''t it?"


    Ignoring the incoming Kevin and Liam, Ren pulled a simple bottle of water out of his pocket before opening it.


    Then, in a swift motion, Ren flipped the bottle upside down on his head, allowing the water to drip down his hair.


    Only after the bottle was empty did Ren dodge. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Since their movements were slowed from the sleeping gas, Ren was able to dodge both Liam and Kevin with a simple use of dash.


    Seeing both Liam and Kevin limp from a lack of energy, Ren chuckled before manifesting two pitch-black daggers in his hands.


    "It was a good time...I guess."


    Unbeknownst to even Ren, Irene collapsed from exhaustion a couple of meters behind him, lying blankly on the burned grass below her.


    On the other hand, Han and Jin had popped out of the ground and were now facing Zach, Alya, and Lily.


    This was obviously an unfair fight in terms of pure power... however, Han and Jin had their own advantage.


    *RUMBLE*


    The next second, the ground under Jin, Han, Lily, Alya, and Zach collapsed, sending all of them freefalling into the underground space below.


    Back on the surface, Ren gripped his daggers before sprinting towards Kevin, who was nearer to him.


    In a swift and clean motion, Ren''s corrupted dagger seamlessly passed through Kevin''s stomach with no recoil in the slightest.


    Even before Kevin''s body disappeared and disintegrated, Ren was already charging at the defenseless Liam.


    Back in the recruiter''s room, the elimination announcement finally sounded... just not with who they had thought.


    *Student Kevin eliminated*


    * Student Kevin eliminated*


    *There are nine students remaining.*


    Despite the loud and noisy announcement, no one, including Seraphina, took their eyes off the jumbotron.


    On the screen, Ren dashed towards Liam... who seemed to be waiting.


    Connecting the dots between the potions on the arrows, Kevin''s death, and Liam''s exhaustion, a recruiter exclaimed, breaking the awkward silence.


    "A SLEEPING GAS...HOW DID THEY GET ONE OF THOSE!?"


    Turning to the school administrator behind her, Seraphina eagerly questioned.


    "Are potions of sleeping gas in the loot pool for chests...?"


    Seeing the administrator shake her head, Seraphina sighed and replied.


    "I thought so..."


    However, a second later, another recruiter coughed before speaking.


    "*ahem* They were considered a ''special'' item... so a couple of them were put into supply drops."


    Considering the initial size of the magic space, a sleeping gas would be essentially useless as it only affects people within a short radius of it.


    Still, if you could limit the opponentm''s movement, the sleeping gas was still powerful. So they added to the loot pool.


    But... now that the magic space was so small, a sleeping gas was lethal.


    Keep in mind that since this was in a magic space and a holographic world, none of the items here were considered real... so the school wasn''t breaking any legal rules.


    Shaking her head, Seraphina returned her attention to the screen...only to see a surprise waiting for her.


    Liam... was resisting the sleeping gas.


    On the screen, a light-blue hue was surrounding his figure, keeping the sleeping gas from reaching him.


    Ren, noticing this far too late, had his daggers downward and a relaxed posture, so Liam was easily able to catch him off guard.


    In contrast to his limping figure a second ago, Liam burst forward, his broadsword also surrounded by a light-blue hue.


    Back on the battlefield, Ren, completely caught off guard by Liam''s resistance to the sleeping gas, activated the usage period of the dash.


    But by that time, Liam was already upon, a deathly grin apparent on his face.


    Raising his hand to his eye, Ren slowed his perception of time... and switched points of views?


    In the underground space, Ren, leaving his physical body completely undefended, was now in possession of his corrupted figure.


    With his perception of time still slowed, "Ren" simply stepped to the right, seeing a variety of contraptions that were just waiting to be used.


    Smiling, "Ren" stared at a familiar figure with long, silky black hair and blood-red eyes.


    "Ready?"

 Chapter 238: Chapter 238:Winnable [3]

    Ruby, not even turning around to face "Ren," pulled out her wand before pointing it upwards like she was about to shoot a firework.


    Although Ren''s plan had been thrown off due to Liam''s swift recovery from the sleeping gas, that didn''t mean his plan wouldn''t work.


    It just meant... that he, personally, wouldn''t be there to witness it.


    And... he would need some luck.


    Well, technically, it wasn''t him who needed the luck, but rather Jin and Han.


    They were the ones who needed to win, after all.


    Returning to his body, Ren allowed his corrupted figure to dissipate once again, feeling a large amount of corruption rapidly returning to him.


    Raising his hand to his eyes once again, Ren''s perception of time returned to normal just in time for him to witness Liam''s sword.


    Ren calculated that, in less than a second, Liam''s sword would swiftly pierce through his body, completely eliminating him.


    He could dodge... but Liam would just move his sword and predict Ren''s dodge.


    Even Dash would be useless here, considering the fact that it required time to use because Ren needed to activate its usage period first.


    His elimination was guaranteed no matter what slowing time or overpowered ability he used.


    Flimsily raising his dagger, Ren watched as the tip of the dagger shined a golden hue as Ren lazily mouthed.


    "Serpent Slash."


    Liam, who was at more than half health, wasn''t worried about taking a hit from Ren as he knew he could survive it.


    A loss of health was a small price to pay for the elimination of Ren, in his opinion.


    Thus, ignoring the fact that Ren raised his daggers, Liam sprinted forward, plunging his sword right at Ren''s chest.


    Staring at the sword heading right for his chest, Ren sighed before... stepping forward.


    Instead of letting the sword come to him, Ren stepped forward, right into the sword.


    However, as the sword pierced through Ren''s skin, he flimsily raised his daggers before thrusting them forward at Liam.


    As his health bar sank to zero, Ren felt the tip of his daggers touch Liam''s skin and tear through his clothes.


    Relaxing, Ren closed his eyes, waiting to be transported out of the magic space and back to the classroom.


    *BOOM*


    Just as Ren felt his surroundings shift, a sudden noise and explosion interrupted his moment of silence, ringing through the entire magic space.


    "Well... it''s up to luck now."


    Back in the recruiter''s room, a couple of recruiters shed tears upon seeing Ren''s dramatic death.


    "WHAT A NOBLE MAN!"


    "ACCEPTING DEATH... SO GRACEFULLY. *SNIFF* "


    "YOU TRIED YOUR BEST... REN!"


    "IT WAS A 3 VERSUS 7... DON''T WORRY; YOU WON IN MY EYES, REN!"


    "SO INSPIRATIONAL, MAN!" Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "WHAT''S HIS STUDENT NUMBER... I NEED TO RECRU-"


    Interrupting the yells, a loud feminine voice echoed throughout the halls, silencing everyone else.


    "THAT''S MY RECRUIT FOR YOU! KNEW IT SINCE THE DAY I FIRST SAW HIM!"


    However, Kaneki was pissed as ever... not because of his brother''s skill or loud yells echoed throughout the recruiter''s room... but Ren''s personality.


    Practically standing on his chair, Kaneki turned to Kazuki while frantically pointing at the screen.


    "YOU SEE THAT? YOU SEE THAT!?"


    With a slight smile on his face, Kazuki sighed and turned to Kaneki.


    "What is it now...?"


    Throwing his hands up in his hair, Kaneki stood up and walked to the jumbotron screen.


    "HE''S FARMING SYMPATHY. WHAT IS THIS BULLSHIT!? IS THIS A PITY PARTY? HE LOST, WHY ARE HAPPY FOR HIM!?"


    Ignoring Kaneki''s angry rambling, Kazuki chuckled, recalling how Ren had gone out of his way to fake an injury to attract attention from the adults back at one of their noble parties.


    *STUDENT REN HAS BEEN ELIMINATED*


    *STUDENT REN HAS BEEN ELIMINATED*


    *THERE ARE EIGHT STUDENTS REMAINING!*


    However, overshadowing Ren''s announcement of elimination, something else suddenly occurred on the jumbotron screen.


    *BOOM*


    Kaneki, already standing right next to the jumbotron, watched in awe as the ground suddenly imploded...?


    A flash of red shone through the cracks in the floor... before instantly disappearing.


    Then, in the next second, the ground burst upwards, like lava erupting from an active volcano.


    In quick succession, multiple screens all around the room immediately went pitch-black as their connection had been cut off.


    The rocks and ground had flown upwards from the explosion, hitting multiple drones and instantly breaking them.


    Thankfully, the drone connected to the jumbotron was more protected and durable, so it resisted the onslaught of rocks and dirt.


    However, what appeared after the onslaught was over left everyone shocked.


    Now that the ground was gone, the underground space was visible to all of the recruiters.


    Staring at the gigantic space under the ground in awe, Seraphina sighed before turning to the school administrator behind her.


    "Please... get a better way of capturing footage for next year."


    "...understood."


    As awe at the gigantic underground space faded away, the recruiters began to see Han, who was diving and running through secret tunnels he had made in advance.


    After shooting an arrow with his crossbow, Han would run into one of the countless holes in the wall... before returning to the opposite side of the underground space.


    Jin was doing the same, but instead of secret tunnels, he had countless portals setup all around the underground space.


    That''s how Jin and Han were able to hang on for so long during their fight against Alya, Zach, and Lily for so long.


    However... their facade was falling.


    Jin, being hit by one of Lily''s water spells, and Han, hit by an ice spell and Zach''s battleaxe, were slowly losing health and energy.


    Panting, Jin stopped for a second and turned to Han.


    "Isn''t Ren supposed to be here by now.-"


    *BOOM*


    Ruby, sitting down on the ground, with her wand sparkling a bright red, stared at the countless explosives below her.


    According to Ren''s instructions, she had stolen all the explosive-related items that the main cast had brought along after their fight with the student alliance earlier.


    "Good luck to me... I guess."

 Chapter 239: Chapter 239:Winnable [4]

    Letting a grin creep onto her face, Ruby allowed the tip of her wand to burst into flames.


    Then, instead of simply casting the spell, Ruby threw her wand with the burning tip at the explosives as if using a match to start a fire.


    *RUMBLE*


    *RUMBLE*


    *RUMBLE*


    As the explosives began to ignite, the entire magic space, both above and underground, began to quake and shudder.


    Han and Jin, thinking this was probably one part of Ren''s crazy schemes, accepted their fates and... sat down? Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The two boys simply sat down criss-cross before staring upward at the sky through the massive hole in the ground created by their fight with Alya, Lily, and Zach.


    Leaning backward, Jin stared at Han before eventually saying.


    "You know... when I said I wanted to win, I didn''t think there was a chance of it actually happening."


    Sighing, Han leaned back as well, allowing his sore muscles to relax.


    "Don''t you ever learn? Anything is possible with that idiot..."


    Shaking his head, Jin chuckled before replying.


    "Still...wasn''t it fun to fight and plan together? We should get into fights like this more often!"


    "..."


    Ignoring Jin''s comment, Han simply shook his head, grinning while staring at the pitch-black sky above.


    Lily, staring at the two boys sitting on the ground and feeling the constant tremors, also sighed before looking up.


    Alya, perhaps also realizing that escape was impossible, did the same... while Zach sat down crisscrossed on the floor as well.


    Back on the surface, Liam, feeling the ground quaking and shuddering below him, immediately suspected something was off.


    Although he couldn''t see what was exactly happening below the ground, he knew that Lily, Alya, and Zach were engaged in a fight down there.


    Catching his breath for a second, Liam was about to head underground, and the floor below him suddenly quaked.


    Not just a normal quake... the ground quite literally split up into two, creating a gigantic chasm in the middle of the magic space.


    The chasm, stretching from one boundary of the magic to the other, opened up, allowing Liam to see what was happening below.


    Seeing Lily staring upwards, Liam was about to ask how things were going when Lily started frantically waving at him.


    Pointing into the distance, Lily rapidly gestured to move before yelling.


    "GET OUT OF HERE! IT''S GOING TO EXPLODE!"


    Liam, not wasting a second, attempted to move... but when he commanded his leg to move forward... it stayed still.


    "...huh?"


    After a moment, Liam realized that his body... was completely paralyzed.


    No matter how he tried or told his brain, his body didn''t budge a single inch.


    Was it his nerves?


    No...he had been in plenty of near-death situations before... but his body had never frozen up like this before.


    What was the difference between here and before then...?


    Ren.


    *BOOM*


    *BOOM*


    As the ground shook more violently and the chasm burst into a cacophony of sounds that pierced Liam''s ear, Liam began more frantic.


    Shivering at the explosions... that vaguely seemed like fireworks that were now flying out of the chasm, Liam once again commanded his body to move.


    However... it actually moved?


    Not expecting anything to happen as it had been a second since he last tried, Liam awkwardly took a step.


    But... before he could take another step, a gigantic firework had flown right out of the chasm and was now right before him.


    "Ren, that son of a b-"


    Back in the recruiter''s room, the entire room was filled with excitement as they watched the fireworks show take place from the best perspective.


    Since the drone was above the chasm, it caught every single firework that flew out of the chasm.


    Almost all of them didn''t even hit anyone... but nonetheless, the massive fires and explosions that happened when they hit the ground sent waves of excitement through the recruiters who were watching.


    Kazuki and Kaneki were eagerly staring at the bottom of the chasm, seeing who would survive out of Han, Jin, Lily, Alya, and Zach.


    However...surprising all of them, the first elimination was someone else.


    *STUDENT RUBY (Scarlett) HAS BEEN ELIMINATED*


    *STUDENT RUBY (Scarlett) HAS BEEN ELIMINATED*


    *THERE ARE SEVEN STUDENTS REMAINING!*


    Having not seen this Ruby character on screen for over ten minutes, the recruiters had practically all forgotten about her.


    Paying no attention to Ruby''s elimination announcement, everyone eagerly watched the bottom of the chasm.


    Fireworks were blasting and bouncing off the walls of chasms randomly, and each time a firework hit the ground, it exploded, causing a bout of fire and smoke to appear.


    And despite all of this... two figures continued sitting, while leaning back and ignoring the chaos unfolding around them.


    Jin, scratching his hair, sighed as a firework whizzed right by him.


    "Shouldn''t we do something, Han?"


    Han laid back on the ground with his eyes closed, covering his ears before emotionlessly replying.


    "With the amount of fireworks around us, attempting to dodge would only be useless.


    "So... we''re just sitting down and waiting for them to eventually hit us?"


    "I guess s-"


    "AH"


    On the opposite of the cavern, Lily and Alya, who had been grouped up together, were suddenly hit by a firework.


    In the next second, two fireworks hit Han and Jin, causing their health to drop rapidly.


    And finally... Zach was left unharmed.


    Leaning against the wall, Zach stared, his eyes full of pity, as his teammates were about to lose all of their health.


    Remembering that they had decided Liam would be the winner, Zach smiled before... eliminating himself.


    Above ground, Liam, spreading his arms, simply stared at the firework with his mouth open.


    A couple of seconds later, Liam was nowhere to be seen as the firework one-tapped him since Ren''s dagger strike earlier had also taken Liam''s health while paralyzing him.


    Only a couple of seconds later, the underground was also empty, as fireworks aimlessly bounced around the wall.. but there were no humans to be hit.

 Chapter 240: Chapter 240:Winnable [5]

    As the fireworks show ended, the recruiters eagerly listened to the elimination reports while still staring at the screen.


    *STUDENT ZACH HAS BEEN ELIMINATED*


    *THERE ARE SIX STUDENTS REMAINING!*


    *STUDENT LIAM HAS BEEN ELIMINATED*


    *THERE ARE FIVE STUDENTS REMAINING*


    *STUDENT ALYA HAS BEEN ELIMINATED*


    *THERE ARE FOUR STUDENTS REMAINING*


    *STUDENT LILY HAS BEEN ELIMINATED*


    *THERE ARE THREE STUDENTS REMAINING*


    *STUDENT HAN HAS BEEN ELIMINATED*


    *THERE ARE TWO STUDENTS REMAINING*


    *STUDENT JIN HAS BEEN ELIMINATED*


    *THERE IS ONE STUDENT REMAINING*


    *THE BATTLE ROYALE HAS ENDED*


    *THE WINNER IS.... STUDENT IRENE!*


    *CONGRATULATIONS IRENE!*


    In less than ten seconds, over five elimination callouts had been announced, displaying the sheer destruction caused by the fireworks.


    "A MASTER CLASS!"


    "I WAS WRONG...SO WRONG!"


    "PERFECTION... ABSOLUTE CINEMA!"


    As the recruiter''s room broke into a round of applause, Kaneki sighed before returning to his seat and staring at Kazuki.


    "Want to go grab a bite?"


    Thinking for a moment, Kazuki smiled before responding.


    "The school cafeteria sounds pretty good right now..."


    Principal Seraphina, not wasting another second, got up from her desk as the winner was announced.


    Leaving the school administrators behind, Seraphina rapidly exited the coliseum, where the recruiter''s room was located. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Pushing back her hair and adjusting her glasses as the sun shined down on her, Seraphina stared at the courtyard, which was currently under "construction."


    She had some work to do...


    ...


    ...


    ...


    As the last bang echoed through my head, I sighed upon realizing that my surroundings had finally shifted.


    Opening my eyes, I was immediately blinded by the sunlight streaming in through the windows.


    Adjusting from the pitch-black sky of the magic space to the sunlight took a moment, but as I opened my eyes, I realized that I was back in the classroom.


    On the whiteboard, I could see the footage that the recruiters were probably seeing right now as a project-like device was hanging from the ceiling.


    Seeing fireworks burst from the bottom of the chasm and upwards at Liam, I smiled, confirming that Ruby had followed through and detonated the explosives she had brought.


    Leaning back in my chair, I stared around the classroom... which was practically empty, except for a few students, who were eagerly watching the feed with no idea that I was right next to them.


    Hearing my chair crack, the students immediately started staring me, their expressions full of disbelief as they probably recalled my fight with Liam and Kevin just a moment ago on the projection.


    Shaking my head, I contemplated whether I should stay and watch how Jin and Han did like a good friend or just head to the cafeteria like everyone else in my class.


    They had a 2 in 7 chance of winning, so the odds weren''t bad.


    Honestly, after being screwed over by Liam and realizing that he basically had immunity to the sleeping gas, I had just sped up my plan.


    Initially, I was planning to defeat Liam, then manifest my corrupted wing to pick Han and Jin up from the underground space.


    From there, Ruby would detonate the explosives, eliminating Alya, Lily, and Zach, who were all stuck in the underground space.


    Then, the victory would be ours.


    Shaking my head, I muttered and clenched my fist


    "If only Liam wasn''t the protagonist...the game would have been ours!"


    "What was that?"


    "..."


    Slowly shifting my head to the right, I saw Ruby sitting in her chair in the middle of the classroom while staring at me.


    Chuckling, I ignored her question and asked.


    "You must be quite unlucky, huh? Being the first one out is insane."


    Shaking her head, Ruby got up from her seat and headed up the stairs to me.


    "Am I really unlucky?"


    "Well... you were the closest to the fireworks, so your odds of being eliminated were far higher."


    "Ha ha ha."


    After fake laughing for a second, Ruby immediately deadpanned before yanking my chair out from under me.


    Landing on the cold floor, I sighed and looked up at Ruby, who now had a smile on her face..


    "What was that f-"


    However, before I could finish my sentence, Ruby turned around and began heading down the steps.


    "What are you waiting for? The food''s going to get cold if we wait longer!"


    Getting up from the floor, I took one last glance at the projector and began running after Ruby.


    [Winner: Irene. Runner Up: Jin.[


    "...unlucky, I guess."


    Shaking my head, I exited the classroom and caught up to Ruby, who was walking towards the cafeteria.


    Walking side by side with Ruby, I asked.


    "You know you fulfilled your part of the bet... pissing off Liam. I''m sure he''ll be furious when he realizes that I got him elimanted while already being eliminated myself."


    Pausing for a moment mid-stride, Ruby asked.


    "Don''t forget... I also saved your clone... or whatever the hell that thing is!"


    Shaking my head, I entered the cafeteria before replying.


    "I guess I owe you two favors now."


    The line was relatively short as the student alliance had already eaten and left the building, so the two of us swiftly grabbed our food.


    The school day was technically over once you were eliminated, so most first-years were in their dorm rooms or in the training hall.


    Looking at the dimly lit cafeteria, I turned to Ruby and whispered.


    "I knew a better spot."


    "What If I told you knew that I knew a better spot than your spot."


    "..."


    After a quick game of rock-paper-scissors, which I proposed to Ruby, I grabbed my tray and followed Ruby as she led me to her spot.


    Heading outside of the first-year building, I followed Ruby as we walked by countless benches and other eating spots.


    However, instead of stopping, Ruby continued forward, heading straight for the forest that surrounded the campus.


    Stopping for a second, I questioned.


    "Where exactly is this spot?"


    Seeing me halt, Ruby ignored my question and grinned before grabbing my shoulder and dragging me forward into the forest ahead.


    "You don''t trust me?"


    "...I do."

 Chapter 241: Chapter 241:A Wonderland [1]

    As the two of us entered the forest, I caught up to Ruby, walking side-by-side with her while admiring the scenery of nature around us.


    The leaves, previously a lush and vibrant green, were now dry... with some trees actually devoid of any leaves.


    Winter was starting...


    Looking up at the sky, which now had multiple grey clouds, indicating a change in weather, I sighed, manifesting a corrupted sweatshirt.


    Turning to Ruby, I said.


    "It might know while we eat all the way out here, you know?"


    Raising her hand to the sky, Ruby hesitated before replying.


    "I''ve never.... actually seen snow before."


    "..?"


    Was winter and snowing a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence in this world, or was Ruby just different?


    Not wanting to drag the mood down by questioning as to why, I simply replied.


    "Well, today might be your lucky day!"


    Pausing for a moment, Ruby smiled before slowing down and waiting for me to pass by her.


    Then, without even telling me anything, Ruby tapped my back before saying.


    "Do you remember this?"


    Nodding my head, I immediately responded.


    "I already told you, didn''t I? I don''t forget any place."


    Sympathetically patting her on the shoulder, I added.


    "This is where we ate the candy basket after coming back from the training camp and cruise ship."


    Shaking her head, Ruby resumed walking and sarcastically responded.


    "It''s because of the candy, isn''t it?"


    As the two of us finally arrived atop the hill where we had come months earlier to share the basket of candy we had gotten from protecting the museum from djinns; I set down my tray. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Realizing that the ground was well, I stopped Ruby from sitting down and manifested a makeshift blanket using corruption.


    After laying the big blanket of corruption down over the cold and hard floor, I sat down before grabbing my tray.


    Hesitating for a moment, Ruby poked at the corruption before finally sitting down.


    Picking up her fork, Ruby continued touching the corruption before curiously asking.


    "Can you make anything with whatever this is?"


    Nodding my head, I replied.


    "Yeah, basically i-"


    Stopping me mid-sentence, Ruby pointed outward at the lake surrounding the academy.


    "OH, LOOK, IT''S FROZEN!"


    Following Ruby''s finger, I spotted the body of water surrounding of the academy, noticing that the lake''s surface was almost completely frozen.


    Shaking my head, I half-sarcastically and half-not sarcastically muttered.


    "Where am I going to go swimming now!?"


    " *PFFT* "


    As the two of us while discussing various topics ranging from our recent plan in the battle royal to our exam grades, the food quickly disappeared from our plates.


    Staring at my empty tray with a shocked expression, I said.


    "Wow... I think this is the first time I''ve eaten a full school lunch from the cafeteria."


    Ruby, who was accustomed to Lily''s cooking by now, was also surprised by the fact that she was able to eat a whole tray of the cafeteria''s notoriously bad food.


    Leaving the forest after a whole hour of talking and relaxing after the battle royale, Ruby and I went our separate ways.


    Ruby went to some post-event meetings for the main cast, where they would discuss what happened and strategies for the Winder Wonderland event.


    On the other hand...I simply went back to my dorm room.


    Well, it wasn''t like I was unshamed or happy... rather confused.


    At first, I thought that revealing my powers would be detrimental and cause me to be targeted by djinns every second of the day.


    But now that I had just come out and showed off my powers, I felt the same.


    Sure, some djinns probably knew of my name by now... but who cares?


    If they were scared and hiding in the shadows, I could probably beat them already.


    It felt kind of liberating... not having to act like some weak idiot anymore.


    Passing by students on my way to the dorm building, I was also happy to see that I was receiving no stares.


    Perhaps it was because the second-years and above hadn''t heard of what happened yet, but I was going to enjoy it while it lasted.


    Heading up the stairs, I wasn''t even surprised to see a familiar figure with blonde hair standing outside my dorm room.


    Walking past her and inserting the key to unlock my room, I asked.


    "Is there something you need, Charlotte?"


    Pushing past me and entering my dorm room, Charlotte immediately sat down on the couch, prompting me to follow.


    As the door slammed shut, Charlotte immediately started speaking.


    "First... I must thank you for overshadowing my brother. After your fight with Liam and Kevin... and the statue, I doubt anyone will remember Bertus and Liam."


    Nodding my head, I simply shrugged my shoulders, as it wasn''t like I had intentionally done it to stop Bertus from gaining attention.


    Pausing for a moment, Charlotte stared around the room before saying.


    "You know, I knew you were strong and special... but not to the extent where you could take on the top-ranking first-years."


    "Well, you know now."


    Getting off the couch, I began cooking a steak for my cat while Charlotte began asking various questions.


    "I''m guessing Liam and you have a bad relationship."


    "Yep."


    "The thing you did was boost your height and wingspan... how tall can you be?"


    "No idea, it was my first time. I kind of just came up with the idea on the spot."


    As I sliced the steak and put it into my cat''s bowl, Charlotte hesitated for a moment before finally asking.


    "Those boys... Han and Jin. Are they worth recruiting?"


    Making a thumbs-up symbol, I tried to reply in the most unbiased way possible.


    "I mean, you saw them go toe-to-toe with Alya, Lily, and Kevin. In my opinion, they would definitely be a good pickup for the knight order!"


    Clearly realizing I was biased, Charlotte smiled before getting off the couch and heading towards the door.


    "I''ll let you rest."


    Your next read is on NovelFire|le|mp|yr


    Nodding my head, I asked from the kitchen.


    "Let me know who you plan to recruit!"

 Chapter 242: Chapter 242:A Wonderland [2]

    Waking up the next day, I did my typical routine of showering and changing into the academy uniform.


    However, since winter started, and as of yesterday night, it had started snowing, so we had new academy puffer jackets.


    Putting on the black puffer jacket, I also added in hand warmer, which was just a small stone embued with fire magic that I had bought from some vendor, and headed out of the door.


    There were two days until the Winter Wonderland incident, where I planned to steal and enter the principal''s vault.


    Warming up my hands, I walked through the crowd of students who were all also trying to get to their classrooms on time. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It seemed news around campus had spread a bit as I was receiving a couple of glances, but since it was so crowded, most of the others didn''t even recognize me.


    Opening the door to the first-year building, I rushed through the hallways, which were surprisingly empty.


    Arriving at the classroom, I franticaly checked my smartwatch, ensuring I was still one time... albeit by a minute, before sliding open the door.


    However, as I opened the door, I saw that the entire classroom was empty except for Professor Zia, who was writing something on the whiteboard.


    Hearing the door open, Professor Zia turned around and saw me before sighing and asking.


    "You do know there''s a late start today, right, Ren?"


    "...yeah, it''s just that I was so excited to get to class and learn that I couldn''t wait until the late start!"


    "..."


    From the whiteboard, Profesor Zia gestured for me to come in, so I entered, allowing the sliding door to slam shut behind me.


    After walking over to her desk, Professor Zia approached me with what looked like a ribbon.


    Opening her hand, Professor Zia revealed a ribbon that said.


    [Battle Royale Rank #9]


    Accepting the ribbon, I stuffed it into my pocket before dropping my bag.


    Planning to leave my bag and head to the cafeteria to grab an early breakfast, I turned around; however, Professor Zia''s voice called out from behind me.


    "Conveniently, there is another matter that involves you, Ren."


    Confused, I turned around and saw Professor Zia standing in front of me with, this time, a paper in her hand.


    [Your transfer into the Royal Dormitories has been improved by the Principal. From this day forward, you will be living in your assigned room at the Royal Dormitories.]


    "..."


    Alternating glances between the piece of paper and Professor Zia''s stern face, I muttered.


    "...I didn''t send a transfer req-"


    "I know."


    "...alright, then."


    Not unhappy at the fact that I was getting a better room, I slowly took the piece of paper from Professor Zia''s hand... before also cramming it into my pocket.


    Maybe... revealing my power did have some upsides?


    But why would I get upgraded to the royal dormitories... a special place for the top ten rankers of the first years, second years, and their years...?


    ...don''t tell me rankings are changing this soon.


    After staring at me silently for a couple of seconds, Professor Zia finally spoke once again.


    "Ren, I''m not sure as to why you''ve been hiding your skill for the past months of school... and I won''t ask why. But, I hope in the future, you put your utmost into the academy and beyond."


    Seeing another paper appear in Professor Zia''s hand, I didn''t dare to turn around, and instead, in an emotionless tone, I asked.


    "...is there anything else."


    Handing me another piece of paper, Professor Zia patiently stared at me, waiting for me to fully read it.


    [Class Rep: You have been selected to be the Class Representative for your class for the remaining portion of the year. Please report to your teacher''s classroom early once a week to discuss and plan events for your class.]


    "..."


    "..."


    Still hoping for the best and ignoring all sense of reason, I fake-smiled and asked.


    "Was I voted class representative by my fellow classmates?"


    "The class representative is chosen by the teacher."


    "...you do know what this will do to me, right?"


    "The others declined, stating they already had enough extra circular activities."


    "I also have many extracurricular activities!"


    "I''ve looked at your transcript."


    "Does it say ''saving the world'' on there?"


    "no..."


    "Then, it''s wrong! My days are already filled to br-"


    "..."


    "I''m on the student council, I can''t also be cla-"


    "I''ve talked to the student council president, Astrid. She says it should be fine, considering the last time you showed up to the student council room was two weeks ago."


    "..."


    "Keep the paper safe, alright?"


    Then, without another word, Professor Zia turned around, leaving me alone with the paper.


    Realizing that fighting this wasn''t going to do anything, I crammed the paper into my pocket before rapidly exiting the room, scared that more papers were going to pop up.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    *RING~RING*


    *RING~RING*


    As the sound of the bell rang, I entered the classroom once again, drawing the stares of all my classmates.


    Well... it''s not like this was the first time.


    Ignoring them, I casually walked to my seat before sitting down in between Han and Jin, who I actually hadn''t spoken to since the battle royale.


    Staring at me, Han grabbed my shoulder while Jin grabbed my arm.


    "We''re celebrating tonight... no excuses."


    Shrugging them off, I replied.


    "Yeah, I''m in."


    Find adventures at m v lemp-yr


    For the rest of class, recruiters would occasionally pop in, but it was nowhere close to the magnitude of recruiters yesterday.


    At max, there were only three recruiters in the classroom at a time.


    Since Charlotte had "claimed" me, most of them were there for the main cast and some other students who had shined, so I didn''t care.


    Jin and Han were also getting some glances as they had placed second and third place... however, that didn''t seem to phase them.


    Had Charlotte already recruited them?


    Nevermind...


    On the surface, the two boys looked calm, but looking under the desk, I could see their legs rapidly tapping up and down.


    Sighing, I shook my head and returned my attention to the window.


    Seeing a black dog outside the window, I waved... but like always, it simply hid once it realized I had noticed it.

 Chapter 243: Chapter 243:Wonderland [3]

    As the dog hid behind a nearby set of bushes, I sighed before glancing around the classroom.


    Since it was still recruiting season, my classmates were on their best behavior, not daring to glance away from the whiteboard.


    Han and Jin, understandably exhausted by yesterday''s fight, were just faking-taking notes and scribbling.


    Mock exams were just around the corner, right after the school''s Winter Wonderland, so I also started paying attention.


    Glancing at the whiteboard, I saw Professor Robinson, our history teacher, going over the last part of the war between the human and demon realms.


    Sighing, I shook my head upon seeing the whiteboard filled with a bunch of useless knowledge that wouldn''t ever apply to real life. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    To be fair, basing off an entire history class on a world and lore created by some broke thirty-year-old author was bound to be a failure.


    Twelve years of schooling could not fit inside the book despite its massive chapter count, so I assumed most of the knowledge taught here was just filler content generated by this world.


    Finishing with whatever he was writing, Professor Robinson glanced at the three recruiters at the edge of the room before returning his attention to us.


    Sighing, I shook my head, already knowing what was going to happen.


    This wasn''t mentioned in the book, but anyone with common sense could see that the Professor was trying to impress the recruiters.


    Even if they weren''t students, Professors still wanted to be on the good side of recruiters as all of them represented influential factions around the world.


    The academy paid well...but Knight Orders paid way more.


    Adjusting his round-shaped glasses, Professor Robinson examined us, scanning the entire classroom.


    Then in an unusually sweet tone, varying from his usual stern way of speaking, Professor Robinson smiled and asked.


    "Would anyone like to volunteer to assist with a demonstration?"


    "..."


    Glancing around the classroom, I could see many students pondering the idea, trying to discern of participating would help gain credit with the recruitors.


    Leaning back in my chair, I attempted to hide behind Han and Jin.


    Professor Robinson was already known for his over-the-top and extra way of teaching, so I didn''t dare to imagine what would happen if he actually had to impress someone now.


    After thinking for a moment and seeing the classroom in silence, Professor Robinson sighed and said.


    "If no one wants to volunteer, I''ll randomly select two students."


    Leaning back in my chair, I ignored his words and continued staring out the window.


    Professor Robinson wanted to impress the recruiters, so he wouldn''t pick someone with a low exam score like me.


    Rather, he would pick the students with the highest grades and the most amount of renown to show off his teaching skills to the recruiter.


    Also, if a well-known student was selected, the recruiter would be more inclined to pay attention to his development as it would probably be more interesting.


    To no one''s surprise, no hands went up even after his declaration, so Professor Robinson glanced around the room for a moment, pausing as his eyes passed by the center of the classroom.


    After a moment, Professor Robinson cleared her throat before kindly asking.


    "Ruby, would you like to participate in the demonstration? Liam, and would you like to as well?"


    As a sigh of relief washed over the classroom, thanking that they had not been chose, Ruby and Liam nodded their heads.


    While it wasn''t like they had much of a choice.


    If they refused to participate in Professor Robinson''s demonstration right now, in front of the recruiters, this class would probably be hell for them until the end of the school year.


    Professor Robinson would surely make their lives difficult for the rest of the year if they stood him up right now.


    Walking to the stage, Liam and Ruby patiently waited with their backs against the board as Professor Robison gathered materials from his desk.


    After a second, Professor Robinson emerged with a peculiar-looking device in his hands that resembled a... volcano.


    Didn''t I make something like that for my sixth-grade science fair...?


    And now, I''m a high schooler staring at the very same thing I made when I was six years younger.


    I''ve come full circle...


    Intrigued at whatever the hell Professor Robinson was going to do, I watched as he put the volcano on a table, which was visible to everyone in the classroom, before walking to the whiteboard.


    Gracefully grabbing a piece of chalk, Professor Robinson silently began scribbling away on the board.


    [The Battle of the Hajin Mountain Range.]


    Hm?


    ...did I just foreshadow myself?


    "I''ve come full circle."


    ...what the hell...?


    The place where I first started and gained the power that would change the trajectory of my life was now... standing in front of me in the form of some shitty paper mache project.


    Staring at the dim and uncolorful volcano sculpture at the front of the classroom, a sense of anger rose.


    I almost died there...and they''re treating it like that!?


    My sixth-grade self made a better volcano and mountain than that! ...albeit with my parent''s help.


    It should be a hallmark of human history!


    Resisting the urge to shoot an arrow right through the shitty volcano, I silently waited as Professor Robinson began to speak.


    "Today, we will be doing a demonstration of how the humans took back the Hajin mountain range from the demons."


    Walking to the table, Professor Robinson pointed at various locations before continuing.


    "Not only was the mountain range a big piece of land, but it was also a very important strategic location in the war." Check back at m-v le-mpyr for more


    "In fact... it was so important that it would be an over-exaggeration to say that the tides of the war totally shifted after the humans recaptured the territory."


    Mentioning the elephant in the room, Professor Robinson pointed at the volcano before adding.


    "At the time of war, the mountain range contained a volcano, but over time, it has become dormant and covered up, so it is no longer visible."

 Chapter 244: Chapter 244:Wonderland [4]

    "...that''s probably why I didn''t see a volcano."


    Then, again, I was on the desperate lookout for the Dragon''s Eye... which ironically came to me through the secret tunnel, so all my searching was practically useless.


    And then... because I wasn''t able to access my system menu due to not meeting the bare threshold of stats required, I didn''t even realize I had obtained it.


    So, then, instead of calling it a day because I had obtained the dragon''s eye, I continued searching the caves... leading me to a near-death experience.


    Recalling my near-death experience with the Mountain Tyant, deep into the caves of the Hajin mountain range, I shuddered. Stay with m_vl_em_p_yr


    Yeah...I''ll go back there... soon, just not now.


    But... that little bastard tyrant should enjoy the time it has left.


    Returning my attention to Professor Robinson, I sighed as he basically went over how the humans had conquered the Hajin Mountain range despite the demons already possessing it.


    In the book, it was simply said that the humans were able to take control of the mountains due to the demons being weakened.


    The demons were weakened as they had lost over a hundred of their soldiers while trying to forcefully recruit a dragon that lived deep within the Hajin mountain range.


    This was, of course, unknown to everyone but Lily and me, as the existence of dragons is currently a secret from the public.


    Very few people, including myself, Lily, most likely the Elven queen, and the seven heroes, know about their existence.


    Everyone else just believes that dragons are fake and only in fairytales.


    Curiously, I lifted my head and tried to see what filler this teacher would say to explain how the humans conquered.


    "The mage of the heroes'' party manipulated the lava inside the volcano, causing it to forcefully erupt."


    "Now, this is traditionally and scientifically impossible considering that the lava inside the volcano is not made of mana, but actually volcano gas that is naturally occurring... but the mage of the heroes'' party pulled it off somehow."


    Pointing at the tip of the volcano, Professor Robinson continued.


    "The demons believed the volcano to be dormant, so their entire army was thrown into chaos when lava and various molten rocks began spewing out of it."


    "Using this as a distraction, the heroes took their armies and rushed in, defeating the demons, who were scattered all over the place."


    Shaking my head, I glanced at Ruby, who was awkwardly standing behind the teacher with a confused expression.


    To be fair, this could have actually happened, but a simple volcanic eruption definitely wouldn''t be enough to weaken an army of straight demons.


    The heroes had most likely fabricated the story instead of revealing the existence of the dragons to the public.


    I would have done in their situation... but then again, I don''t call myself a hero nor have I ever claimed to be one.


    Finishing up his story, Professor Robinson finally turned around to face both Ruby and Liam.


    Pointing at Ruby, Professor Robinson said.


    "Ruby, you''ll be the demonic army... and Liam, you can be the heroes alongside their army."


    Confused, the two stared at Professor Robinson before asking in unison. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "And...how exactly are we supposed to do that?"


    Smiling, Professor Robinson made sure that the three recruiters were watching before gesturing for the two students to come forward.


    Also intrigued, I carefully examined the Professor''s every movement, trying to discern what he would do next.


    However... even with my one-of-a-kind eyesight and knowledge that surpasses everyone besides one person in this world, I couldn''t have predicted or even come close to knowing what Professor Robinson did next.


    As Ruby and Liam stood in front of Professor Robison, the teacher pulled his wand before aiming it at them.


    Then, as a silver glint appeared at the tip of his wand, he said to Liam and Ruby.


    "Remember your roles, please."


    The next second, both Ruby and Liam shrunk to the size of miniature, not visible to anyone in the room besides me due to my enhanced eyesight.


    Confused at their sudden disappearance, everyone besides me crowded towards the front of the classroom.


    Lily even gestured for the main cast to get ready to fight, seeing her two friends suddenly disappear.


    However, before Lily could even pull outer her wand, a sudden yell interrupted her.


    "IS THIS THEM!?"


    A student, catching a glimpse of something really small on the ground, excitedly exclaimed.


    "THAT''S LIAM AND RUBY...ON THE FLOOR! I SWEAR IT IS!"


    In unison, everyone squinted their eyes while scanning the floor where the boy had pointed.


    Grinning, Professor Robinson swiftly nodded his head before picking up the two miniature-sized students with the palm of his hand.


    Then, he very carefully placed Ruby atop the volcano and Liam down in the forest that was located at the base of the volcano.


    Then, just as Ruby and Liam adjusted to their new size, Professor Robinson dumped some material that I couldn''t recognize into the volcano.


    Gesturing for us to come forward, Professor Robinal told the whole class.


    "Come now! Let''s watch this historically accurate enaction of the battle of the Hajin Mountain Range!"


    Following the crowd of students, I made my way to the front, where the table holding the volcano sculpture was located.


    Using my enhanced eyesight, I quickly located Ruby, who was staring down into the volcano as the lava began to bubble and rapidly rise.


    Using my hand, I pressed down on the table, making sure that it was stable and wouldn''t fall over from all the students pushing against each other.


    Then, as I redirected my attention back to the sculpture, I saw small bits of makeshift lava fly out of the volcano and land to the right and left of Ruby.


    Liam, seeing this, rushed out of the forest with a miniature sword that had been conveniently placed in the forest.


    Running up the volcano, Liam avoided the flying rocks and lava spewing down the edge of it.

 Chapter 245: Chapter 245:Wonderland [5]

    Parrying the incoming rocks with his sword, the miniature Liam relentlessly charged towards the top of the volcano.


    On the other hand, Ruby just sat there, pretending to be distracted by the volcano''s sudden eruption.


    ...they are some shit at acting.


    To be fair, it''s not like they expected to be suddenly shrunk to the size of a smurf and forced to act out a historical event.


    Liam, now approaching the top of the volcano, spotted Ruby and increased his pace.


    "GO HERO!"


    "YEAH BEAT THAT DEMON''S ASS!"


    Looking at the crowd of students in front of me, I almost couldn''t believe it.


    Less than ten minutes ago, they were acting like model students to please the recruiters in the class.


    Discover more stories at m v l e mpyr


    And now?


    They were acting like a student section at a college football game!


    The recruiters, however, did not seem to care as the students yelled out and cheered as they interestedly watched the sculpture with Liam and Ruby inside.


    Professor Robinson, noticing everyone''s reactions, wore a smile on his face as he leaned down.


    "Look closely now...this is where the humans defeat the demon and reclaim the Hajin Mountain Range!"


    Liam, now only meters away from Ruby, dashed forward... and Ruby, playing her part to a tee, just stood still while pretending to act shocked at the volcano''s eruption.


    And just as Liam''s shitty fake and plastic miniature sword was going to touch Ruby... I increased the pressure I was putting on the table with my hands.


    *RUMBLE*


    The table, leaning to the right from having too much pressure exerted on it, immediately flung Liam and Ruby to the right.


    Luckily, Ruby flew over the volcano''s opening, tumbling down the volcano and landing at its base... but Liam was not so lucky.


    Smiling as Liam flew in the air, I muttered.


    "STRIKE!"


    Liam got flung to the right, and coincidentally, the volcano''s opening was to the right of him.


    Not fully used to his body, Liam couldn''t adjust his trajectory by moving his legs... so he hopelessly watched as his body entered the opening of the volcano.


    *SPLASH*


    The next second, Liam plunged into the fake lava within the volcano, causing a massive splash to appear.


    The recruiters, seeing this, immediately began taking down notes on the clipboard.


    What notes they were taking... I was unsure.


    But, from the way their pens furiously danced across the paper without wasting a single second, it had to be important, right?


    Professor Robinson, his grin now transformed into one of horror, stood shell-shocked for a moment before regaining his composure.


    Using his hand as a fishing rod, Professor Robinson submerged his hand in the lava and desperately moved it around. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Liam didn''t need to breathe underwater or under any substance; his divine blue hue allowed him to create a small subspace with air anywhere.


    Imaging Liam, standing drenched in a small pocket of air that he had created with his blue hue, I desperately resisted the urge to break into laughter.


    Finally finding Liam, Professor Robinson clenched his hands before removing his palm from the fake lava, revealing Liam''s miniature figure, who has now colored red from the fake lava.


    With his other hand, the professor scooped up Ruby before placing her next to the drenched Liam.


    Taking out his wand, Professor Robinson fumbled with it for a second before casting a spell on both Ruby and Liam.


    The next second, Liam and Ruby were back to human size, standing on the table where the sculpture was.


    Looking up, I grinned upon seeing Liam''s entire uniform covered a tomato red with substances dripping from his body.


    I guess.. that''s enough payback for now.


    He had completely disrupted my plans by resisting the sleeping gas, and he made Han and Jin lose the battle royale, making them only get second instead of first.


    Of course, I had to get my revenge on him!


    Professor Robinson hesitated for a moment and awkwardly said to Liam.


    "you''re free to use the restroom..."


    Then, after a moment of alternating gazing between us and the sculpture, Professor Robinson sighed before announcing.


    "Class is dismissed early. Please make sure to do the homework before the next class starts."


    "That is all today; you folks may leave."


    Clenching my fist in excitement, I caught up to Han and Jin, who were already out the door when the professor said, "Dismissed early."


    I had just scored us a free period!


    As I was about to say something to the two boys, I felt a sudden tap on my shoulder, causing me to slow down.


    Turning around, I was unsurprised to see Ruby staring at me with an amused expression.


    Grabbing my right hand''s wrist, Ruby sighed and said.


    "That''s a pretty clumsy hand you have. One wrong move and I could have been just like Liam..."


    Shaking my head, I said.


    "Don''t worry, it was all calculated!"


    Chuckling, Ruby glanced around for a second before asking.


    "The others are getting a new uniform from our headquarters for Liam, so I''m free. You got any plans?"


    Thinking for a moment, I weighed my options.


    The first option is to plan for the insane crime that I would have to pull off tomorrow.


    Not only would I have to distract the main cast... and the principal, I would have to sneak into the principal''s vault and steal, which had never been done before.


    It was like robbing Fort Knox, but instead of military soldiers defending, there was a top-ranker who was capable of destroying my entire bloodline and existence in less than a second...


    But they do say that the harder it is, the more rewarding the reward is!


    Imagining the treasures stored in the vault was all the motivation I needed to keep going.


    Needless to say, I needed to plan to make sure everything went right.


    And, magically, I had been granted a free period the day before the robbery!


    Was this the world''s way of telling me that I should plan?


    On the other hand... I could walk with Ruby instead of planning.


    Closing my eyes, I glanced at Ruby one last time before making the obvious decision.

 Chapter 246: Chapter 246:Snow Day [1]

    Both!


    The obvious answer and my choice were both!


    Shrugging my shoulders to Ruby''s question, I replied.


    "I''m free, are you?"


    Silent, staring at me for a second, Ruby sighed before saying.


    "You know, you don''t have a very good poker face."


    "..? I don''t?"


    I had actually thought that I was rather good at concealing my emotions and true intentions.


    Especially after all the scenarios I''ve been through where lying and hiding yourself is necessary!


    Shouldn''t I be an expert at making a poker face at this point?


    "...ah."


    Recalling how Ruby had managed to discern my dangerous thoughts and emotions when I had seen my father for the first time during the training camp, I sighed.


    No one else in the room, even my father himself, had managed to notice anything wrong with my smile or way of acting.


    To other people, I was just an overly happy student walking around.


    Yet...when no one else had, Ruby had somehow noticed that something was off with me.


    And, now, she was doing it again.


    Maybe... she was immune to my poker face for some reason or another.


    Seeing my silence as an admission of guilt, Ruby let go of my wrist before asking.


    "What is it you need?"


    Glancing around for a moment, I made sure the corridor was clear of any students, especially the main cast members.


    Confirming that there were no other students, I leaned against the wall and stared at Ruby for a second.


    ...should I?


    I could just straight-up ask what Lily and the main cast''s exact plan is to prevent the djinns from robbing the principal''s vault. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    That information would help me majorly in my plan as I wouldn''t have to guess their locations and actions.


    Also, I highly believed that they probably had a counterplan for me.


    Even though I had shown no signs or hints of participating in this event, I knew that the main cast had still prepared some backup plan in case I interfered.


    If Ruby had told me that plan, then I would have been able to outmaneuver the main cast and avoid being caught or captured by them.


    It was such an easy thing to do...just ask Ruby to tell me the plan.


    Not only would this speed up my process of planning, but it could potentially save me from getting caught and attacked by the main cast.


    Yet... as I stared at her fidgeting figure, I couldn''t open my mouth.


    I had already put her in an awkward situation... when I had called in my favor to get her to betray the main cast and help me during the battle royale.


    And now, here I was, doing the same thing.


    I was asking her to betray the friends she made thus far just to benefit myself.


    Sighing, I shook my head.


    I couldn''t do it.


    I couldn''t bring myself to ask her for the plan, no matter how much it would help me execute the robbery.


    Noticing my silence, Ruby leaned to the right before staring up at me.


    Shaking my head, I replied to her question.


    "It''s not-"


    Letting a smile creep onto her face, Ruby interrupted me mid-sentence and curiously asked.


    "It''s not about that djinn robbery coming up tomorrow, is it?"


    "...is my poker face that bad?"


    Chuckling, Ruby leaned on the wall beside me before saying.


    "If you want to know, Lily, Kevin, Alya, Liam, Zach, Irene, and I are planning to head t-"


    Raising my hand, I stopped Ruby mid-sentence and said.


    "It''s no fun if I already know what the enemies are going to do, is it?"


    Shocked for a second, Ruby turned around and faced me before smiling and sarcastically replying.


    "Are you calling me an enemy!?"


    Breaking into laughter, I followed Ruby as the two of us headed to the library building, which was only a minute''s walk from the first-year building.


    Heading into the library after Ruby, I recalled the hour I had spent here upon returning to the academy.


    Back then, I was paranoid that people were going to find me out as not being the real Ren, so I frantically tried to learn everything about this world to fit in perfectly.


    Looking back on it, it didn''t really matter... because the people around me didn''t care if I was the real Ren or not.


    They hated me regardless.


    Finding a seat, the two of us sat side-by-side before pulling out the homework that had just been assigned by Professor Robinson.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    "I just want to check my answers with yours!"


    "Oh yeah, why don''t you hand me your sheet, and I''ll check for you."


    "...it''s more efficient i-"


    Standing up from her chair, Ruby stared at me with a confused expression.


    "How did you even manage to pass the first exam."


    Sighing, I pressed on with the worksheet in front of me.


    Your journey continues with m-vl-em|p-yr


    During this short-lived homework session, I learned something very important.


    Initially, I believed that Ruby had used her djinn connections to get herself a high score on the exams without even trying.


    Oh...but It was wrong... so very wrong.


    She was a... genius.


    And... I was a student who was over ten-years behind everyone else!


    Being from another world sucks, man...!


    Stuffing the half-finished worksheet in my backpack, I got up before following Ruby out of the library.


    Seeing the clouds shrivel up, indicating that it was about to know, I recalled something from yesterday.


    Turning to Ruby, I curiously asked.


    "Oh, yeah, did you see snow for the first time last night?"


    Shaking her head, Ruby dimly responded.


    "I only saw it from my window... I didn''t go outside."


    "...so you just watched it snow instead of going outside? Why, though?"


    Staying silent, Ruby simply pointed at the sky before halting just as we were about exit the cover of the library building.


    As snowflakes began to descend from the sky and the temperature decreased, Ruby tugged on my jacket sleeve, forcing me out of the cover of the library and into the snow.

 Chapter 247: Chapter 247:Snow Day [2]

    Feeling the snow hitting my clothes with every second, I turned to Ruby... who was still under the cover of the library building.


    Mocking her, I sarcastically asked.


    "Are you really that scared of the snow?"


    Staying silent, Ruby continued staring up at the sky before eventually responding.


    "No...I think it''s the other way around."


    "...the snow is scared of you."


    Nodding her head, Ruby finally stepped out of the library''s covering and into the snow, which immediately disintegrated.


    The snow that accumulated on the ground immediately melted as she stepped forward on it.


    The snowflakes falling from the sky didn''t even reach her body, as whenever they got close, they simply disintegrated.


    Not a single particle of snow hit her despite the fact that she was standing out in the open under the clouds.


    "..."


    "..."


    Stay in the adventure with m-vl-em,py-r


    Trying to find a way to ease the awkward atmosphere, I pointed my thumbs up and said,


    "I mean, it''s a cool ability. It''s like being waterproof... but in this case, snowproof!"


    Shaking her head, Ruby looked down at the ground before replying in an energetic tone.


    "It''s fine... you don''t have to sym-"


    Interrupting Ruby mid-sentence, I bent down and made a quick snowball with the snow on the ground.


    Not wasting a second, I hurled the snowball at Ruby.


    Sighing, Ruby stood still and stared at the incoming snowball with an expression full of sorrow.


    "Didn''t I just show and tell you... snow can''t touch m-"


    *SPLAT*


    *SPLAT*


    "..."


    "...what was that, Ruby?"


    Staring downwards at her clothes, which were somehow stained with snow, Ruby stood shell-shocked, unable to open her mouth.


    Slowly moving her hand, Ruby touched the remaining particles of snow on here jacket... and when she saw they didn''t melt upon touching her, a smile unknowingly appeared on her face.


    Adjusting her gaze, Ruby looked at me with a mixture of confusion and excitement.


    "h-how did y-"


    Manifesting a piece of physical corruption in my hand, I made another snowball before stuffing the inside of it with corruption.


    Ruby couldn''t melt corruption... no one could!


    So, by stuffing the corruption into the middle of the snowball, I was embedding every particle of snow inside the ball with corruption.


    Therefore, they wouldn''t meet when Ruby came close or touched them, as my embedded corruption particles would combine with the snow particles and protect them.


    Shrugging my shoulders, I smiled and hurled another snowball at the frozen Ruby.


    This time, prepared, Ruby caught the snowball before it broke apart and scattered all over the place.


    Holding the corrupted snowball in her hand, Ruby stared me with a menacing expression.


    "You know... you just ruined my academy uniform with snow."


    "...it''ll dry off, won''t it?"


    "That''s not the point."


    Stepping forward, Ruby ignored the constant falling snow particles that disintegrated as soon as they got near to her and raised her hand.


    "You''re the first and only target of my first snowball."


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Panting, I sat down on a bench, staring at my clothes that were drenched with water as the snow that was previously on them had melted.


    Our fight was interesting...It was like a dodgeball match combined with a game of tag, completely deviating from a normal snowball fight.


    To make things fair, I had initially given Ruby over ten corrupted snowballs to start off with... and myself ten as well.


    However, Ruby seemed to have realized something.


    If a corrupted snowball hit something, then all the particles inside the snowball would explode outwards and spread about.


    And these particles were all infused with corruption.


    These corrupted particles then met other normal snow particles... and corrupted them, turning them into corrupted particles.


    And since those new particles were corrupted, Ruby could touch and use them without having them melt and disintegrate.


    In other words, Ruby found a way to create infinite corrupted snowballs without even using me in the slightest.


    This was a good thing... as I didn''t have to limit myself to ten snowballs anymore, but it was also a bad thing.


    Ruby... was dangerously good at this.


    So much so... that I started to think that she was lying about never experiencing snow.


    But that thought quickly faded as I recalled how the snow had melted by just coming within the vicinity of Ruby.


    Hearing the popping sound that occurred every time Ruby melted a particle of snow nearing me, I rapidly gathered a couple more snowballs.


    Panting, I made my last stand, staying still and fighting instead of running away once again.


    Ruby, now approaching me slowly from a distance with an arsenal of corrupted snowballs, simply stared.


    "You know... I may be wrong because this my first time throwing snowballs, but you''re supposed to dodge them... aren''t you?" S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Standing up, I hid a snowball behind my back with one of my arms before saying.


    "Really now?"


    "...you''re not slick, you know. That hand behind your back is practically screaming that you''re up to something."


    Sighing, I didn''t waste a second, throwing the snowball as Ruby finished her last few words.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Feeling the cold snow push against my jacket, as I lay back down on the cold-hair floor, I stared upward at the sky.


    There were no branches blocking my sight, so I didn''t even have to use extra energy to peer.


    No longer was I in the library... or anywhere close for that matter but in the middle of the forest surrounding the academy.


    As snowflakes descended the sky, landing on my face, I sighed before turning to my side.


    Beside me, another figure lay... though no snow was coming near to her.


    The ground below her was devoid of any snow, the complete opposite of the ground below me, which was covered in snow.


    Chuckling, I propped myself upward before saying.


    "I think I won that!"


    Raising her rand, Ruby attempted to touch a snowflake... but it disintegrated before even reaching her finger tips.


    "Whatever you say."


    Ignoring her sarcasm, I quickly manifested a corrupted snowball and threw it above us.


    Falling apart in the sky, countless corrupted snow particles descended amongst the normal snow flakes landing on Ruby and I.

 Chapter 248: Chapter 248:Snow Day [3]

    As the yellow moon shined through the heavy clouds of snow, illuminating the spot where we were lying down, small corrupted snow particles fell on both of us.


    Also propping herself up, Ruby leaned against a nearby tree trunk, causing the snow covering it to immediately melt and disappear.


    Ignoring the melting snow behind, Ruby glanced at me before questioning.


    "Can every snow day be like this one...?" sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Staying silent, I imagined the same thing while staring upwards at the almost pitch-black sky, where stars somehow shined through the dark clouds.


    What if every day could be like this?


    Frolicking around in the snow, enjoying time, and resting under the moon after all of it.


    Maybe, someday, I will be able to live that life


    Unfortunately... both of us seemed to be very far from that day.


    Of course, I had already decided to save this world... and I didn''t plan on going back on my words.


    And, Ruby, stemming from a villainous organization... and now being part of the very hero part that defeated that organization, had some things she had to sort out, to say the least.


    All in all... times like this couldn''t last and repeat forever for Ruby and me.


    That''s why I had to cherish the times when it did happen.


    Staring at Ruby, I nodded my head with a grin and replied.


    "Why not?"


    These small moments... despite lasting for less than a couple of hours, would be held in my heart for years at a minimum.


    Thinking back to my time on Earth, a sense of sorrow overwhelmed me.


    I had already learned my lesson...


    My time on Earth had been limited and short due to my early death at the prime age of sixteen years old.


    And, despite living on Earth for those sixteen years of living, I couldn''t recall a single memory that was better than the one I was living through right now.


    My mom was right... setting yourself up for a good future is vital at a young age.


    Your entire life is essentially determined by what colleges you go to, and that''s controlled by your grades and extracurriculars in high school.


    My mom''s personal motto was,


    "Work hard now, enjoy later!"


    Yet, in my case on Earth, I had worked hard without even enjoying its benefits.


    My time had been wasted... and that could be seen clearly through my lack of good memories from my time on Earth.


    I wouldn''t make the same mistake again in this world.


    Instead of going back to my dorm room immediately after class to work my ass off to figure out some plan to rob the principal''s vault, I had come here with Ruby.


    And because of that, I created a beautiful memory on a cold winter day... with some snowballs mixed in.


    Even if I was found out tomorrow during the robbery... I think I would have still chosen to come here instead of planning for ten hours straight in my dorm room.


    Why couldn''t I work hard... and enjoy life at the same time?


    To be fair, I was a special case.


    I doubted the other academy students had the same privilege as me.


    They had to work hard to get recruited and fulfill their dreams of becoming a hero so that they could survive in this chaotic world.


    Studying and training was something they had to do every day.


    Find out what happens next on m_vl.em,pyr


    It wasn''t an option for them.


    They needed to be noticed and accepted into positions within Knight Orders.


    And me?


    I could drop out of school right now and be living in the middle of nowhere in some luxurious mansion with everything I could ever want in life.


    A glass of wine in my right hand, a small black cat in my left, and a full five-course meat on the table in front of me.


    Anything in this world could be mine with the click of a finger.


    That is... except fulfillment.


    Would I be fulfilled if I simply lazed around for the rest of this life because I had the resources to sustain that lifestyle?


    No, I would not.


    That''s why I made the choice I did, putting my all into protecting this world.


    To be fair to me, I had worked hard in my previous life... so maybe I was deserving of this privilege where I could do anything I wanted to.


    Maybe the other students simply hadn''t worked hard in their past life like me!


    Ruby, smiling, brushed back her hair, which was no longer jet-black but a mix of white and black as my corrupted snow particles had hit her hair.


    The same could be said for my hair... but much worse.


    Since all snow, and not just corrupted particles, could hit my hair... it was completely white right now, with barely any signs of my original jet-black hair.


    Ready to leave... and depart from this beautiful memory, I tried to stand up, but a voice interrupted me.


    "A little longer?"


    Staring at Ruby''s open mouth and disappointed expression, I couldn''t bear to walk away.


    Nodding my head, I laid back down, feeling the cold snow brush against my jacket, and replied.


    "A little longer."


    ...


    ...


    ...


    "AHH, MY EYES!"


    Waking up the next morning, I opened my eyes as usual, expecting to see the ceiling of my dorm room.


    Instead, the sun''s rays immediately and directly blinded my eyes as soon as I opened them.


    "..."


    Shrieking back, I covered my eyes with my hands before slowly adjusting to the unknown sunlight above me.


    Looking around my surroundings, I quickly realized that I wasn''t in my dorm room... but in the middle of a forest.


    Baren trees without any leaves surrounded me, and I was currently lying on a bunch of dirt with crushed grass.


    There was no snow anymore... as somehow, the sky was now a clear blue.


    As the memories of yesterday flooded into my head, I subconsciously turned to my left, seeing a familiar figure lying down beside me.

 Chapter 249: Chapter 249:Snow Day [4]

    Unlike me, who was drenched as all the snow that had accumulated on me yesterday had melted under the sun''s rays, Ruby was completely dry... and still sound asleep.


    Brushing my hand through my wet, jet-black hair and pushing it off my forehead, I looked at Ruby, who had her clothes crumpled and her hair tangled.


    ...how did I fall asleep like this!?


    Leaning against a nearby tree trunk, I took in the beautiful scenery of the sun illuminating the barren forest around me.


    It was a weekend, so there was no school today.


    The school would be hosting some events to boost school spirit later on the day, and unfortunately, all the students in the entire school were required to attend.


    Over eight hundred students at the best magic academy in the realm coming together in a single building... what could go wrong?


    As a sudden breeze washed over our area, Ruby''s eyelids flicked for a moment, but it seemed she still hadn''t woken up yet.


    Standing up, I stretched my back, which was in pain from me sleeping on the uneven and dirty ground the entire night.


    After finding some shade from the sun, I peered around with my eyes, making sure nothing had changed with my eyes.


    Confirming that no one had been in the vicinity or near at all, I walked over to Ruby''s sleeping body.


    Taking off my corrupted jacket, which had practically saved me from freezing to death when I had slept, I laid it over her, completely covering her face.


    Then, a moment later, I leaned downwards and softly tapped her on the shoulder.


    "Wake up, it''s time, and the sun''s out."


    Showing that she was at least partially awake, Ruby rolled over, throwing the jacket off her face before whispering.


    "A little longer?"


    Chuckling, I said.


    "It''s been more than a little longer."


    Pushing the jacket over her face, I whispered into her eye.


    ''Look, open your eyes!"


    Although I couldn''t see through the corrupted jacket that was covering her face, I assumed she now had her eyes open as she confidently said. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Oh, good, it''s still night!"


    "Prepare yourself."


    Slowly removing the jacket from her face and unveiling her eyes to the sun, I watched her expression transform.


    First, there was the initial shock upon seeing the sun appear her eyebrows were raised as she stared at the light-blue sky that was completely different from the pitch-black sky last night.


    Then came denial as she glanced back and forth at the sun and ground before eventually asking.


    "...w-what time is it!?"


    Sitting down next to her, I replied.


    "I thought you said a little longer?"


    Ignoring my sarcasm, Ruby frantically rummaged through her stuff before finding her smartwatch.


    Then, after checking the time, she alternated glances between the sun and me.


    And, finally, acceptance.


    Standing up and dusting the dirt off her clothes, Ruby sighed and stared at me for a second.


    "I''m sure I''ve kept you longer and disrupted whatever plan you have for the thing today...I''m s-"


    Interrupting her mid-sentence, I shook my head before quickly responding.


    "I should be thanking you for dragging me out when I would have just been crammed in my dorm room."


    Getting noticeably happier, Ruby grinned before waving.


    "Well, I guess I''ll see you on the battlefield!"


    Leaving the forest, Ruby headed in the direction of the royal dormitories... and I followed.


    Today was a moving day!


    Thankfully, the academy was gracious enough to get people to move all my stuff, so I didn''t have to worry about lugging luggage from building to building.


    It was odd, though.


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    How did Charlotte, the literal princess of the empire, not get movers for her transfer... but I did...?


    Well, I can''t complain!


    I did have to stop by my dorm room for a quick second to pick up my cat, though.


    I doubt that an anti-social and permanently sleeping cat would be happy when a bunch of movers suddenly burst through the door.


    And...I didn''t want to know what happened when my cat wasn''t happy.


    A cat that can time travel and... perform its own rituals?


    Who knows what else it can do!?


    Needless to say, getting on the bad side of my cat was not a good idea in the slightest.


    Walking up the stairs of the dorm room, I ignored the odd gazes I was receiving due to my dirty clothes and reached my floor.


    Feeling a sense of nostalgia as I inserted the key and cracked open the door of my room, I smiled.


    This had been my home for the past months.


    The place I came to when I had to make decisions, relax, sleep, and eat.


    Normally, I would never grow so attached to a room, but I guess I couldn''t help it this time.


    It seemed my cat shared the same opinion as it rested in the middle of my bed, with the sunlight streaming down on its glossy black fur.


    Sitting on the bed next to my cat, I enjoyed the serenity and silence for a second before carefully scooping up my cat.


    Either not caring or still awake, my cat allowed itself to be placed in my hoodie.


    Giving one last glance at my room, I sighed before heading out.


    My clothes and personal belongings would be transferred soon, but my room at the royal dormitory was already ready, according to my papers.


    Leaving my room, I walked down the hallway, noticing another figure approaching me from the stairs.


    "Hm? Why is he familiar?"


    Feeling a sense of family in my eyes, I paused for a second and allowed him to pass by me.


    Ah... the broken training room guy!


    The person to who I had given the broken AI dummy bot room.


    Walking past me and towards my new room, the familiar figure exclaimed.


    "I can''t believe I got a dorm room upgrade! Ahh... training and working really does pay off!"


    Chuckling, I walked down the stairs with my cat silently resting in my hoodie.

 Chapter 250: Chapter 250:Snow Day [5]

    Leaving the academy building, I felt multiple glances immediately lock onto me as some students even stopped and stared as if saying, "That''s the guy who 1v3d the top first-year students?"


    Shaking my head, I ignored their glances and continued walking as none of them had the confidence to actually talk to me.


    Making my way through the familiar path, I once again saw the group of security personnel waiting outside the guard of the royal dormitory.


    After reciprocating nods from the security guards, I walked onto the premises of the Royal Dormitory, immediately distracted by the abundance of snow.


    Well...not real snow.


    Considering the sun was still shining down right now, it would be almost impossible for natural and real snow to be here.


    Thus, the academy made fake snow that was immune to the sun''s bright rays and used it for decoration.


    On the trees next to the gates, snow was covering most of the branches, and even the grass nearby was colored white.


    After pacing back and forth in the courtyard of the Royal Dormitroy for a moment, I finally decided to head in.


    I didn''t. I was on the best terms with Liam or Kevin... or my next-door neighbors in the slightest.


    Silently opening the door of the dormitory, I slipped pass the common room unsighted before turning right and heading to the male portion of the dormitory.


    Walking past countless rooms with who knows what inside, I finally arrived at the residential area as I began seeing placards beside each door.


    [Liam]


    [Kevin]


    [Zach]


    [Ren]


    Heading to the very end of the hallway, I braced myself before opening the door.


    The room in front of me... was more than triple the size of my old room.


    In the middle of the room lay a gigantic king-sized bed that was in no way comparable to my old twin-sized one.


    The paint job was done perfectly with no blemishes, and all of the appliances, like the stove, were the newest and highest quality editions.


    Not only that, but the room seemed to have a loft as there was a set of stairs that led upwards in the corner of the room.


    Waking up the cat with a soft tug, I watched as it gracefully jumped from my hoodie to the ground, perfectly landing on its feet.


    Ignoring all the lavish and expensive decorations... the black cat simply headed straight for the bed.


    Then, without sparing a glance at anything else, the cat jumped on the bed before settling down in the exact center.


    Alternating gazes between my now-sleeping cat and the lavish room, I sighed.


    "A nap does sound good right now..."


    Unfortunately, due to my antics yesterday, I didn''t have time to spare at this point."


    Also, ignoring the lavish decorations, I headed for a desk near the center of the room, which was bathed in sunlight through the tall windows.


    Picking up a pencil, I rapidly sketched the entire plan of the school''s administrative building and courtyard.


    Staring at the piece of paper in front of me, I began to replay scenarios in my head over and over again, hoping to find the one with the highest possibility of success.


    But... unfortunately, no matter how much I thought about it and planned, something was always bound to go wrong.


    Recalling Lily''s personality from the times we had spent together, I tried to put myself in her shoes.


    What would I do?


    I have the principal, the student council president, the protagonist of the story, and the main cast at my disposal.


    How would I use these materials to first eliminate the djinns without any student casualties, and two, protect the vault from the other djinns?


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Tapping my pen against my desk, I sighed and leaned back in my chair.


    If only this damned vault wasn''t located in the administrative building.


    The layout of the building was, of course, designed perfectly to prevent intruders from sneaking in. Your next chapter is on m_vl_em_p_yr


    This meant that there were very few routes I could use to get in and out... and all of those routes would most likely be guarded.


    Of course, the paths being guarded didn''t mean they were useless as I could simply fight my way through... but that would waste time and draw attention.


    Brushing my hair back, I got up from my chair before grabbing a bottle of water.


    The school-wide assembly would start in about an hour, and after that, things would start happening one after another.


    The school assembly would go on for about an hour, give or take, until the emergency alarm would go off.


    As per procedure, all the students would evacuate the field to take cover from whatever emergency.


    From there, things could go a lot of ways depending on what decision and plan Lily makes.


    *DING*


    *DING*


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, I heard the sound of a doorbell ring.


    "...is that mine?"


    Leaving the kitchen with my bottle of water, I headed to the door and peered through the hole, surprised to see a familiar figure waiting outside.


    Well...I wasn''t really surprised; it was kind of in his personality to do things like this.


    Opening the door, I saw Zach waiting outside with a basket of fruits and other various baked goods.


    Seeing me, Zach was about to say something... but instead, he paused.


    Then, a moment later, Zach said in a clearly forced, excited voice.


    "Welcome to our dorm, Ren! As the first-year residential advisor of the Royal Dorms, I hope you find your time here comfortable and enjoyable!"


    Nodding my head, I thanked Zach before grabbing the gift basket and heading back into my room.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    "YOU''RE SAYING WE HAVE TO SPEAK AT THE ASSEMBLY!?"


    Kaneki, furious at the fact he was still at the school, stared at Principal Seraphina in utter shock and anger.


    Kazuki, seeming to not care in the slightest, simply nodded his head.


    "We''re already here, so we might as well." Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Putting out a magical artifact, Kaneki responded.


    "WHAT IF I''M NOT H-"

 Chapter 251: Chapter 251:Mission Impossible [1]

    Smiling, Professor Seraphina pointed at the walls of her office where they were currently.


    "Unfortunately, I have already set up a magic nullifier barrier here, so that won''t work."


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    Originally, Seraphina had planned to allow her two former students and student council members to leave as they wanted.


    Although there were her former students, Seraphina knew that they were still important and influential figures, so she couldn''t cross any lines or go too far.


    However, after hearing about the attempted robbery of her vault from the main cast members, there was no way she could just let them go!


    She was going to make use of her former students!


    Unlike her, who excelled in attack on everything and splash damage attacks, the two powerful boys in front of her were best at close combat and one versus one.


    That meant that, unlike her, they could take out the djinns attacking in the courtyard without harming any students in the process.


    Also... she was quite curious about one thing.


    Ren, or Kaneki''s brother, had put up quite an impressive show during the battle royale.


    For that, he was rewarded with a dorm upgrade and moved into the grand Royale Dormitories.


    However, that was not the only reason for Ren''s move.


    Principal Seraphina also wanted to keep a close eye on him.


    Students like him, who had been turned away by their own families and shamed, were the most likely to turn to the evil side.


    Thankfully, Seraphina had already confirmed that Ren had not yet gone to the evil side, as the flow of mana inside his body was identical to a human''s.


    And she wanted to keep it that way.


    She truly cared about all of her students, even if they had an... interesting and doubtful past like Ren''s.


    Staring at Kaneki''s furious and angry face, Seraphina smiled before muttering.


    "What would happen if these two happened to meet again...?"


    Sighing, Kazuki said.


    "Well... I guess we have no choice, Kaneki. It''ll be nice for us to contribute to the school; after all, the whole reason we''re today is because of this s-"


    "LIKE HELL, WE HAVE NO CHOICE!? JUST SAY N-"


    Interrupting Kaneki''s rambling mid-sentence, Kazuki turned to Seraphina and nodded his head before saying.


    "Both of us are willing to participate in the school-wide assembly and give a speech!"


    Then, before Kaneki could disagree any further, Kazuki left the room, dragging Kaneki by his collar out of the room with him.


    Left alone in her office, Serapha sighed before stretching her hands and staring out of the window.


    The djinns and devils were on the rise...


    Only a couple of years ago, no djinn or devil would have dared to step foot into the Celestial Academy.


    Yet... now, countless djinns were even amongst their school''s administrators and even trying to infiltrate the academy.


    In one certain incident, they almost succeeded in kidnapping the Elven Princess Alya despite the Academy''s security.


    Unfrotatunely, though, Seraphina was not able to help out in any way as she was often away from the school, taking care of matters that were far more important.


    It wasn''t just in the academy that djinns were on up...it was all around the world.


    And... as a top ranker, Seraphina had obligations that she had to fulfill, and she had to obey orders from the High Dominion.


    She wanted to stay at the Celestial Academy all day and protect it... however, the High Dominion wanted her to be guarding the boundaries of the human realm.


    To be fair, the government was right as Seraphina had killed over a hundred djinns who were trying to secretly occupy the realm... but alas,


    Of course, as a top ranker of the entire world, Seraphina could easily identify these djinn school administrators and take them out.


    However, that wouldn''t solve the problem.


    Those djinns would just develop new technology to circuNovelFireent Seraphina''s djinn identification method and then get in.


    However, amidst all of these developments, Seraphina had gained one good thing.


    Her creation of the Celestial Academy djinn extermination team.


    A group of students, the main cast, who were strong enough and smart enough to defeat djinns in case of an incident!


    Sighing, Seraphina shook her head.


    What was she thinking, giving such an important role to a bunch of teenagers?


    Staring out the window and the courtyard, Seraphina solemnly pledged.


    "I will stay and defend at the Celestial Academy like a good principal every day... starting now."


    If the High Dominion wanted her to leave to defend the borders, she would kindly decline and tell them to ask someone else.


    Checking her smartwatch, Professor Seraphina immediately got up upon realizing that the assembly would start in less than an hour.


    Leaving the administrative building, Seraphina headed towards the center of the island, where the massive multi-purpose building stood.


    Since she didn''t walk around the academy often, some students were staring at her, but Serapha didn''t mind.


    In fact, she would even prefer it if, instead of staring, the students simply walked up and attempted to interact with her.


    Opening the double doors into the building, Seraphina stared at the auditorium-like building that was filled with empty.


    Raising her wand to the roof, Seraphina smiled before softly saying.


    "Activate."


    *BOOM*


    *BOOM*


    The next second, bleaches emerged from the wall, slowly moving further and further outward.


    In less than a second, three bleachers on the back, right, and left of the auditorium were standing, towering over Seraphina''s small figure.


    Pacing around the auditorium, Seraphina attempted to discern the fastest possible way for all eight hundred students to exit the gym once the djinns pulled the emergency alarm.


    She needed to eliminate the djinns in the courtyard as soon as possible, so she could focus all of her attention on the vault robbers. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Finding something, Seraphina smiled before brushing back her blue-hair and walking up the stairs to the stage.


    The auditorium had three bleachers all against their respective walls, and in the middle of the bleachers and right before the stage was a gigantic open space.

 Chapter 252: Chapter 252:Mission Impossible [2]

    *BANG*


    *BANG*


    *BANG*


    Hearing the sound of doors opening and banging shut, I remained in my room, simply staring at the countless pieces of paper on my desk.


    There were about thirty minutes left until the assembly started, but some of my fellow royal dormitory students were leaving early to get good students.


    It was first-come-first-serve seating, so there was probably a line already formed at the multi-purpose building by now.


    Besides getting a good view of all the events, the people at the front were more likely to be chosen as participants for their grade level.


    In the assembly, there would be a variety of teamwork events where the first-years, second-years, and third-years would all compete.


    To choose the volunteers from each grade level, teachers would simply roam around and choose a random person from the grade-level bleacher to participate.


    For winning the competition, your entire grade would receive points, and the participants would also receive an individual prize, such as a front-of-the-line lunch pass for the cafeteria.


    At the end of the assembly, all the points would be tallied up, and the grade with the most points would receive... a day off!


    While the other years would have to go to school like a normal day, the grade who won would get to stay home and relax.


    Needless to say, students were hyped up and wanted to win.


    It was so bad that in our second year, when some random student participated and lost the event he was in, he was shunned for a whole week.


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    Sighing, I leaned back in my chair and shook my head. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Usually, I would dismiss the idea of me being chosen to participate as before; I was just some random delinquent.


    But now... I had a reputation attached to my name, and my fame would only increase when the other first-years realized I moved into the Royal Dorms.


    Also... a certain teacher seemed to be out to get me.


    "Class Rep!? Seriously, what is this bullshit?"


    I wouldn''t lose if I was chosen.


    That was the easy answer I decided on.


    The assembly would end more than mid-way through due to the emergency alarm pulled by the djinns, so the grade with the most points by then would receive the day off.


    So, winning and losing in the events still mattered quite a bit.


    Getting up from my chair, I made a quick meal for my cat and poured it into his bowl.


    Simply watching the time on my smartwatch count down, I sat down on my bed before beginning to gather some materials.


    Manifesting a heavy that was far too big for me, I began cramming the pockets with various materials I would need.


    There would still be time for me to stop by my dormitory after the emergency alarm was pulled and the robbery started... but then, the security guards would spot me.


    Looking in the mirror, I realized how suspicious I looked with this big hoodie, despite the sun shining bright as ever outside.


    I really needed a storage magical artifact... corruption wasn''t cutting it anymore.


    Adding some touches to make myself look less suspicious, I took one last glance at my dorm before walking to the door.


    Putting my ear on the door, I made sure it was completely silent before slowly and silently opening the door.


    Exiting my dorm, I walked through the lavish royal hallways, staring at fancy lamps and pieces of artwork as I passed.


    Reaching the common room, I sighed in relief as I realized it was silent.


    Usually, I wouldn''t be scared or nervous about meeting the main cast, but today was different.


    Today, they knew I was most likely their enemy, and I knew they were my enemy.


    It was like Batman meeting the Joker at some random coffee shop.


    The two of them obviously couldn''t start fighting and attacking each other in public with so many people around...so what could they do besides just glare at each other?


    Slipping through the golden couches, I was about to exit when a familiar voice called out from behind me.


    "Ren?"


    Before I could respond, rapid footsteps approached me before eventually stopping right behind me.


    As I felt my collar being gripped by someone, a sudden soft voice pierced my ears.


    "Ren, don''t tell me you''re using that permanent Royal Dormitory pass I gave you for bad things?"


    Shaking my head, I pulled out my student ID, which had been changed to display [Royal Dormitory Resident] instead of [Regular Dormitory Resident.]


    Staring at my ID for a moment, Charlotte let go of my collar and opened the door leading outside.


    "Well, congratulations, I can''t say I didn''t expect it after your performance."


    Heading outside, Charlotte stopped for a second, blocking my path, and turned around.


    With a grin, Charlotte said.


    "Don''t let it go to your head. You''re still a part of my Knight Order, you know."


    "I know, I know."


    After nodding my head, I left the Royal Dorms, following Charlotte as the two of us headed toward the center of the island.


    As we entered the area where the normal dormitories were located, crowds were already forming, and students were everywhere.


    Not wanting to push my way through the crowd, I was about to scale the building to my right when Charlotte''s voice sounded from in front of me.


    "Not planning to leave your boss stranded, are you?"


    Smiling, I quickly replied.


    "Of course not... Boss!"


    "Good."


    Walking back towards me, Charlotte pointed at the sky.


    "Because we already have a ride waiting for us!"


    Following Charlotte''s finger, I gazed up at the sky, immediately noticing a helicopter-like transportation device hovering in the air.


    "...all of this for a five to ten-minute walk?"


    "I can leave you behind if you''d like."


    Rapidly shaking my head, I watched in utter joy as a ladder slowly approached us from the air.


    Within a minute, the two of us had climbed the ladder and were now sitting side-by-side in the helicopter.

 Chapter 253: Chapter 253:Mission Impossible [3]

    Sitting in the helicopter, floating in the sky far above the students, I stared out at the vast island below me.


    From here... the school genuinely seemed like a paradise.


    Everything looked so lush and green, and the bustling crowds added to the cool and nice atmosphere.


    But I knew better.


    Never judge a book by its cover!


    Gesturing to the pilot of the helicopter, who resembled one of the security guards who protected the royal dormitories, Charlotte turned to me.


    "Done admiring the view yet?"


    Shaking my head, I leaned out of the helicopter, watching the sparkling blue ocean glitter under the sun''s rays.


    Just yesterday... it had been frozen.


    What the hell kind of climate change was this!?


    As the helicopter began to move, I sighed before leaning back in my chair and placing my hand in one of the many pockets inside my massive, corrupted sweatshirt.


    Feeling a soft and spiky texture on the palm of my hands, I glanced towards it.


    Inside my pocket lay a very peculiar yellow fruit that hadn''t seen the light of day for a long time now.


    After obtaining it during the World Tree incident and my fight with the corrupted figure, I was immediately pulled into a dream.


    Then, after that experience, I had almost completely forgotten about the yellow mango-shaped fruit despite its usefulness.


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    Well, I wasn''t complaining... at least I had it now!


    It would be quite useful for this upcoming incident... if I used it correctly.


    Letting go of the fruit and feeling it drop back into my pocket, I stood up in the helicopter, feeling the window rush onto my face as the helicopter slowly moved toward the center of the island.


    Placing my hand on the bar inside the helicopter, barely managing not to fall out of the helicopter, I leaned outward.


    The wind rushing into my face, combined with the sun''s rays and beautiful view of the island below, made for an unforgettable experience.


    Hearing a scoff behind me, I turned around just to see Charlotte smiling while staring at me.


    "Are you a dog or something? Putting your head out the window just to feel the wind?"


    Shaking my head, I sarcastically replied.


    "No, but I would say I''m a cat!"


    Sitting back down, I reluctantly looked away from the island below and at Charlotte, who seemed to be waiting for me.


    Leaning back on the rough cushion, I sighed before asking.


    "You didn''t give me this amazing helicopter ride for free, did you?"


    Stretching her hands out, Charlotte grinned before also turning to face me.


    "You know... I noticed something quite peculiar has been going on in the academy. I was wondering if you happened to know something?" S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Shrugging my shoulders, I maintained a nonchalant demeanor before questioning.


    If both Charlotte and Ruby could easily discern my lies... I didn''t know what I would do at this point.


    Just give up on lying? And always tell the truth from now on.


    "Peculiar behavior? What do you mean by that?"


    After silently staring at my face for a couple of seconds, Charlotte explained.


    "I''ve received some interesting news regarding the recruiters. Apparently, the principal has asked two of them to stay for this assembly."


    "Isn''t that normal? Shouldn''t the principal want recruiters to be at the assembly to give the students a better chance of standing out and garnering attention?"


    "That would be true if not for the fact that these recruiters are not coming to recruit but to participate in the assembly."


    Saving me from responding, a voice called out from the front of the helicopter.


    " *ahem* Princess, we have arrived."


    Looking down from the helicopter, I saw the center of the gigantic building right below us, with students crowding in from all sides.


    Dismissing the previous topic, Charlotte gestured to me, so I quickly grabbed the ladder before dropping it out of the helicopter.


    *BANG*


    As the bottom of the ladder collided with the metal top of the building, a loud clang sound echoed, causing some gazes to look up.


    Looking at Charlotte''s disappointed and angry face, I softly replied.


    "...my bad."


    WIthin a few seconds, over a hundred of the students crowding in were now staring at our helicopter with their fingers pointing upwards.


    "... is that a helicopter?"


    "what the hell is a helicopter doing on this island."


    "Could they really not make the ten-minute walk here without a dam helicopter!?"


    "Whose helicopter is it...?"


    "Wait, who''s inside of it."


    Since the helicopter had lowered a bit, the sound of the students chatting amongst themselves still reached Charlotte and I''s hears.


    Staring at me, Charlotte coldly said.


    "Well, it''s your problem, so solve it yourself."


    Then, without waiting for me, Charlotte emerged from the helicopter, her golden blonde hair fluttering with the wind.


    Looking up, the students saw Charlotte, who was right below the sun, carefully descending the ladder.


    "...is that an angel!?"


    "no...is that the princess?"


    As excited cheers emerged from the crowd due to their princesses''s appearance, I sighed in helicopter.


    Getting caught in a personal helicopter with the princess?


    Well, why don''t I just throw my plans of secrecy away!?


    If it had been any other day, I would have been fine with being seen with the princess, but today, I needed to remain a mystery.


    Leaving the helicopter right after Charlotte would cause everyone to watch my news moves, even when I was inside the assembly.


    How was I supposed to sneak out when everyone''s gazes were locked on me!?


    Before I could even think of a way out, a voice once again sounded from the front of the helicopter.


    "If you''d like, Sir, I can... give you a parachute, and we can rise a bit higher."


    "...that would be perfect; thank you so much!"


    As the helicopter began to rise further and further up, people eventually stopped watching it, assuming that everyone had departed and Charlotte was only the passenger.


    After a few seconds, the helicopter was now at the height of the clouds, almost completely invisible from everyone below.

 Chapter 254: Chapter 254:Mission Impossible [4]

    Picking up the parachute from the pilot''s hands, I sighed before staring at the multi-purpose building, which was still below us.


    Peering through the clouds and downwards, I found a decently hidden spot before putting on my parachute.


    Waving to the pilot, who was still at the front of the helicopter, I said.


    "I''ll be on my way now!"


    Without wasting another second, I fastened the parachute onto my back before leaping out of the helicopter.


    Feeling the air rush onto my face and pull back my air, I sighed before admitting.


    "I get why dogs put their head out of the window now..."


    It truly was an exhilarating feeling.


    Parachuting was something I would never dare to do or even come close to Earth, yet here I was, enjoying it and acting like it was nothing.


    To be fair, in comparison to the other things I''ve done in the past, it was indeed nothing.


    As the roof of the multipurpose building and the island fast approached, I enjoyed the last few moments of free fall before tugging at the string on my parachute.


    Slowly, my descent began slow to a stop to as a long and vibrant-colored parachute popped out of the backpack behind me.


    Gliding downwards, I aimed for a back area of the multipurpose building where no students were located.


    Landing on the roof of the multipurpose building, I threw off the backpack and parachute, leaving them atop the roof.


    Then, I swiftly jumped off the roof and silently landed on the ground, with no students seeing me.


    Sighing, I rushed to the front, where a crowd of students still stood, attempting to enter. Delve into stories on m-v-l-e-mpyr


    Taking out my smartwatch, I quickly checked my messages before pushing my way through the crowd.


    [Jin: Meet at the left side of the bleachers?]


    [Han: Let''s go the middle, we''ll get a better view.]


    [Jin: I just got in, all the center seats are taken.]


    [Han: ... already left side, it is.]


    [Jin: You got that, Ren?]


    [Ren: On my way, give me like five minutes.]


    [Han: Don''t blame us if there are no seats left.]


    [Jin: Don''t worry, you can sit on Han''s shoulders!]


    [Ren: Am I some sort of child to you, Jin?]


    [Han: Why my shoulders???]


    Putting down my smartwatch, I finally entered the multipurpose buildings.


    Around me were three massive bleachers, each on the side of the building, with them being marked "First," "Second," or "Third."


    Finding the bleacher marked "First," I pushed my way through more students before finally arriving at the massive first-year bleacher.


    Despite the assembly being almost ten minutes away from starting, more than three-fourths of the seats were already filled.


    Using my enhanced eyesight, I peered towards the left of the bleacher, finding Han and Jin sitting at the very top row.


    Walking up the stairs, I arrived at the top row before passing by some other students and arriving at my friend''s seats.


    Looking up from his smartwatch, Jin chuckled before saying.


    "You know, I really thought you wouldn''t make it."


    "And why is that?"


    "You''re too po *PFFT* popular for us now!"


    Sitting next to Jin, I sighed before sarcastically replying.


    "I was already popular in the academy... just for the wrong reasons."


    Chiming in from the other side of Jin, Han responded. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "OH YEAH THE PROFESION C-"


    "That''s enough, Han."


    As the three of us discussed our school life after the battle royale, students seemed to be infinitely blood through the entrance.


    Within five minutes of my arrival, the first-year bleacher was already filled to the brim... and there were still people looking for seats.


    Crammed between Jin and some random student, I sighed before wishing I had got a reserved seat.


    Peering at a place right before the bleachers, I saw a couple of chairs lined up with some familiar figures sitting down.


    Charlotte, Bertus, Kevin, Zach, Liam, Alya, Lily, Ruby, Irene, and a couple of other top-ranked first-years were sitting down at the front of the bleachers.


    Shaking my head, I turned on my smartwatch before asking Jin and Han.


    "Up for a game of Mystic Brawl?"


    Seeing them nod their heads, I was about to click on the application, but a loud voice interrupted me.


    "Please at least try to pay attention to this. You are still... a student council member, technically."


    Hm?


    Raising my head to the source of the sound, I saw Astrid, dressed in a normal academy uniform, sitting right next to me.


    "...are you fake one or r-"


    "Real."


    "Then, why are you here!? This is for first-years."


    "The principal and first-years said it was my job to keep an eye on you..."


    "..."


    "..."


    Turning to Jin and Han, who had their smartwatches out and were ready to place, I signaled that I needed a second.


    Then, turning to my other side and facing Astrid, I sighed before asking.


    "I take it... they don''t know I''m the one who recommended you."


    Nodding her head, Astrid sighed before leaning back against the wall.


    Although I was able to discern it was Astrid due to my enhanced eyesight, the other students weren''t able to.


    She tied her hair differently and wore the normal academy uniform instead of the student council jacket.


    And there were over four hundred students, alone, sitting on this bleacher, so even if she was dressed normally, the odds of someone noticing her were low.


    Looking at me, Astrid asked.


    "How did you know?"


    "Know what?"


    "My plan; you acted so shocked when you saw it. Like, you had already seen it before. And by pure coincidence, an attack like that is going to happen in less than two hours from now."


    Having no explanation, I resorted to sarcasm and said.


    "Because I''m the one orchestrating it all!"


    Proppering her legs up, Astrid seriously said.


    "Look, you know I have a certain amount of trust in you since I appointed you to the student council."


    Making direct eye contact with me, Astrid continued.


    "As long as you don''t break that trust, I''ll continue to trust you, all right?"

 Chapter 255: Chapter 255:Mission Impossible [5]

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    Nodding my head, I paused before saying.


    "I can assure you that I have no intentions of harming any students or faculty members or the island as a whole."


    After silently gazing at me for a moment, Astrid sighed before nodding her head and standing up.


    Turning to me, she rapidly said.


    "If anyone asks, I was watching over you, alright?"


    "Why the hell would they ask me, the target, if you were looking over m-"


    But, before I could finish my sentence, Astrid had already disappeared and was not near the bottom of the first-year bleachers.


    Sighing, I turned back over to Jin and Han, who had already started a game without me.


    "Get me in next!"


    Looking at their smartwatches, Jin and Han nodded in unison before desperately mashing the screen of their smartwatch.


    Recalling my conversation with Charlotte earlier in the helicopter, I gazed at the stage at the front of the multipurpose building.


    The recruiters were participating in this assembly and not recruiting...?


    What did that mean?


    What did the term "participating" entail or mean!?


    Right before the stage and in the empty area between all the bleachers, I saw some faculty members already setting up for the first event.


    With my future knowledge of the book, I already knew that the first event would be a teamwork game.


    Two students would be selected from each year, and they would work together to try and get as far as they could on a balance beam.


    One of the faculty advisors would cast a binding spell that prevented the two from unblinking their arms to ensure no cheating happened.


    As students gazed with curiosity at the balance beam that was being set up, I sighed before adjusting my gaze downward.


    Seeing Jin''s screen flash with a recognizable orange color, I immediately exclaimed.


    "DID YOU START ANOTHER GAME WITHOUT ME!?"


    " *PFFT* n-no, i-it''s the same game."


    Seeing Jin and I gaze at each other, Han sighed before seriously saying.


    "We just finished, so get on."


    Pulling out my smartwatch once again, I was about to open the game application when a sudden loud voice surprised me.


    A male figure with a suit on had emerged from backstage and was now standing in front of a microphone.


    Using the microphone, which was embued with sound magic, the male figure pointed at the curtains at the back of the stage before excitedly announcing.


    "And I introduce you to the only AND ONLY PRINCIPAL OF CELESTIAL ACADEMY!"


    Ignoring the announcement, I clicked on the game application... only to be meant with an error message.


    [You do not have Wifi or any internet connection. Please check with your school administrator if you believe this to be a mistake!]


    "..."


    Glancing at Han and Jin''s smartwatches, I realized that it wasn''t just me who had lost connection.


    The school had turned off all smartwatches to force us to pay attention to the stupid assembly!


    Sighing, the three of us put away our smartwatches before Jin angrily exclaimed.


    "What is this a prison!? A dictatorship!? Where is our basic right to Wifi!?"


    Struggling to hold in my laughter, I watched as Han tried to talk reasonably with Jin.


    "...are you saying that access to wifi is an inherent right that every human should have...?"


    "Yes."


    "...but what about inherent rights like owning property, having liberty, the freedom to vote, eat, and drink? Do you really internet connection is up there...?"


    "Well, when you phrase it like that..."


    Silencing the two''s conversation, the curtains slowly opened, revealing a tall figure with dark blue hair on stage.


    After waiting a moment for the curtains to finally open, Principal Seraphina elegantly and slowly walked to the center of the stage.


    Not even glancing at the microphone, Principal Seraphina announced in a loud tone that echoed throughout the entire multipurpose building.


    "Without further a do... LET THE GAMES BEGIN!"


    *CLAP*


    *CLAP*


    As almost every student in the building broke into applause, clapping sounds silenced every other sound.


    Finally, after a few seconds, the sound of clapping disappeared as the hype died down.


    Seeing this, Principal Seraphina walked toward the edge of the stage before pointing ahead and saying.


    "Teachers, pick two students from your grade to compete!"


    Ignoring the other years and their bleachers, I peered ahead and saw a group of first-years gathered a distance away from the teachers.


    The teachers, ignoring the excited and desperate gazes of their students, huddled up and started to discuss.


    Then, after a few seconds, a familiar figure emerged from the huddle.


    Professor Robinson.


    Sighing, I shook my head and watched as he slowly approached the bleachers of the first-years. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He was out for revenge.


    He wanted the people who embarrassed him in front of the recruiters and made his demonstration go terribly.


    Stopping in front of the line of chairs right before the bleachers, Professor Robinsons simply ignored the crowd of students in the bleachers.


    Staring at the line of students sitting down in the chairs, Professor Robinson pointed at two familiar figures.


    Liam and Ruby.


    Confirming that they were indeed chosen, Ruby and Liam hesitantly stood up before walking to the center of the multipurpose building.


    Behind them, the bleachers erupted into cheers, hopeful that their volunteers would win against the other years.


    The other year''s volunteers were already present in the middle as the second year had a boy with short brown hair and another boy with short black hair.


    And the third year had chosen two girls, one with short jet-black hair and another with long white hair.


    Aren''t those two opposites?


    Seeing the six students gathered at the center, Principal Seraphina pointed at the balance beam before saying.


    "Whichever pair that crosses the largest distance on the balance beam will receive ten points!"


    As the principal finished her instructions, a teacher emerged from the crowd, walking towards the six students.


    As each pair of six students were bonded together, their arms linked, each crowd began yelling cheers.


    "GO FIRST-YEARS!"


    "SECOND-YEARS ON TOP FOR LIFE!"


    "WE"RE TOO OLD TO BE LOSING THESE FIRST AND SECOND YEARS!"

 Chapter 256: Chapter 256:Assembly [1]

    As the teacher finished bonding everyone together, the pairs gathered at the start of the balance beams.


    Jin and Han, besides me, were already over having their smartwatches''s internet taken away as they excitedly watched the balance beam.


    Following their gaze, I saw they were watching Ruby and Liam, who, with their arms linked, seemed to be discussing a plan.


    The two of them were back-to-back as each of their arms were linked behind their backs, making them unable to be used.


    Even though they were facing opposite directions, they still seemed to be discussing a plan as their mouths opened every so often.


    Staring at the two of them, a slight feeling of discomfort emerged in my body... before immediately preceding, as if it had never existed.


    Not ignoring the prickling feeling that had emerged for less than a second, I thought out loud.


    "Am I annoyed...?"


    Confirming the feeling, I continued gazing at Liam and Ruby as they discussed.


    Realizing that the feeling was still there, I placed my hand on my body, confirming that nothing was off.


    Why was I being... jealous?


    Ruby was simply hanging out with the main cast because she had to do so in order to not seem suspicious to both the school and her villain supervisors, who wanted information.


    Even though I doubted that Ruby was actually feeding information, the Gemstone Order was probably already happy with having an agent already so deeply embedded in the Celestial Academy.


    There was also the possibility that Ruby had left the Gemstone order for the main cast.


    Both possibilities explained why Ruby was with the main cast.


    And from my observation, I could tell that Ruby enjoyed spending time with Irene, a member of the main cast.


    Lily, who had recruited Ruby to the main cast, simply wanted to reform her as she knew Ruby would become a villain, like Irene, with her future knowledge from the book.


    The one thing Lily didn''t know was that Ruby had already become a villain far before entering the academy.


    It was a contractual relationship between her and the main cast; that was all.


    In the past, I had been fine with it, even encouraging it.


    Ruby, having joined the Gemstone Order at a young age, had probably lived a not-so-good life as she had to resort to becoming a villain so early on. Experience the best from m|v|l|e|mp|y|r


    However, with the main cast, she could rectify that and live a good life where she was treated as a hero and had all the things she wanted, including friends and freedom.


    But then, what was my relationship with Ruby?


    A friendly one, perhaps... or maybe something more positive... or more negative.


    Sighing, I kept my gaze on the two as they discussed, not allowing the prickling feeling to bother me.


    As my eyes glowed with a fiery red intensity, I immediately realized that I was staring too hard.


    However, before I could look away, Ruby, perhaps sensing a gaze on her, twisted around.


    Liam, who was tied to her, also got pulled around and yelped in pain; however, Ruby continued looking around.


    As I was turning away, Ruby seemed to pause his twisting and look in my direction.


    Was she looking at me?


    Sighing, I fully turned around and ignored her gaze.


    If Ruby found me, Liam would find me, too, and that would disrupt my entire plan.


    Taking out my smartwatch, I was about to send a text to ensure that, just in case she was looking for me, she knew I wasn''t ignoring her because I wanted to.


    However, as I clicked on the messages application, a familiar error screen popped up.


    [You do not have Wifi or any internet connection. Please check with your school administrator if you believe this to be a mistake!]


    Putting down my smartwatch slowly, I watched as the second-years went first.


    After making it up the stairs, the two stood on the thin metal tube, with their backs touching each other.


    The two of them carefully side-step forward in unison, slowly gaining distance.


    However, one of the students sidestepped too far forward, causing both of them to lose balance.


    The next second, both students plummeted to the floor.


    Next up were Ruby and Liam, who employed the exact same strategy as the second-years.


    However, unlike them, Ruby and Liam were in sync, easily passing the point where the second-years fell.


    As the two of them neared the middle of the balance beam, the first-year bleachers started screaming louder than ever.


    "GET TO THE END!"


    "YOU TWO CAN DO THIS!"


    "DO IT FOR US...WE FORGIVE YOU FOR THE BATTLE ROYALE!"


    On the other hand, Professor Robinson... and admittedly, I, stood silent and still just watching the two of them.


    I was never much of a screamer or one to make a scene.


    Then, a second later, Ruby extended her foot too far right, causing Liam to be pulled backward.


    *BANG*


    Just like their predecessors, the two of them plunged to the floor where the teacher was waiting with his spell, ready to untangle their arms.


    Slightly less interested now, I watched as the two third-year girls with opposing appearances stepped onto the balance beam. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Instead of being back-to-back and slowly sidestepping forward like the previous pairs, the two girls were actually facing each other.


    Surprising everyone even more, the two girls didn''t even bother to plan their steps and immediately started moving.


    They seemed to be in sync as they easily passed the point of the second-years... and in a few seconds, the point of the first-years, Ruby and Liam.


    Speeding their pace to the jog, the girls seemed to be in complete unity as they jogged at the same pace with the same balance all the way across the balance beam.


    Jumping off the balance beam, the girls simply bowed before turning to the teacher and having their arms disentangled.


    As the scoreboard updated, giving the third-years ten points, the bleacher of the third-years erupted into cheers.


    "WE DID IT!!!"


    "I''m gonna be honest... I didn''t see it at first... but I was GRAVELY MISTAKEN!"

 Chapter 257: Chapter 257:Assembly [2]

    While the cheers of the third-years continued echoing throughout the building, Liam and Ruby rapidly returned to their seats.


    Although, you would expect the first-years to be mad Liam and Ruby hadn''t won the event and had cost them points, no one said anything.


    After the war, during the battle royale... they seemed to learn their lesson.


    On the other hand, the second-year students returned to their seats under the shameful gazes and disapproving nods of their classmates.


    As the cheering came to a close and all the students returned, the principal stepped forward onto the stage once again.


    Staring at the area where the balance beam was, Principal Seraphina snapped her figures, causing a huge bout of fog to appear.


    The fog colored a light grey, encapsulated the entire center of the multipurpose building, preventing anyone from seeing the balance beam.


    A second later, the fog disappeared.


    No longer was there a balance beam... but three gigantic podiums stood, each facing the stage.


    Smiling, Seraphina paced around the stage for a couple of seconds before finally announcing.


    "Anyone up for a game of trivia?"


    "ME!"


    "PLEASE ME!"


    "CHOOSE ME, I''LL 100% WIN!"


    Ignoring the cheers of the desperate students who wanted to volunteer and win individual prizes, Seraphina continued.


    "The winners of the balance beam have received an award of...A FREE VACATION. That''s right; on the academy''s money, the two girls will get an all-expenses paid free vacation!"


    Pausing for a moment, Seraphina allowed the students to gasp in shock before stepping forward.


    Then, an overexaggerated voice, Seraphina said.


    "FOR THIS EVENT, THE INDIVIDUAL WHO WINS WILL RECEIVE... A....TOP OF THE LINE PRIVATE AND PERSONAL CHEF FOR ONE WEEK!"


    "...are they trying to tempt me...?"


    Sighing, I shook my head.


    I couldn''t compete...right?


    Who cared about a personal chef?


    I was going to rob the principal''s vault, where magical artifacts beyond comprehension were probably held!


    Why do I risk it all just to win some stupid personal chef that I don''t even need!? Right?


    Though I tried to push the thought of competing down, it kept emerging and replaying in my head.


    Inhaling, I watched closely as another teacher, who had long black hair and blue eyes, approached the bleachers.


    Pausing for a moment in front of the bleachers, the blue-eyed teacher seemed to think for a moment before raising her hand.


    Then, in a swift motion, she flicked her hands upward and pointed at the center of the bleachers.


    "Dak, you''re up. Win for us... or suffer the consequences. Just remember, I''m your teacher, so you''re representing me when you get up there."


    As the unknown student gulped and got up from his seat, I leaned back in my chair.


    It was trivia anyway; I wouldn''t have been able to win...yeah, so it doesn''t matter!


    Gaining some confidence from the cheers of the first-years behind him, the unknown student confidently sauntered down the stairs.


    Approaching the end of the bleacher stairs, the unknown student raised his hands before cockily turning around. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Waving his hands up and down, the unknown student smiled upon hearing countless more cheers.


    Still facing the students, the unknown student, for whatever reason, stepped backward.


    *BANG*


    A second later, he overstepped his back foot and landed back-first on the hard floor of the multipurpose building.


    "..."


    Almost instantly, the cheering displayed was replaced with a deathly silence.


    "..."


    Staring at her student lying down on the floor, the black-haired and blue-eyed teacher simply sighed as if she had somewhat expected this outcome.


    Waving her hands up and down, the teacher looked at the bleacher of first-year students before yelling.


    "Anyone else wants to give it a try?"


    This had to be a second chance!


    This world''s creator had granted me on... I couldn''t pass up on it now!


    Without any hesitation whatsoever, I reached over to Jin and grabbed Han.


    Then, using my C-rank strength, which far surpassed the other students, I lifted Han up, making him visible even though we were at the back of the bleachers.


    Then, with Han above me, I yelled out.


    "ME! ME! ME!"


    "ME!"


    "..."


    Noticing the student practically floating in the air, the blue-eyed teacher sighed before saying.


    "Alright, you in the back, you''re up."


    Looking back at her student, who was still slumped on the ground, the teacher sighed before continuing.


    "I''ll take this one to the nurse..."


    Jin, who had been staring at me with a smile upon seeing me lift Han up, exclaimed.


    "I know you can win if you try your hardest, H-"


    Han, now sitting back down, angrily glared at Jin and me.


    "Don''t bullshit me, you two probably had this planned from the start, didn''t you!?" Enjoy stories on m_v lem|p-yr


    In unison, both JIn and I shook our heads.


    After pausing for a moment, Han continued and angrily exclaimed.


    "I''M NOT GOING UP T-"


    Interrupting Han mid-sentence, I pointed downward at basically every student in the first year.


    All of them were staring at Han with expectant, jealous, and curious gazes.


    Smiling, I patted Han on the shoulder and said.


    "You sure?"


    "Are you fu-"


    Stopping Han mid-sentence, I forced a decently sized piece of physical corruption into his palm.


    "You know, I wouldn''t set you up for failure, right? Just trust me, alright?"


    Pausing for a moment, I added.


    "If you really don''t want to go, I''ll go for you right now. I''m sure they won''t care if I go instead of you."


    Sighing, Han shook his head.


    "No...I still owe you for the battle royale placement rank."


    Looking down at the physical piece of corruption in his hands, Han questioned.


    "...and what exactly am I supposed to do with this?"


    "Whenever it''s your turn to answer, look at it. The answer will displayed on it. Oh, and make sure to cover it so people can''t see."


    Playing with the physical piece of corruption, which resembled black play dough from Earth, Han sighed before reluctantly stepping forward.


    "If I lose, so help me god, Ren... you are so damn screwed."

 Chapter 258: Chapter 258:Assembly [3]

    Folding under the pressure of the first-year gazes, Han walked down the bleachers stairs, making sure not to lose his step.


    Shifting my gaze away from Han, I curiously turned to face Jin.


    Seeing him meet my gaze, I curiously asked.


    "Why''d you go along with it? I mean, I didn''t tell I was going to get Han selected, did I?"


    Placing his finger under his chin, Jin seemed to think for a moment before remarking. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Well, I know you''re somehow going to find a way to win, so I''m not worried about Han... and a private chef for a week sounds amazing!"


    Stopping for a moment mid-thought, Jin scanned my body for a moment before asking.


    "And why... did you choose Han to go up and not me, Ren?"


    "...b-because, i-it would be too easy for us to win if you went up!"


    Shaking his head, Jin smirked before leaning back in his seat and watching Han.


    Standing a distance from the first-year bleachers, Han placed his hands on the lecture right before him.


    To his right and left were two students from the third and second years.


    The second-year student was a female with golden-blonde hair that was tied up in ponytails and amber-brown eyes. Your story continues on m_vl_em_p_yr


    The third-year student was a boy with jet-black hair and matching jet-black eyes.


    The upperclassman did not seem nervous at us compared to Han, who kept glancing at the palm of his hand.


    Rubbing my hands together, I scooted over so that I was right next to Jin.


    Placing my mouth to his ear, I quietly whispered.


    "You search for the questions on your smartwatch. I type them and send them to Han. All right?"


    After taking a moment to comprehend my words, Jin hesitated before whispering back.


    "...how am I supposed to search things up if there''s no internet, though?"


    Having thought of this problem already, I sighed before pulling out my personal smartwatch, which was a different color from my school''s.


    I thought that there was a possibility that the djinns could have used some method to black communication between school devices, so I had brought an extra smartwatch just in case.


    Handing it to Jin, I replied.


    "Use this one."


    Taking the smartwatch, Jin played around with it for a second before confirming that it indeed had an internet connection.


    As Jin continued messing around with the smartwatch and becoming familiar with it, Seraphina realized that all the representatives had been chosen.


    Staring at the three students, each in front of a lecture, in front of her, Seraphina announced.


    "Please wait a moment."


    At that moment, a teacher from each year stepped forward before pointing their wands at the first, second, and third-year bleachers.


    A second later, a massive bubble appeared, encapsulating the bleachers and the few students sitting in the chairs right before it.


    This happened with every other bleacher unit; finally, there were three big bubbles covering each bleacher in the building.


    Seeing the students'' confusion, Seraphina continued announcing.


    "From now on, you will be able to hear me... but I won''t be able to hear you. This bubble blocks any noise from you guys reaching the representatives."


    Staying silent for a moment, Seraphina stared around before pointing to a book that had appeared in her hands.


    "I will start the questions now... so representatives, be ready!"


    "After I ask a question, if you believe that you know the answer, tap the red button on your lecture."


    "The first student to tap the red button AFTER I''VE FINISHED ASKING THE QUESTION will answer the question and will receive a point if they get it correct."


    "If this first student gets the wrong answer, another representative will have the opportunity to steal this question, and the student with the incorrect answer will lose a point."


    Opening the book to some random page, Seraphina continued.


    "Does everyone understand?"


    "Yep."


    "Yes."


    "Indeed."


    Hearing the three students confirm that they were ready and understood the instructions, Seraphina began.


    "In what year was Celestial Academy established?"


    Staring at Jin, I watched as he frantically typed.


    A moment later, Jin whispered to me.


    "SEVETEEN YEARS AGO."


    Not skipping a single second, I changed the form of the physical corruption in Han''s hand, so that it formed a seventee.


    *BOOM*


    Hearing the first buzzer go up, Principal Seraphina raised her hand before pointing at the source of the noise.


    "Second-year representative, what is your answer?"


    Without any hesitation, the blonde girl eagerly said.


    "Seventeen years ago!"


    After confirming that the answer was correct, Seraphina announced.


    "Correct, that''s one point for the second-years!"


    Turning to Jin beside me, I said.


    "We have to be faster."


    Nodding his head, Jin stared at me with one of the most serious expressions I had ever seen on him before solemnly replying.


    "I understand."


    ...were the two of us really taking this more seriously than the battle royale!?


    I mean, we had just napped around for some time in the battle royale, and now, here we were, hyping ourselves up for some trivia game!


    *BOOM*


    "First-year representative... again, what is your answer?"


    "The Celestial Academy''s mascot is the bald eagle!"


    "Correct... that''s four straight points for the first-years. One more point... and he''ll win it all. The second-years have one point... and the third-years are in last place with 0."


    Although Han couldn''t hear it, the first-year bleachers erupted in cheers at his correct answer.


    "ONE MORE, YOU GOT THIS!"


    "I''M GLAD THE OTHER GUY GOT INJURED... BECAUSE WE GOT YOU INSTEAD!"


    "HAVE MY KIDS!"


    "...?"


    Ignoring the last cheer... which came from a man''s mouth, I sighed before turning to Jin.


    Jin''s palms were sweating, and his hands were trembling as his gaze was locked onto the smartwatch.


    Nodding my head in approval, I said.


    "One more, Jin.."


    Perhaps too focused on the screen of the smartwatch, Jin stayed silent and ignored my question.


    Patting him on the shoulder, I replied.


    "Imagine it... just imagine the five-star food we''ll get every week from the private chef."


    "Can you smell it, Jin? SMELL IT! IT SMELLS LIKE VICTORY!"

 Chapter 259: Chapter 259:Assembly [4]

    Finally moving in response to my loud voice, Jin simply turned to me and gave me a thumbs up before returning his faithful gaze to the smartwatch before him.


    Although he couldn''t see it, I also gave him a thumbs-up before prepping my hands.


    Changing the form of corruption on Jin''s hands was just like drawing.


    I positioned my right hand as I was holding a pencil, and my left hand was flat as if it were a canvas waiting to be written on.


    Raising the imaginary pencil in my right hand, I closed my eyes for a second before locking my gaze onto the canvas, or my flat left hand, below me.


    After a bit of hesitation to build up hype, Principal Seraphina flipped to another page of the book that she was holding before opening her mouth.


    "What was the original name of the body of water that is currently surrounding the academy''s island? Please note, I am asking for the original name... not the current name."


    Raising my hand, I heard the sound of Jin''s fingers bashing against the screen of the smartwatch.


    ...is my smartwatch screen going to be fine after all this!? What if it gets cracked!?


    Clearing my head of stupid thoughts, I immediately plunged my finger downwards towards my left hand as Jin spoke.


    "HALF-MOON BAY!"


    As the corruption in Han''s hand began to take shape, I rapidly drew out the letters "Half-Moon Bay" onto the palm of my left hand. Enjoy reading on m,v|le|mp|yr


    There was a bit of delay between my drawing and the corruption as the corruption moved slower than my hand.


    Finishing my drawing of the letter, I flicked my head upwards and peered to the center of the stage, locking my gaze on Han.


    In unison, Han silently raised the palm of his hand with the corruption, glanced at it, and then immediately lowered it.


    His hand was partially hidden from the lecture in front of him, so unless you were right in front of him, you wouldn''t have been able to see him subtly raising his hand.


    Of course, my amazing eyesight bypassed that restriction.


    Silently thanking my eyes, I watched with anticipation as Han slammed his hand down on the buzzer in front of him


    *BOOM*


    Hearing the buzzer, Principal Seraphina didn''t even bother to glance at the other students, who were silent and ashamed.


    Sighing and looking at that book, Seraphina asked.


    "First-year representative... for the game-winner point. What is your answer?"


    Han, now having full trust in our answers as we had helped him over three times by now, confidently raised his hand.


    "Half-Moon bay is my final and only answer."


    Without even waiting to see if the answer was confirmed by Principal Seraphina, Han turned around to face the first-year bleachers.


    Looking at his fellow classmates, who were silent to him due to the gigantic bubble around all the bleachers, Han raised his hands.


    At the same time, Seraphina slammed shut the book before announcing.


    "That is correct...congratulations, first-years! For winning the trivia event, you have won ten points! First-years are now officially on the leaderboard!"


    In unison, the bubble surrounding all the bleachers popped, allowing the screams and cheers of the first-year students to be set free.


    Everyone on the bleachers stood up and raised their hands, imitating Han, while cheering louder than both the second and third-year combined.


    "EASY WIN!"


    "WHO SAID WE''RE FUCKED!?"


    "SORRY, SECOND-YEARS, CAN''T YOU HEAR YOU FROM ALL THE DOWN AT THE BOTTOM!"


    "I JUST WON 10 GOLD FROM A BET...YOU SAVED ME, HAN!"


    Han, paying no mind to the cheers, nonchalantly walked straight back to the bleachers without uttering a single word. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As Han stepped foot onto the bleacher, the crowd of students at the front extended their hands in front of him.


    Staring at the hands, Han walked up the stairs while high-fiving every single person as he passed.


    Reaching the last row, Han put down his hand before silently sitting next to Jin and me.


    Staring at Han''s emotionless face, I couldn''t help but blurt out.


    "And, who the fuck do you think you are?"


    Who the hell was this!?


    Where was my smart and always concerned Han?


    We already had the confident and cocky one in the group, Jin!


    I don''t know if my mind can handle having two Jins in the same group...


    Jin, breaking into laughter at my statement, also stared at the bold-faced Han with an expression of disbelief.


    "What, Han? You got a bit of fame, and now you''ve decided to become Ren for a day?"


    "...?"


    Staring at Han after hearing Jin''s words, the thought suddenly entered my head.


    ...is this what I look like?


    "...god damn, I am such an asshole."


    Feeling a pat on my shoulder, I turned to face Jin, who grinned and replied.


    "At least you''re self-aware!"


    Han, no longer able to keep up the fake image of boldness, burst into laughter at Jin''s words.


    Desperately trying to cover his mouth and keep his expression neutral, Han stuttered out.


    "Ahhhh, just another day in the life."


    In unison, both Jin and I questioned.


    "...are you done now, Han?"


    Leaning back, Han returned to his normal expression, with his eyebrows raised, and nodded his head.


    As Principal Seraphina left the stage to prepare for the next event, Jin energetically said.


    "Aren''t we forgetting something..? WE''RE GETTING A FREE PRIVATE CHEF FOR A WEEK! NO MORE OF THAT SHITTY AND COLD CAFETERIA FOOD!"


    Nodding my head in approval of Jin''s sentiment, I looked at Han.


    Then, in an unbelievable turn of events, Han looked confused.


    With an emotionless tone, Han shrugged his shoulder and asked.


    "Who''s ''we?'' "


    "..."


    "..."


    Feeling the pressure of our two gazes, Han folded and returned to his original face before laughing and muttering.


    "haha... guys, I''m just kidding!"


    Looking at the opposing bleachers, I saw the second-years were somewhat panicking while the third-years keenly observed the center of the multipurpose building.


    Ah, did I forget to mention something?


    The year with the lowest amount of points at the end of the assembly is forced to spend a week cleaning the school''s facilities.

 Chapter 260: Chapter 260:Assembly [5]

    The indivudiual rewards like the all-expense paid vacation and private chef that the three of us were receive weren''t cheap.


    The school needed some way to get back a portion of the money they had spent on this massive event.


    So...they gave the cleaning staff and janitors a week-paid break after the Winter Wonderland event was over.


    During this week, the year with the lowest amount of points would be forced to clean the school.


    These tasks included mopping the floor, cleaning walls, picking up trash, rearranging chairs... and even cleaning the bathrooms.


    After school, every single student in the year would be forced to clean for over three hours a day.


    Needless to say, no year wanted to do it.


    And staring at the scoreboard, which displayed the first and third years tied for first with ten points and the second years at zero, I could see tensions were growing.


    Shaking my head, I patted my two friends on the back before standing up.


    Everyone in front of us on the bleachers was already standing up to see the stage more clearly, so it wasn''t abnormal.


    There was one more event until the emergency alarm was pulled, so I needed to sort some things out.


    Looking down at my two confused friends, who were still sitting, I said.


    "Can you take care of my friend for a second?"


    Staring at each other in unison with annoyed expressions, Han sighed before asking. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Are you really planning on leaving your clone here with us and just taking off?"


    During the battle royale, I had introduced and acquainted Jin and Han with the corrupted figure as it was necessary for the plan to succeed.


    Shaking my head at the two''s annoyed gazes, I explained once again.


    "No, it''s the opposite, actually."


    Lily had known about my corrupted figure from the start, as in our dream, I had used it to fight Zach, who at that time was possessed by the spirit.


    And, by now, she had probably noticed that I had used it during our fight in the battle royale.


    She had seen me above ground on the surface, fighting Kevin and Jin, and Alya had seen me in the underground space.


    Leaning down and hiding in front of the standing figures in the row in front of me, I manifested a small physical piece of corruption in my pocket.


    After a second, I placed that small piece of corruption on the ground before sitting back down.


    Then, I manifested two more pieces of physical corruption before turning to Jin and Han.


    After gesturing for the two of them to open their arms, I placed the piece of physical corruption into their hands.


    "Could you place it in your pocket?"


    Seeing them reluctantly place the piece of corruption in their pockets, I said.


    "Well, it''s quite simple from here. When I say "GO!" take the thing out of your pocket and throw it on the ground."


    Manifesting a detailed clone of me with the exact same structure required a lot of corruption and energy.


    But... manifesting a couple of undetailed figures that barely resembled me did not.


    And with this many people around, the two would basically be the same to anyone''s eye besides mine.


    Stay updated with m-vl-em,py-r


    Jin, nodding his head, raised his hand before saying.


    "One condition."


    "And that is?"


    "Tell us what it''s for."


    Leaning back and resting my hands, I simply shrugged my shoulders and replied.


    "Today just feels like one of those days, you know!"


    Han, with a suspicious and confused expression on his face, slowly asked.


    "You still haven''t answered the question, Ren."


    Looking upwards at the sky-high ceiling of the multipurpose building, I calmly replied.


    "Han, you know, if you don''t take risks, you can''t create a future."


    From beside me, Jin immediately responded.


    "That still not an answer, Ren."


    Extending both of my arms in opposite directions, I wrapped my hands around the shoulders of both Jin and Han.


    Pulling them closer to me, I quietly whispered into both of their ears.


    "You know, Principal Serpahina has been pissing me off recently...so it''s about time for some revenge."


    "..."


    "..."


    "...you''re talking about Principal Seraphina, the world-class magical and top-ranked hero in the entire world, right Ren? That''s the person who you''re planning to get revenge on, right?"


    Bringing their ears to my mouth, I slowly nodded my head before replying to Han''s troubled expression.


    "Someone has to stand up for what''s right, Han! And...if no one else will, I will!"


    Jin, honestly thinking this was a joke, played along and asked.


    "What exactly did Principal Serpahina do... to incur your might wrath, Ren?"


    "...she forgot my name."


    Recalling a moment from long ago, when I had just returned to the Celestial Academy from my suspension, a prickling feeling appeared in my chest.


    When I was turning in my apology letter, Principal Seraphina was there.


    And, instead of saying "hi" or "hello," she walked right past me!


    In all reality, I wasn''t mad or anything, but I needed a reason to convince Han and Jin... and that was the only realistic one I could come up with.


    What else could I say?


    She killed my dog, so I wanted to get revenge on her.


    Han, knowing from the piece of corruption that I had given them that I wasn''t being sarcastic, sighed.


    "There are over eight hundred students in the school, Ren; why would she r-"


    Shaking my head, I patted Han on the shoulder before swiftly replying.


    "Han...this is why you''re hardstuck gold in Mystic Brawl."


    "...AND WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING WE''RE TALKING ABOUT!?"


    Looking down at the piece of corruption I had left on the floor, I grinned and replied.


    "Honestly, I just wanted to bring it up; I can''t lie. You''ve been getting way too cocky since that whole trivia thing win."


    "..."


    "...IT HASN''T EVEN BEEN FIVE MINUTES SINCE I WON!?"


    Jin, seeing my vision like a true friend, chimed in from the other side.


    "See, here you go again, bringing it up. Like we know you won, alright, Han?"

 Chapter 261: Chapter 261:Clones [1]

    Chuckling at Han''s furious expression, Jin and I leaned back while closing our eyes. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Han, realizing our joke, regained his composure and sighed before joining us.


    Hearing some commotion arise and more students starting to stand up, I attempted to lean forward to see the stage.


    However, my arms were linked around the shoulders of Jin and Han, and they were leaning back.


    Unable to push myself upward, I leaned against the wall of the multipurpose building with Han and Jin beside me.


    With my eyes still closed, I attempted to discern what the students nearby were saying.


    "NO WAY, IS THAT A _*__"


    "IT IS A ___*__"


    "WHAT THE FUCK...HOW DID THEY GET A D__*"


    ...?


    According to my memory... which I admit is pretty blurry at this point, the next event for this assembly was supposed to be an agility game.


    The principal and faculty teachers were going to set up an obstacle course in the middle of the multipurpose building, and students would compete to see who got the fastest score.


    But why did it have such a big reaction?


    It was just a normal obstacle course, wasn''t it?


    Without even opening my eyes to look, I could tell that something was wrong.


    The event must have been replaced.


    "...ah."


    The principal knew about the emergency alarm and the djinn attack, didn''t she? Stay tuned with m,v le,mpyr


    Having an obstacle course while the emergency alarm went off would be terrible.


    The students inside the obstacle course wouldn''t be able to escape and be forced to stay in the multipurpose building until they eventually did.


    In contrast, the principal probably wanted to clear out the multipurpose building as soon as possible to find and kill the djinns before they could attack any students.


    Removing my arm from Han and Jin''s shoulders, I leaned forward, opened my eyes, and peered toward the area right below the stage.


    "...holy shit."


    Even I couldn''t hold back my surprise when I saw a massive and mystical creature simply standing there.


    "...is that a damn griffin!?"


    Staring at the figure with a lion-like body... but two massive wings emerged from both sides of it, I sighed out loud.


    The fur at the top half of the griffin was a pure-white, except for its golden beak, while the rest of its body was colored a dark brown.


    The griffin was a very rare creature, even in this world where magical beasts were seen quite often, with there only being about a hundred in existence.


    And that number was rapidly decreasing.


    They were either obtained by randomly finding them in the wildness... or receiving them as a reward for completing a dream


    However, killing magical beasts like the griffin gave special magical items that could be used to craft very powerful items, so griffins were often killed instead of used.


    But...this wasn''t just any griffin, was it?


    No, it was Liam''s griffin.


    The griffin that Liam would tame later on in the story and keep with him until the very end when he fought the final villain.


    A griffin is so powerful that people used to shake in fear just from seeing it fly in the sky.


    Also...there was another reason why the griffin was so powerful and useful to Liam.


    It had a special ability called "Purity Checker."


    Yes...this griffin could, similar to Ruby, look into the souls or bodies of people with its eyes and determine if they had good intentions or bad intentions.


    That meant Liam, unlike many others, could identify undercover villains and djinns with his griffin.


    This allowed him to cleanse out the Celestial Academy of all its criminals with the help of Seraphina in his third year.


    Usually, I would be fine with this as I, of course, had amazing and good moral intentions.


    I wanted to save the world... how much more morally good could I get!?


    The problem, then?


    The griffin doesn''t see your entire purity and morality... it just sees it at this moment.


    And what was I planning to do at this moment?


    Break and enter into the principal vault in an attempt to steal some stupidly powerful magical artifact that could help me.


    ...that''s not very morally good, is it?


    Some people might say that Griffin''s ability wouldn''t work, as pretty much every student in this room has a morally bad thing they want to do right now.


    Like wanting to win the event to get individual rewards... or other bad things that aren''t even related to the assembly.


    But, the griffin has the ability to distinguish between their severity and whether they are actually planning to carry it out.


    Most people here have selfish things they want to do, but either restraints are in the way, or they don''t have the courage or confidence to do it.


    On the other hand, I am genuinely carrying it out, so the griffin would most likely notice me and see my bad morals.


    Ducking downwards, I hid behind the standing figures of the people in the row in front of me.


    There were at least eight hundred people in this room, so the odds that the griffin randomly decided to examine my soul were low.


    Unless...someone commanded it to.


    That person, whether it was Liam or the principal, could figure out I was up to something bad and preemptively stop me.


    Han and Jin, also leaning forward, just glanced at the massive griffin in the middle of the room before also turning away.


    It seemed that they also knew about its ability to examine souls.


    Seeing them hide next to me, I curiously asked.


    "And why are you guys hiding from it?"


    In unison, the two replied.


    "And why exactly are you hiding, Ren?"


    Shaking my head, I sighed and pulled them back to their seats.


    "It won''t notice you unless you''re actually planning to do whatever bad thing you''re thinking about."


    Escaping my grasp, the two immediately ducked down again before replying.


    "BUT WE ARE PLANNING TO DO IT!"

 Chapter 262: Chapter 262:Clones [2]

    Chuckling at the seriousness of their words, I sighed before also hiding with them.


    It was normal for them to be paranoid.


    Imagine a creature that can essentially read your mind and see if you have good or bad intentions just appears.


    However, this ability of the griffins was different from Ruby, who could actually see a soul''s size and see its specific desire at all times, rather than just one moment.


    The griffin could see the morality of an intention, which is solely what you''re planning to do at this moment and nothing else.


    Whereas Ruby read and saw your soul as a whole, reading the desire of your whole life and how badly you want it or the size of its flame.


    "wait... why am I even thinking about Ruby right now?"


    Clearing my face and thoughts, I stared down at the griffin, trying to form a new plan.


    The griffin had keen eyesight as a magical beast... maybe even similar to mine.


    Right now, I was hidden by people, and like me, the griffin couldn''t see through physical objects, so I was fine.


    But, when the emergency alarm went off, and the crowd rushed out, the griffin would be able to identify me.


    So, sending clones of me out wouldn''t work.


    I had to confuse and distract the griffin...


    "wait...what if I?"


    Finding something, I ignored the principal walking up to the stage and retrieved all my physical pieces of corruption.


    "Give the black thing back."


    "... right."


    After retrieving my physical pieces of corruption from Jin, Han, and the floor, I stared at them before reshaping them.


    As the shape of the corruption changed and the weight altered in my hands, I smiled.


    They weren''t clones of me anymore. Discover secrets at m-vlem|p-yr


    Keeping the physical pieces of corruption with me, I kept my head down to avoid the griffin''s gaze and intently listened.


    Within a few moments, the principal''s voice echoed throughout the multipurpose building.


    "For this next event... as you can see, we have a very special guest with us!"


    After a short pause, Seraphina continued.


    "In this event, you will have to hang on to this griffin''s body for as long as possible without it shaking you off!"


    So, like those carnival games where you get on the mechanical bull and have to stay on it while it tries to throw you off...


    As Seraphina''s last words echoed, the entire crowd of first-years in front of us jumped up and down in excitement.


    They didn''t even want to win the individual reward...they just wanted to touch and ride a griffin.


    As the cheers got louder, I eventually gathered the courage to peek my head for a moment before immediately ducking back down.


    Within that short second, I spotted a very familiar figure walking over to the bleachers, who was obviously coming to choose the first-year participant.


    "Professor Zia... I swear to fucking god if you choose me."


    I had put up with her bullshit choice of making me class representative... but this was too damn far.


    Surely, she wouldn''t choose me.


    Surely.


    Jin and Han, hearing my anger and furious muttering, also peered their heads up for a moment before hiding again.


    Patting me on the back, Jin said.


    "...Ren, there''s no way Professor Zia hates you this much."


    Nodding my head, I sighed before basically lying down on the floor of the bleachers to hide myself.


    Professor Zia knows of my incident with Liam at the start of the year, so she should think I''m a person with immoral intentions.


    That means she won''t choose me, right?


    Right?


    However, despite Professor Zia having to be near the bleachers now with the pace she was walking with, when I glanced upward, nothing was said.


    Eventually, the students in front of us began to whisper. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Why hasn''t she chosen anyone!?"


    "...IS SHE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE OR SOMETHING!?"


    "HEY, NO TEACHER BIAST ALLOWED...CHOOSE RANDOMLY!"


    "CHOOSE ME! CHOOSE ME! PLEASE CHOOSE ME!"


    Yes... choose him, PLEASE!


    Not daring to peek my head for a single moment, I stared at Jin and Han.


    Professor Zia knew I would be with the two of them, and it was just a matter of time until they found Jin and Han as they kept peaking their heads up.


    Giving a quick wave, I was about to start crawling away when a sudden voice sounded from ahead of me.


    " *ahem* The principal has told me to pick a specific student... but it seems like he is not an attendance, which is not very surprising to me."


    "..."


    "Instead, I will be choosing someone at random."


    "...oh Lily, you''re the first person I saw. Will you please go up instead?"


    Letting out a sight of relief, I vowed to personally thank Professor Zia the next time I saw her in class.


    Also... really, Principal Seraphina?


    She really told the teachers to choose me specifically for this event!?


    I mean, it wouldn''t be far-fetched to the teachers considering the fame I was gaining for winning the battle royale, but still, she was targeting me!


    Disapprovingly shaking my head, I remained hiding with Jin and Han, just patiently waiting for the alarm to go off.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Back at the front of the bleachers, the main cast stared at Lily with confused expressions.


    Ren was definitely here in the room...Liam had literally seen him enter when he was secretly guarding the doors!


    Identifying Ren as someone with bad intentions through the use of the griffin would take a huge weight off their back as they wouldn''t have to guess anymore if Ren was participating or not.


    Lily, staring at Professor Zia in front of her, sighed.


    She couldn''t decline and just say Ren was actually somewhere here.


    Only the teachers were supposed to know that Ren was the student to be picked for this event.


    So, Lily would be revealing the fact that the principal and the main cast were partnered.


    Nodding her head, Lily reluctantly got up before heading towards the griffin that was right below the stage.

 Chapter 263: Chapter 263:Clones [3]

    There was another reason why the griffin was this next event.


    While Ren was a huge threat to their plan and needed to be taken care of, taking out a griffin for the sole purpose of identifying him was way too much.


    Instead, they brought out the griffin just in case the worst happened.


    In the end, the principal and main cast valued the lives of the students over the principal''s vault.


    So, if they had to choose between saving the students and the vault, the vault would be robbed while the students were fine.


    In case that scenario happened, the principal decided to bring one of the most valuable things from her vault.


    The griffin.


    Although the main cast didn''t get to see the inside of the vault, knowing the griffin was there, and not even the most valuable thing in the vault, made them even more curious about what else was inside the infamous vault.


    Walking towards the vicinity of the griffin, Lily spotted two other students approaching as well.


    From her right, a second-year boy approached with blonde hair that was parted in the middle to reveal his forehead and matching yellow eyes.


    To her left, a third-year girl was walking with jet-black hair, which was tied into one long ponytail, and dark red eyes.


    "...she''s oddly similar to someone else I know, isn''t she!?"


    Shaking her head and dismissing the coincidence as something random, Lily stood before the griffin.


    Although it was invisible to everyone else, Lily could feel the magic barrier in front of her due to the massive amounts of mana particles gathered together.


    Twisting her head, Lily stared at Principal Seraphina.


    And... Principal Seraphina stared right back at Lily with a confused expression. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In response to the principal''s gaze, Lily simply shrugged her shoulders before pointing at Professor Zia, who was still examining the bleachers for some reason.


    After shaking her head for a moment, Principal Seraphina gave Lily a thumbs up, basically saying, "Well... the show must go on!"


    Looking away from the principal, Lily stared at the majestic griffin in front of her.


    It was like... a combination of an eagle and a lion from Earth.


    An eagle, known for its tenacity and fearlessness, combined with a lion, an animal celebrated for its noble and bold appearance.


    Surprisingly, the griffin, the product of the two animals, actually lived up to or maybe exceeded the lion and eagle''s reputation.


    The second-year and third-year also carefully observed the griffin, looking for the best mounts to mount it.


    Lily, shaking her head, took a quick glance at the chairs where the main cast was sitting.


    Near the end or in the middle of the event, the emergency alarm would go off.


    So, Lily had to be ready to hop off the griffin and run towards the exit.


    Currently, Astrid, or the student council president, was supposed to be in charge of following Ren.


    However, considering that Professor Zia hadn''t even found him in the bleachers, it was likely that Astrid was lost as well.


    Or maybe, by some miracle, Astrid had managed to locate him.


    The main cast and Lily''s job was to eliminate any possible threats that could throw off their plan.


    Principal Seraphina and the unknowingly recruited Kaneki and Kazuki were to take care of the more serious threats like the djinns, who would actually kill and harm students.


    While Seraphina and the two alumni of Celestial Academy took care of protecting the students, the main cast would venture underground to temporarily guard the vault.


    And, once the safety of the students was ensured, which should be quite fast considering the recent construction of the courtyard that had been specifically done to stop djinns, Seraphina would help protect the vault as well.


    Dismissing her thoughts, Lily stared at the bigger problem that lay in front of her.


    Stay updated with m-v le-mpyr


    After Ren''s fight against both Kevin and Liam simultaneously during the battle royale, the reputation of the main cast takes a plunge.


    The once group of students, who were thought to be unbeatable and all-powerful, had almost lost to a former creep.


    Needless to say, their prestige had taken a steep downfall.


    While no one dared say it to their faces, they would have to be deaf to not hear the rumors and gossip circulating around the academy.


    And this opportunity to reclaim the main cast''s honors had just been handed to her in the form of winning this event.


    As the mana particles dispersed, dispelling the magical barrier surrounding the griffin, Principal Seraphina''s voice sounded.


    "Contestants, you have thirty seconds to choose your place on the griffin. After that... the last one standing... or clinging to the griffin will be victorious."


    As the last words left her mouth, Principal Seraphina pointed her wand at the griffin before muttering.


    "Sit."


    "Lie down!"


    And like a good dog, the griffin obediently followed the principal''s directions, sitting and then finally lying down on the floor of the multipurpose building.


    "Your time starts now!"


    After a couple of moments of hesitation upon seeing the mythical beast... just lying down on the floor with his back to the ceiling, Lily finally moved.


    Being the first to move and regain her composure, Lily looked for the best spot immediately.


    "The wings...no. The tummy? No... The back...?"


    As Lily began contemplating her options, the black-haired ponytail girl walked towards the griffin.


    Then, without any hesitation, the dark-red eyes girled and sat on the part of the griffin where the body and wings met.


    Within a few moments, Lily also chose her spot, walking over to the head of the griffin, where its golden beak stood.


    Climbing on top of the lying griffin, Lily finally reached her desired place or the right ear of the griffin.


    And finally, the second-year boy decided that the tail of the griffin was the best place.


    Seeing the three contestants all on the griffin, Princiapl Seraphina announced that they had chosen their respective spots.


    "The game will begin...in 3!"


    "2"

 Chapter 264: Chapter 264:Clones [4]

    In unison, Principal Seraphina once again took out her wand before pointing it at the griffin.


    "SHAKE!"


    Almost immediately, the griffin seemed to wake up as its gigantic eyes flicked open.


    Not knowing... or perhaps not caring about the three humans on it, the griffin stood up without any sudden movements.


    Then, like a dog drenched in the water, the griffin began furiously shaking itself without any sign of stopping.


    As the griffin shook left and right, the blonde student at the tail of the griffin desperately clung to its fur.


    However, the tail, being the smallest part of the griffin, easily threw the blonde-haired and yellow-eyed student off.


    Fortunately, the student managed to snatch and cling to the fur at the bottom of the griffin''s tail at the last second.


    With his legs dangling, the student desperately grasped the fur of the griffin.


    On the other hand, the black-haired ponytail student... was quite comfortable.


    When the griffin furiously shook to the right, the student got thrown against the back of the griffin.


    And, when it shook left, the student simply hit the bottom of the griffin''s wing.


    Since the student was between the bottom of the griffin''s wing and the body of it, it was almost impossible for her to fall off in the left and right direction.


    She could still fall front and backward; however, her tight grasp on the fur of the griffin prevented that.


    Finally, Lily used a similar strategy, banging between the ear of the griffin and its head.


    "YOU GOT THIS...FOR THE THIRD-YEARS RENA!"


    "CALEB, DO THIS FOR THE SECOND-YEARS."


    "LILY, WE BELIEVE IN YOU!"


    "I''M SO CONFIDENT THAT I''LL GET A BUZZ CUT IF THE THIRD-YEARS SOMEHOW LOSE!"


    "I''LL SHAVE MY HEAD OFF IF THE SECOND-YEARS LOSE!"


    "... I-i''ll get a normal haircut if the first-years lose..! Yeah! Yeah, let''s go first years!"


    *BAM*


    As a couple of seconds passed by, though, seeming like millions of years to the participants who desperately hung onto the griffin, an eventual bang sound echoed through the auditorium.


    The second-year boy''s descent from the eagle had been so fast that no one had actually realized it until he fell against the hard floor of the multipurpose building.


    For the next ten seconds, the griffin continuedly rapidly shaking its bodies, while the two girls desperately clung on.


    The red-eyed third-year seemed to be in a better situation than Lily, as her expression remained calm and persistent.


    On the other hand, expressions of pain and discomfort leaked onto Lily''s face as her body continuously banged back and forth between the inner ear of the griffin and its head.


    Seeing the situation reach an impasse as neither student refused to let go, Seraphina sighed before pointing her wand at the griffin.


    Principal Seraphina had purposely started off harshly by commanding the griffin to start shaking rapidly so that this event would end as fast as possible.


    At any moment now, the emergency alarm could go off, and Lily, alongside the third-year, would be dizzy, stunned, and stuck on the griffin while the others evacuated.


    As Seraphina''s wand rose, the griffin suddenly stopped and halted its shaking, giving the two girls a moment to recover.


    Then, no more than a second later, Principal Seraphina said while pointing her wand at the griffin.


    "Flip."


    Before the two girls could even comprehend Seraphina''s words, as their brains were stunned, the griffin suddenly moved.


    Then, in a graceful motion, the griffin jumped up in the air... before slowly flipping, its head getting closer to the ceiling with every passing second.


    At the apex of the eagle''s flip, where its beak was at the highest point possible, the two girls now flipped completely and lost their balance.


    Both girls, at the exact same time, lost their grip on the eagle and plummeted towards the floor.


    Lily, having chosen the ear as her spot, was slightly above the third-year girl as they simultaneously began their descent.


    *BANG*


    *BANG*


    As the sound of the students crashing into the floor echoed throughout the multipurpose building, Principal Serpahina immediately announced.


    "LILY... AND THE FIRST-YEARS, CONGRATULATIONS ON F-"


    *EMERECENY. THIS IS NOT A DRILL!*


    *EMERGENCY. THIS IS NOT A DRILL!*


    *ALL STUDENTS EVACUATED TO THE COURTYARD*


    *PLEASE HEAD TO YOUR DESIGNATED CLASS SPOTS*


    *YOUR CLASS REPRESENTATIVE AND CLASSROOM TEACHER WILL TAKE ATTENDANCE*


    Interrupting the principal speeches, the alarms on every wall in the building began to blare with announcements.


    "Are you fucking serious?"


    The entire building remained silent... except for one little mutter that sounded as the last announcement from the alarm played.


    Confused, almost every student in the room gazed at the principal.


    Were they supposed to follow the alarm''s directions... or the principals!?


    Thankfully, the students did not have to choose a side, as not even a moment later, the principal announced. Discover the saga at m-vl-em-pyr


    "YOU HEARD THE ANNOUNCEMENTS...TO THE COURTYARD."


    A second later, all hell broke loss.


    These were noble and smart students.


    They did not want to die.


    For the principal to have confirmed the alarm, something dangerous had to be going on.


    ...and they wanted to be no way near it.


    Students began jumping off the bleacher, rudely ignoring the stairs, and rushing towards the exit.


    Thankfully, it wasn''t an all-stampede as students did not dare push each other around but calmly and silently rushed out of the building without using any physical force.


    Lily, regaining her composure, rushed over to the chairs where the main cast sat despite the alarm blaring.


    Meeting up with Lily, Liam quickly gathered the rest before announcing.


    "As the principal said... we are simply here to take care of the small details without getting hurt. The djinns are for the principal, Kaneki, and Kevin''s br-"


    "So, you can call Kaneki by his name...but you have to say ''Kevin''s brother,'' do you!?"


    Lily, letting out a sigh while the others chuckled, interrupted.


    "Oh, come on, do we have to go through this routine every single time?"


    Kevin, raising his hands in protest, immediately replied.


    "YOU ACT LIKE THIS IS MY FAULT!?"


    Ignoring Kevin''s sudden interference, Liam continued.


    "First, we ascertain Ren''s intentions and whereabouts. Then, it''s onto the vault where we take care of any small fries."


    As the main cast nodded in approval to Liam''s words, a sudden voice sounded from behind them.


    "He''s all yours!"


    Turning around, the main cast did not see a person standing behind them... but an entire griffin.


    "..."


    The griffin had its gaze locked on the multi-purpose building exit closest to the first-years as his face flicked around so fast that it actually seemed like it wasn''t moving its head at all.


    Just as Liam was about to tell everyone to exit and leave the griffin be, he felt a sudden tap on his shoulder.


    "...hm?"


    Thinking it might have been someone bumping into him accidentally, Liam simply ignored it and opened his mouth again.


    However, before he could speak, it happened again.


    Furiously, Liam turned around, looking to see who possibly could have bumped into him twice.


    "..."


    Yet, he was met with himself.


    Quite literally.


    A person with his face, his exact height, and the air was standing right in front of him.


    The main cast, also seeing Liam''s replica, was at a loss for words.


    Though it was easy to identify between the fake and the real, as the fake''s facial features were far less defined and more pixelated, the main cast was still on edge.


    Before Liam or the main cast could even say anything, the replica opened its mouth. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I am your father, Liam."


    "..."


    "..."


    Forgetting about everything else, Liam simply stared in absolute shock and confusion.


    However, Lily, recognizing the movie references, immediately deduced the culprit.


    Speaking directly to the clone, Lily said.


    "I guess we can see this as an admission of guilt... Ren."


    The next second, the clone simply ignored them and casually walked over to the exit, entering the crowds of students trying to exit.


    Ruby, seeing the soulless replica, smiled before pulling out her smartwatch.


    The others, regaining their composures, immediately used a prepared exit, slipping past the crowds of students and immediately exiting the building.


    Feeling the sun''s rays beam down on him, Liam led the group, running towards the courtyard, which had conveniently finished construction just today.


    Kevin, running side-by-side with Alya, genuinely asked.


    "...are we just going to ignore that?"


    Alya, her silver hair falling backward as she ran, simply shrugged her shoulders.


    Liam, seeing the grass in the distance, was about to scream out when he abruptly stopped.


    "..."


    Standing in front of the near-perfect replica of himself yet again, all Liam could mutter out was.


    "How did you get ahead of us..."


    The clone, ignoring Liam''s question, simply replied.


    "Wow, it feels weird being an asshole. I don''t know how you do it 24/7...my sincerest apologies go out to you."


    Calming himself down and reminding himself of the face behind the replica, Liam simply pushed it out of the way before continuing on.

 Chapter 265: Chapter 265:Clones [5]

    Smirking, Kevin ran past the clone and followed Liam while the other girls simply ignored it.


    Except Ruby, who was at the very back of the group.


    Stopping for a second, Ruby helped the clone up before staring at it for a couple of seconds.


    "You haven''t made a replica of me ever... have you?"


    "..."


    Almost immediately, the clone of Liam began furiously shaking its head, oddly resembling the griffin from earlier.


    Chuckling at the clone''s antics, Ruby gave it one last wave before pointing to its smartphone.


    "Contact me if you need anything! But there will be a price...paid in snowballs!"


    Then, Ruby turned around and dashed towards Irene, who hadn''t noticed her absence yet.


    As Ruby''s figure disappeared and moved closer to the courtyard, the clone simply stared at its hands for a second, seemingly pondering something.


    Then, the next second, the clone furiously started shaking its head again as if trying to forcibly remove a thought from its head.


    Within a couple of seconds, the clone simply disintegrated, leaving no trace of it behind for the other students to see.


    Back on the field, the main cast rushed towards their assigned spot, where somehow Professor Zia already stood, despite being way behind them. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Dismissing it, the three boys and four girls stopped in front of Professor Zia, waiting to check in.


    They had to check in and then immediately leave for the vault.


    The djinn infiltrators would only start their heist on the vault when the djinns outside began attacking, so they still had time before anything happened.


    Professor Zia, after staring at them for a moment, checked some things off on her clipboard before slowly shifting her head to Liam.


    "*ahem* Liam... you have already been checked off."


    "..."


    While Liam furiously ran towards the group of his classmates behind Professor Zia, Lily simply raised her hand before saying.


    "...he came here, then came back to get us."


    The group of students who had already been checked in with Professor Zia stood in a circle... which was odd considering the fact that they were at each others throats just a day before during the battle royale.


    Liam, carefully maneuvering his way through the other groups of students, arrived at the circle.


    "...that bastard has to be here! He''s probably trying to make a fool out of me to the rest of the class with that damned clone!"


    Using his height, Liam peered over the circle of students, expecting to find an exact replica of himself in the middle.


    However, to his shock and disappointment, there was nothing.


    The students simply circled up and talked like normal.


    Seeing Liam, one of the students hesitated before curiously asking.


    "Liam, do you need something?"


    Shaking his head, Liam continued to examine the circle of students, making sure that no spot was unchecked.


    "No...it''s nothing."


    *FLAP*


    *FLAP*


    Interrupting Liam''s search and drawing the attention of all of the students, a loud sound emerged from above them.


    In unison, Liam and the circle of checked-in students looked upwards in shock.


    Right above Liam, a gigantic griffin floated, easily flapping its wings to stay afloat in the air.


    "Oh, right...she said it was mine for the day."


    Recalling a conversation between Lily and the principal about the griffin, Liam suddenly came up with an idea.


    Ren''s cloning of Liam had been enough alone to reveal to the main cast that he was planning something.


    But, it wouldn''t be enough evidence to convince the academy security.


    Who would believe them if they said Ren had the power to create replicas and clones of random people?


    And that he, for no reason whatsoever, made a clone of Liam...just to piss him the hell off!


    Seriously, why did he choose to clone Liam when there were six other options!?


    Although the principal trusted the main cast, she would still need sufficient evidence before allowing them to detain Ren prior to the heist.


    Again, that was the whole reason why the griffin was brought out, as it would serve as evidence.


    The clone of Liam had to be here...and as discussed earlier by Lily and the principal, clones did not fool the griffin.


    All Liam had to do was look for himself, and then the griffin would identify Ren''s intentions as evil, giving them evidence to detain and pre-emptively stop him.


    "huh?"


    Feeling a tap on his back, Liam turned around slowly...


    Could it be Ren...the replica of himself?


    Had this idiot come to him?


    "... never mind."


    Seeing Lily and the rest of the main cast behind him, Lily sighed before pointing upward at the griffin.


    "Well, we have two choices. Look for Ren and his clone of me with the griffin, or just head to the vault right now."


    Seeing the main cast begin to ponder, Lily reminded.


    "Remember...once we enter the vault area, we cannot leave it until the entire heist and djinn attack is over."


    Irene, taking less than a second to reply, confidently replied.


    "Let''s just head to the vault. We already know he has something planned; who cares if we capture him now or later."


    Nodding his head in approval, Kevin said.


    "We made specific counters for his abilities... if we manage to lose to him in the cave, then I think we should just give up and try something else. Maybe... sewing? Or, even scie-"


    Still pointing upwards at the sky, Liam then asked.


    "Well, what do we do with the griffin?"


    "Why don''t we just ride it off into the sunset like a bunch of true main characters!"


    "..."


    Slowly turning around upon hearing the different voice behind him, Liam cleaned his fist.


    Before Liam could even say anything, Zach interrupted.


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    "Hm...that sounds like a plan! After we save the vault and stop the attack, though, of course."


    Ignoring Zach, Liam stared at the shitty replica of himself with an eerily calm expression.


    "You''re down in the vault already, aren''t you? That''s why you keep sending these clones as distractions."

 Chapter 266: Chapter 266:The Vault [1]

    Faced with Liam''s calm expression and words, the clone of Liam remained perfectly still, showing no reaction.


    Leaning forward, the replica of Liam smiled before placing his mouth to Liam''s ear.


    In a voice so quiet that no recording device or anybody else could hear, the replica whispered.


    "What if I''m already in the vault?"


    Pushing the replica of himself away, Liam emotionlessly replied.


    "Then, you''d already be captured."


    Wanting to get rid of the replica in front of him, Liam showed no discretion as he pointed up at the griffin.


    "Over here!"


    However, to Liam''s surprise, the replica of himself did not move and stayed completely still.


    "Would it be so hard for you to believe that my intentions are pure!?"


    "Yes."


    "Guess you''re right!"


    Holding him the peace sign with his right hand, the replica of Liam disintegrated just before the griffin was about to examine him.


    One might argue that Ren could have just thought of a good gesture at that moment to bypass the griffin''s purity test, but that would mean that Ren would have to carry it out.


    And, that good gesture that he had to carry out would have to be bigger and more important than his intention to rob the vault.


    Turning back to face the main cast, Liam waited for their answer to his previous question.


    Alya, seeing Liam now facing them again, didn''t bother to ask about what just happened and instead immediately replied.


    "I don''t see why the griffin can''t come. He won''t be able to come with us into the deeper areas of the tunnel, but he can serve as a guard."


    Nodding their heads, the rest of the main cast approved of Alya''s idea.


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    Then, just as they were about to depart and call out to the griffin, Professor Zia''s voice finally sounded.


    "There you are, Ren."


    "..."


    Completely forgetting about heading to the vault, Liam''s gaze locks on the figure standing by Professor Zia.


    "Didn''t you hear the announcement? The class representative is supposed to help, not show up ten minutes late."


    Scratching his head, Ren said in a joking tone.


    "Well, I''m here now!"


    With her fists trembling, Professor Zia resisted the urge to do something violent... before handing the clipboard to Ren.


    Glancing at the clipboard, Ren quickly realized that it was just a list of event students in his class.


    Seeing Ren read the document, Professor Zia said.


    "A couple of students from the class are still missing. I''ll go looking for them; you remain here and check off any students who arrive late."


    Not giving Ren a chance to reply, Professor Zia began walking before halting for a second.


    "Put an X next to their names, so I know who was late."


    Glancing between the clipboard and Professor Zia''s departing figure, Ren hesitated before raising his hand.


    "...there''s an X next to my n-"


    "It''s a different X."


    "..."


    Within a couple more seconds, Professor Zia had disappeared into the crowd of the students around them.


    Behind Ren, Liam, at a loss for words, finally managed to regain his composure before asking the main cast.


    "Another clone?"


    Ruby, still staring at Ren and ignoring Liam, rubbed her eyes for a moment before confirming the presence of the soul. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Kevin, glancing back and forth between Ren and Liam, eagerly responded.


    "Well, we know an easy way to test that theory."


    Lily immediately shook her head before interrupting.


    "The djinns are bound to attack the courtyard soon; we''d be doing more harm than help by creating a fight here."


    Pausing for a moment, Lily gestured for everyone to be quiet before pointing at the griffin.


    However, Ruby, ignoring Lily''s instructions, let out a small sound, hoping it would reach someone.


    While the griffin moved forward and closer to Ren from Liam''s instructions, Ruby kept glancing behind her.


    Yet, Ren remained completely still with the clipboard in hand.


    Whether by chance or not, Ren suddenly stretched his hands and lifted his clipboard up, covering his head from the sky above.


    As the griffin''s gazes inched closer and closer to Ren''s figure, Ruby kept emitting louder and louder sounds.


    Hearing one of the sounds, Irene concernedly asked.


    "Are you feeling ill, Ruby? What are those sounds."


    Shaking her head, Ruby simply pointed at her throw before replying.


    "Hic-ups."


    Tapping Ruby on the shoulder sympathetically, Irene continued curiously watching the griffin.


    At that moment, Ruby heard a faint whisper enter her ears from behind.


    "Close your eyes."


    As Ruby closed her eyes, she managed to catch a glimpse of a green bird soaring through the sky right above them.


    *POP*


    Then, as a large popping sound echoed from above them, disrupting the griffin and blinding the main cast, Ren immediately moved.


    On the way, he tapped a familiar figure''s shoulder before whispering directly into her ear.


    "My clones could never dream of imitating or even coming close to copying your beauty in their wildest dreams."


    Without another sound, Ren dashed forward, hiding himself among the countless crowds of students.


    Liam, being the first to regain his eyesight, looked up at the griffin, hoping it had discerned Ren''s intentions in the time given.


    Yet, the griffin had nothing to show.


    Seeing the rest of the main cast regain their eyesight, Liam did not hesitate before announcing.


    "To the vault."


    While the main cast ran on land, carefully slipping through the gaps in the crowd of students, the griffin followed ahead.


    In the corner of the courtyard, a small area was still marked with the sign. "Construction in Progress."


    That... was not where the main cast and giffin were headed.


    Instead, they headed for the opposite corner, where the grass was a bit elevated.


    On the other hand, Ren''s figure could be seen jumping over the fence and ignoring the sign that read "Construction In Progress."


    Irene, seeing Ruby''s skin a bright red all over, became more concerned before eventually asking mid-run.


    "Are you sure you don''t have a fever or anything...?"

 Chapter 267: Chapter 267:The Vault [2]

    At the same time, on the opposite side of the field, two confused figures could be seen standing next to the principal''s fierce figure.


    Kaneki, with a deadpan expression, stared directly at Kazuki without saying a single word.


    Though...his silence spoke volumes.


    Unable to avoid Kaneki''s deadpan stare, Kazuki let out a sigh before saying.


    "What is it, Kaneki?"


    In a combined furious and sarcastic tone, Kaneki copied Kazuki''s tone before replying.


    " ''Oh, it''ll just be a couple of minutes, Kaneki. Come on, we''re already here. We might as well!'' "


    "..."


    Hearing a perfect replica of his voice, Kazuki was at a loss for words.


    Beside him, Principal Seraphina chuckled before muttering.


    "Some things never change..."


    Kaneki, putting one hand down in his pocket, was about to take out his smartwatch to call for pick-up when Principal Seraphina stopped him.


    Raising her hand, Seraphina stared at the two boys before smiling and saying.


    "Kaneki, it just happens I have the perfect way for you to take out that anger you''re feeling right now."


    "...?"


    "..?"


    After hesitating for a moment, as if she was trying to build up suspense, Seraphina pointed to the surrounding forests.


    "It just so happens... that we have a couple of extra visitors today."


    While Kaneki got even more furious, clenching his fist and shaking with anger, Kazuki stared at his smiling principal for a second.


    Having been the student council president and on the student council itself for all three years of his schooling earlier, Kazuki had grown close to the principal.


    So close that he could sometimes tell what she was thinking or feeling just by staring at her face.


    He was no therapist...but she did not seem shocked or worried in the slightest.


    And considering the fact that the emergency alarm had just gone off during the school''s most important event...Kazuki could easily realize something was off.


    Kazuki knew that she was a good principal...but then, he didn''t know why she wasn''t worried or concerned.


    An emergency alarm could mean anything... from fires to invaders to even air attacks.


    Yet...this great principal and ranker in front of him was simply standing still instead of trying to investigate the cause of the alarm.


    Shaking his head, Kazuki stared at his principal before asking.


    "Do you... by any chance know something about this emergency alarm that we just heard?"


    Principal Seraphina, making eye contact with Kazuki, grinned before curiously replying.


    "And what makes you think that?"


    Kazuki, about to dissect her expression to seriously explain why he thought something was off, opened his mouth.


    Yet, before any words could escape Kazuki''s mouth, he suddenly felt someone tightly gripping his shoulder.


    Kaneki, grabbing Kazuki by the shoulder, pulled him back before stepping up to the principal and saying.


    "Oh, there just so happens to be an emergency alarm when the two of us here... and you''re not even doing anything about it."


    "oh no, I''m hard at work right now..!"


    In reality, her words were true.


    Simply, her presence was preventing the djinns from attacking.


    The djinns weren''t stupid enough to all flood out of the forest when a top ranker in the entire realm was casually sitting here.


    Instead...they were waiting.


    Waiting for Seraphina to be distracted or leave to go investigate the cause of the emergency alarm.


    Seraphina, however, was also in quite a precarious position.


    She couldn''t go after the djinns right now, as they would simply grab one single student before she could do anything and use him as a hostage.


    Seeing Principal Seraphina''s sarcastic remark, Kaneki''s facial expression tightened before he eventually asked.


    "Just tell us what you want us to do, alright? We''ll do it; is that enough for you?"


    Seraphina, sensing some movement in the trees around here, still kept her gaze locked on her two former students before replying.


    "Oh, if you''re volunteering, I''ll gladly take your help!"


    Immediately after those words came out of her mouth, Principal Seraphina dropped the sarcastic and joking tone.


    Her facial expression immediately transformed as she looked dead serious, with her eyes shining an amethyst purple.


    Pulling the two boys, Principal Seraphina explained.


    "When I leave, the students here will be attacked."


    Discreetly pointing at the surrounding forest, Seraphina continued.


    "They will flood out of the forest, all from different directions. What I need you two to do is stop that."


    Hesitating for a moment, Principal Seraphina pointed at the area of the courtyard, which had a sign next to it that read, "Construction In Progress."


    "Make them all come out there. Use the hole over there as a funnel for them."


    Seeing Serpahina''s dead serious expression, Kaneki and Kazuki also both dropped their attitudes before gazing at the hole.


    After taking a moment to comprehend everything, Kazuki rapidly asked, fearing the djinns would attack at any moment.


    "If we create a field that only allows them to attack from that area...won''t it be too suspicious? I mean, they''ll realize it''s a trap and that we know, right?"


    Nodding his head in affirmation, Kaneki stopped for a moment before speaking.


    "We have to entice them...make it seem like that area is the best spot for attacking."


    Patting the two boys on the back, Principal Seraphina smiled before replying.


    "The djinns are getting restless...I can only act as a deterrent for them for so long before they start to not care and attack regardless."


    Nodding their heads, the two boys replied in unison.


    "We''ll take care of them." Your journey continues at m v|l-e-NovelFire


    Principal Seraphina smiled at the two boys before leaving them with their last instructions.


    "Once they''ll all funnel and grouped together... I''ll be there to deal them all a killing blow."


    Having already predicted something like that due to Principal Seraphina''s fame as a splash-damage attacker, the two began planning.


    Taking one last glance at the courtyard filled with students, Principal Seraphina noticed that the tunnel to the vault from the courtyard had been opened.


    Previously, there was a special elevated area in the courtyard, but now it was nowhere to be seen.


    "Oh good, they''re already down there."


    Taking her last step of the courtyard, Seraphina began speed-walking towards the administrative building.


    Just because she couldn''t help in the courtyard right now didn''t mean she couldn''t be useful somewhere else.


    Who knows? S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Maybe some djinns had already sneaked into the vicinity and were scouting out the area around the vault.


    *BOOM*


    As Seraphina opened the glass doors of the administrative building, a booming sound echoed from behind her.


    Checking the cameras on her smartwatch, Seraphina checked that no one was hurt before continuing on inside.


    Walking past the empty reception desk, Seraphina quickly made her way to the office, where a secret tunnel to her vault was located.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Back in the courtyard, Kazuki and Kaneki had already begun.


    Unbeknownst to them, all the teachers in the courtyard had been told by the principal that the two boys were currently in charge while she investigated.


    Tapping his foot up and down while examining the border between the forest and courtyard, Kaneki muttered.


    "She set us up... again!"


    With all the evidence laid out, Kazuki couldn''t even make a case to deny it.


    "Maybe...this will count towards your required community service hours?"


    Ceasing their joke and muttering, the two boys quickly got to the work.


    Kazuki headed towards the construction area to begin creating the funnel while Kaneki began luring them in.


    To lure them towards the construction area, where the gigantic hole in the ground was, Kaneki decided to bait them.


    Hearing all the side-conversations between students as they discussed the cause of the emergency alarm, Kaneki sighed before loudly yelling.


    "EVERYONE, QUIET!"


    "..."


    Staring at the source of the noise, the students all looked at Kaneki with confusion.


    After a short second of silence, all the students practically ignored Kaneki and began talking once again.


    To be fair, Kaneki only looked and was three years older than them, so they couldn''t fathom the idea that he was currently their leader.


    After turning to the teachers for help, Kaneki smiled as silence descended upon the massive ground of students.


    Getting over 700 students to shut up was a much harder task than expected...


    With all the students'' gazes on him, Kaneki proudly pointed at the area of construction before confidently announcing me.


    "Teachers, please move your students to that area and line up with them. Make a nice and well-rounded rectangle."


    Right now, there were countless students gathered around the massive courtyard.


    But... within the next few seconds, the half of the courtyard opposite the construction became clear and devoid of any students.


    Seeing the teachers and students all huddled up, Kaneki was about to speak... when he saw, out of the corner of his eye, a single teacher away from the construction area.


    Although it wouldn''t change anything, as there was already more than enough bait near the construction area, Kaneki still gestured for her to move.


    Professor Zia, sensing the student''s gaze on him, quickly replied.


    "It seems... I''m missing a couple of students from my class."

 Chapter 268: Chapter 268:The Vault [3]

    Shaking his head, Kaneki replied.


    "You can look for them now, I''ll make sure your class is watched by another teacher."


    Nodding her head, Professor Seraphina slowly walked off the field, glancing at the forest nearby with every step.


    Seeing almost every student gathered in one area, their backs to the fence with the construction sign, Kaneki glanced at Kazuki.


    Seeing him nod his head, Kaneki smiled before taking a step forward.


    After watching the fight from the battle royale, Kaneki was ready to do some fighting himself.


    He couldn''t let his own blood outshine him, could he?


    Raising his hand, Kaneki swiped at the air in front of him.


    In the next moment, a sleek and clean pitch-black katana appeared in his hands.


    The katana, in contrast to the shining sun above them, seemed to swallow up all the light around it. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It wasn''t just any katana... it was an S-rank magical artifact.


    Convincing his father to purchase and trade for the katana had been a rough and tiring endeavor, but Kaneki, with one hundred percent certainty, could say it was worth it.


    Nicknamed "The Devourer of Light," the katana was one of the less than fifty S-ranked sword artifacts in the world.


    Lightly gripping the katana in his hand as he walked towards the group of students, Kaneki slashed at the air in front of him as a test.


    *SWOOSH*


    As his katana gracefully moved through the air, it seemed to cut through the sun''s rays that reflected downward on the grass.


    Finishing his test swing, Kaneki stared at the area of air in front of him.


    It was pitch-black.


    The small area of pitch blackness in front of Kaneki stood out amongst the clear and white air all around him, seeming almost like a cloud of fog.


    Yet, it wasn''t.


    It was regular old air...there was just no light to make it transparent.


    Weighing the katana in his hand, Kaneke almost felt like he wasn''t actually holding anything, as it seemed almost resistant to the properties of gravity.


    Looking back at Kazuki, who was behind the fence and standing next to the hole, Kaneki saw that he was holding up five fingers with his hand.


    That five fingers turned to four the next second.


    "...a countdown."


    Gripping the katana, Kaneki sighed before activating his transportation ability.


    "Reality Phase," or the ability to phase through any physical inanimate and animate objects, even humans, for a short period of time.


    During this period, Kaneki becomes invisible to the human eye, but he can still damaged and hurt by spells and attacks.


    Like a ghost, Kaneki sped up before phasing through the hundreds of students gathered in the courtyard.


    Seamlessly passing by all the students, Kaneki''s ability was deactivated just as he reached the fence surrounding the hole.


    At that point, Kazuki only had one finger up, with his other hand gripping an ocean-blue spear.


    As Kazuki slowly lowered his last figure, Kaneki suddenly came up with a plan.


    A plan to get revenge. Discover hidden tales at m,v l''e-NovelFire


    Imagine if news spread that the principal sat back and did nothing while two alumni courageously defended the academy from djinns.


    The principal said to wait for her to take out the djinns, but Kaneki had plans to do anything of the sort.


    At that moment, the whole forest suddenly seemed to shudder, as the trees began to shake frantically as if they were unstable.


    Kazuki, lowering his last finger, simply stood still as countless figures emerged from the forest, revealing themselves to the students.


    However, they didn''t just stand there and wait.


    Instead, the djinns, one by one, emerged from the forest before making a mad dash across the courtyard toward the students, who were facing away from them.


    However... there was just one thing in their way.


    A giant hole and the fence that surrounded it.


    Snickering as tens of djinns began running at the two of them, Kaneki muttered.


    "You know, if they hadn''t become djinns, I really think they could have become famous track stars!"


    Flipping his spear, Kazuki pointed the tip at the incoming horde of djinns before smiling and replying.


    "I''m planning on meeting an old friend today. Could we hurry this up and skip the jokes?"


    Shaking his head, Kaneki jumped over the fence before also readying his katana.


    "Kazuki...you uncultured fiend! What''s the point of fighting if you can''t say witty one-liners while fighting!"


    Behind them and the fence, the hundreds of students began to turn around, noticing the countless djinns swarming towards them.


    Raising his hand, Kaneki made his final announcement as temporary leader of the school.


    "Teachers, take care of your students. We''ll take care of them."


    Without any more words, Kaneki slung his katana over his shoulders, letting the tip of the katana hang behind him before dashing forward.


    Why would he wait for the crowd to reach him?


    Jumping over the gigantic hole, Kaneki swung his katana mid-air, decapitating the first djinn as he landed.


    As the area around the katana''s slash turned black, Kaneki immediately met five more djinns head-on.


    Dodging an axe swing by ducking, Kaneki lowered his katana while doing a full 360 as he was crouching.


    Instantly, the five djinns surrounding Kaneki dropped to their floor as Kaneki effortlessly cut their longs.


    As five more spots of darkness popped up, Kaneki glanced at his katana, which was now covered by the horrid blood of djinns.


    Seeing Kaneki slay six of them within less than five seconds, the crowds of djinns began to slow to a halt.


    Pointing his katana downwards, Kaneki leaned against the hilt of his sword before shaking his head and saying.


    "It''s a bit too late for that...you get what you get, and you don''t throw a fit!"


    Feeling his cooldown reset, Kaneki immediately activated Reality Phase before rushing forward.


    Phasing through the horde of djinns, Kaneki smiled as he reappeared behind the horde of more than a hundred djinns.


    With Kaneki behind them... the only way the djinns could go was forward.

 Chapter 269: Chapter 269:The Vault [4]

    Pointing his katana at the horde of djinns, who had their back to him, Kaneki smiled.


    However, all the way on the opposite of the djinn hoarder, Kaneki heard Kazuki''s voice echoing out.


    "HURRY UP, WILL YOU!? STOP TRYING TO ACT MYSTERIOUS." Discover stories with m,v l''e-NovelFire.net


    "..."


    As the djinns at the back slowly turned around and realized that someone was behind them, it was already too late.


    Catching five djinns off guard, Kaneki swung his katana once, rapidly ending their lives.


    Then, without skipping a beat, Kaneki robotically moved on to the next five djinns.


    Like a killing machine, Kaneki would simply dodge for a second before striking, fatally wounding at least one djinn each time he swung his katana.


    As the back lines of the horde decreased, Kaneki danced around, flawlessly dodging attacks while simultaneously killing the front of the horde, and began to panic.


    Coming to a decision a couple of seconds later, the djinns resumed their charge, sprinting toward Kaneki and the gigantic hole.


    Standing completely still, Kaneki watched from behind the hole as countless djinns ran forward.


    Noticing the hole, the first djinn of the horde attempted to jump over..


    However...he never landed. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing the djinn jump, Kaneki stabbed his spear forward, impaling the djinn right in the air right above the hole.


    Not wasting a single moment, Kaneki threw the djinn''s body into the hole before watching as four more djinns attempted to jump over the hole.


    Repositioning himself to the side of the hole, Kaneki angled his spear so perfectly as he swung it forward that it impaled all four djinns mid-air.


    Shaking the bodies of the four djinns off his spear, Kaneki did the same thing for every single hole-crossed, flawlessly impaling them before they could even land on the other side of the hole.


    Within a few seconds, the nearly hundred djinns are decreased to less than thirty.


    With Kaneki''s constant massacre from behind and Kazuki''s perfect impaling as if he were fishing, that number decreased to zero in less than a minute.


    Staring at the ground in front of him, which was littered with blood and countless motionless djinn bodies, Kazuki sighed before putting down his katana.


    However, before sheathing the katana, Kaneki walked over to each dark spot that had been formed from his katana''s slashes.


    The dark portions of the air disappeared before flowing into Kaneki''s katana as he walked near them.


    While Kaneki cleared the area of any dark spots, Kazuki made sure there were no more djinns before turning around.


    The courtyard, once filled with students, was now empty as the teachers had probably evacuated them towards a safer space.


    After waiting a few moments, Kazuki sighed before sitting down.


    "Seraphina was never going to come, was sh-"


    "What was that, my dear student council president?"


    "..."


    Surprised by the sudden voice, Kazuki looked up at the source, noticing a familiar figure levitating in the air above him.


    As Kazuki stared at Principal Seraphina in shock, Kaneki finished clearing all the dark spots and walked over.


    Examining the courtyard, which was quite odd... as one small part of it was painted blood-red and filled with bodies while the rest of it was completely normal, Seraphina said.


    "There''s still a couple more if you two would like t-"


    "Nope."


    Interrupting Seraphina''s mid-sentence, Kaneki sheathed his katana before hopping the fence and walking away from the courtyard.


    Raising his hand as he walked away, Kaneki said.


    "I''m getting lunch at the cafeteria now that it''s empty."


    Watching Kaneki''s fleeting figure, Kazuki leaned back before saying.


    "If you really do need our help, we''ll be there... but I doubt there''s anything that could challenge you, principal."


    Giving Kazuki a nod, Seraphina quickly said.


    "Why don''t you go on and enjoy a meal as well, Kazuki? You two have been a great help."


    Without waiting for Kazuki''s response, Seraphina immediately disappeared before repeating above the administrative building.


    Descending to the ground, Seraphina swung open the doors before making her way down the secret set of stairs hidden in her office.


    Back in the courtyard, Kazuki simply sat down next to the massive hole, staring at the sky.


    "I think I''ll pass on lunch today."


    ...


    ...


    ...


    "...you know the wealthy report never said anything about it raining FUCKING BODIES, MAN!"


    Hidden in the corner of the hole and surrounded by countless bodies, Ren resisted the urge to puke and pass out from the terrible smell combined with the gruesome sight.


    "If only this enhanced eyesight had an off button..."


    Closing his eyes, Ren hesitated before turning back around.


    He hadn''t been just sitting in this massive hole the entire time... but digging.


    Having already found the perfectly efficient digging method from the battle royale, Ren had already made a massive tunnel that started at the hole.


    Walking away from the hole, Ren ventured deeper into his tunnel until he finally met the end.


    Instead of their being dirt, the end of the tunnel was a massive metal wall that stretched horizontally, preventing Ren from just tunneling around it.


    Staring at the metal wall, Ren sighed.


    "Yeah, so the academy neglects its outside boundaries, which allowed a hundred djinns inside just today, BUT BUILD A FUCKING METAL WALL UNDERGROUND?"


    "MAKE IT MAKE SENSE PLEASE!"


    Calming himself down, Ren tried to think of a way to break the metal wall while being discreet.


    *MEOW*


    Hearing his cat purr from behind him, Ren''s facial expression tightened


    When he went back to his dorm, his cat refused to allow him to leave until Ren finally brought the cat in his hoodie.


    The cat, awakened by Ren''s screaming, jumped out of his hoodie.


    Walking to the walls of the tunnel, which were dirt, the cat pawed at the unstable wall for a couple of seconds.


    A small hole quickly formed in the wall from the cat''s claws, and as it moved away, water suddenly began spouting out of the hole.


    "..."


    Staring at the water flooding out of the tiny hole, Ren came to a realization.


    "...oh wait, we''re on an island, aren''t we!?"

 Chapter 270: Chapter 270:The Vault [5]

    The vault was hidden away at the lowest part of the island, so it wouldn''t be visible when people did underground scans of the island.


    Faced with the wall of metal that blocked his way forward, there was only one thing Ren could do.


    Dig straight down!


    Having come prepared for the occasion, unlike during the battle royale, Ren set down a couple of sticks of dynamite on the floor.


    Then Ren made countless holes in the ground below, laying down sticks of dynamite in each of the holes.


    "...that should be more than enough firepower, shouldn''t it?"


    Stepping back from the dynamite, Ren manifested a dagger before allowing it to shine a blood-red.


    Falling father back into the tunnel, Ren made sure he was far out of the blast range before readying his blood-red shining dagger.


    Raising the dagger above his shoulder, Ren acted like he was shooting a bow as he calculated the perfect trajectory for the dagger so that he hit the dynamite.


    "You know...at this very moment, I think I might just be happy I got transmigrated into this world instead of having to go to college."


    Going to lectures and taking midterms?


    Hard pass!


    Destroying shit with bunches of dynamite in a world filled with magic.


    "HELL YEAH!"


    Recalling those American movies where the main characters would set off explosions and then walk away, with the explosion visible in the distance as they walked away in slow-motion, Ren smiled.


    A high-school student turned magic-school student turned actor!


    Reeling back his hand, Ren released the dagger from his hands, allowing it to fly forward gracefully.


    Spinning around in the air, the dagger began its descent, aiming right at the sticks of dynamite closest to the metal wall.


    Turning around, partially to recreate the scene... and partially out of fear, Ren covered his ears before sprinting away.


    At the same time, the dagger perfectly landed on the sticks of dynamite, the blood-red tip of the tag embedding itself in one of the sticks.


    *BOOM*


    *BOOM*


    *BOOM*


    *BOOM*


    *BOOM*


    In quick succession, the first stick of dynamite activated, causing all the ones around it to detonate and finally causing the sticks below the grind to explode.


    The entire tunnel ground shook, throwing Ren off balance and forcing him to cling to the wall to balance.


    Simaltenousy, above the ground, the explosion shook the ground where Kanzuki was sitting, instantly waking him up from his daydream.


    Feeling the ground shake, Kazuki quickly stood up confusedly before glancing around.


    "Principal Seraphina...?"


    Hearing no response from the principal, Kazuki cautiously walked over to the tunnel before looking downwards.


    Almost immediately, though, he covered his eyes and looked away upon seeing the mountain of corpses below.


    Not completely dismissing the earthquake, Kazuki simply stood by the hole with his spear ready.


    Right below Kazuki, Ren slowly uncovered his ears as the sound of rocks tumbling around and dynamite blowing up came to a pause.


    Turning around, Ren covered his mouth with his hand upon seeing the damage.


    "...I might have miscalculated... by a tiny bit."


    Walking towards where the floor used to be, Ren saw a massive crater.


    The crater completely separated Ren from the metal wall, which was somehow not dented or damaged in the slightest.


    Well, that was to be expected.


    In the end, no matter how loud or strong they were, dynamite were a regular-human good while the metal wall was embued with magic, a divine energy.


    However, Ren could not care less about the undamaged metal wall.


    Looking down at the crater, Ren didn''t see any ground...there was just water.


    At the very bottom of the crater, instead of the floor, the water below the island was visible.


    Staring at the ocean-blue water at the bottom of the crater, Ren peered downwards, making sure the seafloor was deep enough.


    And sure enough... Ren was looking at the ocean.


    Picking up his last dynamite stick, Ren walked to the very edge of the hole.


    Like a rose, Ren placed the dynamite stick in his mouth, holding it there with his teeth. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    With a stick of dynamite now in his open mouth, Ren manifested yet another blood-red dagger.


    Shedding his sweatshirt and shirt, Ren took one last glance at the cave... before assuming a diving posture?


    Ren, with his two legs stretched out ahead of him, kneeled down on the ground while his head looked straight down into the water.


    In a graceful motion, Ren used his two back feet to propel himself in the air.


    Then, mid-air, Ren flipped, with his two hands facing the dark blue ocean water.


    With his legs up to the ceiling of the cave, Ren rapidly descended deeper and deeper until his hands finally hit the ocean water.


    Seamlessly, Ren passed through the water, diving all the down to the ocean floor.


    Clenching his teeth, Ren also managed to keep the dynamite stick from slipping out of his mouth.


    Flipping around once again, Ren stood on the ocean floor, staring up at the massive body of the land above him.


    The ocean was pitch black as the island prevented the sun from reaching it; however, that was no problem for Ren with his enhanced eyesight, which was also enhanced by his perk, "Sea God''s Believer."


    Basking in the sensation of the water for a second, Ren quickly glanced around before raising his blood-red dagger.


    Then, propelling himself off the ocean blue, Ren slowly ascended upwards until his dagger was touching the bottom of the island.


    Pushing his dagger up further, Ren made a hole in the bottom of the island eventually.


    Removing the dynamite stick from his mouth, Ren used his other hand to push the dynamite up, embedding it in the island.


    The stick of dynamite was put in a hole in the island that Ren had made, so no water was touching it.


    Find your next read at m_v l|e-NovelFire.net


    Then, flipping around in the water once again, Ren turned around so that his feet touched the island, and his face stared right down at the ocean floor.

 Chapter 271: Chapter 271:Underwater [1]

    Then, in a fluid and graceful motion, Ren struck his dagger upwards, activating the stick of dynamite.


    Propelling himself off the bottom of the island, Ren surged downwards to the ocean floor.


    At the same time, the dynamite exploded, causing a bout of damaged rock to fall into the ocean.


    As the rock descended into the ocean, causing a massive splash, Ren slowly ascended again.


    Seeing a big hole in the bottom of the island created by the dynamite explosion, Ren emerged from the water.


    Peeking his head up through the hole, Ren slowly raised himself upward with his hand.


    Thankfully, the floor wasn''t covered with any steel, so Ren could manifest a corrupted shovel and start digging his way upward.


    Explore more stories with m,v l''e-NovelFire.net


    Right now, the principal should be defending the incoming djinns attempting to rob, so the vault was completely free to take.


    Ren had to make a slight alteration to his plans upon seeing the two variables, in the form of recruiters, emerge.


    Instead of attacking at the first possible moment to catch everyone off guard, Ren had decided to emerge at the last possible moment.


    Making a big enough hole in the island, Ren raised his legs out of the water before lying down.


    Staring up at the massive amount of stone separating him from the vault, Ren sighed.


    Picking up his shovel, Ren slowly... but surely dug upwards.


    At this point, using explosions or any other powers to speed up the process would be impossible.


    The first explosion worked as the metal wall prevented the sound from reaching the vault area.


    And the sound of the last explosion had been dampened by the water, but if Ren used any explosions now, they would surely be noticed.


    Manifesting a corrupted pickaxe, Ren placed it in his other hand before switching tools.s


    For the dirt, he would use the shovel, and for the stone, he would use the pickaxe!


    ...


    ...


    ...


    A bit above Ren, the main cast stood in front of a large obsidian wall with confused expressions.


    It seemed Principal Seraphina had added some new layers of protection since they had last been here.


    Liam, walking towards the main cast, raised his sword before saying.


    "There are no intruders... yet."


    Lily, thinking for a moment, shrugged her shoulders before lowering her wand.


    The rest of the main cast also put their weapons down upon hearing Liam''s announcement.


    And a few meters away from the main cast, a large griffin stood.


    The griffin, it''s head not even reaching the ceiling of the underground space actually had a lot of extra space, despite its large size.


    However... Its entrance into the tunnel was far from noble or confident.


    Liam and Kevin quite literally had to push the griffin''s back so that it would fit down the hole and into the underground space.


    *TAP*


    *TAP


    Hearing the sound of footsteps echo throughout the space, Liam immediately raised his sword.


    Regrouping with Liam, the rest of the main cast raised their weapons while the magic users began preparing spells.


    However, as the source of these footsteps came into sight, an audible sigh left the students''s mouths.


    Principal Seraphina, now dressed in sleek silver armor that looked more like casual clothes than battle armor, waved before asking.


    "Any trouble yet?"


    Putting his sword down, Liam calmly replied.


    "Not so far..."


    "Well, don''t count on it lasting."


    Walking to the entrance of the vault, Principal Seraphina placed her hand on the obsidian, feeling the smooth and glassy surface. S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After a moment, she turned around to face the main cast before saying.


    "Well, you all are dismissed for the day! Thanks for your hard work... your efforts will not go unpunished!"


    "..."


    Confused and bewildered, the main cast stood there, silently staring at the principal.


    Hard work?


    They had done nothing!


    The main cast had gone from fighting dark elves and protecting the Elden tree... to doing this?


    Surprised by the change of pace and lack of action, Liam muttered after a few seconds.


    "T-this is it?"


    Sighing, Seraphina nodded her head.


    Leaning downward, Seraphina made eye contact with each of the main cast members before finally replying.


    "You all have already done enough for the school in my absence. It''s time I stepped in and actually did my job."


    "All of you must be used to risking your lives to help and protect. It must be normal to you all."


    "But, trust me... that''s far from normal. You seven are a bunch of students too... who deserve to enjoy your young years."


    "Once this is all said and done, let''s have a nice Christmas dinner!"


    "..."


    Seraphina, sensing some action around the underground space, handed the main cast a wooden stick.


    Alya, graciously grabbing the wooden stick, stared at it for a moment before confusedly staring at Seraphina.


    Responding to the student''s confused gaze, Seraphina laughed and said.


    "A friend of mine gave it to me. It''s a one-time use device that teleports you all back up to the surface."


    Huddling up, Alya placed the wooden stick in the middle of them before asking.


    "Should we really go...?"


    Ruby, nodding her head, checked her smartwatch, only to see it out of service before replying.


    "We''re only be a burden to her if we stay..."


    As the main cast nodded in approval, Alya was about to break the wooden stick with her hands when the walls suddenly started shaking.


    Before the main cast could react, dozens of holes appeared in the walls, revealing countless figures with masks who were all hiding in the walls.


    Right next to the main cast, a masked figure suddenly rushed forward through the hole and seized the wooden stick.


    Propelling himself upward, the masked figure grabbed the stick before jumping over the main cast.


    Then, as countless other figures emerged from the wall, the masked figure ignored the main cast and stared at the principal, who had begun to fight.


    Tilting his mask, the masked figure attacked some sort of device to the stick.


    Then, a second later, the masked figure hurled the stick right at the principal.

 Chapter 272: Chapter 272:Underwater [2]

    The broken stick, glowing a dark purple, seemed to ignite as it flew towards Principal Seraphina.


    Distracted by the crowd of djinns in front of her, Seraphina didn''t pay any heed to the quickly approaching stick.


    Then, just as the stick got close enough, it seemed to grow class.


    A dark purple substance sprouted out of the wood before grabbing onto Principal Seraphina.


    Then Principal Serphina disappeared, disintegrating into countless purple particles.


    Seraphina noticed something was off as her surroundings were blurry, and she immediately went down.


    A second later, Seraphina''s surroundings suddenly stabilized, revealing the beautiful scenery of the capital city.


    And right in front of her was a luxurious hotel, even better than the costly and amazing royal dormitories.


    Regaining her composure, Seraphina stared at the hotel before confusedly muttering.


    "This was supposed to be my reward for those students..."


    Then, it clicked.


    "If I''m here... then they''re back down in the cave..."


    Realizing that she had been transported by the teleportation stick instead of the student, Seraphina immediately broke into a sprint.


    Pure-white wings sprouted from her right and left shoulders, making her seem like some sort of angel.


    Flying over the countless skyscrapers and buildings in the capital, Seraphina let out a sigh as she approached the bridge and the body of water below.


    Dismissing her wings, Seraphina descended onto the bridge before running as fast as she could.


    However, as she got nearer to the Academy, it quickly became apparent that something was wrong.


    "t-that''s too much mana."


    There was far too much mana gathered around the academy...enough to form a magic boundary.


    Stopping in her tracks, Seraphina quickly cast a fireball spell and sent it flying towards the academy.


    And just as she expected, the fireball suddenly disappeared right as he approached the academy''s gates.


    "They set up a magical wall to stop me from getting back in..."


    They had been prepared... much more prepared and organized than the students had informed her.


    No...it was her fault.


    The students had given her a warning, and despite that, she had somehow failed.


    Why had she expected everything to go just as the student had told her?


    She hadn''t even considered the fact that the djinns could use another strategy to directly counter her.


    Shaking her head, Seraphina immediately grabbed her smartwatch and opened the messages application.


    Finding a group chat with the users [TokyoGhoul] and [ShadowKazuki], Seraphina began rapidly typing.


    If this barrier had been made to prevent her from entering, then she doubted that Kazuki and Kaneki could destroy it.


    And even if they could, the boundary would likely be under close surveillance by the group of djinns.


    By the time Kaneki and Kazuki had finished off the guarding djinns and disabled the magic boundary, the students down below would already be dead.


    Not using any sarcasm, Principal Seraphina rapidly began typing.


    [Need help asap. I''m trapped outside; I need you two.]


    [Go to the school administrative building and enter my office. You can enter my office by pressing a secret level approximately two meters away from the doorknob.]


    [From there, head to my desk, and the pathway down should already be opened.]


    [Students are currently trapped down there, and I am unable to help due to a magic barrier that is preventing me from entering.]


    [Please let me know when you see this message.]


    With her hands trembling, Seraphina anxiously awaited a message back before continuing her run toward the magic boundary.


    Feeling an invisible force preventing her from moving any farther forward, Seraphina took out her want before casting a barrage of spells.


    A tsunami, capable of devouring half of the island, emerged alongside countless pure-white swords manifested above Seraphina''s head


    Pointing her wand at the magic barrier, Seraphina sent the tsunami forward, also causing the pure-white swords to fly toward the barrier.


    As expected, the tsunami was stopped by the magical barrier, and instead of devouring the island, it consumed the magical boundary.


    The tsunami flowed over the barrier, blocking the sun from reaching the academy and turning it dark for a moment.


    On the other hand, the pure-white swords faired a bit better as they didn''t immediately break upon impact with the magical boundary.


    However, they simply banged into the barrier before turning lifeless and dropping to the floor of the bridge.


    Rubbing her hands together, Seraphina pulled a familiar book out of her pocket before opening it.


    Scrolling through the various pages, Seraphina finally stopped on one, which displayed the image of a sea serpent.


    Below the picture of a serpent slithering in the depths of the ocean, a small caption was written. Continue your adventure at m|v-l''e -NovelFire.net


    [Leviathan: The God of the Sea / Last seen: Never / Believers: Church of the Sea / Rank: ???]


    Knowing that she couldn''t maintain the illustration for long, Seraphina pulled out her emergency reserves.


    In her hands, a couple of mana potions appeared, each filled with a dark purple substance.


    "It''s a been a while since I''ve run out of mana..."


    Placing the open book on the floor, displaying the image of Leviathan in the sea, Seraphina took out her wand before pointing it downward at the book.


    Opening her mouth, Seraphina''s wand began to shine a bright blue as she began to chant.


    "I summon thee, Leviation. Conqueror of the Seas, I request thy help. I hope thy accept my request to save." S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    *


    At the same time, below the main cast and the principal''s vault, where a battle was taking place, Ren suddenly ceased his diggings.


    Feeling a shaking sensation in his hoodie, Ren sighed before slowly removing his cat.


    "Oh god, what is it now!?"


    First, this bratty cat forced Ren to take it with him, complicating his robbery of the vault further, and now it was interrupting his digging!


    Had it forgotten who the master was and who the pet was!?


    At this point, the tunnel upward had become big enough, so Ren placed the cat on the ground, hoping to allow it to roam around would calm it down.


    However, the cat, oddly, instead of running around and enjoying its freedom simply walked to the wall of the cave.

 Chapter 273: Chapter 273:Underwater [3]

    Then, the cat placed its paw on the cave, also locking its gaze on the wall.


    Paying no mind to his cat''s insane antics, Ren picked up his corrupted shovel and continued digging.


    Hearing the sound of swords clashing above, Ren sped up his pace, realizing that the fight between the principal and djinns might have already started.


    On the other hand, the cat glanced back at Ren.


    Noticing that Ren wasn''t looking at it, the cat quickly took a deep breath before sitting back down.


    Unbeknownst to Ren, the cat''s entire body started shining a bright blue.


    Without any hesitation, the cat placed its shining light-blue paw on the wall.


    Then, after a couple of seconds of keeping its paw there, the cat''s body finally returned to normal as the blue hue surrounding it disappeared.


    Yawning as if it had just done something normal, the cat walked over to Ren before throwing its paw at his leg.


    "..."


    Staring at his caw, which was angrily scratching his leg, Ren sighed before dropping his shovel.


    "CHOOSE ONE, EITHER SLEEP OR DON''T!"


    Sighing, Ren picked the cat up before placing it in his hoddie.


    And the cat had no complaints, simply lying down and recuperating in the hoodie of its master.


    *


    Back on the surface, Seraphina opened his mouth in shock upon seeing her wand begin to shine an even brighter blue.


    Normally, gods or mythical beasts didn''t accept requests from normal people unless they were part of their supporting church; for some reason... it seemed the God of the Sea had noticed her.


    Whether that was a good or bad thing was still unknown to Seraphina.


    Stopping her hand from shaking, Seraphina unscrewed the mana potions before placing one of them in her mouth.


    After gulping down every single one of her emergency mana potions, Seraphina closed his eyes before lowering her wand.


    At that moment, the drawing of Leviathan in the book suddenly began shining a similar light blue.


    Then, a line formed from the tip of Seraphina''s wand to the drawing of Leviathan.


    The light blue between the drawing and the wand grew stronger and stronger as more light blue was added, making the bond thicker.


    Barely managing to keep her composure, Seraphina continued with her eyes closed, taking deep breaths in and out every second.


    Then, a second later, the bond suddenly disappeared.


    As the bond between the two objects broke, Seraphina suddenly felt a giant breeze flying against her.


    Even with her S-ranked strength, Seraphina was still pushed back by the freeze, flying backward until she finally landed.


    However, there was no expression of pain on her face.


    Simply a smile.


    It had worked.


    Looking up, Seraphina noticed the bright sun was nowhere to be seen.


    Instead, a bunch of grey clouds suddenly appeared, completely covering the sky.


    *DRIP*


    *DROP* S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    *DRIP


    *DROP*


    As raindrops began to descend from the sky, Seraphina got up before raising her wand.


    Attempting to cast a fireball, Seraphina focused on the tip of her wand... however, nothing had happened.


    She had truly run out of mana, and considering she had one of the highest mana capacities in the entire world, that was a major feat.


    But where had all that mana gone?


    As the rain increased, causing the previously dry Serpahina to become drenched within a matter of seconds, the surface of the body of the water below the bridge suddenly started rippling.


    *BZZT*


    Ignoring the notification from her smartwatch, Seraphina walked to the edge of the bridge before peering downwards at the body of the water below.


    The water below wasn''t blue at all... it was black.


    It was as if something gigantic was casting a shadow on the entire body of water. Explore more at m,v l''e-NovelFire.net


    *


    Kazuki, checking the dozen unread messages on the smartwatch, immediately stood up when he saw Serpahina''s urgent message.


    Not bothering to remind Kaneki as he should have also received the message, Kazuki reluctantly left the hole behind.


    Rushing toward the administrative building, Kazuki sprinted and jumped over various obstacles.


    As he approached the administrative building, he suddenly felt a raindrop hit his hair.


    "Wasn''t the sun shining so brightly a couple of seconds ago?"


    Staring up at the sky, Kazuki confusedly realized that it looked like a massive rainstorm was incoming as the entire sky was plagued by grey clouds.


    Why the hell couldn''t this damn season, winter, choose one weather?


    First, snow, clear skies, and sun shining, and now, finally, raining?


    Just choose one and stick to it like summer when it''s always clear skies!


    Ignoring the sudden change in weather as the protection of the students below was more important, Kazuki entered the administrative building.


    Pulling out his smartwatch, Kazuki typed a quick message to Seraphina and Kaneki before rushing by the security desk.


    Finding Serpaihna''s office hidden away in the corner of one of the corridors, Kazuki followed the instructions, successfully opening the door on his first try.


    Seeing a pair of stairs in the corner of her office, Kaneki allowed the door to shut behind him before running down the stairs.


    As he went deeper and deeper below, the sounds of metal clashing and screams became louder and louder.


    Preparing himself for another battle, Kaneki grabbed his spear before increasing his pace to the maximum.


    Reaching the bottom, Kaneki moved through a small little tunnel before eventually spotting a single djinn.


    Not giving it a second to react, Kaneki threw his spear forward, instantly impaling the djinn and attaching it to the wall behind.


    Raising his hand, Kaneki continued running forward as the spear reappeared in his right hand, leaving the dead djinn behind.


    Reaching the main area where the vault was located, Kazuki hesitated upon seeing around twenty djinns all gathered together.


    What down here was so important that it required 20 B-level djinns?


    Dismissing his curiosity, Kaneki looked around for a second before eventually spotting the main cast, who were engaged in a battle with some djinns.


    Despite being significantly overwhelmed number-wise, the first-year students seemed to be actually holding their ground.

 Chapter 274: Chapter 274:Underwater [4]

    Zach was at the front of the group, wielding his gigantic battle axe against the group of djinns gathered in front of him.


    Though the djinns had the clear number advantage, that didn''t mean they were able to surround the main cast.


    With the obsidian wall of the vault behind them, Alya had realized and decided to use it to their advantage.


    With her ice sword, Alya manifested ice pillars that stretched all the way from the ground to the ceiling of the underground space.


    The pillars covered the left and right sides of the main cast, meaning the djinns could only attack from the front.


    The main case that created a funnel for the djinns. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After Zach made first contact with the djinns, temporarily stunning them with the power of his battle axe, Liam and Kevin made their moves.


    Like a wolf hunting for its prey, Kevin would pounce forward with his sword, which was covered in a dark red hue.


    His dark red hue would slice at the djinns'' stomach, forcing them to turn away from Zach and face him.


    While his attacks were nowhere near fatal, they still stunned the djinns and forced them to look away from Zach.


    However, just as the djinns stopped attacking Zach and went for their attacker, Kevin immediately retreated back behind Zach.


    On the other hand, Liam was like a lion, openly using his light-blue covered sword without showing any sign of moving forward and coming back.


    Liam simply stayed still, forcing the djinns to come to him.


    His light-blue sword cleaved through the hordes of djinns flooding toward them, making the room shine a light blue.


    These djinns, overwhelmed by their desire to get inside the vault, didn''t take a step back and make a new plan.


    Instead, they continued flooding into the tunnel just as the main cast had planned.


    Behind the physical weapon users, the magic casters of Alya, Ruby, Irene, and Lily stood with their wands shining.


    Their goal was to support Zach, who was at the forefront of their plan.


    In other words, if Zach fell, everyone would fall as the djinns would flood into them.


    Ruby and Irene, the fire element users, synchronized their spells so that they could save both mana and time.


    Ruby would only attack once Irene''s flame spell had worn out and vice versa.


    This meant that, in order to reach Zach, the djinns had to step throughs fire and lava, weakening them even further.


    On the other hand, Alya used all her energy to maintain the ice barriers surrounding them.


    Some djinns were beginning to attack and scratch at the ice pillars, so Alya had to be constantly on guard to repair them before any holes were made.


    If Alya''s ice walls were broken, their entire strategy would fall apart as the djinns would swarm them from all sides.


    Right now, they were just being attacked from one direction, so it would be relatively manageable if they all worked together. However, if they were contested from all directions, their downfall would be inevitable.


    Finally, Lily worked on slowing the pace of djinns.


    Shooting beams of water over the heads of Zach, Liam, and Kevin, Lily aimed them right before the wall of fire made by Irene.


    The pools of water not only slowed the pace at which djinns flooded through as they slipped and fell, but Lily had also added a special effect.


    That wasn''t just any water under them.


    It was acid water.


    Although its appearance on the outside was normal, if you took one step on it, you would be in for a world of pain.


    The djinns felt like they were walking on flaming hot charcoal. Stay connected through m-v l|e''-NovelFire.net


    The djinns were first forced to walk on acid water, slowing their pace and harming their feet.


    Next, they had to walk through a wall of fire, which would shred all of their clothing and put burn marks on their entire body.


    And then, if they even managed to get this far, they would be immediately faced with a gigantic battle axe that was bigger than them.


    Finally, they would also have to simultaneously deal with two sword attacks, one who attacked and ran while the other constantly fought.


    Needless to say, the journey to the vault for the djinns was a painful one.


    However, it was not an impossible one.


    Looking at the strategy of the first years, Kazuki immediately recognized the problem that would lead to their downfall.


    Surprisingly, it had nothing to do with energy or mana problems.


    On that part, they were actually doing quite well as they saved mana by synchronizing spells and conserved energy by switching out physical attackers.


    The problem had to do with the size of the vault''s obsidian door entrance.


    The main cast was only blocking a small portion of the obsidian wall that led into the vault.


    Sooner or later, the djinns would realize that.


    Then, instead of going through a world of pain and fighting through the main cast, they would simply go up.


    By making a hole in the upper portion of the wall, which was not protected in the slightest, the djinns could easily bypass the main cast.


    And the first-years couldn''t even do anything about it as if they moved from their already fragile situation, chaos would ensue.


    Putting his hand on his forehead, Kazuki silently hoped that the principal would return soon before heading ahead.


    Instead of sneaking at the djinns as he was completely behind them, Kazuki simply ignored them.


    Thanking the water caster of the first-years for creating the small body of water, Kazuki took one last step forward.


    The next moment, his figure disappeared from his previous spot.


    And within the next second, his head and only his head were visible...on the opposite side of the djinns.


    It was a bizarre sight, to say the least.


    Kazuki''s head peeked up through the pool of acid water that Lily had created, making it seem as if there were just a decapitated head lying around in the water.

 Chapter 275: Chapter 275:Underwater [5]

    The next second, it wasn''t just Kazuki''s head that was peeking above the pool of acid water... but also the tip of his spear.


    Preparing himself, Kazuki waited until there was a pause where the pool of acid water was relatively clear of any djinns.


    Then, he propelled himself upward and instantly emerged from the pool of acid water.


    His entire head, followed by the rest of his head, emerged from below the pool of acid water.


    But it didn''t stop there as Kazuki flew upwards, until his head touched the roof of the underground space.


    Feeling himself start to decent, Kazuki immediately flipped around his spear before stabbing into the nearest ice pillar that Alya created.


    With one hand on his spear that was attached to Alya''s ice pillar, Kazuki simply hang in the hair.


    Zach, who was too focused on paralyzing djinns with his battle axe, didn''t even notice anything was wrong.


    The same could be said for Liam, who was too focused on fending off the horde of the djinns fighting him.


    The spell casters of the group were also oblivious to the whole situation as their sight of the acid water was blocked by the physical attackers.


    However, Kevin, who had time to relax and look around as he retreated, noticed the strange phenomenon.


    At first, when he noticed the head simply floating above the pool of acid, Kevin just dismissed it as a decapitated head.


    However, as he kept attacking and dodging, he realized that the head actually looked somewhat familiar.


    "...that hair...what? No...it can''t be."


    Taking a risk, Kevin went further out than usual to attack the djinns, trying to get a better look at the floating head.


    However, the wall of fire Irene made in front of him made it hard to see anything.


    Retreating with his failed attempt to see the skull better, Kevin glanced behind him at Ruby and Irene.


    At that moment, Irene''s wand was beginning to flicker, so Ruby quickly stepped forward, ready to take her place.


    Realizing that the wall of fire would fall for a second as Ruby took over, burning the djinns while Irene recuperated mana, Kevin suddenly smiled.


    He would finally get a better look at the floating head!


    As the wall of flames began to flicker and descended to the ground, Kevin took a moment to preemptively step forward.


    Once again, going further out than usual, Kevin glanced at the head...but it was no longer a head.


    Slowly but surely, the head was moving upwards, and below the floating head, a shoulder could be seen peaking out of a pool of acid water.


    "...what the fuck!?" Discover exclusive content at m,v l''-NovelFire.net


    It was physically impossible for an entire body to be stored below the pool of water, so Kevin stood there in shock.


    "KEVIN, GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!" sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Regaining his composure while listening to Liam''s screen, Kevin plunged his sword one last time before retreating back to his position.


    Instead of there being a wall of flames, there was now a massive river of lava in the ground.


    The lava was just high enough so that djinns couldn''t jump over; however, some djinns still attempted.


    As they attempted their jump over the river of lava, the bottom of their foot would touch of the lava.


    Halting their jump mid-air out of pain, the djinn falls into the river of lava, being consumed by the fiery depths.


    Forgetting the head and pushing out of his head, Kevin resumed his normal attack pattern.


    On the other side, Liam deflected one sword slash before ducking to avoid another.


    Not wasting a second, Liam immediately counterattacks, stabbing his light-blue sword right into the chest of another djinn.


    Then, Liam suddenly swung his sword left and right with the body of the previous djinn still on the sword.


    One djinn, propelled to the left by Liam''s swing, was immediately met by Zach''s gigantic battle axe.


    And the other simply slammed right into the cave wall.


    However, instead of getting back up and rejoining the swarm of djinns trying to get past the main cast, the djinn simply stopped.


    Slowly, it gazes more and more up until it finally reaches the top of the obsidian door.


    Alternating glances between the heavily protected bottom portion of the obsidian door and the completely unprotected top portion, the djinn smiled.


    Raising his claws, the djinn pointed towards the unprotected top portion of the door before screaming.


    "UP! UP! UP! UP! UP AND IN!"


    Some of the djinns, either ignoring the djinn''s scream or not hearing it due to the fight, continued swarming ahead.


    However, the djinns at the black slowly shifted their gaze upwards, following the finger of the screaming djinn.


    Seeing this, the screaming djinn turned around before beginning to scale the cave wall.


    Following his lead, countless other djinns began leaving the swarm and instead heading to the walls.


    Eventually, they were around ten djinns all rapidly scaling the walls of the underground space.


    The front-line physical attacks, to focus on the swarm of djinns attacking them, remained oblivious.


    However, Irene, who was currently on rest to regain mana while Ruby manifested the river of lava, noticed after a couple of seconds.


    Not wasting a moment, Irene suddenly yelled.


    "LILY, THEY''RE GOING UP. THEY''RE TRYING TO BREAK THROUGH THE TOP OF THE DOOR!"


    The screaming djinn, reaching the ceiling of the underground space, immediately jumped onto the obsidian wall.


    Embedding its longer fingernails into the original wall, the djinn hung for a second before using one of its hands to pull out a sword.


    Seeing this, Lily halted her spell-casting for a second and stared at the djinn.


    Without a moment of hesitation, the djinn grabbed a small device that had a red switch on top of it before slowly placing the device nearer and nearer to the obsidian door.


    At that same time, the djinns, no longer impeded by Lily''s pool of acid, started increasing their pace as more of them swarmed Zach.


    Lily, desperately thinking of a plan, opened her mouth; before she could speak, a sudden noise interrupted her.


    *BANG*


    The corpse of the djinn, who was just attached the obisian door, was now lifelessly laying on the ground.

 Chapter 276: Chapter 276:Protect or Rob? [1]

    Before Lily could even react to the lifeless djinn''s body, a sudden voice sounded from above her.


    Looking upward, Lily spotted a figure hanging mid-air with his spear from Alya''s wall of ice.


    Making eye contact with Lily, Kazuki waved before saying.


    "The principal sent me to help. Don''t worry about those climbing ones; I''ll take care of all of them."


    Not quite believing Kazuki, Lily stared at him with a suspicious expression, the tip of her wand shining a bright blue.


    Seeing this, Kazuki sighed before pulling out the visitor pass he had received from the principal to enter the assembly.


    "Look at this!"


    Yet, Lily remained suspicious as she knew that the ranks of the school were corrupted and filled with undercover criminals.


    Without Lily''s help, the swarm of the djinns began to slowly overwhelm Zach, forcing him to take a step back.


    Seeing this, Kazuki sighed before realizing he had no other choice.


    Looking right below him and beside Zach, Kazuki screamed.


    "KEVIN... TELL HER I''M YOUR BROTHER, PLEASE."


    "..."


    Hearing the familiar voice sound from above him, Kevin instantly halted for a second and slowly looked up.


    Sure enough, right above Kevin, there was his brother hanging from a spear that was embedded in one of Alya''s ice pillars.


    Although Kevin had a lot of choice words for his brother''s sudden appearance, he forced himself to stay silent.


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    Hearing the severity in his brother''s voice, Kevin immediately turned around and saw the suspicious Lily.


    Turning back around to face a djinn that managed to get by Zach, Kevin yelled.


    "LILY, THAT IS MY BROTHER."


    Putting her wand down, Lily fully trusted Kevin''s words as she nodded her head before reforming the pool of acid water.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Back outside the magic barrier that was surrounding the academy, Seraphina immediately noticed something was off.


    As the bridge started shaking uncontrollably, despite having been fine for at least twenty years now, Seraphina took off.


    Casting a temporary levitation buff with the mana she had just regenerated, Seraphina floated in the air before retreating back to the other side of the bridge.


    Landing on the capital city side of the bridge, Seraphina stood with her wand out, staring at the academy island.


    All of a sudden, the downpour of rain started to increase, drenching all the people in the streets of the capital city.


    *CRACK*


    As lightning began to strike all over the city, specifically targeting the crumbling bridge, Seraphina stepped back.


    Right now, she was just a normal civilian.


    Without her mana, she was powerless and completely defenseless against the powers of nature.


    Taking cover from the encore of rain, Seraphina walked toward a nearby underhang that stretched all the way to the bridge.


    However, while she was franticaly walking toward the underhang, a sudden noise interrupted her.


    *ROAR!!!*


    As the loud sound of what seemed like a beast speaking echoed through the entire capital city, Seraphina turned back.


    She had succeeded.


    According to the imagination spell, Seraphina would be able to use an image or picture to create an exact beast with the same powers.


    And the more mana you put into the spell, the stronger the best you could summon. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Since Seraphina drained her massive storage into the spell, the massive water serpent, Leviathan, appeared as a result.


    There was just one problem, though...


    Although Seraphina could summon the beast, she had no control or power over it, so Leviathan could do whatever it wanted.


    If it wanted to, the massive water serpent could wipe out the entire capital city, alongside the millions of people living inside.


    However, Seraphina was aware of this spell''s limitation and had chosen to summon Leviathan instead of any other mythical being for a reason.


    Leviathan... hated magic barriers.


    Thousands of years ago, when humans had just evolved to the point where they could begin writing, the ocean was a dangerous place.


    With no humans powerful enough to slay the water beasts, the oceans were left unchecked, making them the most dangerous place on Earth.


    Inside the ocean, countless fierce competitors fought each other in order to gain control; however, after many years, only two competitors remained.


    The massive water serpent, feared for its dangerous speed despite its large size, held control over the Atlantic ocean.


    As for the Pacific Ocean, the gigantic octopus-like creature called the Kraken ruled over that area.


    The two mystical beings could not bear to see another controller over the seas, so they broke out in a fight, which was said to have lasted for days.


    One of the strategies that the Krkaen frequently used to gain an advantage was the creation of magic barriers.


    With his insane mana manipulation abilities, the Kraken would constantly trap the gigantic Serpent inside mana cages.


    And since the Serpent was so big, it was almost impossible for it to avoid being trapped inside.


    Thus, the water serpent''s hate for magic boundaries was created.


    Returning back to the present, Seraphina resumed his sprint towards the cover from the rain.


    Behind her, deep within the ocean under the bridge, a gigantic shadow was cast, making the entire ocean seem like a pure black abyss.


    The normal, plentiful ocean was dry and devoid of any sea creatures, and fish and seals alike were gone.


    However, there was one beast remaining in the abyss of the darkness.


    Lying on the ocean floor, a gigantic serpent that seemed to stretch for miles could be seen.


    Its eyes were closed, and it was completely stationary, but the sheer pressure it emulated cleared the body of the water out.


    Coincidentally, Ren''s cat was simply lying down while watching his matter continue digging further and further upward.


    As Ren''s cat opened his eyes, the eyes of the serpent suddenly opened, revealing its golden-colored pupils.


    The cat, sniffing at the ground, suddenly opened its eyes wide as if he had just seen its arch-enemy.


    Getting off the cold cave floor, Ren''s cat walked forward for a couple of seconds before playfully throwing its paw in the air.


    Seeing this, Ren shook his head before slapping himself.


    "Whoever said that a pet learns from their owners needs to be caught and jailed."


    Staring at his schizophrenic cat, which simply pawed at the air, Ren sighed before continuing to dig.


    *CRASH*


    Throwing Ren to the right, the island suddenly shook as if something had just banged into it.


    Back on the ocean floor, the serpent began slithering forward at an incredible pace, crossing the entire distance from the capital city to the academy island within a single second.


    Then, without any hesitation, the serpent lunged upwards, removing itself from the ocean floor.


    Flying upward, the sea serpent''s head emerged from the water, while the other part of its ginormous body remained on the ocean floor to keep him stable.


    Letting out an ear-piercing scream, the serpent glided towards the academy island with its mouth wide open.


    Propelling itself off the ocean floor, the sea serpent suddenly flew even higher as its entire body emerged from the water.


    Seraphina, being one of the few to see this sight, saw a gigantic blue lizard simply floating in the air above the water.


    "...what th-"


    Some of the civilians, not caring about being drenched by the onslaught of the rain, stopped and stared at the spectacle.


    It was not every day that you saw a serpent that was almost half the length of the capital city simply floating in the air.


    Then, again, the civilians saw a lot as they lived in the capital city.


    A couple of civilians simply glanced at the Serpent before immediately moving on as if it were nothing special while muttering.


    "Damn it... why did I decide to live in this city?"


    Levitating in the air, the top portion of the serpent''s body stayed the same; however, its bottom portion was... interesting.


    Like a helicopter, the sea serpent''s tail was rapidly rotating around its body, so fast that after-images of it were left.


    After charging its helicopter tail up for a couple of seconds, the serpent suddenly threw itself tail-first at the academy island.


    The serpent''s tail, mid-rotate, slashed right into the magic barrier surrounding the academy island.


    The portion of the magic barrier hit by the serpent''s tail immediately crumbled while the rest of the barrier followed suit.


    Back in the cave, Ren''s cat suddenly collapsed to the floor before rolling around so that its tummy was facing the ceiling.


    Acting as if it had done something amazing, the cat turned to face Ren while meowing and purring.


    Looking at his proud cat, Ren snorted before muttering.


    "I''M NOT PETTING YOU! I''m THE ONE ACTUALLY WORKING AND MINING!"


    *CLACK*


    As Ren''s pickaxe swung upwards one final time, he realized that there was nothing left to dig above.


    He had arrived.


    Like a hedgehog, Ren peeked his head through the hole in the ground, instantly spotting countless djinns.


    Afraid of being caught, Ren immediately ducked back down before de-manifesting his corrupted pick axe.


    Picking up his cat, Ren ignored its pleas to be pet before placing it back in his hoodie.

 Chapter 277: Chapter 277:Protect or Rob? [2]

    Back on the outside, as the magic border shattered into a thousand pieces before disintegrating into nothingness, the serpent descended.


    *SPLASH


    Falling into the water, the serpent created a splash that sent water flying all the way towards the academy island and capital city the entire time.


    As a flood of water drenched the buildings of the academy, windows shattered open due to the sheer pressure of the water.


    Thankfully, all the students were now inside, so none of them were hit by the barrage of water.


    Back in the capital city, Seraphina had called for backup while the serpent was destroying the magic boundary.


    As the gigantic splash neared the capital city, dozes of mages, each equipped with a cloak and a wand, stepped forward.


    Casting in unison, the tip of all the mages''s wands started sparkling a grey as the water got closer and closer.


    A moment later, a gigantic shield appeared right in front of the incoming barrage of water.


    As the barrage of water collided with the massive shield, the formation of the mages started to falter as many were pushed back.


    However, the formation of mages held their shield steady, not being moved by the incredible amount of water.


    As the water collided with the shield, it immediately got reflected back, falling back into the giant ocean.


    As the last bit of water reflected off the shield and back into the ocean, the formation of mages collapsed.


    Every single one of them, being at least B-rank or higher, had used all of the mana on the shield...yet it only barely managed to defend a BYPRODUCT, not even the main attack of an S-rank beast.


    Shivering, the mages fell to the ground, energiless.. but happy.


    They had just saved countless buildings from collapsing and an equal amount of lives.


    Seraphina, stepping forward, raised his hand, but no water droplets came.


    It had stopped raining.


    Ensuring that the beast was not going to wreak any more havoc, Seraphina slowly neared the ocean before glancing downwards.


    And sure enough, the ocean was back to its original dark blue colors instead of being pitch-black.


    Even with all her mana, she could only summon the mythical god of the sea for ten seconds at most.


    Raising her smartwatch, Seraphina called the medic team before walking forward toward the academy...only to realize she couldn''t.


    The massive bridge that stretched all the way from the capital city, the island the academy was located on, was... no more.


    Gigantic pieces of rubble floated through the ocean below, and besides a few small remnants of the bridge, there was nothing.


    The bridge, which had taken years to build and that had been standing for over ten years at this point, was gone...


    "Well... I guess you get what you ask for."


    Summoning a mythic beast when it was pissed without expecting any destruction would have been stupid.


    Unable to cast a flying spell to head over the academy due to her lack of mana, Seraphina sighed while staring at the bridge.


    Maybe...she could have done it a different way.


    Thankfully, though, she had already called some other mages about the situation in the academy. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Confirming her thought, countless other mages, wearing dark blue cloaks, could be seen flying in the air towards the distant island.


    Shaking her head, Seraphina muttered.


    "...the royal family isn''t going to be happy...because these repairs are NOT coming out of my pocket."


    Though Seraphina knew she wouldn''t lose her job, she had a feeling that the royal family was going to overwork her for the next few months because of all the destruction.


    Smiling, Seraphina stared up at the sky as the dark grey clouds began to disperse, revealing the shining sun.


    Before the attack had even happened, Seraphina had cast an area-affecting weakening spell on all non-human creatures, so with Kaneki and Kazuki''s assistance, the students would one hundred percent be safe.


    Although...Kazuki isn''t fully human either, isn''t he?


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    "...wait, will he be weakened by the spell!?"


    ...


    ...


    ...


    As Ren began to gather his materials and fill up the hole below him to cover any traces, the cat inside his hoodie suddenly popped down.


    Turning around, Ren shook his hoodie for a second before realizing that his cat had fallen asleep.


    In full honesty, Ren had expected the principal to allow the djinns in the vault, then entrap them there and take them easily.


    However, it seemed like the principal didn''t even want the djinns to get a glance inside the vault as she opted to defend it from the outside.


    *TAP*


    *TAP*


    *TAP*


    Hearing the sound of footsteps echo from behind the group of djinns, Ren immediately moved further away from the hole that he made.


    Placing his head on the roof, Ren attempted to discern the voice of the person above.


    Was it a djinn who was simply late to the party?


    Or, could it possibly be some reinforcements that the principal had sent?


    "Damned prick. ''OH, JUST DO THIS, AND YOU''LL BE DONE. GO ENJOY A NICE MEAL IN THE CAFETERIA!'' Yeah, my ass."


    Walking right past Ren''s hole, Kaneki snorted before entering the underground space, immediately spotting the crowd of djinns and Kazuki, who was hanging from his spear, which was attached to the ice.


    Kazuki, staying quiet, simply waved at Kaneki while simultaneously fending off a couple of djinns who were trying to climb up to the roof.


    Unsheathing his katana silently, Kazuki slowly approached the back of the group before activating his transportation ability.


    Phasing through the bodies of the djinns and many rocks that were in the way, Kaneki looked for the weak spot in the formation.


    Or should he say... weak spots?


    Since the djinns were so focused on attacking and getting into the vault, their backline was almost completely unprotected.


    Well, of course, Kaneki was only one person, so he couldn''t exploit it to the fullest, but it would give a break to the main cast and Kazuki, who had been constantly fighting.

 Chapter 278: Chapter 288:Protect or Rob? [3]

    Stopping behind a djinn, Kaneki''s ability deactivated as he immediately plunged his katana forward, impaling the djinn in front of him.


    Shaking the body off his sword, Kaneki swiftly turned to the right before raising his katana above his head and slashing it downwards with the maximum force.


    As areas of darkness appeared above the bodies of the djinns, Kaneki continued his onslaught.


    Yet... no djinns turned back to fight him.


    Kaneki could have killed at least ten djinns this time, yet he had only decided to kill two.


    Rather than revealing his presence and taking as many of the distracted djinns out as possible, Kaneki was blending in and slowly killing them.


    This plan allowed him to conserve both energy and mana while breaking apart the formation of the djinns without them even knowing.


    However... Kaneki had forgotten to account for one thing.


    And so had everyone else in the room, including Ren.


    The djinns'' numbers were dwindling rapidly as the main cast''s fight, combined with both Kazuki and Kaneki''s efforts, were killing at least a djinn per minute.


    This could be seen easily as the room, almost nearly filled with djinns earlier, was now empty except for the front area of the room.


    However, the horde of djinns showed no signs of stopping.


    Djinns cared about their lives even more than their desires.


    After all, most djinns had only changed from humans so they could survive in the world and gain powers.


    In contrast to that behavior, however, the djinns continued relentlessly fighting without any care for life.


    They weren''t that stupid.


    The dead corpses and bodies of their teammates were on the ground, making it impossible for anyone to see them.


    These djinns saw their teammates and fellow djinns being massacred, yet they still charged forward despite knowing their fate would be the same.


    It was as if...these djinns had no regard for their own lives.


    Peeking his head out of the hole, Ren confusedly observed the fight between the djinns, the main cast, and the two recruiters.


    Something was... definitely wrong.


    Very, very wrong.


    Stopping himself from comparing the scenario to the one in the book, Ren took a step back before trying to come to a conclusion from a completely unbiased perspective.


    Seeing the djinns rushing forward despite seeing their teammates die right in front of them, Ren''s head started to ache.


    The djinns had no regard for their lives.


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    Yet, their inherent trait as a djinn was that they valued their lives more than anything else, even their desires.


    How could these two concrete facts co-exist?


    Were the djinns brainwashed?


    No, the demon who signed the contract with the djinn would never allow that to happen to their djinn.


    Unless...it was the demon who did the brainwashing?


    It was possible but highly unlikely.


    Demons relied on their contracts with djinns to gain power, so brainwashing them into dying was essentially them giving up their own power for no reason.


    Then, what else?


    Grabbing his head, Ren decided to ignore the djinn''s behavior and move on.


    After all, he was practically on their side as he was also attempting to rob the vault.


    Having expected visitors and reinforcements, Ren wasn''t too surprised at the appearance of the sudden recruiters, who were also present during the assembly.


    However, their power did throw Ren off a bit.


    He couldn''t recognize the figures based on their appearance, and he didn''t even know their names, but they did seem powerful...way more powerful than Ren, at the very least.


    Although Ren had a feeling he had seen them somewhere, this was not the time to delve into the past "Ren''s" memories to recognize them.


    Maybe another time, though.


    Staring at the obsidian wall, which was preventing him from the inside of the vault, Ren reached into his pocket.


    Corruption or Obsidian?


    Which material was more powerful?


    Having tested this question already, as he knew the vault''s entrance was a wall of obsidian, Ren already knew the answer.


    Pulling two corrupted daggers out of his pocket, Ren also manifested a mask, purposely making it different from the previous designs he had used.


    Placing his hands on the floor of the underground space, Ren lifted himself up until his entire body was in the space.


    Using his passive stealth skill, Ren quickly hid in the dark portion of the cave before taking a glance around. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The main cast and recruiters had a pretty good setup going.


    The top portion of the door was defended by a recruiter who was using a spear, while the bottom was held by the main cast.


    And, staring at the rapidly diminishing horde of the djinns, Ren realized that it was just a matter of time before all of them died.


    Focusing on his eyes, his ears, his mouth, and eventually his entire head, Ren grinned before muttering.


    "I haven''t used this ability for anything but flying in a long time..."


    In a matter of seconds, Ren''s head was no longer his head; instead, a pointed head that resembled that of a dragon appeared atop Ren''s body.


    With two twisting horns and a long snout, Ren looked like some half-human, half-dragon creature.


    "Hmm?"


    Reaching his hands out, Ren stared for a second, feeling something was off.


    "Why do I feel... weaker."


    Although it was hard to discern for others, with Ren''s eyes, he could realize that his reflexes and speed weren''t slower than usual.


    "Maybe the djinns set up some invisible stun spell, and I walked through it?"


    Dismissing his slowed reflexes and speed, Ren, with his dragon head, slipped into the horde of djinns.


    He actually... fits in quite well with them.


    With his dragon head, Ren looked as weird as they did, although his body was unharmed, while all of the djinns had scars.


    Finding himself in the middle of the horde, Ren jumped for a second in mid-air before opening his mouth.


    As the blood-red substance and ocean-blue mana flowed toward Ren''s mouth and combined, a small purple orb appeared above Ren''s tongue.


    As the orb began to grow more and more, eventually reaching the ceiling of Ren''s mouth, the room began to shine a dark purple.

 Chapter 279: Chapter 279:Protect Or Rob [4]

    Reaching the maximum size that Ren''s mouth would allow, the purple orb started glittering before slowly moving forward.Kazuki, the only one noticing the giant purple color as he was above everyone else, looked in confusion.


    However, before he could say anything or react to the strange anomaly, dozens of new djinns immediately overwhelmed him, hanging from the ice pillars below him.


    As the purple orb left Ren''s mouth, he swiftly closed it before landing on the ground and blending in among the group of djinns.


    Flying above the crowd of djinns, the purple orb headed straight for the top portion of the obsidian door, right where Kazuki was hanging from.


    Kevin, glancing upwards to see his brother every couple of seconds, was the first to notice this as he spotted a gigantic purple orb getting closer and closer to them.


    Pointing to Orb, Kevin was genuinely at a loss for words as he yelled.


    "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?"


    Hearing Kevin''s yellow, everyone stopped fighting for a moment to glance upwards at the nearing purple orb.


    "..."


    Alya, immediately on guard, calculated the trajectory of the orb before confirming that it wouldn''t hit them and that they wouldn''t be in its estimated blast radius.


    Calming everyone done, Alya replied.


    "The orb isn''t aiming at us..."


    Pausing for a second, Alya raised her hand and pointed...not at the top portion of the obsidian door but at the roof.


    Liam, mid-clash with a djinn, asked in confusion.


    "Why the roof, though?"


    Shrugging her shoulders, Irene cast a wall of flames before replying.


    "Maybe they really hate roofs, I don''t know?"


    Ruby, now on her break as Irene had taken over maintaining the fire shield, sighed before asking. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Irene, do you even think before you speak, or is this straight improv?"


    Smiling, Irene replied.


    "I try."


    Lily, however, remained uncharacteristically silent as she stared at the purple orb that rose higher and higher with every passing second.


    "...no, that can''t be...purple orb. My favorite author can''t be a plagiarizer...can he?"


    Snapping Lily of her trance, Kevin yelled up to his brother.


    "YOU MIGHT WANNA GET DOWN."


    Knocking a djinn off the wall, Kazuki snorted before replying.


    "REALLY!? I COULDN''T TELL!"


    "WELL, YOU''RE STILL UP THERE SO I DO-"


    Interrupting Kevin mid-sentence, Kazuki, leaving his spear embedded in the ice pillar made by Alya, jumped down.


    Landing on the ground right behind Kevin, Kazuki immediately pointed into the crowd before announcing. Your adventure continues at m v|l-e''-NovelFire.net


    "We have another reinforcement hidden amongst the crowd of djinns."


    Liam, ducking to avoid a slash from a djinn''s sword, nodded before replying.


    "I was wondering why they were slowing down..."


    Kevin retreated after taking out a djinn''s knee in a sneak attack and chuckled before replying.


    "Stop trying to act smart, Liam. You didn''t notice shit, and you know it."


    In unison, the entirety of the main cast, alongside Kazuki, turned to stare at Kevin.


    Not even turning around to respond to their stares, Kevin angrily muttered.


    "Oh, let me guess."


    Then, Kevin said in his most feminine voice, in a really poor imitation of Lily''s voice.


    "This is not the time to be making jokes, Kevin!!!"


    Surprised by Kevin''s outburst, the main cast silently fought against the horde of djinns for a second.


    "PFFT"


    Unable to keep her laughter from leaking out, Alya, with her hands desperately trying to cover her mouth, chuckled, breaking the silence.


    Lily, turning straight around like a predator that had just found its target, stared at Lily with a blank and emotionless expression.


    Waving her hands up and down, Alya quickly justified her chuckle.


    "I-it was *PFFT* so b-bad that it was good."


    Taking down another djinn''s kneecaps and sending them limping toward Zach''s battleaxe, Kevin yelled out.


    "WHAT!? YOU THINK YOU CAN DO BETTER, PRINCESS!?"


    Kazuki stared at the group of students in front of him, who were snickering while attempting not to laugh, and sighed.


    They were just children, yet here they were, fighting hand-in-hand with him against a group of djinns, who could very well kick them if they made a single mistake.


    Recalling his childhood days when he could do the same, Kazuki couldn''t help but inwardly smile.


    It also made him somewhat sad and depressed that these young students were so used to violence and fighting that they could laugh, but alas, he was the same.


    If not, worse.


    Recalling his fights during his academy days with Kaneki and the other sudden tcounicl members by his side, Kaneki let out a reminiscent gaze.


    At some point, the two of them had made it into a competition.


    "Whoever gets the least amount of djinn eliminations has to sleep on the floor tonight!"


    Of course, this competition and betting on djinn eliminations had quickly been shut down by their seniors.


    But...not for the reason you think.


    They didn''t shut it down because they believed it to be dangerous for them to bet, as they would be inclined to go for as many kills as possible despite the danger.


    It was shut down...because of kill-stealing.


    "DAMN IT, KAZUKI, STOP STEALING MY DAMN KILLS, YOU FRAUD!"


    Shrugging his shoulders, the young Kazuki grinned before saying.


    "ONLY THE LAST HIT MATTERS, NOTHING ELSE!"


    Furious, the young Kaneki pointed his sword at the grinning Kazuki before yelling.


    "YOU DAMN CHERRYPICKER! ALL YOU DO IS WAIT FOR THEM TO GET WEAK FROM MY HITS, THEN COME IN!"


    Smiling, Kazuki stole yet another kill from the fuming Kaneki before replying.


    "Don''t blame the player... blame the game!"


    By the end of the fight, their efficiency in killing djinns had actually gone down.


    Needless to say, the seniors weren''t too happy about that.


    That night... both of them slept on the floor.


    Back then, during Kazuki''s school days, the world was a much more dangerous and precarious place.


    The student council often went out as a group on expeditions to take down dangerous djinn organizations.


    Yet, as he gazed at the fearless group of students in front of him, Kazuki couldn''t help but think.


    "Did they have it worse than me?"

 Chapter 280: Chapter 280:Protect or Rob [5]

    Not letting his small internal grin appear on the outside, Kazuki sighed before sternly commanding."Do we have any free-hands that could go check on the purple orb!?"


    As Kazuki spouted those words, the purple orb, seeming to move in slow motion, finally reached its destination.


    *RUMBLE*


    *CRASH*


    *RUMBLE*


    Crashing right into the ceiling of the underground space, the purple orb caused an onslaught of rocks and dust.


    Already prepared, Kazuki pointed at his spear, which was still embedded in Alya''s ice pillar above.


    The next second, the spear suddenly started shining as a net emerged from its tip.


    Falling downwards, the net perfectly covered the main cast and Kazuki, preventing any rocks from hitting them.


    As rocks crashed into the net, the spear did not budge, keeping the net protecting the main cast steady and stable.


    The same could not be said for the djinns, who took the rockslides and ensuing dust head-on without any protection.


    Though since the djinns'' bodies were durable, none of them died, but their pace was slowed, and formation was destroyed.


    As for Kaneki, who didn''t even realize the existence of the purple orb, he was able to activate Reality Phase just in time.


    Phasing through the incoming rocks, Kaneki easily avoided being hit while also finding another weak spot in the djinns'' crumbled formation.


    And finally, the cause of the incident, Ren, was... nowhere to be seen.


    That is unless you were looking right up at the hole that was created by the massive purple orb.


    Using all the dust, Ren rapidly scaled the walls before using his daggers to climb up into the hole.


    One by one, like a rock climber, Ren stabbed his right dagger, lifted himself up, then stabbed his left dagger more up than the previous one and lifted himself up even more.


    Kazuki, completely ignoring the continued barrage of rocks, stared at the main cast for a second before pausing on Ruby.


    "You don''t seem busy, right?"


    Doubtful of whether the net would hold up under the pressure of rocks, Ruby carefully nodded before pointing to Irene and saying.


    "Yes, I''m currently on a break to recover, mana, you could say."


    "good."


    Nodding his head, Kazuki pointed at the ceiling before continuing.


    "Find out what up there is so important that someone decided to create a damn orb of pure purpleness to destroy it." Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "As for the origin of this maniac, Kaneki is probably already investigating."


    Unbeknownst to Kazuki, his oblivious friend didn''t even know there was a purple orb in the first place.


    Nodding her head, Ruby watched as the rest of the main cast reassumed their formation, with Kazuki beginning to climb back up the ice pillar.


    As the onslaught of rocks disappeared, leaving massive clouds of dust in its wake, the net suddenly retracted.


    Within a second, the massive net was completely changed to its original size, back on the tip of Kazuki''s spear.


    Standing in the crater on the ceiling, Ren watched as the djinns resumed their rush before scratching his head.


    Something was seriously off.


    "These guys seriously give no fucks..."


    After witnessing an onslaught of rocks that was completely unpredictable, you would think that they would take a step back to plan.


    But no, these djinns just continued rushing to their death, watching their teammates die right in front of them.


    Ignoring the inconsistency with the djinns, Ren sighed before glancing around the crater.


    For some reason, the principal was nowhere to be seen in this underground space.


    Originally, Ren had assumed that she had just been hiding while secretly buffing the main cast, but now he could see that she had actually just never been here.


    But, then, that begged the question.


    Why...were the main cast so powerful?


    These djinns were all B-ranks, in contrast to the C-rank main cast, so they should at least be struggling.


    Yet, the main cast had barely any wounds on them, and they seemed full of energy despite facing a constant horde of djinns.


    The only plausible exp.anation Ren had come up with was that the principal was using some S-rank skill to buff them, but that was now out of the cards.


    Shaking his head, Ren once again put aside the inconsistencies before taking out his two corrupted daggers.


    The crater actually wasn''t just some elaborate distraction that Ren had made.


    Looking down at everyone in the room, who all had their opens open and visible, Ren smiled.


    The perfect flash.


    Manifesting a green bird in his hands, Ren was about to throw it forward when suddenly, he felt a presence approaching him.


    Holding his breath, Ren took out his daggers and slowly approached the edge of the crater.


    At that moment, a hand suddenly surged upwards, grabbing ahold of the crater and slowly pulling itself back.


    Staying the same distance away, Ren watched as the hand slowly pulled the rest of the figure''s body up until, finally, the figure''s entire body was visible.


    "..."


    "..."


    Staring at the djinn in front of him, Ren was genuinely at a loss for words.


    "HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET UP HERE!?"


    Staring at Ren with a confused expression, the djinn slowly raised its hand before pointing at Ren.


    "y-you''re not one of us?"


    "..."


    Clutching his heart, Ren barely managed to stand up straight


    He had been called a bastard, a pervert, a cheater, and a fraud...but being called a djinn was WAY TOO FAR!


    Realizing that the mask and tattered clothes he was wearing made him resemble a djinn, Ren regained some of his dignity before staring back at the djinn.


    What exactly was he supposed to say?


    Raising his hand, Ren imitated the djinn pointed his figure at him.


    "...I am."


    "You are?"


    "I am."


    "Prove it."


    "...you prove you''re a djinn."


    "...no, you prove." Continue reading on m|v-l''e -NovelFire.net


    "Let''s just say we''re both djinns and be done with it, alright?"


    "deal."


    "..."


    "..."


    As an awkward moment of silence took over them, Ren sighed before pointing at the underground space below.


    "I heard there is free money down there."


    "...I don''t want money."

 Chapter 281: Chapter 281:Protect Or Rob? [6]

    Tilting his head to the side confusedly, Ren stared at the djinn in silence for a couple of seconds before curiously asking."What is it you want, then?"


    Avoiding eye contact with Ren, the djinn looked down at the floor for some time until he finally opened his mouth.


    "I-i want to be a human again."


    "..."


    Ren, even more confused than ever, stared at the djinn''s ashamed figure, which was crumbling to the floor.


    Contracts between demons and djinns can''t be signed forcefully, so the djinn had to have chosen to become one out of his own voalition


    Yet...it seems he regrets that choice.


    Unfortunately, in this world, there are no do-overs or restarts.


    Unless... you''re Ren, who basically got a do-ever after he died on Earth and transmigrated to this world.


    Realizing something, Ren completely forgot about the djinn in front of him before staring up at the ceiling.


    Ren knew how he got here.


    How could he not know?


    He had been mercilessly run over by some drunk fifty-year-old in the car...truly an unforgettable experience.


    Then, the next second, he woke up in the body of Ren, who was about to be expelled from the academy for attacking Liam on the first day of classes.


    But what about Lily?


    Had she, similar to Ren, also died in a tragic accident and been transmigrated to this world?


    Or were her circumstances different?


    "Well... I don''t think I''m close enough to her to just flat-out ask, ''How did you die in your past life!? Or did you even die?'' "


    Dismissing all his useless thoughts for now, Ren sighed before looking at the djinn in front of him with concern.


    According to Ren''s knowledge, which was gained from reading the book, there were no djinn-reversing rituals or potions in this world.


    Once you became a djinn, you could never go back.


    Though Ren felt some pity for the djinn in front of me, pity wouldn''t do anything.


    Pointing down into the underground space where the main cast, Kazuki and Kaneki, were still fighting, Ren looked down at the ground.


    He knew he was sending the djinn to his death.


    Down there, the djinn would surely die at the hands of the humans down there, and there was no escaping that.


    Barely opening his mouth, Ren managed to mutter out to the djinn.


    "T-there''s free djinn to human transformation machines down there..."


    Raising his head up, the djinn stared at Ren, his eyes sparkling, before frantically asking.


    "Really...is that true? Please tell me it''s true."


    Ren felt sympathy for the djinn; he really did... but at the same time, the djinn had brought upon himself.


    Even after becoming a djinn, the figure willingly joined an evil organization despite knowing the pain and damage they caused to other people.


    He had a choice to become someone like Zeng, yet he didn''t.


    Instead of trying to blend in with humans and make the best of his situation, the djinn joined an evil criminal organization.


    And Ren could tell, based on the look in the djinn''s eyes as he stared downward, that the djinn had killed before.


    Staring at the djinn, Ren nodded his head carefully before muttering out.


    "Perhaps...he''ll be transmigrated to another world and given a second chance just like when he dies."


    As the djinn eagerly jumped from the crater of the ceiling, landing and rejoining the crowd of djinns surrounding the main cast, Ren stepped forward.


    He had to get something out of this whole situation now.


    There was no way he just sent someone off to their death. Just to get nothing.


    Raising his hand, Ren stared at the ceiling before quietly saying.


    "This is for you, my djinn friend."


    Walking to the edge of the crater in the ceiling, Ren crouched down before manifesting a corrupted bow.


    Staring at the top portion of the obsidian door, which was guarded by a watchful recruiter with a spear, Ren slid a corrupted arrow into the strings of the bow.


    Aiming at the exact top left of the obsidian door, Ren waited until the recruiter was mid-fight with a djinn before drawing back his bow.


    Letting the smooth string go, Ren watched as the corrupted arrow glided by through the air, heading straight at its target.


    Distracted by the djinns surrounding him, Kazuki only realized the existence of the arrow as it passed him, as a breeze rushed into his face.


    However, it seemed like the recruiter had come prepared, as without a second of hesitation, he cocked back his hand.


    Then, in the next second, his hand surged forward, releasing his ice-blue spear right at the pitch-black arrow.


    Surprised, Ren blankly stared at the now disarmed recruiter, who was still being surrounded by djinns.


    Staring at the spear, Ren calculated its projected trajectory with his eyes before it to the path of his arrow.


    Realizing that the spear was going to intercept the arrow before it hit the door, Ren turned around and raised his hand.


    As Ren''s hand was raised, the corrupted arrow suddenly disintegrated before disappearing a second later.


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    Feeling the corruption return to his boy, Ren paced around, trying to come up with a new plan on the spot.


    Back down below, Kazuki used his legs to kick down the incoming djinns as he was left without his spear.


    Glancing to his right, Kazuki attempted to discern whether his spear had knocked the arrow the yet.


    However, upon seeing no sign of the arrow anywhere, Kazuki rapidly looked around, trying to find where it had gone.


    Raising his hand, Kazuki recalled his spear while headbutting a djinn that had managed to get close enough.


    Suddenly, Kazuki''s spear switched directions as it stopped flying at the obsidian wall and turned around.


    Flying right at Kazuki''s hand, the spear somehow impaled a djinn mid-air on its way there.


    Seeming to have a light-bulb moment, Ren halted mid-pace before suddenly turning around.


    Smiling, Ren focused on the corruption in his body before allowing it to flow outwards through his hand.


    As Ren''s hand began to shine a pitch-black and more corruption began acculumate, Ren suddenly waved his his hand. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Following Ren''s internal instruction, the corrupt surged away from Ren''s hand and onto his shoulder.


    Slowly covering Ren''s entire body, the corrupt worked its way down from Ren''s shoulder until finally, the entirety of Ren''s body except his head was covered.


    Since he had a corrupted mask on his head already, there was no need to protect that portion.


    Covered in the pitch-black substance, Ren''s body couldn''t be seen, making it seem as if Ren were a zombie.


    Breathing in and out, Ren calmed himself down for a second before stepping back.


    Slowly placing his left forward, Ren broke out into a mad sprint as he rushed towards the hole in the crater.


    Then, without any hesitation, Ren jumped down into the underground space, his entire body covered in corruption.


    Forcing himself forward, Ren landed on an ice pillar that was opposite Kazuki before rushing forward.


    Aiming himself right at the obsidian wall, Ren ignored the ice-blue spearheading right at his body.


    Like a bull charging forward, Ren did not stop, trying his best to slip as he jumped from ice pillar to ice pillar.


    Reaching the last ice pillar, Ren halted for a second, watching an ice-blue spear whizz right in front of him.


    Looking to the right, Ren watched as the ice spear, as if it had a mind of its own, turned around and began heading right at Ren once again.


    "Are you a damn guided missle or something!?"


    As the spear surged towards him once again, Ren took a moment to manifest two corrupted daggers.


    Getting one leg, Ren leaned to the right, barely managing to lose his balance and slip off the icy pillar.


    Once again, the spare whizzed right by Ren, narrowly avoiding him; however, the wind generated by the spear''s rush pushed Ren back even further off the ice pillar.


    With one foot dangling mid-air and the other foot barely on the slippery ice surface of the pillar, Ren smiled.


    Throwing his dangling foot forward, Ren propped himself off the ice pillar and jumped forward, heading straight for the obsidian door.


    Raising his two corrupted daggers, Ren pointed their tips at the door as he got closer and closer to it with every second.


    As Ren''s daggers seamlessly sank through the bulky obsidian layer of the door, Ren sighed in relief.


    Hanging mid-air while gripping onto his two daggers, which were embedded in the obsidian door, Ren immediately threw himself.


    Since his entire body was covered in corruption, Ren didn''t feel any pain as his corruption-covered legs rapidly kicked against the obsidian door.


    As dents began to appear on the obsidian door as a result of its constant collisions with corruption, Ren suddenly turned around.


    This time... there wasn''t just a spear rushing toward him.


    There was a spear... and a human writing the spear like some sort of horse heading right at him!

 Chapter 282: Chapter 282:Break In [1]

    Riding atop his spear like a witch flying on its broomstick, Kazuki headed straight at Ren, showing no fear at the incoming obsidian wall.Ren, unable to remove his daggers from the wall in time, dodged the attack and tried to kick his legs forward.


    As the spear on Kazuki approached Ren, six pitch-black tentacles suddenly emerged from Ren''s back, creating a protective shield around him.


    Noticing the tentacles protecting Ren, Kazuki stood up atop his spear before taking out two clean hunting knives.


    Propelling a tentacle forward, Ren attempted to make Kazuki lose his balance and fall; however, the spear simply circumvented the incoming pitch-black tentacle before heading straight at Ren.


    Taking a deep breath, Ren sent three of their tentacles back to protect himself from Kazuki before propelling the other forward.


    The three tentacles going forward immediately embedded themself in the obsidian wall before shaking rapidly to make a hole in the previously perfect wall.


    Weaving around the tentacles, Kazuki attempted to cut one of them in half with his hunter knife, but...it was the knife that broke, not the tentacle.


    Now, realizing the severity of the situation, Kazuki shifted his trajectory to the right so he was no longer aiming at Ren but a few meters to the left of him.


    Ren''s tentacles, not able to reach that far as Ren didn''t have enough corruption to maintain them, could only flair while Kazuki flew just out of their reach.


    Like Ren''s corrupted daggers, the tip of Kazuki''s spear seemingly embedded itself in the obsidian wall, proving its superiority over the material.


    Seeing this out of the corner of his eye, Ren immediately sent the tentacles to his left side to prevent Kazuki from coming any closer.


    Glancing downward, Kazuki was surprised that the horde of djinns was now down to less than ten as Kaneki took care of the few remaining loners.


    Seeing this, Kazuki immediately called out to the main cast, who had no one to fight against anymore, below.


    "SHOOT UP! STRAIGHT UP!"


    Hearing Kazuki''s urgent voice, the heads of the main cast immediately flicked upward towards Kazuki.


    However, Ren''s pitch-black cover around his entire body alongside his perfectly made corrupted mask made him blend in with the obsidian wall.


    That, combined with Ren''s stealth stat, made it almost impossible for the main cast to see Ren from such a far distance below.


    Looking at Kazuki with confused expressions, the main cast paused for a moment before heeding his instructions. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, none of them were standing exactly below Ren''s current positions, so their spells just flew up and into the ceiling.


    As a water orb, an ice lance, a fire tornado, a sword of pure-blue divinity, a sword surrounded by a red hue, and last but not least, a battle axe headed straight up to the ceiling, Kazuki sighed.


    When he said shoot up, he didn''t mean...shoot randomly up at the ceiling!


    Staring at the swordsman below, who had even thrown their weapons up the ceiling, Kazuki sighed.


    Regaining his composure, Kazuki pointed ahead to where the masked figure was before yelling.


    "RIGHT H-"


    But, before Kazuki could finish his sentence, a sudden bright flame blinded him before heading straight at him.


    Pulling his spear out of the obsidian wall, Kazuki allowed him to free-fall for a second before immediately stabbing his spear back into the wall.


    A second later, the bright flame, in the shape of a ball, hit the exact spot where Kazuki used to be, but as the ball of flames made contact with the obsidian, it immediately perished.


    As the ball of flames disappeared, Kazuki hesitated for a moment, anticipating another attack, yet nothing came.


    Glancing upward at the masked figure, Kazuki assumed he was the cause of the attack before looking back down.


    Pointing at the corrupted figure, Kazuki yelled.


    "HERE."


    Ren, despite knowing a barrage of mana spells and weapons would soon him, remained still, simply stabbing at the obsidian wall with his daggers and his three tentacles.


    Seeing no need for defense anymore, Ren raised his other three tentacles before also commanding them to break the wall.


    Feeling the temperature decrease around him as a water and ice spell came at him, Ren threw one last dagger strike at the wall.


    *RUMBLE*


    Realizing the wall was weak enough, Ren threw his right foot at the obsidian wall, causing it to tilt and become unstable.


    Demanifesting his tentacles, corrupted dagger, and corrupted body, Ren allowed him to free-fall to the ground.


    *RUMBLE*


    Keeping his corrupted mask on, Ren narrowly dodged an ice lance before, ironically enough, landing right on one of Alya''s ice pillars.


    Kazuki, realizing the wall was going to collapse on itself, immediately removed his spear, afraid of dealing with any further damage.


    Falling the round, Kazuki missed his intended landing spot of a nearby ice pillar, so he simply allowed himself to descend all the to the ground.


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    At the same time, Kaneki finished up the last of the djinns, leaving a field of dark-black spots above every djinn''s body.


    Feeling the ground shake and the wall collapse, Kaneki sprinted towards the main cast with his katana out.


    Landing cleanly on the floor, Kazuki glanced around at the main cast, which now included Ruby, as she unsuspiciously stood next to Irene.


    In contrast to everyone else, who was silent and staring at the collapsing obsidian wall, Ruby managed to mutter out.


    "a fire snowball...I''ll have to use that next time."


    Hesitating for a moment, Kazuki looked to the right, immediately noticing Kaneki''s sprinting figure.


    Within a few seconds, Kaneki had arrived in the clear around the ice pillar where everyone else stood.


    *RUMBLE*


    As the obsidian floor began to lean inwards, Kazuki glanced at his smartwatch, waiting for the message, before finally saying.


    "The wall is down, but that doesn''t mean the vault is robbed... just yet."


    Nodding his head, Kaneki concurred with the statement before turning to the main cast.


    "You all can leave now; I''ve cleared out all the djinns. There should be nothing stopping you from exiting now,"


    "..."


    "...?"


    As the atmosphere quickly loosened, the main cast stared at each other in silence before Liam eventually stepped up.


    Showing no fear in front of Kaneki''s piercing gaze, Liam shook his head before calmly replying.


    "Shouldn''t you two be the ones leaving? After all, we were here first."


    "..."


    As Kaneki''s expression turned to one of pure anger and Kazuki sighed, Liam paused before continuing in an eerily calm voice.


    "Don''t worry, we''re willing to compromise. You two can stay with us here... if you''d like to."


    Turning around, Kaneki seriously stared at Kazuki for a moment before solemnly saying.


    "You heard them. They don''t need our help, so I''m out of here. They said it, not us, so the principal can''t blame us if they all die."


    As Kaneki began to walk towards the exit, Kazuki reached out his hand before tightly gripping Kaneki''s shoulder.


    Leaning forward, Kazuki quietly whispered directly into Kaneki''s ear.


    "It''s like looking into a mirror, isn''t it?"


    "Shut it."


    "You do know we can''t leave them, right."


    "And why not? They seem so confident. Let them fend off the robbers all by themselves like the ''grown-ups'' they are."


    Smiling upon realizing Kazuki had just fallen for his trap, Kazuki leaned forward even further before replying.


    "Then, they''ll get all the glory and fame for protecting the vault... while we''ll be left with nothing. Imagine all that djinn killing a minute ago was for nothing..."


    Pausing upon seeing Kaneki''s eyebrows raise, Kazuki got even closer and continued.


    "And worst of all... that brat will get all the credit while you''re left with n-"


    "That''s enough. They''ll die to the robbers, so now fame of glory will bestowed."


    Gripping Kaneki''s shoulder even tighter, Kazuki grinned and replied.


    "And, who do you think will be blamed for that? If they die down her protecting the vault, we''ll be the ones at fault. The news will paint us as a bunch of cowards who abandoned some first-years to save our own asses."


    "But, they''re the ones who told us to l-"


    "Does that matter? In the eyes of the media, we''ll be blamed for their deaths, named as abandoners, and socially killed."


    "..."


    Realizing the logic behind Kazuki''s words, Kaneki swiped the hand off his shoulder before reluctantly turning around.


    Seeing this, Kazuki rejoined the main cast before pointing to the approaching Kaneki and saying.


    "I guess we''ll be taking your compromise!"


    *RUMBLE*


    Interrupting the group''s reunion, the obsidian wall leaned even farther inward, causing the ground to shake even more.


    However, nobody worried about the ground shaking, as there was now an entrance to the vault visible.


    At the top of the leaning obsidian door, a small hole could be seen, leading straight into the vault.


    Without any words being spoken or any gestures being made, everyone knew what to do.


    Casting a temporarily floating spell on everyone, Alya allowed everyone to levitate up to the base of the obsidian door.

 Chapter 283: Chapter 283:Break In [2]

    Levitating up, the nine students landed atop the base of the obsidian door, which was ramping upwards.Not skipping a beat, Liam and the other members of the main cast, alongside Kazuki, activated their movement abilities to move forward at unbelievable speeds.


    Unfortunately, that left just one person standing confused and furious at the boss of the door.


    If Kaneki used his Reality Phase movement abilities, he would phase right through the obsidian door and on the dirt below the door.


    Sighing, Kaneki stared at the eight other running figures before breaking into a regular and mundane human-like sprint.


    Blending perfectly with the pitch-black obsidian wall, Ren de-manifested all his corrupted objects before leaning downwards.


    To fit inside the small hole separating him from the vault, he had to lie down on the top portion of the obsidian hole and slide through.


    Feeling the cold and hard material pressed against his chest, which was exposed as his clothes tattered during the purple-orb explosion, Ren sighed, Stay updated with mvl


    Pushing himself forward was a daunting task, considering the wall was upward-sloping, but Ren somehow managed.


    Like a snake, Ren slithered on the floor, ducking his head down so that his chin touched the obsidian wall as he approached the floor.


    Behind him, Lily was the first to reach the top of the obsidian wall as her movement ability was best suited for short sprints like these, unlike the others whose abilities thrived during marathon-like fights.


    Also, seeing the hole in the obsidian door, Lily hesitated to lie down on the obsidian floor.


    Simply standing still on the top portion of the obsidian wall, Lily looked around for a second, making sure nobody was close enough to hear before saying.


    "If you''re here, say something."


    "...?"


    Confused, Ren ignored LIly''s schizophrenic talk and continued slithering forward.


    Just to make sure, Ren turned around for a second and glanced around, and even with his enhanced eyesight, he could see no one there besides Lily.


    Was she perhaps talking to him?


    Seeing absolute silence from her question, Lily let out an audible sigh before walking close to the opening.


    Getting eerily close to Ren, Lily attempted to block the gap between Ren and the vault before opening her mouth once again.


    "Whatever it is you''re looking for, it''s not there."


    Catching Ren off guard by her words, Lily took the moment to step ahead and lean down, blocking the gap with her body.


    Ignoring the silence, Lily continued.


    "There are no weapons or items in here. Just a cell. One single cell." Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Glancing around, Ren confirmed that the other main cast members and recruiters weren''t in the hearing distance before replying in a harsh tone.


    "And how would you know that?"


    Pointing behind her and through the gap into the door, inside the vault, Lily ignored Ren''s tone before replying in an equally harsh tone.


    "Because I''ve been in there."


    Approaching Lily, Ren stood up and manifested a single corrupted dagger.


    Holding the dagger so that it was facing the ceiling, Ren embued the blood-red substance into it, causing the dagger''s tip to burn a dark red.


    Raising the dagger above his head, Ren illuminated the area around him, including him, before waiting for Lily''s reaction.


    However, upon seeing Ren''s figure pop out suddenly before her, Lily showed no reaction, simply standing with her arms crossed.


    Seeing this, Ren hesitated a moment before replying.


    "Why should I believe you?"


    As the other figures began rapidly approaching the two, the blood-red dagger illuminating Ren came into sight.


    Liam, being at the front of the rushing main cast, pointed at the illuminated figure right next to Lily before screaming.


    "SHE''S STALLING THE ROBBER FOR US; WE HAVE TO GO!"


    Nodding their heads, the rest of the main cast and Kazuki increased their pace to a maximum, not conserving any energy.


    Behind them, Kaneki could be seen panting for air as he tried his best to keep up with the main cast above him.


    "huh?"


    Looking above him, Kaneki spotted Kazuki, who was only a few meters away from him, with his hand stretched out.


    Staring at Kazuki''s stretched-out hand, Kazuki alternated gazes between the disappearing figures of the main cast and Kazuki.


    Seeing Kaneki''s confused figure, Kazuki smiled before reaching out his hand even further and asking.


    "What are you waiting for? Grab on, will you? We don''t have all day."


    Not waiting for Kaneki, Kazuki took out his spear before placing it between his legs and mounting it, just like he had done last time.


    After hesitating for a moment, Kaneki suddenly realized Kazuki''s idea, causing an audible groan to emerge from his mouth.


    "You do know what happened last time we did this?"


    Nodding his head, Kazuki continued staring forward before replying.


    "How could I forget? I had to clean your throwup off my spears for at least a month after. Although...the terrible smell of the spear after it did increase the offensive power of the spear."


    "..."


    Grasping Kazuki''s hand, Kaneki also mounted the spear, staying a safe distance away from Kazuki''s back.


    Seeing Kaneki mount the spear, Kazuki began to make the spear levitate before turning back and saying.


    "Don''t you dare throw up on me?"


    Pointing at the distance between their bodies on the spear, Kazuki furiously replied.


    "LET''S GO ALREADY!"


    As Kazuki began laughing, the spear suddenly burst forward with an incredible amount of speed, almost catching up to the main cast within a few seconds.


    Back next to the gap entrance to the vault, Ren leaned his head to the side and asked.


    "If what you''re saying is true, then what is in that single cell? This seems like an awful amount of security for one cell."


    Looking behind Ren at the approaching spear-rides and main cast, Lily took out her wand.


    Seeing this, Ren tensed; however, he tried his best not to let it show, as if saying that Lily wasn''t even a threat to him.


    Slowly raising her wand, Lily replied.


    "See for yourself."

 Chapter 284: Chapter 284:Break In [3]

    Manifesting another pair of daggers, Ren glanced around for a moment, not surprised upon seeing the approaching main cast.The most obvious reason why Lily could be here was to stall him, so he was already prepared.


    Manifesting six tentacles, Ren allowed them to emerge from his back before embedding themselves in the part of the obsidian door that was right behind him.


    Making the tentacles pierce deeper and deeper into the obsidian door, Ren leaned down and prepared to propel himself toward the gap.


    Calculating the exact angle, velocity, and distance that he needed to go, Ren stood for a moment before confirming that he had everything correct.


    Angling himself toward the upper left corner of the gap, Ren de-manifested the corrupted dagger, causing the light within the underground to vanish.


    Behind him, Alya, noticing the disappearance of the light, yelled.


    "IT''S STARTED."


    Heeding Alya''s words, everyone in the group pulled out their weapons except Kazuki, who was riding on his weapons.


    Unsheathing his katana, Kaneki desperately covered his mouth while attempting to stand up on the spear.


    Taking out her wand, Irene immediately caused a flying torch that followed her around to light up the space once again.


    On the other hand, Liam and Kevin raced forward ahead of the rest of the groups with their swords already swinging.


    Alya, a bit behind the two boys, took out her rapier before covering it in a layer of ice, instantly causing the temperature to decrease.


    Finally, Kevin, with his battle axe already out, followed behind the Kazuki and Kaneki, who were preparing to end their ride on the spear.


    On the other hand, Lily, upon seeing Ren ready to burst through the gap forcefully, simply stood still.


    As Ren pushed himself forward, Kazuki and Kaneki finally jumped off their spears before joining Liam and Kevin in their dash ahead.


    As Liam, at the very front of the group, approached Ren and Lily, a slight sound echoed throughout the underground space.


    *DRIP*


    *DROP


    *DRIP*


    *DROP*


    The sound of hundreds of water droplets falling onto the cold obsidian floor caused Liam to halt in confusion.


    Then, a small bubble suddenly emerged right behind Ren.


    In less than a second, before anyone could react, that water bubble grew and grew until it finally covered the top portion of the obsidian door.


    Inside the water bubble, Lily and Ren could be seen standing across from each other.


    Ren, already in the air, noticed the water bubble but didn''t do anything as he immediately added it into his calculations and noticed it wouldn''t affect his path through the gap and into the vault.


    Flying through the air, Ren stared with a confused expression at Lily.


    The water bubble didn''t just block his entrance; on the contrary, it helped him.


    It prevented the main cast and the two recruiters from reaching him, giving him more time to get through the gap and into the vault.


    Then, Ren noticed something odd. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Lily had completely stepped out of the way, and she was no longer blocking his way into the vault.


    If Ren had wanted to, he could have just landed, crouched down, and walked through the gap and into the vault with no problems.


    Staring at Ren''s fleeting figure with a blank expression, Lily simply watched as he neared the hole.


    At that moment, Lily raised her wand, and the transparent water bubble that surrounded both her and Ren suddenly turned black.


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    Liam, who had halted in front of the water bubble, jumped back as the water bubble turned pitch-black, preventing him from seeing the robber and Lily.


    Behind him, the main cast, Kazuki and Kaneki, finally caught up and stared at the pitch-black water bubble in front of them.


    Alya, breaking the silence, approached the water bubble before turning to Liam and asking.


    "What is this? Does she have some sort of plan? Did she tell you anything? Why did she block us out like this?"


    Liam, pausing for a moment, recalled how Lily had completely ignored him before turning the water bubble opaque.


    Was she some sort of secret signal that she had sent him?


    A secret code, perhaps?


    But, no, as Liam recalled the scene, nothing came to his mind.


    Slowly shaking his head, Liam replied.


    "I don''t think so...I might have m-"


    "Who cares?"


    Interrupting Liam mid-sentence, Kaneki stepped forward, having recovered from his spear ride earlier, with his katana ready.


    Staring at the rest of the main cast, Kaneki continued.


    "The robber is in that water bubble, right? No matter what your friend seems to be planning, the robber is trapped and can''t escape. Let''s just go capture him, alright? We can worry about this ''teamwork and friendship'' shit later."


    Leaving the rest of the main cast in silence, Kaneki stepped forward with his katana, and then, before anyone could react, Kaneki thrusted his katana forward into the pitch-black water bubble.


    As ripples began to appear and the water bubble fell apart, Kaneki immediately backtracked before yelling.


    "COME BACK IF YOU DON''T WANT TO BE WET."


    Regaining their composure, the rest of the main cast and Kazuki followed suit, sprinting down the obsidian door to prevent being drenched with water.


    Everyone stood with their weapons ready except Liam, who seemed to be shaken or rather confused.


    Recalling how Lily had not even bothered to look at him before turning the bubble a pitch-black, Liam sighed.


    Regaining his composure, he picked up his sword, staring at the collapsing water bubble.


    Even though he knew Lily wasn''t going to do anything evil, he still felt hurt and somewhat betrayed.


    She had made plans behind his and everyone else''s back.


    Lily''s face wasn''t one of surprise or confusion; it was calm and tranquil.


    She had expected...or even planned for this moment for a long time.


    But, unfortunately, that wasn''t anything new to him.


    Pushing the thoughts of Lily out of his head, Liam focused on the only thing that mattered now.


    Protecting the vault and catching the culprit.

 Chapter 285: Chapter 285: Break In [4]

    As the water bubble finally gave in, collapsing upon itself from the hole made by Kazuki''s katana, everyone looked on in anticipation.*POP*


    As a mini rainstorm occurred in the underground space, drenching everything in the vicinity of the water bubble, Kazuki stepped forward with his spear ready.


    *DRIP*


    *DROP*


    *DRIP*


    *DROP*


    Liam, being the first one to move, rushed forward, trying his best to keep his balance despite the wet obsidian floor.


    Behind him were Kevin and Kazuki, who ran side-by-side with their weapons ready and eyes peeled for the intruder.


    Finally, Kaneki and the rest of the main cast followed behind them, except for the magic-users, who stayed a bit farther away.


    As the pitch-black water bubble disappeared, the top portion of the obsidian door where the intruder and Lily were standing previously came into view.


    Yet, no one was there.


    Kaneki, who wasn''t looking forward, just blindly ran forward, but when he finally looked up, he noticed that no one was there.


    And maybe, worst of all, the gap in the obsidian door that led into the vault was blocked off by a pitch-black substance that was somehow darker than the obsidian material surrounding it.


    Putting down her wand, Ruby confusedly stared at the plugged-up hole that led into the vault.


    How was he going to get out..?


    Echoing the same sentiment, Irene and Alya ran forward, dropping their wands, towards the hole.


    Ignoring the frozen figures of Liam, Kevin, and Kazuki, Alya ran to the very top of the obsidian hole where the wall used to be.


    Leaning down, Alya tried to clean the gap and reopen the hole with her hand... however, the material blocking the hole was sharp... to the touch.


    As Alya placed her finger on the material to move it, a sudden cut appeared on her fingertip, and blood started rushing out.


    Regaining his composure, Kazuki headed to the top, where Alya and Kazuki''s confused figures stood.


    Staring at the vault, Kazuki asked in a grim tone.


    "So... the two of them... they''re inside the vault, aren''t they."


    Gesturing for Alya to move out of the way, Kaneki leaned down and began to examine the substance blocking the gap before nodding his head.


    "Sure, seems like it."


    Taking out his katana once again, Kazuki immediately attempted to pierce through the pitch-black material.


    However, the tip of Kazuki''s katana couldn''t even pierce through the material.


    The katana simply bounced off the material, not even able to make a dent or single mark in it.


    Shaking his head, Kaneki stood up and dropped his katana before turning to Kazuki.


    "This intruder...it seems we''ve underestimated him."


    As Kazuki stared at Kaneki with a confused expression, the rest of the main cast, including Liam and Kevin, approached them.


    Gesturing to Kazuki, Kaneki waited until everyone was next to the gap before explaining.


    "The djinns, earlier. I don''t think our intruder in there with your friend is associated with them. Rather, they were a distraction he used to get by us."


    "After all, all the djinns down there are dead and massacred while he''s in the vault alive and, most likely, thriving. That entire vault is all his. I find it hard to believe that he would just let his teammates die like that."


    Recalling something, Kazuki hesitated for a moment before saying. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "That purple orb attack from earlier that exploded the ceiling...that must have been him, then."


    Nodding his head, Kaneki replied.


    "I didn''t see the attack exactly, but I saw the surprise evident in the expressions of the djinns I was fighting. They had no idea that was going to happen."


    Staying silent, the main cast simply listened, not asking questions or making any interjections.


    Seeing this, Kaneki continued.


    "This material of his, whatever it is, is managing to block off a near S-rank artifact. From that alone, we can assume that our intruder is at least an A-rank villain."


    Pausing for a moment, Kaneki pointed at himself and Kazuki before saying.


    "If you''re wondering, both Kazuki and I are recently advanced A-ranks. The two of us completed our last dream together around three weeks ago."


    Pointing at the filled-in hole, Kaneki continued.


    "Anyways, let''s get the real problem at hand."


    "He''s down there in the vault, and we''re up here. That may seem like a bad thing right now, considering that we can''t hurt or do anything to him while he is probably robbing the vault and having the time of his life.


    "However, that also means that in order for him to leave the vault with all his treasures, he has to get through us."


    Ruby, finally breaking the silence of the main cast, hesitated for a moment before asking.


    "What if there''s another exit from the vault...?"


    Thinking for a moment, Kazuki pointed at the entrance to the underground space before saying.


    "If there was another exit, that means there would have to be another entrance to the vault. And since he chose to come down here and go through the trouble of getting through us, I doubt he found another entrance into the vault."


    As the main cast nodded their heads, Kazuki stepped forward with his spear before saying.


    "Of course, there is just one problem."


    Before Kazuki could even finish his sentence, Liam spoke from behind.


    "A hostage. The intruder has a hostage."


    Immediately, a grim silence enveloped the whole group as everyone wordlessly stared at each other.


    Kevin, stepping forward, ignored everyone else before boldly saying.


    "If it gets to that, the life of Lily is much more important than whatever treasure is in there."


    Nodding his head, Kazuki agreed with Kevin''s statement.


    Find your next read on M V L


    "Of course, the value of any human life far outweighs that of a magical artifact or item. But...let''s not get too caught up, now."


    Not missing the implication of Kazuki''s last few words, Alya stood back up and said.


    "What do you mean by that?"


    Kaneki, speaking for Kazuki, took a deep breath before replying.


    "IF we can get both the items and your friend back... it will be the optimal situation."


    Liam, walking next to Kevin, immediately said in a cold tone.


    "No shit."

 Chapter 286: Chapter 286:Break In [5]

    Mid-air, Ren continued his dive into the gap, ignoring the peculiarities with both Lily and the appearance of the water bubble.Worst comes to worst, he could stop time with his ability and find a solution; however, if he didn''t get through that gap right now, he might never be able to enter the vault again.


    Sliding head-first through the gap, Ren immediately manifested a pile of physical corruption in his hands before turning around.


    Cocking back his hand with the physical corruption, Ren aimed at the gap, intending to completely close it off.


    As Ren''s feet slid through the gaps and his entire body was now in the vault, Ren rushed his hand forward, ready to release the ball of physical corruption he made to block off the gap.


    However, before Ren could even let the corruption fly out of his hand, he suddenly saw something filling the gap.


    Coming right after Ren, Lily was ducking and down, attempting to pass through the gap into the vault as well.


    "What happens if my corruption hits another person...?"


    Raising his right hand to his eye, Ren paused time for a split second, attempting to discern if he could block off the hole before Lily got through.


    Unfortunately, after calculating for a moment, Ren came to the conclusion that it would be impossible for him to block Lily from entering despite his time-slowing ability.


    Lowering his hand from his eye, Ren allowed time to speed back to normal as he patiently waited for Lily to finish getting through the gap.


    Then, as Lily''s feet finally entered the vault and her entire body was inside, Ren let the ball of physical corruption fly out of his hand.


    In a perfect arc, the ball of physical corruption flew upwards before descending exactly where the gap was located.


    Then, upon impact with the obsidian material of the door, the corruption immediately spread out, covering every single inch of the gap and preventing anyone else from entering. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Not yet looking around the vault, Ren glanced at Lily, who was only a few steps away from him.


    The obvious thing to do here was to take her hostage and use her to escape from the main cast and the two recruiters.


    Yet, Ren... was starting to have second thoughts about that idea.


    Lily had stopped Liam from reaching Ren initially, and then she had also created a massive water bubble that surrounded them two, giving Ren the perfect amount of time to escape into the vault.


    And now, she had even entered the vault right after him.


    It was hard for Ren to believe that Lily had done all this by accident.


    So, then, what was Lily''s goal?


    Was she finally turning to the dark side like Ren?


    Had she finally given up on that naive wish of hers to save as many people as possible, no matter the impact it may have on the rest of the world?


    Did something make her realize that, maybe, what she was doing right now with the main cast wasn''t the right way to go about saving the world?


    "If only..."


    Putting the breaks on his wishful thinking, Ren manifested a dagger before staring at Lily, who also had her wand out.


    Experience new stories with M-V-L


    *DRIP*


    *DROP*


    Breaking the silence inside the vault, the sound of water droplets from Lily''s clothing hitting the floor echoed through the massive space.


    In fact, it wasn''t just her clothes; Lily''s hair was completely drenched, losing its normal texture and becoming completely straight.


    Showing no reaction to the water covering her body, Lily sighed before turning around and staring at the now-filled gap.


    Hesitating for a moment, Ren manifested a corrupted sweatshirt before throwing it over to her.


    Right now, as far as Ren could see, they weren''t completely enemies.


    Actually, if Ren only considered the last few minutes, they would actually be considered allies, as Lily had helped Ren get into the vault.


    There was also the bond of origin that the two of them shared; however, Ren didn''t pay too much mind to that part.


    Liam would be really pissed if Lily came back from the vault with a cold...and Ren had no intentions of testing Liam''s power as the protagonist.


    What if he saw Lily coughing and suddenly got an insane power-up that allowed him to completely destroy Ren within a second!?


    Laughing at his own thoughts, Ren threw the sweatshirt at Lily, allowing it to land flat on her wet hair.


    Ren had already pissed off Liam more than humanly possible, so it honestly didn''t matter what he did to him anymore.


    As Lily turned around, the sweatshirt suddenly fell even further, completely blocking Lily''s vision.


    "...why am I blind!? What kind of ability is this!? MAKE M-"


    Chuckling, Ren coughed before replying.


    "on your head."


    Silently, Lily raised her hand to her hair, feeling the cold and hard surface of the corrupted sweater.


    Yanking the sweat off her head, Lily stared at it for a moment before not putting it on but using it to wipe her regular clothes.


    As Lily dried her clothes with the corrupted sweater, Ren stood still and glanced around, taking in and memorizing everything.


    "It seems like the principal is a minimalist..."


    In all honesty, Ren had expected one of the vaults where it was filled to the brim with gold coins and magical artifacts just lying around randomly.


    "Oh, is that a stat-boosting potion lying around? Don''t mind if I do! Oh, a perfect emerald gemstone; I can''t wait to make a magical artifact with this!"


    One where you could quite literally swim in the pool of gold coins and treasures!


    Unfortunately, Ren''s cartoon vision of the vault is broken when he realizes that it is quite the opposite.


    There were shelves all over the place, with labels marking them and various tools lying on them.


    Everything was so well... organized.


    But that also meant that the massive space was almost completely empty besides the few shelves lined up against the wall.

 Chapter 287: Chapter 287:Break In [6]

    Staring at empty space ahead, Ren simply waited for Lily to finish wiping all of her clothes.It wasn''t like he was in a rush for time...after all, he, of all people, should never run out of time.


    While Ren did fear the principal''s potential presence and her being an obstacle to his escape, a plan was already in motion to counteract that.


    Taking out his smartwatch, Ren scrolled for a second in messages before immediately typing.


    [Ren: Did you two find the tunnel I made at the very bottom of the island?]


    [Raven: Yep, Zeng found your hole, which goes straight upward, after a couple of minutes of swimming around.]


    [Ren: And what did you do during that time?]


    [Raven: Oh, me? I''ve just been standing on the raft and watching Zeng swim around like a mermaid. It''s actually quite calming; thanks for asking, boss! How is your day going?]


    [Ren: Nothing too big; I''m just chilling in one of the most valuable and secured spots in the entire world. You know, just the regular.]


    [Raven: And you didn''t invite me?]


    Lily, who had finished wiping her clothes, turned to give Ren back his sweatshirt but halted upon seeing him laughing like a toddler.


    "..."


    Was there some kind of joke she was missing?


    As far as Lily could see, Ren had just risked his life to get into this vault, yet here he was, not robbing it but...laughing at his smartwatch.


    Recalling how her mother had always told her that the new generation was too obsessed with technology, Lily nodded her head and made a clicking sound with her mouth.


    "The attention span of this new generation is unbelievable. They can''t sit still for even a second without their precious telephones!"


    Regaining his composure, Lily showed no caution as she simply walked up to Ren with his sweatshirt in her hand.


    Ren, hearing her footsteps, curiously looked up from his smartwatch.


    Instead of taking the sweatshirt back, Ren simply de-manifested it, watching Lily''s expression change as the sweater disintegrated into nothingness in her hands.


    Finally breaking the awkward silence between the two, Ren pointed at the tens of shelves lined up against the wall before saying.


    "I believe you said earlier that there was nothing here besides a single cell."


    Nodding her head confidently, Lily stayed silent and simply walked forward, leaving Ren behind.


    Approaching one of the shelves, Lily grabbed a hammer-shaped item before throwing it to Ren.


    Catching the hammer-shaped artifact in his hands, Ren stared at his for a moment before boldly declaring.


    "A hammer!"


    Weighing the object in his hand, Ren quickly realized that despite its abnormal appearance...it possessed no mana in it.


    Staring at the hammer-shaped object in his hands, Ren''s expression rapidly changed as he furiously muttered.


    "It''s not a magical artifact?"


    Interrupting Ren, Lily replied from a distance.


    "No, it definitely is a magical artifact."


    Recalling Lily''s inherent ability to perceive mana particles as a magician, Ren curiously questioned.


    "So you''re telling me this thing had mana particles that I can''t detect?"


    Although it wasn''t impossible, Ren highly doubted it as he had grown quite used to detecting mana due to his constant use of it in his abilities.


    Even inside his body, Ren could perfectly control the ocean-blue mana so that it interacted with the blood-red substance when necessary to create a blood-red and ocean-blue wing.


    His expertise in mana control and detecting mana was at least B-rank at this point, maybe even higher.


    However, instead of answering Ren''s question, Lily simply turned around and began walking further into the massive vault.


    "Put the hammer back and follow me, will you?"


    Following Lily''s instructions, Ren approached the shelve before beginning to place the hammer on the rack.


    But, mid-action, Ren stopped for a moment before saying.


    "...and why should I listen to you?"


    "Wow, you really are a distrustful person."


    "Oh, blame me for not trusting someone who has basically been my archenemy up until now!"


    "Aww, you consider me to be your #1 enemy? I hate to break it to you, but you''re not exactly my #1. I''d be willing to give you my #2 spot, though, if you asked nicely."


    "..."


    Letting his curiosity get the best of him, Ren put down the hammer before following Lily, who was heading towards another shelf.


    Stopping at the shelf, Lily picked up a bucket-shaped object before once again throwing it over to Ren. Stay tuned for updates on M-V-L


    Catching it, Ren examined the bucket once again, closely looking for any mana particles that surrounded it.


    Yet, only after a couple of seconds, Ren put down the bucket before grimly saying. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Not a magical artifact."


    Not even looking at Ren, Lily continued moving toward another shelf before saying.


    "Onto the next, then!"


    Repeating the same notion once again, Ren put down the bucket-shaped object before receiving a saw-shaped object from Lily.


    And once again, Ren could not detect a single mana particle within the saw-shaped object.


    As Lily motioned to him and began to move toward the next shelf, Ren sighed before admitting.


    "None of the items here are magical artifacts, are they?"


    Shaking his head, Lily retrieved the saw-shaped object from Ren before once again relying.


    "No, they are all magical artifacts, I''m sure."


    Furious at the fact that his vault robbery may have all been for nothing, Ren harshly replied.


    "THEN, WHERE IS THE MANA!?"


    Smiling, Lily ignored Ren''s yellow before suddenly adjusting her path ahead and saying.


    "I''ve been waiting for you to ask that you know. If I simply told you from the start, you''d never believe me. I had to use this roundabout strategy just so that you will come to the conclusion yourself and believe me."


    Following Lily, Ren watched as she approached the back wall of the vault.


    Turning around, Lily motioned for Ren to come even closer before asking in a calm voice.


    "Do you feel it?"


    Confusedly, Ren stepped ahead, standing side-by-side with Lily, before placing his hand to the back-wall of the vault.

 Chapter 288: Chapter 288:The Vaults Secret [1]

    As Ren''s hand made contact with the back wall of the vault, Ren suddenly felt an immense energy surround him.Feeling the energy enter his body, Ren immediately controlled the pitch-black substance in his body to make a barrier to prevent the unknown substance from moving forward.


    Limited to Ren''s hand, the unknown substance rapidly swirled around, causing Ren''s right hand to start shaking rapidly.


    However, as Ren gazed at his trembling hand, he suddenly noticed something.,


    "I-it''s shining blue?"


    Indeed, his entire right hand was shining an ocean blue.


    Immediately, Ren sighed before de-manifesting the barrier and allowing the mana to enter his body and flow around.


    Within a few seconds, all the mana that Ren had used to sneak into the vault and more was recovered.


    Normally, this process of recovering maximum mana would take up to three days, but Ren had just done it in a minute.


    Unfortunately, Ren couldn''t gain any more mana as his mana capacity stat was already maxed out for his rank.


    Taking his hand off the wall, Ren stayed silent for a second before turning to Lily and saying,


    "The mana...it''s all here. The mana from all those items from earlier...it''s over here."


    Not showing any surprise at Ren''s revelation, Lily simply nodded her head in agreement before saying.


    "All the mana from all the objects on the shelves in this room are here."


    Confused, Ren shook his head, glancing around at the countless shelves in the room.


    There were at least twenty items on each shelve in the room, and there were around twenty-five shelves in the room.


    Unable to fathom the amount of mana gathered here, Ren shook his head before cautiously asking.


    "But what would need so much mana."


    Smiling upon hearing Ren ask the question she had wanted to answer from the very start, Lily eagerly replied.


    "A seal. All this mana is required for one single seal."


    Tilting his head to the right, Ren confusedly repeated.


    "A Seal...?"


    Pointing at the wall, Lily hesitated before saying.


    "Did you just turn your ears off when I speak? I already told you that this entire room is a prison cell, didn''t I?"


    Nodding his head, Ren answered.


    "Yeah, basically."


    Ignoring Ren''s jab, Lily put her hand down before stepping back from the wall, which Ren now knew was actually a magic seal.


    Pointing at the plugged-up gap that led to the outside of the vault, Lily sighed before asking.


    "Is that enough for you? There''s nothing here worth of value that you can take."


    Staying by the wall and carefully examining it, Ren replied.


    "You do know what I''m going to ask you, right?"


    "What my favorite color is?"


    "..."


    "..."


    Regaining her composure, Lily stood side-by-side with Ren before looking at the wall and saying.


    "A mythical beast. That''s all I know."


    "..."


    Intrigued, Ren continued studying the wall while also placing one of his hands in his hoodie where his cat was sleeping.


    Maybe he could finally figure out the true identity of his time-traveling cat!?


    Was it a mythical beast as well?


    Mythical beasts, or S-rank creatures, hadn''t been spotted for over a hundred years now, although their impacts had been visible.


    Over half of the water ecosystem had been wiped out during the fight between the two kings of the sea, Leviathan and Kraken.


    The effect of that fight, despite having happened hundreds of years ago, on the sea could still be seen today as the ocean was vastly underpopulated by fish and other water animals.


    "You''re probably thinking that something this important should have been mentioned in the book, aren''t you?"


    Indeed, you don''t just come across a mythical beast, especially when one hasn''t been spotted in hundreds of years.


    Even if this was THE principal''s vault, a mythical beast still far surpassed Ren''s expectations.


    Not just because of the pure rarity of the beast but also because of the safety concerns that would be caused.


    This Mythical Beast could wipe out the entire capital city and the academy within a single minute if it wanted to.


    And the principal, or for that matter anyone else in the world currently, couldn''t even stop it.


    In history, only one mythical beast had been slain, and not by a human, but by another mystical beast.


    That was what separated the brawl between the fight of the giant serpent, Leviathan, and the purple squid, Kraken, from others in history.


    For there to be a mystical beast in this vault, that would have to have meant that someone in this world had managed to defeat it.


    Not only that, but the person had also managed to, instead of killing it and being the first human to slay a beast, lock it up in a cell.


    Looking around at the countless shelves filled with items, Ren just couldn''t believe that this seal would be strong enough to contain mythical beats.


    Seemingly reading Ren''s thoughts, Lily said.


    "Based on what I''ve learned, it''s been severely weakened... however, it seems it cannot be killed by anyone yet."


    Nodding his head, Ren sighed at the failure of his mission before turning back.


    Although he didn''t completely believe what Lily was telling him, the risks were far too high. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If Lily was telling the truth and Ren broke the seal to look for magical artifacts, the entire world, alongside him, would be exposed to a mystical beast.


    Walking away was the only option here.


    Seeing this, a smile appeared on Lily''s face as she followed Ren towards the gap in the wall.


    Stopping for a moment, Ren decided to throw a question.


    "Just curious, how does one come across this knowledge?"


    Lily''s familiar connections and noble background couldn''t entirely explain how she knew about this vault.


    She had known every single detail about the vault before even entering, from the tools being used for a magical seal to the sealing of the mystical beast.


    If people knew that there was a mystical beast sealed below the academy and still alive, chaos would ensue.

 Chapter 289: Chapter 289:The Vaults Secret [2]

    Pausing for a moment, Lily stood completely still before looking at Ren and replying."No idea, it just appeared on my desk today."


    Not expecting to get a real answer in the first place, Ren simply nodded his head upon hearing Lily''s obvious sarcastic words.


    After all, their allicin could be short-lived, as once they both exited the vault, they would be placed on opposing sides once again.


    Their ideals were fundamentally different.


    Lily wanted to save as many people as possible without any care for the constant death flags and plot changes she would be making.


    Ren wanted to save the world as a whole, and for him, there was only one way.


    In the book, there is a happy ending, and the world is saved.


    So, in Ren''s eyes, as long as the book is relatively followed, the world has a 100% chance of being saved.


    Of course, he was fine with minor plot changes, some even caused by him, but the relative chain of events should remain the same.


    However, as shown by his acceptance of Irene as a hero when she was a villain in the book, Ren didn''t care too much about the characters but rather more about the proceedings of the events and incidents.


    On the other hand, Lily''s method didn''t even guarantee the saving of the world, so how could Ren trust it?


    Looking at Lily, Ren decided to do something that he had completely forgotten about since the first few weeks of his transmigration.


    He had always said that talking it over with Lily would be impossible, but perhaps they could come to some sort of compromise.


    But this was before Lily knew of his transmigration into this world as well, so there were some risks.


    If their talks failed, Lily would basically gotten the information that Ren was also from Earth, while Ren would have gained nothing.


    Now, though, things were different as Ren had nothing to lose by trying to negotiate or talk to Lily.


    After all, if he had learned one thing from this entire robbery, it was that he and Lily weren''t so different.


    Leaning against one of the nearby shelves, Ren looked at Lily with a serious expression before asking.


    "Do you know why we''re even ''enemies'' in the first place? You know I''m not just some psychopath who gets joy out of seeing people die and ruining your plans, right?"


    Nodding her head, Lily took a seat on one of the racks on a nearby shelf before answering in an equally serious voice.


    "Well, I would consider you a villain as you keep trying to ruin our plans. Whether it was on the cruise ship or even right now, you''ve always been on the opposite side of us."


    Nodding his head, Ren agreed, confirming that what Lily said was true, before replying.


    "Even thought about why?"


    Pointing upwards at the ceiling of the vault, Lily seemed to think for a moment before saying in an anxious tone.


    "Earth? You want to go back there, don''t you?"


    "How would I fighting against you and your posse take me back to Earth, though?"


    Shrugging her shoulders, Lily looked at Ren before responding in a curious tone.


    "To that, I don''t know. But does the reason even matter in the end? Time and time again, you''ve shown yourself as an opposing force to us."


    Manifesting a book with his corruption, Ren began flipping through the empty pages for a moment.


    Seeing this, Lily confusedly stared at him, prompting Ren to turn the book over and reveal its title, which said, "Welcome to the Magic Academy!"


    Confusedly, Lily stared at Ren, wondering why he had made a copy of the book their current world was based on.


    Ignoring Lily''s confused expression, Ren continued flipping through the empty pages, slowing down as he approached the last few pages of the book.


    Reaching the very last page of the book, Ren stopped for a second before carefully flipping it over and handing it to Lily.


    Taking the book from Ren, Lily immediately looked at it; however, her curiosity turned into confusion as she saw that the entire book, including the last page, was empty and without any words.


    Seeing this, Ren asked.


    "Whatever MAJOR events happen in the book are guaranteed to occur in this world, right? We can both agree on that since we''ve seen it time and time again, right?"


    Nodding her head, Lily looked up at Ren for a second before saying.


    "Major events, yes, but minor events are subject to change."


    Nodding his head in approval, Ren once again confirmed.


    "The things that go on in the major events are subject to change, but the major event itself isn''t."


    "For example, the invasion of the Elven tree was guaranteed to happen, but the way it was fixed was different from the book. You agree, right?"


    Thinking over the words for a few seconds, Lily agreed.


    "The events will always happen itself, but how the event is resolved or what happens as a result of the event are not the same."


    "The cruise ship incident was going to happen no matter what, but what happened before, during, and after it is subject to change."


    Seeing Lily on the same page as him, Ren stayed silent for a moment, thinking about how to word his next few sentences.


    If he was too harsh or cruel, Lily''s ideals could fall apart, and things could escalate, but if he was too vague and kind, Lily wouldn''t grasp what he was saying.


    But, before Ren could speak, Lily suddenly said.


    "However, that won''t always be true in the future. The changes we make right now could change future primary events."


    "For example, Irene''s future attack in the academy is a big event; however, it won''t happen anymore."


    "What you''re saying has been true in the past, but it likely won''t be true in the future."


    Raising his hand, Ren said.


    "That is...if we make too many changes to the plot. As you said, Irene''s future attack on the school won''t happen, but that is only because you made a change to the plot with Irene."


    "Other future events should happen regularly if changes are not made, right?"


    Mulling it over, Lily replied in a half-questioning and half-confident tone.


    "Possibly..."


    S~ea??h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 290The Vaults Secret [3]

    Breaking the silence, Ren hesitated for a moment before pointing the open book on Lily''s lap and asking."What happened on the last page of the book."


    Thinking for a moment, Lily stared at the blank page of the book I had given her before finally saying.


    "Like any other fantasy novel, there was a happily ever after where the world was saved, and the heroes were fine."


    Nodding my head, I began drawing together all the answers she had given me so far to make a new question.


    "So that means, if we make minimal changes to the plot that allows the main and major events to stay intact, the book will be guaranteed to have a happy ending where the world is saved, right?"


    Looking away from the book, Lily made eye contact with me before stretching her hands upwards and saying.


    "Ah, so that''s your strategy, isn''t it? That''s what you''ve made yourself believe."


    Shaking my head, I replied.


    "From your previous answers to my questions, you''ve said it as well, just in a more indirect and roundabout way."


    Cocking her head, Lily replied.


    "Nothing is guaranteed, even your happy ending from the book you''re hoping for. Even if you follow the book to the tee, there''s no real guarantee that things will turn out how the book ends."''


    "This world is based on this book; how do we know there''s not some random divergence point somewhere? What if this world suddenly stops following the plot of the book for some reason? Then what?"


    Sighing, Ren shook his head, not having an answer to Lily''s question.


    From what he had seen so far, the plot of the book would turn into what happens in this world.


    But what would happen if all of a sudden, that just stopped happening, and the world stopped following the plot of the book? S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Breaking Ren out of his silence, Lily got up before walking towards Ren and saying.


    "Even if there is no divergence point, and from start to end, this world follows the plot of the book, the happy ending is not guaranteed."


    Grasping Ren''s internal problem, Lily continued.


    "You''re too concerned with the long-run outcome of this world, and because of that, you fail to realize what happens around you.


    "Nothing is ever guaranteed. You''ve just convinced yourself based on your biased perspective on the world, and the book that this happens to end that occurs in the book will happen here if you follow the book''s plot."


    Understanding that refuting Lily''s verbal criticism would be impossible, Ren decides to attack Lily''s strategy.


    "And is your strategy of saving everyone you come across with no regrets better? At least, my plan is based on some evidence, even if that evidence is somewhat faulty. You''re just doing things on a whim without any regard for the outcome.


    "Sure, I''m too obsessed with the long run, but you''re too focused on the short run. You fail to consider what impact your actions will have on the outcome of this world. You just do whatever you want, saving people and killing enemies without any thought."


    Strolling over to Ren, Lily stood right in front of him before looking up into his eyes.


    "On Earth, was a happy ending ever guaranteed? At any moment, our world could have been destroyed by some unknown force like aliens or some other creature in outer space."


    "But did that stop you? When you were living your life on Earth, did you focus on how your actions would impact whether the world survived or not?"


    Taking Lily''s words seriously, Ren recalled how he had spent his last life solely studying and doing work, only caring about his future rather than the future of the world.


    Continuing, Lily took advantage of Ren''s silence to add in.


    "Earth was our world then, and this is our world now. I''m not saying live exactly as you would have on Earth, but realize that, just like Earth, this world is random and full of possibilities."


    "Even if you think you know more than anyone else because of your knowledge of the book, you are just as clueless as everyone else in the world in the end."


    "This world is random, no matter how fixed it may seem. This a real world with real people and real things."


    "That means people here will not act exactly as they did in the book as their emotions are random and only controlled by themselves, not the book."


    "And because of that, this world isn''t fixed...because the people, or characters in the book, can change them."


    "Therefore, your happy ending at the end of the book is only guaranteed if the people in this world act exactly as they did in the book, which simply will not happen."


    "They were made by the book, but they don''t have to act according to the book. They are people with minds of their own and will sometimes act abnormally, throwing the plot of the book off."


    Letting Lily''s words take place inside his brain, Ren let out a sigh before asking.


    "So your plan then is to live one step at a time? Solve one problem at a time... finish one and then do another new one."


    Nodding her head, Lily''s eyes sparked as she replied.


    "Just like how I acted on Earth, I do what I want. I do what my heart tells me to do, and that''s it."


    "This world isn''t a book in my mind anymore; this is a real place with real people, who are not robots made by an author but real people who have their own minds and brains."


    Nodding his head, Ren realized why their ideologies and ways of doing their things were so different.


    Their lives on Earth, as Ren could tell from Lily''s words, differed greatly.


    Perhaps one day...he would figure out how Lily lived on Earth.


    As for now, he had more important things on his mind that he needed to sort out.


    He wouldn''t be solely swayed by Lily''s words, but he would take them in and decided for himself if what he was doing was truly right, or if something needed to change.

 Chapter 291The Vaults Secret [4]

    Returning back to reality, Ren found a curious and excited Lily waiting in front of him, impatiently waiting for his reply.Clearing his mind, Ren responded to Lily''s excited expression with a monotone voice.


    "I''ll think about it."


    She had won this debate, and it wasn''t hard for Ren to see that.


    But she hadn''t won over his mind just yet.


    Seeing Lily''s expression turn into one of agitation, Ren pointed at the filled-in gap that led to the outside before asking.


    "Shall we go?"


    There was nothing left to be done in this room.


    Ren had no intentions of releasing a mystical beast capable of killing millions of people into the world.


    And, if he wanted to take a magical artifact from one of the shelves, he would have to weaken the seal that was trapping the mystical beast.


    Accepting his loss, Ren turned to Lily, who was nodding while walking towards the gap.


    Scratching his head, Ren halted mid-walk before saying to Lily, who was ahead of him.


    "Any chance you can put in a good word for me? I''m pretty sure this exit is guarded to the brim, and if I even step foot outside, my head will go flying off."


    Turning back to face Ren, Lily said in the most monotone voice she could manage.


    "I''ll think about it."


    "...really? My life is on the line here, you know?"


    Walking backward toward the hole while still facing me, Lily tilted her head before replying.


    "You asked for it, though. You drilled through the obsidian door and completely knocked it over, not even mentioning that giant hole you made in the ceiling."


    Avoiding Lily''s gaze, Ren sarcastically replied.


    "Oh, what did you want me to do? Just walk up to you and ask for the vault key, and then be on my way?"


    "I mean, that would have work-"


    "Oh yeah, I was just supposed to know that you were going to take me on a personalized tour of the vault and actually help me."


    Shaking her head with a smile, Lily turned back to face the gap before saying. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Don''t try to act so nervous and scared. You must have some sort of escape plan. How would you escape with the magical artifacts if they were actually here?"


    Taking out his smartwatch, Ren nodded at Lily''s words before opening up the messages application.


    [Ren: You two done yet?]


    [Raven: Boss, you better some brought back some damn good treasure. I did not SPEND MORE THAN THREE HOURS IN THE CAVE WITH ZENG, JUST TUNNELING FOR YOU TO SHOW UP HANDED. I BETTER SEE THE MOST POWERFUL AND VICIOUS MAGICAL ARTIFACTS ON YOU!]


    Looking up from his smartwatch, Ren glanced at Lily before saying.


    "You''re sure there are no magical artifacts here I can take, right?"


    Pointing at the shelves of random objects behind, Lily shrugged her shoulders and sarcastically replied.


    "I mean, you can take them, but the seal holding the mystical beast will weaken. If you''re willing to take that risk and allow it to escape, then don''t let me stop you!"


    Sighing, Ren turned back to face his smartwatch before awkwardly typing.


    [Ren: YOU WON''T BELIEVE WHAT I GOT!!! THIS VAULT DEFINITELY LIVED UP TO ITS NAME!]


    [Raven: You only type in all caps when you''re lying or being sarcastic.]


    [Ren: Can''t I be excited? I mean, I would snap you a photo, but I''m kinda in a rush, you know, a bunch of people just waiting for me to exit so they can kill me.]


    [Raven: You can spend a second taking a picture.]


    [Ren: Where''s the tunnel Raven? The coordinates.]


    [Raven: Where''s the picture, boss? The insane magical artifact you have.]


    As Lily approached the gap and turned around to face Ren, waiting for him to dismiss the material blocking their way out, Ren rapidly typed.


    [Ren: Raven, my life is on the line; don''t do this right now.]


    [Raven: Here''s a puzzle with the coordinates. Multiply the number of days in a year by the number of countries, then add the total number of sides on a hexagon and octagon combined; the position of "E" in the alphab-]


    [Ren: Raven, don''t bullshit me right now.]


    [Raven: 25.5¡ã N, 14.1¡ã E]


    [Ren: Oh yeah, that really fucking helps. If only I knew how to calculate coordinates when I''m UNDERGROUND IN A VAULT!]


    [Raven: Right above me, there''s a massive crater in the ceiling.]


    [Ren: Do you see the hole in the ground from my original tunnel?]


    [Raven: It''s a couple of meters south from me.]


    Using my enhanced eyesight, Ren had already memorized the exact layout of the underground space outside the vault.


    Visualizing the underground space in his head, Ren used Raven''s details to calculate exactly where the new hole was.


    Then, Ren plotted a line between where the gap in the obsidian wall was and the entrance to Raven''s tunnel.


    After calculating the slope of that line to find the average speed, Ren finally rubbed his head and let out a sigh.


    Walking up to Lily, Ren said in an eerily calm voice.


    "I''ll have to go first."


    Patting Ren on the shoulder, Lily replied.


    "I''ll try to get everyone to go easy on you if you''re caught!"


    "Thanks a ton!"


    Leaving Lily with his parting sarcastic words, Ren scaled the wall until finally he reached the filled-in hole.


    Placing his hand on the physical corruption that filled in the hole, Ren took one last glance at Lily.


    Feeling the blood-red substance gathered in the chest, Ren carefully maneuvered until it finally made contact with the ocean-blue liquid mana.


    Since he had just replenished his mana, it would be more efficient for him to use an ocean-blue and blood-red wing instead of a pitch-black and blood-red wing.


    Ren hadn''t used the two different types of wings enough to discern if there were any differences in them besides the color, but he had always preferred to use the pitch-black and blood-red wing as he always had more corruption inside his body than mana.

 Chapter 292The Vaults Secret [5]

    Feeling a sharp pain throughout his entire body, Ren turned around, seeing an ocean-blue and blood-red wing hanging from his right shoulder.Below him, Lily stared in amazement at the blue wing, wondering what Ren''s escape plan would be.


    Raising his hand, Ren confirmed the speed he would need to travel to reach Raven''s tunnel before angling himself accordingly.


    Slowing his perception of time, Ren took one last deep breath before recalling the corruption was blocking the gap.


    As the corruption disappeared, Ren took a single peek through into the underground space, memorizing every last detail.


    Then, with his perception of time still slowed, Ren immediately resummoned the physical corruption, blocking off the gap once again.


    Pausing, Ren recalled the image he had taken with his eyes of the underground space.


    It was... nothing.


    The gap was small and facing the ceiling, so Ren couldn''t even spot any people or any details that might help him locate them.


    Returning his perception of time to normal, Ren took one last glance at Lily, who was waiting below with a curious expression.


    Shaking his head, Ren manifested a shin layer of physical corruption before surrounding his entire body with it.


    Putting back on his mask, Ren raised his wing before recalling the physical corruption blocking off the gap one last time.


    *SWOOSH*


    *SWOOSH*


    Flapping his wing once, Ren disappeared from the vault, traveling at an unprecedented speed through the gap before reappearing mid-air in the underground space.


    Angling himself downwards, Ren flapped his wing three times in succession, disappearing from the air and appearing on the ground around 27 meters away.


    However, as he landed on the ground, Ren immediately noticed two figures, one in front and one in behind.


    Behind him lay a figure who was simply standing still with a spear in their hand, and in front of Ren was a rapidly approaching figure with a katana.


    Flapping his wing once, Ren appeared ten meters upward in the air before using his remaining mana to create a green bird.


    Throwing the bird upwards into the air, Ren waited until it touched the ceiling before allowing it to pop.


    Lily would tell the main cast and everyone else that Ren was the robber of the vault anyway, so it didn''t matter if Ren used his skills.


    Of course, there would be no evidence besides Lily''s words, so there wouldn''t be any massive consequences for Ren.


    And the vault wasn''t even robbed in the first place as nothing was even taken.


    However, this set it in stone that the main cast would know Ren''s part in the robbery as Liam would definitely be able to identify the robber as Ren from the green bird.


    As the bird flashed, temporarily blinding everyone, Ren flew right over the figure with the katana, landing on a nearby wall.


    Spotting his original tunnel hole, Ren glanced to the right, seeing a small head peeking out of another hole a couple of meters away.


    However, before Ren could react, a familiar figure appeared at the entrance to the underground space.


    Astrid, turning to look behind her at the entrance, screamed out.


    "Reinforcements are arriving."


    As Astrid''s voice echoed through the cave, Ren flapped his wing once again, appearing right above the hole that Raven had created.


    "Not so fast."


    However, blocking Ren from the hole, a spear flew right at Ren; this time, no figure was riding atop the spear.


    Having experienced the strength of the spear magical artifact firsthand, Ren didn''t dare to try and deflect it.


    Instead, he simply flapped his wing once again, taking detour away from the entrance to Raven''s tunnel..


    Back at the vault, Lily calmly exited the vault through the gap with her wand in hand.


    As she exited, two figures suddenly dropped down from the ceiling, landing on Lily''s right and left.


    Staring at the curious Liam and scared Alya, Lily shrugged her shoulders and said.


    "Some things can be solved peacefully."


    Liam, completely ignoring the fight between Kazuki, Kaneki, and Ren, immediately questioned.


    "Then why couldn''t you have told us?"


    Shaking her head, Lily easily responded.


    "If you knew, it never would have happened."


    If Liam knew that Lily was planning to have a secret and alone meeting with Ren in the vault, he would insist on coming.


    However, if Liam came along with them, the entire meeting would be ruined.


    Lily and Ren had talked about the book countless times and their lives on Earth, so no other being besides the two of them could have been in that vault for it to have happened.


    Interrupting the two''s conversation, Kevin walked forward, staring at Lily for a second, before turning away and saying.


    "Lily''s fine, so we can talk about this later, Liam." S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Pointing at the floating figure with an ocean-blue and blood-red wing, Kevin continued.


    "Let''s catch the robber."


    Appearing behind Lily, Ruby surprised Lily with a tap on the shoulder.


    "So who is he, the robber, and what happened?"


    Grabbing Ruby by the shoulder before Lily could respond, Irene appeared before saying.


    "Didn''t you hear? We''ll talk about all that later; if you didn''t know, we''re actually in the middle of a fight right now."


    Being dragged away by Irene, Ruby had no choice but to pull out her wand and follow Kevin, who was already running to help his brother in the fight.


    Ren, trying his best to avoid eye contact with Raven''s tunnel to prevent his two attackers from hiding out at his destination, floated in mid-air, waiting for the perfect moment.


    "Everybody''s here, oh wow!"


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    Interrupting Ren''s train of thought, a sudden and unknown voice echoed throughout the underground space, drawing everyone''s attention.


    As Kazuki accusingly looked upward at Ren, he quickly shook his head and raised his head.


    "Not me."


    Looking for the source of the voice, Ren glanced upwards and examined the ceiling; however, there were no speakers visible.


    Was there someone else in the cave with them?


    Was it one of the reinforcements that Astrid had acllaed for?


    "Different characters, travelers, and game changers...all in one space!"

 Chapter 293The Vaults Secret [6]

    "..."As those words echoed throughout the underground space once again, Ren once again franticaly searched for a person or sound-making device, but nothing was present.


    Interrupting the silence and drawing everyone''s attention, a sudden sound echoed throughout the underground space


    *BANG*


    Astrid, waiting right below the entrance, glanced up to see if the other reinforcements had arrived yet.


    But... as she glanced up, she realized that the entrance was completely blocked off.


    There was a huge metal slab preventing the reinforcements from entering and stopping Astrid and the others from leaving.


    Staring downward at his two enemies, Kazuki and Kaneki, Ren noticed that both of them were still staring at him.


    Before Ren could even say something, the katana-using opponent said in a smug voice.


    "Nice try at trying to distract us. Getting desperate, are we?"


    "..."


    Listening to the katana-using figure''s words, Ren sighed and stayed silent.


    No matter what he said, they wouldn''t believe him, and rightfully so, he was their enemy and had attempted to rob the vault.


    However, Ren did throw a hopeful glance at Lily.


    There was a problem, and a big one at that.


    Another person was in the cave, simply hiding and speaking to them from afar.


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    If this person had the ability to avoid Ren''s enhanced eyesight while speaking so confidently, they could be a true danger.


    Snapping back to reality, Ren spotted another figure joining the fight as Kevin, with his sword, sprinted towards Ren.


    "MAKE A FORMATION!"


    Within a couple of seconds, the katana-using person, spear-using person, and Kevin had created a formation to combat Ren''s winged transportation.


    There were no djinns for Ren to blend in, and there were no dark places for him to hide as the main cast had taken precautions.


    Irene had placed countless magical torches all around the underground space, lighting up the usually dark area.


    Only a straight-on fight or a one versus three awaited him.


    Taking a glance at the hole that led to Raven''s tunnel, which was around twenty meters away from it, Ren closed his eyes.


    Thankfully, Lily seemed to be stalling the other members of the main cast, so, for right now, it was only a one versus three instead of a one versus nine.


    And, Astrid...was standing still?


    "Maybe she''s still waiting for her reinforcements?"


    Ignoring the stationary Astrid, Ren manifested two corrupted daggers alongside a bow and a quiver full of arrows.


    Flapping his wing ten times, Ren zig and zagged throughout the formation of the three, narrowly missing his sword slashes and flying spears.


    Leaving behind speed mirages as he flew around, Ren halted as he approached Kevin, equipping his two daggers.


    Swinging his daggers twice, Ren sent two night-black sword slashes at Kevin before flapping his wing once again.


    However, Kazuki seemed to have known that Kevin was the weak link in the formation as, within seconds, he was there with backup, while Kaneki stepped forward and took over Kazuki''s spot. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, Ren wasn''t planning to escape the formation.


    Taking out his smartwatch as he flew, Ren rapidly typed.


    [Ren: As soon as your head pops out, I''m going. Wait a second, then immediately cover the hole]


    Flapping his wing a couple of times, Ren avoided a couple of attacks while simultaneously sending dagger slashes and arrows at them.


    Hovering exactly ten meters above the ground, Ren moved around, maintaining his exact distance from the ground while using his enhanced eyesight to monitor every change on the ground.


    But, before any change occurred, Ren suddenly felt an ominous presence approaching him.


    Looking at the source, Ren saw the katana-using figure standing with his sword raised.


    However, countless layers of pitch-black surrounded the katana, and it seemed to be slowly absorbing them.


    The spear-using figure and Kevin, on the other hand, ignored him and continued sending attacks at Ren, forcing him to stay on his feet.


    Taking a deep breath, Ren held his breath as he saw part of the floor below him beginning to weaken.


    Raising his hand, Ren ignored the katana-using figure who seemed to be absorbing more and more of the pitch-black clouds.


    Feeling his perception of time slow, Ren patiently watched as a hole in the ground slowly formed, revealing Raven down below with a pickaxe slung around his shoulder.


    Not wasting a second, Ren angled himself right at the hole''s entrance before flapping his wing once.


    As he sped through the air, the katana-using figure suddenly began swinging his sword in slow motion.


    But it was too late; before whatever attack the katana-using figure could hit Ren, he had already entered through the hole in the ground.


    As Ren appeared in the hole, he immediately felt himself being pushed towards the wall as there was not enough space for both Raven and him.


    On the other hand, Raven seemed unbothered as he counted to one on his figure before swiftly grabbing a pile of dirt with his shovel and filling in the hole.


    Grabbing Raven''s pickaxe, Ren dug to the right, hoping to find more space; however, he was immediately met with the face of a familiar figure.


    "Zeng?"


    "...Boss?"


    Interrupting the two, Raven''s casual and emotionless voice sounded from behind.


    "So...where''s all that loot, boss?"


    "Raven, why do you ask questions that you know are going to disappoint you when you find the answer?"


    "Ren, why did you ask us to risk our lives and spend our days hard at labor just so you can come back here with jackshit?"


    Letting out a sigh, Ren gestured for Zeng to move forward so they could finally escape.


    Above the ground, Ren could already hear the sound of weapons stabbing into the ground and walls as the figures above searched for him.


    The speed of his wing, combined with his slowed perception of time, made him so fast that they hadn''t noticed him going underground, but then again, there weren''t many places Ren could escape to in this underground area.


    "OW!"


    Snapping back to reality, Ren bumped face-first into Zeng''s back as he suddenly stopped moving.


    And then behind Ren, Raven bumped face-first into Ren''s back, letting out grunt upon impact.

 Chapter 294No Escape [1]

    "Why did you stop, Zeng?"Rubbing his nose, which had bumped straight into Zeng''s back, Ren inwardly cursed before staring at Zeng.


    After staying silent for a moment, Zeng simply pointed forward before awkwardly replying.


    "I don''t know...it''s like I can''t go any further than here."


    Confused, Ren manifested a dagger before infusing it with the blood-red substance, illuminating the underground tunnel.


    As Ren gestured for Zeng to demonstrate, he promptly stretched his hand out, but Zeng''s hand couldn''t reach all the way forward, as if there was an invisible wall blocking the way forward.


    Proving his point, Zeng raised his foot and attempted to move forward; however, his foot was stopped mid-air from moving any farther.


    Looking at the peculiar situation where Zeng couldn''t move forward, Ren couldn''t help but mutter.


    "Discrimination?"


    Had the principal set up a barrier around the academy to prevent any djinns from exiting?


    Considering the fact that the principal knew about the vault robbery in advance, it was possible she would do something like this so that no djinns escaped.


    Was she discriminating against djinns specifically?


    As Zeng turned around with a disappointed expression, and Raven looked confusedly at him, Ren said.


    "Let me try."


    Nodding his head, Zeng moved towards the walls, allowing Ren to squeeze right by him and be at the front of our line. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Looking at the exact area where Zeng''s foot was forced to halt mid-air, Ren raised his foot and attempted to stop forward at full speed.


    "*OW*"


    However, as Ren stepped forward, his knee suddenly burst into pain, as if it had just bumped into a brick wall.


    Clutching his knee, Ren stretched his hand forward, confirming that there was, indeed, some invisible wall blocking them from moving forward.


    As a sudden wall stopped Ren''s hand from moving any further forward, he sighed before turning to Raven.


    "We''re digging down."


    If they couldn''t get out one way, they would have to find another way out.


    At least...that was the plan.


    Manifesting three corrupted shovels, Ren handed them to both Zeng and Raven before also beginning to dig down himself.


    He couldn''t use any over-the-top abilities or dynamite like last time to dig as the main cast above ground could still be searching for him.


    So, it was back to the basics.


    Watching Zeng and Raven begin to dig downwards, Ren recalled how he had done the same exact thing with Jin and Han in the battle royale not even a week ago.


    Shaking his head, Ren picked up his own shovel before digging downward himself.


    Until...another invisible wall appeared.


    Zeng started first and was the most efficient in digging downwards, so he encountered the wall first.


    Picking up his shovel like normal, Zeng slammed it downwards, trying to embed it in the ground; however, instead...he was only met with plain.


    As the tip of Zeng''s corrupted shovel made contact with the ground below...the corruption bent.


    Yes, the corruption that Ren treasured for its resilience against almost every material, including the obsidian on the door protecting the vault, broke.


    Dropping his shovel, Ren stared at the broken, corrupted shovel in Zeng''s hands for a couple of seconds, rubbing his eyes countless times to make sure it was real.


    Following in Zeng''s footsteps, only a couple of seconds later, a shriek could be heard as the tip of Raven''s corrupted shovel made contact with the invisible wall.


    "...my corruption."


    After repairing the corrupted shovels of Zeng and Raven, Ren sent the two in opposite directions, hoping to find a way out from this invisible wall.


    However, after ten minutes, both of them reported back with alarming news,


    "It''s also blocked off this way."


    "Blocked off over here as well."


    De-manifesting everyone''s corrupted shovels, Ren sighed before staring up at the ceiling.


    Had the principal taken precautions to prevent anyone from escaping through the underground?


    No...Raven and Zang had managed to dig their way up without encountering the invisible wall, so that couldn''t be the case.


    The manifestation of the invisible wall had to have been more recent, between when Zeng and Raven finished their tunnel and when Ren arrived in the tunnel.


    What suspicious things had happened during that time frame?


    "the voice."


    Recalling the strange and unknown voice that had sounded twice earlier, Ren realized that it definitely had something to do with the invisible walls.


    It didn''t want them to escape.


    Above the ground, the main cast and two recruiters were spread out all across the cave, staying completely silent.


    Each other, with their ears ready, held weapons facing downward that were ready to fire if the smallest sound appeared.


    After a couple of moments, Kazuki shook his head before saying, breaking the silence.


    "The robber has to have been gone by now...he must have had some plan setup."


    Nodding his head, Kaneki seemed oddly happy, even though they had just lost, as he walked over to the main cast.


    "Don''t worry... we''ll find the robber eventually."


    Pointing at his katana, which was still covered by a bunch of pitch-black clouds, Kaneki added.


    "He''ll make sure of it."


    Putting aside Kaneki''s odd words, Kazuki glanced at Lily before asking.


    "Did anything happen...while you and the robber were in the vault."


    Shaking her head, Lily pointed at her uninjured body before saying.


    "He was just planning on using me as a hostage...so he didn''t do anything."


    Although Lily wanted to tell the truth and talk about how Ren was involved, she wanted to wait...wait for his response.


    Even if there was no evidence, Lily would be putting a target on Ren''s back for the rest of his life if she exposed his identity.


    Robbing the principal''s vault would put Ren in trouble not only with the principal but also with the academy and all its powerful alumni.


    Once she exposed Ren''s identity as the robber, there was no going back...everyone would know about it.


    That''s why she decided, for now, she was just going to tell the main cast, who she trusted, not to say anything to anyone, and not the recruiters.


    Nodding his head at Lily''s answer, Kazuki sighed before asking.


    "How...much did he take from the vault...approximately."


    It was time for damage control.


    As all eyes shifted towards her, Lily thought for a moment before finally answering.


    "There was nothing to take."


    Of course, everyone looked at Lily for specifications, but she just shook her head and replied,


    "Nothing was taken from the vault at all...I''m one hundred percent sure about it." Read new adventures at empire


    Hearing this, Kauzki''s expression immediately changed as he realized that, technically, he might not have failed his task of protecting the vault.


    However, Kaneki didn''t care about the task as his curiosity overwhelmed him.


    "What do you mean by that? What was in the vau-"


    Stopping Kaneki mid-sentence, Liam stepped forward with his hand raised and said.


    "You can ask Principal Seraphina all of those questions, not Lily."


    Recalling something, Alya hesitated before saying.


    "Speaking of the Principal...was that voice earlier her?"


    Shrugging his shoulder, Kaneki replied.


    "Didn''t sound like her...and I doubt she would ever speak like that.


    As everybody recalled the unknown voice that had sounded earlier, silence emerged in the underground space.


    Nodding his head, Kazuki sighed before announcing.


    "So, nobody knows who the owner of the voice is."


    Immediately drawing his weapon, Kevin stepped forward and asked.


    "Does that mean there''s another person in this space, here with us."


    Immediately, everyone turned around and began glancing around the underground space, looking for any clues.


    And they did find someone...just not who they were looking for.


    Right by the entrance to the underground space stood Astrid with her wand in hand.


    Seeing them make eye contact with her, Astrid nodded her head before approaching them.


    Not allowing them to speak first, she immediately pointed at the entrance to the underground space before saying.


    "The reinforcements are blocked off...there''s some metal slab preventing anyone from leaving or entering."


    "It appeared right after I jumped down into the space, so I was left there alone."


    As the flames lighting the cave began to flick, Irene immediately questioned.


    "Does that mean...we can''t leave this space."


    Nodding, Astrid answered.


    "Yes, for now, there is no way out unless we make one ourselves."


    "If worse comes to worse, we can just use our powers to make our way upward and then leave this place."


    As Irene calmed down, Kaneki roughly bit his lip, causing blood to leak out and stain his face.


    Wiping his mouth, Kaneki glanced at the blocked entrance to the underground space before saying.


    "If that were true, then the reinforcements would have arrived by now. They definitely have the power to make a tunnel down here, yet they haven''t."


    "Something is preventing them from making tunnel downward, and therefore, we are also being prevented from going upward."


    "Or, in other words, we are completely trapped in this space."

 Chapter 295No Escape [2]

    Immediately, Kankei turned to Astrid and asked."When did it happen!? When exactly did the metal slab blocking off your entrance appear."


    Pausing for a moment, Astrid thought before replying. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Right after I came down...or when that voice spoke."


    Rubbing his head and scratching his hair, Kazuki muttered.


    "That voice...it was the robber, right? He was the one."


    Everyone nodded their heads in unison, but two figures remained outwardly stressed and anxiously glanced around.


    Lily and Ruby.


    Both of them knew the true identity of the robbers, so they knew...that voice couldn''t have been Ren.


    Lily, calmly considering that the voice could have been a part of Ren''s distraction to escape the vault, looked around for any signs of Ren.


    This was an enormous problem.


    If that voice truly was someone else who was not associated with Ren, that meant there was another figure in this underground space.


    And...the entrance to the vault was completely open and unprotected.


    The vault containing a mystical beast capable of destroying the entire capital city and academy was open for taking.


    Not wasting another second, Lily ran up the obsidian door, immediately casting an artificial waterfall to cover up the entrance to the vault.


    But...was she too late?


    Seeing Lily sprint up the obsidian door without warning, the main cast immediately followed while the two recruiters confusedly stayed behind.


    Standing atop the obsidian door and next to her artificial waterfall, which was covering the gap into the vault, LIly said.


    "The vault is still open! If there''s an intruder, we have to be alert."


    Hearing this, the two recruiters immediately came to their senses as they realized they had completely forgotten about the vault''s open entrance.


    Soon, the main cast and Lily were all standing beside the gap with their weapons drawn.


    Breaking the awkward silence, Lily pointed through her waterfall and into the vault before saying.


    "We should go in. It''ll be easier to protect the vault from there."


    There was also the chance that the owner of the unknown voice was already inside the vault.


    Raising his hand awkwardly, Zach asked.


    "I mean...are we allowed to? Last time, the principal said we shouldn''t go in."


    Shaking her head, Lily replied.


    "That voice...if it isn''t the intruder, that means there''s another person inside here with us. And this door has been left unprotected for over a minute before we came back."


    "It''s possible that there''s already someone else inside the vault..."


    Confused, Kaenki waved his katana around and replied.


    "I thought you said there''s nothing to take in the vault. I mean, the last robber didn''t take anything."


    Sighing, Liam shook his head and stared at Kaneki.


    All the anger that had accumulated as a result of Lily betraying the main cast and not giving them a full story, combined with the fact that the vault''s robber hadn''t managed to get away, suddenly burst out.


    "Man, if there''s nothing to take...then what the actual hell are we doing here!? OF COURSE, THERE''S SOMETHING THERE, OR ELSE WE WOULDN''T RISK OUR LIVES. YOU THINK WE FOUGHT A WHOLE HORDE OF DJINNS TO PROTECT NOTHING!?"


    "..."


    "..."


    Within seconds, the entire underground was plunged into an awkward silence as Liam glared at Kaneki.


    Waving his hands up and down, Kaneki paid no attention to the awkward atmosphere and replied in the most cheerful and happy voice known to mankind.


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    "Geez, ever heard of sarcasm?"


    "YOU SON OF B-"


    "LIAM STOP!"


    "LIAM, DON''T LET HIM BAIT YOU!"


    Kevin and Zach, both stepping up, each restrained one of Liam''s hands, desperately holding him back from reaching Kaneki.


    Meanwhile, Kaneki was almost on the floor dying of laughter, with Kazuki shaking his head and staring at him.


    Irene was desperately covering her mouth, and beside her, Ruby and Alya simply stood in awe of the whole scene.


    It wasn''t that often that you saw the first-ranked student in the entire academy and a famous hero almost getting into a fight.


    On the other hand, Lily stood in the corner, next to the gap, with an expression grimmer than death itself.


    There was a chance that a mystic beast was going to be robbed and set free today, but her entire group was fighting amongst each other or dying laughing.


    Leaning down and looking through the waterfall that she made, Lily muttered.


    "Maybe...Ren was right."


    However, she failed to notice that Alya was right beside her, leaning down and looking through the artificial waterfall.


    "What was that, Lily?"


    "Nothing..."


    Ignoring the mention of a very familiar name, Alya sighed before asking.


    "Are we going inside the vault or not? I understand that the principal might not want us to see the inside, but you''re right; there is a possibility that an intruder is inside."


    Nodding her head, Lily dismissed the artificial waterfall, and then, without any hesitation, she crouch-ran through the gap.


    Jumping off the gap and landing inside the vault, Lily disappeared from the main cast''s sight within seconds.


    Following right behind her were Alya and Irene, who more cautiously walked through the gap before slowly climbing down.


    As the argument between the boys calmed down, they finally all turned around, noticing that almost all of the girls had disappeared.


    Looking at the open gap, they quickly regained their composure before also equipping their weapons and crouching.


    Unable to fix his massive battle axe through the gap, Zach almost shed a tear as he left if lying on the obsidian door outside.


    Finally, the two recruiters, Liam, Kevin, and Zach, all followed, with Liam at the very front and Kaneki at the very back.


    That left just one person.


    Ruby, staying silent and in front of the gap, secretly took out her smartwatch before rapidly sending a text message.


    [Ruby: Hey, that voice. Was that part of one of your schemes? The random voice that spoke like a minute ago.]


    [Ren: It wasn''t...]


    [Ren: Don''t do anything yet. I''m coming up.]


    [Ren: Wait, DO NOT GO IN.]


    [Ren: I''ll be right there.]

 Chapter 296No Escape [3]

    Wiping the sweat off his face, Ren stared out at his smartwatch with Ravern and Zeng right beside him.There was someone else inside the vault...there had to be.


    The entrance to the vault that Ren had made had been left completely open during his fight with the two recruiters.


    Normally, Ren wouldn''t care...but if the wrong person got inside the vault, the entire academy could be destroyed within a matter of seconds.


    If a mystic beast got free, not even the principal would be able to stop it fully.


    She would need to call at least two other top-rankers to put down the beast, and even with that, there would be massive amounts of destruction.


    Peeking his head above the ground, Ren watched as Liam, Kevin, Zach, and the two recruiters entered the vault.


    And right beside the entrance was a familiar figure with jet-black hair and blood-red eyes, who was awkwardly glancing around the underground space.


    If the owner of the unknown voice had already freed the mystical beast, going into the vault would guarantee your death.


    So, Ren wasn''t going to enter until he was certain that the beast hadn''t yet been freed.


    As Ren climbed up from the tunnel before helping both Zeng and Raven, one thing really started to bother him.


    Why had the owner of the voice spoken?


    If he hadn''t spoken, no one in the underground space would have noticed him.


    He would have been able to slip right into the vault and do whatever the hell he wanted without anyone knowing in the slightest.


    Yet...he had decided to speak, notifying everyone in the room of his presence.


    Something was clearly off.


    If this voice''s owner had wanted to rob the vault, he would have done it silently,


    The owner of the unknown voice wasn''t after what was in the vault...he was after something else.


    Perhaps, the life or lives of people in this room.


    But, even with that knowledge, Ren couldn''t do anything.


    If the beast hadn''t yet been freed, he would have to enter the vault and protect it to prevent the mystical beast from killing everyone in the academy, alongside himself.


    However, that would mean that Ren would be doing exactly what the owner of the mysterious voice wanted.


    Ren couldn''t leave the underground space and escape to somewhere far away to save his life.


    He couldn''t just stand still as the unknown voice would obviously go to the vault and release the mystical beast.


    Ren only had one choice...and it was no coincidence.


    Clearly, the owner of this voice had forced Ren into this decision...yet Ren had to comply; there was no other choice.


    Standing on the dirt with Raven and Zeng, Ren speed-walked towards the obsidian door before climbing it.


    With his two partners by his side, Ren ran to the top of the obsidian vault, waving his hands as he approached a familiar figure.


    Letting out a "tsk" sound as Ren approached, Ruby pointed at the gap before asking.


    "Before anything happens, I need to know what down there is so important."


    Surprised that the usual trusting Lily hadn''t told her yet, Ren glanced at his two partners behind, making sure they were out of hearing distance, before replying.


    "The vault is not a vault...but a wall. A wall defending a button that has the ability to kill over a million people."


    "...could you be even less ambiguous if you tried?"


    Shrugging his shoulders, Ren smiled and replied.


    "You get the gist."


    Before Ruby could respond, Raven and Zeng finally arrived, immediately looking at Ruby with confusion.


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    Pointing at the two boys by Ren''s side, Ruby curiously asked.


    "So, you''re not a lone worker?"


    "Did I give off that impression?"


    Replying from behind Ren, Raven emotionlessly said.


    "Yes."


    Alternating glances between the two boys, Ruby peered into their hearts before muttering.


    "Money and... self-improvement?"


    What a trio they were.


    The desire to survive, get money, and improve oneself.


    Looking through the gap in the obsidian wall, Raven deadpanned before looking at Ren and sarcastically imitating him.


    " ''It''ll be a quick in and out mission, I swear! You won''t have to fight or do anything besides dig'' "


    On the other hand, Zeng peered through the gap with interest, seemingly attracted to something in the vault.


    Leaving the two boys behind, Ren crouched downwards and stared through the vault, attempting to confirm whether or not the beast was free or not.


    Eventually realizing that the vault was untouched and clean, Ren sighed and looked up at Ruby.


    "Well, I honestly have no idea what to do now."


    He needed to go into the vault.


    Ren needed to help protect it from the possible intruder, or the mystical beast would be set free.


    Yet...if he entered the vault with the main cast, the two recruiters he fought earlier, and Astrid, things would get violent fast.


    He couldn''t enter with his mask or create another one as they would know he was a robber, and obviously, he couldn''t go as Ren.


    Crouching down beside Ren, Ruby also stared through the gap for a couple of seconds before asking.


    "You want to go inside so you can protect the doomsday button inside, but you can''t go inside because all of them are in there, right?"


    As Ren nodded his head, Ruby let out an agitated sigh and complained. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "You know, one second, you''re robbing a vault, and the other, you''re protecting the world from a button. You really are a hero villain."


    Recalling his answer to Ruby''s question from the bet, Ren smiled and glanced at her.


    However, behind them, Raven interrupted with a depressed voice.


    "I hate to interrupt, but what is this about a button???"


    In unison, both Ruby and Ren replied


    "It''s a free-money button."


    "...oh really?"


    Unable to comprehend why his boss was attempting to enter the same vault he had just escaped from, Raven also crouched down.


    Breaking the silence, Ruby suddenly muttered.


    "Well...I do have an idea."

 Chapter 297No Escape [4]

    Slightly afraid to ask, Ren sighed before saying."And, what is that idea?"


    Putting a single finger over her lips to gesture for Ren to be quiet, Ruby grinned, catching Ren completely off guard.


    "Did Lily teach you that?"


    However, instead of answering Ren''s question, Ruby stayed silent and once again placed her finger over her lips.


    " *PFFT* "


    Hearing someone break into laughter behind him, Ren immediately turned around and glared at the chuckling Raven.


    Waving his hands up and down at the fuming Ren, Raven desperately tried to cover his mouth before saying.


    "N-nothing. I-i just thought of something really funny."


    Before Ren could come up with a fancy retort, Zeng suddenly stepped forward and in front of Raven.


    Staring at the crouching Ren and Ruby with a deadpan expression, Zeng asked.


    "Boss... is that your boss? Do I have to follow the orders she gives me as well?"


    "..."


    "*PFFT*" sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "*PFFT*"


    Ignoring Ren, who was visibly shaking at this point, and the laughing fits of both Ruby and Raven, Zeng continued in the most serious voice possible.


    "She told you to be quiet...and you listened, so I just thought..."


    Tapping Zeng on the shoulder, Raven fully covered his mouth as he spoke.


    "Z-zeng, that''s enough."


    Using every ounce of self-control in his body, Ren slowly turned to Ruby, who was struggling to hold her laughter in, and a wide grin spread across her face.


    A mystical beast capable of destroying cities and killing millions of people could be on the loose right now, but Ren''s teammates are laughing at him and cracking jokes.


    Every second counted.


    If there was already a fight going on down in the vault, and Ren arrived late, the mystical beast could be free.


    Yet...here, his trusted teammates and friends were laughing.


    Slowly opening his mouth, Ren articulated every single syllable as a calmly said.


    "So Ruby...what''s that plan of yours to get me in."


    Regaining her composure, Ruby hesitated for a moment before pointing downwards.


    Following Ruby''s gaze, Ren immediately spotted the dozens of djinns'' bodies all sprawled out across the ground.


    Seeing Ren notice the djinn bodies, Ruby said.


    "Their clothes..."


    Some of the djinns just wore straight black clothes to help them blend in with the darkness of the underground space.


    However, some djinns, in particular, were wearing different types of clothing.


    A very familiar type of clothing.


    Fun fact: The uniforms for academy students, academy professors, and academy executives were all very similar, so if you weren''t paying attention to the person''s age, you could mistake them for each other.


    Dawning the uniform of academy executives, the djinns lay most near the entrance to the underground space.


    Not wasting a second, Ren nodded his head before sprinting down the obsidian door and jumping onto the floor of the underground space.


    However, on the way, Ren also grabbed the collars of both Raven and Zeng, dragging them along with him.


    Within a couple of seconds, Ren stood in front of djinn bodies, who all dawned the school executive uniform, with Zeng and Raven behind him.


    A small number of djinns even had the academy executive uniform on, and among those, some had their clothes stained with blood.


    So, finding a couple of suitable corpses took Ren a minute, even with his enhanced eyesight.


    Within a couple of seconds, the three boys had each found a suitable body.


    "Raven, Zeng, for the next couple of minutes...we are the good guys now, not the bad guys, alright?"


    Scratching his head innocently, Zeng responded.


    "Weren''t we always the good guys, though, boss?"


    "..."


    As Ren was at a loss for words due to Zen''s naivety, Raven walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder before saying.


    "Zeng...The only reason this company was founded was because your boss blackmailed me. If I didn''t agree to help him, I would be a corpse lying around in the black market.


    "The only reason you joined the company is because you had two options when Ren found you. Either join or die." Find your next read at empire


    "Do you see a pattern here?"


    Sighing, Ren ignored the two''s talk before pointing to the fully clothed corpses on the ground.


    "And right now, we are about to loot clothes off the bodies of dead people."


    Raven, trying to think of the reason why we needed the uniforms, shook his head before asking.


    "Boss, are we going to infiltrate that group from earlier with these uniforms?"


    On the other hand, Zeng, without any hesitation, began undressing and unclothing the djinn''s body.


    Using his physical corruption, Ren nodded his head to Rvaen''s questions while simultaneously creating a large wall of corruption that surrounded the three of them.


    Thus, all of them, looking in opposite directions, put on the academy executives'' uniforms.


    A couple of seconds later, the wall of corruption came down, revealing the three boys in their dirt-stained uniforms.


    Grabbing the three of them by their collars once again, Ren sprinted towards the top of the obsidian door.


    Seeing the three of them dressed up, Ruby cocked her head before saying.


    "Appearance is one thing...but you also need to act the part."


    Nodding his head, Ren turned to Raven and Zeng behind him before explaining.


    "We are reinforcements sent by Principal Seraphina to assist the students and recruiters in protecting the vault."


    Recalling the usual smug and arrogant nature of academy executives, Ren continued.


    "Act as if you are superior to the students inside, even if they are much more powerful than us. Don''t show any signs of weakness."


    Pointing at the now-blocked entrance into the underground space, Ren said.


    "The first question we will be asked is how we got in here. Do not stutter or falter when you hear this question."


    "Simply answer calmly and say that we all have movement abilities that allow us to bypass the iron slab that is blocking the entrance."


    "Also, mention that our other comrades are trying to get around the slab and will be with us shortly."

 Chapter 298No Escape [5]

    Seeing Raven immediately raise his hand, Ren gestured for him to put down his hand before saying."If they ask us for a demonstration or evidence, leave it to me. Simply stand still and do nothing; I will take care of the evidence portion."


    "Keep calm, and I REPEAT. DO NOT BE SURPRISED WHEN YOU SUDDENLY SHIFT LOCATIONS!"


    Seeing Raven still have his hand up, Ren sighed before asking.


    "What is it, Raven?"


    "Boss...there''s a button in there that we need to protect, or we will all die, right?"


    Realizing that there was no point in hiding it, Ren nodded his head, prompting Raven to continue.


    "Say...if a fight breaks out. What exactly do I do? Zeng can probably pull out his sword and get away with it...but I''d just be a walking kill for whoever is trying to press the button."


    Ren fully understood that Zeng and Raven would be essentially useless in the vault if a fight were to break out, which was likely.


    However, there were a couple of reasons why Ren still decided to bring them in.


    First of all, it would be really suspicious if just one person showed up inside the vault as reinforcements, so the main cast might not believe Ren if he showed up alone.


    With Raven and Zeng by his side, though, he would be more trustworthy in the vision of the main cast and recruiters.


    And, if it were just one person, Ren would probably be kicked out of the vault and be told to guard the exit because one person wouldn''t make enough of a difference if a fight were to break out.


    But, if there were three people, the main cast would be more likely to accept their help as three people could shift the tides of the battle, depending on their ability.


    And finally, it was much safer for them to be in the vault with Ren than be trapped in the underground space.


    With them by his side, Ren would be able to make sure they were safe.


    Also, reinforcements would break through the metal slab eventually and come through, so Raven and Zeng would be caught in the underground space, even in their tunnels.


    Crouching downwards, Ren gestured for the two boys to follow him and pointed at the gap.


    "Follow my lead from here."


    Seeing Ruby in front of him, Ren tapped her on the shoulder before whispering into her ear.


    "You''re not thinking of vouching for us, are you?"


    "..?"


    Surprised, Ruby turned around and stared at Ren for a couple of seconds.


    "I was going to...is that a bad thing? Lily and others would be much more willing to trust you, making your plan much easier."


    Shaking his head vehemently, Ren immediately replied.


    "What happens if they find out we''re frauds? Your trustworthiness and rank in the group will drop drastically, and considering the severity of this situation where millions of lives are at stake, you could possibly be kicked out."


    "..? Didn''t I already tell you? I''m not that attached to them, I''ll h-"


    Ruby''s friendships with other humans could be counted on two hands, so Ren didn''t want to risk decreasing that number. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "We''ll find a way, alright?"


    Seeing Ruby still not convinced, Ren continued.


    "Think of it this way: If your trustworthiness in the group drops or you''re kicked out, then you won''t be able to help me out in the future when I actually need it. It''s an investment!"


    Nodding her head with a smile, Ruby suddenly halted before pointing at the two boys behind Ren.


    "You never introduced me to your friends, did you?"


    As they crouched and walked through the gap and into the vault, Ren pointed at Zeng and Raven before saying.


    "Zeng is the one in the back. He''s pretty naive and innocent, which is really confusing... considering his violent background. I recruited him from an evil merchant company, and now, he''s working with us.


    "And Raven is the one with a grimace...he''s a bit of an interesting kid..."


    Making sure Raven was out of hearing distance, Ren paused before whispering.


    "But he is dependable and hard-working despite his ugly attitude. Despite his complaints, he always gets everything done on time. You''ll get used to him in no time."


    Nodding her head, Ruby looked ahead before saying.


    "It''s like...you have a whole different life in and outside of the academy. Different types of people and everything."


    For the first time, Ren actually... regretted keeping secrets.


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    Ruby had been clear with him from the start, exposing her identity as a boss of the gemstone order.


    And, when Ren asked why she had transferred to the academy, she gave him the true answer without a single thought.


    Even now, she was following Ren''s plans and even offering to risk her place in the main cast despite knowing that he was lying and being sarcastic about the doomsday button.


    Yet...here he was, shamelessly keeping everything a secret when she had been so open.


    Gripping the golden fruit in his pocket, Ren hesitated before walking a little closer.


    What was he supposed to reveal?


    What were the limits?


    Should he go all out and tell her that Lily and him are from another world?


    Or just keep it lowkey and tell her what was actually happening right now with the mystical beast?


    What would she want to know about him?


    Seemingly reading Ren''s mind, Ruby turned around with a dampened smile and said.


    "When this whole vault situation is over...you owe me."


    Without waiting for Ren''s response, Ruby sped up and emerged from the gap before promptly jumping into the vault and following the main cast ahead.


    Gesturing for the boys behind him to stop, Ren peeked out of the gap and into the vault.


    Thankfully, it seemed that there was no battle yet...as everything was according to Ren''s memory of it from earlier.


    Leaving the cover of the gap, Ren waited for Raven and Zeng before the three of them promptly climbed downwards into the vault.

 Chapter 299No Escape [6]

    As the three quickly descended downwards into the vault, Ren suddenly felt a pair of eyes locked onto his back.Readying himself, Ren grimaced before pulling up his dirty school executive shirt, covering his face in dirt and dry blood.


    And if that wasn''t enough, Ren also manifested physical pieces of corruption and spread them across his face to imitate scars.


    Finally, to cover his most identifiable trait: his blood-red eyes.


    Thankfully, all Ren needed was a pair of prescription glasses that blocked his eye color from being seen.


    Putting on the glasses, Ren pretended to stroke his imaginary beard like a true wizard before landing on the floor of the vault.


    A couple of seconds later, both Zeng and Raven were standing beside him, each of them with their attitudes changed and posture correct.


    Leading the group, Ren turned around and began walking toward the center of the vault, immediately making eye contact with the recruiter, who was holding a spear.


    Not faltering, Ren maintained eye contact until, finally, the recruiter asked.


    "And, who are you three?"


    Of course, the spear-using recruiter had seen their uniform, so he knew that they were supposed to be executives.


    Yet, for some unknown reason, perhaps establishing dominance, he had still asked the obvious question.


    It was like going to a pizza shop and asking if they sold pizza.


    Of course they did!


    Shaking his head, Ren showed no irritation at the question and instead emotionlessly replied.


    "The principal sent us to protect the vault...however, upon arrival, we noticed that there was already a breach in the vault."


    "The top portion of the obsidian door was open and led directly into the vault, so of course, we came to investigate."


    "And here we are, now."


    Not allowing the spear-using recruiter to ask another question, Ren immediately questioned.


    "And who might you be? As far as we know, nobody is supposed to be in this vault...no matter status or fame."


    Not trying to hide the fact that he had his hand on one of his weapons, Ren smiled and looked directly at the spear-using recruiter.


    Twirling around the pitch-blue spear in his hand, the recruiter hesitated before saying.


    "We were also assigned to protect the vault; however, like you, we also noticed a breach and came to investigate."


    Pretending to look around at the vault with an awestruck expression, Ren pointed at the main cast, who was a couple of feet away, and asked.


    "Those students are with you?"


    Nodding his head, Zeng silently examined the three "reinforcements" from the principal before asking.


    "Where are the rest of you? I doubt the prince would only send three people to protect this vault."


    Having already expected the question, Ren nodded his head before immediately replying.


    "The three of us here possess special movement abilities that allowed us to bypass the steel slab that was blocking the entrance."


    "The others should be here within a couple of minutes, I would assume."


    Interrupting the two conversations, the main cast, Astrid and Kaneki, suddenly walked over with a confused expression while pointing at Ren, Raven, and Zeng.


    Seeing their expressions, Zeng turned around and said.


    "They say they''re part of the reinforcement that the principal sent to protect the vault.


    As Zeng looked at Astrid with a questioning expression, Ren took the moment and immediately turned around.


    Ren had to show that they were equals and that the recruiters and students couldn''t just order them around.


    Not at all minding the gazes of the students and recruiters, Ren walked towards the shelves nearby and protected to explore the vault.


    Following closely behind him, Raven and Zeng also looked at the shelves and room with a curious expression, not daring to touch anything.


    As the three of them were aimlessly wandering the vault, Kaneki kept a hand on his katana while keeping his gaze locked on them.


    On the other hand, Lily stepped forward without a care for the reinforcements and said.


    "I''ve examined the vault''s seal, and there''s nothing off right now. But keep your guard up; he''s managed to sneak into the vault without us noticing... so he could have a way to bypass the magic seal as well."


    Since Lily had explained that the vault was actually a defense system with a seal to protect something unknown, the main cast and recruiters nodded their heads in relief.


    *RUMBLE*


    "Looks like everyone is here! But...I''m afraid there''s not enough socializing. Perhaps I should do something...to spice it up."


    Unable to hold in his words at the sudden voice, Ren muttered.


    "Is this guy a game show host or just fucking delusional!?"


    This wasn''t some school summer camp where the teachers had to force the students to interact with each other! S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was the future most powerful people in the world in a vault that contained a beast capable of destroying the academy and capital city.


    Creating an image of an insane person in his head and assigning it to the voice, Ren glanced at the main cast.


    They...had completely forgotten about Ren and company.


    Instead, all of them were huddled up while secretly talking.


    Gesturing to Raven and Zeng, Ren walked up behind them before waiting for an opening and saying.


    "Looking at your expressions, I assume you''ve heard that voice before. Do you have any information that you could share?"


    "The owner of this voice must be an intruder in the vault, so we must take him out at all costs!"


    Kevin, visibly angry at the interruption, glared at Ren before responding.


    "Screw off, will you? We don''t n-"


    Before Kevin could finish his harsh words, Alya immediately stepped forward and, in a kind voice, interrupted.


    " *ahem* Excuse my friend...we are just currently discussing. Once we are done, we''ll share our findings and plan. If you could please just wait a moment." Continue reading at empire


    Nodding his head, Ren took a glance at the wall with the seal and Lily, confirming nothing was wrong.


    Walking away from the main cast with his two teammates, Ren grimaced as he heard the words "bait" and "dogshit" pop up multiple times.

 Chapter 300The Seal [1]

    "Serious, can they at least wait until I''m out of hearing range to start shit-talking me!?"Grinding his teeth against each other, Ren sighed and glanced at Raven and Zeng in front of him.


    Touching the sword in his sheath, Zeng confusedly looked around before asking.


    "Boss...you''re sure that a doomsday button is here of all places...?"


    Nodding his head in agreement, Raven continued.


    "We rushed and sprinted to put on clothes and get in here, but now we''re just standing around and doing a whole lot of nothing."


    Unable to refute their argument, Ren sighed and glanced around.


    Everybody was in the vault...right?


    That was what the owner of that unknown voice earlier wanted, wasn''t it?


    So, then, why wasn''t he doing anything!?


    Shaking his read, Ren attempted to discern if there was another intention that the unknown voice had.


    "maybe he''s just a deranged maniac?"


    Looking down at Raven and Zeng, Ren cleared his throat before asking.


    "You two heard that voice from earlier, right?"


    As the two nodded their heads, Ren questioned.


    "What do you make of it?"


    Shrugging his shoulders, Raven glanced around before saying.


    "Seems pretty stupid to me. If that voice guy wanted to rob the vault and get that doomsday button, why did he reveal himself to everyone? He could have just slipped in without anyone noticing."


    Holding back the words, "Great minds think alike," Ren glanced at Zeng, who seemed to be contemplating.


    After a moment of thought, Zeng looked up from the ground and said.


    "Could it be a distraction? I mean, everybody in this room, including the people over there and us, are talking about it."


    "Maybe there''s some more important thing that we''re just ignoring because of the voice."


    It was true...everyone was focused on the owner of the voice and protecting the vault.


    Scratching his head, Ren asked Zeng.


    "A distraction for what though?"


    Seeing Zeng shrug his shoulders, Ren turned back around to see if the main cast and two recruiters were finished discussing.


    All of them were still huddled up and talking except Lily, who was waiting by the seal.


    While the seal was important as it was the only thing holding back the mystical beast inside the vault, protecting it was useless.


    Instead, protection needed to be given to the shelves and various magic artifacts that gave power to the seal.


    After a couple of seconds, the huddle between them finally dispersed as Alya and Astrid headed over to Lily while the others walked toward Ren, Raven, and Zeng.


    Readying himself, Ren gestured for the two boys to resume their acting and patiently waited, letting the main cast and recruiters come to him.


    "PUT THE HAMMER DOWN RAVEN!"


    Smiling, Raven put down the magical artifact he was playing with while Zeng stopped leaning downwards and stood up straight.


    At the front of the group were Liam, Kevin, and the other two recruiters, with Zach, Irene and Ruby at the back


    Glancing upwards, Ren expected the unknown voice to suddenly sound again as everyone was talking again, but the room stayed silent.


    Nodding his head, Ren wore a gracious smile as he beckoned the main cast in front of him to speak.


    In a clearly less friendly voice and expression, Kaneki stepped forward and said.


    "I''m sure, as implied by that unknown voice earlier, there is an unknown presence in this vault that needs to be exterminated."


    Nodding, Ren smiled and replied.


    "Indeed, that is the conclusion that the three of us have come to as well. However, we are yet to create a plan to do so."


    Glancing at Zeng with an odd expression, Kaneki hesitated before replying.


    "Alright...since we''ve already come up with a plan, I believe it would be beneficial for the two of us to work together instead of using different plans and complicating things in an already confusing situation.


    Once again, nodding his read, Ren raised a single finger before saying. Experience tales at empire


    "Would you giveme a moment to discuss this with my partners?" S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing Kaneki nod his head, Ren gestured for the two boys to come closer before pulling them into a huddle.


    Zeng, full of energy and eager to start discussing, immediately brightened up and asked.


    "So, what are we doing, boss? Teaming up them...or going solo, just like the good old days. Just the three of us against the entire world!"


    "..."


    Seeing Raven about to break into laughter, Ren immediately pinched him before... also pinching himself to stop the laughter from coming out of his mouth.


    After hesitating for a moment, Ren said.


    "We''re working with them."


    Seeing Zeng nod his head and about to pull away from the huddle, Ren immediately grasped his shoulder and halted him.


    "Let''s pretend to talk for a couple more minutes. We can''t seem like easy to get, or else, we''ll be turned into pawns."


    Keeping a completely serious expression, Raven said.


    "Yeah, fuck protecting the doomsday button that could destroy the entire world. It''s more important that we seemed cool and hard to get to a bunch of teenagers who could give less of a shit about us."


    Nodding his head, Ren also assumed an entirely serious expression as he tapped Raven on the shoulder and replied.


    "See, he gets it!"


    "..."


    Seeing Zeng and Raven silent, Ren opened his mouth and started talking, but no sounds came out.


    "..."


    However, to the main cast, Astrid, Kazuki, and Kaneki, who were out of hearing distance, it looked like Ren was seriously talking.


    Immediately grasping Ren''s intention, Raven started silently singing the lyrics to Astrid''s song from earlier.


    "..."


    Zeng, honestly not knowing what the hell was going on, just started aggressively opening and closing his mouth.


    "..."


    "..."


    "..."


    "..."


    Staring at the scene of the three soldiers aggressively discussing, Zach awkwardly scratched his head before saying,


    "Man...that must be a heated debate over there."


    Touching the bottom of his chin, Kazuki, also interested, stared at the discussion amongst the reinforcements.


    "Must be a hard decision for them, you know."

 Chapter 301The Seal [2]

    All three boys, barely managing to keep their composure and serious expression, simply pretended to talk in silence.Raven, his eye twitching and threatening to destroy this act, stared at Ren.


    Reading Raven''s expression as, "When is this bullshit going to be done!?" Ren promptly raised one finger, indicating one minute.


    On the other hand, Zeng actually seemed to be enjoying the experience... a little too much.


    His mouth was opening and closing as if he were actually screaming at the top of his lungs.


    The sound of his saliva sloshing together filled the silence, making the situation even more uncomfortable and comical for Ren.


    Unable to keep his expression straight anymore, Ren finally opened his mouth one last time before saying out-loud.


    "Looks like we''ve come to an agreement."


    Sighing in relief, Raven clasped his hands together and nodded his head in agreement.


    But...someone didn''t get the memo. Stay updated via empire


    Zeng, with his mouth wide open, yelled ecstatically.


    "NO WE HAVEN''T!"


    "..."


    As Zeng''s scream echoed throughout the silent vault, Ren put one hand on his sword while Raven slammed his palm against his forehead.


    Behind the three boys, Zach and Irene actually stepped in, shocked by the sudden change in volume.


    Kaneki, turning around, glanced at every single person before placing a hand on his katana, ready to strike.


    Seeing the main cast ready to attack them in a matter of seconds, Ren immediately stood up and desperately waved his hands around before saying.


    "No, no, no...we were talking about something else."


    "...?"


    Clearing his throat, Ren glanced around from the main cast and at the floor before awkwardly saying.


    " *ahem* We couldn''t quite come to a decision regarding what we would be eating tonight."


    "..."


    As the main cast stood in absolute silence, barely managing to keep a straight face, Ren continued.


    "As for the other point...after a long and interesting debate, we have decided to partake in your plan instead of creating our own."


    On the other hand, Lily could be seen banging her head on the wall with a serious expression.


    Standing behind Lily, Alya stepped forward, attempting to calm her down and asking.


    "Lily...what''s wrong."


    Shaking her head, Lily rubbed her forehead before muttering.


    "I thought I had at least one serious person in this room to help me with this, but I guess I''m wrong."


    Standing behind them, both Lily and Alya, Astrid stared at the three boys with both a confused and nervous expression.


    Locking her gaze onto Raven, Astrid placed a hand on her wand as she silently whispered.


    "Did he...just sing my song!?"


    With her mouth wide open, Astrid''s gaze locked onto Raven as he stood up and began speaking with the main cast.


    "...it can''t be...a fan!?"


    Interrupting Astrid''s thoughts, Alya sighed before saying.


    "Student council president...is there something wrong with you as well?"


    Snapping out of her trance, Astrid vehemently shook her head before turning back to face Lily, who was still examining the wall.


    Back on the other side of the vault, Ren and his two teammates walked toward the main cast''s huddle with determined expressions.


    After that shitshow...they probably seemed like idiots to the main cast, so they needed to reform their image.


    Leading the group, Ren exchanged nods with Kazuki while Kaneki simply stared and entered the huddle.


    And just as Kazuki was about to open his mouth to explain their strategy, the unknown finally sounded again.


    "That''s enough prep time...now it''s time for the real show to commence!"


    *FLICKER*


    *FLICKER*


    As the owner of the unknown voice''s words echoed throughout the vault, the lights inside suddenly started flickering on and off.


    One second, it was pitch-dark.


    And the next, it was all lit up.


    Repeatedly and repeatedly, the lights flicked on and off, throwing everyone in the room off.


    Seeing everyone begin to cover their eyes, Kaneki immediately jumped into action, unsheathing his katana.


    Swinging his katana five times in quick succession, Kaneki watched as five dark green slashes appeared before charging away.


    Each slash charged towards one of the five light fixtures in the room.


    Within seconds, the slashes hit their targets, immediately ceasing the flickering of lights and plunging the room into pure darkness.


    Shrugging his shoulders, Kaneki looked up at the ceiling, presumedly talking to the owner of the unknown voice, before saying.


    "If you can''t choose light or dark, I''ll choose for you."


    Behind Kaneki, Ruby and Irene immediately manifested eight mini torches before passing them around to everyone in the huddle.


    Standing still for a moment, Ren peered through the darkness of the room, making sure that Lily and the magical seal were all right.


    And indeed, Lily, Astrid, and Alya were all standing in front of the wall with their weapons drawn.


    Seeing this, Ren quickly scanned the rest of the darkroom; however, to his shock, there was no one else besides them.


    Perhaps the person had a way to avoid his eyesight?


    Considering all the various abilities and skills in the world, it was possible...but Ren still found it hard to believe.


    Picking up a torch and handing it to Raven and Zeng beside him, Ren glanced at Liam and Kevin, curious to hear their takes.


    As if responding to Ren''s gaze, Liam held up his torch, illuminating the ceiling before saying.


    "What if he''s not after the vault but one of us?"


    Shaking his head, Kevin recalled the information that Lily had divulged to them about the vault and its possible danger.


    Raising his head, Kevin swiftly argued back.


    "If he gets in the vault, then we''re dead anyway. There was no point in targeting one of us when he could just kill everyone."


    "..."


    Taking a slight glance at someone in the group, Ren, finally on Liam''s side for once, calmly said.


    "If he wanted his target dead and the vault robbed, that would have already happened. He has to have another intention."


    "He might want us or...his target alive."


    S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 302The Seal [3]

    Mulling over Ren''s words, Kazuki hesitated for a moment before replying."There''s no point in trying to grasp his intention. His behavior is clearly erratic and unlogical, so his intentions would be practically impossible to read."


    "Let''s focus on our original mission of protecting the vault."


    Shaking his head, Ren immediately replied.


    "What more can we do to protect the vault? We''re here...there''s nothing to protect. All we can do is just stand here and wait for the intruder to make a move."


    Not allowing anyone the opportunity to respond, Liam nodded his head before promptly interjecting.


    "He''s right. Lily told us the seal is powered by those artifacts on the shelves, right?"


    Pointing at all the shelves in the room, Liam continued.


    "What if we just take them ourselves? If the artifacts are on us, then the voice had to come and get them from us."


    "If we gather all the artifacts together and guard them, then we''re no longer waiting for him. He has to come to us."


    Pinching Raven and Zeng, Ren gestured for the two boys to nod their heads before looking at the expressions of the others.


    As Raven and Zeng awkwardly nodded their heads, so did the other three main cast members: Irene, Ruby, and Zach.


    The two recruiters seemed to think for a moment before the one with the katana finally said.


    "If that''s what everyone agrees to do, then I have no reason to disagree."


    Kazuki, already calculating the logistics of Liam''s plan, pointed at one of the shelves before saying.


    "We won''t be able to hold all the magic artifacts with only twelve people."


    Pointing up the ceiling, Kazuki sighed before continuing.


    "Also...it''s clear that the owner of this voice can see us. Or us, he wouldn''t be able to tell when we''re talking or not."


    "Hiding them on our bodies is useless, then, because he''ll just know exactly where they are."


    Taking Kazuki''s words into mind, Ren sighed before asking an important question.


    "What if he can hear us all this time, even now, not just see us?"


    Nodding his head in agreement, Kazuki continued.


    "If he can see us, then I''m sure he can definitely hear us. So, let''s continue with the assumption that all our actions can be seen and heard by our enemies."


    "Putting all the artifacts in one spot is stupid as though they make it easier to defend; it also makes it much easier to destroy."


    "So... instead, let''s just take them out."


    Kazuki said, pointing at the hole that led to the underground space. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Let''s take all of these artifacts out."


    As silence descended amongst the group, Kevin glanced at Lily before saying.


    "How do distance...affect how these tools power up the seal? Like, if we get farther away with the tools, doesn''t the seal also get weaker?"


    Coming to the same conclusion, Kaneki nodded his head and turned to face Kazuki.


    "You want us to purposely weaken the seal...and give the robber an easier time?"


    Discover exclusive tales on empire


    With a clear smile on his face, Kazuki said.


    "Yes."


    Ren, honestly dumbfounded at the idea of this recruiter, started to shake his head.


    Was he trying to fool the owner of the unknown voice?


    You know, say one thing, then do the other thing.


    It would be a good idea...if not for how obvious it was.


    Not only a second ago, this same person had said that they knew that they were being both watched and heard by the intruder.


    Even a baby would be able to comprehend this stupid trick.


    So, Ren was befuddled as to why the spear-using and spear-riding recruiter was doing something so... basic.


    However...at the same time, Ren couldn''t ask.


    There was a possibility...very slight that the intruder could also fall for this trick.


    So, if Ren exposed the trick to the intruder who was listening, the plan and trick would be over.


    Looking around at the other main cast members, Ren was able to tell, based on their wide-open mouths and confused expressions, that they had also come to the same conclusion as him.


    Turning around, Ren was going to make sure that Zeng didn''t say anything...however, Zeng was nowhere to be found.


    Immediately glancing around, Ren found Raven before quickly asking.


    "Where is he...that idiot!?"


    With an exasperated expression, Raven simply sighed before pointing to the other side of the huddle.


    Following Raven''s finger, Ren saw Zeng...but not only Zeng.


    Standing right next to Zeng with a smile on his face was Zach.


    Zach and Zeng.


    "...quite the combo, don''t you think, boss."


    "Raven...are you being ser-"


    Shaking his head, Raven copied Ruby''s gesture from earlier and placed a single finger over his lips, signifying that Ren was quiet.


    Smiling, Raven shrugged his shoulders and said.


    "Haven''t you heard...two negatives make a positive. Well...those two are more like positives and optimists, though."


    "Wait...two positives make a positive, right?"


    Staring at Raven with a deadpan expression, Ren ignored his clear lack of basic math skills before looking at the amazing duo.


    "...wait what?"


    Within the few seconds that Ren had looked away from them and back at Raven...their progress had already started.


    Zach now had his arm wrapped around Zeng''s shoulder, and they were already engaged in what could only be the stupidest and most nonsensical discussion of all time.


    Unable to quite articulate words, Ren peered around the room again, hoping to find any signs of the intruder.


    He did not find the intruder as expected, but Ren did spot Lily and the other two girls walking away from the wall and towards them.


    Just as Kaneki was about to open his mouth to say something, Lily suddenly entered the huddle and interrupted.


    "The seal is perfectly intact...whatever the intruder is planning, it seems he''s taking it slow."


    Ren, about to open his mouth to respond, suddenly shut it as Zach''s voice spoke from beside Zeng.


    "Hey, Lily, let me catch you up on what we''ve been discussing. First, after a very long and semi-violent debate, the reinforcements from the principal decided to join us."


    "Next, we heard the voice and decided that he was definitely listening in o-"

 Chapter 303The Seal [4]

    As Zach continued his summary, Ren glanced at Kazuki, who was also looking at Ren at that very moment.Making eye contact with the spear-using recruiter, Ren simply nodded his head, acknowledging his presence.


    Right now, he was not in a position to disagree with Kazuki''s plan, even if it was so obvious, as he didn''t even have another plan to suggest.


    As Kazuki nodded his head in return, the main cast, Astrid, and Ren''s teammates awkwardly stood as Zach continued his summary of our discussion.


    After a couple of seconds, Zach finally ceased talking, and Lily nodded her head before turning to Kazuki.


    "Distance does indeed affect the power of the seal."


    Seeming like he already knew that information, Kazuki simply nodded his head before returning his attention to the magical artifact-filled shelves.


    Shrugging his shoulders, Kazuki once again asked.


    "So, everybody is in agreement with my plan?"


    If someone disagreed with Kazuki''s plan, they would have to suggest another plan in turn, so everybody just nodded their heads.


    Ren doubted that moving the magical artifacts out of the vault and into the underground space would weaken the seal to the point where it would just break, so there wasn''t any worry about the mystical beast inside breaking out.


    That was proved by Lily''s non-disagreement with the plan.


    If she believed that the beast would break out if we moved the artifacts, she would definitely disagree with Kauzki''s plan.


    However, the concern was that since the seal was weakened, the intruder would be able to break through much easier.


    Destroying the foundation of the seal, or in this case, the magical artifacts that powered it, was the most straightforward way to break through a seal.


    However, brute force with mass destruction and immense power were also possibilities.


    With the magical artifacts so close and in such high quantity and the lack of actions by the intruder, Ren started to ponder as to if the intruder could currently brute-force through the seal.


    Considering the intruder''s power to be completely noticed and essentially omnipotent in the vault and underground space, Ren believed that the intruder could still brute force the seal, but it would take a huge amount of time.


    After all, this seal had been designed by the one and only principal, so she knew very well the type of people who would try to free a mystical beast.


    In the first place, if you wanted to free a monster capable of mass destruction, you would also have to be quite powerful yourself, as you would have to escape the beast yourself.


    Unless you were suicidal and wanted to die with everyone else in the beast.


    So, the seal was by no means lacking currently.


    But, if the distance between the magical artifacts increased, brute-forcing would be much easier.


    Glancing at Kazuki, who was already walking up to a shelve, Ren muttered.


    "Is that his plan?"


    Was he trying to lure the intruder out and entice him with the weakened seal?


    Of course, Ren couldn''t confirm this, as if he asked Kazuki out loud, and the intruder would just hear him and not fall for the bait.


    It was a peculiar situation.


    The plan was so stupid that it couldn''t work...unless it somehow did.


    Standing in front of a shelf with magical artifacts, Kazuki turned around before saying. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Kaneki and I will take the northeast, the reinforcements from the principal will take the southeast, and the rest of you split up to take the northwest or northeast."


    After pointing in all the various directions, Kazuki simply signaled for Kaneki to follow him before walking to his designated corner of the room.


    "..."


    Sighing, I looked away from Kazuki before turning to face Zeng, who was still attached to Zach.


    Waving my hand, I tried to gesture for Zeng to follow, but he didn''t see the signal as he was engrossed in a conversation with Zach.


    Sighing, I attempted to think of a way to formally call him out before finally saying.


    "Zeng, it''s about time we complete our task so this plan can be successful."


    Finally turning away from Zach, Zeng paused for a second before pointing at the rest of the main cast.


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    "Why don''t you take one of them, boss? Trust me, the two of us will get our work done faster if we do it together!"


    Nodding his head in unison, Zach paused for a moment before turning to Ruby, who was next to him.


    "Ruby, do you mind swapping places with Zeng here and helping them?"


    Glancing around at her teammates, Ruby seemed to mutter something to Irene before finally turning around.


    Clearly not satisfied, Irene crossed her arms and angrily watched as Ruby stepped forward and said.


    "Sure, Zach."


    However, just as Ruby finished her sentence, Astrid said with a nervous expression.


    "I''ll also join Ruby to make teams fair..."


    Turning to the side, Astrid whispered to the rest of the main cast in a quiet voice.


    "in case anything happens, Ruby won''t be alone as well."


    Lily, honestly not caring, simply nodded her head before turning around and leading Alya and Irene to their corner.


    On the other hand, Liam remained silent for a second before intensly staring at Raven and Ren.


    After a couple of seconds, he simply nodded his head before leading Zeng, Zach, and Kevin to their corner.


    Turning around, I took a deep breath in before staring at Raven, who had a wide smirk plastered all over his face.


    Walking up to me, Raven extended his hand and tapped my shoulder before whispering.


    "So, boss, it seems you''re in quite a precarious situation. Both girls that you''ve talked to even and even invited over before. Which o-"


    Cutting Raven off mid-sentence, Ren muttered before pinching Raven.


    "Tread carefully."


    As Raven and Ren bickered, Astrid glanced at Ruby before walking forward toward the two boys.


    She had to find out how the boy knew the lyrics to her song, and what better chance was right now.


    Following Astrid, Ruby headed towards Ren and Raven, who were already walking towards their corner.


    As the four arrived at their designated corner, Ren cleared his throat before saying.


    " *ahem* My teammate and I will take c-"


    However, before Ren could finish his sentence, Astrid suddenly pointed at Raven before saying.


    "If we''re going to be working together, we''ll need to work and bond as a team to trust each other. Splitting up right now isn''t going to do anything."


    Pretending to think for a moment, Astrid shrugged her shoulders before saying.


    "I''ll work with the shorter one, and Ruby can work with you. This will also help ease the tension for one, as we inevitably get in a battle and have to work together to fight against the intruder."


    Not giving anyone else a chance to speak up or react, Astrid walked over to one of the shelves and began collecting the artifacts, starting from the top and working her way down.


    Glancing at Ren, Raven smiled as if saying, "Looks like someone already made the choice for you, boss!"


    Nodding his head, Ren waved Raven away and sent him to Astrid''s shelf to help with gathering the artifacts.


    Staring at Ruby, who had a completely plain expression, Ren tried his best to keep a straight face as he extended his hand and said.


    "My name is Hiro...I hope we can work together efficiently to protect this vault from being robbed!"


    Back on Earth, Ren''s name was given to him by his mother as Hiro, which symbolizes both generosity and abundance.


    Although...Ren was glad he had forsaken that name now.


    He wasn''t the most generous person in the world...


    Brushing a strand of her jet-black hair off his ears, Ruby tilted her head before also extending her hand.


    "Hiro? Damn...I thought your name would be something like ''Reng'' or ''Reven'' or ''Riam'' or ''Reby'' "


    Disguising his laugh as a cough, Ren smiled and sarcastically replied.


    " Riam? Really?"


    Nodding her head with a plain expression, Ruby grasped Ren''s extended palm before shaking it up and down.


    Glancing around, Ren ensured that everybody else was focused on their task before turning around and finding a shelf.


    Following Ren''s lead, Ruby stood side-by-side with Ren before picking up a magical artifact and placing it behind her.


    Shrugging her shoulders, she whispered as Ren also picked up an artifact.


    "Really, all these magical artifacts, and you came back empty-handed!?"


    "...the guilt got to me. You know, I have mo-"


    "You were afraid of releasing whatever is in that vault, no?"


    Pausing for a moment, Ren pointed to the wall where the seal was located before carefully asking.


    "You know I lied when I said there was a button in there from the start, didn''t you?"


    Sighing, Ruby put down another magical artifact before replying in a disappointed voice.


    "I can see desires, even through walls, you know. Whatever thing in there and behind the seal has a pretty strong desire... to kill us all."


    "...I guess negotiating with it won''t work."

 Chapter 304The Seal [5]

    * (Back to First-Person)Chuckling, Ruby sighed before adding another magical artifact to the pile we had formed beside the shelf.


    Glancing to the right, I spotted Raven and Astrid awkwardly taking artifacts from the shelves in pure silence.


    "..."


    Just pure silence.


    Occasionally, I could spot Astrid stealing glances at Raven''s figure, showing that she was affected by the awkwardness.


    On the other hand, Raven seemed to just not care as he kept his gaze locked on the shelf from him with a normal expression.


    However, as I continued staring at them, Raven suddenly turned to face Ruby and me, making eye contact with me.


    Finally changing his expression, Raven gave me a thumbs-up before flashing a smirk and going back to work.


    Ruby, who had also seen the entire thing, confusedly stared at me.


    "..."


    Pausing for a moment, I immediately turned around and stared at Ruby.


    "Please...can you tell me what his desire is!?"


    "..."


    Caught off my guard by the sudden question, Ruby hesitated for a moment before answering.


    "I could, but do you want to know?"


    "...? Why would I not want to know?"


    Was his desire something terrible?


    Was it something comical!?


    Unable to contain my curiosity, I stared at Ruby, who, after a few moments, responded.


    "Every time you look at him from now on, you''ll be thinking of his desire. And the trust formed between you and him as teammates will start to crumble." S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Confused, I scratched my hair before realizing what she was saying.


    It was true. If I had found out without him knowing, it would have been a complete break in trust.


    And even if he didn''t know I had broken his trust, every time I looked at Raven, I would subconsciously think of the trust I had broken.


    And... considering my plentiful secrets, such as hailing from Earth and not actually being "Ren," I didn''t need to add another.


    It wasn''t like I cared or was going to treat Raven differently based on his desire, so besides my curiosity, I didn''t really care all that much.


    Sighing, I nodded my head before taking a quick survey of the entire room to make sure that the intruder hadn''t made his move yet.


    And besides the main cast and two recruiters, the vault contained no one else, as far as my eyes could see.


    Ruby, seeing me glance around anxiously, tipped her head in confusion before asking.


    "Find something?"


    Shaking my head, I returned my gaze to the shelf before asking.


    "No...can you see any desires that you don''t recognize in the room?"


    If I perhaps couldn''t see the intruder, then maybe Ruby would be able to see the desire of the intruder somehow, confirming his presence.


    But, to my disappointment, Ruby shook her head before replying. Discover hidden tales at empire


    "Nothing..."


    As the shelves around the room started to empty and countless piles of magical artifacts accumulated on the ground, Kazuki finally stepped forward.


    Pointing at the hole that led to the underground space outside, Kazuki glanced around before asking.


    "Is anyone done with their shelves yet?"


    Glancing at Ruby and I''s shelf, which was still half-full, I hesitated before glancing at Raven.


    Since there wasn''t anything here in the vault that I could see with my eyes, I wanted to explore the underground space to see if anything popped up.


    It was unfortunate, though...magical artifacts had to be handled with the utmost care.


    I couldn''t just manifest ten corrupted tentacles and start gathering them at light speed.


    They would inevitably break, weakening the seal that contained the mystical beast and giving the intruder an easier time.


    There was also the fact that magic interfered with other forms of magic.


    For example, my corruption would be able to corrupt the magical artifacts, giving me more power over them but at the same time weakening their magical output and, therefore, making the seal weaker.


    And, for the others, it was the same case as Ruby and Irene''s fire magic, Lily''s water magic, and Alya''s ice magic all would weaken the output of the magical artifacts if they made contact.


    Of course, the users of the weapon Zach, Liam, Kazuki, Kaneki, and Kevin couldn''t speed up the progress as their weapons and movement abilities would shatter the magical artifacts.


    That was why, despite the over ten of us all being magical wizards and swordsmen, we were simply gathering tools like mundane humans.


    None of us were using our powers or abilities to speed up the progress.


    Simply pick an object off the shelf and place it on the ground.


    Then, repeat until your shelf is empty.


    It was like an assembly line.


    Nudging Ruby, who was holding a magical artifact, I asked with a smile.


    "Wanna get out of here?"


    Smiling, Ruby placed the artifacts on the ground before responding.


    "And leave everyone else here to deal with whatever powerhouse is behind that seal?"


    Giving her a thumbs up, I replied in my most sarcastic voice.


    "You know me so well!"


    Coughing, Ruby alternated glances between our shelf and Kazuki''s figure before asking.


    "And how do you suggest we leave?"


    Ruby continued, pointing at the other groups'' shelves, specifically Liam and Kevin''s.


    "We''re way behind those guys. If we volunteer to leave, we''re just going to get yelled out and told to get back to work."


    Grinning, I glanced around for a second before taking a deep breath.


    Gesturing for Ruby to get behind me, I created a piece of physical corruption in my hands before molding it to take the shape of a human.


    Starting from the ground, I carefully worked my work with the physical corruption until the head and hair were finally done.


    After a couple of seconds, I had made two human-like sculptures, which barely reassembled me as I didn''t have enough corruption to add the fine details.


    Seeing Ruby not say anything, I put one hand on each of the corrupted figures, letting out a deep groan as I began to imbue as much corruption as I could into them.

 Chapter 305The Seal [6]

    As I began pumping corruption into the figures, their previously hollow insides began to fill with the pitch-black substance.At the same time, the arms of the corrupted figures began to tremble...and slowly come to life.


    Within seconds, the previously frozen corrupted figures began slowly lifting up their hands and moving their legs forward toward the shelves.


    Taking my hands off the two corrupted figures, I panted for a couple of seconds, exhausted as I had never infused two corrupted figures with corruption at the same time.


    After a couple more seconds, I directed the two corrupted figures to begin removing things form the shelf, ensuring that they were careful and cautious when moving the magical artifacts.


    Turning around, I pointed at the distraught Ruby before saying.


    "Quick, before someone else finishes their shelve."


    Regaining her composure, Ruby stared at the two corrupted figures for a second with a confused expression before finally nodding her head.


    And thus, Ruby, the two corrupted figures, and I officially started an assembly line...for magical artifacts!


    The two corrupted figures picked up artifacts from the shelf and handed them to Ruby and I, depending on who was available.


    Then, the two of us would place the artifact on the ground before turning back around and repeating the same action over and over again.


    Was it efficient?


    Yes!


    Was it sustainable?


    Questionable... S§×ar?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    What was I supposed to tell the others when they saw me making sculptures and turning them into living things!?


    It was also possible that they would connect the dots between Ren and my disguise, as I had shown similar abilities before when I cloned Liam and used it as a distraction.


    Within a minute, Ruby and I had already caught up to Raven and Astrid, and we were slowly catching up to Kevin and Liam.


    Receiving an artifact from the corrupted figure, Ruby turned to me before asking with an exasperated expression.


    "You are, quite possibly, the most unpredictable person in the world."


    Shaking my head, I added a magical artifact to the pile on the floor before replying.


    "Then, you must be the best guesser in the world. After all, you''ve managed to catch all of my tricks."


    From the start, back on the cruise ship, and during the incident, Ruby found me out as an "anti-hero."


    And after that, she was able to discern my participation in every incident, even the dream where we had advanced from D-rank to C.


    Smiling, I took the last artifact from the shelf before placing it on the floor, de-manifesting the two corrupted figures.


    "Just in time."


    Raising my head, I said to Kazuki, who had gone back to observing the room for any peculiarities.


    "We have finished collecting the artifacts from our shelf. If necessary, we can begin transferring them!"


    Not even bothering to look at me, Kazuki simply nodded his head before pointing at the hole that led out to the underground space.


    Tapping Ruby on the shoulder, I whispered.


    "Just once...tell me his desire, please. He''s really starting to piss me off."


    Nodding her head, Ruby stuffed as many artifacts as possible into her arms before replying.


    "You want me to give you the desire of teammates just so you can exploit it for your own benefit."


    Vehemently shaking my head, I corrected Ruby.


    "Not for my ''own benefit." It''s for everyone''s benefit."


    Watching Ruby walk away while laughing, I picked a couple of magical artifacts off the ground before following her.


    Arriving at the wall where the hole was located, the two of us awkwardly stood there, alternating our gazes between our filled arms on the wall.


    Breaking the silence, Ruby took a deep breath before asking.


    "So...how do we get up."


    Alya had ice magic, so if she manifested a staircase up to the gap in the wall, we would just slip and break the artifacts.


    And, obviously, Lily''s water magical and Irene''s fire magic wouldn''t be of any help.


    Sighing, I pretended to face-palm before confidently responding.


    "There''s only one way."


    Raising my right hand to my eye, I slowed my perception of time, feeling my surroundings shift around me.


    Carefully, I put down all the magical artifacts I had on the floor next to Ruby before turning on the wall.


    With time still slowed, I immediately began scaling the wall, arriving at the gap just as time resumed to normal.


    Finishing my sentence, I waved down at Ruby before continuing.


    "Throw them...I won''t drop it...I promise!"


    To my surprise, Ruby wasn''t surprised at the fact that I had completely disappeared from her side and reappeared in the gap.


    She simply turned around before looking upwards and staring at me.


    Cocking back her arm with a magical artifact in her palm, Ruby responded back.


    "If you want to impress me, you''re going to have to try much harder."


    As those last words came out of Ruby''s mouth, she rushed her hand forward, releasing the magical artifact.


    Then, in a swift and clean arc, the magical artifact soared up into the air before perfectly descending into my open palm.


    ...?


    "How are you so good at throwing!?"


    Was she a pitcher or something!?


    First snowballs, and now...magical artifacts!?


    Ignoring my question, Ruby simply smiled upon seeing my surprised expression before launching another magical artifact right into my palms.


    Within less than a minute, the pile of magical artifacts on the floor next to Ruby disappeared, reappearing right next to me and the gap.


    Throwing the last magical artifact at me, Ruby finally said.


    "I''ve been practicing for our next one...since our snowball fight!"


    "..."


    Not moving at all, I watched as the magical artifact thrown by Ruby seamlessly landed in my hands.


    Did she say..." next one!?"


    She had already beaten me bad enough in her first snowball fight...how was I supposed to survive another one after seeing this!?


    Breaking me out of my trance, Ruby began climbing the wall, reaching the gap in only a matter of seconds.

 Chapter 306The Underground [1]

    Reaching the gap, Ruby dusted the dirt off her clothes before staring at my figure.With a wide smile, she nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders before saying.


    "Impressed?"


    Nodding my head, I turned around to face the underground space before muttering.


    "More like scared..."


    I had been throwing my daggers since I had first gotten them from the academy, and she still had way better accuracy and power than me!


    Crouching down, I picked up some of the magical artifacts before walking through the gap with Ruby shortly following behind me.


    After a couple of trips back and forth between the gaps, the magical artifacts had been successfully transported out of the vault and into the underground space.


    Whether that was a good or bad idea remained unknown.


    Turning around, Ruby was about to head back through the gap and into the vault to transfer more artifacts.


    Stopping her mid-crouch, I walked forward into the underground space before saying.


    "When you were fighting the djinns with Liam and em, did you notice anything was off?"


    Hesitating for a moment, Ruby seemed to think before replying.


    "Their fighting in itself wasn''t weird...and their terrible coordination and teamwork were too expected, considering they are djinns."


    Pausing mid-sentence, Ruby turned around and stared at the remnants of her battle with the djinns before continuing.


    "But...after a while, I did notice something wrong."


    "We killed hundreds upon hundreds of them...yet they still continued coming. I know this may sound stupid, but I think even djinns have some sort of brian or intelligence."


    "Shouldn''t they have noticed that simply flooding us was going to lead to their inevitable death?"


    Nodding my head, I recalled how I had noticed earlier that the djinns had no regard for their lives as they continued rushing at the main cast''s makeshift fortress.


    Something was off with those djinns.


    If they were normal, after the first few waves of them perished to the main cast, the rest should have stopped and tried to escape.


    After seeing their teammates die ruthlessly, they would usually run away and attempt to save their own lives.


    It was almost as if...they were being controlled or forced to rush at us.


    But...who could possibly control djinns, a group of people known for their untrustworthiness, chaos, and uncontrollable behavior?


    Walking to the edge of the obsidian door, I stared downward at the ice walls that Alya had made before replying.


    "The voice...he was controlling those djinns somehow. That''s the only connection that I can think of."


    Though I knew saying it out loud was stupid, as it was possible he was listening in on us, I didn''t think it mattered whether he knew that we knew he was the djinn''s controller.


    Perhaps, coming to the same conclusion as me, Ruby clearly wasn''t afraid to voice her thoughts out loud as she responded.


    "It would make sense...but what was his goal? What did he gain from controlling the djinns? In the end, we killed them all, so he just lost an entire army of djinns for nothing."


    "He didn''t even do anything during the fight with the djinns...you were the one who broke into the vault and created the gap, right? The owner of the voice and controller of the djinns just stood still...and watched."


    Shaking my head, I sighed and looked up at the ceiling, where the crater from my purple orb was located.


    Whenever I thought about the voice and its dangers, it always boiled down to one question.


    What was his end goal?


    His erratic and unpredictable behavior simply made it impossible for me to identify his aim.


    It was almost like...he didn''t have any goal or something he wanted to achieve.


    Agreeing with Ruby''s words, I began walking down the obsidian door before saying.


    "What if he''s truly gone crazy...like one of those dream-losers."


    There were two ways to become a djinn.


    Sign a contract with a devil by somehow finding out.


    Or...trying a dream to advance your rank but failing.


    The more dangerous of the two were the dream-losers.


    After all, they had already truly died once in their dream, so why would they be afraid of death in the real world?


    What if the owner of the voice was one of them?


    What if he was simply toying around with us, like the producers of a game show and their contestants?


    Thinking about my words, Ruby halted for a second before responding.


    "It''s possible but unlikely. How would he be able to come up with a plan like this? Most dream-losers would simply bum-rush in and kill every single one of us or capture and torture us."


    From the controlling of the djinns to the ability to project his voice in the vault and see everything that was happening, it was clear that this plan was well-though out and very well-prepared.


    A normal dream-loser djinn wouldn''t care for a sophisticated plan like this, as Ruby had said.d


    Seeing Ruby hesitate to leave the gap by the obsidian door, I simply manifested two more corrupted figures.


    Nodding my head, I sent them through the gap and into the vault, ordering them to do exactly what Ruby and I were supposed to do.


    Stepping aside and watching the corrupted figures crouch-walk through the gap, Ruby changed the topic and hesitantly said.


    "Won''t they...you know, notice it''s not us."


    Since I wanted to conserve corruption for the fight, I had just made the most basic corrupted figure with no care for cloning someone.


    They looked nothing like Ruby and I, or anyone from the main cast and two recruiters.


    Crossing my fingers, I responded to Ruby''s concerns.


    "As long as the job is getting done and the artifacts are getting transferred, I doubt they''ll notice." S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Also..."


    Pausing mid-sentence, I walked up right next to Ruby, who stared at me confusedly.


    "Wait for it."


    Smiling, I immediately swapped bodies with one of the corrupted figures, allowing my actual body to fall onto the obsidian door.

 Chapter 307The Underground [2]

    No longer was I standing on the obsidian door with Ruby, but now, I was on the floor of the vault with a pile of magical artifacts next to me."Ah...I guess I''m the thrower now."


    Taking a peek over my right shoulder, I spotted everyone continuing to mindlessly collect the magical artifacts.


    Every so often, though, one person would suddenly stop working and move around, searching for any traces of the intruders.


    Normally, my strategy would have just been to let my corrupted figure function, as everybody would just ignore it as long as the job was getting done.


    However, with everyone so paranoid due to the lack of information about the intruder, the main cast was much more cautious and observant.


    Simply turning around to face that wall so that the main cast, student council president, and two recruiters wouldn''t be able to see my face wouldn''t work anymore.


    So...instead, I decided to call in a favor.


    Glancing to my right, I spotted two familiar figures taking magical artifacts off their designated shelf.


    Holding up my hand to cover the side profile of the corrupted figure, I slowly walked towards the two girls.


    After only a couple of footsteps toward them, the two had already noticed my approach.


    Turning around simultaneously, both Lily and Alya stared at the distorted and poorly detailed face of the corrupted figure.


    It was pitch-black except for two holes for the ear, a hole for the nose and mouth, and two ears from the edge.


    Immediately, Alya pulled out her magic sword, covering it with a layer of pitch-blue ice, and opened her mouth, ready to scream.


    However, before Alya could fire off her ice sword and scream out, Lily stepped forward, placing a hand over Alya''s mouth.


    Staring at Alya, Lily simply sighed before whispering.


    "Calm down; let me take care of this."


    Since I had already shown my ability to clone when I had made replicas of Liam, Lily had probably made the connection and assumed that I was able to make any figure...even this monstrosity.


    Shifting her gaze away from Alya and towards me, Lily examined the corrupted figure before shaking her head and asking.


    "A simple ''I need help with something'' would suffice."


    "...?"


    "Imagine you''re playing a fantasy video game at 3 in the morning, and all of a sudden, you get jump-scared."


    "..."


    Waving my hand up and down, I bowed before responding.


    If I were in Lily''s shoes and turned around to see a random corrupted figure walking towards me, I would piss myself.


    I wasn''t very good with jump scares...


    Nodding her head, Lily ignored Alya''s confused expression and trembling body before asking.


    "So, what is it?"


    Pointing at the gap that led outside into the grounds space, I replied.


    "The intruder doesn''t necessarily have to be in the vault...he could just be in the underground space and be using sound magic to project his voice into the vault, making it seem like he''s everywhere at the same time."


    Pausing, I pointed at Liam, Kevin, and the two recruiters specifically before continuing.


    "So, I want to search the outside. Unfortunately, I doubt I''ll be able to just go off on my own and start searching."


    Interrupting me mid-explanation, Lily glanced around at the others before interjecting.


    "If you suddenly run off right now, you''d break the fragile unity between us. So when the intruders attacks, we''ll be a worse position to fight back and defend."


    Breaking free from Lily''s grasp, Alya removed the hand covering her mouth before immediately saying.


    "Lily...who the hell is this!?"


    Through the conversation, it seemed that Alya had been able to determine that I was on the same side as them as I stated my objective to take down the intruder, so she had calmed down. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, that still didn''t stop her reasonable suspicion from rising.


    Ignoring Alya''s words, Lily glanced at me, prompting me to nod my head while staring at Alya.


    Seeing my gesture, Lily turned to face Alya, pointed at my corrupted figure, and replied.


    "That is Ren; you should know him, right? It''s hard to explain right now, but he''s on the same side as us."


    Shocked, Astrid stared at the corrupted figure, which did not resemble me in the slightest, with a confused expression.


    "That''s...Ren? And he''s on our team?"


    Seeing Lily nod her head, Alya seemed to ponder for a moment before continuing.


    "Alright..."


    Now, it was Lily''s turn to act surprised and confused.


    Grabbing Alya by the shoulders, Lily forced her into eye contact before asking in a serious voice.


    "Aren''t you accepting this a bit too quickly? Our arch-enemy, who we''ve been scheming and fighting against since the beginning of time, is suddenly on our side? What Ren really was the intruder, and he just brainwashed me!?"


    Hearing Lily''s frantic words and shocked by the eye contact and sudden contact, Alya glanced away with fear, meeting gazes with me.


    However, for whatever reason, Alya simply remained silent and continued staring at me.


    Pushing Alya''s head so that it faced her again, Lily maintained eye contact before muttering.


    "...say something, please."


    "..."


    Taking her silence as a sign of admission, Lily let go of Alya''s shoulders before immediately turning to and asking in a demanding voice.


    "What did you do!? What have you done to her!?"


    Honestly, I had no idea why Alya had kept silent upon hearing Lily''s questions or why she had decided to trust me so fast...but it still felt good!


    Shrugging my shoulders, I pretended to look up at the ceiling with a bold expression and replied.


    "Maybe some people just recognize my heroism, and the fa-"


    Stopping me mid-sentence, Lily looked around the room, ensuring that no one had noticed our prolonged talking where we were supposed to be working.


    "That''s enough."


    Glancing at Alya, Lily quickly said.


    "We''ll discuss this later."


    Gesturing for me to come closer, Lily whispered


    "And as for you, I''ll cover for whatever this is...but I can only do it for so long. You''ll have ten minutes at the max before someone gets paranoid."


    "Let me know what you find, even if it seems inconsequential."

 Chapter 308The Underground [3]

    Nodding my head, I quickly accepted Lily''s condition before turning around to face the wall once again.Waving one last goodbye to the two girls, I headed back to the pile of magical artifacts on the floor and below the gap that led outside.


    After ordering the corrupted figure to begin throwing the magical artifacts into the gap with care and precision, I finally returned to my own body.


    As my surroundings suddenly shifted from inside the vault to outside, I inadvertently closed my eyes due to the sudden change in elevation from low to high.


    Reopening my eyes, I immediately let out a sigh as I realized that my head wasn''t lying on the hard and cold floor of the obsidian door.


    Instead, my head seemed to be resting on some smooth textured surface.


    Of course, she had caught me...


    But then, why was I happy?


    Why was there a smile on my face when I realized that Ruby had caught me and prevented me from hitting the surface of the obsidian door


    If anyone saw one of their friends suddenly begin to fall over like a Jenga tower, they would catch them, right?


    Opening my right eye, I attempted to discern my surroundings, immediately spotting the ceiling of the underground space above me.


    "...?"


    If I was looking up at the ceiling, then shouldn''t my head on the door?


    Where else could it be?


    Snapping out of confusion, a sudden voice sounded from right above me.


    "I know you''re awake...get up!"


    Shifting my gaze further upward, I saw a familiar face right above mine.


    "...ah."


    Shocked by Ruby''s sudden appearance right above me, I immediately pushed my head forward, narrowly avoiding Ruby''s face, and sat up straight.


    And right behind was Ruby, sitting criss-cross while staring at my back with a confused expression.


    Seeing me turn around and back to normal, Ruby paused for a moment before saying.


    "Do you usually just pass out like that?"


    Shaking my head, I was about to say some lie I had concocted...when suddenly my mouth suddenly closed when I hadn''t given my brain any instructions.


    It was like an instinctual action...like my body was preventing me from talking.


    Ah, I can''t do that anymore, can I?


    Not after everything, and especially now, when information like this could be useful during a battle?


    Reopening my mouth, I made eye-contact with Ruby before immediately saying.


    "You remember that figure I made earlier, right? I switched bodies with it and called in a favor so that we wouldn''t be caught while exploring this space."


    "..."


    Hearing Ruby''s silence, I continued staring, eagerly awaiting her reaction...however, she just started laughing.


    " *PFFT* I-i... my bad."


    Covering his mouth, Ruby tried to force herself to stop laughing, failing at erasing the grin on her face, before staring at my dumbfounded expression and saying.


    "Sorry, y-you were just talking so fast, like you had to get it off your chest. It was weird...and funny seeing you like that."


    "...?" S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Looking downwards at my body, I pointed at myself before confusedly replying.


    "I did that?"


    How had I talked that fast without realizing


    Nodding her head, Ruby pointed at me as well before continuing.


    "Yes, it was like you were in two times speed....well, more like four times. I did understand what you said about your swapping bodies and explaining though."


    Without waiting for my response, Ruby stood up, wiping the dust off her academy uniform, and pointed at the vast underground space below us.


    "Well, let''s go then, shall we?"


    Regaining my composure, I also stood up, staring at the bloodied battlefield below, and replied.


    "Let''s go!"


    Cocking her head, Ruby walked up to the right side of me before looking at my face from an angle.


    "..?"


    "Nothing, you just seem more excited now than before when you said it."


    "I do?"


    Maybe telling the truth made me feel more excited.


    Should I tell the truth more often, then?


    In the previous days, I had always lied, even about small things.


    For example, when Jin and Han ask me in class, "Where are you going?" I would just say the bathroom when I fully intended to go on a walk alone through the hallways of the first-year building.


    I honestly lied more than I told the truth at this point.


    But...until now, I hadn''t really seen a problem with that.


    What could one simply lie about my whereabouts cause?


    Shaking my head, I simply smiled and looked at Ruby before jumping off the obsidian door.


    Landing on the ground of the underground space, I stared at the ice pillar next to me before turning to Ruby, who landed a second after me.


    "We have ten minutes and a lot of area to cover."


    My enhanced eyesight couldn''t see through walls, bodies, or ice pillars, so I couldn''t just stand in the middle of the room and do a full 360 degrees, scanning everything.


    I had to go around every part of the room and actually look around as rocks, bodies, and other various aftereffects of the earlier battle blocked my enhanced eyesight.


    Tracing her hand along the cold surface of the ice pillar, Ruby seemed to think for a moment before responding.


    "Splitting up wouldn''t make sense. It''s better to make sure that an area is completely clear by confirming with two people."


    "If we do it alone and split up, we could miss something like a pair of footsteps or weirdly shaped rock."


    In this case, I had to agree with Ruby.


    The owner of the voice was clearly good with hiding and sneaking, as he had mentioned getting into the underground space in the first place.


    Clues were going to be hard to find, if not nonexistent.


    Ruby could potentially miss a weird clue, then, and mark off a space as clear when it actually wasn''t.


    Nodding my head, I took a glance around...before immediately looking back up at the ceiling.


    Pointing up at the huge hole in the ceiling that had been created by my dark purple orb, I said.


    "Let''s start there."

 Chapter 309The Underground [4]

    Nodding her head in agreement, Ruby also glanced upward at the large crater in the ceiling before responding."A higher vantage point would help when searching through this... mess."


    Focusing on my body, I attempted to feel my remaining corruption flowing inside my body, slowly moving it all towards my stomach.


    As the corruption accumulated in my chest, I slowly began channeling the blood-red substance, opting out of using mana in order to conserve it for later


    Within a few seconds, the blood-red substance and pitch-black corruption collided, sending a surge of shock through my body.


    And when I reopened my eyes, a pitch-black and blood-red wing appeared on my right shoulder.


    Although she had seen it before, Ruby still sat at the hanging wing with her eyes wide open, shocked at its sudden appearance.


    Pointing at the blood-red and pitch-black wing, Ruby curiously asked.


    "So..are you part-bird or something?"


    "...? It''s a skill book I picked up; don''t worry, I''m still human!"


    Nodding her head with her eyebrows slanted, Ruby stared at me for a couple more seconds, prompting me to ask.


    "And do you have a way to get up?"


    Pretending to rub her chin, Ruby looked around for a moment before pointing at the wall and saying.


    "I was going to climb...but if you''re offerin-"


    Shaking my head with a grin, I interrupted her mid-sentence.


    "Oh? I don''t ever recall offering you an-"


    "Appreciate it, and I''ll take you up on your offer to fly me up! What a kind soul you are!"


    Not letting me finish my sentence, Ruby jumped up from the ground before walking towards me with a determined expression.


    Standing a few feet in front of me, Ruby awkwardly glanced at me, avoiding eye contact, before letting out a sigh.


    Not wanting to waste any more time and afraid that my corrupted figure would be caught, I simply turned around.


    With my back facing Ruby, I leaned downwards before pointing at my back and saying.


    "Are you getting on or climbing?"


    After a couple of moments of silence, Ruby managed to stammer out.


    "Alright..."


    Feeling a sudden pressure exerted on my back, I waited for her arms to wrap around my shoulders before slowly standing up.


    With her hands on my shoulders and her head above mine, Ruby took a couple of seconds to gain her balance before finally saying.


    "I''m ready."


    Nodding my head, I immediately flapped my wing once, appearing ten meters up in the air.


    However, as I appeared ten meters up, I felt Ruby''s chin crash into my head as she gripped onto me even tighter.


    Ignoring the small pain, I flapped my wing two more times before finally appearing right below the crater.


    Levitating in the air below the crater, I reached my hands upward, gripping the edge of the ceiling''s crater.


    Taking the opportunity, Ruby slowly stood up before using me as a ramp and walking right into the crater.


    Barely managing to keep my grip on the ceiling as Ruby crawled across my back, I turned my head upwards after a couple of seconds.


    And right above me was Ruby, reaching her hand out from the crater and attempting to pull me up.


    Graciously accepting her hand, I de-manifested the wing before finally climbing up to the crater.


    As my legs touched the floor of the crater, Ruby fell back onto the floor, panting out of exhaustion.


    Also, breathing heavily, I took a few moments to gather some air before finally beginning to look around the crater.


    The massive hole in the ceiling was structured quite interestingly...


    Since the trajectory of the purple orb that I had sent was slanted on, not straight, there was some space beside the hole that led back into the underground space.


    The ceiling got progressively higher but remained the same width as I walked further into the crater.


    Behind me, Ruby caught up to me after a couple of moments and quickly said.


    "I''m surprised the entire ceiling didn''t collapse on us when this crater was formed..."


    Nodding my head, I also inwardly thanked my luck for finally being useful, as I hadn''t actually known if the ceiling was going to break or not when I created and sent the purple orb.


    "Hmm?"


    Seeing Ruby suddenly stop and fall behind me, I turned around and saw Ruby standing in front of the crater''s walls.


    Walking up behind her, I stared at the wall, which seemed completely normal as it was just rocky and covered in dirt.


    "Did you notice something?"


    Keeping her gaze locked onto the wall, Ruby placed her finger and traced the wall before finally replying.


    "It''s a bit...too perfect, isn''t it? Shouldn''t some rocks be protruding from the wall? Why is it completely flat?"


    Also, placing my hand on the wall, I traced from the top to the bottom, and indeed, it was a completely flat surface.


    And this wall wasn''t an exception as I stared around and quickly noticed the same thing across all the other walls.


    The rocks, instead of protruding from the wall, had simply been cut into half or pieces and flattened.


    Perhaps my purple orb had some special ability like that?


    But then, that begged the question, where did the pieces of rock that cut off go?


    In unison, both Ruby and I glanced at the ground below us, but it was the same. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Completely flat, devoid of any sticking-out rocks, and besides a few pebbles, just dirt.


    Where had the pieces of rock gone?


    *BANG*


    Catching me completely off guard, Ruby raised her foot before slamming it downwards into the ground.


    Feeling the ground below me shake, I immediately looked around in shock before saying to Ruby.


    "Are you trying to destroy this whole place!?"


    It was lucky enough the ceiling hadn''t collapsed when I had sent the purple orb, so now, we were pushing it by stomping on the ground.


    Ignoring me, Ruby slowly raised her right foot once again.

 Chapter 310The Underground [5]

    *Third Person Point of View*Then, without any hesitation, Ruby stamped her foot downwards on the ground, causing the ceiling to shake once again.


    A small hole formed under Ruby''s foot, allowing the two of them to see downwards and into the underground space.


    However...that hole was growing with every passing second.


    A second ago, the hole was the size of Ruby''s shoes, but now it had grown into a massive circle that was large enough for his entire body to fall through.


    Seeing the expanding hole, Ruby immediately jumped backward to avoid falling through the ceiling and gestured for me to follow.


    Having already activated the usage period of the dash when he felt the floor crumble, Ren simply used the dash, appearing ten meters behind the hole.


    Not shocked at all, or perhaps not caring, Ruby simply stared as Ren appeared in front of her before finally answering his question.


    "The intruder was here...in this exact place we''re in right now."


    Answering Ren''s confused and distraught expression, Ruby pointed at the crumbling floor below us before saying.


    "When exactly did you make this hole in the ceiling?"


    Not even questioning as to how she knew he was the creator of this hole the ceiling, Ren hastily replied.


    "Mid-way into the battle-ish...I believe. A little bit before I collapsed the door and opened the entrance up to the vault."


    Clasping her hands together, Ruby walked away from the hole in the floor that had formed due to her stomping before replying.


    "Did you see anyone else up here...before you? And was the space like this when you arrived?"


    "...?"


    Racking his brain, Ren attempted to recall what he had seen earlier when he had climbed into the hole in the ceiling for the first time.


    And as he recalled the scenery of the hole in the ceiling, a sudden figure came to mind.


    "A djinn...?"


    Hearing the mutter come out of Ren''s mouth, Ruby immediately tensed, whether it was out of anticipation or fear was unknown to Ren, and quickly asked.


    "Who? When? Where?"


    Raising his hands, Ren ignored Ruby''s bombardment of questions, trying to remember what exactly had happened.


    As the scenery became clear in his mind, Ren coughed awkwardly, ashamed that he had managed to forget the scenery even with his enhanced eyesight, before finally saying.


    "When I got here...it was the same as it is now. No protruding rocks or any rumble were lying around. It was just like this. The walls were groomed alongside the floor and beside the hole I made with my... power; everything else was... clean."


    Seeing Ruby beckon him to continue, Ren took a deep breath before responding.


    "After I got here, I spotted a djinn hanging from the ceiling and trying to climb up."


    "..."


    "..."


    "So...this wasn''t something you thought to mention?"


    Turning his head to face downward at the floor, Ren sighed before explaining.


    "Look, there was a lot on my mind. How the hell was I supposed to know some mythical creature, capable of wiping out millions of people in mere minutes, was in that damn vault!" sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I remember when this robbery was just about me getting my hands on some nice magical artifacts for a boost!"


    "When the hell did it turn into saving the capital city and academy from some vengeful beast!?"


    "I WAS SUPPOSED TO ROB THIS VAULT, NOT FUCKING PROTECT IT! I''M A VILLAIN, NOT A HERO!"


    "..."


    Not showing any reactions whatsoever to Ren''s sudden outburst, Ruby simply shrugged her shoulders, waved her hands around, and sarcastically said,


    "Oh, poor you! You couldn''t commit your crime today! Hmm...just think of this as your one good act for the day!"


    Unable to contain his anger at Ruby''s mocking words, Ren looked upwards from the ground, his eyes shining blood-red as he made eye contact with Ruby''s similarly colored eyes...


    "...REAL RICH COMING FROM YOU, YOU DAMN VILLAIN GROUP LEADER!"


    Once again, Ruby disregarded Ren''s fit, simply treating him as a child who was having a tantrum.


    Walking towards Ren, Ruby patted him on the shoulder before saying in a joking voice.


    "Are you done now? Can we go back to saving the world?"


    Nodding his head, Ren quietly muttered.


    "Two villains saving the world...what kind of fucked up time are we living in!?"


    Taking in one last deep breath to calm his nerves, Ren glanced around at the cave before turning back to Ruby.


    "My purple orb couldn''t have made this. It''s too clean and too perfect."


    Putting her hand under her chin, Ruby thought for a moment before replying.


    "So you''re saying tha-"


    Finishing Ruby''s sentence, Ren interrupted.


    "Something...or someone else made it."


    Pacing around the cave while thinking, Ruby glanced downward through the hole and into the underground space before responding.


    "And coincidentally, you just so happened to meet a djinn here."


    Pausing, Ren considered the possibility of the djinn being the intruder before pausing and asking.


    "But, he was here after me?"


    Leaning downwards right next to the hole, Ruby replied.


    "What if he happened to be in the line of range of your attack? He was in this space before, but when you attacked, he fell down because your attack destroyed the floor below him."


    "Then, after you climbed up and entered the hole, he followed behind you, making it seem like you were the first person up here."


    Walking up next to Ruby, Ren stared at her glossy-black hair for a second before saying.


    "Can a djinn be that... intelligent?"


    Recalling the odd conversation he had with the djinn back and the "djinn-to-human machine," Ren hesitated before admitting.


    "When I talked to him...he seemed as dull as every other djinn. I didn''t notice anything special or particular about him."


    Shrugging her shoulders, Ruby quickly nullified his point.


    "What if he was acting? Using the stereotype of djinns being stupid against you."


    "He fits the criteria for the intruder as well, doesn''t he?"

 Chapter 311The Underground [5]

    Indeed, to Ren, the djinn did meet most of the criteria.With all the djinn''s bodies down below, he could have, just like Ren, used the chaos to hide and enter the vault.


    For all Ren could have known, the djinn could have just been faking death and then used the moment when Ren and Lily weren''t paying attention to sneak into the vault.


    There were hundreds of corpses down there; even with his enhanced eyesight, Ren wouldn''t have noticed an alive one.


    Scratching his head, Ren, trying to comprehend Ruby''s leap in logic, questioned.


    "So assuming this djinn is the intruder...you''re saying that he made this space far earlier than I sent the purple orb."


    Nodding her head in agreement, Ruby stood back up before replying.


    "There was definitely time."


    "Those two recruiters that you saw earlier in the vault weren''t there at the start."


    "While the others and I were overwhelmed by the horde of djinns at the beginning of the fight, the intruder could have easily sneaked up into the ceiling and made that area."


    Connecting the pieces further, Ruby pointed at the ground covered with corpses below before saying.


    "Once he left the ceiling, after you arrived, he could have easily played dead amongst all the bodies. Then, when we weren''t paying attention, just sneak through the gap and into the vault."


    Now fully sure that this djinn that he had met earlier, at least, had something to do with the intruder, Ren attempted to recall his figure and description with his eyes.


    With his enhanced eyesight, Ren could easily recall the figure, and even the clothes, of a person who he had only seen once for at most two days.


    And it had been less than two hours since Ren had seen that djinn.


    Surely, he would, at the minimum, be able to recall the face of that djinn.


    Yet...as he racked his brain and strained his eyes, nothing came to mind.


    It was weird...Ren could perfectly recall his conversation with the djinn and the words said, but not even the clothes of the djinn were apparent in Ren''s memory.


    Even the backdrop at the time of their conversation was clear.


    Ren could recall the shapes and colors of the wall that the djinn was standing in front of without any problems.


    But...the djinn''s figure was just blank.


    Against the perfect backdrop of the wall, all Ren could see in his memory was a blurry figure where the djinn was supposed to be.


    Like he had never been there in the first place...


    Seeing Ren zoned out, Ruby quickly tapped him before saying.


    "...you don''t remember the djinn''s appearance or anything?"


    Seeing Ren go completely silent, Ruby sighed for continuing.


    "Now...that''s odd. You usually remember everything, even the smaller details."


    Noticing Ruby practically read his thoughts, Ren shook his head before saying.


    "It seems that this djinn''s ability is related to invisibility and avoiding the detection of others...even me."


    Agreeing, Ruby nodded her head before walking to the edge of the hole that led down into the underground space.


    It was one thing that Ren was not able to see the djinn...but the fact that he couldn''t even remember the djinn''s appearance, despite staring at him for a solid couple of seconds, was concerning.


    It was like the djinn...had removed himself from Ren''s memories. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing Ruby gesture for him to come closer, Ren followed before also staring downward; his shoulders slumped back.


    Pointing at the gap that led into the vault, Ruby said.


    "It''s time we go back."


    Surprised, Ren paused for a moment before refuting.


    "It''s cool that we know the intruder is a djinn and someone who was here in the cave during the fight...but how does that help us?"


    "What difference would it make if we went back into the vault right now? Considering his ability to avoid detection, we wouldn''t be able to find him in there.


    Shrugging her shoulders, Ruby placed her right foot forward, balancing on her left foot while being right next to the edge of the hole.


    "We came to find clues, and we found them. Also, we''ve confirmed that the intruder is actually in the vault and not hiding out here."


    "We''ve established he''s entered the vault at some point in time, and I doubt he would leave for no reason, especially when we''re far from finding him. So, he''s most likely still in the adult."


    Nodding his head, Ren pondered for a moment before slowly nodding his head.


    With a smile on his face, Ren pointed at the vault before saying.


    "Damage...if he takes damage, his invisibility or whatever ability that gives him immunity goes away."


    "When he was hit by my purple orb, I could see him, but after that, and until now, he was invisible to me."


    Ruby, seeming to understand Ren''s idea, sighed before replying.


    "He could be anywhere inside the vault...you can''t possibly hit every centimeter in there without weakening the seal."


    However, as Ruby slowly looked towards Ren and saw the grin on his face, an audible groan emerged from her mouth.


    "You don''t care about the seal anymore...do you?"


    Back in the vault, Ren''s corrupted figure suddenly halted before robotically turning around and heading towards Lily and Alya.


    Noticing his presence, Lily grabbed a magical artifact and placed it on ht ground while saying.


    "Find something?"


    Ignoring Lily''s question, Ren commanded his corrupted figure to ask.


    "What is the minimum amount of magical artifacts needed to keep the beast from breaking out, providing there are no external influences."


    Halting, Lily suspiciously glanced at Ren''s corrupted figure before slowly responding.


    "Impossible to know; I can give you a range, though. About 20% of the artifacts in here are enough to keep the beast inside. The other 80% of artifacts are for cases like this when there is an outer force trying to get in."


    In the next second, the corrupted figure suddenly began to melt and disappear, causing both Lily and Alya to step back in confusion.

 Chapter 312 Quake [1]

    As the corruption from the figure dripped to the floor before eventually disintegrating and disappearing from sight, Alya turned to Lily with a confused expression."Wasn''t he supposed to...you know, tell you what he found?"


    Letting out an audible sigh, Lily turned around to face the gap that led outside into the underground space.


    "People like him only care about doing things themselves despite having countless people they can call on to help. They''re allergic to any form of working together, even in near-death scenarios like this."


    Following Lily''s gaze, Alya also stared at the gap before countering back.


    "Is that a bad thing? All the responsibility falls on him if he fails, and t-"


    Interrupting Alya mid-sentence, Lily said in a calm voice.


    "He doesn''t get any of the glory if he succeeds."


    "And it''s working alone isn''t a bad thing, especially if it works every time."


    "However, we, humans, are naturally imperfect and, eventually, he will make a mistake."


    "And that one mistake could cause the death of millions, perhaps the entire world. That one mistake, which could have been easily avoided if he called for help, will happen eventually."


    "He could have millions of victories, but eventually, there will be one small slip-up that destroys everything."


    Trying to comprehend Lily''s cryptic words, Alya shook her head before replying.


    "So, now, what? It seems like he has a plan that involves the destroying of magical artifacts based on the question he asked you. Do we just sit back and let him do it?"


    Stretching her hands above her head, Lily cracked her neck...before simply turning back around to face the shelves.


    Then, while picking up the last artifact on the shelf, Lily simply responded.


    "I guess so. We don''t have much of a choice anyway. He''s not gonna listen if we interfere or ask, and if we try to stop him, he''ll somehow get past us and cause more chaos than necessary."


    "There''s no point in doing anything besides just watching from the sidelines in this situation."


    Hesitating for a moment to gather her breath, Alya closed and opened her eyes for a few seconds before saying in an eerily calm voice.


    "You''re not making sense, Lily."


    Turning around and making eye contact with Lily, Alya''s tone turned to panicked as she rapidly continued.


    "YOU SAID IT YOURSELF...HE''S GOING TO MAKE A MISTAKE EVENTUALLY, RIGHT!?"


    "WHAT IF THAT MISTAKE IN HIS PLAN HAPPENS NOW? THERE''S A BEAST CAPABLE OF DESTROYING AN ENTIRE CITY IN SECONDS IN THERE!"


    "THIS ISN''T SOME GAME WITH REDOS WHERE HE CAN JUST TRY AGAIN IF HE MAKES A MISTAKE."


    Reeling in her emotions, Alya took a deep breath and exhaled out before saying,


    "So...we''re just going to watch and pray to the gods that his plan works without any mistakes."


    Paying no attention to Alya''s panicked voice, Lily simply nodded her head before placing the artifact on the ground.


    "He won''t make a mistake this time."


    Even more confused now, Alya stood there silent for a few seconds and eventually responded.


    "And, how do you know t-"


    *RUMBLE*


    However, before Alya could finish her question, the floor of the underground space began to shake as if there was an earthquake.


    Jumping up, seemingly ready for the circumstance, Kazuki and Kankei immediately took out their weapons before pointing them in opposite directions.


    A second later, Liam and the rest of the main cast also reacted, running to the middle of the room and creating a circle where they were all facing in different directions.


    And amongst that circle, Ruby could be seen right next to Irene with her wand out, having managed to get back into the vault while everyone was equipping their weapons.


    With their weapons and heads all facing in different directions, the main cast carefully awaited any sign of the intruder.


    There was also Raven and Zeng... who had run to the corner of the room at the first sign of danger.


    Pushing a couple of empty shelves out of the way, Raven and Zeng sat in the corner of the vault with their backs to the vault wall while they crouched downwards.


    Realizing they were still susceptible to attacks, Raven immediately stood up and gestured for Zeng to help him.


    Within a couple of seconds, the two boys had created a barricade of empty shelves that separated the rest of the vault from the small corner where they were hiding.


    If Ren saw their position right now, he would have yelled and facepalmed at the two boys'' actions.


    Not because they had decided to hide like cowards instead of attempting to fight the intruder like everyone else, though.


    The old him would have done the same.


    But...because they had decided to use shelves as barricades!


    People could quite literally cut through metal like it was butter and create explosive spells that could craters as big as an entire city...yet these boys had used simple shelves as protection!?


    They would have been better off with nothing!


    With the main cast''s circle formation in the middle and the two recruiters, who were wandering around the room, every angle of the room was being watched.


    Thus, within a few seconds, a figure was spotted in the right corner of the vault, hanging from the ceiling with a clean pitch-black bow in his hands. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Spotting the figure first, Irene immediately began casting spells while simultaneously yelling.


    "I FOUND HIM, UPPER RIGHT CORNER!"


    As Irene''s words echoed throughout the silent vault, everyone''s heads flicked toward the ceiling like pigeons who had just spotted a piece of food.


    In unison, three wands began to shine with vibrant colors, and six other figures could be seen sprinting toward the right corner of the room.


    Being the closest to the corner at the time of Irene''s words, Kaneki activated his transportation ability.


    Phasing through the various shelves in the way, Kaneki reappeared with his katana, right below the figure hanging from the ceiling, who hadn''t moved an inch despite knowing he was spotted.

 Chapter 313Quake [2]

    Ren''s plan was simple.Simply checking everyone''s last corner and place within the vault wouldn''t work, as the figure could move around.


    He had to hit every place at once.


    And what better way to do that than by causing an all-out fight?


    Spell-blasting everywhere, spears flying around him, sword slashes, and other various weapons all swinging.


    And, the main cast would be conscious of their attacks and avoid destroying too many artifacts and weakening the seal, so Ren wouldn''t have to worry about the mythical beast escaping.


    There was no way that the intruder would be able to dodge every single one of those attacks.


    He would have to be hit at least once.


    And when that happened, as he became visible again due to taking damage, Ren would be there...ready to reap.


    Of course, there was one requirement for that plan.


    Ren had to survive until then.


    There was also the possibility that the intruder used all the chaos and distraction to slowly destroy artifacts and weaken the seal.


    But, thankfully, Ruby would be keeping watch when he couldn''t, making sure that wouldn''t happen.


    Unbeknownst to Ren, though, two figures were letting out deep sighs while staring at him hanging from the ceiling.


    Shaking her head with an exhausted expression, Alya turned to Lily in the circle-like formation before muttering.


    "Let me get this straight. Ren and Ruby left the vault to search. Then, Ruby comes back alone with nothing to show. Finally, coincidentally, this ''INTRUDER'' happens to show up right as Ruby comes back without Ren."


    "And to top it all off, Ren sent whatever that clone was to ask you a question, clearly indicating that he had a plan ready."


    Nodding her head with a sigh, Lily responded.


    "Yeah...it''s probably him. But it... there''s also a chance that everything you said was a coincidence, and the person we''re looking at is the intruder we''ve been searching for."


    Almost dropping her sword to the floor, Alya stared at Lily with an emotionless expression before finally asking.


    "Are you serious?"


    Unable to keep a straight expression on her face, Lily held in a cough before saying. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "...no, it''s definitely him."


    "...so we''re just going along with whatever his plan is."


    Pointing at Liam, Kazuki, Kaneki, and Kevin at the front of the group, Lily replied


    "Unless you want to convince them that Ren isn''t really our enemy and an ally trying to help us out."


    Recalling Liam''s rants about Ren and Kevin''s constant training after his defeat in the carriage, Alya sighed before nodding her head.


    "I see...but are we really going to att-"


    Before Alya could finish her sentence, Lily pointed her wand right at Ren''s figure on the ceiling.


    Within a moment, a giant and merciless stream of water was heading straight at Ren''s current position.


    Looking at Alya while still maintaining the stream of water, Lily shrugged her shoulders before saying.


    "If he''s asking for it, we might as well."


    Still hesitant, Alya sighed before gripping her sword and slowly bringing it forward.


    Back on the ceiling, Ren kept his eyes peeled, glancing at every part of the room to check if the intruder had been hit yet.


    Seeing a giant beam of water heading at him, accompanied by a few sword slashes, Ren quickly dodged to the side.


    Below him, Kaneki smiled before slowly raising his pitch-black katana.


    Then, the next second, Kaneki swiftly plunged the sword into the vaulted ground without any mercy.


    "Release."


    At the spot where Kaneki''s sword was plunged into the vaulted ground, over seven beams of pitch-darkness appeared.


    Phasing through the ground, the massive beams, as wide as three Rens and seemingly infinitely long, soared up in unison, all heading for Ren.


    As Ren moved farther away from Kaneki, attempting to dodge the beams, they only got longer and faster.


    Some of them even had... intelligence.


    The pitch-black beams were working together like a fully functioning human team.


    While some of the beams were heading at Ren without any care for anything else, the orders were concisely moving, preemptively blocking Ren''s escape routes.


    Added to that, Kazuki mounted his flying spear and perfectly weaved between the black beams.


    Next to Kazuki on the spear was Kevin, who was standing and swinging his sword, constantly sending a barrage of blood-red sword slashes.


    And under the two of them was Liam, who had manifested a pillar of light-blue divine energy in the middle of the room.


    And like a turret, Liam was predicting my next moves while swinging his sword, making sure I couldn''t come too close, keeping me confined to the corner of the vault.


    "...yeah I''m fucked."


    Even Ren knew when to give up.


    "AHHH, I''M ALL WET NOW, ZENG YOU IDIOT!"


    Hearing a familiar childish voice, Ren glanced downwards, immediately spotting three figures in the corner of the room below him, blocked off by a bunch of shelves.


    "..?"


    There was one figure next to Raven and Zeng, who Ren could not recognize or recall no matter how hard he looked.


    Drenched in the water, the figure had a pitch-black fedora on, blocking his face from view, and a purple tie.


    Water was dripping down from his fedora as he stood completely still with his back facing Raven and Zeng, who were shivering from coldness behind him.


    His hands were empty, and he had no weapons on any part of his body.


    He was completely defenseless.


    Seeing a sword slash and pitch-black beam headed straight for him, Ren didn''t hesitate to yell.


    "RAVEN, ZENG, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, GET HIM!"


    The figure was inside the barricade of shelves that Raven and Zeng had made.


    Experience tales at empire


    "Those cowards...they made the perfect trap!"


    Hearing Ren''s frantic voice, Lily and Alya immediately turned around to face the barricade, spotting the intruder easily.


    However...that didn''t stop the black beam from getting closer to Ren.


    And, his high-pitched scream was not recognized by anyone besides the Ruby, Raven, Lily, Zeng, and Alya.

 Chapter 314Quake [3]

    As the sound of Ren''s high-pitched scream echoed throughout the vault, Raven suddenly stood up, thankfully having recognized his boss.But as he stared at the figure in front of him, who was yet to make a move, Raven hesitated.


    Fight?


    That wasn''t in his contract.


    He was a company manager.


    And so, like amazing company managers, Raven delegated the job to one of his subordinates.


    If the man wasn''t captured, the blame would fall on Zeng, but if it succeeded, Raven could claim partial credit for reacting fast and telling Zeng what to do.


    Of course, what he didn''t know is that Ren knew Raven''s mind far better than Raevn actually knew it himself.


    After all, Ren had read about Raven''s growth from a small teenager to an adult who was the master of the infamous black market.


    So, without any hesitation whatsoever, Raven grabbed Zeng, who was still sitting in the corner and staring at the battle around them.


    Pulling him upwards by the collar, Raven pointed at the man, who was simply staring up at the ceiling with a confused expression.


    "You heard the boss...get him, Zeng!"


    Getting up and freeing himself from Raven''s grasp, Zeng raised his hand, imitating a solder saluting, and stared at his boss on the ceiling.


    But, hesitating as he glanced down at the man, who was trapped in the barricade of shelves with them, Zeng said.


    "Doesn''t boss...seem in trouble?" Discover more content at empire


    There were about three sword slashes, all colored light and divine blue, hurling at his figure.


    Seven black tentacles, now as long as half the length of the massive vault, aimed at him, ready to impale his body.


    Added onto that, the were two figures riding atop a spear with their weapons ready as they were seconds away from approaching Ren''s frozen body.


    And, finally, a couple of spells, one fiery flame in particular, were waiting below his body, ready to burn him if he tried to dodge by falling onto the floor.


    He was surrounded by all sides.


    It was like a small ant versus the whole United States military and a couple of atomic bombs.


    Shifting his gaze away from the unknown man and looking up at Ren''s trapped figure, Raven smiled before replying.


    "That''s all part of his plan, Zeng. Trust me, he does this thing where he acts weak, and when you don''t expect it, he comes out as a powerhouse. I bet the other guys will be on their asses crying within a couple of minutes."


    Though Raven''s words were about as far from the true answer as the sun from Neptune, it was truly what he believed.


    After all, it was exactly what had happened to him!


    When Raven was a small and fraudulent sword merchant back in the black market, Ren had pretended to be weak and stupid to buy a sword.


    Then, just when Raven thought he was out of the clear and up a load of money, the situation was flipped, as Ren had known all along.


    The class is strong, pretending to be a weak act.


    That''s exactly what Raven always thought Ren was always doing. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Nodding his head and understanding Raven''s point, Zeng smiled and said.


    "He''s not only good at fight...but acting too. That terrified expression looks too real!"


    Meanwhile, Ren blankly stared at his two teammates, who were simply standing still and staring back at him.


    "...I need a team to rebuild if I survive this shit."


    Thankfully, though, during their conversation, the unknown figure had yet to make his move.


    It seemed that he had no way out of the trap that Raven and Zeng had unknowingly created.


    Making Ren somewhat proud, Zeng finally rushed forward at the unknown figure, barely managing not to slip due to all the water on the ground.


    Then, like a football player making a tackle on a wide receiver, Zeng leaped forward head-first and grabbed onto the figure''s stomach.


    As Zeng fell, the figure fell as well, unable to maintain his balance under the pressure of Zeng''s brutal tackle.


    Only after seeing the unknown figure fall to the ground did Ren finally stop glancing downwards and look up.


    And...he couldn''t even describe what he was seeing.


    Tens of different vibrant colors rushed towards him like he was watching a fireworks festival back on Earth.


    Of course, these fireworks weren''t thousands of meters away from him like a show, but only a few feet away from hitting him.


    Petrified, Ren immediately raised his hand to his right eye, attempting to activate his time-stopping ability.


    But before he did that, he looked around, trying to find a way to dodge so he could maximize the short amount of time he had during his time-stopping ability.


    Yet...there was nothing; everything was blocked off.


    If he had time-stopped now, he would only have delayed the inevitable.


    For once, there was no way out.


    Even if he screamed and revealed himself to be Ren, a student at the academy like them, the attacks would reach and pierce him before his voice was even heard.


    "w-what am I supposed to do!?"


    Ren''s hoarse and desperate voice came out, but due to the noise generated by the hundreds of projectiles and people flying at him, it was barely heard.


    He could feel it...the cold and sharpness of the pitch-black tentacles surging at him...the purifying ability and sternness from the light-blue slashes.


    This wasn''t how it was supposed to go...


    Though it should have been common sense since it was him, one person, against the entire main cast and two recruiters, around nine people, Ren was still... surprised.


    It wasn''t because of the sheer amount of power or attacks generated at him.


    It was because...he had miscalculated the timing.


    His dash cooldown... was supposed to be done.


    Ren''s plan for this situation was to dash to the ground, tank the fire spell below, and escape underground.


    Yet, as he desperately told his body to activate the ability, nothing happened.

 Chapter 315Quake [4]

    His body stood hanging from the ceiling, no matter how much he told his body to activate the dash.He was going to die...all because he had miscounted.


    Three seconds.


    He was off by three.


    There is not enough time to activate the dash or form a corrupted wing to teleport out.


    Not yet giving up, Ren immediately threw his hand that wasn''t holding onto the ceiling upward.


    With a split second, the fist of the hand was covered in pitch-black corruption and a centimeter away from the ceiling.


    Feeling his fist crumble upon hitting the hard ceiling, Ren shuddered, biting his lip to distract himself and continue pushing upward.


    However, even with corruption coating his fist, he couldn''t break through the vaulted ceiling with raw power.


    Tasting the salty and metallic taste of blood, Ren wanted his two divine blue sword slashes, at the forefront of the multiple attacks, to get closer and closer to him.


    If he stayed where he was without moving and allowed the attacks to hit him head-on, he would die.


    There was doubt about that.


    However, as Ren shifted his gaze downward and saw a large pool of molten hot lava under him, a pained expression appeared on his face.


    The lava pool wouldn''t kill him...immediately, like the sword slashes and pitch-black tentacles.


    Death up here would be just a short split-second of pain before disappearing...however if he fell into the lava, the side effects would be detrimental.


    He would be burned on all parts of his body and have to suffer for minutes of searing and horrifying pain until someone got him out...if someone did, of course.


    Then, even after being fished out of the lava pool, Ren would probably never be the same.


    He would likely lose the speed that made him so special, possibly even losing parts of his body if something was too badly damaged.


    Though all Ren could think about was the terrifying and saddening long-term and short-term effects of jumping into the lava, his decision was already made.


    He had to survive...for the sake of the world.


    How could he possibly entrust the fate of the world to some teenagers like Lily and Liam!?


    Letting out a chuckle at the irony of his own statement, Ren smiled before loosening his grasp on the ceiling.


    Putting down his hand, deciding not to use his time-stopping ability, Ren watched for a second as the attacks got nearer and nearer.


    Holding in a bout of laughter as he saw two people riding a spear toward him, Ren sighed before completely taking his hand off the ceiling.


    And just as Ren began falling, a divine blue sword slash flew right above him, cutting apart his previous location.


    And as Ren got closer to the floor and the pool of lava below, countless more attacks whizzed by him.


    A pitch-black tentacle actually stopped mid-attack and tried to readjust its direction so it could hit Ren''s new location.


    However, it missed by a long shot. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Turning away from attacks mid-descent, Ren grinned upon seeing Zeng lying on top of the unknown man while Raven watched from a distance like a spectator at a WWE fight.


    Read new adventures at empire


    It seemed like, at the very least, the intruder was caught.


    Lily should have probably connected Ren to the figure on the ceiling by now and recognized his scream so she would take care of the intruder that Zegn and Raven found.


    That meant the mystical beast would not be released and allowed to rampage the capital city and academy.


    "I''ve done it again..."


    With a melancholy smile on his face, Ren looked straight down, seeing bubbles of air start to form on the surface of the lava pool.


    Then, as two confused spear-riders stabbed their weapons at Ren''s previous location, which was just air, Ren''s shoes touched the lava.


    Feeling the bottom of his shoe disintegrate under the heat of the lava, Ren braced himself, awaiting the searing pain that would eventually come.


    However, as another second passed and both of his feet were submerged in the pool of lava, nothing happened.


    Sure, Ren felt a bit hot, but his body wasn''t burning or breaking down.


    Was adrenaline keeping the pain from reaching him?


    That, though, quickly disappeared from his head as his waist touched the lava.


    Then, the next second, Ren could no longer be viewed from inside the vault as his entire body was immersed in the pool of lava.


    Yet...his body kept descending and descending deeper into the seemingly infinitely deep lava pool.


    Opening his eyes, Ren was shocked upon realizing he was still able to see perfectly despite the thickness and density of the lava around him.


    "Also..."


    Staring down at his palms, Ren couldn''t help but question."


    "why does it not hurt...?"


    His entire body was submerged in lava, which should be around 1000 degrees Celsius, yet no burns appeared on his exposed legs or arms.


    Was he fire-resistant!?


    No...that''s not possible nor plausible.


    Reeling his own thoughts, Ren decided to just accept the situation as it was now and focus on getting out.


    For all he knew, this lava-resistant effect he had right now could wear off at any moment.


    At this point...he was too deep into the pool of lava to be pulled out.


    As he gazed upwards, he could barely even see the ceiling of the vault, and with each fleeting second, the ceiling was getting farther and farther away.


    He had two options now.


    Up or down.


    Shifting his gaze downwards, Ren attempted to find the bottom of the lava pool...but there was nothing.


    The lava seemed to stretch on forever.


    Realizing this, Ren immediately tried to go up, but since he was moving against the current of the lava that was pushing him down, his speed was extremely slow.


    In contrast, if he tried swimming downwards in the lava pool, he would be more than twenty times faster.


    Sighing, Ren shook his head and stared at his smartwatch...only to realize it had been fried by the heat of the lava.

 Chapter 316Quake [5]

    As Ren allowed himself to float downwards into the seemingly endless pool of lava, the thought suddenly came to mind.


    Was it her...Ruby?


    Or, was it, by a very small chance, Irene?


    Those two were the only fire mages who could have created this pool of lava, so it had to be one of them.


    Or, perhaps his body simply had the ability to resist lava?


    No...something important like that would have been mentioned in his stats menu.


    Then, it hit him.


    What if this wasn''t lava?


    There would be no valid reason that Ren should be able to see through lava as its thickness was far too great.


    If he could see through lava, then he should be able to see through walls and other materials...but he can''t. Find your next read on My Virtual Library Empire


    What''s something related to lava that Ren can stay in infinitely without being hurt and see through perfectly?


    Water.


    He wasn''t in lava...but water.


    The pool was made to look like lava from the outside...but it was water all along.


    And there was only one water mage in the vault.


    However, that then begged the question...who could make water look like lava?


    The disguise of lava was so perfect that it had managed to fool Ren''s perfect eyesight.


    Coming to somewhat of a conclusion, Ren sighed before looking downwards and letting himself fall deeper into the pool of water.


    Kicking his feet up and down, Ren swam deeper downwards into the pool, not worried anymore about the possibility of him being hurt.


    As Ren swam deeper and deeper down the pool of water, the pool got thinner and thinner as the walls came closer to his body.


    Finally, as the walls completely surrounded Ren''s figure, forcing him to put his feet together to fit, the end came into view.


    The ocean floor.


    This pool of water, disguised as lava, led from the vault into the lake around the academy.


    After confirming that it was the ocean floor, Ren sighed at the sight of algae, seaweed, and even some roaming fish.


    Mind you, there was not a single place in this long tunnel that led from the vault to the ocean floor with air.


    Anybody besides Ren would have died due to lack of oxygen mid-way through this journey.


    Whoever created this tunnel must have known that Ren could stay in the water without breathing.


    Or...they were trying to kill him in the most painful way possible.


    Plunging into a pool of lava would lead to you being knocked unconscious or dying in a matter of seconds...but drowning was far worse.


    You would have to swim around for minutes and slowly accept your death, knowing there was nothing you could do to stop it.


    Shaking his head, Ren tightened his body, barely fitting in the tunnel at this point until he finally escaped.


    As he swam out of the tunnel, the entire lake came into view with all the varying species of fish and underwater plants.


    Too many of them were here, though...


    Looking up, Ren quickly realized that he was back under the academy island, but as he glanced around and saw thousands of fish swimming around, he was at a loss for words.


    Why were there so many fish... here?


    For them, it would be completely dark and pitch-black as the island above was blocking the sun, so they were just swimming around randomly without being able to see.


    Yet...they choose to come here?


    What could have happened underwater in the lake to force so many fish here!?


    At that moment, a sudden purr sound from his hoodie as Ren felt his cat wake up and paw at his neck.


    ...Was it still here?


    Throughout that entire fight where he had almost died, it had been fast asleep, probably having the damn dream of its life.


    Yet...now, when it''s all over, and he''s escaped, it wants to wake up!?


    And, pissing Ren off even more, the cat started throwing its paw at his neck as if saying, "Get me out of the water, now!"


    Not having the energy nor time to respond, Ren sighed before following the cat''s order and swimming out from under the academy island.


    Seeing the underwater area, the island was desolate and devoid of any fish despite being brighter and having more plants to eat. Ren was even more confused, but he ignored it.


    Alternating gazes between the distant capital city and the academy island right above, Ren decided to just head back to the academy.


    After all, he had two people to pick up.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Back in the vault, Lily, Alya, and Ruby were rushing over to the corner of the room, where Zeng and an unknown figure were.


    Irene, alternating glances between Liam and the others who were still fighting, confusedly sighed before following after them.


    Seeing Zeng lying on top of the motionless figure, the three girls sighed before pointing their wands downwards.


    Just as Irene arrived behind them, three gusts of wind appeared below Ruby, Lily, and Alya, instantly pushing them into the air.


    Flying over the barricade of shelves, the three girls landed around the figure and simultaneously pointed their wands at him.


    Letting out a dry cough and surprising the three girls, Raven awkwardly revealed his presence before pointing at Zeng.


    "He''s on our side...I think!"


    At the same time, all the attacks that the main cast had fired suddenly hit Ren''s previous location, causing the entire vault to start trembling as if it weren''t going to collapse on itself.


    Being the closest to Ren''s previous location, Kazuki and Kevin awkwardly stood on the spear while watching the figure they were chasing after dropping into the pool of lava.


    Turning to face Kazuki, Kevin glanced at the pool of lava and at the massive crater, covering at least 1/8 of the entire vault, before saying.


    "Is he dead...?"


    Looking at the massive crater that had been formed as a result of all their attacks combined, Kazuki sighed. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I-I honestly can''t say."

 Chapter 317Quake [6]

    At the same time, the black tentacles surging around the room suddenly disappeared while Kaneki''s sole figure came into view.


    A couple of seconds later, the light blue surrounding Liam started to flicker before finally disappearing, revealing Liam''s body.


    Not fatigued or exhausted in the slightest, Liam immediately glanced around the room, finding the three girls and an unknown figure.


    As for Zach, he simply stopped swinging around his battle axe like a berserker and took the time to regain his composure as he had gotten dizzy from holding his heavy battle axe for so long.


    Being on the spear and far above the floor, the two brothers had a clear view of the entire vault, so they immediately spotted Liam sprinting.


    Titling his head, Kazuki glanced to where Liam was sprinting and spotted the unknown figure surrounded by the three girls.


    "..? 2 intruders?"


    Surprising the bewildered Kevin, the spear immediately began moving again, darting to the portion of the ceiling right above the barricade of shelves.


    Lying on the floor, the three girls watched as the intruder made no attempts to resist, simply lying down on the ground, crumpled and twitching.


    Arriving at the barricade, Liam immediately stood still for a second, allowing the light blue surrounding him to reappear.


    Within seconds, Liam''s shoes were completely covered to the hue, to the point where you couldn''t see the physical form of his shoes.


    Without charging up or anything, Liam simply jumped upwards.


    Blasting into the air, Liam easily cleared the giant barricade of shelves, his head even almost reaching the ceiling. Discover exclusive tales on My Virtual Library Empire


    As Liam landed on the floor inside the barricade, Kevin and Kazuki jumped off the flying spear, landing beside Liam.


    Equipping his sword, Liam pointed down at the motionless figure on the floor.


    "Who is he?"


    Liam''s voice was cold...colder than it had ever been.


    He wasn''t asking a question but demanding to know the answer without any room for denial.


    Due to the structure of their group and how everyone followed each other''s orders no matter who it was, the main cast seemed to have forgotten they had a real leader.


    But at this moment, as Liam''s emotionless tone echoed throughout the vault, everyone remembered.


    Liam was their leader.


    Even if he didn''t act like it most of the time due to his caring and kind personality, he was the general of the group.


    But...right now, he sounded more like a dictator than a leader.


    His face was expressionless, and his gaze was locked onto the three girls around the body.


    Even Kevin jumped back at the sheer intensity of Liam''s voice and gaze.


    Lily''s mouth seemed to move by itself as she spoke within seconds under the pressure of Liam''s cold gaze.


    "A-another intruder."


    Sensing the hostility in Liam''s gaze, Kazuki stepped forward, examining the body on the floor.


    After a couple of seconds, Kazuki finally said, breaking the intense atmosphere surrounding them.


    "He seems to be...knocked out or unconscious?"


    Thinking back to how the other intruder might have somehow escaped and not died, Kazuki continued.


    "Maybe we can give him to the principal, and she can interrogate him? I''m sure he won''t be able to escape with her around."


    As everyone, though still on guard with their weapons ready if the unknown figure suddenly came alive again, nodded their heads in agreement, one figure remained still.


    Liam.


    He was sick of it.


    Everything he had done always ended in failure.


    Even someone with his outgoing or morally perfect personality had their limits.


    Loss after loss.


    Even now, despite witnessing him fall into a pool of burning-hot lava, Liam knew the other intruder was still alive.


    Today was a loss...just like any other day.


    Why did he even do it anymore?


    What was the point of this bullshit?


    Sure, everything always ended well with people being saved, but none of it could actually be credited to him.


    What had he done?


    Save the students off the cruise ship? sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Hadn''t he just fought his own classmate, Ren, there?


    What the hell did he do besides destroy the cruise ship?


    Save the elven kingdom?


    Even he could connect the dots there.


    Ren was not only invited to the Elven castle but also seemed to be very close to the queen, much closer than him.


    He had done something behind the scenes again...it was obvious.


    Even when it came to saving his friends from danger, he was an utter failure.


    During the time when the royal dormitory had been attacked, Liam had failed and utterly lost to the teacher.


    Sure, Ruby had managed to teleport everyone out, but that didn''t change the fact that he had been utterly overpowered and destroyed.


    During the dream ascension for the main cast and Ren, Liam hadn''t even managed to clear it without help.


    Without Ren...Liam wasn''t sure he would have even survived the whole ordeal.


    And...even at the very start of it all when Alya was kidnapped.


    The robbers had tossed her back to them without any reason...as if feeling pity for him.


    He needed one win...just one to keep him going.


    Yet, no matter how hard he trained or how many times he tried, it never came to fruition.


    Even at some stupid shitty event like the battle royale hosted by the school, he hadn''t even come in first place.


    Wasn''t he the most powerful student amongst the first-years of the academy!?


    What was he doing wrong..?


    Then...as if answering all his questions, a quiet yet unmistakable voice sounded through his brain.


    The good guys always lose.


    As if trying to protest the thought in his head, his brain immediately began spinning, trying to disprove that point.


    Sure, Liam had lost in battles...but in the end, everything worked out.


    Alya was saved in the end, and the elves were fine despite the world tree crisis. Even on the cruise ship, the students survived with close to zero casualties.


    He had never personally won...but in every scenario, the world had won.

 Chapter 318 Lure [1]

    As if hearing Liam''s combatting thoughts, the voice sounded again in Liam''s head.


    What about him?


    Every time... he has won.


    Even against you.


    Without a name being mentioned, Liam instantly knew who the voice was talking about.


    How could he not?


    In the battle royale, this person had out-strategized and beaten him without any doubt.


    In a real physical battle, this person destroyed him and Kevin in a small and confined space, like a carriage.


    That moment was forever marked in Liam''s head, replaying every time he trained or fought in a battle against someone else.


    Was he even the most powerful student in the first year anymore?


    No...he knew the answer.


    A long time ago, perhaps even before the Elven year for the World Tree battle, his number one place had been stolen.


    By the very same person who was his enemy.


    Someone of the complete opposite nature of him.


    He had been surpassed.


    But how?


    He trained every day, sparred against another in the training hall with every second, and even had dozens of real-life experiences fighting.


    What more could he do?


    Responding to Liam''s thoughts perfectly, the voice once again sounded.


    What is the difference between him and you?


    Seeing Liam''s thoughts desperately scatter, attempting to find any sort of answer, the voice once again sounded.


    He has nothing to lose...you have everything to lose.


    Those people who you call "friends."


    Are they really helping you?


    Those morals you hold so close to your heart and care so much about...are they really helping you?


    Or, just holding you down.


    You are confined by yourself.


    Let them go.


    Your morals, your friends.


    And rise.


    Rise to the top...just like you have done before.


    As the voice echoed through Liam''s brain, his thoughts halted as if yielding to the opinions held by the unknown voice.


    He was his own greatest enemy.


    At that moment, Liam''s pupils suddenly froze.


    Unbeknownst to everyone in the room, something had just changed inside Liam''s brain... like it had been rewired.


    *BOOM*


    A couple of seconds later, the sound of the ground being crushed echoed throughout the vault, entering from the tunnel that led outside to the underground space.


    After a few moments, a familiar figure emerged from the gap that led into the vault from the underground space.


    Seeing everyone surrounding the unknown body on the ground, Principal Seraphina didn''t hesitate as she jumped forward.


    Jumping from one side of the vault to the other, where the barricade was located, should have been impossible, but Seraphina made it look effortless as he gracefully flew through the air.


    However, during that short period, when Seraphina crawled through the gap, and everyone surrounded the body, Ruby stepped backward.


    Since Alya, Lily, Kazuki, Liam, and Irene were so focused on the body, nobody noticed her step away, which broke the formation around the body.


    And seconds later, Kaneki climbed over the barricade with his hands, using the shelf brackets to hoist himself upward.


    Immediately, he replaced the missing spot in the formation that Ruby had created when she left so nobody noticed her absence.


    Backing away from the unknown figure as quietly as she could, Ruby sighed in relief as she felt her back touching the corner of the vault.


    Looking to her right and left, Ruby spotted Raven and Zeng, who were just standing there stunned and confused.


    How could they not be?


    Their boss had completely disappeared, leaving them alone in the vault surrounded by enemies.


    Adding to that all, the two even thought that the boss, who had saved both of them from their old and terrible lives, could have died.


    They were also disguised as an academy security team, so when the others inevitably found out their identity, they were screwed.


    There was no way out for them.


    They couldn''t just make a mad dash to the exit without being noticed.


    If they stayed, their identities would eventually be found out when the principal arrived and began to investigate the whole situation.


    It seemed hopeless.


    There was no way they should survive...


    But that didn''t mean anything to Raven and Zeng anyway.


    Raven was the future boss of the entire black market, so his ambition and vigor were unmatchable.


    Working his way from the bottom to the top meant that Raven had to suffer through countless "hopeless" circumstances, so some situation like this wouldn''t stop him from, at the very least, trying.


    Zeng was a djinn who was used to being seen as a bad guy and as a terrible murderer, so this situation, where he was an enemy, wasn''t anything new to him at all.


    He had been through countless near-death missions, and instead of standing still in all of them, he had tried to escape, such as when he had switched sides to join Ren instead of dying.


    To sum it all up, these two weren''t the type of people who remained still like statues in hopeless situations.


    No matter the circumstances, these two would always at least try to survive to their very last breath.


    But...despite all of that...these two stood still.


    It wasn''t the fact that their situation was "hopeless" and almost impossible to survive that kept them still. S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was the fact...that they had just seen their "boss" possibly die right in front of them.


    To Raven, Ren was always shameless and selfish from start to finish.


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    From the very start, he had shamefully pretended to be oblivious to Raven''s fake swords and then suddenly revealed his knowledge after buying it to blackmail Raven.


    Even now, Ren handed Raven tons of work and gave him impossible time limits that he knew Raven couldn''t complete.


    Worst of all, he did everything with a big smile, making it look like he was actually a good person!


    His shamelessness was simply incomprehensible to everyone...but Raven.


    Raven really did despise Ren for handing him so much work and putting him through situations like this.

 Chapter 319Lure [2]

    However...Raven took it all in stride and even managed to perfectly complete Ren''s requests in time.


    Two days ago, he had been ordered to dig a tunnel under the ocean that went straight up into the academy island.


    Any person in the world...besides Raven and Zeng would have said something like this was impossible.


    They had transferred countless tons of gears into the ocean below the island and dug upward for who knows how long.


    Yet, the two had managed to do it.


    Raven often recalled his past and his humble roots of selling fake weapons in the black market, barely making enough money a day.


    What would have happened if he had never met Ren that fateful day and sold him that fake sword?


    All alone at night, in the headquarters, while lying down on the couch with the television blaring music in the background, Raven would often contemplate that.


    While the music of a very familiar student council president played in the background, Raven would stare up at the pitch-black ceiling, surrounded by the darkness of the night, and think of all the possibilities.


    All the ways his life could have ended up.


    What led him here?


    His life was like a stick, but at the point where Raven met Ren for the first time, the stick began to branch out infinitely.


    Each branch of divergence in the stick had a different timeline.


    Most of the diverging timelines where he didn''t meet Ren consisted of Raven either dying in the black market after someone bought his fake tools and realized they were fakes.


    Or, him being turned into a slave and hard laborer where he would spend the rest of his life in terrible conditions, working until his eventual early death.


    In around 90 of the 100 timelines, Raven imagined terrible situations where he was dead or wished he was dead.


    However...there were timelines where Raven was optimistic in his thinking and dreamt of himself fully taking over the black market, working his way up from the bottom and eventually becoming the boss.


    All his hard work selling things in the black market would pay off!


    He would be surrounded by luxurious carriages, food, beautiful women, stacks of cash, and even tons of security guards.


    Everything he used to want when he was just a kid would be there.


    No more hours of work...just relaxing on a beach chair while sitting under the sun and staring off into the ocean in a one-of-a-kind coast-side mansion.


    Raven would be able to relax in luxurious hotels and mansions without having to work.


    No more of Ren''s bullshit deadlines or ridiculous demands.


    He was the boss.


    Yet...despite having all the wealth he had dreamed of, Raven...felt something there was missing in those timelines. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When people had told him, "Money can''t bring you happiness," Raven had always scoffed and dismissed the person''s words as them just being a loser who couldn''t make money.


    In all those timelines...Raven was alone.


    Inside his over 100,000 square foot mansions that could easily fit families, Raven was sleeping alone in one bedroom out of hundreds.


    It was natural...he was the boss of the black market.


    How could he ever trust someone in a position like that?


    If he did, he would be dead.


    Everybody around him was a criminal, simply trying to make more money, with no regard for loyalty or human life.


    As a little kid on the streets, with no knowledge about his parents'' whereabouts, Raven learned the harsh truth of the real world.


    With his pitch-black hair and onyx eyes, Raven wandered from dumpster to dumpster, constantly fighting with others for meal scraps.


    With his own two eyes, he witnessed gang bosses being killed by their subordinates...all for the pursuit of money.


    It was a never-ending loop...


    One boss would die and instantly be placed, and then it would happen again and again.


    All because of disloyal subordinates or a boss...simply trusting someone too much and telling secrets he should never have said.


    No one was to be trusted.


    And he carried that belief...until the divergence point.


    Raven...the boy who once would rather die than put his trust in another person, now had one... and almost two people he would trust with his life.


    He couldn''t quite believe it himself.


    Without a doubt, if Ren told him something to do, sure, he would complain, but Raven would do it...because he knew that Ren would never let him die.


    Death...was no longer a fear for Raven.


    When did he...change so much?


    Staring at the puddle of water on the floor that had been gathered there as a result of Lily''s water spell, Raven examined his reflection.


    His hair was still black...his eyes were still black...his skin was still too pale...and every part of his body was the same.


    What...had happened to him?


    Raven couldn''t quite describe it...but it was a if a whole now part of his brain had been unlocked...and he hadn''t even realize it.


    As Raven recalled the moment a few seconds ago when Ren plummeted into a pool of steaming-hot lava, he continued staring at his reflection.


    His stare remained emotionless and the same...but if one looked closely, one could see a small bubble of water slipping out of Raven''s right eyelid.


    Slowly shifting his gaze up at the main cast and two recruiters ahead of him, Raven''s mouth twitched.


    Below Raven, in the pool of water, a small image formed.


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    Ren, with his usual smile and blood-red eyes, could be seen looking over the shoulder of Raven, who was attempting to sketch healing scrolls for the first time.


    In the warehouse...that they had bought together and made into their headquarters.


    Perhaps...that was when he had changed.


    Raven felt an emotion slowly consuming him, overpowering his common sense and natural instinct as a beggar.


    Rage.


    Raven felt rage...not because he had been wronged, but because his boss had been wronged.


    No...he had never even thought of escaping this situation.

 Chapter 320Lure [3]

    If his boss...Ren went down; he was going down, too.


    Raven muttered words that he thought he would never say in his life.


    "If he dies, I die."


    The character, famously known for his extreme isolation and refusal to trust or work with anyone, muttered these words.


    If Ren could have heard them...a small smile would have formed on his face.


    Shifting his gaze further upward, Raven stared daggers at the heads of the main cast and two recruiters.


    And Raven didn''t know how...but he was taking them with him.


    Raven had always thought his death would be suicide or because he made some stupid mistake in business and scammed someone he shouldn''t have.


    Never in a million years would Raven have believed that he would die for a noble cause...such as protecting someone else or dying for his kingdom like a soldier.


    Yet... a smile, not filled with happiness, but pure anger and desperation, formed on Raven''s face as he took a step forward.


    To at least two people in this world, Raven was going to die a noble death.


    Sure, to the other billions of people in the world, he was going die as a criminal who dared to impersonate the military.


    And, if that wasn''t going to get people to hate him, what he was going to do next was.


    But...who cared?


    At least Raven and Zeng would know...even if one of them had passed away.


    The old Raven...or any person with common sense would have scurried away.


    After all, Raven, a civilian with no magic or combat talent, was facing the top students in the best combat academy alongside the number one and two youth talents.


    It was like an ant facing the United States Navy.


    However...rage is an emotion that doesn''t take into account common sense...or survival.


    As he took another step forward, Raven''s hands curled into fists and shook as he stared ahead.


    His eyes, betraying their normal calm and serene gaze, seemed to be endless.


    If one stared into Raven''s pupils at this moment, all they would see was a pitch-black void filled with countless negative emotions swirling together.


    No words had to be said as Raven stepped forward.


    Right beside him, Zeng silently stepped forward as well, his horns peeking out of his head and a sword appearing in his hand.


    They were going out as murderers.


    From his right, Raven whispered in an eerily calm voice.


    "Hey, I''m killing those fuckers...stay away, Zeng; they''re mine."


    Zeng, matching Raven''s pace, stayed silent as he took a step forward.


    No matter how human or tamed Zeng was to Raven and Ren, in the end, he was a djinn at heart.


    And djinns had desires...that would stop at nothing to achieve and even die for if necessary.


    A demon, the force that grants power to djinns, carefully supervises their djinns, and if their djinn dies, they also lose a portion of their strength.


    The power the demon grants to a djinn isn''t a one-time thing...it can be increased and decreased, though never completely taken away.


    Since Zeng''s departure from the evil organization, his disappointed, supervising demon had taken away almost all of his power, only giving Zeng the bare minimum he had.


    But...at that moment, a demon, in a faraway land, over 4fourthousand miles away, suddenly halted.


    Unfortunately, demons aren''t able to see the location of the djinns they assign power to or see what''s around them.


    However, they can sense their djinn''s emotions...if they''re intense enough.


    Sensing a strong desire for murder, a smile appeared on the demon''s face.


    "Finally...give them hell."


    Within seconds, the demon crumpled to the ground as he felt almost all of his power leaving him and transferring to another source.


    "Make me proud."


    The demon had bet all his chips on Zeng, who was a pair of cards in a game of poker. Experience more content on My Virtual Library Empire


    If Zeng died, then the demon would lose his chips and a significant amount of power, lowering his ranking in the demon world.


    However...if Zeng wins and fulfills his desire, the demon''s power will increase.


    After all, demons gain power through stealing artifacts and killing, even if it''s their djinn who does it for them. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Back in the vault, a sudden dark-purple aura began surrounding Zeng as his muscles seemed to bulge out his clothes, growing bigger and bigger with every passing second.


    A small blood-red hue began to leak out of Zeng''s eyelids, creating a blood-red cloud that covered his face.


    Just then, the ground quaked as Principal Seraphina landed inside the barricade, right next to Liam and in front of the unknown figure.


    Ruby, who was now standing behind Raven and Zeng, stared at them with confused expressions.


    Ren, being the mastermind he was, had made a plan for all situations...even his possible death and disappearance.


    The old Ren, or when Ren had just transmigrated into the world, wouldn''t have cared about Raven or Zeng, as in his own words, "I''m dead, so it''s not my problem!"


    However, Ren cared enough to make a plan, as he knew his death was a possibility in this situation.


    And, he had entrusted that to Ruby.


    However...despite seeing Ren drop into the steaming hot pool of lava that would fry and kill anyone within seconds, Ruby''s expression was eerily calm.


    Irene had been casting fireball spells at Ren''s figure on the ceiling like the other magicians, so Ruby had been left to her own devices.


    As Ruby paused her gaze on Zeng''s figure, her expression suddenly darkened.


    He was overflowing with power... too much power for him to handle.


    A thing like that wouldn''t go unnoticed by Principal Seraphina, who, despite Zeng''s powerup, could still strike the djinn down within a second.


    But...Raven knew that.


    He knew that fighting them head-on was impossible from the start.


    That''s why he was getting closer and closer...to the body that everyone seemed so afraid of.


    Even his boss had screamed in fear upon seeing the body, so it had to be dangerous...dangerous enough to kill them.

 Chapter 321Lure [4]

    Seeing the two boys approach the body, Ruby immediately took out her smartwatch.


    It was only a matter of time before the principal noticed and struck the two down, so she needed to calm them down soon.


    If she simply said that Ren was alive and not dead, they would, rightfully so, not trust her words, so she needed some proof. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After playing with her smartwatch for a second, Ruby sighed before putting it back in her pocket.


    Shifting her gazes towards the giant pool of lava that Ren had fallen through less than a minute ago, Ruby raised her wand and pointed it at the two boys.


    At the same time, Principal Serpahina broke the tense atmosphere in the vault by saying.


    "I''ll take it from here."


    Despite having come from an intense battle where she single-handedly faced over a hundred djinns, Principal Seraphina seemed full of energy.


    Though the field, where the djinn ambush was located, was an absolute mess due to the destructive and overpowered nature of Principal Seraphina''s magic, there were zero casualties among the students.


    Not a single student was harmed during the fight due to Seraphina''s efforts.


    That''s why she was so full of energy.


    However...if there had been a casualty, Seraphina would have been filled with a different emotion.


    One similar, if not greater, than the one Raven and Zeng are feeling currently.


    Reenergized, Seraphina gestured for Liam and Kevin to move out of the way as she strolled towards the motionless body.


    Halting a few feet away, Seraphina confusedly stared at the body, failing to detect any mana within the figure.


    Was he... already dead?


    The only way for a person to possess no mana within their body is for them to be dead or for them to be like Raven, a simple civilian with no magic or combat power.


    Completely oblivious to Zeng and Raven''s quiet approaching steps, Principal Seraphina flicked her head to the right and immediately asked.


    "Did any of you harm him?" Explore stories on My Virtual Library Empire


    As everyone glanced toward Alya, Lily, and Irene, who were the first to arrive at the body, Lily hesitated before glancing backward.


    At that moment, Zeng and Raven suddenly stopped and raised their hands to their heads, saluting the principal.


    Thankfully, the principal didn''t pay too much attention to them and instead focused on Lily, not noticing the abnormal amount of mana within Zeng at that moment.


    Seeing the two saluting, Lily turned back to face the principal and said.


    "He got hit by one of my water spells...and body slammed, but I believe that was it. The attacks definitely weren''t enough to fatally harm him."


    Recalling the principal didn''t know the full story, Kazuki sighed before approaching her and saying.


    "He wasn''t the only one."


    Pausing, Kazuki pointed to the lava puddle a couple of feet away and outside the barricade before continuing.


    "There was another intruder, but he got cornered by us and fell into that pool of lava a minute or two ago."


    Intrigued, Seraphina gestured for Kazuki to pause and raised her hand to the ceiling.


    A few moments later, the tip of her wand began to glow a bright white, blinding everyone in the room.


    With her wand shining, Seraphina drew a cube in the air, like a child sketching with a pencil on a piece of paper.


    "Creation Magic."


    As Seraphina said those words, a steel cage resembling a prison cell instantly appeared a few feet away.


    Then, without any hesitation, Seraphina pointed her wand at the figure and muttered.


    "Levitation."


    As her wand began to glow dark purple, Seraphina moved it towards the prison cell, dragging the unknown figure in the air behind her.


    When everyone had opened their eyes again and recovered from the flashbang, the unknown figure was already locked in the prison cell that the principal had created.


    While the main cast, particularly the group''s magicians, looked at the prison cell in shock, Kazuki and Kaneki huddled with Principal Seraphina.


    Then, leaving the main cast to their own devices, Kazuki and Kaneki began recounting the situation to the principal, making sure not to forget any details.


    Seeing this, Ruby immediately ran forward and gripped the shoulders of Raven and Zeng.


    Once they started going through the details...it was over.


    There were supposed to be three security guards who entered the underground space with the student council president, but there are only two right now.


    Yet to hear back from Ren, Ruby leaned into and urgently whispered to the two''s ears.


    "He''s not dead...it''s all part of his plan."


    Raising her hand, Raven casually swatted Ruby''s hand off his shoulder as if she were a bug.


    As Zeng did the same, Raven angrily muttered while staring at the principal.


    "And, why the hell should we believe you? Weren''t you one of the ones attacking him? As far as I''m concerned...you''re one of them. The ones responsible."


    Nodding his head in agreement and taking another quiet step forward, Zeng continued.


    "Even if he''s not dead...he''s severely injured. Here they are, celebrating as they''ve just won a world championship, while the boss is off rotting with burn marks all over his body."


    Not skipping a beat, Raven added in.


    "And worst of all, he''s branded as an intruder and a villain? From what I''ve seen so far, he''s just saved all your asses from whatever is lurking in that damn vault."


    "Without him, this entire island would have been destroyed... a long time ago. So, why is he the bad guy? Tell me, why?"


    "He risked his life and is probably in amounts of pain that we can''t even imagine right now for you guys...yet here we are, calling him an evil bastard."


    Raven knew it best.


    Life was unfair.


    Why were some people born in rich families with everyone set up for them...while he was born with no family and forced to live on the streets?


    However, Raven had never opposed it before and simply accepted his circumstances as a beggar.


    But...now, he wanted to do something about it.


    They...no, this world didn''t deserve a hero like boss.


    Rubbing his hands together, Raven stared at Kaneki with a grim expression.


    "It''s time they learn."

 Chapter 322Lure [5]

    Partly on Raven''s fault for not suspecting such a thing, the body was now protected by the principal, so using that to attack was out of the question.


    However...glancing at Zeng, who was yet to say a word, Raven smiled.


    "Cowards...to the very end."


    Despite a single word not being said between the two, Raven knew exactly what Zeng had in mind, simply by his posture and expression.


    That bastard wasn''t planning on dying here.


    Smiling, Raven recalled the recent film he had seen on television a couple of days before this entire mission.


    The tragic story of Romeo and Juliet.


    After believing that his lover had died, Romeo took his own life by consuming a vial of poison and resting his body right next to her.


    Then, Juliet, who had faked her death to escape her overbearing family, sees the body of her dead lover, causing her to commit suicide herself.


    While Raven had mostly zoned out and not paid attention while the movie was playing, that last scene was imprinted in his mind.


    Dependence.


    The two were so dependent on each other that if one of them were not alive, the other would rather end themselves than live without their partner.


    While it would be poetic to say that Raven, Zeng, and Ren were like that, considering the situation with Ren''s death, Raven knew it was false. Continue your journey with My Virtual Library Empire


    If Raven had ever said something like that to Ren, he would have been laughed out and clowned for the rest of the day.


    Raven had not known Ren for a long time, but he knew one thing.


    He would want to be avenged.


    While a hero''s dying wish might be for world peace or the cease of all fighting, Ren would be the opposite.


    He would want pure and utter chaos.


    And Raven was the same.


    That was why Raven didn''t plan on dying or letting Zeng die.


    Just because Ren was dead...doesn''t mean that their collective dream was dead.


    Without a second more wasted, Zeng stepped to the right, coming to the same conclusion as Raven. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However...even now, Raven didn''t know what Zeng was planning.


    All Raven knew was the outcome of Zeng''s plan.


    Ruby, simply watching the two, took a couple of steps forward and rejoined the main cast.


    Those two weren''t going to die as long as he was alive...so she had nothing to worry about in the first place.


    Shifting her gaze away from the situation, Ruby detached herself from it and simply stared at the gap leading outside into the underground space.


    Seeing everyone staring at the cage with the body in it, Zeng let a small smile creep onto his face.


    Turning his right, Zeng stared at the shelve, which was just one part of the desperate barricade that they had created.


    Stretching out his right hand, which was surrounded by a dark purple hue, Zeng simply brought his index finger and thumb together.


    Then, in a swift and elegant motion, Zeng flicked the shelf in front of him, causing it to fall backward and create a hole in the barricade immediately.


    *BANG*


    As the shelf toppled over and hit the ground, sending a shockwave through the ground and catching everyone''s attention, Zeng regrouped with Raven.


    However, before anyone could react or move, the rest of the shelves began tipping over like a stack of dominos.


    *BANG*


    *BANG*


    *BANG*


    Within seconds, the barricade was nowhere to be seen, as all the shelves were sprawled on the floor.


    Not skipping a beat, Zeng gestured for Raven to move...however, Raven stayed still.


    Although he didn''t have magical powers or amazing combat talent like the others in the room, he had...his items.


    With a smile, Raven reached into his back pocket, revealing...over a hundred healing scrolls that had been stuffed in there.


    "You know I really hated making these, so don''t you dare waste them."


    Gripping the scroll in his hands, Raven handed twenty-five of them to Zeng, like a parent giving their child their weekly allowance.


    Quite literally, as long as they had the healing scrolls with them and activated them in time, they couldn''t die.


    By now, a few people, including the principal, Liam, Kazuki, Kevin, Lily, and Kaneki, had noticed the culprits of the shelf''s collapse.


    Staring at Raven and Zeng''s sole figures, Seraphina immediately inquired.


    "And, who might you two be?"


    Reaching his hand downward, Zeng touched the collar of his academy security disguise before immediately pulling it downward and ripping it off.


    As the tatters of the uniform fell to the ground, revealing Zeng''s chest, which was mostly bandaged up due to training injuries, Raven sighed and shook his head.


    "What a showoff."


    If Raven did the same thing, he would be laughed out of the room because of his scrawny physique.


    Grabbing the healing scrolls and placing them in his pocket, Zeng made eye contact with the principal before replying.


    "Intruders."


    If Ren was an intruder, then Raven and Zeng were also by association.


    From behind the principal, the main cast immediately turned around and took out their weapons.


    However, Ruby, Lily, and Alya were all somewhat confused as they stared at them.


    Turning to Ruby, Lily hurriedly asked, wanting to avoid any further conflict and damage to the magical artifacts sealing the beast away.


    "Didn''t you tell them that Ren was alive!?"


    Shaking her head, Ruby sighed and replied.


    "Yeah, you''d think they''d believe me when I was one of the people ''attacking'' him a few moments ago?"


    Taking a deep breath, Lily shifted her glance away from the boys and stared at the lava pool that Ren had fallen into.


    It had taken all three of them to create the "lava pool."


    First, Ruby created the top layer, which was a thin layer of lava that could be seen from the outside.


    Next, Alya used her ice magic to create a floor of ice, just strong enough that Ruby''s lava above wouldn''t melt it.

 Chapter 323 Lure [6]

    The hole that stretched down from the vault to the ocean below had already been created during the battle.


    When Kaneki had plunged his sword into the ground and created countless black tentacles, the layer of dirt below the vault had become severely weakened.


    Thus, when Ren made his last stand while hanging from the ceiling, the mana generated from all the attacks headed toward him created a massive crater in the ground right below him.


    Covering up the top portion of the hole was Ruby''s lava, and right below Ruby''s lava was Astrid''s strong layer of ice.


    The ice would be able to last for a few seconds before melting under the heat of Ruby''s lava, but that was enough.


    With the layer of ice preventing Ruby''s lava from spreading down further into the hole created, Lily had finally raised her wand.


    Showcasing her amazing accuracy when casting spells, Lily used her water magic to create a layer of water right on the ice floor that Alya had created.


    Then, as the ice began to melt under the lava heat, the water floor kept on expanding deeper and deeper until there was a complete water tunnel all the way from Alya''s ice floor to the ocean below the island.


    Then, as if calculated perfectly, when Ren dropped, the lava melted the ice layer below; however, it hadn''t yet reached the water below.


    Finally, as Ren dipped past the lava and entered the water, Ruby''s lava met Lily''s water, creating obsidian and blocking the upward exit.


    Of course, this escape plan that the three girls had created only worked because Ruby had informed them of Ren''s ability to breathe underwater for ungodly amounts of time.


    The combination of lava particles and pieces of obsidian entering the water tunnel was what Ren unable to partly see in the tunnel; however, since he was still in mostly water, he was able to breathe and survive.


    Back at the vault, Kevin unsheathed his sword and stared at the two before quietly muttering.


    "I knew something was up with them when they suddenly appeared..." Explore more adventures at My Virtual Library Empire


    Behind him, a slightly louder mutter could be heard from Kazuki''s mouth.


    "My ass, you did."


    However, as if expecting some sort of reaction, Kevin confusedly turned around to face Liam, who was standing still with his mouth shut.


    "...?"


    Ignoring Kevin''s gaze, Liam pointed his sword forward.


    With an emotionless expression, Liam took one step forward and gazed at Raven and Zeng.


    Then, without giving any orders or instructions to the main cast or the two recruiters, Liam broke into a sprint, easily passing by the three girls.


    Unperturbed by Liam''s incoming attack, Zeng readjusted his sword so that its face was looking at Liam and prepared to parry.


    Activating his movement ability, Liam stepped into the air and slowly elevated himself until his feet were at the height of Zeng''s head.


    Then, plunging his sword downward, Liam prepared to use his new and improved skill, "World Plunge."


    Having improved the skill from the last time he faced off with Ren, Liam sighed upon seeing the participant of his new attack.


    Shaking his head while taking one last step into the air, Liam muttered in an eerily calm voice. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "What a waste."


    Preparing for Liam''s ariel assault, Zeng pointed his sword upward, allowing the dark-purple hue to spread from his body to his sword.


    And that''s when it became visible.


    Zeng''s bright-red horns grew to full size and became visible as he called upon all his power, not holding anything back.


    Seeing the horns appear on Zeng''s head, Liam smiled before also manifesting his own light-blue hue.


    Then, as Liam dived into the air, with the tip of his sword pointing down, he surrounded his entire body with the divine hue.


    It was a no-brainer who would win.


    Divine energy was the ultimate weakness for djinns and devils because of its purifying properties.


    It would quite literally cleanse the demonic energy in a djinn''s body, and since a djinn''s body requires demonic energy, divine energy was fatal for djinns.


    Raven, despite not being a magical or fighter himself, even understood this and immediately yelled.


    "DODGE!"


    However, Zeng simply stood still.


    Zeng''s pupils began to swirl and turn dark purple as he opened his mouth and muttered to Raven.


    "All I have to do is not get hit."


    Instead of waiting for Liam to come to him, Zeng decided to be the hunter.


    Strengthening the lower half of his body with his remaining demonic energy, Zeng leaped straight into the air.


    Readjusting himself so that the tip of Liam''s sword wasn''t aimed at him, Zeng thrusted his sword upwards into the air.


    But, at that very moment, Liam''s figure suddenly disappeared from right above Zeng.


    Suddenly, a whisper came from Zeng''s right side, causing to immediately twist his body- mid-air...but nothing was there.


    "Fodder."


    Activating his ability, Liam disappeared from above Zeng and reappeared to his right.


    With Zeng caught completely off guard, Liam didn''t hesitate to plunge his divine-blue sword forward.


    As the sword hit the side of Zeng''s stomach, he was sent flying back into the corner of the vault.


    Before landing and still mid-air, Zeng resisted the pain in his stomach and ripped one of the many scrolls in his pockets.


    Instantly, a light green hue surrounded Zeng''s entire body, and the light blue mark that had been left on his stomach by Liam''s sword disappeared.


    *BANG*


    A couple of seconds later, Zeng''s back crashed against the vault''s walls; however, he regained his composure and immediately stood back up.


    Rubbing his back and readjusting his grip on his sword, Zeng muttered.


    "Gonna use your numbers advantage pussy?"


    Behind Liam, the entire main cast, two recruiters, and the principal simply stood still, observing Liam''s fight from afar.


    Surprisingly, they hadn''t made a single move to help Liam.


    Then, before Liam could even respond, Raven realized it.


    Why they weren''t...or couldn''t make any moves.


    The seal...it was already weakened heavily by the all-out fight earlier.


    And if another one were to occur...the seal would be completely destroyed, and the beast inside would be released.

 Chapter 324Vault Battle [1]

    Shaking his head with a smile, Raven spoke. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "They can''t join because if any more magical artifacts are destroyed, that seal of theirs will collapse, and the thing inside the vault will be let out."


    To limit the chaos inside the vault and to stop any extra damage, the principal was letting Liam fight alone.


    As all the gazes in the room slowly shifted toward Raven, he smirked before slowly walking over to one of the toppled shelves.


    Thankfully, none of the artifacts had been destroyed from the fall, but they were all on their last breaths.


    Leaning down and touching one of the shelves, Raven waved his hands up and down before saying.


    "Don''t mind me...just getting some insurance."


    Shifting his gaze away from Raven, Liam smirked upon seeing the wound he had inflicted on Zeng gone.


    "Abusing those scrolls, are you? Don''t you know what happens if you use too many?"


    Shaking his head, Zeng finally showed his first sign of emotion as a defeated expression appeared on his face.


    Tilting his head upward, he looked up at the ceiling, allowing the dark-purple hue to leak off his body and surround him.


    With his hair falling down to the ground, completely revealing his horns, Zeng let out a deep sigh.


    Killing...more killing, and now even more.


    Read exclusive adventures at My Virtual Library Empire


    It was like a cycle for him.


    Feeling his head start to numb all his emotions, Zeng swung his sword once, sending a dark purple slash right at Liam.


    However, defying Raven''s expectations, Liam simply dodged the slash, allowing it to keep flying forward into the shelves and artifacts behind.


    However, a second later, the principal appeared right in front of the slash, and with one simple spell, she nullified it, watching the splash disintegrate and fall onto the floor in front of her.


    After dodging the slash, Liam immediately started sprinting forward at the motionless Zeng, ignoring Raven, who was off to the side.


    Yet, pausing for a second mid-dash, Liam looked in surprise as another sword appeared in Zeng''s left hand.


    "You''re a duel wielder?"


    "..."


    With the extra strength he received from his demon, Zeng could now easily wield two broadswords without losing his balance or being fatigued.


    Meeting Liam mid-dash, Zeng easily parried Liam''s divine blue broad sword with the sword in his right hand.


    Instantly, he plunged his left sword forward; however, Liam had already distanced himself after seeing his attack fail.


    Backing away, Liam raised his sword so that it was perpendicular to the ceiling.


    Then, within a second, a divine blue hue surged out of the tip of Liam''s sword before spreading everywhere.


    Within a couple of seconds, the ceiling was no longer visible as all you could see when you looked up was a divine-blue cloud.


    With incredible speed, Liam swung his heavy broadsword downward and muttered.


    "Bladestorm."


    As Liam''s sword fell to his feet, unbeknownst to everyone in the room, countless swords materialized right below the ceiling and above the divine blue cloud.


    A moment later, these floating swords, frozen in the air, suddenly bolted straight downward.


    Sensing the wind in the room suddenly change and blow downward, Zeng instinctively looked upward; however, all he saw was the divine blue cloud.


    Yet, a second later, and just as Zeng looked back down, one of the countless swords falling from the ceiling passed right through the divine blue hue.


    Seeing the sword suddenly appear below the cloud and Zeng completely oblivious, Raven frantically yelled.


    "LOOK UP AND DODGE!"


    Not even looking up at the sky, Zeng immediately heeded Raven''s words and dived to the left.


    A second later, the sword pierced the ground where Zeng was just standing, sticking upright while stabbed into the ground of the vault.


    But that wasn''t the end of it, as the countless other swords also passed through the cloud and became visible to everyone in the room.


    Looking straight up at the sky, Zeng sidestepped and moved around, barely managing to avoid the piercing swords.


    Seeing this, Liam smiled and began sprinting forward.


    Yet, unlike Zeng, who had to look up at all times to avoid the flying swords, Liam''s gaze was locked on his enemy.


    The swords above never seemed to get close to Liam, and whenever they were, they would suddenly adjust their angle before they hit him and fly away.


    It was like Liam was walking in the middle of a raging rainstorm but completely dry.


    "INCOMING FROM YOUR RIGHT!"


    Hearing Raven''s scream, Zeng momentarily shifted his gaze away from the ceiling and spotted Liam creeping up.


    Without any hesitation, he shamelessly repeated Liam''s motion and pointed his sword upward, making it perpendicular to the ceiling.


    However, the dark-purple hue surged straight upward instead of slowly spreading out like Liam''s divine blue hue.


    A giant purple beam appeared on the tip of Zeng''s sword and rocketed upward toward the divine blue cloud.


    Though, like magnets repelling each other, the dark-purple beam suddenly slowed as it approached the divine-blue cloud.


    As if expecting this, Zeng immediately swung his sword downward, making it perfectly horizontal and perpendicular to the walls of the vault.


    Following the sword''s tip, the beam also reappeared and surged forward...at the vault wall.


    Zeng''s sword and dark purple beam were not aimed at Liam but in the completely opposite direction.


    Then, the beam suddenly slowed as a sword fell from the ceiling, directly blocking the beam''s trajectory.


    However, instead of completely stopping like last time, the beam suddenly bounced off the air right in front of the sword.


    Now angled upwards, the beam approached the ceiling before once again slowing as it met the divine blue cloud.


    Like a bouncy ball reflecting off a wall, the dark purple beam ricocheted right off the air below the divine blue cloud.


    And now...it was aimed right at the air in front of Liam''s figure.


    As Liam took another step forward, the purple beam blasted ahead, and with only a second to react, Liam desperately raised his divine-blue sword.

 Chapter 325Vault Battle [2]

    As dark purple met the metal blade of Liam''s sword head-on, Liam was instantly pushed back, but he managed to avoid being flung away.


    Faltering under the pressure of the beam, Liam slowly backed away, his expression turning grim.


    Noticing this, Zeng didn''t hesitate to raise his other sword into the air and repeat the same exact motion.


    Within seconds, another dark purple beam had bounced off the ceiling and was now heading at Liam''s blade.


    However, to Zeng''s surprise, despite the fact that Liam had been standing in almost the same exact position, not a single sword had even touched him.


    Even now, as Zeng controlled the beams, he had to occasionally move around to avoid the falling swords.


    That meant that Liam, for the time Zeng moved around, could regain his composure and move closer and closer toward Zeng.


    They were at a stalemate, but Liam held a small advantage over Zeng because of his advancing position.


    If Liam got close enough, he would have a free strike right at Zeng.


    Both of Zeng''s swords were controlling beams, so he couldn''t use them to parry an attack or slash from Liam if it were to come.


    And, unlike Liam, who seemed to have immunity from the falling blades, Zeng couldn''t just run away as he would be bombarded by blades from above.


    Feeling the essence the beams needed starting to take an effect on his body, Zeng sighed and put his sword down.


    Then, without a second thought, he dashed away from Liam while looking up at the ceiling and avoiding the swords.


    By the time Liam had put down his blade and noticed the disappearance of the purple beams, Zeng was already outside the perimeter of the cloud.


    As Liam canceled the blade storm, Zeng took the time and glanced around the room.


    Why was he focusing on Liam?


    Zeng knew from both Raven''s words and the actions of the main cast that there was a danger hidden inside the vault. Your adventure continues at My Virtual Library Empire


    He was a djinn...who thrived on destruction and chaos...so why was he hesitating?


    Taking a glance behind him, Zeng spotted Raven''s helpless figure standing in the corner with a small artifact in hand.


    It was clear that he was somewhat nervous from the shaking of his legs, but his expression remained calm.


    If Zeng attacked the room instead of Liam and let the danger in the vault out...it wouldn''t be the only time his enemies died.


    Raven would one hundred percent die, considering his lack of magical or combat skills, and Zeng himself also had a high chance due to his absence of movement ability.


    Djinns couldn''t learn abilities or skills like humans, so they were completely reliant on their demonic mana, supplied to them by demons, and their innate combat skills.


    Then, just as Liam was about to charge forward, Zeng suddenly felt his body starting to weaken and give up.


    His body, previously coursing full of energy and demonic mana, was now starting to falter.


    Was his body fatigued... no it couldn''t be.


    The dark-purple hue surrounding his body and sword was slowly starting to diminish, and his muscles were retracting.


    The demon...was taking back its power.


    He was disappointed.


    Despite the astronomical distance between his supervising demon and him, Zeng knew exactly what the demon wanted and why he was taking his power back.


    He wanted chaos and destruction...and Zeng wasn''t giving it to him.


    Zeng was having a proper one-on-one with Liam, with no unfair tricks and no bringing other people in.


    Just like Liam wasn''t bringing the defenseless Raven into the fight, Zeng wasn''t attacking the spectators behind Liam.


    The demon wanted Zeng to take hostages by attacking the main cast, destroying the magical artifacts, and causing chaos.


    Feeling his power start to dissipate and his legs begging to shake, Zeng groaned in pain.


    If he fell now...it was over.


    But, if he didn''t fall and obeyed the demon''s desires, the danger in the vault would be released.


    It was a lose-lose situation.


    In one of the situations, Zeng would be defeated by Liam as the demon revoked his power, causing both him and Raven to be imprisoned or die for their crimes of impersonation and assault.


    But...in that situation, his enemies would come out on top as the main cast, principal, and two recruiters would be the same.


    In the second scenario, everyone would die, and there would be no winners.


    The answer was so simple... especially for a djinn like Zeng, yet he hesitated to point his sword at the magical artifacts nearby.


    "...simpler times.."


    Times when all he had to worry about was being yelled at by Raven for not finishing his work on time. sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Times where he would rest on the couch and watch T.V. with Raven snacking beside him.


    Times when Ren, he, and Raven could all joke around together and have fun.


    There was so much the three of them hadn''t done.


    Had all three of them ever even been outside the warehouse on an official and fun outing?


    As those memories replayed in his head, Zeng truly realized how much he had taken his time with Ren and Raven for granted.


    Why had he been asleep and inspecting himself in the mirror all those times instead of spending time with his closest friends?


    Taking another glance behind him and seeing Raven''s expression filled with complete and utter rage, Zeng smiled.


    Raven was telling him what decision to make.


    Raven wanted to completely avenge Ren, taking down everyone in this room.


    Yet...Zeng couldn''t.


    Wasn''t the very reason he joined Ren and Raven to live a "normal life" without committing crimes or killing innocent people?


    If he reverted back to his old self right now and killed everyone in the room by breaking the seal on the vault, what were all those times for?


    It was exactly because of those times he had spent with Ren and Raven that Zeng hesitated.


    If he took revenge now, then all his time with his two friends would have been a waste.


    He wouldn''t have learned anything.

 Chapter 326Vault Battle [3]

    The cycle of bloodshed would have just continued.


    But, alas, Zeng had to make a decision.


    Recalling his first day in the warehouse when Ren had decided to take him in after finding him in the subspace, Zeng smiled.


    What was it Ren had said to him?


    His first instructions as a member of the ragtag team of Raven, Ren, and Zeng.


    "Listen to this guy, and don''t complain."


    It had been something like that, hadn''t it?


    And, of course, the "guy" referred to Raven.


    Turning around with a grin still on his face, ignoring the now-charging Liam, Zeng said to Raven, who was behind him.


    "Destroy the seal or not?"


    With a solemn expression, Raven simply sighed before responding.


    "Destroy."


    All of a sudden, all the doubts that were in Zeng''s head about the decision disappeared.


    After all, if Raven or Ren told him to do something, as their employee, he was obligated to do it.


    So, with a smile, Zeng turned around to face the countless artifacts around and pointed his swords in opposite directions.


    At the tip of each of his swords, a small purple ball formed before expanding and expanding until it was the size of a basketball.


    But...it kept going.


    At this point, Seraphina and the others finally stepped in, noticing that Zeng was no longer fighting the one versus one.


    With his two swords facing the opposite walls of the vault, Zeng took one glance around the vault.


    His final resting place...right next to his first boss and second boss.


    He wouldn''t have any other way.


    As Principal Seraphina disappeared from behind Liam and reappeared a couple of meters in front of Zeng, it was already too late.


    The dark-purple balls of destruction were already the size of three basketballs.


    If she attempted to kill Zeng at this moment, the balls were instantly destroyed, sending a shockwave through the vault and destroying countless magical artifacts.


    And, the purple balls were so unstable due to them being made of demonic mana that if Seraphina attempted to even touch them, they would explode.


    Feeling the demonic mana in his body completely depleted, Zeng slowly moved his sword outward before muttering.


    "Shadow Bal-"


    " *PFFT* What is this? A Pokemon battle?"


    At that moment, Zeng''s body completely halted, and the dark-purple balls remained still, not destroying any artifacts.


    Everyone''s gaze slowly shifted away from Zeng and towards the gap that led outside into the underground space.


    Even the principal momentarily took her gaze off Zeng and stared at the tunnel.


    However, one figure remained completely still.


    Raven, hearing a very familiar voice that he could never mistake, suddenly paused, his gaze still lingering on Zeng''s figure.


    *THUD*


    A figure, clad in complete pitch-black attire with even his face covered, could be seen jumping from the gap and consequently landing on the vault floor.


    Not paying any mind to the powerful gazes, consisting of the principal and top youth talents in the world, on him, the figure continued walking forward.


    *Tap~tap*


    *Tap~tap*


    *Tap~tap*


    As the sound of the figure''s hard black shoes touching the metal vault floor echoed throughout the room, Raven finally looked up.


    Making eye contact with Zeng, the figure scoffed before saying, not caring about the other people in the room.


    "Why are you announcing your attacks like a dumbass? Haven''t I taught you better?"


    Arriving at the barricade of shelves, the figure finally acknowledged Seraphina, the main cast, and the two recruiters.


    Making eye contact with each of them, the figure, not crumbling under the immense amount of pressure, simply bowed.


    "Thank you for babysitting for a bit! Don''t worry, your payment will come soon."


    Ignoring the flabbergasted expressions on everyone''s faces, the figure leaped upwards, easily reaching the height of the top shelve.


    Then, the figure suddenly disappeared from sight, only to reappear right in between Zeng and Principal Seraphina.


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    Zeng, who was still shellshocked, simply stood there with an astonished expression while Seraphina was still on guard, seeing that the dark-purple balls hadn''t yet disapeared.


    Flinching as the figure neared Zeng, Seraphina calmly said.


    "You''re with them?"


    Nodding his head at Seraphina''s words, the figure, without any hesitation, grabbed Zeng and dragged him forward.


    Pointing at Raven in the corner, the figure asked with a sly tone.


    "Are you coming or staying with them? I''m sure they won''t overwork you like I do!"


    Keeping a completely composed expression, Raven struggled to nod his head as his entire body began trembling.


    Finally, after a few seconds, Raven gathered the energy to slowly approach the figure and grabbed his pitch-black sweatshirt.


    Then, the three boys simply jumped over the barricade and left through the tunnel into the underground space.


    The principal knew that there were guards waiting outside the exit of the underground space, so she let them be.


    Although they could not enter the academy, she was sure they had another way out of the island.


    Kevin, who had finally regained his composure after being called a babysitter, simply stood here and said.


    "Are we...just letting them leave?"


    Kazuki, who was just at a loss for words due to the entire situation, said.


    "It''s weird, you know?"


    "What do you m-"


    Interrupting Kevin mid-sentence, Kaneki stepped forward with his sword still ready and said.


    "Up until a couple of seconds ago, the guy wasn''t even trying to destroy the vault. He was simply fighting Liam fair. If he was really an enemy, he would have just ignored Liam and completely wrecked the vault."


    "That''s why the principle didn''t interfere. She was simply watching and waiting to see if the djinn would do anything to harm the vault."


    "And, then suddenly, just when the figure is about to harm the vault and break the seal, that guy shows up and stops him."


    "The situation is a bit more than weird. Anyway...I need to get back to the house, you guys can finish this off."


    Nodding his head in agreement, Kazuki turned around and waved at the main cast. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I''ll see you all later!"

 Chapter 327Interlude [1]

    As the two recruiters walked away, the others snapped back to life as Zach asked.


    "What do they mean by...that?"


    Staring ahead at Liam and the principal, who is just standing still and looking at the locations where the intruders used to be, Lily responded.


    "They didn''t want to destroy the vault and let out the beast inside of the vault."


    "...?"


    Even more confused than before, Zach put down his heavy battle axe and asked.


    "Then, why did they even break into the vault? What other reason is there to come here besides break the seal?"


    Proving his point, Zach pointed all around the room, which was just filled with magical artifacts.


    Although the artifacts were considered magical artifacts due to possessing mana, none of them actually had abilities.


    There were just regular, everyday items infused with mana.


    The hammer was just a regular hammer.


    Although Lily knew very well why the intruders had come to the vault, she sighed before lying.


    "How are the intruders supposed to know that Zeng? They probably thought the vault was filled with treasures that they could steal and sell."


    "...?"


    Seeing Zeng still wearing a bewildered expression, Lily sighed again before continuing.


    "What now?"


    Pausing for a moment as if hesitating whether or not to respond, Zach answered.


    "Then...why didn''t they just leave after seeing inside of the vault? I mean, they were here for at least thirty minutes, right?"


    Exasperated by Zach''s barrage of questions, Lily just ignored him and walked towards the principal and Liam.


    Behind her, Ruby took a look at her smartwatch before sighing and immediately concealing it. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But...one other person moved.


    The person, who had been forgotten during the entire battle due to her lack of affiliation to the main cast group or the two recruiters, finally moved.


    Astrid, who had been doing nothing but observing the entire time, finally took her first step forward as she walked towards the gap that led outside into the underground space.


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    Easily scaling the wall with her movement ability, Astrid took one last glance at the vault before lowering himself and crawling through the gap.


    Behind her, the principal finally turned away from Ren''s previous spot as she walked towards Lily, Alya, Ruby, Kevin, and Zach.


    However, before she could even talk to the main cast, two voices sounded from farther away, outside the barricade.


    "Principal, could we get a teleport home?"


    Staring at the two recruiters, Kazuki and Kaneki, Seraphina nodded her head before pulling out her wand once again.


    The boys had traveled a long way from their houses and spent loads of extra time to protect her academy, so she was incredibly grateful.


    And thankfully, she had also regained most of her mana after her destructive spell where she had summoned the sea god, Leviathan.


    Bowing down and showing her gratitude to her two former students, Seraphina smiled and pointed her wand at the two.


    "Lanuae"


    As those words came out of the principal''s mouth, a small dark-purple magic circle formed under the feet of the two boys.


    Not showing any reactions, the boys simply waved at the main cast as their figures began to flicker on and off like a light switch.


    Within seconds, the two boys were gone, leaving the principal alone with the main cast.


    Seeing the two boys home safe, Seraphina clapped her hands together before turning to Liam, who was the closest to her.


    "Care to explain who those guys were?"


    Though she didn''t know it on her face due to the circumstances, Seraphina was bewildered when Zeng suddenly appeared.


    In fact, she hadn''t even known that Raven and Zeng were in the vault in the first place, which was an oversight on her part.


    To be fair to her, the main cast also ignored the boys and focused on the unknown figure on the ground.


    Speaking of the unknown figure, Seraphina immediately glanced backward and let out a sigh of relief as she noticed the prison cell with the unconscious figure still intact.


    Liam, with an unusually cold expression, simply stared at the divine-blue sword before dropping it.


    *CLANG*


    As Liam''s sword dropped to the ground, the blue hue around it suddenly disappeared, and, in the next second, the sword shattered into hundreds of different iron shards.


    The perfect iron sword, forged by the academy''s top blacksmiths, simply broke from a simple drop to the floor...


    Losing her composure, Seraphina simply stared at the remains of the iron sword for a second before lifting her head and looking at Liam.


    Forgetting about her previous question, Seraphina sighed before saying.


    "Was destroying the sword necessary?"


    Making eye contact with the principal, Liam silently nodded his head before turning around.


    Attributing Liam''s behavior to him being a teenager, Seraphina turned around and looked at Lily.


    After taking a short glance at Liam''s solitary figure, Lily nodded her head before answering in Liam''s stead.


    "Those two came shortly after us...with A- huh?"


    Turning around, Lily searched for Astrid, who had arrived at around the same time as the figures, but she was nowhere to be seen.


    Did she run off already?


    Letting a dry cough, Alya continued while Lily glanced around the room.


    "They told us they were part of the academy''s security team, and since we lacked numbers to cover the wide area of the vault, we accepted them."


    "However, that doesn''t mean we simply just let them be. At every second, one of us watched them and made sure they didn''t do anything harmful."


    "And they didn''t. They complied with our orders and even helped us store the artifacts out of the vault to prevent them from being damaged."


    "Up until just now, they seemed to be completely on our side."


    After pausing for a moment, as if debating if she should say it or not, Alya added.


    "And...even now, they didn''t seem to be our enemies. They didn''t even try to destroy the artifacts and break the seal."


    "...indeed."

 Chapter 328Interlude [2]

    Brushing the hair off her face, Seraphina calmly glanced around and assessed the state of the vault.


    Seeing Alya about to continue speaking, she raised her hand and said.


    "Don''t worry; the artifacts that you all have stored outside and in that tunnel have been secured."


    While Seraphina continued to interview Ruby, Alya, and Lily, Kevin and Zach awkwardly stood there, feeling somewhat left out.


    After a couple of seconds, Kevin finally got fed up with being a background character and turned to Zach.


    "Zach, why the hell are we always the ones fighting? But when it''s time to explain, we''re just standing still awkwardly."


    Kevin had voiced that remark simply to get off his chest and not seriously expect an answer, so when Zach responded in an exasperated tone, he stepped back.


    "I think we''re what they call all brawn and no brains."


    "..."


    Immobilized by Zach''s disrespectful remark, Kevin immediately refuted it.


    "You know you''re speaking to the number one student in the school. That means I''ve done well in exams, too, you know?"


    Pointing at the three girls and the principal, Zach simply looked away and replied.


    "Try going over there and saying that to them."


    "You know, I might just do that!"


    After hearing Zach try to mock his character twice, the prideful Kevin wasn''t just going to stand still.


    With his hands in his pocket, Kevin took one step...and then another step.


    Pausing, Kevin glanced behind him and immediately made eye contact with Zach, who seemed to be expecting it.


    Immediately looking away with a disgruntled expression, Kevin took one more step, now putting him right behind Alya.


    The three girls and the principal were in a square-like formation as they talked with one person in each direction, so Kevin had no way to subtly join them.


    If he did, the formation would collapse, and all attention would be directed towards him.


    Leaning forward and placing his head right above Alya''s shoulder, Kevin whispered. Stay tuned with My Virtual Library Empire


    "mhm, yep, mhm, I understand. Yeah, that happened to. What abou- oh yeah, that was what I was going to say!"


    As Kevin nonsensically nodded his head and added words to act as if he understood the entire conversation, Alya''s posture started to crumble.


    "Yep, indeed. 100%, that''s true. Oh, I can''t b-"


    Finally reaching her breaking point, Alya got her tippy toes, causing her shoulder to rise and bump straight into the bottom of Kevin''s chin.


    "..."


    Caught off guard by the sudden hit, Kevin lost his balance and awkwardly fell backward before finally regaining his balance.


    Wearing a grim expression, actually resembling the one Liam was currently wearing, Kevin glared at the back of Alya''s head.


    However, acting as if nothing had ever happened, Alya simply continued looking at the principal and talking.


    Turning back around, Kevin struggled to keep his hand still as Zach looked at him and mouthed, "YOU GOT THIS!!!"


    Managing to keep his hand off his sword as he walked back toward Zach, Kevin muttered.


    "I swear to g-"


    Interrupting Kevin''s mid-sentence, Zach tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to the right.


    Following Zach''s finger, Kevin spotted Liam leaning against the vault wall while staring down at his empty sheath.


    Unable to hold his anger in anymore, Kevin swiped Zach''s hand off his shoulder and walked towards Liam.


    "All of sudden, everyone thinks they''re too cool to talk to me!? Where the hell was this on the first day of school when I was #1!?"


    Having nothing better to do, Zach followed after Kevin, stealing glances at Liam, who was now looking up at the ceiling with a somber expression.


    Reaching Liam, Kevin immediately threw his hand forward at the space at the wall right next to Liam, attempting to catch him off guard.


    "What? Complaining about your loss!?"


    Showing no reaction to Kevin''s mocking words, Liam slowly shifted his head downward and replied.


    "Only reason I lost was because I had to protect this damn vault...just another obstacle in my way."


    To anyone watching the fight, Liam''s words were true as he should have easily defeated Zeng.


    However, Kevin, wanting to get a reaction from Liam, chuckled and responded.


    "That''s what they all say."


    Before Liam could even rebuke Kevin''s statement, Seraphina''s voice sounded from behind the two of them.


    "All right, let''s head out of here. I need to patch up the hole before anything else happens." S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Knocking Kevin''s hand off the wall, Liam silently shrugged his shoulders and began walking towards the gap.


    As the main cast and the principal carefully stepped over the shelves that had fallen because of Zeng, three figures could be seen in the ocean right below the island.


    "Raven...you''re paying for those healing sc-"


    "I''ll drown the three of us right now if you don''t shut the fuck up."


    "I don''t drown, Raven, and you''d die the first anyway because you can''t use m-"


    "Magic this, magic that, who the hell needs that shit when you have money!?"


    Holding each boy under one of his shoulders, Ren easily swam through the ocean and towards the capital.


    However, as he peered forward, Ren noticed that the harbor was in complete shambles, looking as if it had just been hit by the tsunami.


    In Ren''s hoodie, his black cat, which he had learned was also immune to drowning, suddenly twitched in its sleep.


    Zeng, who had been silent up until now, simply nodded his head as he was too exhausted to even speak.


    In the end, he was back to normal strength as his demon had once again evoked all of his power.


    Within a couple of minutes, three figures could be seen emerging from the water atop a beach that was covered by glass and metal.


    Staring at the mess of the beach in front of him, Ren muttered.


    "Global warming really is getting bad..."


    The two boys, unable to comprehend "Global warming, simply sighed and shrugged off their boss'' words.


    Exhausted and unable to take another step, Zeng and Raven simply let their body fell onto the warm sand of the beach.


    Looking up at Ren, Raven waved his hand and said.


    "I should have known, you''d be fine."

 Chapter 329Interlude [3]

    Letting a smile creep onto his face, Ren also released his body, allowing himself to fall onto the soft...and quite hot sand of the beach.


    Lying down in the middle of Raven and Zeng, Ren sighed and recalled the messages he had received from Ruby.


    Originally, in a worst-case scenario, the two were supposed to just walk out, claiming that their shift had ended or something like that.


    Of course, the main cast, two recruiters, and the student council president wouldn''t trust this and send people to make sure they hadn''t stolen anything.


    And, since Alya owed me one for helping heal Zach when he had gotten hurt, Ruby convinced her to help escort Raven and Zeng out of the vault.


    From there, they could just escape through the tunnel in the underground space and swim back towards the capital.


    However...it seemed like Raven and Zeng had a mine of their own.


    Before even asking them about their actions, Ren sighed and recalled a very particular message.


    Turning to the two boys, Ren said.


    "Ruby is part of a group and is trustworth-"


    Immediately flicking his head up and off the sand, Raven interrupted.


    "But, boss...she was attacking you with the other guys, forcing you to fall into that lava."


    Flicking the top of Raven''s head and still laying down on the hand, Ren continued.


    "You watch so many movies, yet you don''t know what a double agent is?"


    "...ah, I see."


    "So, next time, you can listen to her and even ask her for help."


    Finally showing some sign of life, Zeng cupped his hands and picked up a handful of sand before replying.


    "What do you mean, ''next time?'' "


    "..."


    Was there even going to be a next time?


    Recalling the plan he had made with Ruby when they had been in the underground space alone, Ren smiled.


    "So you''re planning on taking on all of them at once...just so you can expose the actual intruder."


    Seeing Ruby''s eyebrows contorting as if she were struggling to understand his plan, Ren replied.


    "With so many spells and attacks flying around, it''ll be almost impossible for him to not get hit in the crossfire."


    Shaking her head, Ruby instantly responded.


    "And, how will you be able to avoid all those spells and attacks!?"


    Manifesting pitch-black clothes made of corruption to cover his body, Ren replied.


    "Do you have another idea? We can''t just camp here all day and all night, waiting for him to do something."


    "But we can...in your own words, the principal will be arriving soon. She''ll be able to take care of him, won''t she?"


    Shifting his gaze to the right side of the underground space, where the original entrance was located, Ren said.


    "What if he acts before then? What if he''s already acting and doing something to destroy the seal without our knowledge? And what if the principal doesn''t even have the ability to see through the intruder''s invisibility."


    While it did seem crazy to say that the principal would be outsmarted by a mere djin intruder''s ability, Ren did believe it was a possibility.


    After all, he possessed the best set of eyes in the entire world, and for some reason, he couldn''t discern the intruder.


    Realizing that Ren wasn''t going to give up on his plan, Ruby sighed and responded.


    "So, what do you need me to do?"


    Hearing Ruby''s quick submission and willingness to help, Ren flinched and turned around to hide his expression.


    He felt terrible... and sick as if he were about to throw up.


    Here he was again, using Ruby as a pawn in his plans. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Forcing her to betray her friends again...what type of person was he?


    Ren...he knew he didn''t deserve someone like her.


    Someone so willing to help and assist him...for no reason.


    He hated it...but he still did it.


    Because if he didn''t, the monster would be released from the vault and kill millions of people, destroying the entire academy and capital city.


    As the memories of Ruby''s happy expression when they played in the snow flooded his head, Ren desperately tried to calm himself down.


    Regaining his composure, Ren simply looked at the ground, afraid to even see Ruby''s expression, and said.


    "Spot me and convince the others that I''m the intruder. Lily and Alya might be hesitant to attack, but follow them."


    After a moment of silence, Ren finally heard Ruby''s voice sound from above him.


    "What about you? What happens when the real intruder is exposed? You think you can just take off your mask and say, ''Oh yeah, I''m on your team! This was all part of my plan.'' "


    "..."


    Seeing Ren go completely silent, Ruby continued.


    "You think they''ll just let you off the hook. Do you think that all those attacks coming at you will just suddenly disappear? What about you? What''s going to happen to you? You''re not facing amateurs...you''re outmatched both in strength and numbers."


    "...I''ll manage."


    That was all Ren could see in the face of Ruby''s harsh but necessary reality check.


    The reason he was standing here today was because he had managed in all those past scenarios.


    All he had to do was do it one more time.


    Hearing Ren''s pitiful words that he didn''t even seem to believe himself, Ruby simply turned around and faced the gap that led into the vault.


    "Trust the lava."


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    With those parting words, Ruby ducked down and crawled through the gap, disappearing from Ren''s sight.


    Returning to reality, Ren got up and leaned his back against a nearby rock before turning to Zeng.


    "As long as I''m alive, they''ll always be a ''next time.'' "


    Pausing for a moment, Ren stared upwards at the descending sun, which lit up the sky a bright orange color.


    "Of course, you''re free to exclude yourself from missions and only do paperwork at the warehouse. I won''t take it personally. I know after...that, you may have some doubts about risking your lives for stupid shit like this."

 Chapter 330Interlude [4]

    Ren had come to realizer over time that he now had connections to this world...things tying him down.


    And, instead of fighting against these chains that kept him in this new world, Ren embraced his new relationships, allowing him to form deeper bonds with Ruby, Raven, Zeng, Jin, and Han.


    While this did come with drawbacks, as Ren could no longer only account for his survival but also those around him, complicating his plans, he wholeheartedly believed it was worth it.


    Because...he was having fun.


    Would the old Ren be back to run around in the snow with Ruby and have a campus-wide snowball fight?


    Would the old Ren be able to lie down on the beach with his two subordinates while appreciating the beautiful sunset above?


    No...he would be locked up in his room, planning or sleeping and suffering alone.


    Smiling, Ren manifested three pairs of pitch-black sunglasses and placed them on Raven and Zeng''s heads.


    "So...you guys in?"


    Putting the sunglasses on, the two boys sighed in unison before nodding their heads.


    Both of them were probably exhausted from the entire mission.


    Getting up, Ren prepared to take them back to the warehouse when he suddenly paused.


    Wasn''t he...forgetting something?


    As if responding to his worry, Ren suddenly glanced upwards and spotted a familiar figure slowly floating down from the sky.


    With her blonde hair swaying in the wind and her star-pupil eyes, Astrid made eye contact with Ren before descending onto the beach.


    Seeing the sly smile on Astrid''s face, Ren didn''t even bother to ask which Astrid it was.


    However, surprising Ren, Astrid suddenly halted as she approached him and slowly started to his right.


    Following Astrid''s gaze, Ren noticed that, for some reason, she was staring at Raven, who was lying down on the sand and staring up at the sky with his sunglasses on.


    "...?"


    Regaining his composure, the cloned Astrid approached Ren before waving and saying.


    "Come to the student council office tomorrow after class."


    Recalling how Ruby had described Astrid''s part in his escape from the vault, Ren nodded his head in thanks before asking.


    "Is it about the upcoming Winter Ball?"


    As Astrid nodded her head, she slowly floated back up into the sky before landing on the bridge, which was a few meters above the beach they were currently on.


    Shifting his gaze downwards, Ren stretched his hands for a moment before saying.


    "You two should head back for now. Go crazy, order some food or whatever."


    Immediately, the two boys glanced at each other and stood up. Even through their sunglasses, Ren could see their eyes shining.


    Walking off the beach and into the capital city, Ren gave them one last glance before warning.


    "I''ll be there tomorrow, though..."


    With those parting words, he climbed up to the bridge before walking towards the familiar and ever-so-ominous academy gates in the distance.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    After arriving back in his comfortable dorm room, Ren immediately collapsed onto the bed, completely exhausted of all his mana.


    While today had been successful, he had lost a considerable amount of corruption as the onslaught of attacks had destroyed the clothes he wore.


    As Ren reminded himself to go hunting soon, he suddenly felt his smartwatch vibrate, but that wasn''t weird alone.


    It was the fact that his drawer had vibrated...not his wrist.


    That meant that somebody had messaged his school-issued smartwatch, which he hadn''t used in ages.


    That meant a new number had just messaged him for the first time.


    And...a. new number it was.


    In the academy, finding a student''s number was as simple as simple as typing their name in the directory.


    Opening his drawer, Ren retrieved his dusty school smartwatch before sliding it onto his other wrist.


    Since the school issued it, they likely had some access to it at the very least, so Ren always used his personal one.


    Funnily enough, Ren vaguely recalled the exact reason he had never used school-issued electronics. Continue your adventure with My Virtual Library Empire


    Back in elementary school, one of his friends had used one of the school-issued Chromebooks to email and chat with other students.


    Of course, these chats had no filters, as the students never expected anyone besides themselves to see them.


    That was until all the members in the chat were suddenly called into the office.


    From that day forward, no student even dared to use their school-issued Chromebooks to play video games.


    After finishing his reminiscing about his elementary school days, Ren reluctantly typed in the password to the smartwatch.


    Scrolling through the various apps, Ren finally arrived at the messages app and clicked it open.


    "..."


    [Kaneki]


    His brother...


    Pausing for a moment, Ren hesitated as to whether or not to click the message.


    Then, coming to a decision, Ren smiled and exited the messages app, going to the settings application instead.


    After turning off "read receipts" for the messages app, Ren fearlessly clicked on his brother''s name.


    [Kaneki: Over winter break, come visit the manor. Father has allowed it.]


    Resisting the urge to immediately type back, "Go fuck yourself," Ren put down his school smartwatch and went back to his bed.


    There was no need to be rash...maybe this was the opportunity that he was looking for.


    "Ren''s" opportunity for Revenge.


    There was also...the question about his younger sister.


    Did she remember him?


    Ren had seen her once...but then the world had been reset after the coliseum had suddenly exploded. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If she somehow retained her memories of that world before the reset, it could lead him to a clue about why and how he had been regressed.


    However, there was still one question remaining.


    "Father has allowed it."


    For him to allow it...someone had to have requested it.


    Unable to keep his eyelids open anymore, Ren succumbed to the feeling of sleep, allowing his thoughts to slow and his mind to drift off.


    It was saddening.


    Even after all he had gone through today...he only had a painful day of school awaiting him the next day.

 Chapter 331Interlude [5]

    * (First Person)


    [Do you guys prefer first or third-person limited?]


    --------------------------


    Waking up the next day, I felt nothing but pain.


    As I lay in bed, with eyes wide open, staring at the white ceiling above, the alarm clock blared in the background.


    Can I just skip today..?


    I already saved the world yesterday, right? So I should be fine!


    Yet...I knew I couldn''t


    After a major incident like yesterday, I would have to be in school to observe the main cast and their activities.


    And...I had quite a few people to thank.


    As I had heard from Ruby''s text messages, the three girls in the main cast, excluding Irene, had also played a part in my miraculous escape through the lava pool. Explore more adventures at My Virtual Library Empire


    Within a couple of seconds, I was out of bed, shirtless, and walking towards the bathroom to shower with a disgruntled expression.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Finally, after a brief shower, I put on my academy uniform, not even bothering to look in the mirror to adjust my collar and hair.


    Thankfully, it was winter, so I didn''t have to deal with the bright sun blinding my eyes as soon as I opened the door.


    However...I did find someone waiting outside my door.


    After blinking a couple of times to confirm I wasn''t dreaming, I simply stared at the blonde-haired figure outside my dorm.


    "Charlotte...it''s been a while!"


    Well, it wasn''t necessarily surprising.


    I expected her to be somewhat annoyed that I had moved into the royal dormitory without telling her, but she seemed unconcerned.


    Nodding her head, Charlotte simply stared at the nameplate on my dorm that read, "Ren" for a couple of seconds before finally turning towards me.


    "How has...your move been?"


    Smirking, I glanced down the hallway, making sure no one was else nearby and responded.


    "Well...I didn''t have a servant who could do everything for me...so it was pretty tough."


    "It''s too early for sarcasm."


    "So...is there something that our...group needs?"


    "Not really. I was just curious about how you''d been rewarded for your performance during the battle royale, and now, I see."


    Rubbing her eyelids, Charlotte simply nodded her head at me and began walking down the hallway back to her room.


    Not sure what emotion to feel, I followed after her before deviating and turning right into the common area.


    Now...this is why I had gotten up so early. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As the savory smell of freshly made bacon and eggs entered my nose, I felt all the exhaustion weighing on me suddenly disappear for a moment.


    Like one of the cartoon animal zombies walking towards the smell of food, I walked towards the right portion of the common area where the kitchen was located.


    There were no staff around, so the kitchen was a self-serve type.


    Dozens of plates were laid out, all properly portioned with the perfect amount of protein and other nutrients for your day.


    Before moving into the royal dorm, I''d basically skip breakfast every day or just eat a quick snack while in class, so this was a huge game-changer.


    After picking up one of the nearby pitchers, I poured myself a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and then took a plate loaded with bacon, eggs, and toast.


    On the side were countless green grapes and even a banana for potassium intake.


    And, out of habit, I had also poured myself a small glass of milk.


    Recalling the days when my mom would insist on me having a glass of milk with every meal, I smiled before glancing at my reflection in the mirror.


    I was...only 5''10!


    Where the hell did all that milk go!?


    Staring at the tons of delicious food before me, I picked up a fork before immediately devouring the toast and eggs.


    The salty toast, combined with puffy and flavorful eggs and, of course, the perfectly cooked bacon, made for an amazing trio.


    Without even looking up from my plate, I simply alternated before using a fork to get bacon, my hand to drink orange juice, and my other hand to grab grapes.


    As my exhaustion faded away for the time being, alongside my food, I finally looked up when I heard footsteps nearby.


    Was it Charlotte?


    "...?"


    Turning around, I paused momentarily upon seeing a family brown-haired and brown-eyed figure.


    Passing by me while yawning, Zach simply glanced at the load of food in front of me before saying.


    "Congratulations on moving in! You should have asked the Residental Advisor to host a welcome party for you!"


    Yeah...a party with me, Liam and Kevin would go absolutely splendidly!


    The three most egotistical people in the entire world coming together to celebrate!


    Chuckling, I simply nodded my head and replied.


    "Thanks, I appreciate it."


    Finding another table, Zach also picked a couple of plates before returning and immediately devouring his food.


    After finishing the last bit of orange juice, I stacked up all my plates and placed them down in the cleaning area before finally heading out.


    Thankfully, since I had set my alarm decently early, no one besides Zach came to my table during my eating time.


    Pushing open the glass doors of the royal dormitory, I internally thanked myself for putting on a cool puffer jacket before sliding the hood over my wet hair.


    It hadn''t snowed yet, but the temperature was still low, and some parts of the ground were even icy and slippery.


    The previously lush green grass of the dormitory garden was now colored a bright white, and there were animals in signs, all presumably resting in their warmer habitats.


    After passing by the dormitory gate, I nodded my head at the security guards and headed towards my class building.


    I didn''t know whether to be happy or angry with security guards anywhere.


    They were risking their lives to protect us students from the dangers of the world, but at the same time, the dangers always got past them without fail.


    Well, I guess it wasn''t their fault...it was more like the author''s fault as he had made them basically useless.

 Chapter 332Interlude [6]

    Zipping my puffer jacket to protect myself from the cold, I strolled through the academy, passing by the envious gazes I was receiving.


    Technically, you had to be in uniform, so wearing a puffer jacket or any non-school-issued one was not allowed, but...technically, I''m also a student council member!


    The only people who could reprimand students for breaking the rules, besides teachers, were student council members.


    The walk from the dorms to your respective class building was only around five minutes, so they would survive.


    Shaking my head, I pushed open the glass doors of my building, immediately feeling the temperature increase tenfold.


    Thankfully, the academy was turning the heaters inside to the max.


    Though...I''m not too sure my parents would be happy if they saw it.


    Arriving at my unfamiliar class building, I pushed open the sliding doors, expecting to be the first person there since I was somewhat early.


    But, to my surprise, Professor Zia was already inside and sitting by her desk with a mountain of papers.


    Hearing the door open, Professor Zia briefly glanced at me before returning her attention to the papers in front of her.


    Since my desk was on the far right of the classroom, I had to pass by her desk to get there, so to make things slightly less awkward, I asked while passing her desk.


    "What''s on the agenda today?"


    Not even bothering to look up, Professor Zia said while staring at the papers that were probably created due to my actions in the vault.


    "Some friendly classroom sparring."


    Well, there goes my plans of sleeping through the whole day!


    Walking up the stairs to my seat, I internally cursed the world before testing my head on my desk.


    This wasn''t our first sparring session in the semester, so I wasn''t nervous or scared but more fed up.


    During these classroom sparring sessions, Professor Zia would take the whole class outside and lead us all the way to the massive coliseum.


    And probably because of the sheer amount of powerhouses in our class, we had the whole coliseum to ourselves.


    Usually, I would partner with Han and Jin in a king-of-the-court-like challenge, in which the two of us fought at a time while one rested.


    However, instead of staying on if you won the fight, you would actually get to go rest and swap out the resting one.


    We did this because Jin would always purposely lose so that he could rest and just watch us fight without lifting a figure.


    Letting a smirk creep onto my face, I turned my head and stared out the window, but unlike the start of school during spring, there wasn''t much to see.


    All the previous vibrant cherry blossom trees were now bare with no colors and leaves to show.


    Resting my head on my wrist, I put in my earphones before playing a song and closing my eyes, allowing myself to rest.


    There would be no point in falling asleep now, so I just played the music to keep me up and entertain me until class finally started.


    Within a few minutes, some notable students like Zach and Alya entered the classroom, and after that, the class started to fill up.


    Finally, Han and Jin arrived, so I removed my earbuds and pretended to gaze out the window as they walked toward our desk.


    Tapping my head for some reason, Jin curiously sat down to my right before curiously asking.


    "What''s for lunch today?"


    Sitting on my left, Han stretched out his hands and replied.


    "Oh yeah, I heard they''re catering food today. The cafeteria staff are on vacation or something."


    Instantly popping my head up from my desk, I alternated glances between the two and interrupted. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Really!?"


    In unison, Han and Jin both broke out into a smirk before replying


    "Nope!"


    "Nope!"


    "..." Enjoy new tales from My Virtual Library Empire


    Slumping my head back down on the desk, I ignored the sounds of laughter from beside me.


    Yeah, they''ll see each other during the sparring session.


    Of course, during the previous sparring sessions, I hadn''t even gone close to all out, and even purposely was lost to Han and Jin sometimes, as nobody knew of my power.


    However, the cat was out of the bag now due to my miraculous performance in the battle royale, so I didn''t have much to hide.


    Taking my head off revenge for a moment, I glanced to the right, where the main cast sat, and was surprised to see that everybody besides Liam was there.


    *Beep~beep*


    Then, as if to answer my question, as the bell rang, the sliding door suddenly slid open, revealing Liam''s figure.


    He didn''t seem tired at all and just nodded at Professor Zia before making his way to his seat.


    As Liam sat down in his seat, not bothering to talk with any of the main cast, Professor Zia subsequently stood up and began writing on the blackboard.


    [Sparring Session]


    At those words, the class split, as some students sighed in exhaustion while the others were already out of their seats and ready to leave the classroom.


    As for Jin and Han?


    They were part of the minority who weren''t even paying attention as they simply stared at each other, trying to see who would laugh first.


    Grabbing both of their shoulders, I got up from my seat and followed the other students in a neat line exiting the classroom.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Walking through the entrance of the coliseum, every other student and I began shivering as the massive open space in the middle of the coliseum came into view.


    To avoid being scolded by Professor Zia, I had to leave my jacket in the classroom, so now I was just like everyone else.


    All of us stood by the entrance to the arena, where the heaters were still active, as we were technically in the hallway of the coliseum, and awkwardly stared at the weapon racks that were a couple of meters away.


    "I don''t care what she says; I am NOT going!"


    "She''ll have to drag me out, I swear to god."


    "Why do we have outside classroom on the worst damn days!?"

 Chapter 333Sparring [1]

    Unsurprisingly, the first figure to step away from the heated area and into the cold arena was Liam.


    His sole figure could be seen shivering as he slowly approached the weapon rack and picked up a wooden broadsword.


    Behind him, Kevin and the rest of the main cast shortly followed...however, Irene had a small flame hovering above her wand.


    Alternating glances between Han and Jin, I sighed before asking.


    "Why can''t you guys be useful and do something like that."


    Groaning as a cold breeze suddenly enveloped us, Jin responded.


    "Oh, so we''re supposed to be your personal fucking heaters? I''m so sorry, Mr. Noble, it seems like I''ve forgotten my flame magic at home!"


    Brushing off Jin''s sarcasm, I expectantly turned to Han, wishing he had some kind of trick that he hadn''t shown us.


    Then...sensing my gaze, Han reached into his pocket.


    With my levels of hope at an all-time high, I watched as Han slowly removed his right hand from his pocket, revealing a...middle finger.


    "..."


    "..."


    "..."


    Fed up, I turned around and watched as Kevin began pestering Liam for a spar while the others simply crowded around Irene''s flame like it was a campfire.


    "Get a move on."


    Hearing an authoritative voice from behind me, the other students and I suddenly turned around and saw Professor Zia looking at us with a sharp gaze.


    Ah...come to think of it, wasn''t she the head of the academy''s garden?


    The garden that she had poured hundreds of hours into, trying to grow materials for potions and other alchemy-related items.


    That garden was on the field...right?


    "ah..."


    Turning around to face Jin and Han, I let out a dry cough before saying.


    " *ahem* she seems to be in a bad mood today...let''s not mess around."


    "...yeah.


    "agreed."


    Pulling my blazer up onto my face and covering my cheeks, I hesitantly took my first step out of the heated coliseum hallway and into the frosty arena.


    It was like going into a pool.


    At first, it''s super cold to the point where you can''t stand it, but after a few moments of laying around, you start to get used to it and ignore it.


    That first plunge, though... was deadly.


    As my usual pale skin began to turn a light blue, I manifested a pair of corrupted gloves and immediately put them on.


    However...it didn''t help in the slightest. Enjoy exclusive content from My Virtual Library Empire


    Corruption was a cold material in itself, so it only amplified the cold temperate in the arena.


    De-manifesting the gloves, I finally reached the weapon stand and looked around for a bit.


    I didn''t really have a preferred weapon as I alternated between using a sword, daggers, and a bow.


    Should I try something new today?


    Behind me, Han and Jin finally caught up before picking their respective weapons, Han with his wooden crossbow and Jin with his sleek odachi.


    Shivering, two grabbed their weapons before retreating to a corner of the arena, trying to avoid the sight of Professor Zia so they could rest.


    As more and more students began to fold under the pressure of Professor Zia''s gaze and step into the cold arena, I sighed before leaning down.


    Weapon...weapon, which one?


    "hm?" sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Feeling a tap on my right shoulder, I curiously turned around, only to be met with an expected figure.


    In front of me was Liam, standing with his signature wooden broadsword in hand.


    Usually, Liam would spar with Kevin while Zach trained with the magicians, focusing on learning how to deflect spells with his axe.


    Yet, as I peered past him, I spotted Lily facing Ruby, Irene against Alya, and, finally, Zach against Kevin.


    Who was Liam with, then?


    As if reading my mind, Liam nodded his head and stretched his sword before saying.


    "Spar with me."


    "..."


    Somehow, the temperature in the arena managed to get even lower as everyone began staring at Liam and me with confused expressions.


    Picking up a small recurve bow and a pair of dual daggers from the stand, I turned around and looked around for a bit.


    The whole reason I had come to class today was to observe Liam''s behavior...so sparring with him would be useful.


    But...why did Liam want to spar with me?


    I knew he had recognized my strength ever since the carriage battle where we fought, so why was he only challenging me now?


    Did he think he was stronger than me now?


    Strapping a quiver of arrows around my back and allowing my bow to hang down, I surprisingly nodded my head.


    There was nothing to lose or gain in this scenario.


    Perhaps training with Liam could even help me break through in my dagger mastery, which had been stuck for a while.


    Of course, that was my fault as I didn''t opt to use daggers in fights recently, but to be fair, a bow was a better option in those scenarios.


    Dropping the bow but keeping the quiver strapped around my back, I grabbed two wooden curved daggers and pointed to an empty area in the coliseum.


    "There?"


    Nodding his head, Liam walked away a distance away from me before arriving at the spot I had pointed to.


    Following behind him, I lightly waved at Han and Jin, who had already begun fighting upon seeing me agree to Liam.


    Within a few moments, I was standing with my daggers ready, a couple of meters in front of Liam.


    "On 3?"


    Nodding his head to my question, Liam raised three fingers on his left hand.


    "3."


    "2."


    "1."


    Side-stepping for the right in case Liam immediately charged at me, I kept my eyes locked on Liam''s figure.


    This was going to be a fight of pure skill.


    No overpowered skills, no corruption for me, no divine-blue aura for Liam, and no flashes.


    All we were using were the wooden weapons in front of us and nothing of us.


    No magical sword slashes or anything like that.


    A good old-fashioned duel.

 Chapter 1 - 1:Realization [1]

    "... Now that the verdict has been confirmed as guilty, I will inform you of your punishment. Ren from class 1-B, you have violated Clause 1 of the handbook: No magic or violence will be used outside their designated areas."


    The woman''s clear and strict voice echoed throughout the air. Tilting my head upwards, I saw a room resembling a courtroom with countless chairs and desks spread around it.


    In front of me, the woman speaking had a placard on her desk.


    [Student Council President]


    "The Celestial Institute for Heroes finds you guilty of violating rule 1, and you, Ren Montclair, will be."


    What was I sentenced to what? What the hell did I do? The last thing I remembered was the sight of a truck nearing me until my vision blanked out.


    Did I die? If so, is this heaven?


    I looked around, momentarily confused, before I spotted a familiar face. It wasn''t a face I had ever seen, yet I knew exactly who its owner was. How could I not?


    The facial structure, hair color, eye color, and everything had been described to me countless times. It had been explained to me in a book...


    Liam, the protagonist of the book How to Survive at the Hero''s Academy, was sitting only a few feet away from me.


    Having read the book countless times, I immediately started racking my memories to see if there was ever a situation like this, and after a moment, I realized.


    The academy accepts both nobles and commoners and says that your social status doesn''t matter within the academy; however, most nobles refuse to accept this, leading to countless disputes with the commoners.


    During the first ten chapters of the book, the protagonist, Liam, gets involved in one of these class disputes as a Noble attacks him in public for no reason, and then he goes to trial as a victim.


    I glanced at Liam, who was glaring at me.


    Wait, if he''s glaring at me... does that mean? As more knowledge of the book came rushing through my head, I realized my situation.


    Ren, a noble who attacks Liam for no reason besides jealousy, will get expelled by the school, and it is later mentioned that his father disowned him. Besides this, Ren is never mentioned throughout the other 1,500 chapters of the book.


    The typical cocky noble who attempts to hurt the protagonist but instead gets punished. A character solely used to develop the protagonist''s personality and display his kindness to the book''s readers.


    This was the character I was currently possessing. I looked down at the polished desk before me, and through my reflection, I noticed that my face was completely different from my past life.


    Surprisingly, I wasn''t at all bad-looking. However, my face was a bit overweight. I could tell that I was one of those spoiled noble characters.


    The student council president, whom I had previously ignored, directly addressed me, snapping me out of my thoughts.


    "Ren, do you understand? As punishment, you will be immediately demoted to Class 1-D and have a week''s suspension to consider your actions. To return to school, you must write a ten thousand-word essay on why what you did was wrong."


    In a low, timid voice, I responded.


    "Yes"


    My response shocked the teachers present, who were on guard. They seemed to think I would attack the president or something to overturn my punishment.


    To be fair, the character I was possessing did that. After receiving word of his punishment, Ren would immediately start blasting spells and causing chaos, leading to his immediate expulsion from the school.


    The idiot thought attacking everyone would help his situation; I pity him.


    However, this time, I was in control, not Ren, so I decided to accept the week of suspension gracefully; after all, why would I give up the opportunity to attend the most prestigious academy in the world?


    Surprised by my sudden change in attitude, the student council president stammered.


    "Your suspension starts now; please pack up from the dormitory and leave within the hour."


    After that, she seemed to address the two students sitting on my right and left. Jin and Han. These two were so insignificant that their names weren''t mentioned once in the novel; they were referred to as "Ren''s sidekicks."


    I scoffed. My situation was terrible as I reincarnated as a stupid antagonist instead of a primary cast member, but at least my noble status gave me money. Those two had nothing, and like the cliche, their only goal in life was to leach off me.


    "Jin and Han, you two will be suspended for three days for collaborating with Ren on this act."


    After the student council president stopped speaking, I could hear spectators voice their complaints about how they could dare take a commoner''s side.


    I mean, Ren did randomly attack him with no warning in the middle of the school, but I wasn''t going to complain that people were supporting my actions.


    Hearing all the commotion, beside the student council president, another prominent figure from the story emerged: the school''s principal. Her firm, strict voice reverberated throughout the room, immediately shutting all whispers.


    "Upon entering this academy, all students are treated equally regardless of their family or social status. Noble or commoner, there is no difference."


    What a damn lie.


    Seeing that the trial was over, I left the courtroom and headed toward the dorm building. Interacting with people more than necessary could cause them to realize something was up with me, so I had to limit my interactions.


    Surprisingly, I had some memories of Ren as I knew exactly where my room, bag, and other items were. Entering my dorm room, I surprisingly saw a maid packing my items.


    Even if I was a third-rate villain, I was at least a noble, so money wouldn''t be a problem. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Besides changing my fate of expulsion into a simple suspension, I decided that there was no need for me to change the story. After all, even without me, this story had a cliche happy ending in which the protagonist defeated the demon king with his heroines.


    Living in obscurity with the money from my father wouldn''t be bad after all. However, that didn''t mean I was going to slack off; even if there was a happy ending for the main cast, that didn''t mean that it was 100% that nothing terrible would happen to me.


    I needed some protection.


    Looking at my overweight body in the dorm''s mirror, I realized that some severe training would be necessary. By training, I meant using the knowledge I had gained from my book to gather overpowered items!


    And when else to do it? The school suspended me, so this would be the perfect time to get some fantastic items. While thinking over some items the protagonist never used, one item immediately came to mind.


    This item was obtained by some villain that was defeated within a chapter, so it wouldn''t matter if I took it; however, this item was never terrible; the villain didn''t know how to use it correctly.


    The protagonist also discarded the item, thinking it was trash because the villain owned it; however, later in the story, it was revealed that the item was overpowered. There was a whole arc where the main character tried to search for it, but ultimately, he didn''t find it. However, the book mentioned where the item was originally before the original villain got it.


    After awkwardly waiting for the maid to finish packing my items, I grabbed my trunk and headed to the school gates.


    On the way to the school gates, I saw some teachers closely monitoring me with dark expressions.


    I guess they still thought I was going to cause trouble or something. It was probably suspicious to them that an arrogant student like me just accepted a punishment instead of trying to dispute it with a fight or something.


    Once again, the stupidity of third-rate villain characters dawned on me. If you don''t like the punishment, then break more rules; surely that will make them lower your punishment!


    Using Ren''s memories, I immediately recalled the name of the person standing in front of me before I had been with my family, even before my birth, and he was assigned to be my butler.


    His name was Janda.


    Since he had raised me from birth, it was very likely that he would notice that I wasn''t Ren, so I decided to put on my arrogant noble act. Maybe reading countless stories about nobles and commoners was useful!


    Instead of greeting Janda, patiently waiting outside the horse carriage, I arrogantly nodded and went inside.


    Thankfully, Janda didn''t notice anything as he entered the carriage moments after me.


    Looking at him sitting across from me, Janda''s expression was grim and sad. Was he disappointed in me or what?


    After a few moments of silence, the horse carriage began moving, and Janda spoke.


    "Master, your father has asked that I deliver this letter to you."

 Chapter 2 - 2:Realization [2]

    Father...


    The father of Ren, the character I possess, is a very influential figure throughout the book.


    Eugene Montclair


    During the first war between demons and humans, seven prominent families emerged in the chaos, leading humanity to a partial victory. My father was included in one of those seven families and is known famously for his cruelty and strict behavior.


    In the original story, after Ren is expelled from the school, Eugene goes so far as to disown his son¡ªhis blood. Eugene had taken everything away from his child just because of an expulsion at some school.


    However, that wasn''t even the worst part. Eugene monitored the academy for talents worthy of joining his knight order, and to no one''s surprise, Liam was the first person to catch his attention.


    From then on, Eugene personally mentored Liam to help him hone his talent and even financially supported him through his school life.


    Yes, the same person who ignored and abandoned his genetic son gave up his precious time train and honed some random person he met through the academy.


    Not even a random person, Eugene treated the person who got his son, Ren, expelled from school far more like a child than he ever did to Ren.


    I fondly remember laughing at this ironic turn of events, but now that I was experiencing. I realized how fucked up it was.


    I honestly began feeling bad for Ren. Imagine seeing your father spend the time you desperately craved with your arch-rival.


    Calming my nerves a bit, I opened up the letter from my father.


    [Dear former son,]


    What you have done has not simply resulted in your suspension; your actions have disgraced the entire family name. I realize now that I have been far too lenient with your upbringing; however, it is too late to change that now. This is the last time that you disgrace the family with your actions.


    After having given everything to you since birth, instead of being grateful, you insult others who did not have the same opportunity. And finally, even with all the resources expended on you, you are still lost to that commoner. The last name of Montclair is wasted on you. Do not ever think of returning to the family estate after this.


    After discussing it with the other family members, we have decided to strip you of the Montclair name. From now on, your name is Ren. That is all.


    ----------------------------


    Rather than being disappointed or sad at this news, I was filled with rage.


    This accursed person was my "father." Feeling Ren''s emotions overwhelm me for a second; my legs started shaking uncontrollably with a mix of sadness and shame.


    Recalling Ren''s childhood memories, I relived all of Ren''s past terrible actions, including how he looked down on his servants and treated everyone terribly. This allowed me to feel Ren''s emotions at that time.


    It wasn''t happiness or cockiness he was feeling when he committed these actions... it was hope.


    Hope that his father would pay attention to him, just once in his life.


    ...I guess he had got what he wanted in the end.


    If I had continued reading the book, my opinion of Ren would have remained that of some neckless coward, yet now I realize that he wasn''t so bad after all.


    Maybe that''s a biased opinion because I am "Ren" now, but he just did what every other nobleman did, didn''t he?


    Every noble has looked down on the commoners at least once in their life, even my father, but when Ren does it, it''s such a big deal?


    Looking up from the letter, I saw my butler standing anxiously with a handkerchief.


    What the hell? What am I supposed to cry about? This was a good thing.


    That person could not even be classified as a father to me or anyone, for that matter. The only thing we had in common was our last name, but now that was gone.


    Upon seeing my dark red eyes not filled with sadness, my butler stepped back in shock for a second before handing me a small bag of golden coins.


    Looking inside, I saw around ten gold coins, which would be more than enough to get me through the one-week suspension. Since my tuition to the school was already paid for the year, I wouldn''t have to worry about this year as well.


    Since I had caused the incident on the 2nd day of school, I would be missing the entirety of the first week, and I was already behind most students in terms of swordplay.


    Ren managed to reach Class B in the first place because of his last name, so with that gone, I would surely sink into the depths of Class E if I did nothing.


    Seeing Janda preparing to leave to head back to the family state, more memories flooded my mind, showing me this guy was much more than a butler to Ren; he had essentially raised Ren from a baby to now.


    Expressing my gratitude once wouldn''t change anything.


    When Janda opened the carriage doors, I spoke.


    "Thank you."


    Without waiting for my butler''s reaction, I shut the door, and the carriage began moving again.


    "Where to sir?"


    Those without power were fated to suffer, so I needed power and knew the exact place to find it...


    "The Hajin Mountain Range."


    Not only did this place contain the item I was looking for, but it was also the perfect place to get rid of all this extra baggage on my body.


    Due to its high mana density, the mountain range allowed people to recover faster and increase their stamina at phenomenal rates. However, despite all those fantastic perks, the mountain''s population was close to 100 throughout all seasons.


    This was, of course, due to the high population of monsters attracted to the higher-density air. Nonetheless, I had chosen it as my destination, and the item I was searching for was called the "Dragon''s Eye."


    In the novel, the ongoing myth is that during the demon war, when Dragons were still active, there was a peaceful dragon in the mountain range that chose neutrality rather than the demons or humans.


    Living in its secluded cave and ignoring all the recruitment attempts, the dragon lived a peaceful life until, one day, the demons got too greedy.


    The power of one dragon matched over 1000 high-tier troops, and with the demons on the defensive, they desperately needed more firepower.


    Sending over 5,000 troops to the mountain range, the demons tried to take the dragon away forcefully; however, what happened next was unknown to anyone.


    It is assumed that the dragon, rather than participating in the war, decided to self-destruct, killing all the demon''s troops alongside itself.


    The only remanent of this battle is the Dragon''s Eye. The full extent of the item''s power is unknown, as the villain could only utilize its first stage, which allows the user to have incredible sight and perception.


    This entire journey was a gamble. If the item turned out to be shit, and the book was overhyping it, there would be no time for me to search for another item before returning to school.


    While I was considering taking an easier route and going for known overpowered items that the protagonist would obtain, I decided not to sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Why would I purposely take away my greatest strength in this world, knowing the future?


    Sure, I could have all the overpowered items in the world, but knowing the future would be ten times more valuable.


    Looking out of the carriage window, I saw the beautiful sun shining through the trees as it began to set, and peeking through the window of the carriage, the image of mountains that seemed to reach the sky entered my vision.


    However, before those mountains, a little town was set up at the mountain''s base for travelers.


    After reaching the small town, I hopped off the carriage and gave the driver a gold coin.


    Looking at my meager balance, I wished I could return to earlier in the day when I thought money wouldn''t be a problem...


    How was I supposed to know that my father would still disown me if I got suspended rather than expelled?


    Peering through my luggage, I realized I had nothing valuable besides some royal-looking clothes. Ensuring nobody was watching, I snuck into the forest surrounding the village and left my baggage there.


    If it got stolen, sure, it would be a hassle, but I wasn''t willing to journey up the mountains with that heavy thing on my back.


    After re-entering the village, I immediately looked for a blacksmith. With the high population of monsters, I would need at least a weapon if anything happened.


    It wasn''t like I could do much with the sword, even if a beast showed up, but having a false sense of security felt nice.


    I picked up each sword on the rack until I finally found one I could swing without sweating and hyperventilating.


    Upon reaching the academy again, I would have access to their expensive weapons arsenal, so I did not need to worry too much.


    Exchanging a gold coin for the sword, I took it and walked towards the mountain. Even if I had money to settle down in an inn, wasting all my gold coins would be stupid.


    The light in the sky was diminishing, and there was no way I would wander around a monster-infested mountain with no light, so I immediately began walking up the artificial trail that led up the hill.


    After reaching a decent height above the ground, the mana swarming into my body reenergized me momentarily as my muscles felt lighter.


    However, even with the mana, I could tell that this body was not meant for physical exercise, as sweat dropped from my forehead every time I moved.


    When I finally saw a small opening in the mountain that was too small to be called a cave, I veered off the path and took cover in the cave.


    Next, I moved some smaller rocks to partially block the cave''s entrance so it would be safe from monsters.


    Recalling my memory, I realized that the most dangerous beasts in the range were the mountain tyrants; however, due to their large stature, a small cave like this would block their entrance.


    Besides that, the monster birds could enter the cave. However, I doubted that they would join me in such a secluded space.


    Taking off my jacket and scrunching it up to make a pillow, I finally relaxed and drifted off to sleep.


    "Who would have thought, a noble sleeping in a cave in nowhere."


    The cold, rough floor and constant noise of things moving around me made it hard to sleep, but my exhaustion eventually saved me.


    I think Ren exercised more today than in the past year, and sadly, that wasn''t a joke.


    Imagining what I would have to do tomorrow made me shutter. I would have to search every nook and cranny of each cave I came across to find the eye, and I would be constantly on edge due to the possible appearance of monsters everywhere.


    I wish that the book had mentioned more specifics about the location of items rather than just saying, "He found the item in some cave located on the rightmost mountain of the Hajin range."


    Back at school, besides my situation with the protagonist, nothing was supposed to happen during the first week of school so I wouldn''t miss much.

 Chapter 3 - 3:Mountains [1]

    Upon waking up, I could feel my entire body aching from yesterday''s exercise, but I didn''t have time to waste.


    After doing some stretching exercises I had learned in my previous life, I put on my jacket again and moved the rocks out of the way so I could leave.


    Looking down at the ground from my resting spot, the scenery was jaw-dropping. I had never been hiking before I died, but I guess I was missing out.


    The bright blue lake, illuminated by the sun''s lights, the countless harmless birds flying around in the gigantic forest, and the bright blue sky that brought it all together. It was hard to believe that these beautiful mountains could be considered dangerous.


    I returned to the artificial trail and headed further up the mountain, more specifically, to the right. After walking for an hour, I finally saw the end of the path up ahead.


    That meant that the actual search was going to begin.


    However, there was one big issue; I was sweating and hyperventilating like I just ran a goddamn marathon. After finding a spot with shade, I sat down and looked up at the sky for a bit. S§×arch* The N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Even since I entered this book world, I have been constantly on the move, with barely any time to think.


    Since the book had a happy ending, I decided that interfering with the storyline would be useless. So, how would I live? Living off my father''s money was no longer a choice.


    After thinking it over for a bit, I decided that my first goal would be to graduate from the academy, as from there, I could go into any field I wanted to.


    But if I wanted to live nicely, I would have to graduate from Class A. Sure, it would be complex and time-consuming as I was ten years behind every student academically, but some time at the library should solve that, right?


    After resting a bit longer, I got up and began searching everywhere. The only hint was that it was on the upper right side of the mountain range, so I looked in every cave.


    It took me around 10 minutes to find the first cave, and to no one''s surprise, the cave was empty.


    "This is going to be a pain, isn''t it?"


    Why can''t I be the damn protagonist who stumbles on whatever item he''s looking for after 10 minutes of walking around?


    After searching three caves with no results, the light was already diminishing, so I entered one last cave for the day.


    Looking at the cave in front of me, I noticed a lot of noise coming from within.


    That could either me there were a shit ton of monsters, and I would die, or it would mean the Dragon''s eye could be tDragon''sll; it''s a 50/50 chance! Either I get the Dragon''s eye in this cave, or I Dragon''sd move on to another one tomorrow.


    I quietly walked along the cave walls and slowly inched further into the cave. I could feel the presence of more mana within this cave, and my body seemed to heal as I walked further into the cave.


    *DRIP*


    Suddenly, I heard the sound of running water further into the cave.


    Back in the village, I picked up most essentials, such as food and water. Still, I severely underestimated the amount of exercise I would be doing, so I was halfway through my rations on only the second day.


    I grabbed some empty water bottles from my pockets and walked closer to the sound; then I heard some footsteps, not regular footsteps.


    If there''s water, that means there had to be creatures nearby who drank and used that water.


    Right now, I was in no position to even look at a monster, so I carefully backtracked my way to the entrance of the cave,


    I would need to return when I inevitably ran out of water, but that would be a problem for me in the future.


    As the sun set, I headed back down the trail toward my spot from earlier. After some time looking around, I found the pebble path I had left behind to indicate my sleeping location.


    Exhausted, I collapsed onto the hole''s cool, rough floor. Uncomfortable or not, I was happy that my legs finally got a break.


    After only a few minutes, I gave in to my exhaustion as I fell asleep.


    *TICK*


    *TICK*


    The sound of a clock ticking woke me up. What the hell, am I hallucinating now because I exercised too much?


    Focusing on my ears, I once again tried to hear the sound that woke me up, but to no avail; it was no longer there.


    Propping myself against the wall, I peered out of the spot''s entrance and saw it was pitch black. Going outside to search right now would be a death, so I simply looked up at the dark sky.


    After a few minutes, my body started aching again, so I once again laid down on the floor.


    However, as soon as my head touched the cave floor, the clock ticking started playing again.


    Are the gods playing some trick on me? Is this funny to you higher beings? Is torturing a defenseless reincarnate some pastime for them? If so, it''s working very well...


    Ignoring the clock''s ticking sound, I closed my eyes and attempted to fall asleep, but the clock conveniently disrupted me every time I grew closer to falling asleep.


    I stood up again and attempted to find the source of the noise, but the cave was completely empty beside me. Returning my head to the floor, the sound of the clock ticking immediately reappeared.


    After taking and removing my head from the cave floor a couple of times, I realized that the sound could only be heard when my ears were close to the floor.


    Like an animal, I got down on all fours with my head touching the ground and followed the ticking sound. However, when the ticking sound got louder, and I noticed I was getting closer, my head bumped straight into the end of the cave.


    Somehow, it seemed like the sound''s source was inside the mountain. Right now, I was too far into this mystery to give up, so I placed my head on the wall that blocked me from going any deeper into the mountain, and sure enough, the ticking sound was even louder.


    Why the hell is there a clock inside this mountain?


    Placing my hand on the smooth surface of the wall, I tried to find a secret lever or something to open the wall, but this wasn''t some spy movie, so nothing worked.


    Next, I formed a fist with my hand, and with all my strength, I punched the wall. However, the wall remained fine while my fist felt like it had just shattered into a thousand pieces.


    This single wall inflicted more pain on me than the rest of the mountain within less than 10 minutes... the bump on my head and bruises on my fist.


    I angrily walked back to the cave''s entrance, and since I could not sleep with that sound, I decided to stretch until the sun came up.


    I removed the rocks I had placed to block monsters from entering the cave and walked outside. Looking up at the sky, I saw a yellow half-crescent moon and what seemed like a million stars shining at night.


    Now, alongside hiking, stargazing was another thing added to my list of things to do if I ever returned to my original world.


    As I started stretching outside, I noticed a slight light coming from inside my sleeping cave.


    When I turned around and looked into the small cave, I saw the back wall shining. Not the entire cave, just that back wall seemed to shine.


    Then, the cave shook briefly, and a small opening was revealed at the bottom of the back wall.


    Was it the light? No, then it would have opened from the sun. Was it the moon?


    After glancing at the beautifully starry sky, I silently thanked it for ending my mystery.


    Staring at the small opening in the wall, I internally swore when I got my hands on that clock, shit was going to get real.


    Not only did it keep me up in the middle of the night, it also gave me two injuries.


    I crawled through the small opening in the wall, ignoring that my academy uniform was now essentially covered by dirt.


    If my "father" saw me in such a state, I wondered what he would think. He would probably go crazy and try to execute me for ruining his God-blessed family name.


    As I walked further into the secret cave, I noticed that I could hear the ticking sound even when my head wasn''t on the floor.


    I no longer had to act like a wild animal trying to find food to hear the ticking sound!


    The secret cave path was not straight and level; it led me downwards, and there were turns and twists every 10 feet, which increased my suspicions.


    This cave definitely could not have been created by nature; it was far too unnatural. There was no way a naturally formed cave would suddenly turn right, left, and right again.


    So, did a man make this cave? How did he get that secret entrance to work? Even after reading over 1500 chapters of the book, I had never heard of magic activated by the moon''s light.


    Finally, I reached the end of the cave, and like in a horror movie, a pedestal sat awaiting me. On that pedestal was also a small golden orb, still emitting the ticking sound that had caused me so much pain.


    The pedestal resembled one at a museum. However, the orb was not protected by a red cushion.


    From all the horror movies I had watched, my instincts told me that the orb was terrible news.


    However, my curiosity got the best of me. Someone had made this cave, and this someone had left behind a golden orb.


    Was it the Dragon''s eye? Had I searched in the Dragon''sg area, or was it some item never mentioned in the book?


    Searching the entire right side of the mountain range was impossible, so I hoped my luck or something would lead me to the Dragon''s eye.


    Was my luck finally into play?


    As I walked towards the pedestal, I could feel my ears about to burst as the sound of ticking was way too goddamn loud from this distance.


    In a swift motion, I stepped toward the pedestal and grabbed the orb with my right hand, stopping its ticking sound.


    What was going to happen now? Was the cave going to collapse because I stole the treasure it protected? Was some person going to come out of the orb, thank me for awakening them, and then kill me?


    However, none of that happened. The cave and my surroundings stayed precisely the same.


    Anticlimactic much?


    Looking at the orb in my right hand, I tried to recall the description of the Dragon''s eyes, Aragon. The book Dragon mentioned nothing about its appearance except that it was a ball.


    Well, one similarity is enough for me. After the moon activated this secret path and made that ticking sound, this item had to be remarkable.


    Looking at the pedestal in the cave for any hints, I noticed a small picture inscribed on the metal.


    The picture displayed a feast, and the golden orb I was currently holding was present on each of the plates on each of the plates.


    ...Am I supposed to eat this?


    Sighing, I placed the orb in my mouth and swallowed. After savoring its sweet taste, rivaling a gummy worm from my world, I left the secret cave and returned to my sleeping spot.


    What would happen now? I had just randomly trusted some picture drawn on a pedestal...


    Crawling through the small entrance to the secret cave again, I was relieved to see the familiar sight of my sleeping spot.


    Walking through that secret cave twice while not fully recovered took a lot out of me, so I laid back on the floor.


    After a few minutes of lying down, I confirmed the ticking sound was no longer there, so I drifted back to sleep without worrying about the world.


    It was all worth it! That damned sound was gone!


    [A/N: Do you like this novel cover better or the other one?]

 Chapter 4 - 4:Mountains [2]

    When I woke up, I vaguely remembered my adventure into the secret cave last night, but I was on auto-pilot then, running on no sleep.


    Once I got up, I tried to look for the entrance to the cave again, but it wasn''t there. I guess the moon did activate it?


    While stretching, I tried to feel for anything special within my body, like a skill or something. However, there was nothing.


    That was surprising; a random golden orb in a secret cave should give some power, right?


    My hopes were shattered, as I believed the orb could have been the dragon''s eye, but I guess I had to search more.


    Maybe I wasn''t supposed to eat the orb and do something else with it; however, it was too late for regrets.


    Realizing how low my water supply was, I decided that venturing into that creep cave with the water source now, in broad daylight, would be my best option.


    Once again, I entered the gigantic cave and inched closer into the darkness until the sound of running water finally reached my ears.


    Following the sound, I went deeper and deeper into the cave until I finally heard the sound getting closer.


    Just before me, a three-foot-wide river stretched into the darkness beyond me.


    After refilling my water bottles and drinking some water, I surveyed the cave before finding a small path that led even deeper into the mountain.


    Well, I''m here, so I might as well search there...


    Resisting the urge to jump into the river and wash my filthy body, I continued refilling my water bottles, mentally preparing myself for whatever that path held.


    After drinking water and splashing my face, I crossed the river using rocks and entered the path.


    Moving further into the cave, I heard various sounds echoing throughout. Whether it was the sound of a bat waking up or an unknown creature walking around, the sounds never failed to make me react.


    It was like I was in a permanent limbo; at any moment, I could die, yet for some reason, I still kept walking.


    Was I insane?


    Finally, I reached the end of the original path and saw that it opened up to a ravine-like structure.


    There was a big opening in the middle, and when peering down, I could see various other openings in the walls and near the bottom.


    I was in the center of the mountain.


    I carefully maneuvered the walls, using the rocks that pocked out to lower myself until I finally reached the bottom.


    Just when I was about to sit down to relax my muscles, I heard a sound coming closer.


    It wasn''t just a typical sound; something crashing down on the cave floor echoed throughout the cave.


    T the footsteps of a monster.


    "Guess you play stupid games, you get stupid prizes."


    I had played the game of luck and lost.


    Looking towards the source of the incoming steps, I realized that my only chance of escape would be to outmaneuver the monster and run into the exact opening where it came from.


    Climbing was not an option as it would be too slow. The beast could easily catch me, and there was no place for me to have a dinosaur-liker-like figure approach from the cave, a mountain tyrant. The Tyrant''s weakness was its short arm span; however, in a small space like this, that weakness was nullified as its short arms still managed to reach the walls on both sides of the cave.


    I pulled my cheap sword out of its sheath and faced the Mountain Tyrant, waiting for awaiting-tack.


    I had to get past the monster and run into that opening as fast as I could.


    It was like a game of Red Rover; I just had to get to the other side, but a guard prevented me from doing that.


    After a second, the Tyrant adjusted to its surroundings and finally saw me. With incredible speed, the T-rex-like figure darted at me.


    Since I somewhat knew its attack pattern from the book, I anticipated its initial attack would be a charge, so I dived out of the way.


    However, contrary to my expectations, the monster seemed to have some intelligence as, instead of continuing its charge, it stopped midway after seeing me dive.


    Immediately, it changed directions and started charging at my new location. I was vulnerable; I didn''t have enough time to dive, enough space to dodge, or enough power to kill.


    Why was I even doing all this? This power shit and survival, why did I even come to the cave?


    I could have stayed in the inn until my suspension and lived at the school comfortably until my expulsion.


    I just had to act like some protagonist by jumping into dangerous situations without thinking, right? S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Well... this situation woke me up... I wasn''t some protagonist with insane luck; I was a third-rate villain.


    Looking at the Tyrant nearing, I felt a sense of serenity wash over me.


    For the past few days, I had put myself through constant exercise, near-death experiences, and terrible sleeping conditions.


    Not to say that it wasn''t worth it, as I could see my weight drop significantly through my appearance as my jawline became more defined and abs developed on my chest, but at the same time, was this what I wanted to do?


    I was given a second chance to live in this world, yet I wasted it instead of doing things I enjoyed.


    Looking at the Tyrant still nearing in on me, I noticed something peculiar.


    Is it just me, or is the Tyrant slowing down?


    By now, the Tyrant should have reached and killed me, yet it was still some distance away from my slumping body.


    If this kept up... I would have enough time to dive out of the way or climb up.


    Who am I to refuse if god gives me a 3rd chance? Damn, maybe I am an agonist with incredible luck!


    Deciding that climbing could be dangerous as this phenomenon could stop at any time, and I would be trapped on the walls, I dived in the direction of the cave the Tyrant came from.


    However, even after I dived away from the Tyrant, the flow of time stayed the same. Looking at the Tyrant, it looked like it was running in slow motion like some cartoon skit.


    By now, the monster had noticed my location change, so it again changed directions. However, my speed far surpassed the beast.


    For every second in the monster''s eyes, 5 seconds passed in my time, so even with my horrendous stats, I was faster than it.


    I ran full speed around the monster, who could not react in time, and quickly swung my sword into its right leg.


    Tearing it out, I proceeded to do the same to its left leg.


    The monster collapsed to the ground, unable to hold; whatever change occurred during that time seemed to stop, as the monster''s arms and mouth began moving again at their original speed.


    But it was too late. The beast could not retaliate or dodge my incoming attacks, as it was immobilized entirely.


    Without any hesitation or mercy, I stabbed at the monster''s body, ignoring its groans of pain until the beast became a corpse.


    Looking at the monster lying lifeless, I immediately started climbing back to the cave exit.


    After that experience, there was no way in hell that I would continue exploring this cave. Sure, I took on one of them, but there were probably over a hundred more lurking around in this big cave.


    I had been given a third chance, but thinking a fourth chance would come would most likely be a mistake.


    After scaling the walls and reaching my original path, I soon returned to the river where I had gotten my water. I noticed that my hands were somewhat dirty due to all the rocks I touched when climbing, so I leaned down to wash them in the river. Inadvertently, I also saw the reflection of my face in the river.


    My right eye, which was originally red, was golden. However, that quickly escaped my mind as, through looking at my reflection, I realized that the same eye was leaking blood.


    I quickly placed my hand near my right eye before returning it to my line of sight. It was completely drenched in blood.


    How the hell did I manage for this long without realizing it? Where the hell is the pain?


    I looked like Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender, as the right side of my face was blood red. Using the water from the river, I cleansed my face, and thankfully, no more blood flowed out.


    After my face and hands were clean, I inspected the color of my right eye again. It was golden. Do you know whose right eye was also golden..?


    The villain owner of the dragon''s eyes.


    I guess that golden orb was it?


    Also, with all that fear out of my mind, I remembered that the slowing of time earlier was probably related to the dragon eye''s first stage.


    But something still didn''t make sense.


    Why did it activate then and not earlier? If it had been activated earlier, I would have never continued searching the mountain and would have headed back down it.


    I wasn''t complaining as it saved my life, but I was curious. After all, what use was the item to me if it only activated when it wanted to?


    After a moment, I looked at the reflection again, and my right eye was back to red.


    The mysteries kept on piling up. After I went this far to obtain the item, I would be damned if I didn''t make use of it.


    Bracing myself, I cleared my mind of all emotions and focused solely on my right eye.


    I could feel a subtle change in my right eye, like how more blood flowed towards it, so I looked into the reflection again.


    My eye was golden again.


    I picked up a nearby rock and threw it towards the river, but rather than moving in a fast and fluid arc, it seemed to float in the air like it was in slow motion.


    Just when I was about to test the passage of time more, I felt a sudden urge of pain swelling in my right eye. It felt like my eye was about to implode from all the pressure.


    After removing my brain''s focus from my right eye, the pain stopped, but I still felt a weird tingling feeling.


    After looking in the river again, I noticed that besides my eye color being back to red, more blood appeared near my right eye.


    It seemed that using the ability for a prolonged period would lead to blood escaping through my right eye.


    Though at first, it may not seem like a bad penalty, without blood, my body is unable to operate, so using the ability for an extended period would lead to my death.


    Even using it for a short period could lead to significant blood loss, making it so I would lose access to some parts of my body.


    Well, I wasn''t complaining... I had gotten ability to slow down time!

 Chapter 5 - 5:Mountains [3]

    After washing the blood off my face again, I got up and left the cave.


    Looking outside, I felt overwhelmed by the dragon''s eye passive ability.


    I could see every little movement: people moving around in the village below, birds flying through the air over 100 feet away, and rocks falling down the mountain.


    It was like my eyes could perceive every single thing in my area. Why was the increased perception and vision mentioned as the item''s ability but not the ability to slow down time literally?


    "Ah, I feel sick; getting used to this will take a while."


    Ignoring my urge to puke, I headed back down the mountain to my sleeping spot.


    After resting for a bit, I spent an hour running around my mountain area to increase my stamina and speed.


    Although I could quickly check my progress by viewing my system menu, I decided against it.


    I didn''t think I could run for 5 hours just to see my speed stat increase by 0.1.


    For the next 3 days, I did nothing but lounge around all day in the cave. Simply looking out into the forest below and enjoying the view from the mountain was enough for me.


    I had accomplished my goal for the trip, so the rest of this time was basically a vacation for me... well, a vacation in a small hole on a monster-infested mountain.


    However, the academy would be different. Rather than living in some cave like a bum, I would get a luxurious room with a shower, a proper gym, and fantastic cafeteria food¡ªa shower¡ªoh, how I''ve missed them.


    Since today was the last day, I made a trip back to the river to gather some water as there would be no need for me to waste money on repurchasing water at the village.


    Entering the cave felt surreal, unlike last time when every corner was shrouded in danger; I could see everything there.


    Despite the cave''s complete darkness, nothing escaped my vision; I could see bats resting above me, uneven rocks on the walls, and the dark brown walls.


    It was like I had night vision.


    It wasn''t like everything was bright to me; it was just that my eyes could see through the darkness.


    A bow user would probably die to get an ability like this, as they can easily see their enemies miles before they arrive, but here I was, using them to admire the beauty of the cave.


    After reaching the river, I once again refilled my water bottles. Looking at the path I had taken previously with my new power, I could see the ravine from my spot near the river.


    Rather than feeling some fear or anger toward the path for almost leading me to my death, I felt at peace or ease.


    If I hadn''t gone there, would my eye have ever activated? Would I have given up on getting stronger?


    Would I have taken a different route since I didn''t even find out I had the dragon''s eye?


    Looking at my reflection in the water, I could see a significant difference in my appearance. Rather than looking like some fat, chubby, spoiled noble kid, my jawline was more defined, and my stomach was somewhat toned.


    My skin was paler as my primary food source was berries, which I found while searching.


    On Earth, it would have taken at least six months to lose weight and see this big of a change, yet here, I had accomplished the feat in a week.


    I guess there are some perks to being transferred to a magic world.


    Looking at Ren''s reflection in the river water, a sudden thought popped into my head.


    What would the original Ren be doing now? Was he in my body on Earth, and we got magically exchanged... or was he just dead?


    Turning away from that path, I got my now-filled water bottles and walked out.


    I wish I could say that I returned from the cave a new man or something cliche like that, but besides losing some weight and getting a bit stronger, I still only had one wish: a nice steaming hot shower.


    Before I stepped down from the mountain, I decided it was finally time to check my stats menu.


    I had finally reached the stat threshold to open it...


    ===Menu===


    User: Ren Montclair


    [Class: N/A]


    [Stats]


    -> Rating: Unranked


    -> Strength: G


    -> Agility: E


    -> Stamina: E-


    -> Magic Power: E+


    [Traits]


    -> Passive: Dragon''s Will [1 / ?]


    ---> Dragon Eyes: Your eyesight is enhanced.


    [Skills] Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    -> N/A


    =======


    Like me, the average freshman at Celestial Academy hadn''t yet managed to reach the stat threshold to be ranked, so I wasn''t far behind. Though a couple of students, including Liam, from the top classes, had managed to reach E- rank,


    The only thing that surprised me was my high magic power.


    For a freshman, a stat of E- was usual for magic power, as no one had received official magic training yet.


    Magic power should have been the lowest stat a person could have entered the academy. Even nobles who received private tutoring didn''t have a magic power stat of about E, yet I had E+.


    Was I a magical prodigy?


    Well... I can''t really learn magic when I''m from an entirely different world, can I?


    Finally, I arrived back at the bustling town at the base of the mountain range. First, I went to where I had hidden my luggage, and thankfully, it was still there.


    All that training and searching had put my clothes on life support, as my pants were riddled with holes and my shirt''s color was almost completely faded.


    My real mom would probably scold me and call me homeless if she saw me dressed like this.


    After ensuring nobody was around me, I awkwardly removed my clothes and changed into the academy uniform inside my bag.


    It was already nighttime, so I decided to get a carriage back to the academy tomorrow. Looking forward I used my eyes to peer past the darkness and look into the forest right outside the village.


    I could see various squirrels, bird nests, and bears roaming around the forest, yet with everything, I could still see no monsters.


    Later in the story, this town will inevitably be attacked by some creatures who escaped the shackles of the mountain, so I wanted to ensure that nothing like that happens while I am here.


    I don''t know what they expected, though. Building a nice and cozy town only 100 meters below a mountain infested with thousands of dangerous monsters couldn''t have seemed like a good idea to anyone.


    After giving up a silver coin to inn owner, I got a decent room for the night, so I washed up. I rubbed every part of my body with soap in that shower for at least an hour.


    After changing into nightwear, I neatly folded and laid my uniform on the table.


    There was one thing left to do. The thing I dreaded the most and the thing I went to do at the very end.


    One could say that this task was much more complex and worse than searching for the dragon''s eye.


    Writing an apology essay...


    How the hell was I supposed to start this?


    "I made a severe and continuous lapse in my judgment, and I don''t expect to be forgiven. I''m here to apologize."


    No, what the hell? This isn''t some YouTube apology.


    After ten more minutes of procrastinating and thinking, I finally started writing. The wording or sentence structure didn''t matter; all that mattered was that my apology was genuine.


    However, how could my apology be genuine when I was innocent?


    "This wasn''t me, this was Ren!"


    I probably sounded like a maniac to the people living in the rooms next to me.


    Instead of apologizing, I just used fancy words and long sentences until I finally reached the word minimum. The student council, reading my apology, would probably give up after reading the first sentence.


    "I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience, discomfort, or harm my actions, words, or omissions may have caused you."


    I imagined their faces while reading the paper. Those guys probably wouldn''t even understand half the words written on paper, so even if they knew my apology wasn''t genuine, they wouldn''t be able to critique it.


    As I lay down on the bed, my back seemed to want to jump in the air and rejoice, as if it didn''t have to deal with some brought surface below it for the first time in a while.


    However, my brain didn''t react that way. I felt out of place rather than comfortable and pleasant while sleeping.


    Should I sleep on the floor?


    "No, I''m a noble; there''s no way I got used to sleeping outside."


    Ignoring that feeling, my body slowly gave in to the fatigue, and I drifted off to sleep.


    The next day, I changed into my clean academy uniform and exited the inn. Some weird glances were thrown my way, but that was to be expected. The reputation of the Celestial Academy seemed even to reach rural places like this.


    After waiting at the village entrance, I finally saw an empty carriage, so I walked up to the man and tossed him a gold coin.


    His shocked expression at receiving such money quickly disappeared when he looked at my uniform and face.


    He probably thought I was some spoiled noble since I came from that academy. I mean, he was right, but at the same time, I had just spent six days sleeping in a small cave and exercising every day.


    Let''s say I am a common noble.


    "Where to sir?"


    "Celestial Academy."


    After exchanging a nod, I stepped into the carriage.


    This was it. I was returning to the academy.


    What new hell awaits me there?

 Chapter 6 - 6:Homecoming [1]

    Only after around 5 hours did I arrive back at the town near the Academy. The Academy was put on an artificial island off the town''s shore, essentially its world. There was only one way in and out of the Academy, so one would think that the security would be top-notch.


    The reason for this excessive security is the existence of djinns, humans who sign contracts with demons, tainting their souls, and in the place of demons, these humans commit heinous acts.


    With all this security, one would think the Academy would be safe from these people. However, reading the book, I could not count the number of times a djinn infiltrated the Academy as a teacher or student.


    Looking outside my carriage, I saw some sunlight left, so I explored the town a bit before reentering the Academy.


    Since Celestial Academy was closed off to the outside world, once I went inside, I wouldn''t be able to leave unless it was for a club trip, so I decided to savor my freedom outside for the time being.


    If we were to call the city near the Academy a town, then the mountain city I had just stayed at would be an ant. Its population was almost ten times greater, and I could see stores, inns, merchants, and restaurants at every corner.


    After admiring the city through carriage for a few minutes, I paid the driver a golden coin and stepped down. Various sounds immediately entered my ears as I exited the carriage and stepped foot into the bustling street of the capital city.


    As I walked around, checking out every store, one finally got my attention. It was a simple antique shop rather than some new shop I had never seen on Earth or some shop that coEarthicted every Earth learned in my world.


    One item inside the antique shop specifically caught my attention: a pair of wired earbuds hanging from the shop''s display window.


    Did this world have music?


    Though mine was confiscated after the incident, the Academy gave every student a communication device that resembled an iPhone. You could download apps to communicate with friends, play games, buy items, and search for things on the web.


    It wasn''t surprising, as this world was precisely the same as mine, except nobles and magic existed.


    Those may seem like two huge differences, but besides some cities seeming more medieval and without democracy, everything else stayed the same.


    One big difference was that countries did not exist. Instead of several countries that contained humans, one kingdom ruled over all the humans in this world. This kingdom was, of course, owned by the royal family.


    Also, rather than humans being enemies to each other, our enemies were the monsters and secret organizations of djinns that roamed the world.


    Of course, though, with magic existing, this world was far more advanced than Earth, as things like mana gates existed so that you could travel thousands of miles within seconds.


    As a student at the Academy, these warp gates were available to me; however, due to their enormous cost, they were only put in significant cities, so I was forced to travel by carriage to the mountain base town.


    Speaking of traveling by carriage, one thing about this world bothered me. How the hell can they build warp gates but not figure out how to invent a car?


    Seeing the earbuds in the store''s windows piqued my curiosity. Did my favorite artists from Earth exist in this world?


    As the bell rang, signifying my entrance, I immediately went to the windowsill and grabbed the earbuds.


    Only one pair seemed to be available in the store, but that made sense as most people probably used wireless earbuds or headphones.


    After looking around the small store a bit longer, I found other things I recognized, like a drone and chargers.


    I also picked up a black sweater from the shop to cover my school blazer. Even though the area was crowded, I still got some weird glances because of my blazer, and I didn''t want to draw any unnecessary attention.


    Next, I decided to go to a shop to buy a "phone" as even if the school gave us one, it probably blocked some stuff.


    Only two blocks from the antique store, I found a store that seemed to sell electronics. As I neared the entrance, the doors opened automatically, and a drone with a robotic voice greeted me.


    "Please ask me anything if you need assistance." Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Looking around the store, I realized there were smartwatches instead of phones. I put one on to test it, and as soon as I clicked the small screen on the smartwatch, a big holographic screen appeared in front of me.


    "They can do this, but not a damn car."


    After paying three gold coins for the most advanced smartwatch, I realized the sunlight was fading, so I decided to drop off my stuff at the Academy and sleep.


    Walking towards the Academy''s gates, I realized the streets were empty. Although it seemed suspicious, it did make sense as there was no reason to come to this area unless you were entering the Academy.


    As I was configuring my smartwatch and figuring out how to use it, a loud feminine void appeared in the alleyway near me.


    "HELP"


    Peering into the alleyway, I saw a group of 4 girls, similar age to me, slowly backing away from a vast muscular man.


    Taking another glance at the guy, I immediately noticed the bright red horns on his head.


    A djinn?


    As I turned around to continue walking down the street, I heard the burly man behind me scream.


    "And who the hell do you think you are?"


    Wait, he''s not talking to me. I continued walking, but the voice once again yelled out.


    "Hey, you son of bitch, I''m talking to you."


    Still somewhat confused, I turned around to face the man. Why was he focusing on me when four girls were waiting behind him?


    The man was now aggressively walking towards me with a mocking expression.


    The four girls behind him immediately ran, seeing that the guy was no longer focused on them.


    So much for being a hero; these girls ran off without helping me.


    Seeing me standing still in a daze, the guy threw out his right arm in an attempt to punch my face.


    Immediately seeing that it would get violent, I activated the Dragon''s Eye, and with the time slowed down, I could easily dodge his punch.


    Then I threw a counterattack punch, which connected with his stomach. Though my strength stat was the lowest of them all, punching the specific area in the gut would cause acid reflux, immobilizing the man for a few seconds.


    While the man was recovering, I took my sheath out of my trunk and held my sword in my right hand.


    I could feel blood swelling up in the area of my right eye, but that pain wasn''t too much yet. Without the advantage of slowing time, I knew this fight would be impossible for me, so I had to end it quickly.


    Seeing me standing in combat with a sword, my man scoffed at me.


    "Ha, do you think that sword will help you? My playthings are running away, so I''ll end this quickly for you."


    This time, I took the offensive and charged forward with my sword.


    The djinn threw a violent punch at my right shoulder, but I avoided it by ducking. However, he seemed to predict me as he moved his right leg towards my current position.


    Although I could see the kick coming, my reaction was not fast enough, so the kick connected.


    Immediately, I flew back 2 feet from the impact of the kick. The pain in my right eye was slowly getting worse, and my shoulder was in pain after the kick.


    Seeing my struggle to get up, the djinn laughed and charged.


    "Now"


    This was the moment I had been waiting for. Although he was a bit wary before, his confident and cocky demeanor left room for error.


    I analyzed his posture with the slowed-down time until I finally found a weak spot. His neck was completely unprotected.


    Rather than standing up, I had been in a position similar to that of a track runner when awaiting the horn to start the race.


    As the horn starting the race blared into the air, I blasted with my sword towards the man. In the man''s eyes, it looked like I teleported as I disappeared from my floor and appeared right in front of time.


    Of course, the djinn had no time to react, so I plunged my sword straight into his neck without a second thought.


    The djinn dropped to the ground with a bang and lay there lifelessly.


    One hit was all I needed to win the entire fight.


    As I deactivated Dragon''s Eye, I could feel a sharp pain in my right eye, and there was even blood dripping onto the floor from my face.


    Since this was my first time using it today, the blood loss didn''t seem to be much; however, I could still feel my legs somewhat giving out.


    After plunging my sword into the djinn''s heart to ensure his death, I searched his body for money.


    Indeed, there had to be some reward for me doing all of this.


    Thankfully, I found five golden coins in his right pocket and quickly put them in my pouch. I made money today!


    My shoulder was still in pain as the man''s kick had caught me off guard, but I ignored it for now, deciding that sleep would probably solve it.


    Walking out of the alleyway like nothing ever happened, I continued to the Celestial Academy gates.


    -*-


    Immediately, the four girls ran out of the alleyway and back towards the school.


    "Why are we running..?"


    "Idiot, that guy was going to rob us; what do you mean why?"


    "But, the other guy was help-"


    "Exactly, why should we let his sacrifice be in vain by staying there? He was trying to help us by distracting the guy, Yena."


    "But, is it ok for us to leave him there?"


    "Forget about it, Yena; we gotta return to the academy."


    "Alice, none of this would have happened if we didn''t sneak out."


    "Alice, how was I supposed to know we would be robbed? I''m not some foreseer of the future."


    "Do you think the guy back there is a"


    "OH FOR GODS SAKE, YENA, HE''S FINE."


    "yeah, he wouldn''t have helped us if he was going to die, Yena."


    "All right..."


    "Yena, we''re not even awakened; we can''t do anything, djinns, you know that."

 Chapter 7 - 7: Homecoming [2]

    As the adrenaline of the fight wore off, the memory of the djinn''s body, with my sword still impaled in his chest, kept reappearing.


    They were book characters... it didn''t matter if one of them died, right? All of them were just a bunch of fictional characters created by authors; they weren''t real, and anyway, that guy was a villain.


    He would have killed me and countless others if I hadn''t stopped him there...


    What would the point of me going all the way to the mountain and staying there for a week to get the Dragon''s Eye just for me to die at the hands of that djinn?


    He was the one who called me out... I was just passing by.


    Clearing my head from the previous fight, I continued playing with my smartwatch to distract myself until I finally grasped its essential features. The novelty slowly faded as I realized it was the same as an Apple smartphone except for the hologram feature.


    I mean, you would think with magic and shit, they would be able to do a bit more, but I guess not.


    Approaching the academy gates, I pushed my bloodied sword into my trunk and took out my beautifully written essay.


    "can''t wait till those fuckers read it."


    Surprisingly, the most crucial educational facility in the world only had two guards protecting the front entrance. They opened the gates after I nodded and showed them my student ID.


    My first stop was the academy office, where I could drop off my essay, obtain my dorm key, and return my student phone. It wasn''t like I needed it with my new smartwatch, but it would still be helpful as entering the gym and training facilities would require it.


    Opening the office door, I saw a scene similar to a hotel''s concierge: two people dressed in suits were working behind a slick brown table.


    Upon hearing the door open, the man on the right shifted his head upwards to face me and asked.


    "What brings you here today?"


    "I''m here after my ... suspension."


    I felt an immense shame wash over me as the words "suspension" came out of my mouth. It wasn''t like I was a model student back on Earth, but I had never done anything to warrant a detention, let alone a suspension.


    Upon hearing I had been suspended within the first week of school, I couldn''t imagine what my mom would do to me.


    It also didn''t help that the worker''s face was visibly distorted when the mention of suspension was made, as he probably thought I was some troublemaker.


    The rest of the process went smoothly as after handing my five pages of bullshit; he gave me my dorm key, class schedule, and school phone.


    Exiting the office, I headed to my dorm room. Since it was evening, there weren''t many students hanging out, but I could see some entering and exiting the gym. I would be one of those people tomorrow...


    Since the campus was enormous, on the walk to the first-year dorm building, I could admire the dark blue sea that shone under the moon''s reflection.


    The trees swayed with the soft breeze that blew through the night wind occasionally and the occasional birds chirping that broke the silence.


    As the dorm building entered my sight, I took my last few glances around the captivating scenery. However, one specific area took all my attention.


    My footsteps grew to halt as I saw two students sitting on a bench together, admiring the scenery of the moon in front of them.


    These weren''t just any two students, mind you.


    One of them was Liam, the story''s protagonist and old Ren''s greatest enemy. Although I had complete control over Ren''s body, seeing Liam would trigger some emotion of anger inside of me during the disciplinary ceremony, and I was able to control it.


    So what was different now?


    The female sitting next to Liam was Lily. She is one of the book''s leading and most essential heroines due to her early affection for Liam and her social status. Like me, Lily descended from one of the seven great heroes who saved the world from the demons, but unlike me, rather than developing a hatred for commoners, she began to feel sympathy.


    Something about her backstory caused her to feel like that, but honestly, I couldn''t care less, as she low-key had the most annoying personality in the book.


    The only reason the Author kept her around was that she used her social status to back up Liam whenever he was in trouble with the law.


    Although she didn''t matter to me, it was an entirely different story to the old Ren. Even dumbasses like Ren had their reasons for causing trouble, so what was Ren''s reason for attacking Liam?


    To impress Lily.


    In blindsight, trying to impress a girl by doing what she despises the most was not a good idea, but common sense does not apply when you''re talking about a third-rate villain.


    Anyway, I doubted Ren had real feelings for Lily, as he probably just wanted to keep his bloodline "pure" by marrying another noble worthy of him or something stupid like that.


    Unsurprisingly, Ren''s actions against Liam helped Liam grow closer to Lily as she began feeling sympathy towards Liam, which caused her to spend more time with him.


    After looking at the two on the bench for another moment, I quickly regained my composure and walked into the dorms.


    Although it may not seem like a problem now, as I''m mostly able to control my emotions, it would only take one second for Ren''s underlying anger to take control and cause me to do something stupid, so staying away from Liam was necessary.


    Next, I opened my dorm door and entered the luxurious suite. Due to my demotion to Class D from my suspension, my room''s size did drop a little, but compared to the small, rough cave from the mountains, it was heaven.


    Dropping my unopened trunk and desk, I discarded my clothes and took a shower, as the walk here had caused me to sweat a bit.


    I began planning my schedule since today was Friday, and there would be no classes for the next two days.


    Slumping down on the bed, the comfortable mattress and exhaustion presiding inside my body slowly overtook me until I finally fell asleep.


    -*-


    I started the next day by changing into shorts and a shirt before heading to the gym. I knew staying in shape was a requirement for survival at this school, so I wanted to finish it early in the morning, allowing me to enjoy the rest of my day exploring the billion-dollar campus.


    After scanning my mobile phone, I entered the gym and was immediately starstruck by the massive interior. Hundreds of treadmills, benches, machines, and weights were spread out neatly in the 30,000-square-foot area.


    Seeing that I was blocking the gym''s entrance, I awkwardly moved to the side and found a treadmill.


    After a 10-mile run, I was almost sweaty, so I grabbed a nearby towel and dried myself. Thankfully, substantial water dispensers and fruit baskets were placed around the gym, so I recovered within 5 minutes. S§×arch* The n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Following my exercise with the weights, I went to the locker room to shower. Finally, I left the gym and went toward the cafeteria with high expectations. A school willing to spend that much money on a gym would have world-class food in its cafeteria.


    The cafeteria was even bigger than the gym, so after putting my stuff down on a chair in the corner, I patiently waited in line for the food. As the sweet aroma of the food blew into my nose, I began to wonder.


    Where had this been all my life?


    I almost shuttered, remembering the disgusting cafeteria food served to me in high school. Never again would I have to eat a week-old ham and cheese sandwich for lunch!


    After sitting down with the steaming plate of food in front of me, I noticed that the hall was surprisingly uncrowded, even though it was supposed to serve the first, second, and third-year students.


    Maybe people liked sleeping in on Saturdays? It didn''t matter, so I began diving into the food before me.


    The soft, creamy flavor of the pancakes and the salty taste of the potatoes combined in my mouth to make a masterpiece that almost brought me to tears. I wasn''t this happy, even after realizing I had obtained the dragon''s eye.


    As more students began crowding in, I put in my earbuds, connected them to my smartwatch, and used them to block out the noise.


    I put my plate away and headed out of the cafeteria towards the library. Since I received my class schedule yesterday, I would now have to pick up my textbooks. Besides the week of school I missed, I was already 16 years behind everyone else, so many sleepless nights would be spent here.


    Unsurprisingly, there were only a few people in the library as who would want to study on a Saturday morning? Looking at the course information on my school phone, I picked out the books that I would need and placed them in my backpack.


    Then, I also began exploring the library. Although it wasn''t as big as the gym, it contained over 10,000 books.


    After finding a book on the world''s modern history, I sat on a bean bag and zoned out while reading. My first class tomorrow would be history, and I knew personally how harsh the guy was as he gave Liam detentions countless times for not paying attention.


    I was probably on his lousy side already from being suspended, so I didn''t want to piss him off further by not even knowing things that were considered common sense in this world.


    The book mainly focused on my father and the other six heroes who banded together to save the world from the demons.

 Chapter 8 - 8:Back to School [1]

    After another hour of reading in the library, I finally uncovered the gist of the world''s history in the past 20 years.


    Similar to how Earth was in the beginning, there is only one continent on the map: Pangea. The giant piece of land is split into two parts: the realm of the living, which contains humans, elves, orcs, and dwarves, and the other half, known as the Underlands, which includes demons, demonic monsters, and djinns.


    Ten years ago, the demons broke the peace by attempting to invade the realm of the living, more specifically, the Elven territory. However, the seven heroes, alongside the elves and dwarves, fought back and defeated the demons.


    Since then, the demons have shown no sign of attacking. However, djinns still attack occasionally, though it is unknown whether they are doing it out of their coalition.


    The realm of the living is split into four parts. Humans occupy the most significant part as we have the highest population, while Elves occupy the most miniature, solely living in forests. Dwarves live in the mountains, and orcs'' habitat is widely unexplored by humans.


    Five years ago, the Celestial Academy was established to train humans'' upcoming talents. However, the other races have not attended the Academy yet. At the Academy he Academy, students can follow two paths: the path of the sword or the path of magic.


    Even though the demons have remained dormant since the last war, dungeons and monsters occasionally pop up, so new heroes are constantly required. The Celestial Academy, being the best training institute for these heroes, is widely respected and known.


    After reaching a certain age, a status window with your stats becomes visible to all those selected as heroes, or around 50 percent of the population.


    You aren''t immediately given a rank; you must meet the stats threshold before being assigned the lowest rank, E-.


    Getting up from my library seat, I returned to my dorm room to rest.


    The following day, I headed back towards the gym for a workout. After grabbing some breakfast from the cafeteria and heading back to my dorm for a shower, I decided to check my stats, and to my surprise, it seemed I had reached the threshold for E-.


    It wasn''t surprising, considering I spent a week training in the mountain range, but I felt somewhat depressed when I saw my overall stats.


    ===Menu===


    User: Ren Montclair


    [Class: N/A]


    [Stats]


    -> Rating: E-


    -> Strength: G


    -> Agility: E


    -> Stamina: E-


    -> Magic Power: E+


    -> Luck: G-S {Conditional}


    -> Intelligence: G+


    -> Charm: G+


    [Traits]


    -> Passive: Dragon''s Will [1 / ?]


    ---> Dragon Eyes: Your eyesight is enhanced.


    [Skills]


    -> N/A


    =======


    In the book''s last chapter, Liam has a fully maxed-out menu with S+ stats, so looking at my abysmal stats brought on a sense of dread.


    On the other hand, something that completely surprised me was my intelligence stat.


    Why was it so low?


    I knew I was new to the world and didn''t know anything, but wasn''t giving me less than E too much?


    I sighed, recalling the hundreds of hours I spent studying in high school. Where did that all get me now?


    An average student shouldn''t be worried about their safety as they attend Celestial Academy, so the security was top-notch; however, as an avid reader, I knew the security was a joke.


    Honestly, at one point in the story, I was convinced that there were more djinn spies within the school than actual students. That was the only way it made sense.


    10 DJINN ATTACKS IN ONE YEAR?


    I mean, you can''t blame the school because the protagonist will draw good or bad attention wherever he goes, but ten attacks in one year displayed that the school wasn''t even fucking trying.


    Looking at my luck stat, I was partially conflicted. It meant I had either excellent or bad luck, with no in-between. However, luck was the only invariable stat, so there was no use in complaining about it.


    The rest of Sunday passed uneventfully. I spent most of my time rotting in my bed, occasionally heading outside to eat.


    Alas, my first day of school arrived.


    Although I pretended to be oblivious, I heard some conversations about myself while walking to places. The conversations went something like this.


    "Did you hear about that guy suspended during the first week of school?"


    "The one with black hair? No, why does it matter?"


    "I heard he got disowned by his father as punishment."


    "For being suspended only? That''s rough."


    "No, he deserved it. Didn''t you hear what he did? He attacked someone just because they were a commoner."


    However, it seemed that the students didn''t recognize my new appearance. They continued talking even when I walked right past them.


    Of course, I couldn''t deny these rumors as "I" did technically do what they said, but at the same time, every time the gossip was spread, my situation got worse.


    A sudden change in attitude would make people suspicious of me being a djinn, so I would have to act according to the people''s expectations of me. As long as the gossip of my suspension went around, I would have to act like some pretentious spoiled brat.


    Steeling myself and adjusting my attitude to cocky, I left my dorm room with my uniform on and headed towards Classroom D.


    While it didn''t have to be like this forever, I just had to put on the Ren act and gradually change my attitude over time instead of immediately altering it.


    Unfortunately, I was put in Classroom D as that was the homeplace of the protagonist, which was a disaster waiting to happen.


    Staring at the sliding door in front of me, I inhaled and got my snarky voice ready before sliding open the door.


    There was only a minute left before class started, so the room was packed with students.


    Hearing the door open, every student immediately directed their gaze towards me. Their silence quickly turned to murmurs as almost every student immediately began whispering something about me to their neighbor.


    "Isn''t that him, the disowned?"


    "tsk* why do we have to get a snarky noble like him in the class?"


    "Didn''t he get suspended for attacking someone for no reason?"


    "Doesn''t he look different from the pictures...?"


    Ignoring their murmurs, I glanced around the classroom before spotting the protagonist and other essential characters. Finally, I spotted an empty seat, so I sat down there.


    As soon as I sat down, the classroom opened again, and the teacher entered. Silence descended upon the school once again as the teacher spoke.


    "We''ll start with roll call.


    Liam. Here!


    Kane. Present!


    Alyssa Here!


    Cecilia Here!


    ...


    ...


    Ren.


    As the other student''s gazes once again locked onto me, I said.


    "Here!"


    In particular, I could feel one gaze staring bullets into my back. This gaze belonged to Liam.


    Hey, you''re the one who brought me here; why the hell are you complaining? Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 9 - 9:Back to School [2]

    After ensuring that every student was present, the teacher gave me a harsh gaze that said don''t do anything stupid.


    Maybe, earlier on, I could have gotten away with messing around in Class with my noble status, but now I was just another weak commoner, so pissing off a professor wouldn''t do me any good.


    Having reached the E-threshold, I was now officially required to pick a class that would determine my future. Changing classes wasn''t unheard of, but only a few hundred people had managed to do so using an item. However, their stats were reset.


    The system would prompt you to enter your choice within a week of being ranked, so time was of the essence.


    The obvious choice here was to become a swordsman, as I had already picked up a sword from the facility and practiced with it during my week-long stent in the mountains.


    However, the main character is also a swordsman. This means it would be impossible for me to obtain most of the class''s overpowered items; the plot would change if I stunted the protagonist''s growth by doing that.


    Besides swordsman, there were a couple of classes related to magic abilities; however, as a newly reincarnated person without knowledge of how magic worked, that would be a terrible choice.


    My high magic power stat wasn''t seeming too good now...


    *BANG*


    The sound of a fist violently slamming down on the desk echoed throughout the classroom and snapped me out of my thoughts. Of course, our professor was the source of this noise.


    "Pay attention, Class D! I will not repeat myself. ** The club fair will be held this Friday, so consider your options. You can view them on your school-issued phone. That''s it for the announcements."


    Our homeroom teacher briskly walked out of the room and was replaced by a middle-aged man who looked similar to your average Tokyo office worker with his suit on.


    However, I was not fooled by his simple and hard-to-miss appearance. Mr. Williams was notorious for being among the harshest teachers, even daring to assign homework on vacation breaks.


    Without turning to face or greet us, Mr Williams took a piece of chalk and began writing on the board.


    [Classes / Professions]


    Instantly, my interest was piqued. What were the odds that the school would teach me something useful for once? Was my partial S-luck stat coming into play?


    "Classes are split up into two categories. Weapons and Magic. Within those two categories, you have a variety of subclasses to pick from, such as swordsmanship, spearmanship, or magician. Does anyone know how you should determine your subclass?"


    A student like Ren wouldn''t actively participate, so I kept my hand down. Maintaining Ren''s delinquent attitude for now was necessary, but as time went on, I could slowly change people''s perception of him. For now, staying lowkey and not attracting any attention was the plan.


    I planned to rise to Class A, as the benefits of graduating from the top class in the human''s best academy were top-tier, ranging from guaranteed government jobs to free weapons and accessories. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    To raise classes, I would need to obtain celestial points: 10 for Class C, 25 for Class B, and 50 for Class A. These points are tracked on your phone and can be gained in several ways, such as achieving first on an academy test or practical training exam, performing well in club competitions, or simply committing morally right acts.


    The latter was definitely off the table, and club competitions were notorious for being impossible, so my only choice was the first.


    Going from a stuck-up noble to a nerd could be suspicious, but I hoped people would see me as someone who desperately attempting to reenter my family by impressing my father with my scores.


    Back in the classroom, surprisingly, no one raised their hand. I mean, it wasn''t rocket science. You look at your stats to decide.


    However, that method wasn''t useful for me, as I was from another world.


    "Since no one wants to answer, I''ll tell you: Your stats compatibility is the most important factor."


    To my disappointment, the rest of the class was classically useless. The teacher just talked about which class to choose based on your highest stat.


    My second-highest stat was speed, so the choices based on that were Assassin, Long-Range Bow, Katana swordsmanship, or Wind Magician.


    My dragon''s trait greatly enhanced my eyesight, so I leaned toward being an Assassin or Bow user, as those two required a keen eye.


    Unlike a swordsman who fought and used the openness of the battlefield, an Assassin used the obstacles spread around the field to shield their movements and focused on one individual instead of the many.


    Each category of magic and weapons also received an attribute, with mana recovery assigned to magic majors and QI recovery to weapons. However, there were exceptions to that within the weapon category, as, unlike magic, where everyone needs mana, not every class required QI.


    Assassins instead received a stealth attribute, and bow users received a perception attribute.


    Recalling that one of the heroines within Liam''s party used a bow, and that using a bow meant hiding at the back of the battlefield, I started leaning more toward the assassin.


    Training with both a bow and dagger simultaneously would be useless, so stalling my class decision would only lead to problems.


    A mage...


    Yes, my magic stat was indeed the highest, but I''d have to be one big dumbass to choose mage.


    Ren had done jackshit during his childhood... so I couldn''t even feel the mana inside my body!


    Sure, I had a high mana stat... but it was essentially decoration!


    Every other mage, even the non-rich ones, could circulate your mana.


    And here I was, with the only evidence of me having mana being my stat''s menu!


    Ignoring the professor, who kept writing on the blackboard, I opened my system menu and scrolled through the list of potential classes until I found my desired one.


    [Are you sure you want to pick the Assassin Class?]


    [Y] [N]


    After clicking the Y, I eagerly waited a few seconds until my system menu finally updated.


    [Class: Novice Assassin (Level 1 : 0%) ]


    -> Stealth: E-


    Stealth was the art of blending in with your surroundings and being unnoticed, but I was still somewhat confused.


    How can your stealth improve? Do you eventually become invisible to people or become more in tune with your surroundings?


    Having no information on the Assassin class was both good and bad. It meant I didn''t have to worry about taking most items, as the plot wouldn''t change. However, it also meant that I had no idea about its secrets.


    Still, the pros outweigh the cons. Skills books are rare and very useful, so by taking a smaller quantity class, I didn''t have to worry about taking a book that the protagonist or any important character would take.


    Due to the dark connotation of the Assassin class and its small number of users, most were smaller, unimportant djinns or criminals, so stealing some of their skills wouldn''t cause a stir.


    While thinking of some excellent skills and accessories to accompany my new class, the bell rang, interrupting my thinking and signifying the start of lunch. So, I brushed away the system menu.


    Although I was somewhat hungry, I was in no mood to go into the cafeteria after recalling the situation before class, as everyone was hyper-focused on my movements.


    Without anything else to do, I headed towards the weapon facility to exchange weapons.


    After returning the long, sharp sword, I grabbed a pair of tiny, lightweight daggers that resembled stilettos.


    Due to the few assassins in the school, there were only a few options for daggers, so I prepared to leave with these; however, another pair caught my attention.


    Unlike the stilettos, the pair in front of me were curved daggers similar to karambit except longer.


    Although the curved daggers would make it harder for me to deflect attacks from sturdier weapons like swords, the power and offense capability they supplied instantly made me choose them.


    Unlike straight daggers, the karambit-like knives had various creative styles, making it significantly harder for an opponent to predict my movements. Their curved tips would make slashes and cuts more powerful.


    Putting back the stilettos, I picked up the curved daggers, weighing them in my hands, before taking them.


    After returning to my room to get some food and drop off my new weapons, I returned to the classroom.


    My plan to avoid the cafeteria seemed to have backfired, as people kept wondering and speculating about my whereabouts during lunch.


    "Dude, I heard he already got in another fight."


    "already? What the hell?"


    "Maybe he was spying on his next commoner target."


    "I heard he had to eat the broke-kid lunch. That''s how he lost so much weight during the suspension."


    Even if this was a world with magic, the personality of high schoolers stayed the same.


    "Seriously, what the hell are these guys, my fan club?"


    The rest of the Class passed without a hitch, so I got up and prepared to leave.


    However, I heard a voice behind me as I walked towards the classroom exit.


    "Stop there."


    Without even turning around, I knew the source of this voice had to be Liam. Almost anyone could recognize his annoying ass voice.


    Pretending not to hear him, I exited the classroom and headed to the training hall to practice with my new weapons.


    Unlike a sword, my grip on the daggers isn''t restricted. I can hold them downwards, sideways, or not even hold them at all.


    "Throwing them is always an option!"


    When I entered the training hall, I saw various equipment, such as scarecrow targets for sword training, shooting ranges for bows, and finally, the private rooms where the AI dummies were stored.


    Using advanced technology and AI, you could use data from previous fights and upload them to the dummy, essentially making the dummy a natural person who can move around and hit you.


    After entering the small private room, I tossed the AI dummy a sword, grabbed my daggers, and pressed the start button. Seeing a dummy made of metal moving around and dodging like an average human was surreal, but the pain soon replaced that curiosity.


    "Damn, those dummies DO NOT HOLD BACK."


    After getting hit in the stomach by a wooden sword held by the dummy and thrown against the room''s wall, I decided to lower the difficulty back to easy.


    Even after resting for 10 minutes, the easy dummy still pushed me back with its sword slashes.


    Sure, my offensive power was astounding, as I could probably take out the dummy in a second, but what was the point if I could never hit the dummy?


    I constantly retreated from the sword''s harsh blows until I finally blocked one of them.


    I could finally stop one of the sword''s slashes by forming an X with the two daggers. Recreating that same motion, I could block the 2nd slash, the third, and finally, the fourth.


    However, after another twenty minutes of training, I realized something weird.


    I could see the trajectory of the dummy''s slashes before it swung...

 Chapter 10 - 10: Back to School [3]

    It was just like that time back in the mountains with the Mountain Tyrant.


    The dummy''s next attack was visible to me, yet my reaction time was still not fast enough for me to dodge it on time.


    After being forced to block another sword strike, I adjusted my grip to hold my right dagger with the top facing horizontally instead of retreating and back down.


    In the meantime, the dummy threw another sword strike at me.


    After preparing myself for the incoming surge of pain, I said in a quiet voice.


    "Dragon''s Eye"


    Instantly, the time around me slowed, and with the dummy slash significantly slowed, I dodged the attack.


    Then, without the need to dodge anymore, I instantly moved my daggers forward, and with one swift strike, the beginner dummy was defeated.


    *SWISH*


    <Stage 1 dummy defeated. New Record: 9:05>


    Since the dragon''s eye required mana to stay active, it immediately halted after the battle, but the damage was already done. Collapsing on the ground due to exhaustion and pain, I grabbed a bottle of water and looked at my reflection on the shiny steel walls of the room.


    Yet again, I was left looking like Zuko.


    "I really can''t rely on that trait for now."


    However, during the battle, I realized something. The dragon''s will trait was passive, and I just found out why.


    The definition, "your eyesight is enhanced," was vague, but its uses were almost infinite.


    Of course, the first use was in everyday life, like seeing the whiteboard accurately during class from far distances and being able to see things far away that a typical hero couldn''t


    I had just discovered the second use. My eyes processed the things around me at a rapid rate. By analyzing the dummy''s previous moves, its current stance, and the angle at which it held the sword, my eyes accurately indicated the dummy''s next move.


    To prove my theory, I got up from the ground, grabbed my curved dagger, and reactivated the dummy, still at stage 1.


    For the first few moments of the fight, I was once again left defending the dummy''s onslaughts of thrusts and unable to see the opponent''s subsequent attacks.


    However, after some time of blocking with my daggers and running away, the indicator of the dummy''s next attack was there.


    With that information, I ducked prematurely, avoiding the dummy''s ariel sword slash, then repositioned my grip on my daggers.


    Dodging another slash, I counterattacked and took out the dummy in one swift slash.


    *SWISH*


    <Stage 1 dummy defeated. New Record: 6:05>


    "... it''s shorter."


    The time it took for my eyes to process the dummy''s movements went down from 9 minutes to six minutes. Not that was impressive, as Class A students could definitely beat the first stage dummy within a minute.


    Slow and steady wins the race!


    Leaning against the wall of the steel room, I opened up my menu.


    [Class: Novice Assassin: (Level 1: 19%) ]


    -> Stealth : E-


    -> Beginner Dagger Mastery : 23%


    -> Arts: (N/A)


    My progression was fast now; this was my first time touching a dagger, so anything would be better than that.


    As for my dagger arts, first, I would need at least to get the basics down of using a dagger to learn one, so that would be put on hold until I reached Intermediate Dagger Mastery.


    The only way to increase my stealth stat would be to increase my class level, which was also out of the picture for now.


    Although I did want to test my stealth by sneaking around and seeing its limits, I decided against it until my stat was at least above E, as being caught would put me in a lot of trouble.


    Motivated by the progress, I returned and reactivated the dummy stage 1.


    I would beat this thing down until I could see its movements within a minute.


    *SWISH*


    <Stage 1 dummy defeated. New Record: 6:59>


    *SWISH*


    <Stage 1 dummy defeated. New Record: 4:03>


    *SWISH* S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    <Stage 1 dummy defeated. New Record: 3:05>


    After three more bouts with the dummy, I was completely exhausted, so I grabbed my water bottle and drank while checking my system again.


    [Class: Novice Assassin: (Level 1: 25%) ]


    -> Stealth : E-


    -> Beginner Dagger Mastery : 29%


    -> Arts: (N/A)


    My progress was starting to plateau, but that was to be expected.


    Looking at the dummy in front of me instantly heal back to its original form after the fight, I started to get jealous.


    Using the wall to support me, I stood back up and prepared to fight the dummy again.


    Even though facing a stage 2 dummy would definitely increase my rate of progression, I wanted to get the basics dagger skills down before fighting one.


    Sure, I could fight a stage 2 dummy 100 times until I could see its every move within 10 seconds, but that would never work in the real world. With monsters and humans, I only have one chance to win.


    At the level of beginner dagger mastery, I had only unlocked one technique.


    First Technique: Shadow Serpent Slash. A single horizontal slash with both your daggers that combines agility and lethality. Like a serpent, the slash lunges forward with incredible speed, and like the poison of a serpent, the slash immobilizes your opponent for a second.


    Without even knowing it, I had used the technique in my first battle with the dummy when I one-shotted it.


    However, I had yet to be able to use the immobilization part of the attack as it required some use of mana, which was in my body, but I had no idea how to control it.


    When I activated Dragon''s Eye, the mana had automatically been used, but with Serpent Slash, I had actually injected mana into my daggers.


    Feeling the immense amount of mana flowing through my bloodstream, I attempted to control it.


    But the mana particles acted like spoiled brats and completely ignored me.


    "What the hell? You''re in my body; listen to me, damn it."


    A very important advantage of being a noble is having enough money to pay for private tutoring on circulating mana. When you enter the academy, you have that important fundamental down.


    Yet, Ren had no memories regarding that.


    What the hell did this guy do all his childhood?


    Oh wait, he just ate and used his parents'' money to live his life.


    I shouldn''t blame it because I would probably do the same thing, but still, does this guy have no shame?


    Looking into Ren''s memories was useful at some points, but the more time I spent looking at his past, the more immersed I felt in his character and emotions.


    Being able to control your mana was necessary for magicians but not weapon users, so asking one of my weapons teachers for help with it would be useless.


    Recomposing myself, I decided to take a different approach to controlling my mana.


    Instead of trying to move the mana particles forcibly, I would move my red blood cells and blood to a certain location, and hopefully, the mana would follow.


    Using a blunt pencil from my backpack, I stabbed myself in the hand, and immediately the skin on my arm became red as blood immediately began flowing towards the wound to recover it.


    Then, I repeated the same thing with my left hand so that my blood was mostly concentrated in those two places.


    The first step was done.


    Ignoring the tingling sensation of the wounds, I picked up my daggers, holding them so their tips were horizontal.


    After pressing the start button on the dummy, I stalled with it by blocking its sword blows and running until I could finally see its movements.


    I dodged a sword blow by prematurely moving my shoulders and immediately launched a counterattack. With a slash full of hope, I swung my daggers and felt them connect with the outer body of the dummy.


    *SWISH*


    I purposely didn''t use all my power when slashing, as if I killed the dummy in a blow again, and I wouldn''t be able to see if it worked.


    Stepping back from the dummy, I saw it completely frozen. After its previous swing, its sword and arms were stuck in the air.


    Then, a split second later, the dummy resumed motion, and its sword came crashing onto my head.


    "AHHH, THIS SON OF BI-"


    It seems that my blood technique worked for now, but its limitations were clear. Instead of freezing the monster for a full second, it only did it around a fourth of one.


    I did want to see if the wound on my hand was more dangerous if the power of the slash would increase, but at the same time, I''m not a damn masochist.


    The first technique was just the start. Once I reached intermediate and adept mastery with daggers, the techniques became harder to learn but also more powerful.


    Standing back up, I dodged a hit from the dummy and used another Soul-Serpent Slash, this time without mana, and beat it.


    <Stage 1 dummy defeated. New Record: 2:05>


    "Just a minute before I can move onto stage 2. Hope you''re not going to miss me stage 1 bastard."


    After another minute of recovery, I stood back up and went to start back up the dummy, but when I did, a message popped up.


    <Your daily 3 hours of AI training are completed! Please come back tomorrow to train more!>


    AI dummies were expensive and rare, so the government didn''t buy too many for the academy. Students could use the dummies for 3 hours a day, so everyone could use them at least once a day.


    Of course, there was an exemption to this rule: Class A students. If I were to be ranked now, I would say that Class B would be my place.


    Leaving the room, I opened my school phone to see how bad the damage was.


    [Merit Points: 0]


    "..."


    Everyone student starts off with 10 Merit Points, but it seems like this goddamn idiot Ren managed to lose them on the first week of school.


    Looking up from my phone, I could see a couple of students training in the main area of the training hall with the non-AI dummies.


    Of course, there was Liam.


    Why wouldn''t the main character be training to become stronger? It''s their entire purpose. Weak to strong protagonists were always like that.


    Next to Liam, there was another student. A Class A student and another heroine.


    "Irene Lionheart."


    Her dark red hair, cascaded down to her waist, fittingly described her personality¡ªa woman full of passion, anger, and intensity. Her matching red eyes also seemed to shine like a flame, hinting at her talent for fire magic.


    Her hands, devoid of any calluses, also hinted at her non-usage of weapons. Hailing from another family of heroes, Irene came from the magic tower in the empire''s capital city.


    Specifically, the fire magic tower.


    As a skilled fire mage who awoke and began using magic at the early age of 15, Irene was known throughout as a prodigy. Her personality also perfectly matched her use of fire magic: intense, hot-blooded, and fiery.


    She was easy to anger and arrogant, but those negative traits did not hinder her progress one bit.


    Her passion for academics should also not be underestimated. She constantly strived to be the best in every area, and her efforts were not futile: She ranked third out of 1,000 first-years.


    Irene not only met the gigantic expectations placed on her due to her father''s title of hero, but exceeded them as her sharp intellect and elegant usage of magic gave her the nickname: "Firestorm."


    A storm of emotions combined with the usage of fire magic. A obedient bunch of fire would swirl around her finger whenever she used magic, each fire particle adhering to her commands like she was a god.


    Although it wasn''t described in the book, I could see parts of her academy uniform slightly darker, showing her recent and accidental use of fire magic. In the realm of magic, every student below the age of 16 strived to become like her.


    So, why was someone like that talking to a loser like Liam?

 Chapter 11 - 11: Back to School [4]

    The reason is quite simple: Liam is the protagonist. Besides that, another person is next to Liam and Irene.


    "Kevin Cole"


    The #1 ranked student out of all the first years.


    Unlike the other female heroines, who have Liam as their first and only love, at the story''s beginning, Irene actually likes Kevin, not the protagonist. Unfortunately for Irene, her love is clearly unrequited, as, like the previous me, Kevin was deeply in love with Lily.


    Irene had to watch her first love, Kevin, and her second love, Liam, be stolen away by Lily; worst of all, she couldn''t do anything about it. With her easily angered and irritable personality, she was essentially a ticking time bomb.


    Channeling her anger into her magic, when Irene inevitably "exploded," she caused millions of dollars of damage to the school''s facilities and injured around 10 first-year students by giving them burns.


    Even with Irene''s background, this behavior was unacceptable, so she was expelled. Her title as the "prodigy" of the magic world was stripped away, and her father was furious with her, banishing her from using magic.


    Escaping the control of her father and the fire tower, Irene fell to the dark side, her magic becoming solely driven by revenge.


    Revenge on the academy, her father, and everyone for abandoning her. To say she was one of those formidable villains for Liam was an understatement.


    Right now, Irene should still be in the stage where she is in love with Kevin, as this is her first time communicating with Liam.


    Rather than coming from a hero family, Kevin is the sole heir to the human realm''s most potent and top-ranked guild.


    Through looting these gates and receiving money from the Imperial family, the Bladebane Legion rose to prominence despite Kevin''s dad and the founder not being related to any of the hero''s family or any royalty, for that matter.


    One would think that due to his father''s humble background, Kevin would be down-to-earth and not one of those royal supremacists, but if you were to look at Kevin, you would see that you''re entirely wrong.


    Holding his chin up high, Kevin gave off an unmistakable aura of superiority. With his massive stature, he seemed to look down on everyone.


    "Seriously, how the hell is he 6 feet tall AT 16"


    Looks, height, power, and reputation. You name it, Kevin had it¡ªthe perfect candidate for the protagonist''s rival.


    Of course, with so many guilds and heroes existing, there has to be an entity that can control them all and ensure that none use their power for wrong.


    This was the job of the Imperial family or "The High Dominion."


    The High Dominion had the right to recruit people from the Celestial Academy first so they could poach top talents before any guild could. Alongside this, the Imperial Family is undoubtedly the ruler of the human realm, so they can offer unique perks that attract the attention of almost any hero.


    The High Dominion contains over fifteen heroes from the top 100 rankings, including the second rank, making them the most powerful organization, and behind them, it''s the Bladebane Legion with 9 rankers.


    The main reason why Class A is so attractive is because if you graduate from Class A, you are guaranteed a spot in "The High Dominion."


    Since my incident, Liam has been spending increasingly more time with Lily, and of course, Kevin does not like that, so he''s currently confronting Liam.


    On the other hand, Irene probably has mixed feelings towards Liam. If Liam takes Irene, then maybe Kevin will focus on her, but at the same time, if her lover dislikes Liam.


    Anyways, those three will be forced to get along soon. Next week, the Elven kingdom will send some elves to Celestial Academy to build a relationship with the humans as the demons have shown signs of moving again.


    The entire class system will fall apart, as it would be too difficult for the school to incorporate the hundred new eleven students. Instead of ranking them as classes, the school will randomly assign students to a class.


    Conveniently, Liam, Irene, Kevin, Lily, the Elvin princess, and some other prominent cast members will be together in a class.


    To compensate for the loss of the class ranking system, the school will assign each student a ranking number from 1 to 1100, depending on their current power level.


    With these new rankings, the school would be forced to make the rankings entirely fair and ignore the status of the students, so Liam would rightfully be placed in the #2 spot.


    Of course, there would be some outrage that a commoner could rank so high in the academy, but that would soon die down after Liam displayed his skill in a duel with another student.


    I was somewhat curious about my ranking, as Ren would be placed much lower since the rankings did not account for social status. However, the power rankings didn''t really matter to me as only the top 10 people received extra perks, so it would be impossible for me to get there without attracting attention.


    As for the Class A perks, it will be decided that the 100 students with the most merit points will gain the privileges of Class A.


    Recalling some of Ren''s memories, I could remember that I had seen both Irene and Kevin occasionally at political events and family gatherings, but besides that, we were basically strangers.


    Maybe Kevin held some animosity towards me for trying to chase his love, but now his focus would be on Liam, so I''m in the clear.


    Ignoring the confrontation, I exited the gym, and instantly, the cold, fresh air of the wind blew into my body.


    "... not as good as the mountain. Wait, no, I don''t miss that goddamned cave... do I?" S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Recalling my teacher''s announcement about clubs from earlier, I pulled out my phone to check out the list.


    I already had one in mind; unfortunately, the club contained the entire main cast. But, the pros definitely outweighed the cons in the case of the traveling club.


    I can take having to deal with a few incidents if that means traveling across the human and even visiting the elven realm for free.


    I returned to the dorm to shower after signing up for the travel club orientation this Friday.


    Next, I pulled out my smartwatch to do some online shopping.


    [Bloodroot Blossom (3P) : A vibrant red flower that only blooms under the light of a full moon. Known for blood-red petals, the uses of this ingredient are primarily for recovery and relieving muscle cramps]


    [Moonshadow Leaf (2P) : Found in the deepest part of the enchanted Elven forests, the silvery leaves glisten under the night sky. Though the ingredient is rare, its use is limited to improving mental clarity and dispersing emotions for a short time.]


    [Ironbark Moss (2P) : A dense dark green moss that grows on the sturdiest of trees, the Ironbark tree. The moss is tough and resilient, and while being relatively common, the ingredient is quite helpful in improving your endurance for a short while.]


    1 Gold coin correlates to 1P, so if I add in the money I got from that djinn earlier, I have around 23P.


    While these ingredients may seem completely unrelated, it is discovered later that when these 3 ingredients are combined, an advanced training potion that increases all stat gains by 15% is made.


    While this wouldn''t be as important as training potions had existed before, the cost of these ingredients was significantly lower as an advanced training potion typically costs around 100P. Not only is its price significantly lower, but the potion also heals all your fatigue after a night of sleep.


    These ingredients would be a good investment as their prices would quadruple, but the new potion recipe would take around a year to be discovered, and I wasn''t going to wait that long, especially when there were better options.


    After buying two of each ingredient, I patiently waited for an hour until my dorm bell rang. Looking outside my door, I could see a drone with a package hanging from it.


    Taking the package inside, I opened it to see the 3 ingredients. Going into my relatively small kitchen, I grabbed a chemical bowl that was supplied by the academy and brought the ingredients above it.


    After crushing each ingredient and allowing the juices and liquid inside to fall into the bowl, I mixed it for about 10 minutes until the liquid inside the bowl was dark blue.


    As expected, my ability to make potions was terrible, so instead of giving a 15% boost, the potion only gave me a 7.5% boost. Well, it''s better than nothing.


    In the future, though, I would definitely need an alchemist.


    Next, I poured the potion into a water bottle and set it aside for my training session tomorrow.


    Next week, after the Elven Academy exchange, the main storyline would start to pick up, so I didn''t have any time to waste.


    I would have to get stronger if I didn''t want to be one of those side characters who randomly died to a djinn or a monster.


    My goal was simple: Reach Intermediate Dagger Mastery, acquire a decent dagger art to begin training, and increase my stealth stat by upgrading from novice assassin.


    While my stats were low for a Celestial Academy student, there was no reasonable way for me to increase them at once, so it would have to be gradual progress. Simply going to the gym and working out once or twice daily would be enough.


    Putting my trusty daggers in my school backpack, I slumped down on my bed, exhausted from the day''s work, and slowly drifted off to sleep.


    ---


    "Oh hey Irene and Kevin, what do you two need!?"


    " *TSK* I heard you''ve spent time with Lily lately. Let me just let you know that she''s doing it out of sympathy; don''t get any wrong ideas or let it go to your head."


    Somewhat confused by Kevin''s clear insult, Liam chose his words carefully before responding. If he were to insult Kevin, there would definitely be consequences, as he is just a mere Class D student.


    "Ah, thanks for the advice."


    "You''re lucky that idiot Ren went and did something stupid. I swear that guy has a condition or something."


    At the mention of Ren''s name, Liam''s expression darkened a bit. That guy did randomly attack him for no reason, and somehow, he wasn''t even expelled. Liam had thought Ren could be plotting another scheme against him, but when Liam tried to confront Ren during class, he was completely ignored.


    After giving one last disdainful look to Liam, Kevin left the training hall with Irene following him like a puppy.


    Seeing that the two people in front of him had some connection to Ren, Liam called out.


    "Hey, do you know if Ren would be plotting anything?"


    Without turning around to face Liam, Kevin chuckled briefly before responding.


    "Knowing that idiot, he''s already devised some master plan. You don''t have to worry; that guy is way too goddamn stupid. Nothing he made would work."


    Somewhat reassured by Kevin''s words, Liam returned to training his sword art on the dummy.

 Chapter 12 - 12: Ranking Exam [1]

    *BZZZ*


    When I got out of bed, I heard my phone vibrating, which was unusual as I had 0 contacts on it.


    "Ah, it''s about that time, isn''t it?"


    On the screen of my school phone, an announcement was displayed in all bold and red text, making it impossible for any student not to see it.


    [From today or Friday, September 5, the class system will be dissolved. Approximately 150 Elven students will transfer to the school to begin classes here at Celestial Academy. Your new class will be assigned randomly, and you will know it by this Sunday. At 8:00, report to the combat arena for the first-year ranking exams. Only bring your training weapons.]


    Stretching my muscles, I silently thanked my training potions for healing my body overnight. Waking up on the first day of dagger training was hell; I could feel almost every muscle aching from the beatdown the stage 1 robot gave me. I could barely even walk, causing me to be late for a class.


    Thankfully, being late to class was probably usual for someone like Ren, so besides a scolding from the teacher, I got away pretty quickly.


    Grabbing the smartwatch and a water bottle I had bought, I glanced at my system menu one last time before leaving the safety of my dorm room.


    [Class: Novice Assassin: (Level 1: 88%) ]


    -> Stealth : E-


    -> Beginner Dagger Mastery : 92%


    -> Arts: (N/A)


    On the second day, I had reached my goal of beating the Stage 1 dummy within a minute, so my progress began to quicken again while I fought the Stage 2 dummy. Adding the boost of the training potion, I was on pace to reach my goal of intermediate mastery by today''s training session if everything went according to plan.


    Entering the massive arena, I could see around 1000 first-years looking at each other with confused expressions.


    They had just learned that they would be switching classes and that over 100 new transfer students were coming.


    Some students looked scared at the prospect of making new friends in a new class, while others seemed excited to meet some elves, and finally, there were those looking serious as they had grasped the current situation.


    Some students may have thought this meeting would be about announcements; however, their excitement and confusion soon turned solemn.


    This ranking exam would determine their futures. Being ranked highly would lead to you catching the attention of many guilds, and possibly being recruited while being ranked lowly would damage your chances of ever joining a high-ranked guild.


    *CLAP*


    *CLAP*


    *CLAP*


    The sound of the clapping reverberated throughout the arena, and instantly, silence descended upon the students.


    My former teacher was seen walking up to the stage at the front of an arena, her purple hair swaying with every step.


    Upon reaching the podium, she wasted no time and immediately began speaking.


    "Now is not the time for questions about the email you have all received. Starting now, Celestial Academy will begin its first-ever ranking exam. For the next four hours, your ability as a hero will be tested through a series of physical and mental drills. Finally, after all those drills, you will be assigned to a random 4-person group and be given a mission.


    Using your results from the drills and group mission, you will be assigned a ranking number."


    Instantly, the mood of the arena changed. Even without knowing anything about the ranking system, every student understood that receiving the highest ranking number was the most important.


    Behind the teacher, a giant digital screen, usually used for duels, lit up. After a few moments, the first message was finally displayed on the screen.


    [Former Class E students, report to the back of the arena for your exam.]


    Behind me, I could hear a student start grumbling.


    "just my fucking luck. I can''t have one peaceful goddamn morning."


    I wanted to pat him on the back and encourage him as I knew exactly how he felt, but alas, such a thing did not suit Ren''s personality, so I watched the student sullenly walk toward the back of the arena.


    After 10 minutes, it was finally Class D''s turn, so I started walking towards the back. Upon entering the arena halls, I saw my former teacher waiting in front of a door with a clipboard.


    It seemed like I was the first Class D student to arrive, so I walked towards her. She gave me a quick nod before checking something off on her clipboard.


    Honestly, I was expecting her to ask me what my name was.


    This teacher is a significant character in the story as she is Liam''s new teacher. After seeing his work ethic and how others treated him due to his commoner status, she began to mentor him. Without her, Liam probably would have died in one of the many djinn attacks on the school.


    Looking up from her clipboard, Mrs. Zia redirected her attention to me and asked.


    "Please show your selected weapon or weapons."


    Taking my daggers out of my backpack, I put them in my hand and showed them to her.


    Glancing between her clipboard and my daggers, she waited momentarily before asking.


    "Say, Cadet Ren, it says here you use a sword."


    Wait, how does she know my name? Why is she calling me cadet? This is not the goddamn military; this is a glorified high school.


    "Ah, yes, I decided to switch weapons."


    "Noted. Leave your backpack outside."


    Staring at the ominous-looking door in front of me, I glanced at the outside world before heading inside.


    4 hours straight of training and exercise drills prepared to break your body and test your limits. These next few hours were going to be hell.


    But I had already gone through hell on my mountain expedition.


    After opening the door, I glanced at my surroundings momentarily before realizing that the room resembled the private AI dummy chambers in the training hall.


    Even if the room was completely dark, I could recognize it. After all, I had spent hours there getting beat up every day.


    "Oh, don''t tell me..."


    [Take out your weapon or weapons. Your first test will begin shortly.]


    Readjusting my grip on the curved daggers, I took a ready stance.


    I wasn''t planning to rank anywhere close to the top 10... well, not that I could even if I tried my best, but getting a higher rank meant getting a bigger room so I wouldn''t laze out.


    My plan was simple.


    Go all out on this first test, and then do mediocre or terrible on the next ones. Since this test was weighed much more than the others, my rank would actually be higher if I used that strategy.


    The room lights turned on, illuminating a Stage 1 AI dummy standing in the center of the room with a sword in its right hand.


    I calmly waited for the dummy''s first attack without moving an inch from my original spot. Seeing that I was giving it the initiative, the AI dummy rushed towards me with his sword prepared for a horizontal slash.


    Even without my Dragon''s Eye passive, I had fought this dummy enough times to know what move it was using solely based on its grip on the sword and stance.


    Seeing the dummy near me, I sidestepped to the right and raised my right dagger to block the sword.


    The force of the dummy''s sword crashed into my dagger, pushing me back for a moment, but I was prepared for the impact.


    Without giving the dummy time to react, I used my left dagger and slashed at the body of the dummy.


    One dagger swipe wasn''t enough to kill it, so I patiently awaited its next attack and delivered another counter-attack to finish it.


    [Level 1 Completed]


    The room''s lights flickered for a moment, putting me on edge. Once the lights were back on, I saw 2 AI dummies waiting in the middle of the room, and the previous AI dummy had disappeared.


    "... 2 daggers, one for each dummy"


    Although there were 2 dummies, their teamwork and coordination were terrible, as the two rushed at me without regard for the other.


    This was my first time fighting two opponents at once, so I had no idea on how the dragon''s eye passive would be affected.


    Would it take longer than the usual minute to see their attacks? If so, how much longer? Would I only be able to see one of the dummies''s attacks or both?


    However, it wasn''t like I wasn''t prepared for a scenario like this. Even without the dragon''s eye passive, I could reasonably guess the dummies''s subsequent attacks due to my hours of training.


    The dummy on the right was going to reach me first, so I sidestepped to avoid its charge; however, doing that gave me no time to avoid the left dummy''s attack, so I formed an X with my dagger, blocking the dummy''s arial sword attack.


    The strength of both my daggers combined outclassed the dummy sword, so instead of repositioning myself, I pushed my daggers forward, forcing the right dummy to remain in place.


    The second dummy came rushing at me, but once again, I sidestepped to the right.


    *BANG*


    The sound of the two dummies crashing into together echoed throughout the room.


    I could have ended one of the dummies right there while they were lying on the floor confused, but it had almost been a minute, so I wanted to test how my passive would fair with this new scenario.


    After that moment, the dummies stood together and prepared to attack again. Looking at the 2 dummies in front of me, I noticed a peculiarity between them.


    The one on the right had their sword in their right hand, while the one on the left held their sword in their left hand.


    Of course, this scenario was perfect for me, as my daggers would have an easier time blocking. If they both held their swords in their right hand, I would have to twist my body and move my left hand to block their simultaneous sword strikes.


    Was this a coinencdence, or did the teachers do this on purpose?


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, the two dummies rushed toward me once again, but this time, instead of standing still and waiting for them, I preemptively moved away, causing the dummies to stop midcharge.


    Currently, my goal was to stall for time until my passive showed some signs of life.


    Thankfully, it only took another 15 seconds for my passive to ignite again.


    Looking at the two dummies, I could see both of their swords'' projected trajectory and next moves.


    "So, it just takes a bit longer with more people."


    With the boost of my passive, it only took me another minute to finish both the dummies off.


    *SWISH*


    *SWISH*


    [Stage 2 Complete]


    The lights flickered again, and in the center of the room, three Stage 1 dummies could be seen standing.


    "Ah, for fucks sake."


    Although I wanted to test the limits of the passive by seeing how it would fair against three opponents, facing three dummies simultaneously was too dangerous, even for a professional like me.


    *SWISH*


    Taking out one dummy was fairly easy with their uncoordinated and messy attacks, so once again, I was left facing 2 dummies, each with swords in different hands.


    It had taken me a minute to remove the first one, so I was surprised to see the trajectory of both of the dummies'' attacks again.


    "Guess this type also gets shorter."


    After disposing of the two dummies, I waited for the flickering lights again, but this time there was none.


    [Level 3 Complete. Please move on to the next drill.]


    On the opposite side of the room, the wall opened up, revealing a hallway and some other rooms.


    --------


    "I-i t-take e-everything b-back about experiencing hell earlier. T-this w-was t-the r-real deal." sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    One hour of endurance training and sprinting, another hour of weight lifting, and finally, an hour of surviving in an artificial environment full of traps.


    At times like this, I wished I was a magic major; they had it easy.


    Interrupting my long-needed rest, my phone vibrated again.


    "2 in one day? Guess I''m on a roll."


    [Report to the arena entrance in one hour for your group mission. Your group is as follows.


    Irene - Class A


    Zane - Class C


    Deon - Class C


    Ren - Class D


    ----------------------


    Drop a review if you have time or some power stones; anyway, thanks for reading!

 Chapter 13 - 13:Ranking Exam [2]

    "... could be worse."


    I couldn''t even fathom the awkwardness that would ensue if I was grouped up with Lily or Liam.


    It could have been better, though; Irene had known me since we were young, so if I were to act out of character, she would be suspicious.


    The following hour seemed to pass by in a moment as I devoured some food in the cafeteria before heading back to my room to change back into a new pair of clothes.


    Upon reaching the coliseum entrance, I patiently waited for the unknown teacher standing onstage to speak.


    Glancing around the area, I could see cadets'' expressions ranging from seriousness to disappointment with their performance earlier to even awkwardness due to having to group up with some unknown students.


    After what seemed like an eternity, the teacher finally began.


    "Get into your groups and begin discussing. Within 2 minutes, your target monster, alongside its location, will be sent to you. Enter the portal once you are ready to begin.


    An earthquake seemed to strike at this moment, causing some other students and me to lose our balance as the ground shook temporarily.


    Beside the teacher, the lifeless portal, which resembled a golden arch, powered up, causing its color to change to silver.


    After the portal''s initial shock died down, the area around me quickly descended into pandemonium as students rushed to find their groups so they could have more time to plan for their upcoming tasks.


    However, I remained completely calm under these circumstances. That was because, unlike the other groups, my group had a brain.


    Taking out my phone, I checked the group assignment email, and under that, I could see a reply from Irene.


    [If you see this, meet at the front, to the right of the portal]


    I wasn''t sure if my other teammates would notice the reply, but I sure as hell wouldn''t be late. Calmly walking through the crowd of students, I recalled the possibilities of the monster my group would face.


    The school wouldn''t assign anything more dangerous than an E-rank monster, and in addition, this monster''s habitat would have to be somewhat close to the academy, as the portal in front of me didn''t seem like a powerful one.


    There was a forest, a small lake, a mountain, and a plain near the school.


    However, before I could continue thinking, I realized that my destination was in sight. To the right of the portal, I could see Irene, who was clearly agitated, tapping her feet up and down, waiting for us.


    "Ah, she actually cares about her rank."


    Beside Irene was another student holding a bow in his hand. A party usually had two main attackers, a long-range damage dealer, and a tank that could effectively block hits.


    With Irene and I being the main attackers and the boy there being an archer, I could deduce that, unsurprisingly, the class with the lowest speed or the tank was missing.


    Seeing me approach them, Irene continued frantically tapping her leg up and down, awaiting the last member while the archer held out his hand to me.


    "Nice to meet you, I''m Zane."


    Seeing that he didn''t seem scared or mad at my presence, I could tell that he was a noble, so I briefly shook his hand and said.


    "Ren."


    Within the next 10 seconds, the tank appeared and introduced himself as Deon.


    *BZZZ*


    On my school phone, a small holographic screen popped out.


    [Target: Duskhound / Location: ****** / [Image] ]


    I tried recalling Ren''s memories to see if he had any information regarding the wolf-like creature, as he had been through at least 8 years of school, but it was to no avail. Ren was through and through a dumbass.


    An E-rank creature like this was too unimportant to garner a mention in the book, so I had no clues on it. The only thing I had to go off was a small picture of it that made it resemble a wolf but with jaws that protruded from its mouth and a much bigger stature.


    "... a sabertoothed tiger but a wolf?"


    Turning around to face the portal and not even bothering to face us, Irene took the lead and commanded us.


    "Let''s go."


    Irene was somewhat known for her bad temperament and arrogance, so none of us bothered to dispute her orders.


    Normally, entering a portal would cause dizziness for most students, but since the distance traveled was so low, everyone was relatively fine.


    "Everyone... except for me."


    Holding in the urge to puke, I attempted to catch up to my teammates, but my condition was evident. Unlike everyone else, this was my first time going through a portal, and it was showing.


    Ignoring the ringing sound in my head and the saliva gathering in my mouth, I increased my pace so my teammates were still in sight. At the front of the group, I could see Irene glance behind and scoff.


    "... now''s not that time to get mad, Ren. You''ll get your revenge later. revenge..."


    -*-


    Panting and inhaling like there was no tomorrow, I finally reached the location, only a few seconds after the rest of my group. While I struggled to stand up straight, everyone else seemed fine as they drank some water without any problems. Of course, this led to me receiving another disapproving glance from Irene.


    Holding my urge to humble her, I huddled up with the rest of the group as Irene projected the image of the Duskhound in front of us.


    "Tank, you grab it''s attention. I''ll set the surroundings on fire to trap it as its weakness is heat, and long-range, you support me. Then us 3 will force it into a corner and take it out."


    This girl is really trying to piss me off, isn''t she? Not even getting a mention is insane; who the hell does she think she is?


    Before I could retort or disagree, she turned her back and began running towards the Duskhound. Looking at her disappearing figure, Zane gave me a pat on the back and smiled before jumping onto a nearby tree and nocking an arrow in his bowstring.


    "Does this guy think I need his sympathy?"


    The Duskhound hadn''t noticed our presence yet, so it rested on the ground. Standing only a few meters from the Duskhound''s sleeping body, Irene surrounded herself with flames before expanding them to encircle the opening completely.


    Within only a minute, Irene had already made a ring of fire that encircled the entire wolf. Looking around in confusion, the Duskhound threw its paw at the fire and immediately shot back in pain.


    Looking at the 2-meter-high wall of fire surrounding an area of at least 10 meters, I realized that she had every right to look down on me. I mean, what the hell? Who can do this shit so casually?


    Angered, the Duskhound dashed towards Irene, but before it could make contact, the tank, Deon, stepped in with his shield and blocked the wolf''s oncoming charge.


    "wait... why am I just watching? Aren''t I proving her right?"


    Inwardly cursing, I grabbed my two daggers, jumped onto the tree Zane was aiming from, and used the height to jump over the firewalls.


    Within the ring of fire, there were no places to hide as the opening was devoid of any trees; however, why would I need to hide when I had my teammates as bait? S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, an arrow, only a few meters away from me, soared above the walls of flames and flew through the sky straight at the Duskhound.


    Distracted by Irene''s flame-powered attacks, the Duskhound was unprepared for another attack, so the arrow lodged itself within the wolf''s right paw.


    *SHRIEK*


    Angered by the pain in its paw, the wolf began attacking with its arms and legs indiscriminately as it attempted to hit Irene and Deon, even at the cost of burning itself with the flames.


    Standing near the flame walls, I calmly observed the fight. I would probably look useless to a spectator as I was watching the fight without helping.


    I mean, Irene even started yelling at me, even though she was in the middle of a stressful fight.


    "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"


    Aren''t you the one who basically told me to do nothing?


    In reality, I wasn''t just watching but waiting for the perfect moment to strike. I knew my passive worked on monsters through my near-death experience with the mountain tyrant. But, it had taken me 10 minutes to grasp the combat style of a simple stage 1 dummy for the first time, so it would definitely take longer for a monster. And I didn''t have time for that.


    Since that option was useless, there was really only one other way for me: the first technique, Shadow Serpent.


    Looking at the fight ensuing in front of me, I could tell Irene had severely underestimated the Duskhound by assuming its weakness of fire would limit its attack. She hadn''t expected the wolf to be so angry that it wouldn''t care about the fire.


    Zane even had to jump down from his tree and enter the ring as the Duskhound overwhelmed Irene and Deon.


    Instead of the wolf being back into a corner, Irene was now being pushed back into her own flames. On the other hand, Deon couldn''t provide any support as he had to deal with the wolf''s rear legs kicking him.


    With the fire to her back and the wolf standing before her, Irene was only a second away from losing. The wolf threw its paw at Irene, and with nowhere to dodge, Irene''s only choice was to lower her ring of fire. However, that would mean the wolf could run around, making the exam time much longer and making her rank drop significantly.


    Looking at the fiery girl contemplating, I readjusted my grip on the daggers.


    "it''s time."


    Instead of charging toward the wolf like a prince coming in to save its princess, I poked the tip of my daggers into my right and left hands.


    Anyone watching would probably think I''m a masochist or maniac.


    As blood dripped from the small holes in my hands, I rushed towards the Duskhound, and with its focus completely on Irene and Deon, I stabbed both my daggers right into''s body while internally saying, "Soul-Serpent Slash."


    If I were to scream that out loud right now, I think the teachers would send me to a mental asylum, for good reason.


    Before Irene could decide to close the ring of fire, the wolf''s paw abruptly stopped in front of her.


    Not missing this chance, Irene immediately enveloped her hands with fire and sent a fireball right at the wolf''s mouth.


    Immobilized, the wolf could only quiver in fear as a ball of fire flew right at it.


    Both Deon and Zane didn''t miss the opening either as multiple arrows flew at the Duskhound, and the sound of a shield banging against the wolf''s legs could be heard.


    Hit directly by the arrows and its most dangerous weakness, fire, the Duskhound dropped to the ground, and its body remained lifeless.


    The ring of fire disappeared as Irene almost fell to the ground, only regaining her balance with the help of a nearby tree. She must have used a lot of mana and energy to hold up the ring while simultaneously fighting the monster.


    *BZZZ*


    The sound of multiple phones vibrating could be heard, so I checked my phone.


    [Your target has been eliminated. Return to the portal; your exam has been completed.]


    Ignoring their phones, Deon and Zane came rushing towards me with words already flying out of their mouths.


    "bro... i thought you were doing nothing, forgive me."


    "Dagger boy to the rescue!"


    However, I completely ignored their compliments and looked right at Irene, savoring her expression filled with anger, embarrassment, resentment, and hostility. Her uniform was partially torn, and her hair was messed up. The prodigy and epitome of talent in the magic world was reduced to such a state while I was completely fine, looking the same as I did an hour ago.


    "sweet, sweet revenge."

 Chapter 14 - 14: New Class [1]

    Seeing my gaze at her, Irene propped herself up against the tree and angrily yelled.


    "WHY DIDN''T YOU DO SOMETHING EARLIER?"


    I simply shrugged my shoulders and redirected my attention to my two teammates before me.


    Seeing me blow her off, Irene became even more angry, but in the end, she could only stare at me with hostility.


    Ignoring Irene''s miserable state, I mimicked her earlier actions by turning around and walking back to the portal. Zane and Deon were eager to ask me questions, so they followed, leaving Irene to make the trek back solo.


    The "team leader" had been abandoned and replaced by me.


    After returning to the coliseum, I returned to my dorm room to recover. Even if I hadn''t let it show, the 4 hours of drills combined with using the first technique left me completely exhausted.


    The wounds from my mana-blood method were relatively small, but I could still feel the sharp pain. The monster had been stunned longer than my earlier test, proving my theory that if the wound were more dangerous, the stunning period would be longer.


    Slumping down on my bed, I drifted off to sleep peacefully as there would be nothing for me to do for the rest of the weekend.


    -*-


    When I woke up Monday morning, I immediately checked my phone¡ªnot for my ranking exam results but for my new class.


    [You have been randomly assigned to the Dragon Class. Report to room 408 for your classes for the remainder of the year. The results of the weekend Ranking Exam will be posted in your new class.]


    "... at this point, why am I even surprised."


    My new class just happened to be the class that conveniently contained the entire main cast and the class that had the most incidents due to the protagonist''s involvement.


    "Random my ass! There has to be some other power at play."


    After pinching myself and confirming that this wasn''t a dream, I sighed before getting up from bed to shower and change for the school day. Complaining about my situation wouldn''t improve it, so the best I could do was go along with the flow.


    Within 30 minutes, I was already in front of the classroom door. Though arriving late would suit Ren''s personality, I really didn''t want to piss off my new teacher as she could make my life hell if she decided to.


    Sliding open the classroom doors, I glanced around and saw some familiar faces. Liam was in the center of the class, of course, and beside him sat Lily. Since Lily was there, Kevin was also present, and since Kevin was there, Irene was there.


    It was like some chain reaction.


    An unfamiliar face sat to Liam''s left. Like Liam, Zach came from humble origins and got into the academy on a scholarship. Through the recent group mission, Zach and Liam had bonded. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Zach was a character universally liked by the fandom because he was humble, down-to-earth, and kind. If I were to ridicule commoners in front of him, Zach would step in to protect them no matter the consequences. Honestly, Zach fits the protagonist role better than Liam with his carefree and kind nature.


    Ignoring the main cast''s current discussion, I quietly moved to the left side of the classroom and pulled out my smartwatch to pass the time. It seemed that one main cast member noticed me as Irene turned around and started daggers at me for a moment.


    A tap on my back interrupted my mobile gaming session. Immediately, I was put on edge.


    Who would sit with me?


    Turning around, I made my expression darker and glanced at the two culprits behind me. Their faces were familiar, but I couldn''t quite recall their identities.


    "Hey Ren, guess those class demotions we got as punishments were for nothing. Serves the student council right; we didn''t do shit."


    Ah, it''s the two idiots who helped me attack Liam at the start of the year: Jin and Han. Both were initially my sidekicks, but after my family abandoned me, I assumed they would ignore me. After all, most sidekicks hope to leach off their master''s families, but now I have no important family.


    It seemed that those two sidekicks were different, though... There''s no way Ren had genuine friends with his personality, right..?


    Not even waiting for my response or permission, Jin took the seat to my right, and Han took the seat to my left.


    Ignoring them now would be a big red flag as they seemed to be Ren''s friends, so I lightened my expression and jokingly responded.


    "Yeah, that president is insane."


    Both Han and Jin nodded their heads while I began to reevaluate Ren''s relationship with the two. The book didn''t specifically mention anything about Ren''s relationship with the friends as they only ever appeared in one chapter, but everyone assumed it was a master sidekick as they followed Ren''s plans to attack Liam.


    However, upon seeing their comfortableness with speaking to me and their friendly demeanor, it was clear that these people might actually be friends of Ren. I mean, shouldn''t they be mocking me for being stripped of my last name, not sitting down and making small talk?


    Before I could probe these so-called friends of Ren more, the sliding door opened, and the teacher, alongside a group of students, walked in.


    Taking the podium was a familiar face, Mrs Longburn.


    "Welcome. I will be your class teacher for the remainder of this year. Beside me are the new Elven transfer students. Treat them with kindness and respectfulness. No forms of bullying or harassment will be tolerated."


    After saying those last words, I swear she glanced at me, Han, and Jin.


    Looking at the line of ten elven students, I quickly found the last member of the main cast, the elven princess. Standing with poise and civility, the princess stood at the front of the line and glanced around the classroom.


    Interrupting my observation, I heard a loud voice from my right, where Jin sat.


    "Dude, who do you think is the hottest?"


    This guy didn''t even whisper it; he just blatantly said for the entire class to hear. The entire class was silent, awaiting further instructions from Mrs. Longburn, so Jin''s loud voice echoed throughout the classroom, but there were no laughs or chuckles in response.


    The princess and the elves beside started staring at us. Our human classmates began staring at us. Even Mrs. Longburn started staring at our group, not with anger or hostility but with disappointment.


    This guy is a fucking idiot!


    Holding in the urge to slap the shit out of Jin, I ignored the glances full of disgust from my human and elven classmates and also began staring at Jin. Surely, they could tell that I was not associated with this guy.


    Han seemed like a reasonable guy as he was also taken aback by Jin''s remark. Before I could say anything, Han whispered back.


    "... dude."


    Took the words right out of my mouth.


    This time around, a fainter voice sounded from my right side.


    "... my bad."


    The awkward silence and stares persisted for another few seconds before Mrs. Longburn finally broke the silence and continued her announcements.


    " *ahem* The ranking exam results will be announced at the end of the day. That is allowed for today''s announcements. Elven student, you may take your seats."


    As Mrs. Longburn walked out of the classroom, the Elven students looked for empty seats around the classroom.


    In front of my group of idiots, there were 3 empty seats. The elven princess and two other elves, who seemed close to the princess, sat there. They didn''t even bother to look or say anything to us. It was like they didn''t even acknowledge our existence.


    A few seconds later, our history professor walked in and began teaching.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    *RING*


    To my right, the idiot, Jin, dared to speak again.


    "Finally, the lunch bell, man. For some reason, I think people kept staring at us. Are we that popular?"


    This guy...


    I really wanted to get out of the classroom as fast as possible to avoid Jin making a further fool of our group. Han seemed to share the same sentiment as he got up from his chair, even before me.


    Following Han''s lead, I got up and said.


    "Let''s dip."


    Even though staying with Jin would probably cause me to lose brain cells, it would also help conceal my identity, as no one would have a reason to be suspicious of my behavior if I simply hung out with friends.


    Looking around the crowded cafeteria, I could see the elven and human students already getting along as they ate lunch together.


    After finding an empty table, I sat down and enjoyed the amazing food prepared by the cafeteria. Nothing could ruin this lunch period, not even Jin''s stupidity.


    Jin said while gulping down some food.


    "Glad we were all put into a class together again. I don''t know what I would do without you guys!"


    I know I''d be better off without you in my class.


    Not even waiting for Han to respond to his previous statement, Jin subsequently asked.


    "So, did you guys think about my previous question?"


    Thankfully, I wasn''t drinking anything, but if I were, it would have all come flying out. Both Han and I erupted into laughter. This idiot was persistent!


    "Give us some more time, Jin."


    Thinking about this week''s upcoming events, I asked the two friends.


    "What clubs are you two planning to join?"


    The traveling club would require some groupings for room and city exploring, and I didn''t want to be stuck with the main cast, so bringing the idiots along would be helpful. While Han seemed to be thinking, Jin immediately responded.


    " *PFFFT* Why would I join one of those."


    "Yeah, I don''t think I''ll join any."


    As expected, these lazy bastards don''t wanna do anything.


    "Join the travel club with me. It''s the perfect chance to get to know some girls. Also, Han, you might as well; we''re getting vacations for free!"


    The two seemed convinced, so I watched them take out their phones and sign up for the Friday orientation.


    After disposing of our remaining food and dropping off our trays, Han and Jin wanted to exchange contacts, but I realized that I had left my smartwatch behind in my rush to leave the classroom.


    Taking my sweet time, I basked in the silence as I returned to the classroom. Upon entering, I saw that it wasn''t actually empty.


    In the row in front of my desk sat the elven princess, or Alya. Her silver hair cascaded in layers all the way down to her waist. The green elf''s uniform and bowties perfectly complimented her calm and reserved personality as she opted to read books alone instead of eating lunch with her friends.


    She seemed too entranced in her book to notice my presence, so I went to grab my smartwatch. After finding my smartwatch sitting on my desk, I prepared to leave, but before I took one last glance not at the princess but at her book.


    "The Garden Party."


    Maybe I''ll check it out later.


    Leaving the classroom, I caught up with the Han and the idiot, who were patiently waiting outside. I decided not to tell the two about the princess in the classroom out of fear that Jin would further embarrass us by doing something stupid like asking her to eat lunch with us.


    Just like that, the first five days of school flew by. And now, it was finally Friday: the travel club''s orientation or the first of many incidents to take place at this school.

 Chapter 15 - 15:Travel Orientation [1]

    Upon waking up Friday morning, I was greeted by an unusual occurrence: a message. Of course, I had received hundreds of messages from the group chat containing the 2 idiots. However, that chat was muted to prevent me from losing my last few brain cells.


    [Your official ranking exam results will be displayed during class today. The school once again apologizes for the delay.]


    The school underestimated the time it would take to test hundreds of eleven students, so the results were postponed.


    Recalling my performance during the exams, I assumed that I would be ranked around 100. Being ranked within the top 150 would give perks such as bigger dorm rooms, better training gyms, and more merit points! At the same time, no one would suspect my ranking of being too high or too low, as I was previously in Class B.


    Ren''s father might be surprised by the results as he knows the real reason why I was placed in Class B, but I doubt he''d care.


    "wait, why am I thinking about that asshole?"


    After entering the classroom, I saw expressions ranging from solemn to horror to shock and excitement. The poster stuck to the whiteboard at the front of the classroom caused these expressions.


    "Rank 1: Kevin" S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Rank 2: Liam"


    "Rank 3: Alya"


    "Rank 4: Irene"


    "Rank 7: Lily"


    ...


    "Rank 52: Zack"


    ...


    "Rank 97: Ren"


    ...


    "Rank 545: Han"


    "Rank 546: Jin"


    Kevin was surprised to see Liam ranked at number 2, only now understanding the amount of oppression placed on commoners. Irene was neutral as she placed higher than Lily, giving her a sense of superiority, but at the same time, her 3rd rank was taken away.


    Liam and Zach were ecstatic that, despite their huge rise in rankings, they seemed to forget about the injustice they faced during their initial class placement. The princess, Alya, was aloof as always, reading a book; however, she occasionally stole a glance at the 2 students who placed higher than her. Finally, the two idiots seemed not to care as they waved to me from our seats at the back.


    There was one more person, but I didn''t dare to glance at Lily out of fear that Ren''s feelings would reappear.


    Sitting down in my seat, Jin immediately bombarded me with questions while Han gave me a sympathetic glance.


    If you feel so bad, then help me!


    "This travel club thing better be entertaining after you hyped it up."


    What do you mean hyped it up??? I just told him that there would be girls attending...


    Before I could respond, Mrs. Longburn walked into the classroom and towards the podium, with her gaze pausing on Liam for a moment.


    Typically, teachers would be ecstatic to have 5 of the top 10 students in their class, but Mrs. Longburn seemed indifferent as she went about the school announcements as usual.


    During class, I thought of trying to take notes as doing well on exams awarded more merit points; however, this behavior would be suspicious to Ren''s friends. With my being 8 years behind everyone else, I desperately needed some way to learn, so I subtly took pictures of the board with my phone under the pretense of playing a mobile game.


    Of course, these actions did not go unnoticed by the elven students sitting in front of me, but honestly, I couldn''t care less about what they thought.


    *RING*


    Not even bothering to push our chairs into the desk, the two idiots and I were the first to leave the classroom.


    Still in our school uniforms, the three of us headed to the portal for the travel club orientation.


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, I heard a voice from the right.


    "We''re early; why don''t we get something to eat?"


    Surprisingly, it wasn''t Jin who asked; it was Han.


    Han''s a big foodie, noted.


    Glancing at my phone, I noticed that we had 20 minutes to spare, so I obliged, and Jin didn''t seem to care. That was, of course, until we reached the food spot that Han recommended.


    Seeing the tens of exotic ice cream flavors and cones soaked in chocolate, Jin''s face turned to one of pure joy. Recalling our first lunch, where Jin took at least 3 portions of desserts, I deduced that he had a central sweet tooth.


    "Let me get one of that... that..... that... oh, that too!"


    That was how we, the first students to exit the classroom, ended up late to the orientation, causing us to receive even more disgusted stares.


    Looking to my left, I saw Jin licking his four scoops of ice cream, and with all my will, I suppressed the urge to slap the cone right out of Jin''s hands. I mean, even Han was angry.


    How the hell does someone spend 20 minutes choosing ice cream flavors?


    Standing at the front of the group, the club president''s cheerful expression seemed to darken upon seeing our entrance; however, his face seemed to rise upon seeing that the entire main cast was there as well, even the book-addicted princess.


    "Welcome to the first-year travel club orientation! You wouldn''t believe my shock when I saw so many promising talents signing up to join."


    I could see bolts of sweat falling from the president''s face as he spoke.


    "The club''s purpose is to allow students to explore the outside world and give them a chance to escape the competitive atmosphere of the school. One to two times a month, we will use the portal to take on vacations to various places. Today, we will go local as our destination is this town''s very own Skyward Spire Amusement Park!"


    Somewhat accustomed to the portal''s side effects, I managed to keep my dignity intact as I didn''t fall after walking through.


    In front of me stood an amusement park¡ªnot just any amusement park, but one made to terrify even people with supernatural powers.


    Looking at the roller coaster, which peaked at over 900 feet in height, I started trembling. I was scared of normal roller coasters on Earth, so how would I get through this?


    The rest of the class seemed entranced by the various attractions, which I called "death games."


    Naturally, the two idiots beside me immediately began discussing.


    "Which ride first?"


    "Dude, the dragon''s descent looks amazing! Wait, no, the Thunderbolt twist looks better. Wait n-"


    "Alright, first, let''s go to the thunderbolt, then the dragon, then the forest maze, then th-"


    If only these two put this much effort into academics.


    "Come on, let''s just go."


    Han and Jin sprinted at full speed towards the first ride''s line. Thankfully, the two automatically assumed I was following, and by the time they realized they''d already be too far in line to get me.


    Walking towards the overpriced carnival game booths, I pulled out 5 coins and patiently waited in line.


    The goal of the game was to knock over the 12 pins stacked on top of each other. After handing my coins to the stand owner, I received 5 wooden balls in exchange.


    Aiming for the top 3 pins, I threw my first ball, which connected, knocking those 3 down.


    "I should be an archer!"


    Picking up the next ball, I changed my strategy and aimed towards the bottom pins, hoping to knock down the entire structure.


    Mustering all my strength, I threw the ball, and its trajectory looked perfect as it flew right at the bottom middle pin.


    Then, just as the ball was going to hit the pin, it inexplicably moved downwards and hit the table instead of the pins.


    Redirecting my gaze to the stand owner, I looked at him suspiciously before he chucked and said.


    "Oh, did I forget to mention that the balls are imbued with magic? They randomly have a chance to bounce around. This is a magic amusement park, you know."


    The following 3 balls I threw just happened to "randomly" bounce away from the pins.


    "Some things never change."


    Walking away defeatedly from the stand, I was about to look for the bathroom when another challenger approached the "random" ball booth.


    "Watching someone else fall into my same misery will help!"


    Turning back around, I saw the booth owner hand over 5 balls to the student with long silver hair and pointed ears. I could not see her face, but seeing her now confident demeanor crumble with my eyes would be enough.


    Picking up the first ball, she employed my strategy by aiming at the bottom pins. In a swift motion, the ball flew from her hand and bolted towards the bottom pins.


    "Hah, just wait."


    Looking at the ball inch toward the pins, I struggled to hold in my laughter as I awaited the inevitable sight of it "randomly" bouncing away.


    But, that moment never came...


    *BANG*


    The 12-pin structure collapsed immediately after the ball made contact with the bottom pin; the booth owner seemed shocked by this change of events as he struggled to maintain his calm demeanor while grabbing the big teddy bear reward.


    Opening and closing my eyes, I kept staring at the fallen structure, hoping it was all an illusion and that the pins would magically go back into place. I wanted to be mad¡ªI really did¡ªbut seeing the booth owner''s shocked expression, I realized that not even he knew what had happened.


    Even if I wasn''t the only one losing a reward, I felt defeated staring at the person who managed to take down the entire pin structure with one ball.


    Holding the ridiculously large teddy bear, the elf turned around, and I immediately recognized her as the elven princess, Alya.


    "hah, at least it wasn''t just some nobody who beat me. Yeah, only royalty can beat me!"


    Distracting myself, I checked my smartwatch and realized it was about time for the djinn to show up, so I rushed towards the mirror attraction. There were also some missed calls from the group chat, but there was no way in hell I was going on any of these rides.


    Walking inside the building, I saw dozens of mirrors laid out across the room. Inside were some normal people visiting, as well as two students, Irene and Liam. The two weren''t together as they stood in front of different mirrors, staring into the never-ending sea of reflections.


    Heading towards the corner of my room, I steeled myself until it finally happened.


    *CRUMBLE*


    "Huh...?"


    "What''s going on..?"


    *SZZZT*


    Shards of glass fell onto the ground as the ceiling caved it on itself. From the hole in the ceiling descended a human-like figure with pale skin, yellow-hollowed-out eyes, and a black cloak.


    Yellow Eyes are known to be possessed solely by djinns. Compared to the djinn I faced earlier, this one was a demon. Instead of succumbing to its desires, losing its mental state, and becoming essentially a mindless zombie, this djinn was completely calm as a red aura enveloped it.


    Looking at the mysterious figure standing atop the rubble from the ceiling, the non-students began rushing to the door.


    "MOVE YOUR DU-"


    "W-WE H-HAVE T-TO RUN"


    "GOOO!"


    However, the rumble completely blocked the entrance, so the normal civilians retreated to the corner where I was standing.


    A small flame began to form in Irene''s hand while Liam picked up a piece of glass from one of the broken mirrors, which just so happened to be in the shape of a sword.


    I shouldn''t have been scared as I knew exactly what would happen, but at the same time, did I? Was my keeping the butterfly effect caused by my appearance to a minimum worth it, or was it all a waste?


    It was time to see if the plot was the same.


    [A/N: I was offered an exclusive contract with Webnovel, and I''m taking it. This means you can expect 1-2 chapters/day from now on]

 Chapter 16 - 16: Travel Orientation [2]

    In the corner of the mirror room, tens of civilians trembled with fear upon seeing the djinn''s yellow eyes. It was common knowledge to any non-awakened that if you saw those yellow eyes, you were to run and place a call to the High Dominion if you wanted to survive.


    Adding to the chaos, the alarm triggered by the roof''s breaking echoed throughout the room. To make it worse, the security system had assumed a thief was trying to steal the mirrors due to their expensive price tag, so it sealed off all the windows, leaving no room for escape.


    The scene inside the mirror room could only be described as comical. Adults aged 20-60 stood shivering and quivering in a corner while two teenagers, only 16, stood confidently in front of the djinn.


    Having grown up in the magic tower, Irene was somewhat accustomed to djinn incidents as the tower and her father constantly worked to foil them, so she immediately grasped the situation.


    "EVERYONE CALM DOWN! I''m sure the Dominion and school have already sent heroes to assist due to the security alarm. We have no idea if there are more djinns outside, so trying to escape could lead to certain death."


    *CLAP*


    *CLAP*


    A faint clapping sound reverberated through the room, and the unmoving djinn finally made his first move as he slowly walked toward Irene and Liam.


    "Looks like you''re as powerful and confident as they say, princess. Unfortunately, you had to meet me, but there''s still a chance. Make a contract and become one of us!"


    "I''d rather die."


    "Alright, be my guest."


    Unbeknownst to the djinn, there was actually another powerhouse in the mirror room, Liam. Using Irene as a distraction, Liam slowly wrapped around the room during their conversation, and now, he was only a few feet away from the djinn''s back.


    It almost looked like a comedy act from the sidelines as Liam pulled the classic "he''s right behind me, isn''t he?"


    Letting out a small sigh of relief, I subtly relaxed. My preparations were not in vain! Just like how the story goes, Liam will easily annihilate him.


    Although this incident could easily be written off as only 1 djinn appeared, it was actually quite instrumental in the plot. It showed Irene that Liam wasn''t some stupid commoner who ranked higher than her out of luck, and it also allowed for some character development with Liam.


    Now only a few steps away from the djinn''s back, Liam tightened his grip on the makeshift glass sword and then made a wild dash toward the djinn.


    Hearing the impending footsteps, the djinn slowly turned his back, but it was too late. Liam was already upon him, his sword plunging forward right at his neck.


    In the next second, Liam''s sword pierced right through the djinn''s neck, and it was over. Releasing his grip on the sword, Liam slowly relaxed and let his guard down while staring at his glass sword, which fully emerged inside the djin''s body.


    The red aura surrounding the djinn slowly dissipated, and his eyes lost vitality as the yellow spark diminished, turning pitch black.


    Stepping out of the crowd of trembling civilians, I slowly looked around the room, confirming nothing abnormal occurred; however, one thing was bothering me.


    Why was the djinn''s body not on the floor yet?


    Blocking the entrance, the djinn''s body was still standing upright; all be it with a glass sword plunged into its neck. A step back from the djinn, Liam was also looking at the suspended body confusedly.


    ... this is not right. Did I forget something?


    From a distance, I analyzed the body and noticed something peculiar. Its eyes still contained a hint of yellow sparkling within.


    How is that possible? Is it not dead?


    *RUMBLE*


    The floor randomly shook, and the djinn''s body trembled. This may have gone unnoticed by Liam and Irene, but with my dragon''s passive, I had seen the body move.


    That meant it wasn''t dead!


    Surprising Liam, a small tentacle emerged from the djinn''s body, and like an arrow, it flew right at Liam. Without any time to dodge, Liam could only watch helplessly as the slimy tentacle approached him alarmingly fast. Without my dragon''s eye time-stopping ability, I was also helpless.


    It has tentacles...?


    The tentacle made contact with Liam, but instead of pushing Liam back with the impact or bouncing off his body, the tentacle pierced his body.


    It pierced Liam''s heart...


    I could only watch in shock and horror as Liam''s lifeless body was suspended in the air like a puppet by the tentacle.


    The tentacle removed itself from Liam''s body, and the tip of it was colored red with Liam''s blood.


    "That... that was n-not s-supposed t-to happen."


    How was I supposed to react? The protagonist, destined to save the entire world from the clutches of the demons, had just died right before me.


    Feelings of shock and horror immediately surged into my body. I had just seen someone die right in front of me. Not just someone but the protagonist.


    If the main character could die, what did that mean for an extra like me?


    No longer held in the air by the tentacle, Liam''s body fell onto the ground. His corpse lay on the floor, and where his heart was supposed to be, there was just a hole covered with blood.


    His eyes, which were filled with hunger and ambition only a few seconds ago, were now empty and dull. His last and final expression shows his eyebrows raised and mouth open, displaying his fear and shock.


    Seeing the dead student''s corpse only a few feet away from them, the civilians could only open their mouths in horror and watch powerlessly like spectators.


    Irene''s confident demeanor crumbled. In the end, important family or not, Irene was a sheltered and spoiled child. This was her first time witnessing a death, murder, and crime.


    The djinn''s eyes regained their vitality as the tentacle returned to his side.


    "Hah, you thought that dumb trick would work? Look at how it turned out for your friend."


    Irene''s legs started shivering and wobbling as she glanced at Liam''s bloody corpse and the djinn''s figure. The fire in her hand disappeared, and she almost fell to the ground.


    Looking at Irene''s pathetic figure, the djinn slowly walked towards her and said.


    "Well, I''ve wasted enough time."


    Snapping out of shock, I scrambled to open my backpack and retrieve anything to help me save her. But it was too late. There was no time...


    I tried to activate Dragon''s Eye to slow down time, but it didn''t work.


    Why wasn''t it working? Earlier, all it required was for me to think of activating it, but now it was unresponsive.


    Putting my finger to my right eye, I tried to forcefully activate it by tapping my eye over and over again, but it was to no avail.


    What am I thinking? Even if it activates, what am I going to do? I have some terrible daggers, no plan, and my stats are abysmal compared to the djinn. Liam had stats way higher than mine, and he died within a second. He had won in the book because he had one-shotted it with the sneak attack.


    As the djinn approached Irene''s trembling body, she almost broke into tears while trying to get fire to form in her hands. However, nothing happened; no matter how hard she tried, it was hopeless.


    Staring at her hands anxiously, tears flooded down Irene''s face.


    Irene and I were unable to fight. The spectators could not fight, and the reinforcements would need at least 5 more minutes to arrive.


    Do I run away? I know the outside is safe, and the djinn only needs Irene, so I should be alright.


    These aren''t even real people. This world is just a book. All these people are just some characters made up by a random author. They don''t have souls or anything; they''re just the creations of some bored human being like me.


    Why do I care whether they survive or not? Sure, Liam and Irene dying is bad and a big obstacle to the development of the world, but it''s nothing I can''t overcome. Why would I risk my life to help Irene? I mean, even if I did, it''s not like anything would change.


    The djinn would just kill me and then Irene. Sure, there was a possibility of me stalling long enough for the reinforcements and saving Irene, but then my death would be all but guaranteed.


    What do I care about the state of this world? After ensuring my survival by completing the main plot, all that''s left is to return. I''ve been here for almost a month, and my sole goal is still to return back to Earth, where my family is waiting.


    There''s no attachment to this make-believe world.


    All I have to do is steal all the items, loot, and protagonist role. Sure, gathering up the items and constantly foiling the demons'' plans would be a lot of work, but it''s my punishment.


    I''m not naive; I know these two "deaths" were all my fault. The only difference between the book and this reality is my appearance, so the only possibility leads to me.


    I was stupid to think that the plot could remain the same with my appearance, and this entire scene was the evidence.


    The evidence of my first failure.


    Irene fell onto her knees and stared helplessly at the djinn''s approaching figure. Stopping only a few feet in front of Irene, the djinn cockily remarked.


    "You know, I gave you a chance."


    A familiar tentacle reemerged from the djinn''s body and soared right at Irene''s body with the speed of an arrow. Displaying its impeccable aim, the tentacle rose in the air a few inches, perfectly aligning itself with the location of Irene''s heart.


    In a split second, the tentacle pierced right through Irene''s kneeling figure, and her corpse collapsed onto the ground. Another person destined to save the world had just died because of my careless and naive actions.


    Self-deprecation and anxiety weren''t going to help me now. Calming myself, I retrieved the daggers I had brought with me. Even if the djinn''s target was eliminated, knowing their bloodthirsty and cruel nature, it was possible that the djinn could start randomly killing off civilians, including me.


    Glancing at the two lifeless bodies on the floor one last time, I made a break for the exit. The djinn seemed to be occupied, and he was kneeling down and checking Irene''s body for some items, so now was my perfect chance.


    The rumbling caused by the djinn''s recovery from Liam''s attack had moved around the rubble, so there was a small hole.


    The light from the sun surged in from that hole, illuminating Liam''s lifeless body, which was only a few feet away from the exit.


    The civilians seemed to have grasped my plan and quickly followed me towards the exit. Of course, this was all part of my plan. They rushed in behind me and essentially created a body shield for me.


    They were just some fodder that could be used to ensure my survival.


    Kneeling down in front of the hole, I crawled through the hole, and within a second, I saw freedom.


    The sun, oh, how I missed it.


    In the distance, I could see countless heroes with uniforms rushing toward the building with panicked expressions.


    As always, the police or whatever government organization is too late to prevent anything from happening. I wonder how they would react upon hearing of the death of two students. Obviously, Liam''s death wouldn''t really change anything, but Irene''s death could probably cause the closing of the academy.


    Standing up and leaving the tunnel, I stared up at the sky, enjoying the peace and serenity it brought to my chaotic mind.


    Then it all went dark.


    The sun was gone.


    The sky was pitch black, with no traces of its former blue color.


    Everything was black. It was a void.


    The space around me distorted, and a sense of dizziness overwhelmed me, forcing me to close my eyes.


    "Ah, is this my punishment? I knew causing such a scene where two main characters die would lead to some backlash. After all, it is all my fault."


    Opening my arms, I welcomed whatever painful punishment that was awaiting me. However, nothing came.


    After a few seconds, I carefully reopened my eyes. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    I was back in the mirror room. Nothing was destroyed. The djinn hadn''t arrived yet. Glancing around, I confirmed that Liam and Irene were still alive.


    Was it all a dream?


    No, a dream can''t be that realistic; I saw the dead bodies in front of me...


    [A/N: Thoughts on this chapter? Book went from 0 to 100 real quick.]

 Chapter 17 - 17:Travel Orientation [3]

    Feeling the concerned gazes of civilians walking by me, I calmed my chaotic thoughts and adjusted my posture to fit in.


    Replaying the scenes that had occurred only a few minutes ago in my head, I reaffirmed that the scenario I had just witnessed was not a dream. There was no way it could have been.


    Then, is this a dream or even the afterlife? Did the heroes reporting to Mirror House think I was the djinn and accidentally shoot me? If so, that''s quite the way to die.


    No, that''s too unrealistic. The guards wouldn''t dare attack me with my student uniform visible, and adding on, I felt no pain. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Checking my time on my smartwatch, I immediately ceased all thoughts about my "time travel" and decided to focus on the task at hand.


    Assuming this was true reality, I had the opportunity to fix everything.


    Taking off the backpack I had brought, I peeked in and saw the pair of school-issued daggers, a pencil or two, a light red napkin, and a notebook.


    A sense of dread immediately overwhelmed me.


    "... well at least, I have a weapon."


    This was one of many careless mistakes I had made that led to the death of Irene and Liam, being severely underprepared. Then again, how was I supposed to know that my most vital ability, Dragon''s Will, would be completely useless?


    Thankfully, I could get my weapons past the security without them noticing. Or, I guess I shouldn''t be thankful because they also let a djinn in?


    "What even is the point of having security?"


    Replaying the start of the fight in my head, I began to analyze it bit by bit: After Liam made his move, the djinn''s body was suspended in the air temporarily so I could try to finish it off there with my daggers. However, if Liam, whose attack was more powerful than mine, was only able to stun it, then how could I expect even to make a scratch?


    Go for it''s tentacles? The djinn only revealed it when it was on the brink of death from Liam''s attack instead of at the start, so it can be assumed that the tentacle is a weakness. However, the tentacle''s speed is too fast.


    I could see the tentacle with the passive but couldn''t react on time without my time-slowing ability.


    "This exact problem has occurred at least a hundred times now, hasn''t it...?"


    To ensure that both daggers would be readily available, I concealed both of them in my jacket pocket and continued thinking; however, no plan came to mind.


    I was just another extra background character without my dragon''s eye ability. It was the only thing that made me special or gave me power. Otherwise, my stats, rank, and combat ability were average for the school.


    At some unknown point, I started caring more about maintaining the plot structure than my survival. I could have just taken a bunch of overpowered times to ensure my survival, but I had settled for just one.


    It vaguely made sense as I would essentially know the future, but at the same time, what good is knowing the future if I''m not there to witness it?


    Knowing the time of the djinn''s inevitable arrival was approaching; one thought kept repeating and replaying in my mind.


    "Why don''t you just run away from the mirror house? Who cares about their deaths? Your survival is paramount."


    At the same time, another thought kept clashing with that one.


    "For some unknown reason, you were given a second chance. What does that mean? What if you were given a second chance because the first scenario caused the destruction of the entire world, or worse, your death? Why were you sent back in time?"


    A decision needed to be made. If my attack and attempt to make a change failed, my death was all but guaranteed. So, then running gave me a 100% chance at survival rather than survival?


    However, based on my intuition and the hundreds of novels I''ve read, time loops or travels don''t happen for no reason; there must be a rationale for whatever caused it.


    Some say the fear of the unknown is the greatest. Only now do I understand.


    I always used to think that is bullshit. I mean, isn''t the fear of dying, being kidnapped, or being tortured much worse?


    But, if I ran away now, the rest of my life would be spent worrying about the consequences I would never be able to relax or enjoy myself again. Those thoughts would plague my mind until the day I die.


    Living while knowing that some impending doom could occur at any moment would be impossible. Realizing that, I decided to stay.


    Deciding on that was simple, but now what?


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, a familiar scene occurred.


    *RUMBLE*


    I had survived through my trip to the mountains and done all that training for what?


    In the end, it was all useless.


    The ceiling collapsed, and a figure surrounded by a dark red aura descended down in slow motion.


    "Wait, slow-motion, why is it so slow...?"


    Blinking once to confirm, I realized that after hearing the sound, I had subconsciously placed my right hand on my right eye. It was like a natural instinct for me.


    An act of desperation.


    After all, it had already saved me once during my hopeless fight with the mountain tyrant, and what else what there to rely on?


    All that work just to rely on some item.


    Pathetic


    Looking at the people around me slowly turning their heads to the noise source, I realized that, for whatever reason, it had worked.


    I had been saved once again.


    But why had it worked? Does it react to my feelings of desperation?


    No, that''s not possible. I was definitely desperate when I watched the two main characters die at the hands of the djinn.


    Feeling the blood swelling in my eye and my mana dissipating, I immediately removed my hand, and the time around me immediately sped back to normal as the djinn''s descent returned to an average pace.


    There was no need for me to use it yet.


    The conversation between the djinn and Irene was the same, and Liam snuck up behind the djinn.


    Dashing at the djinn, Liam plunged his sword into the same exact place, and moments later, the djinn''s body remained upright in a suspended animation.


    Yet, I stood still, watching like a sedentary observer.


    I mean, I mentioned it earlier: attacking the djinn''s body would fail as if Liam''s attack only did that much; what more could my attack possibly do?


    *RUMBLE*


    Again, the floor shook, this time not due to the collapse of the ceiling. The djinn''s body slightly twitched, revealing that it was not yet dead.


    At that moment, my right hand touched my eye, activating the first stage of the Dragon''s Will.


    Why did I use my right hand to activate it instead of just doing it mentally as I used to?


    I was worried that activating it mentally wouldn''t work, resulting in the loss of seconds in a scenario where milliseconds could change the outcome of the fight.


    As time slowed, I dashed forward to the center stage, specifically where Liam was.


    Arriving at Liam''s body, I saw his expression remain the same. From his point of view, I was just a blurry figure, so he must have just thought that he had dust in his eyes. And there was also the djinn''s body occupying his attention.


    As for everyone else, it was the same. I was simply too fast in their eyes, and why would they focus on some random blurry figure instead of the body of a djinn that could potentially kill them?


    Standing a few inches from Liam''s body, I shifted my gaze to the suspended djinn.


    From the bottom of his jet-black coat, a small purple tentacle flew emerged and flew out. Even with my passive and time-slowing ability combined, the tentacle still moved relatively fast, displaying its incredible speed.


    Wasn''t this guy a bit too overpowered for the first villain? This tentacle could probably still one-shot Liam 3 months after this incident.


    Taking my daggers out of my pocket, I slightly cut myself on my hands, revealing crimson red blood.


    Now, only a few yards from Liam''s body, the tentacle raised itself to align with his heart and plunged forward.


    Moving my daggers to waist height, I waited until the tentacle was within reach of my daggers.


    As the tentacle inched closer to Liam, his expression transformed from confusion to horror as he had presumably noticed the tentacle. Its speed was much lower than mine, so he could somewhat make it out.


    The other civilians and Irene remained neutral, as the tentacle was blocked by the djinn''s body from their point of view.


    Finally, when the tentacle was only a few inches from Liam''s heart, I swiftly raised my daggers, and they moved upwards through the air until they reached the height of my head.


    Looking downwards, I saw the tentacle split into pieces and fall forward onto Liam''s body and the ground below. If not for that sight, I wouldn''t have even noticed anything was cut by my daggers. They had gone through the tentacle like it was butter.


    Upon touching the ground and Liam''s body, the tentacle pieces immediately disintegrated, leaving no trace.


    Were they actually made of butter?


    Swapping my gaze to the djinn, I saw its suspended body fall face-forward onto the ground. Besides Liam''s sword plunged into it, there was no other evidence of how it died.


    Seeing the corpse on the ground, I moved a few steps away from the scene, preventing people from suspecting that I had anything to do with the djinn''s death, and deactivated the dragon''s will.


    Almost immediately, a surge of pain coursed throughout my entire body, nearly causing me to collapse to the ground.


    It felt like I was one who got stabbed by the tentacle. Well, it felt more like a truck had hit me, and I actually knew how that felt from my original death.


    If not for my being somewhat accustomed to the pain from my training sessions, I would have started howling like a wolf and fallen onto the ground.


    Without looking at my reflection, I already knew that my eye was covered with blood, but thankfully, I was equipped for such situations.


    Ignoring the pain, I grabbed the napkin from my bag and immediately pressed it to my face. Everyone else was too occupied with the body of the djinn, so no one even noticed me.


    Irene and Liam rushed towards the djinn''s corpse to confirm it was dead.


    Would have been nice if you did that earlier.


    The civilians carefully watched the two students and the corpse until, finally, Irene announced.


    "It''s dead."


    Instantly, some civilians around the room collapsed onto their knees and presumed a praying stance while mumbling something.


    Hey, shouldn''t you be thanking someone else?


    Others hugged their family members and fell into tears. A few moments later, the sound of applause echoed throughout the room as people rushed to thank the two heroic students who stood up the djinn.


    Irene, being the brat she is, basked in this glory even though she did nothing. Liam was still somewhat dazed and confused as, after all, he had just seen a tentacle that was about to kill him randomly splinter into pieces.


    It was possible he could connect the dots to me as I was the only other awakened person beside him and Irene in the room, but he also thought Ren was out to get him. He would probably just assume the djinn had prepared some final attack, but it had failed as his sneak attack had killed him.


    A minute after the death of the djinn, the heroes conveniently arrived and cleared out the room.


    Since there were plenty of witnesses to interview, I wasn''t needed, so I began my walk back to the portal.


    The outside world seemed completely oblivious to the situation as they rode the roller-coaster and continued playing the carnival games with happy expressions.


    As I left the amusement park''s premises, silence descended. After finding a bench on the way back to the dorm, I practically collapsed down on it.


    My mana supply was exhausted, and overall, I was completely and utterly drained from everything that had just happened.


    As I stared out into the deep blue sea, a sense of serenity washed over me. Shifting my gaze back down to my bleeding hands, that peacefulness was immediately replaced.


    After watching two people die right in front of me and realizing how helpless I was, my mindset and mental had been remade.


    [A/N: Would you guys like to see the POVs of the other characters more, or focus mainly on Ren]

 Chapter 18 - 18: A New Start [1]

    Before I could start planning my future actions, I first would have to understand the past.


    First, why did my Dragon''s Will activate just now but not before? Gaining an understanding of this powerful item is crucial. Even if you have the most stacked arsenal of items, they''re all useless if you don''t understand how to use them.


    Assuming there was no external force like a god or something involved, there are only 2 possibilities as to why it didn''t activate. The first is lack of mana, but I confirmed that I had a full tank of mana, so it can''t be that.


    The second and only other possibility was that it was already activated. You can''t activate something that''s already activated.


    If the second possibility is true, it would mean that the dragon''s eye can see into the future. Slowing down time and looking into the future is somewhat related, so it''s not that unlikely. However, upon looking at my stats menu, I found nothing had changed.


    ===Menu===


    User : Ren Montclair


    [Class: Novice Assassin: (Level 1: 98%) ]


    -> Stealth : E-


    -> Intermediate Dagger Mastery : 3%


    -> Arts: (N/A)


    [Stats]


    -> Rating : E


    -> Strength : G+


    -> Agility : E+


    -> Stamina : E


    -> Magic Power : E+


    -> Luck: G-S {Conditional}


    -> Intelligence : G+


    -> Charm : G+


    [Traits]


    -> Passive: Dragon''s Will [1 / ?]


    ---> Dragon Eyes : Your eyesight is enhanced.


    [Skills]


    -> N/A


    =======


    That would have to mean that I could have been peering into the future ever since I first saw my stat''s menu.


    If that''s true, then why did that ability only activate now? The only notable thing portrayed through the vision was the death of those two, so was the Dragon''s Will trying to warn me about that?


    Is Dragon''s Will an item with intelligence, then? How was it able to activate without my permission?


    Some special items Liam and his party obtained later on can communicate with their masters, so it''s not impossible. It would make sense as it did activate during the most important times for me: my near-death experience with the Mountain Tyrant and in the mirror room.


    But, then, suppose the Dragon''s Will was trying to caution me; what exactly would have happened due to Irene and Liam''s deaths? Also, how did Dragon''s Will know I would try to resolve the situation instead of running away and escaping?


    "So many questions and 0 answers. Ironic that even though I know the future, I still have so many things that I don''t know."


    If someone who knows the entire future world has questions, then who the hell can answer those questions?


    Realizing that I could only come up with theories right now, I moved on to the next important task: My power was severely lacking.


    Currently, I have 2 possible upgrades. Through my training over the week, a weird feeling started to appear. Whenever I exercised or trained, it felt like my muscles were at maximum capacity, like my progress bar was complete.


    My leg muscles weren''t tired or painful when I ran, indicating that they were developing. However, my top and average speed remained unchanged when using those muscles.


    It was like I had maxed out or reached my final potential.


    This was an obvious sign that I was ready to rank up as my body was complete for the E- rank. With the first incident approaching, I didn''t dare rank up before it, but now I had the time to.


    When breaking through, you fall into a deep slumber, bringing your mind and body into a different realm, which scientists call "Dreamveil." In this realm, you must complete a difficult mission determined by your current rank.


    Like for an E rank, the mission will be simple, like hunting and defeating a monster. On the other hand, for Liam''s A-rank mission, he was made to be a general in a war, and his mission was to defeat the other side despite his side''s military being significantly weaker.


    If you fail this mission by dying or losing, your physical body will be turned into a Radic, and you will essentially become a living corpse solely driven by desire.


    Although some of these Radics can be harmless, many turn to the dark side to fulfill their sense of craving, becoming djinns. This is also why the High Dominion is so crucial, as without them, these people would run wild, causing chaos.


    The main reason Celestial Academy is known for being the best school is its almost perfect mission competition rate.


    It is near perfect instead of perfect because some missions can be considered impossible. Even a person like me, who is perfectly ready to rank up, still has a chance of failure.


    "If I fail, so be it. At least I died out of my own volition instead of being killed by someone else."


    The second possible upgrade was my finally obtaining a dagger art. With Proficient Assassin only a few training sessions away and Intermediate Dagger Mastery reached, I was more than ready to start learning an art.


    After the battle, I realized that becoming more powerful at the cost of somewhat changing the plot structure was more than worth it. Of course, that doesn''t mean I would take every overpowered item and leave Liam in the dust.


    If I needed an item, I would take it, regardless of its effect on the plot.


    Currently, the dagger art I wanted was held by an evil organization known as the "Gemstone Order."


    The "Whispering Tempest" is a three-star dagger art that uses the wind to fuel its power. Although it seems like I''m settling for this art, the "Whispering Tempest" is actually an upgradable art with the potential to reach the five-star range. Also, the other powerful dagger arts are currently unobtainable.


    Taking down or infiltrating the Gemstone Order, an end-game villain group for Liam, would be impossible for me, so the only way for me to obtain it would be to join the organization as a member. Then, by completing missions, I could use contribution points to buy the art. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    I couldn''t just bust into their headquarters and demand a position, so the only other options were to be invited or steal a member''s identity. The latter was a more viable option, as getting invited would take far too long as I would have to first delve into the dark side of the world, then gain the trust of some individuals, and then display enough power to be noticed by an executive.


    With the help of dagger art, completing the E-rank mission would be far more manageable. However, I doubted my ability to kill a low-rank member and complete missions assigned by the order right now.


    Thus, I chose to attempt my breakthrough over the weekend. Students were free to attempt their breakthroughs anywhere. A strong mana surge would be released if you failed a mission and became a Radic, notifying heroes nearby.


    Even if security measures were put in place to prevent Radics, why would I care about following them? I would already be dead, so there would be no consequences for me!


    Lifting myself off the bench, I walked back to the dorm building. After going through all my main goals, there was still one small thing bothering me.


    Why was Liam weaker?


    His sneak attack wasn''t powerful or fast enough to one-shot the djinn. That was what caused this whole situation in the first place.


    Recounting my actions throughout the past week, I had not talked to or even been within 10 feet of Liam. I had only seen him when I entered class and headed to my seat.


    So, then, how did my appearance change anything?


    In the future, figuring this out would be vital as it would allow me to make the necessary preparations before fights, and who knows if Dragon''s Will would warn me again instead of just watching it happen.


    Arriving at the dorm building, I looked at my reflection on the glass doors¡ªan average student with pale-white skin, dark black hair, and red eyes.


    It wasn''t my body, but Rens.


    Then, it hit me. It was as if I had received a revelation.


    "... I didn''t do anything."


    Who is Ren?


    A vengeful bastard and a dumbass. Liam had caused Ren to lose everything: his family name, wealth, and honor.


    Even if it weren''t Liam''s fault, Ren would definitely see it as that.


    Would a revengeful, dense idiot like Ren really let the person who "took" everything walk away without even trying anything?


    Sitting still and doing nothing was actually the most suspicious thing Ren could do!


    Liam must have been worrying his ass off trying to figure out what Ren was planning, and seeing me act like nothing happened must have only increased his fear.


    The fear of the unknown is the greatest!


    I almost laughed, imagining Liam peering over every corner and constantly analyzing his surroundings to see if there was any danger.


    Although the Dragon''s Will had already warned me that Liam and Irene''s death would lead to unforeseen consequences through the vision in the mirror room, I had no plans to act as his babysitter.


    Sure, if I had a vision, I would do my best to amend the future, but I wasn''t going to go out of my way.


    Opening my door room door, I collapsed on my bed. Tomorrow would be my breakthrough day, so I needed as much rest as possible.


    E to D rank missions typically take around 2 hours, but I would have to be constantly on the move during that time.


    -*-


    Back at the amusement park, Liam and Irene sat next to each other on the bench, awaiting further instructions from the heroes.


    A hero, fitted in an elegant black suit, approached the pair and asked.


    "To confirm, a djinn appeared in the room, and while Irene distracted the djinn with the conversation, Liam disposed of the djinn by attacking its neck."


    In unison, the two students responded.


    "Yes."


    "Well, this feat is simply unimaginable for students of your age. *sigh* I knew Celestial Academy was a good school, but two first-years already defeating a djinn is just..."


    After writing a few more things on the clipboard, the hero dismissed the students and walked away.


    Liam was the first to get up from the bench. His typical easy-going and confident demeanor was nowhere to be seen, as he seemed to have a lot weighing his mind.


    On the other hand, Irene seemed to be acting like this was any other typical day as she immediately got on her phone. It didn''t take a rocket scientist to tell that Irene was bragging about the fight to Kevin as a broad smile appeared on her face.


    For the past week, Liam has interacted with Irene more often as Kevin constantly hangs around him due to Lily, so he was somewhat used to her attitude by now.


    More importantly, there was something else on Liam''s mind.


    ''Ren was in that room. Was that entire fight and the djinn''s appearance planned by him as an act of revenge? No, he seemed shocked and scared, didn''t he? He had a cloth over his eyes at the end; was he crying out of fear?''


    Ever since the first incident, Liam had constantly been on edge, feeling that at any time, Ren would jump out and try to kill him.


    ''Why can''t this guy do something already? Why is he just acting like nothing happened???''


    Clearing his mind, Liam started walking towards the dorm building. Then, surprising Liam, a voice called out from behind him.


    "Hey, you might not be as powerful as me, but at least you''re not a fraud."


    Turning to face Irene, Liam inwardly thought.


    ''The hell does she mean not as powerful? Aren''t I ranked higher than her???''


    However, Liam didn''t dare voice these thoughts out loud, so he replied with a nod and turned back away.

 Chapter 19 - 19: A New Start [2]

    When I woke up the following day, a sense of serenity came over me¡ªlike the sunshine before a storm.


    Checking my phone, I saw a couple of messages from the group chat with Jin and Han.


    [Jin: Dude, where tf did you go yesterday?]


    [Han: Jin, are you braindead? Did we not just hear about the Djinn incident?]


    Deciding it was too early for their bullshit, I sent a quick message before heading to the shower.


    [Ren: What do y''all know bout revenge?]


    After putting on a new pair of clothes, I sat down on my bed and stared at the system menu in front of me.


    Entering Dreamveil could be done by simply clicking a button on the menu. However, this didn''t mean people just entered Dreamveil as soon as possible to advance.


    The survival rate for those entering Dreamveil while their body was not sufficiently prepared was less than 1%. For those adequately equipped, it''s above 95%. This is primarily due to the Royal Family allowing all awakened, no matter wealth or status, to attend Hero academies for free.


    It''s scary how a simple button on your system menu can lead to your death.


    There was no need for any further preparation. When entering Dreamveil as an E-rank, you are allowed to bring one item with you, and for me, my evident and only choice was my school-supplied daggers, which counted as one item.


    Acquiring any other powerful weapons would be impossible at my current level as they were all in the hands of powerful villains or dormant in some dangerous areas.


    [Are you ready to enter Dreamveil?]


    [Y] / [N]


    After tapping the yes button, I felt the space around me distort. Various pieces of glass surrounded me in a pitch-black void, each with its own tiny world. There were rainforests with human-sized lizards walking around, upside-down mountains, and volcanoes filled with an odd blue substance instead of lava.


    It seemed like my personal world was ready as all the glass pieces around me shattered except for one.


    Reaching my hand, I touched the rough surface of the glass. Instantly, my surroundings distorted and changed once again.


    After a few moments, I reopened my eyes, only to shut them immediately after.


    "AH, THE SUN"


    It was similar to that feeling you feel when you go outside after watching a 3-hour-long movie in a dark theater. I had gone from seeing a pitch-black void to looking directly into the sun.


    With my eyes still closed, I attempted to move my arms to grab the daggers that were placed in my hoodie pocket; however, my arm didn''t budge an inch.


    After attempting to move other parts of my body unsuccessfully, I felt a weird sensation envelop me.


    That was when I realized I was moving! I wasn''t moving forward or backward; I was moving up and down.


    Succumbing to the confusion and frustration from being unable to move or stand up, I slowly opened my eyes.


    In front of me lay an ocean. There were no pieces of land within my eyesight. Just blue everywhere.


    Turning around, I saw sails blowing in the wind and a boat mast. I surveyed my surroundings and saw around 10 people, each equipped with a machete. The people wore shabby and torn clothes, resembling beggars, and they seemed to not care about their appearance as their beards were dirty and messy.


    Upon seeing them, only one word popped into my mind.


    "Pirates!"


    Interrupting my observation, a loud voice sounded from my side.


    "Captain, the feller is awake."


    The loud sound of metal hitting wood entered my ears, and a figure straight out of a Hollywood pirate movie entered my vision.


    A man with a white beard and a black pirate-tricorn hat walked up a set of stairs and neared me. In his hand was a longsword, and on his right shoulder sat a lively parrot.


    Glancing at me for a second, the captain responded.


    "Throw him in the cell."


    Instantly, my body was lifted, and the two pirates beside me walked behind me before lifting me like a dumbbell.


    Unable to do anything due to the ropes tied around my arms and legs, I accepted it and used the time to continue surveying my surroundings.


    Besides the captain, I could see ten pirates on the ship''s deck and one sitting on the crow''s nest without any vision aid like a telescope.


    None of them seemed to be awakened, but each one of them seemed adequately skilled with the machete.


    Unlike the typical pirate stereotypes, none of them were drinking beer or slacking off as they all seemed focused on whatever task they were carrying out.


    "What kind of captain could get pirates to work like this?"


    As my body descended downwards under the ship''s surface, I patiently waited until the two carrying me finally came to a stop.


    My feet slumped to the floor as one of them let go of me and opened a door. After the door was wide open, the other threw me like a baseball into the room.


    Unable to stand up due to the restraints, I laid on the cold wood floor until I heard two pirates'' footsteps disappear.


    The only thing in this room was me. There was no furniture, food, or even a toilet.


    On the door, there was only a slight hole that was big enough for my hand to pass through.


    The mission was pretty apparent to me.


    Escape.


    Escape where to? I had no idea, but I still knew what to do.


    Thankfully, the pirates had done a poor job of searching for me, so my pair of daggers was still in my hoodie pocket.


    Opening my mouth, I leaned down and bit into the ropes that were restraining my arms. I could feel my teeth aching and breaking down with every bite, but my body here was unrelated to my physical body, so I paid no attention.


    Finally, the rope''s strength seemed to have deteriorated, so I wiggled around my arms. Seeing that the rope was weak enough, I wiggled my right hand into my hand pocket until I felt the cold, steel dagger. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Grabbing it, I carefully maneuvered it out of my pocket and placed its hilt into my mouth. Tilting downwards, I cut down all the ropes on my arms, freeing them.


    Taking the dagger out of my mouth, I freed my legs and walked towards the door.


    I had no idea how long it would take for the pirates to check up on me, so I immediately assumed a ready position and stood beside the door with my daggers tilted.


    After a minute of standing in that position, I relaxed my posture and began to sit down.


    10 mundane humans shouldn''t be that hard to take down. However, the real problem was the captain. I had no gauge on his strength, so he was a complete unknown.


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, the sound of footsteps descending entered my room through the hole in the door.


    Instantly, I assumed a ready position and awaited the door''s opening. It would be impossible for the pirate to see me through the window in the door, so he would have to open the door to check on me.


    After a moment, the door slowly creaked open, revealing the pirate''s body. The pirate''s head peeked into the room as he glanced around it. His gaze slowly paused on the torn ropes.


    "Wha-"


    Immediately, I grabbed him with my hand and pulled him into my room. The door slammed shut, and the pirate was in the room alone with me.


    Before he could react, I placed my right dagger to his neck and said.


    "Make a noise, and you die."


    The pirate fearfully nodded his head, so I searched his body for a moment, but to my surprise, there was nothing.


    "How did you get in the room?"


    "t-the k-key i-is o-on the ou-outside."


    "..."


    This idiot had left the key outside!


    Leaving the pirate in the corner of the room, I walked to the door and attempted to open it, but it did not budge an inch.


    How the hell did these pirates have auto-locking technology?


    Tearing a hole in the door in my daggers would alert the entire ship of my escape, so my only other option was to wait for another pirate.


    Walking back to the corner, I continued with my interrogation.


    "Who is your captain?"


    "h-hes Captain Sparrow, o-or J-jack s-sparrow."


    I was right; this guy did come straight out of Hollywood!


    After removing my dagger from his throat, I continued with the interrogation. It was really annoying to hear this guy spasm every time he spoke, and I doubted he would dare to try anything.


    "Tell me about his strength."


    "H-hes t-too st-strong, you can''t b-beat him."


    "Have you seen him fight?"


    "No one has ever survived to see him fight... He k-killed everyone who w-witnessed his fight with the previous captain."


    Interrupting our peaceful conversation, a loud voice yelled.


    "Hey Gram, everything alright down there?"


    My dagger instantly appeared next to the pirate''s neck, and I nodded my head. Quivering, the pirate spoke up.


    "e-everything i-is f-fine, h-he just needed some punishment."


    "Don''t have too much fun, Gram. You know Captain needs him alive."


    After a couple more useless answers from the pirate, I decided he was worthless, so I knocked him unconscious to prevent him from messing with my plans.


    Although killing him would be easier, I knew nothing about the captain''s abilities. At this point, I assumed that the captain was at least an E-rank power, so it wouldn''t be impossible to smell the blood with his enhanced senses.


    Leaving the unconscious body in the corner of the room, I once again assumed my position beside the door and waited patiently for the next visitor.


    After a couple of minutes, I could hear the sound of footsteps again. The footsteps stopped right before the door, so I tensed up in preparation for the sneak attack.


    However, the door remained shut.


    Instead, the pirate moved a small tray with some food through the small hole in the door.


    Instead of panicking, I decided to improvise. I had no idea how long the Captain was planning to keep me locked up, so I was gambling by simply remaining in the room.


    Quietly walking to the corner of the room, I dragged the pirate''s body until it could be seen through the hole in the door.


    On the other side of the door, the pirate, curious as to why I wasn''t taking the food, leaned towards and peeked through the hole in the door.


    However, it wasn''t the prisoner he saw, but his very own crewmate lying lifelessly on the floor.


    Instantly, the door swung open, and the pirate rushed inside with his machete out; however, I had long expected this.


    When the pirate''s head peeked through the door, my daggers were already there.


    In a single swift motion, my daggers decapitated the pirate as his head and body dropped onto the floor.


    He was permanently silenced.


    Now, I was truly on a timer. Would the captain notice the smell of blood and death, or would I kill all the other pirates first?


    Rushing out of the room, I quietly walked up the staircase until the sunlight was visible once again.


    Observing my surroundings, I saw 8 pirates, all facing away from me, working on some task. Each of them could be taken care of in one blow; however, there was one problem.


    Above everyone, on the crow''s nest, I could see the pirate surveying the sea in front and the ship''s current situation. I was sure he would immediately report to the captain if something were amiss, and I wasn''t confident dealing with eight pirates alongside an unknown entity suspected of being as powerful as me.


    Thus, I decided to use the pirate''s trust in his eyes against him. Due to distance, the pirates couldn''t see the specifics of the situations on the deck, so all I would need to do is make the pirates appear alive.

 Chapter 20 - 20:A New Start [3]

    Using the shadow cast by the crow''s nest, I arrived at the ship''s center unnoticed.


    After concealing myself with a wooden pillar, I peeked out to the right and surveyed my surroundings.


    In front of me were two scrawny figures, each with a cutlass comfortably resting at their waist. After a minute of observing them, I noticed that the two had yet to turn their heads away from the sea.


    They simply stared out into the sea into utter silence.


    What the hell is so interesting about the sea?


    Ignoring their peculiar behavior, I glanced to my right and saw that two more figures were there. Unlike the others, they were comfortably resting while talking to each other.


    Far into the distance, I could spot the last member of the crew sitting down near the front of the ship, next to the bowsprit.


    Since I was directly under the crow''s nest, I could not observe the person up top, but repositioning and observing him would be impossible with the clock ticking.


    The moment the rest of the crew was alerted of my escape, my death was inevitable. No matter how special I was, fighting 7 people and the captain head-on was impossible.


    Stepping out of the nest''s shadow, I quietly and carefully moved toward the two pirates conversating, using various things around the ship to hide myself.


    Once near enough, I concealed myself with the shadow of the main sail and listened in on their conversation.


    "Did ya hear boss is paying extra for this expedition?"


    "No shit, why the hell did you think I signed up."


    "just asking... relax."


    " *tsk* just stop with the questions and keep drinking."


    These guys really know nothing. Did they really blindly accept going on the expedition because of the money...?


    Holding both daggers horizontally, I tensed my legs and patiently waited for the perfect moment.


    After 10 more seconds, I saw both pirates pick up their glasses in preparation for a toast.


    Like a cheetah, I lunged forward towards the table. Besides a faint scraping sound, no other sound indicated my movement.


    Within a second, I was only a few meters away from the two oblivious pirates. In one clean motion, I cocked back my right hand and thrust it forward.


    My weakness had become clear during my grueling training sessions with the bots. The reach of my daggers was not enough compared to other weapons.


    One day, after consistently losing to the bot despite knowing its next moves, I chucked my right dagger with all my might. As a gamer, throwing things after a loss or defeat was normal, so this wasn''t anything extraordinary.


    However, what was special was that the throw managed to catch the bot off guard, as it had never expected to receive an attack while I was so far away. The bot determines its moves and attacks using a logical algorithm.


    What logical person randomly hurls their weapon at you?


    Thus, I created a new attack.


    Back on the ship, the dagger gracefully flew through the air like an arrow. This dagger''s target was the man''s heart on the right.


    Putting complete trust in my throwing skills, I didn''t continue watching the dagger but instead raised my left dagger and pounced at the man on the left.


    Although the training robots didn''t have vital spots like a human''s heart, I had trained myself to aim for the typical location of the heart during training.


    If this pirate didn''t die instantly, he would have time to alert the rest of the crew of my presence, effectively ruining my plan.


    Before the pirate could glance away from his beverage, my dagger was already stabbed into his body.


    His eyes lost their colorful luster, and his posture crumbled as he slumped onto his chair. A simple attack like this wouldn''t be able to kill an awakened, but thankfully, I had confirmed that the crew were all mundane humans.


    The wound left by my dagger was too small to be noticed by the surveyor up on the crow''s nest, so a sigh of relief escaped my mouth.


    However, the sigh almost reentered my mouth when I turned to face the other pirate.


    He was breathing.., he wasn''t dead.


    But, then, why are his eyes closed?


    "God damn it, Jace, did you throw your glass at me. It got into my eye." S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After looking at the floor covered with shards of glass, I quickly realized the situation. My dagger hadn''t missed his heart, but in a stroke of luck, the man had placed his cup right in front of his heart.


    The dagger broke the cup, and the broken glass went into the man''s eye, blinding him.


    Is this what they call equilibrium?


    He''s lucky because he didn''t die from the throw, but I''m lucky because he was blinded and not able to realize the situation.


    Not knowing whether to thank the gods for luck or not, I grabbed my right dagger from the floor and stabbed it into the pirate''s heart.


    Leaving the two corpses, I returned to the ship''s center, hiding under the crow''s nest.


    My next target was the man in the distance, but I could not reach him without being noticed. The path there lacked any shadows or things that could mask my presence.


    Although killing the two pirates staring off into the sea would be much easier, there were more risks.


    Due to their standing position, it would be impossible for me to make them appear alive to observer on the crow''s nest, so it would only be a matter of time before I was found out.


    There was also something else bothering me about their behavior. I doubted the captain was stupid, so why would he assign these two pirates the useless task of staring into the sea?


    Attacking them seemed to be a bad decision.


    It might have been my hunch or gut feeling, but then again, what was I without those feelings? Wasn''t my ability to analyze and predict my opponents'' moves just a hunch as well?


    I was fully trusting my ability to foresee their moves, so why should I not also trust my hunch now?


    Since the two pirates were facing the sea, the other pirate was a distance away, and the observer was directly above me, I could move around somewhat freely.


    After climbing the ship''s roping, I surveyed my surroundings from a higher height and noticed something that could help me.


    A rope connected the sails on the ship so I could walk the rope to reach the opposite side of the ship where the lone pirate sat.


    Of course, there was the risk of being spotted, but using the rope seemed to be my only option.


    Not wasting any more time, I placed both my feet on the rope and stabilized myself before continuing.


    Like a tight-rope walker in a circus, I slowly moved my right foot forward, then my left, and repeated that notion until I finally reached the end.


    Stepping onto a wood plank right below the sail, I immediately looked down at the ship and saw the lone pirate sitting almost directly below me.


    Readying my daggers, I gracefully leaped off the wooden plank and landed on the ship deck.


    Shocked by the sudden noise behind him, the pirate turned around, but by then, it was already too late; my dagger was already embedded in his body.


    Stepping out of the shadows, I retrieved my dagger and examined the pirate''s body in hopes of finding something useful, but like the other corpses, there seemed to be nothing valuable.


    Just as I was about to resume my plan and head back to the ship''s center, a sudden noise sounded above me.


    *CA-CAW*


    Immediately tilting my head upward, a feeling of dread overwhelmed me as I noticed the source was not just an ordinary bird but the captain''s parrot.


    Attracted by the noise of the parrot, the observer on the crow''s nest redirected his attention to the area, and there I was, standing in the plain sunlight with two blood-covered daggers.


    "CAPTAIN, HE''S ESCAPED!"


    On the opposite end of the ship, I could see a door swing open, revealing the captain''s figure.


    Tensing my legs and readjusting my grip on the daggers, I awkwardly awaited the captain''s next move; however, he remained completely still.


    Then, his figure suddenly disappeared from the quarter deck, and in the next moment, he reappeared only a few meters away from me.


    My dragon eyes... how...?


    My eyes were supposed to see all. However, they failed to catch his movements...


    There is no way... just what is he?


    Without waiting for me to recover from the shock, the captain drew his broadsword from his scabbard and charged at me.


    This time, his moving figure was easily visible to my eyes.


    Was he going slower?


    As the charging captain neared me, I sidestepped to the right, avoiding the slash.


    Without skipping a heartbeat, I immediately propelled my daggers upward, yet my daggers failed to hit anything.


    The figure of the captain once again vanished and reappeared a few feet away.


    "w-whats g-going on, m-my e-eyes..."


    Not paying any attention to my words, the captain swung his broadsword, releasing a wind slash hurling right at me.


    Seeing that it was my first time even fighting against a magic slash, I doubted my ability to parry it with my daggers, so I retreated backward, right out of the range of the wind slash.


    Instead of releasing countless more wind slashes, the captain stood still and stared at my figure.


    Was he out of mana already? No, that''s impossible; it was just one slash...


    After a couple of moments, the captain once again charged at me. Knowing he would predict my sidestep dodge again, I formed an X with my daggers and prepared to take broadsword on directly.


    Under the weight of the heavy broadsword, my X formation didn''t break. However, I was pushed back even further, too far even...


    Not bothering to counterattack, I stepped back and took a quick glance at my surroundings.


    I was at the very edge of the ship; one wrong misstep would cause me to fall into the sea.


    Ah, this was what he was planning this entire time.


    Defense would be impossible in this situation; I must take the initiative. Yet, how could I attack or hurt an opponent that could move faster than my eyes?


    Realizing the captain was preparing another attack, I rapidly cocked my hand back, released my left dagger, and hurled it right at the captain. Immediately after, I followed the flying dagger and charged with my right dagger at the captain.


    Oddly enough, instead of rapidly moving away like earlier, the captain raised his broadsword to deflect the flying dagger.


    His broadsword effectively blocked the flying dagger as it rebounded onto the floor; however, I was already upon him right by that time, my right dagger swinging upwards in an uppercut.


    However, the captain''s figure disappeared again this time and reappeared a few meters away.


    "w-what."


    Now that I had some breathing room, I began analyzing the captain''s fighting style; however, it just didn''t make sense.


    His irregular and long pauses between fights. His periodic use of rapid movement. His use of only one wind slash.


    What if he''s not moving...?


    Subsequently, I voiced a possibility out loud.


    "Teleportation."


    The pauses for gathering mana, the volatile use due to lack of mana, and the one wind slash to conserve mana for teleportation.


    Looking at the captain, I saw a crack in his confident demeanor. His usual impassive expression was replaced with one of shock.


    Instead of taking the initiative once to attack, I took another glance around the ship.


    Another thing that bothered me was the reason I had yet to use my time-slowing ability.


    Where were the other crew members, and why were they not helping the captain fight me?


    There was an all-out brawl, but the surviving crewmates were nowhere to be seen?


    On top of the crow''s nest, the observer seemed to be watching the fight with a bewildered expression, but, on the other hand, the two other pirates remained the same.


    Simply staring out into the sea...


    After recovering my left dagger, I refocused my attention on the captain.


    Sure, I figured out he had teleportation, but how was I supposed to counter that?


    How was I even supposed to beat this guy?


    Saying this was an uphill battle would be an understatement; it was akin to scaling Mt. Everest in a winter snowstorm.


    The open setting of the ship deck was advantageous for him as I had nowhere to hide. I couldn''t just release a barrage of dagger attacks on him to draw out his mana, as I would be left open to his counterattacks.


    But if I didn''t constantly attack him, he would save up mana and teleport away whenever I did attack.


    Isn''t the first rankup supposed to be easy?


    I''m just a humble E-rank trying to get to D-rank; what the hell is this?

 Chapter 21 - 21:A New Start [4]

    If fighting head-on doesn''t work, what are my other options?


    Escape into the sea, cultivate the heavenly demon dagger arts for 100 years, then come back and beat the young captain and his entire sect!


    If only...


    From what I''ve seen thus far, he can only teleport a distance of exactly 10 meters, no less or no more. So, if I were to find a confined space, his teleportation would be useless, but then again, he wouldn''t hold back on his wind slashes, and in a confined space, dodging those would be near impossible.


    With my ability to slow time, I could dodge a few, but that would only work for around 6 seconds until I''m out of mana.


    The battle came to a standstill as the captain continued gathering mana while I surveyed my surroundings with no intention of attacking first.


    There was only one peculiarity about the situation.


    The two pirates were observing the sea, and the pirate on the crow''s nest had yet to join the fight.


    With those three in the fight alongside the captain, I would definitely been cornered and thrown into the sea by now, yet the captain still refuses to call for them.


    Is he trying to show his power and superiority?


    "I don''t need your help, you dumb mundane humans. Watch this pirate sect leader solo this guy!"


    No... if that were the case, he wouldn''t be pausing to gather mana after every encounter. Who would think highly of someone who has to recharge every few seconds?


    Then, does the captain care about their survival?


    It would make sense, as I could kill those 3 mundane pirates before my eventual death.


    As the captain unsheathed his broadsword, indicating that he had enough mana, I examined his face.


    Not only 10 minutes ago, I had ruthlessly killed 5 members of his crew, yet his facial expression remained devoid of any emotion.


    Surely, he would be angry if he cared about his crew. Well, could he be hiding his emotions so as not to seem weak in front of me?


    As the captain charged at me once again, I formulated and decided on a plan.


    The first step: get some distance.


    I was at the front of the ship with my back to the sea, and my destination was the pillar of the crow''s nest I had used earlier.


    Slowing the pace of his charge, the captain swung his broadsword twice in succession, releasing two wind slashes.


    One aimed at my current location and the other at my right side.


    The correct and only way to avoid the slashes would be to sidestep to the left.


    This was quite obviously a ploy by the captain to trap me once I moved to the left, yet the captain had methodically eliminated any other chances at dodging.


    The plan was clearly well thought out.


    This trap was impossible to avoid and would undoubtedly lead to the captain cornering me. After that, my death was assured as I could not dodge his massive broadsword with the limited space on the ship''s edge.


    From there, I would either succumb to the sword and die or fall into the sea and drown.


    Yet, the captain had failed to take one thing into account.


    Sure, he''s special for being one of the few people able to utilize space magic to teleport. But then again, I''m the only one in the entire world capable of manipulating time.


    Of course, the captain couldn''t have predicted this given a million chances, but then again, one must expect the unexpected.


    As the wind slash aimed at my right neared me, I raised my hand and tapped my eye.


    The speed of the captain charging from the left at me remained the same, but the right slash, which was inside the area of affection, slowed to the point where it almost stopped.


    As I stepped to the right, the wind slash aimed at my previous location whizzed past me and disappeared into the dark blue sea.


    Maybe the luck gods were real!


    I didn''t even have to formulate a plan of action; the captain handed it to me!


    After tapping my eye again, I ran and returned to my previous position.


    Within seconds, the captain and right wind slash had reached their destination, but I was nowhere to be found.


    As the captain confusedly turned around, he saw me standing behind the two pirates with each of my daggers pressed to a neck.


    "Make a move, and they die."


    Following a short pause, the captain''s indifferent expression changed, but no negative emotions were present this time.


    Only a wide smile spanning across his entire face.


    My grip on the daggers tensed as the captain took a step forward.


    Was I wrong? Did he not care?


    What was the reason for not using the mundane pirates to attack me?


    Taking another step forward, the captain finally spoke his first words to me.


    "You must really not know how things work around here."


    Suppressing my shock, I calmly maintained my position and responded.


    "Get any closer, and they''re dead."


    Of course, this was an empty threat.


    These two guys were the only bargaining chips I had in a gamble for my survival.


    Ignoring my instructions and calling my bluff, the captain took another step forward. By now, he was only 7-8 steps away from me.


    "I hope you''re not stupid, kid. Why do you think I''ve left these two pirates be during the fight?"


    Briefly glancing away from the captain and at the two pirates, a feeling of fear overcame me.


    The two pirates remained oblivious in the face of death by my hands. They ignored the cold sensation of my daggers on their necks entirely.


    They simply continued staring at the sea...


    "w-what''s g-going o-on..?"


    Taking another step forward, the captain continued.


    "I don''t know what trick you pulled back there, but wasting that opportunity was stupid."


    If I hadn''t run towards the pirates and instead ran towards the captain''s backside, I would have completely surprised him, allowing me to have an uncontested counterattack.


    While killing him with that would have been impossible, it would have given me a chance to inflict serious damage.


    Did I make the wrong decision?


    But then, why is he slowly walking towards me when he could teleport and fight with me immediately?


    Does he need more mana?


    This was a game of poker.


    Instead of checking by counter-attacking the captain, I had raised the bet by using the pirates as hostages.


    Was it a mistake, maybe?


    But I wasn''t going to fold now.


    It was time to double down... I''m going all in.


    Back on Earth, my friends would constantly joke about going to Vegas and going all in on black, but here I was doing the same thing.


    If it didn''t work out?


    Jump.


    As the captain took another step, I grabbed one of the pirates and pushed him off the ship.


    Instead of looking at the pirate''s descent into the water, I returned my attention to the captain.


    Was he bluffing this entire time as well?


    A subtle change occurred on the captain''s face as he turned his head to the right and watched the pirate fall.


    A shrieking voice sounded from the right of the ship.


    "CAPTAINNN, BUT YOU SAID THA.."


    *SPLASH*


    Without skipping a beat, I immediately attempted to take advantage of the situation and said.


    "I warned you, didn''t I? One more step and the other goes."


    "You fool, you really don''t know when to give up, do you? Kill him, see if I care."


    As those words left the captain''s mouth, I could feel the pirate''s body quivering under the pressure of my dagger. However, his expression remained neutral.


    Lifting his head to face me, the captain made direct eye contact and stepped forward.


    Well, we both went all in.


    Isn''t it time to reveal our cards..?


    This whole dream has been strange from the start.


    Why would they imprison me in the cell instead of killing me immediately?


    The pirates on the ship didn''t know anything about the details of this expedition.


    As an awakened, you can sense whether others are as well, so the captain knew from the start that I was special, yet he left mundane humans to guard me.


    He knew I would escape; rather, he planned for my escape.


    He knew I would massacre the pirates on board.


    He wanted them to die.


    This ship was never going on an expedition; this ship was going to be a graveyard.


    But why? These pirates have no money or material value to offer to the captain.


    That begs the question: what value do these pirates hold?


    Only one word comes to mind.


    Sacrifices


    How does that connect to the constant and unusual observation of the Sea?


    The Sea


    The captain spared me so I could do the dirty work by killing the crew, and then he planned to sacrifice me along with them.


    Sacrifices to the Sea.


    This theory was further confirmed by the captain''s peculiar expression after the pirate was dropped into the Sea.


    With the captain now only 4 steps away from me, I had to make a decision.


    "I''m going all in on black."


    Tilting my head upwards, I returned the captain''s eye contact. A smile appeared as I raised my right dagger and left daggers.


    However, I didn''t stab them into the pirate; those daggers pierced right into my own hands. Grabbing the pirate''s shirt with my blooded hand, I didn''t hesitate as I threw him off the ship.


    If you can''t beat them, join them.


    Not skipping a beat, I immediately infused my daggers with mana and threw both of them right at the captain.


    Maybe, if it were one dagger, the captain could dodge it, but with two, he couldn''t.


    Well, he couldn''t without teleportation.


    In an instant, the captain teleported 10 meters back.


    But by the time he reappeared, I was already on the ship''s opposite side, right next to the bodies of the two drunken pirates I had disposed of earlier.


    Grabbing the bodies with both hands, I immediately hurled the bodies off the side of the ship.


    From the opposite side of the ship, a voice echoed.


    "Think you can beat me at my own game?"


    The location of this voice was the captain, who was currently holding 4 bodies: the bodies of the two pirates in the prison room, the body of the individual pirate, and the body of the pirate on the crow''s nest.


    Within an instant, those bodies were sent flying off the ship and into the Sea.


    Rubbing his hands together, a smile appeared on the captain''s face as he continued.


    "Well, we''re right back to where we started, aren''t we?"


    "4 corpses to 4 corpses."


    "Seems you''ve figured it out. The 5th must be one of us."


    "Why do all of this..?"


    "The more corpses sacrificed, the more power Leviathan grants to one. Imagine what I''d get from sacrificing an awakened...haha."


    Leviathan...? The water serpent.


    A mythical creature?


    Why is there an S+ ranked beast in my E RANKUP DREAM?


    Looking at the approaching captain, I didn''t even bother to prepare.


    My daggers were gone. However, it seemed the sacrifices had restored my mana capacity.


    That mana wouldn''t be nearly enough to let me survive, let alone kill the captain.


    With a sigh, I turned my back to the captain and calmly said.


    "... I fold."


    Without waiting for a response, I jumped off the ship.


    The goal of the dream couldn''t have been to kill the captain; that was simply impossible at my level.


    So, then, he has to die, but I can''t kill him.


    What if I had a little talk with his boss?


    As I dipped into the water, an intense cold overwhelmed me, sending shudders down to my exoskeleton.


    However, that feeling of coldness was soon replaced.


    Replaced by fear.


    An indescribable amount of fear.


    The mere pressure this existence emitted elicited fear.


    When the feeling of fear reached me, I didn''t hesitate as I raised my right hand and tapped my eye.


    As I opened my eyes, I looked towards the source of this fear I felt, and not even 10 meters away, I saw a creature.


    Its jade-colored body seemed to stretch for miles with spikes running down it on top.


    Its head was adorned with scales that glistened like gems, and its pointed snout contained twin nostrils that flared as it stared at me.


    Although I couldn''t tell, its eye seemed to sparkle with interest as it stared at me. It felt like if I made eye contact with the water serpent any longer, the pressure would immediately kill me.


    It didn''t immediately kill me... is that a good sign?


    I had gone through all that work to sacrifice 4 mundane humans to it, so maybe the Sea Serpent was giving me an audience?


    Surely, he would rather have me as a worshipper than that captain. After all, I''m not just a generational talent; I''m one in a trillion talent at the minimum!


    Who else can manipulate time?


    Feeling the mana rapidly draining, I slowly gestured my head toward the ship.


    When I turned my head back to the creature, it was no longer there. The water serpent, which seemed to span over a hundred miles, had somehow disappeared?


    Turning my head back towards the ship, I glanced, but it was no longer there. There was not even a trace left of the ship...


    Just as my mana was about to run out and the time-slowing was about to deactivate, a bright light enveloped me, and a screen appeared.


    [You have completed your Dream!]


    [You have completed a hidden mission inside your Dream!]


    [Sea God Believer] --> [Unlocked]


    [Calculating Completion Rate [--*--] ] ---> [Error: Value cannot be calculated] S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    -------------


    [A/N: Back to school and academy stuff for a while after this]

 Chapter 22 - 22:School Days [1]

    The next instant, I was no longer submerged in the water under the ship''s ruins, but I was back in my room.


    "w-what t-the hell just happened...?"


    The mission was over just like that?


    Should I be mad or happy?


    Why did I go through all that planning and work to complete the dream when the Sea Serpent did it for me in less than 10 seconds?


    To be fair, if I hadn''t sacrificed those mundanes to him, it would be possible that he instantly killed me, assuming that I was a sacrifice.


    But, then again, I doubt the time of a mythical deity is worth only 4 mundane humans.


    So then, what price will I have to pay to that serpent?


    Now, I owe a debt to a one-of-a-kind mythical creature that is at least an S-rank beast!


    Getting off my bed, I walked to the bathroom to examine my body.


    Sure enough, my clothes were completely dry, and all the injuries I had received from the battle with the captain were gone.


    It was as if my body were brand new!


    Before examining my system menu, I immediately pulled out my smartwatch and clicked on a search browser.


    [Originating from the Southern continent, the legend of Leviathan has risen in popularity rapidly during the past 30 years. Described as a jade-green serpent with a body spanning over 50 meters, many claim to have spotted the mythical entity, but no evidence remains.


    5 years ago, a party of A-ranked adventures traveled to the originating city of the legend to investigate; however, their week-long expedition revealed nothing.]


    Jade-green serpent and over 50-meter body.


    That''s precisely what I saw.


    So, then, can mythical creatures invade dreams now?


    Or, did I see a fake version of Leviathan made by the dream?


    Putting my worries aside, I finally caved into my curiosity as I looked at my new and improved stat''s menu.


    ===Menu===


    User : Ren Montclair


    [Class: Rookie Assassin: (Level 2: 0%) ]


    -> Stealth : E+


    -> Intermediate Dagger Mastery : 15%


    -> Arts: (N/A)


    [Stats]


    -> Rating : E+ {Ready for Rankup}


    -> Strength : E-


    -> Agility : E+


    -> Stamina : E+


    -> Magic Power : D-


    -> Luck: G-S {Conditional}


    -> Intelligence : E


    -> Charm : G+


    [Traits]


    -> Passive: Dragon''s Will [1 / ?]


    ---> Dragon Eyes : Your eyesight is enhanced.


    [Skills]


    -> [[E] Dash] : Not requiring any mana usage, the skill allows the user to move 10 meters from their current location in any direction with a cooldown period of 7 seconds. The skill does not instantly move the user but temporarily increases the user''s speed until they move 10 meters.


    =======


    "All of that, and I didn''t even get to D Rank."


    Although I completed the dream requirement to advance to D rank, my stats aren''t high enough to qualify me for D rank.


    If all goes as planned, Liam will complete his dream and advance to D rank a week from now, so it''s not as if I''m falling behind.


    However, it''s an entirely different story after Liam''s ascension to C rank, as he''ll be leagues ahead of me despite our closeness in overall rating.


    That just goes to show what getting overpowered skills and traits can do.


    To be fair, I''m not doing terribly in the overpowered traits department, but still, it can''t come close to comparing to what Liam will get.


    Despite all that, I''m not even jealous of Liam; I somewhat pity him!


    That guy has to take on all the evils in the world with close to zero breaks.


    Imagine killing one villain just for ten more to pop up and that loop repeating until your eventual death.


    He can have the hero role; I''m good on that, not gonna lie.


    Getting up, I decided to head to the training room to check out my new skill. Of course, if I were in the top 2 ranks, I would have my room, but here we are.


    If I had to estimate my current ranking, I would say I''m a bit stronger than my assigned rank of #97, but at the same time, I am still a distance away from the top 10.


    Those named characters are a completely different beast.


    Speaking of named characters, a surprising sight awaited me as I entered the training hall.


    Irene was training.


    That wasn''t surprising as she was a hard worker despite the kinks in her personality; however, what was surprising was that she was alone.


    Isn''t she kinda obsessed with Kevin?


    Usually, this wouldn''t be bad but rather good, as one of the named characters getting stronger means the hero''s party is getting stronger.


    However, Irene isn''t a future hero party member! She''s the opposite, a future villain, one of the most powerful.


    Simply by existing, I''m making Liam''s life harder.


    Well, that''s in the future; I can just find a solution when the time comes!


    Maybe because of the fatigue I accumulated during the dream, a yawn slipped out of my mouth as I watched Irene train.


    This seemed to catch her attention as mid-spell casting, she abruptly turned around and glanced around before pausing her gaze on my figure.


    "Got something to say!?"


    "..."


    "Spit it out. You''re not even a full noble anymore. Who do you think you are looking at me like that?"


    "..."


    "Pfft, you''re just a loser now. It''s an honor for someone like you even to have the privilege of looking at me."


    "..." sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Didn''t I just look at her?


    What is all this for?


    I was at a loss for words.


    A simple late-night training session has turned into me getting flamed!


    "Can''t even speak now? Good, someone like you shouldn''t even dare speak to me."


    With those last words, Irene stormed out of the training center.


    Problem solved... I guess.


    A tear rolled down my face as I headed to the AI bot room.


    After grabbing my two daggers, I configured the system panel and assumed a ready stance.


    [Stage 2 Dummy Selected]


    As the dummy charged at me, I remained still. The current goal was to test the limitations of my new skill, Dash, not beat the dummy as fast as possible.


    When the dummy''s sword was only a few meters from my body, I activated Dash.


    However, nothing happened.


    The next second, the dummy''s sword struck me, and I was flung against the wall of the training room.


    [Stage Failed.]


    This wasn''t even close to teleportation!


    Sighing, I got up and got ready for another battle.


    This skill testing was going to leave my rebuilt body in shambles...


    After 3 hours, with my body barely in one piece, I stepped out of the training room with some conclusions.


    There was a way to make dash similar to teleportation!


    The only problem with my current dash is the delay. I can''t move instantly; I must activate the dash and move in my desired direction. It takes me around 1 second to do that, meaning it''s barely better than me just dodging normally.


    However, I found a decent solution.


    After activating dash, I have 5 seconds to move before my speed returns to normal, so if I activate dash at least 5 seconds before the attack; I could instantly move forward without delay.


    With my entire body still aching from my testing session, I stepped out of the gym and welcomed the cold breeze of the air.


    Despite the darkness of the night, the full moon shined brightly, illuminating the path back to the dorm.


    Only after looking at the moon did I realize I had no clue what day or time it was.


    How long had I been dreaming for?


    After taking out my smartwatch and checking the time, I relaxed, realizing that it was Sunday night.


    I hadn''t missed any days of school!


    My 0 merit points were safe...!


    Since I woke up about 4 hours ago, I wasn''t even close to being ready to sleep, so I opted for a detour.


    After making my way to the edge of the island, I put my hands on the cold, steel railing and took in the view of the capital city surrounding the academy. With my dragon eyes, I could see almost everything.


    To the very left of the city stood the royal palace, and to the very right of the city stood the slums.


    The contrast between the two was clear.


    The royal palace had multiple buildings spread throughout its large area, all adorned with intricate decorations.


    On the other hand, the slums had buildings cramped together; each building had some fault, whether it was broken windows or, in some cases, the building even tilting, causing it to be in danger of collapsing.


    Only a few nights ago, I had stared from this exact place and admired the city, but now, with my heightened eyesight, every fault was apparent to me, and sight even somewhat disgusted me.


    By all means, I was not a saint or even close to one, but the stark contrast in lifestyle still somewhat sickened me.


    "hah... who am I to complain? I''m one of those nobles, after all."


    Turning my head downwards, I stared into the sea, but a surprising sight awaited me there as well.


    Everything in the sea was visible to me.


    The fishing swimming deep below the surface of the water, the green algae swaying back and forth at the bottom, and even the caves that seemed to stretch for miles.


    Was this a reward from the dream?


    Considering that nothing changed in my system menu, it was improbable for this to be a direct reward from the dream, but then what else could it be?


    Turning away from the view of the ocean and the capital city, I had only one thought.


    Is there a way to turn his off?


    The view of the capital, tainted by its many flaws, and the view of the ocean, degraded by its complexities, was ruined for me.


    Glasses, maybe?


    I have to look into that.


    As I turned my head to the side, I noticed another person standing a few feet away from me.


    The Elven Princess, Alya.


    The moon illuminated her figure as her silver hair sparkled in the moonlight. Her beauty was simply unmatchable, even considering Irene.


    There was also another beauty, but I didn''t dare think of her, considering the way the old Ren emerged last time.


    Alya''s aloof personality only added to her beauty.


    People often desire what they can''t have.


    Later this week, Alya would become acquainted with Liam, and her negative view of humans would change, but currently, she detests all humans


    Of course, this would happen due to another incident, this time happening at the school.


    Alya would be a great resource for Liam as her connections and power as a princess would allow her to obtain anything Liam desired.


    That connection would also be helpful for me as I desperately needed dagger art, new daggers, and even glasses.


    Jolting me out of my thoughts, a voice sounded from her direction.


    "...What do you think?"


    Turning my head, I scanned my surroundings to find the source of this voice.


    Surely, it couldn''t be Alya, as she despised humans, right?


    But there was no one else there; the source of the voice was undoubtedly her.


    After realizing that, a thought popped into my head.


    Why don''t I build a connection with her, too? Surely, she can help both Liam and me, right?


    Didn''t I make this mistake before, caring too much about the plot?


    With that in mind and some of my personal feelings, I responded.


    "A false hope. What point is there in protecting an empire? It is useless if it is already corrupted."


    What better way is there to bond than to share common interests?


    We both hate humans!


    The royal family was so focused on raising heroes that they forgot about the normal commoners, which led to the slums being this way.


    In reality, my words about corruption were also somewhat true, as the academy and government are already corrupted by djinns.


    I mean, the proof was her.


    In the upcoming incident, she would be attacked and captured by djinns, who infiltrated the academy.


    Maintaining her distant expression, she responded.


    "It''s too late for someone like you to say that. Now that you''ve lost that privilege, you complain."


    Ah, she knows I used to be a noble.


    That must make me look hypocritical.


    All this time, I''ve been sitting back and enjoying the wealth supplied by the terrible government, but as soon as I lose it, I start to whine.


    With those parting words, Alya turned around and left.


    Well, there goes that connection...

 Chapter 23 - 23:School Days [2]

    Heading into class the next day, I was surprised that the two seats next to me were empty; however, that confusion quickly transformed into anger after checking my smartwatch.


    [Jin: Ren, you up to skip class today...?]


    [Jin: Hello...?]


    [Han: You there dude?]


    [Jin: Whatever, Han and I skipping tmr, lmk if you''re down.]


    Of course, I want to skip!


    Who wants to sit through 8 hours of lecturing???


    However, due to Ren''s previous actions, the academy would be keeping a close eye on him, so skipping even a single day of class could lead to suspension or expulsion.


    Sometimes, I hate that guy.


    After sending a quick message to let Jin and Han know I couldn''t, I put down my smartwatch and awkwardly waited for the bell to ring.


    But then, it dawned on me.


    I hadn''t done any homework; I had been dreaming the entire weekend!


    Should I just skip? What if I get called out for not doing homework? Wouldn''t that be worse?


    Before I could come to a decision, the bell rang, and thus, my chance of escaping class was gone. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As the teacher walked into the classroom, I tried to make myself as focused as possible.


    If the teacher called on me to explain a homework problem, I was screwed!


    Upon reaching the lectern, the teacher paused momentarily before turning his head to us and speaking.


    "Today, form up into groups of 3 and spend half of the class making a slideshow on a reading. After, you will present to the class."


    Really...?


    Was something like this ever mentioned in the book?


    Maybe, but why would I remember a mere group project when there''s a whole kidnapping incident that takes place the same week?


    Instinctively, my gaze turned to the center of the class where the main cast sat.


    Zach, who didn''t have a problem making friends due to his good-natured and kind personality, had already found a group. Like the good person he is, he noticed that some people were bound to be left out due to the max group size being 3, so he voluntarily left.


    Kevin immediately turned to Lily and asked her to join a group, and she didn''t deny it. Instead, she turned to Liam and asked him the same thing.


    Without sparing any glances at Irene, the group of Kevin, Lily, and Liam had been formed.


    Maybe she does have a good reason to be a villain..?


    I wanted to pity her, but after glancing around the classroom, I realized I was in the same predicament.


    Who would want to partner with a lunatic who got disowned by their family and suspended within the first month of school?


    Those idiots, Han and Jin, really abandoned me!!


    Sighing, I patiently awaited the awkward words of the professor.


    "...Erm..Those who don''t have a group, meet at the right corner of the class."


    Ignoring the glances directed towards me, I put my head down and made my way to the right side of the classroom.


    There sat Irene.


    Of course, that was expected. With her shitty personality, there was no way she would be able to make friends outside of the main cast.


    But what was unexpected was the person sitting only a few feet to the side of Irene.


    Alya.


    Shouldn''t the Elven princess have tons of friends to partner up with?


    Turning my head to face my Elven classmates, I noticed most of them sending gazes full of pity to her.


    Ah, it seemed she took the "bullet" for the Elven team and partnered up with the humans.


    As I sat down opposite the two, Irene looked at me with resentment and anger, while Alya didn''t even acknowledge my presence and continued reading her book.


    What a great group dynamic!


    After giving a sympathetic glance to our group, the professor turned around and began assigning sub-topics to each group.


    [Group 4: Dungeon Clearing]


    Not bad, these 2 girls are smart, so I should be able to get away with doing nothing.


    But then, to my absolute horror, the professor continued writing.


    [Each person in the group will present for 30 seconds.]


    I can''t just leach off them...


    Sure, the book portrayed Liam clearing countless dungeons in the book, so maybe I wouldn''t be absolutely clueless, but, at the same time, why would the book explain the intricaies of dungeon clearing when they can just Liam overpower his way through.


    Looking up from her book, Alya shifted her gaze to the board and swiftly took out a piece of paper.


    Without giving any instructions, she immediately started writing.


    Out of curiosity, I peeked at her paper and was immediately amazed and confused.


    Why the hell is she drawing visual models..?


    What is a boss room indicator..?


    Clear conditions... isn''t that just beating the dungeon boss?


    Turning away from Alya, I snuck a peak at Irene''s paper and was shocked to realize that I didn''t understand half the words she was using it.


    I missed one homework assignment; how the hell did it end up like this?


    Feeling left out and somewhat embarrassed, I grabbed a piece of paper from my backpack and began writing about the dungeons the novel described.


    After about a minute of this awkward silence, I heard a faint laugh, so I turned my head upwards and noticed Irene snickering while looking straight at my paper.


    ...I''m screwed, aren''t I?


    How am I going to bullshit my way through this for 30 seconds..?


    At this point, only 15 minutes were remaining, so I just began writing down absolutely anything remotely related to dungeons.


    Dungeon entrances. CHECK!


    Dungeon monsters. CHECK!


    Random chapter I vaguely remember. CHECK!


    After 10 minutes, I honestly couldn''t add anything else to the paper, so I looked up from my paper to observe my partners.


    Of course, they looked perfectly fine, even ectatic in Irene''s case.


    Irene, a magic scholar at the age of FIFTEEN


    Alya, a elven princess who received the best education possible


    Internally admitting defeat, I simply looked up to the ceiling and tried my best surpress the urge to snap back at Irene, who had a big fat grin on her face.


    Didn''t your entire friend group abandon you?


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, the teacher announed.


    "Your time is up. Group 4 please head up first."


    Great, our group is first.


    I mean it didn''t make my situation worse, I was already at rock-bottom.


    As the 3 of us made our way to the front of the class, there was an awkward moment of silence as none of us had actually discussed the order we were presenting in; however, the elven princess just started speaking first without any discussion.


    "Things such as bushes that look out of place or rocks that can be identified as abnormal for the dungeon type can be indicators for the boss room; however, these indicators should not be confused with traps. The difference between the two lies in the the dungeon type and varies with..."


    Yeah, I''m cooked...


    As the 30 seconds of Alya''s presentation came to close, I had an important decision to make.


    Do I either go 2nd or 3rd?


    At this point, I just wanted to get this thing over with and move on with my life, so I took one last glance at my paper to prepare myself.


    Imitating Alya''s actions from earlier, I stepped forward without any discussion with Irene and began speaking.


    " *ahem* Adding on to what my teammate said, dungeons can be classified in into two types, and they branch off from there..."


    Though the book''s explanations were mostly vague, they didn''t skimp out on dungeon classifications due to their importance in the plot


    "First, we have Yin dungeons that serve as reminders of the past. These dungeons are known to be based on events that have occurred in the past such as the the greek-roman war. On the other hand, Yang dungeons are based on fantasy or fiction as there are not real and in turn involve mythical creatures or legends."


    Even after stalling through that to the best of my abilities, there was still 15 seconds remaining, so I moved onto what I called the non sense section.


    Random things that were barely related to dungeons on my paper.


    At this point, I was already off topic as I was talking about dungeon classifications not exploration, but still something is better than nothing, right?


    "... Moving on, classifying these dungeons are important as they help you better understand the environment and creatures contained inside."


    10 seconds


    "The simplest way to sort these dungeons is to absorb the mana coming from within the dungeon. If your body accepts the mana, it is a Yin, and if not, it is Yang."


    As those last words escaped my mouth, I anxiously glanced around the classroom to see how it went.


    As expected, most of the students had confused signs on their face, probably due my presentation not even being on topic, but on the bright side, there were no mocking expressions!


    Right as I was about to step back, the teacher let out a cough and said.


    " *ahem* students, many of you may not know of the method mentioned by Ren as it is currently a prototype and untested. For now, this hypothetical method is only known to academy officials, so please refrain from mentioning it to others for now."


    Hypothetical??? Prototype???


    Liam used this method in his first dungeon, didn''t he?


    As I recalled the beginning of the book, something suddenly came to memory.


    Ah, Liam privately received this method from the headmaster as a reward, didn''t he...?


    ...maybe my memory of the book is a bit lacking.


    "... how does he know of this method, then..?"


    "he''s not even a noble, why does he know, but not us???"


    "Even the my father''s guild or the number one guild doesn''t know about it.. how the hell does that idiot have that info."


    Stepping back, I ignored the countless questioning gazes on me, and of course, there was one gaze filled with anger.


    I had just revealed the method that Liam personally received, effectively making him lose his advantage and reward!


    What good is a method if everyone knows it?


    Well, tough luck, Liam.


    As Irene stepped forward to begin her presentation, the professor quickly said.


    "Ren, please see me after class."


    Now, how do I explain this...


    What if I don''t!


    By the time Irene finished the presentation, all but a few gazes had subsided.


    Due my father, most people concluded it was plausible for me to know such valuable information; however, two people remained suspicious.


    Of course, Liam was one as he privately received the information, and the other was Irene. As dedicated magic researcher, and someone closely related to my family, she knew that even if my father did give me such knowledge, I would have been required to take an oath of concealment.


    The others simply believed that I had revealed the important information due my resentment against my father for disowning me.


    As the final presentation on the dream realm concluded, I prepared to bolt out of the door. The academy would be more focused on concealing the information I had said right now, so I would just have to stay low for a bit.


    As I pondered the pros and cons, I realized that this slip-up wasn''t that terrible as I no longer had to forge a plan to get back at Liam.


    I had done it just by instinct.


    Ren or I, in this case, was a natural at messing with the protagonist!


    As soon as the bell finally rang, I dashed out the door.


    Yes, I used my magic ability, dash, to escape the classroom!


    Finally a useful skill...


    However, to my dismay, there was someone who managed to follow me.


    Actually, not someone, a red haired-bug.


    "How did you know?"


    "Tell me now, idiot."


    "What else do you know?"


    "Who told you that."


    Tired of her incessant nagging, I finally gave in and responded.


    "God, don''t you have anything better to d-."


    Pausing mid sentence, I glanced back and noticed that everyone in the main cast, beside Irene, had already left!


    "Nevermind, you really don''t have anything better to do."


    "SHUT IT!"


    " *pfft*, whatever the lady says. I will keep my mouth shut from now on!"


    "NO, THAT''S NOT WHAT I MEANT. TELL ME HOW YOU KNOW."


    "..."


    "TELL ME NOW OR ELSE"


    "..."

 Chapter 24 - 24:Rags to Riches [1]

    Aside from the impending djinn kidnapping, which I had no reason to get involved in, there was another major issue at hand: my money situation.


    "... wait, doesn''t that sound a bit... ''Yeah, ignoring the kidnapping of the Elven princess, I need to make some money!''"


    You would think that knowing the future would inevitably open up many ways to make money; however, you would be wrong in this case.


    The protagonist has the support of the academy Headmaster, Lily, who hails from a Hero family and will soon have the support of the Elven Royal family.


    Why would the book waste time explaining how to make money when he can have millions with a simple, friendly conversation?


    Although I held a massive amount of information, revealing the wrong piece could lead to unforeseen circumstances that could end the world, and I wasn''t greedy enough to risk that¡ªat least not yet.


    "I''m sick and tired of these disgusting cafeteria meals!"


    I mean, my greatest advantage over everyone else in the world was that I knew the future, so why would I willingly make myself lose that advantage to make some money?


    Sure, you can call me selfish for not using my information to save people who originally died in the book, but that''s just not me.


    Only someone with immense amounts of courage and integrity could willingly give up their greatest advantage to save the lives of others.


    That''s the job of the protagonist, not me.


    As I reached the dorm building, an idea dawned upon me.


    A balance is what the world needs.


    Back at the amusement park, the balance was broken as Liam was far too weak, leading to fatal consequences.


    Right now, the balance should be back to normal. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    What if I sell products or information to both the bad and good sides?


    Sure, everyone would be stronger, but at the same time, the equilibrium would remain unchanged.


    A company.


    That''s what I needed.


    However, a company doesn''t need just products; it also needs the means to advertise and distribute.


    Sure, I had the product, but how would I get it out there?


    Thankfully, I had the perfect person in mind for this job.


    Though leaving the academy was normally restricted, there were countless ways to get around, and conveniently, Jin and Han seemed to know one as they skipped class without being caught.


    After sending a quick message to the two and acquiring the method, I wasted no time and immediately put it to use.


    The method was actually quite simple.


    The traveling club can leave the campus, so why can''t other clubs?


    After meeting with Jin and Han, who had just returned to campus, I picked up a slip of paper from them, casually walked towards the academy''s personal portal, and displayed it to guards.


    "The Capital City."


    Glancing at the slip of piece of paper in my hands that said "Multipurpose Club Activties," the guard gave me a quick nod before stepping aside.


    The area around rapidly distorted and stabilized in a few seconds to depict a bustling city filled with various people, ranging from those performing for money to those staring at their smartwatches without looking upwards.


    Countless designer stores and flashy models could be seen, and each building had intricate and elaborate designs.


    Of course, this was just the "good" part of the city. My destination was a far worse place.


    After a couple of minutes, the bustling city scenery had transformed. The area before me was now riddled with broken-down buildings and beggars plastered everywhere.


    Paying no heed to my surroundings, I entered a dark alley before stopping abruptly at one of the building doors.


    *KNOCK*


    *TAP*


    *KNOCK*


    *TICK*


    "As the stars illuminate the night sky."


    Without any hesitance or uncertainty in my tone, I calmly responded.


    "So do our dreams guide us through darkness."


    The door swung open, revealing an eery set of stairs that seemed to go down forever. However, I maintained my confident demeanor and walked down the stairs.


    After a couple of seconds of walking down the never-ending stairs, I felt my surroundings shift for a second, and when I redirected my gaze back to the stairs, there sat a pair of wooden doors at the bottom.


    Spatial Magic.


    Opening the two wooden doors, the scenery in front of me bore an uncanny resemblance to the sight I had witnessed when I first stepped out of the portal.


    The only difference was that the buildings were less modern, and there were hundreds of stands, that resembled those of a night market on Earth, lined up with each sporting a different amenity.


    Artifacts, swords, spells, magic circles, and, at the very top of it all, information guilds.


    However, I ignored all the extravagant stands and made my way to the very end of the black market.


    As I descended further into the market, the appearance of the stands deteriorated greatly. At some point, there weren''t even stands as people simply held up signs while leaving their products on the floor.


    After another two minutes of walking, I paused. Unlike the other sellers, the person before me was not enthusiastic or eager. He simply sat down with his swords, not even looking upward to face his potential buyers.


    The boy had dark, messy, and ungroomed black hair to complement his black eyes. His frail figure and tattered clothes portrayed his struggles.


    Countless people walked by and bumped into me, completely ignoring the seller; however, I was not fooled.


    Despite his ragged appearance, his onyx-black eyes held an unmistakable glimmer. His ambition and desire to win remained unchanged in a terrible and hopeless situation.


    Not only that, but the boy still had the audacity to sell fake artifacts and worst of all, it seemed to be working, as there were only two swords left next to the boy!


    Keep in mind that this boy was the same age as me.


    In a few years from now, this boy would become the undisputed leader of the chaotic black market as his various businesses reigned supreme.


    However, now he was mine.


    A wide grin appeared on my face, and a tiny chuckle unknowingly escaped my mouth.


    The boy tilted his head upwards at the sound of my chuckle and coiled back upon witnessing my expression, yet he quickly regained his composure and matched my smile.


    "Looking for a sword? Well, I can tell you that these sword artifacts are the best of the best. This sword to my right was personally sold to me by a member of the Montclair family and the one on the left. Don''t even get me started; the sword saint was said to have touched it..."


    "... tell me about the right one."


    "Yes, THAT FAMOUS MONTCLAIR FAMILY personally forged this sword. Ah, due to some struggles, I''m in desperate need of money, so I''m willing to part with this sword for far less than its value."


    "..."


    "You know, Sir, you must go home and pray to the gods for coming around at this time, for this sword''s price is only 5 gold coins. YOU HEARD ME CORRECTLY, 5."


    The once sullen boy turned into a professional salesman as he practically screamed the last few words.


    That''s right; it was all a trap from the start.


    Using his dark appearance, he intended to lure in new customers as who wouldn''t be curious about the one silent boy sitting down while everyone else is standing up and screaming out advertisements?


    Then, doing a complete 180, he entrapped the customer; however, he had met his match this time.


    Selling fake items in the black market comes with a high price; however, this boy had made up such exaggerated rumors that one couldn''t confirm whether they were actually real or false.


    Therefore, in the case one of his swords was discovered as fake, he would ask the customer for evidence, and of course, they would be unable to confirm it as he would ensure that the tale of the sword involved important and unattainable people.


    A blacksmithing report wouldn''t suffice as evidence as the boy could say that the sword was meant to be a throwaway or a failure attempt by the family, so its poor quality was explained.


    And the customer couldn''t possibly ask these people about the sword''s origins, so there was no evidence of it being fake.


    Grabbing the sword from the boy''s hands, I admired it briefly before chuckling and saying.


    "I''ll take it."


    "Good choice, my Sir; if you hadn''t, you would have forever lamented your decision at this moment."


    ... you''ll be the one lamenting this moment real soon, kid.


    After exchanging the 5 gold coins, I grabbed the sword and played around with it for a bit, but I didn''t move from my spot.


    After a few more minutes of this, the boy let out a chuckle, probably presuming that I believed it to be fake, and said.


    "Is there a problem, my sir?"


    "Ah yes, I believe this sword to be fake."


    "Ah... what an accusation. Do you understand the rules of the black market? This false accusation could ruin my life. You must know that evidence is required."


    Letting out a chuckle, I grabbed a small card from my jacket pocket and handed it to him before saying.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll have evidence."


    [Student ID: Ren Montclair / Year: 01]


    Of course, this was a bluff, and if he had called me out, I would have had no way of contacting my father to prove that the sword was fake.


    The boy''s calm and confident posture quickly crumbled, and I saw him tense his legs, presumably preparing to run.


    However, it was too late. I had already expected this and preemptively activated the 5-second period of Dash.


    In less than a second, I was already in front of him and holding his right arm.


    No longer enthuisatic or sullen, the boy angrily spat out.


    "What do you want with me?"


    He wasn''t stupid.


    I must have known the sword was a fake from the start, considering he mentioned my family, which means I had bought the sword knowing it was a fraud.


    Grabbing him by his right shoulder, I started walking, dragging him behind me.


    "This isn''t the place to talk."


    After exiting the black market and returning to a relatively safe part of the city, I entered a cafe with him and sat down.


    "WHAT do you want with ME?"


    His attitude does not falter even when faced with severe punishment; he really is perfect for the job.


    Grabbing another coin from my pocket, I flipped it upwards and said.


    "Work with me."


    On the other hand, Raven, the boy with black hair, was extremely confused.


    He was half-expecting to be sold into a labor camp or even slavery, but this person wanted to work with him..?


    It wasn''t even an ask; it was a demand!


    If he denied it, he knew this person would undoubtedly report him to the black market, and from there, it would be over!


    Not even pretending to mull it over, Raven responded.


    "I don''t have a choice, do I?"


    Then, a smile appeared on the mysterious man''s face.


    Why couldn''t I have just been sold into a labor camp?


    What the hell is this creepy guy planning to do with me, and why is he smiling!?


    "It seems you understand your situation quite well."


    What is there to understand...? You''re blatantly blackmailing me...


    First, this person is a noble member of the Montclair family; what could he want from me a mere commoner?


    Countless possibilities immediately drifted into Raven''s head, each involving gruesome torture and pain.


    Snapping Raven out of his thoughts, the creepy noble spoke once again!


    "A company. Us 2 are going to start a company."


    Without waiting for Raven''s response, the creepy person handed over a piece of paper.


    On the piece of paper, there seemed to be an intricately drawn circle.


    Only one thought flashed through Raven''s head.


    What the hell is this? A business and this circle?


    Is this some ploy?


    Oh my lord, what torture is awaiting me?


    Please just kill me!


    "That piece of paper is an advanced healing circle, more developed than any other out there. Look long and hard; you''ll copy it onto many more papers and sell it."


    "... why me. God, why me? What evil concoction is awaiting me? What have I done to deserve this fate..? I''ve been a good boy always and forever."


    Raven only noticed that he had voiced these thoughts out loud after the evil person across him broke into a fit of laughter.


    "PFFT"


    Is he laughing at my pain and suffering...?


    Raven, someone who had never even thought of god before this time, immediately assumed a praying stance.


    "SAVE ME!"

 Chapter 25 - 25:Rags to Riches [2]

    After calming down the boy in front of me and ordering him a pastry to display my kindness, I reassessed the situation.


    The boy''s name was Raven. He looked like he was on the verge of starvation due to his slender body, and he was the epitome of poverty with torn clothes and ungroomed hair.


    In three years, he would be the undisputed leader of the black market, and his businesses would even expand into the real world. All alone and at rock bottom, he climbed and scratched his way up to the top.


    That was the person I needed for my business.


    But... who the hell was this boy in front of me?


    The Raven I know was fierce and power-hungry, unwilling to kneel on the ground and pray to god for salvation!


    As a sigh unknowingly escaped my mouth, I realized I was already too far in. As future comrades in business, we needed to trust each other, and there was not even a semblance of that right now.


    I could theoretically force him to join me, as I have blackmail on him, but that would just lead to the business failing, as he would do the bare minimum.


    As Raven grew up in the slums, where trust was nonexistent, there was only one way to gain his faith.


    A Mana Contract.


    As Raven stared at the pastry sitting in front of me, various thoughts flooded through his head.


    Is he trying to butter me up?


    This is some sort of scheme, right?


    Carefully picking up a fork, Raven, who had used utensils to eat maybe 3 times in his entire life, awkwardly maneuvered his silverware to the cake and picked up a small piece.


    So what if it''s a trick? At this point, I might as well enjoy it!


    As the strawberry cake entered his mouth, an immediate sense of euphoria washed over Raven. His taste buds began to dance in joy as the piece of cake sat on his tongue, and all he could think about was the sweet taste of the cake.


    More... I want more.


    Rather than saving and conserving the food like usual, Raven immediately went in for another bite.


    ...Is this heaven?


    In less than a minute, the entire cake slice was gone, and all that was left was an empty plate.


    As Raven stared at the empty plate with unimaginable sorrow, he noticed the noble slide over a seemingly normal piece of paper.


    However, glancing at the paper a second time, Raven immediately understood what it was.


    Having done business in the black market for over 2 years, there was no way he couldn''t know what a mana contract was.


    The black market was dark and treacherous, so mana contracts were often signed to ensure both parties held up their side of the deal.


    But for Raven, mana contracts were his archenemis, weakness, and enemy.


    He couldn''t sign those; he was a fraud! He couldn''t sign a contract saying that the weapon was real!


    [Party B will work under Party A and obey all requests from Party A]


    [In exchange, 10% of all profits will be handed to Party B]


    The contract was simple and straightforward, so simple that someone like Raven, with no education, could understand it with one glance.


    However, that actually had the opposite effect on Raven; he was even more confused than ever now!


    Raven understood his situation; the other person had all the leverage, but he had nothing.


    So, then, why in the world would the other person offer him a mana contract when they could just blackmail him..?


    Seeing the hesitant Raven, the noble spoke up.


    "If you sign, I''ll buy you another slice of cak-" S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Raven immediately signed the contract using his mana. One might think that his signing was hasty and premature; however, it was an easy decision for Raven.


    Pick the better of the two evils!


    Either deny and possibly be handed over to the black market for fraud, or just accept!


    The decision was a piece of cake!


    After a moment, the contract shined white, signifying that both parties had voluntarily and non-forcibly signed the contract, before disintegrating into pieces and disappearing.


    " *ahem,* Sir, the cake."


    "Call me boss, and it''ll be here in a second."


    While Raven anxiously awaited the arrival of the cake, Ren used the opportunity to start explaining his idea.


    The idea was actually quite simple, but of course, it could only be done by someone who knew information from the future.


    Healing circles were currently the most popular magic amenity, as within seconds, you could instantly heal any minor injury with only a bit of mana.


    So, shouldn''t Ren''s healing circle with better effects and healing times sell amazingly in the market?


    "Boss, if these magic circles can be created just by drawing on a piece of paper, why are they worth so much..? Can''t you just redraw one you buy?"


    "A magic circle can''t be replicated by just looking at it; you need to learn each fluid and specific motion from someone to replicate it."


    "... wait, does that mean. I have t-"


    "Yep, you''ll be learning starting now!"


    Fortunately, I had already drawn about 100 of the advanced healing circles, so Raven could start selling them immediately while also learning how to draw them.


    After sliding over a backpack filled with the circles, the two of us exited the cafe.


    "Boss, I don''t know who you think I am, but I can''t just sell these circles to people. They''ll need evidence and credibility."


    "Then, make evidence and credibility."


    Raven, who had lost all hope in escaping this situation, decided to accept his circumstances, so he inwardly began planning.


    For evidence, he could hire people to get hurt and then display the effectiveness of the circle and the credibility he could build up over time.


    Of course, Raven had no idea whether the circle was effective, but he had no choice but to trust his boss.


    After planning everything, only one problem remained.


    "Boss, I''ll need some money to get the business started."


    They needed a vendor''s license, an exquisite stand to attract customers, some employees, and materials.


    However, Raven wasn''t considerably worried about that. After all, his boss was a noble¡ªand not just any noble, a direct descendant of a hero family¡ªand he had to have tons of money!


    At those words, Ren froze for a second.


    He had just spent the last of his money buying the cake.


    "How much will you need?"


    "25 gold coins should be enough for the first month; however, more would be better."


    This kid... how can he ask for 25 gold coins like it''s nothing?


    Ah, right, I''m noble in his eyes. This last name of mine brings more trouble than good.


    As Ren approached the bridge to the academy, with Raven following close behind, he decided on a plan.


    He had completed the Sea God''s Blessed quest in the dream, so shouldn''t the Sea bless him with money!?


    So what if my debt to the serpent increases by 50 gold coins? Would it really make a difference?


    Of course, the river surrounding the capital was well-known for the sea crystals and various treasures that were hidden inside, so it wasn''t a complete gamble.


    Also, he could see underwater perfectly, so his chances of finding a sea crystal were increased.


    Standing at the ledge, Ren stared down into the water, examining each inch of the water carefully to find a crystal.


    Crystals can be found in a variety of habitats and are expensive due to their usefulness. Since they contain mana inside them, they can be used to make mana potions or artifacts with special attributes.


    On the other hand, Raven confusedly walked to the ledge beside Ren, trying his best to ignore the awkward silence, and looked down as well.


    However, all he could see was the dark blue surface of the ocean.


    What exactly was this noble looking at?


    "uh Boss, what a-"


    "Quiet."


    Shutting his mouth, Raven gave up on trying to discover whatever hidden motive this noble had.


    Was the world always this complicated? Can''t I go back to just scamming idiots in the black market?


    Wait... but then the cake, would I have eaten it..


    Disrupting Raven''s thoughts, he looked to the side to see that his boss had finally made a move, but it was in the wrong direction!


    Ren, having finally found a crystal, had no hesitation as he jumped off the ledge and straight into the water.


    "BOSS, IF YOU DIE, CAN I HAVE YO-"


    Ignoring his annoying subordinate, Ren embraced the coldness of the seawater and used the momentum from his jump to fall all the way to the sea floor.


    Countless fish immediately encircled him, however, Ren payed them no attention and swam towards the glistening crystal in the distance.


    After reaching the crystal, Ren attempted to pull it out, and it came right out despite being lodged in the rough sand for who knows how many years.


    That wasn''t the only peculiarity Ren noticed. He realized that despite being underwater for more than two minutes, he hadn''t felt the need to get air at all, and maybe the most obvious sign was the countless fish encircling him like a shield.


    Even the bitter coldness of the water didn''t affect him; in fact, it almost made him feel more comfortable.


    Is this what a Sea God''s blessed is...?


    After swimming up to the surface and climbing back up to the ledge, Ren handed the crystal over to the bewildered Raven.


    "Boss... aren''t you cold...?"


    Looking down, Ren saw that all his clothes were drenched and his hair dripped with water. It was evening, so the temperature was cold as well. Despite all that, Ren felt perfectly fine.


    In contrast, Raven felt cold by just staring at the dripping Ren; however, he didn''t question further as he had already given up on understanding his boss.


    After exchanging contacts, Ren returned to the academy, still dripping with water. The portals were all closed by now, so he opted to walk on the bridge to head back.


    Ren reentered the academy after receiving a couple of glances from the guards due to his drenched appearance.


    Having skipped dinner, Ren decided to grab a quick meal before heading to his dorm room to dry up.


    Even though the water didn''t affect his comfort, he didn''t want to be seen roaming around completely soaked.


    Far too many rumors were circulating around him, and he didn''t plan to start anymore.


    However, as he neared the cafeteria''s entrance, three figures could be seen standing nearby.


    A girl with red hair, a girl with white hair, and finally, a girl that almost immediately evoked countless emotions from Ren.


    Irene, Alya, and Lily.


    Calming himself down, Ren took a step back.


    What reason could these 3 have to meet..?


    Alya and Irene don''t have connections to Liam yet, so there should be no reason... right?


    Those 3 had absolutely no similarities aside from their relations with Liam.


    A plot change...


    Who changes the plot? That''s me!


    Don''t tell me...


    A similarity between the 3 immediately popped into my head.


    All 3 of them dislike me!

 Chapter 26 - 26:Variables [1]

    Call me egotistical, but I believed that, without a doubt, the conversation was about me.


    Variables.


    One example is my actions at the start, which weakened Liam, the protagonist. This variable led to a gruesome outcome, where two of the main cast members died.


    I had grown so comfortable in this world primarily because I knew the future from end to start, but with the introduction of such variables, the value of my knowledge would undoubtedly decrease, maybe even becoming useless.


    Needless to say, I hated variables, and three huge variables were standing in front of me right now.


    There is no guarantee of a redo for future events like last time, so the only option is to adapt to the variables'' appearance.


    The second major event of the story was occurring tomorrow, and it was crucial for things to go according to the story as the event would increase Liam''s connection to Irene and Alya.


    The two, alongside 10 guards and civilians, were both heavily injured in the incident but eventually rescued by Liam. After being nursed back to normal health, they officially joined the main cast.


    Who knows what could happen if Irene and Alya don''t join the hero''s party...?


    Definitely not me!


    That''s precisely why I want this to go according to the plot.


    Of course, it''s not like last time when I was completely powerless. Sure, I will do my very best to ensure things go according to the plot, but I won''t do anything drastic like risk my life.


    I had learned from the last time.


    Hiding myself in some bushes within earshot of the girls, I began intently listening to their conversation.


    The usually calm and composed elven princess started off in an irritated tone.


    "So? Out with it. You called us here, Lily."


    Ah, one of the few people in the world who can speak so rudely to a hero''s family descendant.


    Irene seemed to share the same opinion as she nodded her head.


    "... tomorrow, you two should be careful."


    A sudden shock overwhelmed my body as my heart beat rapidly, my body started shaking uncontrollably, and my head started to spin.


    Not giving me any time to catch my breath or refocus, Lily continued.


    "Beware of your surroundings; I received a tip-off that someone is after the elven royal family."


    Upon hearing it involved the elven royal family, Alya squinted her eyes and assumed a more serious tone before asking.


    "Where did you hear this from.?"


    Irene, who knew perfectly well about the countless protection spells surrounding the academy, asked.


    "The academy is the safest place on Earth; how can the princess possibly be hurt here?"


    "It''s a *uhhh* long story. Please place your trust in me for just one day. I promise you''ll understand after tomorrow. "


    " *sigh* I guess I can indulge you, human, for one day. However, if this is all a ruse, you''ll pay. What must I do?"


    "Do not leave the academy building under any circumstances."


    "Done."


    After hearing that, Lily sighed in relief before turning to Irene, who simply nodded her head.


    Not leaving the academy building for a single day wouldn''t be terrible.


    Not bothering with any more explanations, Lily headed inside the cafeteria, leaving the two bewildered girls behind.


    Just then, Irene recalled something.


    "WAIT, LILY... why did you tell me as well..?"


    However, it was too late; Lily had already entered the cafeteria.


    Deep down, Irene resented Lily for taking up the attention of her love, Kevin, so when she was called, Irene prepared for the worst-case scenario: Lily officially dating Kevin.


    But, now Lily was trying to help her..?


    Though Irene was still confused about the entire situation, she had heard Lily''s seriousness and concern, so she doubted it was some trick or prank.


    Thus, Irene decided to follow Lily''s instructions, for now.


    Alya was a careful and cautious person, so she had already decided to follow Lily''s instructions despite the lack of evidence.


    All she would have to do was not leave the academy building. This task was easy, considering that leaving the building could lead to her being targeted and possibly killed.


    Back in the bush, I managed to calm myself down before immediately analyzing the situation.


    A tipoff...


    What a stupid excuse.


    Why would the person inform Lily, who had no connections to the two girls, instead of the academy headmaster or an authority?


    She mentioned that the tipoff was about the elven royal family, so why did she call Irene?


    After receiving the tip, why did Lily not go to the authorities to report it?


    Because there was no tipoff.


    If she went to the authorities claiming that Irene and Alya would be attacked, with no evidence of the non-existent tipoff, the most they would do is slightly increase the number of guards.


    She had information about tomorrow''s incident; there was no other plausible reason for her to personally warn both Irene and Alya.


    The mission was being carried out by high-level djinn executives, so she couldn''t have insider information. Even if she did, the information would have to come from a low-level member, making it incomplete and vague.


    Yet Lily clearly knew all the details of the kidnapping, as she had specifically warned Irene and Alya not to leave their buildings.


    She wasn''t worried about the djinns going inside the building in the slightest.


    Could she have somehow regressed..?


    No... the book would have mentioned such an important thing if it had been possible.


    Thus, I was left with one possibility.


    Who was to say that I was the only person who came from Earth?


    What if Lily, too, originated from Earth and read the novel?


    But then, if Lily were from Earth and possessed the novel''s future information, she would have realized that I was not Ren, as I was not expelled at the start.


    Upon realizing that, shouldn''t she have recognized I was in the same situation and contacted me?


    Assuming that my theory about her being from Earth is true, there could be another reason for her not to be surprised by my not being expelled.


    What if she had already made a change, so she assumed me not being expelled was a butterfly effect of that?


    From her actions earlier, it was easy to conclude that she was the absolute opposite of me; she was willing and even trying to change the plot.


    Before my expulsion, there was only one incident. Not even an incident, a prologue.


    To display the brutality of djinns and Radics, the book starts off with a scene that displays the invasion of a small town on the outskirts. All the inhabiting humans were killed off, displaying the brutality and wickedness of the book''s main antagonists. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Wasting no time, I pulled out my smartwatch and searched.


    [Invasion of Cordu Village]


    ---> Only 2 months ago, a small group of djinns visited an outskirt village called Cordu. This group of djinns could have easily wiped out the entire town, but thankfully, the hero family, Silverbrook, intervened and dispatched all of them.


    ...


    Lily Silverbrook


    There was no longer any doubt in my mind.


    Lily Silverbrook was a person from Earth, just like me!


    After concluding that, I began to calm down, yet one question still remained in my mind.


    Why was she changing the plot?


    Tomorrow, Irene and Alya will find out that Lily''s information is true and that she has saved their lives, so she will immediately have a connection with the two.


    However, considering Lily''s position as the sole inheritor of the Silvebrook family, she would already have everything she needed, making the connection somewhat useless.


    In the prologue, why did she warn her family about the impending invasion of Cordu Village? There were absolutely no benefits to be gained from that.


    What game was she playing?


    In the prologue, she saved countless lives.


    By warning the two girls, she saved them from being bedridden for a month and saved countless guards from dying to the djinns.


    She simply wanted to save people...? That was the only possible conclusion.


    Despite having knowledge about the future, she sacrifices that knowledge just to save some random people in a fake world.


    A hero.


    The definition of a hero is complicated and vague; however, even someone like me can clearly see that Lily embodies that word.


    Her selfless and good-willed actions speak for themselves.


    But it''s all wrong.


    Naivety. Not her selflessness or kindness; naivety is her most apparent trait.


    Sure, the book had a good ending with the world being saved, but these changes made by her can easily change that.


    She''s saving countless people now, but what good is that if those people are doomed to die in the end?


    What good is saving 10 people if it causes 10 million other people to die?


    Foolishly believing that a good ending is guaranteed.


    Someone has to stop her.


    It has to be me. I''m the only other person with future information.


    But does that make me evil?


    I''m allowing all those civilians and guards to die to the djinns and even allowing Alya to be kidnapped.


    Yes, anybody would say I''m evil for allowing those things to happen.


    Maybe I am evil and wicked for wanting this world to have a guaranteed good ending.


    If so, I accept it.


    For good to exist, there must be evil.


    Somebody has to take the role of evil, and in this world, that person would have to be me.


    If Lily is a hero for changing the plot, then in contrast, I would have to be a villain for refusing to touch it.


    At first, I despised my reincarnation as a third-rate villain, but here I am, actually embracing the role...


    Does being evil and a villain mean I''m wrong?


    In contrast, I believe I''m right, as I''m simply trying to ensure the world''s salvation.


    I don''t deny that I''m evil, but I assert that my actions are not wrong.


    After clearing the area, I left the bush and headed straight to my dorm room.


    I had lost my appetite.


    The only other real person in this world was destined to be my enemy.


    Instead of sharing our experiences and chatting about our lives on Earth, we would face each other.


    Worst of all, neither of us is wrong.


    She''s trying to save countless innocent lives while I''m trying to save the world.


    Tomorrow would be our first fight.


    I had to ensure that Alya was kidnapped by the djinns and promptly saved by Liam. Of course, Irene had to be there, but I already had a foolproof plan for her.

 Chapter 27 - 27:Variables [2]

    Waking up on the day of the kidnapping, an odd sense of serenity washed over me.


    Like the calm before the storm.


    I had spent the last few hours of my day tirelessly making a plan until, finally, I had covered all my bases.


    After all, I was going up against the entire hero''s party, each one of them capable of killing me... if I was unprepared.


    I also held one major advantage.


    I knew Lily had knowledge of the future, but she did not know that I also had knowledge about the future.


    In her eyes, I was a variable.


    "... what a joke."


    Wasn''t I going on about how I hated variables only yesterday..?


    Anyway, the djinns wouldn''t show up until the evening, so I could go about my classes as usual.


    Is what I wished to say.


    I would have to be an idiot to give up 7 valuable hours of preparation just for some stupid class.


    There were now more important things than reaching the merit point goal.


    Do you think the school would believe me if my excuse for skipping was, "I''m trying to save the world, trust me!" ?


    I''ll worry about that later.


    After putting a full set of black clothes in my backpack, I headed out of my dorm in my academy uniform, of course not to the academy but to the middle of the forest.


    Since Alya is an elf, she has a high affinity for elementals and often trains in the forest. On this fateful day, she would be training in the forest in the evening and kidnapped by a group of djinns and humans.


    The group conducting this kidnapping, the Gemstone Order, is one of the few groups composed of humans and djinns.


    That one detail is a major reason my plan works.


    After tailing Alya using spies in the academy, the order discovered Alya''s training location, so that was where the initial stage of their plan would take place.


    That was also my current destination.


    After reaching the clearing in the forest, I began setting a bait.


    Of course, Alya wouldn''t be here now, but I still needed to stall for the Order members for some time at this place.


    After placing down my backpack and scattering various things across the ground, I made the scene seem like Alya was training here but left for a short break.


    This would keep the villains here as they would try to wait for her to come back to the spot and get her backpack.


    After ensuring the scene was ready, I pulled out my phone and responded to some text messages.


    [Jin: Dude, class starts in 5 minutes; where the hell are you?]


    [Ren: When the hell did you start caring about getting to class.]


    [Jin: LMFAO, you right.]


    [Han: You skipping today, Ren?]


    [Ren: Yeah, I need to do some stuff outside the academy, so I''ll use the card again. That''s fine with you guys, right?]


    [Han: Yep, fine with us.]


    [Ren: By the way, did you hear Lily is planning to confess to Kevin today after school.]


    [Jin: Wait, bro, are you not over her yet? She almost get you expelled. Plenty of fish in the sea.]


    [Han: ^^^ She''s not the one for you, trust us.]


    [Ren: ...kinda, I guess. Could you guys spread what I said around.]


    [Han: Yeah, alright, I get you wanna ruin Lily''s confession. Don''t do anything rash like last time; we''ll spread it around.]


    [Jin: But this weekend, we''re going out. You really needa get over her. I knew the perfect place for you.]


    [Ren: Deal.]


    After that conversation, I turned it off and put it on Do Not Disturb.


    Dealing with Irene turned out to be surprisingly easy!


    She''d go crazy and completely ignore Lily''s instructions after she hears the rumors, and then the villains would find her, making everything go exactly as the plot.


    Now that everything was settled, I had to address the problem of getting Alya out of the dorm.


    Or did I?


    After climbing a tree, I looked around from the high ground until I spotted the bridge that connected the capital city to the Academy.


    Jumping tree to tree, I used my heightened eyesight to calculate and coordinate my jumps and landings perfectly to make my route as efficient as possible.


    From finding the perfect landing spot to increase my momentum and speed to ducking prematurely to avoid obstacles such as branches or leaves, I felt like I was an actual monkey.


    Within 5 minutes, the large distance between Alya''s training spot and the Academy gate was cleared.


    Thankfully, the guard on duty was different than the one from the previous day, so I could pass through the gate with no problems.


    After reaching the capital city, I immediately started walking to a familiar place.


    A familiar Cafe.


    Upon entering the cafe, I immediately spotted a scrawny boy with black hair and eyes, sitting in front of about five pieces of cake.


    "Damn it, I forget to get the 5 gold coins back from the fake sword!"


    Also, has this punk been using the business money just to buy cake...?


    After sitting down across from Raven, I asked.


    "How''s the business doing?"


    "What the hell do you mean how is business doing...? Damn it, YOU GAVE ME THE MISSION YESTERDAY???"


    "... Yet here you are eating cake instead of working."


    "you son o-"


    "Did you forget I said to address me as boss?"


    "... Yes, boss, I prepared the items you requested."


    After sliding over the bag, Raven continued.


    "A Sleeping Gas Potion and Fireworks..? Seriously, boss, I''m not one to judge anyone morally, but really...? This might be too far."


    "You brat, I''m using them to save the world."


    If only he knew...


    Raven raised his hands and turned his head away before saying.


    "... whatever you say. I won''t question your actions, but just know that God is always watching."


    ... Is this brat talking about god?


    Yesterday, he was out on the street scamming people using god''s name! I swear I heard him say, "This sword is made of pure diamond, on god!"


    Confused and somewhat curious, I inquired.


    "You started believing in god..?"


    "After signing that contract with you, he is my only hope..."


    "..."


    Am I really that bad?


    Holding the two bottles in my hands, I continued to improve my plan.


    A sleeping gas is pretty self-explanatory; it slowly puts everyone in a 5 ft vicinity to sleep. The key word is slowly, not immediately.


    Over a 5-minute span, the gas slowly makes the target feel more and more drowsy until they eventually fall asleep.


    Of course, if the target notices that they are falling asleep due to the potion before the 5 minutes are up, they can easily escape it by simply splashing their face with water or something similar.


    That''s the reason I need the second bottle.


    Fireworks.


    What better way to distract someone than to use fireworks?


    Also, all the other alternatives were either too expensive or hard to obtain.


    I''m just a broke academy student... for now.


    Flashing a grin at Raven, I grabbed a slice of cake and said.


    "Get back to work."


    As I walked away, I heard him murmur. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Am I a slave or something...? Goddamn it, he asks me to deliver something, then asks me why I''m not working. What am I a machine???"


    I really don''t understand how this brat became the leader of the black market...


    No work ethic, no brain, and no respect. What does Raven have?


    With a sigh, I cleared my head of these useless thoughts and headed back towards the Academy bridge.


    By now, it was noon, so the kidnappers would show up in around 3-4 hours.


    This time, instead of directly entering the Academy through the gates, I simply observed Celestial Academy from the bridge.


    One thought had constantly been plaguing my mind.


    How can these kidnappers get into the Academy in the first place?


    Once inside, a spatial magic scroll could easily allow them to escape, and I knew that they had them, but getting inside with a scroll was impossible due to the countless spell seals surrounding the island.


    After surveying every inch of the island for about an hour, no secret entrances were found, even with my heightened eyesight.


    With my eyesight, it was simply impossible for a secret entrance to go unnoticed by me, so the only other reason would be that I simply wasn''t looking in the right place.


    What would be the best place for a secret entrance?


    On land, it was simply too easy to get spotted. Well, the only other option is the water, then! After all, it is an island.


    Turning my gaze downwards, I began to scrutinize the underwater area around the academy; after a while, I finally found something peculiar.


    There was an opening, certainly man-made, a few inches below the water''s surface.


    Without any hesitation, I leaped off the bridge and into the water.


    "ahhhh, this feels oddly nice."


    After enjoying the water''s embrace for a moment, I dived downwards towards the opening and swam through it.


    There were clear signs of non-natural occurrences, such as sword dents in the wall, and the structure of the clave was too perfect for it to have been naturally made.


    A frown appeared on my face as the water subsided, so I stood up and continued walking in the rock tunnel.


    Finally, the tunnel began to slope upwards, so I increased my pace and ran until, finally, a ladder was within sight.


    After climbing up the ladder, I pushed forward on the tunnel''s roof, and it slowly opened, causing the sunlight to rush in and temporarily blind my eyes.


    After standing up on the ground, I stared at the tunnel''s exit, which was a disguised rock, and dusted myself off before closing it.


    This would be quite useful in the future.


    According to the guards of the academy, Ren should be in the capital city, so I used my assassin''s stealth to make my way to Alya''s training spot silently.


    After changing into a pair of dark clothes and putting on a mask, I once again used the shadows to make my way to the academy dorms.


    During my recent training sessions, I focused on finding ways to abuse my stealth trait, and my efforts were not in vain.


    With full black clothes on, I felt like I was one with shadows, and as long as no noise was made, people wouldn''t see me unless they stared at my location for more than 2 seconds at a time.


    Just how good will this be in the future?


    I guess the sword far outclasses the dagger, so the author had to balance the assassin class by giving it this ability.


    Well, I''m not complaining.


    After reaching the dorm building, I climbed up a tree and looked around until I found Alya''s empty dorm room. She was still in class.


    As a student in the top 10 ranks, Alya received a luxurious suite on the top floor of the building, so I had to climb up to the roof.


    From the top of the building, I hung down and quickly tied a string to the window of Alya''s dorm.


    I attached the fireworks and a match to this string so that at a simple tug of the string, the fireworks would explode into her room.


    As the sleeping gas had to be handed more delicately, I kept it with me.


    Jumping from the roof to a tree, I once again assumed my monkey form. I jumped from tree to tree at incredible speeds until I reached Alya''s training spot.


    Everything was now set up.

 Chapter 28 - 28:Variables [3]

    After setting myself up on the tree branch surrounding the clearing, I patiently waited for the darkness to descend.


    *DRIP*


    *DROP*


    *DRIP*


    Unsurprised by the sudden, relentless rain, I silently observed my surroundings.


    The problem I spent countless hours trying to solve was how to kidnap Alya.


    She was careful and cautious, so I knew that despite any evidence or common sense, she would heed Lily''s warning.


    As an Elven princess, Alya had endured countless assassin attempts, so this was nothing new to her. I even imagined that she had some sort of protocol for these situations.


    The possibility of getting her to leave her room was 0. Unlike the short-tempered Irene, she was calm and calculating.


    Then how exactly do I ensure that Alya gets into the hands of the Gemstone order..?


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, I heard a faint rustle in the bushes right below me. Looking below with my enhanced eyesight, I could see right through the bushes and identify 5 figures lurking around the clearing.


    My false illusion of Alya being here would soon shatter, and the kidnappers would leave, causing an entirely different future, so I immediately sprung into action.


    After scanning the area momentarily, I looked for the easiest target.


    One person, adorned with an Iron badge, signifying their rank in the Gemstone Order, was distanced from the others.


    Not only that, but the man had a similar body structure to me, making us indistinguishable in the darkness of the night.


    Raising my right hand, I tapped my eye and immediately felt my perception of time slow as the rain droplets seemed to freeze mid-air.


    Not wasting any time, I used a dash, stepping forward with incredible speed, and lunged at my target with my daggers titled upward.


    My dash, combined with my slowing-of-time ability, was simply lethal. At this stage in the game, no one except the top 10 students and some villains could avoid it.


    In the vision of others around me, I was simply a blur, indiscernible from their surroundings.


    Having calculated the exact distance and position my daggers needed to be in, as soon I moved 10 meters forward with a dash, my dagger was already in the kidnapper''s heart.


    I didn''t even have to move my hands or any part of my body; the man was already dead.


    There was no sound or any signs whatsoever.


    The perfect assassination.


    Laying the lifeless body quietly on the ground, I grabbed his iron badge and attached it to my night-black shirt.


    At this point, all my knowledge of the future was useless. I had no idea what the assassin''s next actions would be or how long they would wait.


    It felt surreal not knowing what would happen next, but simultaneously, a sense of exhilaration washed over me.


    Maybe life had gotten a bit dull...?


    Well, better dull than dead.


    With the mask concealing most of my tone, I let out muffled whisper to my new comrades.


    "I can go check out the surrounding area for any signs."


    Almost immediately, I heard another rustle in the bush across from me. As I turned my gaze toward the noise, I saw a slender man dressed in a suit with horns protruding from his skull.


    Is he trying to reveal his identity as a djinn?


    The horned figure glanced around for a bit before cautiously replying.


    "... They did say the princess would be here... Looking around might be dangerous... but if she''s not here, we must know..."


    After another moment, the djinn continued.


    "Alright, go scout. Let us know of anything important. Do not be noticed."


    Replying with a nod of the head, I backed away from the clearing and faded from sight, using the darkness of the night as a barrier.


    Seeing how the group hadn''t bothered to search the backpack or items on the ground yet, I guessed that I had at least 5 minutes.


    5 minutes to capture Alya, and the sleeping gas requires 5 minutes to take effect.


    It was going to be a close one.


    After ensuring that the darkness had completely concealed me, I climbed up the tree and moved at incredible speeds through the thick forest toward the dorm building.


    Once reaching the roof of the dorm building, I quickly checked to ensure the string with fireworks was intact, and sure enough, they were.


    Alya wouldn''t dare open her window with Lily''s warnings, so she couldn''t have detected them.


    Walking towards a big round pipe, I slowly uncapped the gas bottle.


    Even Alya couldn''t account for the ventilation pipe, as she could never imagine that someone could figure out the exact route the pipe took to her room.


    After all, this one ventilation pipe led into all 500 rooms within the dorm building, so someone would have to distinguish the 1 route that the pipe took out of 500 that led to Alya''s room.


    "Fortunately, I''m not just someone!"


    Man, I really need to humble myself, or I''ll keep going with all this main character stuff.


    With my enriched eyesight, I could easily identify the pipe''s route to Alya''s room, so without any hesitation, I turned the bottle upside down and carefully let the gas into the pipes.


    As for why I wasn''t being more careful, I had already blocked off all the possible routes except the one to Alya''s room.


    Although such a task may have seemed difficult, I had almost a full day to prepare for it, and compared to other parts of this plan, this was nothing as it didn''t even involve any danger.


    When the gas was released, I inwardly started counting down in my head.


    Due to her past experiences, Alya could have been trained with these gases, and since she already knew there was a danger at hand, I was sure she would realize the appearance of the gas.


    That was, of course, if there were no other dangers.


    Why worry about some drowsiness when an entire fireworks show is happening right in front of you?


    4 minutes, 30 seconds...


    4 minutes...


    3 minutes, 30 seconds...


    When my internal countdown hit 3 minutes, I slightly tugged at the string.


    The match immediately lit the fireworks attached to the end of the string, and they dashed forward, right into the window of Alya''s room.


    The glass shattered under the impact of the firework, and the firework continued its charge for a moment before I heard it finally explode.


    *CACKLE*


    *CACKLE*


    After tugging on the string 3 more times, I jumped from the roof onto the windowsill of Alya''s room and entered the room completely unnoticed.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Rather than being tense and wasting her entire day being scared, Alya treated this as normal. It wasn''t arrogance or pride that made her do this. It was just that she had simply grown accustomed to the constant assassination attempts.


    Most of the time, she didn''t even have a warning, but this time, she had been personally sought out by a hero''s family daughter, Lily.


    Alya sat down on her lavish armchair with a book in one hand and a glass of tea in the other; however, her mind was not on her book in the slightest.


    What was Lily planning?


    Originally, Alya planned to go out for elemental training, but after hearing Lily''s warnings, she decided that skipping one day wouldn''t change anything and decided to rest in her room.


    Of course, Alya didn''t trust this girl at all, but in this scenario, trusting her was the best-calculated move.


    Train and risk dying or stay inside.


    Having despised humans all her life, Alya couldn''t fathom why the girl had warned her.


    Weren''t they all supposed to be selfish? The humans she knew were pathetic and ignored the poor to fulfill their selfish desires. S§×arch* The Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Of course, there was the possibility that Lily was simply tricking her; if so, she would pay dearly.


    As Alya continued reading, she subconsciously yawned before glancing at the clock by her bedside.


    "Odd... it''s not even 7 yet."


    Interrupting her train of thought, she immediately heard the sound of glass shattering.


    *CRASH*


    Already being prepared for anything, Alya picked up the staff behind her armchair and carefully stood up; however, before she could even see the window, a missile flew by her.


    *CRACKLE*


    The missile exploded the next second; however, instead of her room exploding, there was simply the sound of countless other smaller explosions, and a cloud of smoke appeared in her room.


    "Fireworks, not bombs."


    Raising her staff, Alya immediately began chanting.


    "Whispering breezes, rise and bend / Wind elementals, now descend!"


    Instantly, the cloud of smoke disappeared; however, Alya did not relax, and rightfully so. The next second, three more fireworks came dashing into her room.


    As three more clouds of smoke appeared, her walls became further damaged; Alya didn''t hesitate to scream out despite the damage to her dignity.


    "HELP!"


    In the next minute, Alya chanted 3 more times and cleared the smoke from her room. The walls were littered with small burns while Alya remained unharmed.


    Being careful and cautious, Alya immediately began to search for clues, not allowing her mind to rest for a minute.


    Her head was overflowing with so many thoughts and theories that she didn''t even notice her physical state declining.


    Only after Alya realized that she didn''t even possess the power to lift her staff anymore did she panic.


    Not hesitating anymore, she pressed the distress button in her pocket. As she didn''t want to involve her fellow elves in this assassination attempt earlier, she had only called for help out loud to the academy guards, but now the situation was dire.


    Of course, it was now far too late.


    Collapsing on the floor, Alya struggled to leave her eyelids open as her eyes began to dim; the last scene she saw was a figure covered in black slowly approaching her.


    "ha, I''ve really done it this time, haven''t I?"


    Her parents would cry and worry.


    The entire elven kingdom would come to a halt.


    War could even happen between the humans and elves, as this occurred right in the middle of the human realm.


    All because of her...


    Just how useless was she?


    After all her training, when it came down to it, she was weak.


    She desperately prayed and wished for another chance.


    Why hadn''t she taken the warning more seriously?


    She had chided her mind and convinced herself that simply hiding in the building was enough, but she was wrong.


    It was her fault for being so accustomed to these things, but who could blame her? What was this, the fiftieth attempt on her life?


    It couldn''t end like this for her, could it?


    She hadn''t even been able to make real friends.


    Everyone around her just respected her because of her status.


    She had never had the joy of eating out, playing games, or even doing homework with friends.


    It was her own fault; she had secluded herself and suppressed her emotions


    Had she truly been living so far, or had she just been playing the role of Elven princess?


    No good memories flashed before her eyes; there was nothing to show.


    However, her wish didn''t come to fruition, and her eyelids involuntarily closed, sealing her in a world of pure darkness.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Grabbing the unconscious body of Alya, I carefully placed her in my arms and walked back to the shattered window.


    Instead of immediately fleeing, I instead waited.


    Just a second later, the door immediately flung open, and I sensed an intense murdering intent from 3 figures with spears, each having elongated ears.


    Just on time.


    Who would have thought the officials were late again!?


    Even without knowing the future, I had predicted this.


    Can these authors get any more unoriginal?


    Flashing a wink to the elves under my mask, I taunted them by waving my hand, and before they could react, I jumped out of the window with Alya in my arms.


    Although my movement speed was decreased from holding Alya, I was still moving too fast to be seen as I jumped from tree to tree, running back to the clearing.


    Upon reaching the clearing, I made myself visible by walking into the middle, and immediately, I heard the urgent voice of the same horned figure.


    "Zen, where the hell have you been? I told you to scout around, not to travel to another goddamn country."


    "..."


    "Forget it any news? She isn''t anywhere in sight... the reports must have been wrong."


    With a smile under my mask, I raised out my arms, revealing the beautiful body of their target, Alya.


    Although I couldn''t see the deviled man''s emotions through his mask, I could predict them from his next words.


    "Zen, how the h-. Where t-. Wh-. You know what, forget it, explain later, let''s get going. Good job, you''ll be rewarded dearly."


    The other assassins had remained silent the entire time, prompting me to believe they were robots.


    Shouldn''t these guys be grateful that I saved them from being fired for not completing the mission?


    We had to teleport out from the secret passageway to leave the academy using scrolls, so our team immediately prepared to depart.


    However, before we could do anything, the sound of countless footsteps was heard. The ground seemed to shake as the synchronized footsteps hit the ground.


    The deviled figure and the rest of us halted as we stared at this noise''s source.


    Using my eyesight, I peered past the darkness of the night and saw a shield.


    A shield with a silver fox.


    Silverbrook.


    Ah, Lily had finally made her move.

 Chapter 29 - 29:Variables [4]

    Until now, everything had been going to plan.


    I had successfully infiltrated the Gemstone Order and kidnapped Alya. I even displayed the kidnapping to the officials earlier so the academy would be informed.


    After hearing from the academy, Liam would immediately spring into action and come to save Alya from us.


    "Goddamn variables..."


    The worst part of it was that Lily was also lucky!


    The knights marching towards us blocked our path to the secret rock, and Lily didn''t even know about it!


    What kind of bullshit was this?


    The deviled figure, who could only judge the soldiers by the sound, almost had his mask crumble as he fearfully said.


    "T-here''s a l-lot of t-them."


    This guy isn''t gonna be any help, isn''t he?


    Can I just escape now?


    My goal had been accomplished; Alya had been kidnapped, and Liam, alongside Lily''s knights, was on their way to save her.


    But... then the Gemstone Order.


    It was not that I cared about the devilish figure or my robot-like comrades; it was just that this was the perfect way for me to infiltrate the order and finally obtain a dagger art.


    This was no longer about saving the world but conserving my own self-interests.


    With that in mind, my effort immediately doubled, and my mind began to race, coming up with ideas.


    To activate the scrolls, all we have to do is leave the Academy grounds, but the secret entrance is blocked...


    What if we leave through the main entrance?


    Who the hell would expect a bunch of kidnappers to attempt to escape through the main entrance of the academy?


    Shouldn''t all the guards stationed there be at the dorm building assessing the damage?


    With that in mind, I calmly spoke, ensuring the impending footsteps didn''t deafen my voice.


    "...All we have to do is get out of the academy, right? What if we go through the front gate."


    Instantly, all heads turned to me; even the robot-like comrades stared at me with disbelief. At least that''s what I thought they were staring at me with; I couldn''t see their actual faces through the mask.


    An angry voice sounded from the horned figure.


    "YOU DAMNED IDIOT, that''s like robbing a store, then just walking out the front entrance like nothing happened!"


    "Well, do you have any better ideas? The secret rock is blocked."


    "..."


    Yeah, that''s what I thought, stay silent.


    Finally, one of the robot kidnappers spoke and anxiously asked.


    "d-do we e-even know where the g-gate is?"


    Immediately piggybacking off the robot assassin, the deviled figure turned to me and said.


    "Yeah, that''s right. How are we gonna know where the entrance is."


    With a smile behind my mask, I calmly replied.


    "I know where it is!"


    "... how...?"


    "Did you already forget? I went scouting and spotted it!"


    After thinking for a very short second, the horned-figured turned around to face the robots and calmed asked.


    "Does anyone have any better ideas...?"


    An awkward silence ensued.


    Well, not silence; the sound of the footsteps kept coming closer and becoming louder.


    Not wasting any more time, I turned to face the direction of the Academy gate and said.


    "Well, I''ll lead the way."


    As I walked through the dense forest, I felt a sudden stirring in my arms and realized that the princess was turning and rolling around.


    ... Just what kind of dream is this princess having?


    As we continued walking toward the entrance, the sound of footsteps kept getting closer; all be it, the footsteps were much lower in quantity.


    They seemed to have decided to split into search parties to look for us.


    Turning to the horned figure anxiously trailing behind me, I quietly said.


    "We should start running, or we''ll be found really soon."


    I felt like I could now read the horned figure''s expression through his mask as I guessed his anxiousness had just changed to anger.


    "... you could have said that earlier.?"


    Hey, I''m that one leading you to salvation; why are you complaining?


    I wanted to say that, but based on the conversations thus far, it seemed like this horned figure was much higher in the hierarchy than me, so insulting him wouldn''t be good.


    Without waiting for the horned figure to communicate to the robots trailing behind him, I picked up the pace and started running.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Lily, Liam, and the badly injured Irene were assigned to one of the search parties, but amid their search, they immediately heard many footsteps running.


    Liam immediately asked.


    "Do you guys hear that..?"


    On the other hand, Lily was so out of it that she didn''t even pay attention to Liam''s question.


    How could this have happened?


    She had warned Alya to stay in the dorm room... how could she have been kidnapped?


    Lily was sure that Alya had heeded her instructions, knowing that her character was known for being cautious, but then, that meant... the kidnappers had gone to the dorm building..?


    No, that was impossible; the book explicitly mentioned that they only stayed in the forest. But then, how was Alya kidnapped?


    Turning around, she also looked at the injured Irene with pity; however, Irene responded with a glare.


    All she had wanted to do was save some people... yet she had made it all worse.


    Irene was still injured, and Alya, who was supposed to be saved by Liam, wasn''t anywhere to be found.


    Her plans to save people had turned out the complete opposite.


    She had failed...


    Snapping Lily of her sullen thoughts, Liam once again spoke.


    "Guys... I think those footsteps are the kidnappers..."


    Lily''s heart skipped a beat.


    She could salvage this! S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the future, she will be more careful and save more people!


    Without waiting for Liam''s instructions, she immediately darted toward the footsteps, with Liam and the injured Irene following closely behind.


    After another minute of constant running, the three exited the forest, and with that, their speed massively increased as they didn''t have to worry about the obstacles in the forest.


    As they were running, Liam asked.


    "...Isn''t this the direction of the main gate.."


    Lily, who had refocused and quelled her internal turmoil, thought about it before saying.


    "It is, indeed."


    Irene, who was lagging behind the two due to her injuries, spoke.


    "T-those bastards, t-there''re trying to escape."


    Within the next few minutes, the three students could see the five figures in the distance, and they also saw the princess. However, the gate was there, too...


    Knowing that the criminal organization likely had access to teleportation scrolls, Lily started panicking.


    If they get through that gate, it''s all over...


    Alya will be gone...


    Instantly, Lily regained control of her thoughts before commanding.


    "Irene, throw fireballs at the gate; WE CAN''T LET THEM ESCAPE."


    Even Irene, who despised and hated Lily, couldn''t help but feel inclined to obey her commands due to Lily''s serious tone.


    Three fireballs immediately appeared to the three students, and they charged forward at the gate.


    The next second, the fireballs made contact with the gate, causing the gate to collapse under the impact.


    "LIAM, GO STALL THEM."


    Liam, taken aback by Lily''s sudden command, didn''t have time to react. Lily''s wind magic suddenly lifted him up and hurled him towards the kidnappers.


    While Lily and Irene started catching up, Liam landed on his feet in front of the kidnappers.


    After giving a quick glance to sleeping Alya, Liam felt a surge of anger erupting within him.


    ... These bastards dare kidnap someone right on academy grounds.


    They had to be punished.


    Was death really enough punishment for them?


    " *tsk* it''ll have to do for now."


    3 kidnappers immediately darted forward, charging at Liam. However, Liam simply felt too powerful at the moment.


    Immense power was gushing through his veins. Despite having 3 attackers, Liam parried all of them instantly, and he also counter-attacked one of them.


    The injured one fell back, stroking the bloody wound on his knee, while the other two kept furiously attacking Liam.


    A surge of red aura enveloped Liam, pushing back the two advancers, and Liam, not wasting the moment, charged forward, striking yet another attacker in the knee.


    One of the injured kidnappers muttered out.


    "h-hes t-too s-strong."


    "Damn right, I''m strong. You guys are just a bunch of low-life kidnappers. Prepare to meet your end."


    At this time, he felt two new presences at his side, and he glanced around to see both Irene and Lily had caught up to him.


    "This battle is as good as over; die gracefully at the very least, rat bastards."


    Irene, who had three more fireballs floating above her head, glared daggers at the group of kidnappers who had ambushed her while they were looking for Alya.


    "Liam, they''re mine. My fire will destroy them all."


    As the three students prepared to kill the kidnappers, all the kidnappers seemed to huddle around a single person.


    The single person, adorned with full black and an Iron badge, stepped forward while holding the unconscious Alya in his hands.


    Holding a twisted dagger in his hands, he calmly spoke despite facing the three overpowered students.


    "Take another step, and the princess dies."


    Silence immediately descended upon the three students.


    They thought they had the upper hand this entire time, just for it to disappear with one sentence.


    Liam, trembling at the thought of watching one of his classmates die, spoke to Irene and Lily.


    "w-what d-do we do...?"


    The other two students seemed to react similarly as they had no answer to Liam''s question. After another second, Lily spoke.


    "...Stall for the guards?"


    Irene, standing behind Lily, interrupted.


    "What if they kill her n-"


    Interrupting the student''s heated discussion, the man holding Alya spoke once again.


    "Move out of the way."


    Lily fell back into her internal turmoil.


    What could they do now?


    If they didn''t move, Alya would meet her death.


    If they moved, the kidnappers would escape, and Alya would perhaps meet a fate worse than death.


    It was all because of her...


    She thought that everything would go exactly as planned just because she knew the future.


    However, now, she learned a grave truth.


    "There will also be variables..."


    Before the three students could give the man an answer, the man walked back over to his group and started discussing.


    Liam, once again, started the conversation.


    "...What now."


    Irene, with blood still oozing from her wounds, answers.


    "We can''t let them go with Alya... she''ll meet a fate worse than death."


    Nodding his head in agreement, Liam turned to face Lily, who was known for intelligence.


    "I-i d-don''t know."


    Tears started to flow down Lily''s face.


    For the first time in this world, she felt utterly powerless...


    After riding the high of saving the village of Cordu, she felt unstoppable, but in a single instant, all of that confidence was gone, and now despair.


    Liam wanted to comfort Lily, but he knew it was futile. The odds of Alya''s death were 100%...


    Interrupting the conversation between the three students, the group of kidnappers walked forward with the man still holding a dagger to Alya''s neck.


    The group prepared to attack.


    They had come to a silent agreement.


    Allowing Alya to be kidnapped would be far worse than letting her die. Who knew what those criminals would do to her... torture or maybe worse.


    Then, the man holding Alya suddenly tossed her to Liam. Liam caught off guard, still managed to react and catch Alya, preventing her from receiving any wounds.


    Shocked, the three students stood still while watching the kidnappers walk away empty-handed.


    Liam was once again the first to break the silence.


    "w-what just happened...?"


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Convincing my comrades to surrender Alya was much easier than I thought. All I had to do was tell them that we would be dead if we didn''t, and surprisingly, they listened.


    After all, these guys are criminals at heart who value their lives above anything else.


    Of course, I didn''t come back empty-handed.


    In my right hand, I held a sparkling ring with a diamond as its core.


    As the five of us left the academy gates, I turned around and spotted dozens of guards charging towards Liam and Alya.


    Wow, just in time, these officials are impeccable with their timing!


    Struggling to hide my laughter, I stepped towards the horned figure as he tore open a scroll.


    The space around all five of us began to distort, and when it stabilized, we seemed to be somewhere underground.

 Chapter 30 - 30:Variables [5]

    Following the lead of the horned figure, I descended deeper into the underground cave system.


    Of course, the book did not describe the headquarters of a villainous organization, so I curiously surveyed my surroundings while maintaining my calm facade.


    Looking at my comrades, I realized I was out of place in displaying a calm appearance as the rest were trembling with fear and nervousness.


    They had failed their mission and would likely be demoted or reprimanded harshly.


    In the original story, these kidnappers were captured by the officials and subjected to torture until they revealed the measly information they had, so I have no idea why they''re nervous instead of relieved.


    If only they knew how lucky they were to have me!


    The punishment didn''t matter to me as long as I was not removed from the Gemstone Order.


    The worrisome part was what came after, as I would have to complete countless missions to receive contribution points and eventually buy a dagger art.


    The cave walls were adorned with countless gemstones, including sapphire, ruby, emerald, and gold. Each gemstone lit up a little portion of the dark cave, creating a somewhat eerie mood as some parts of the cave were lit up while others were pitch-black.


    As the path''s width decreased, our group was forced to huddle together, further adding to the awkward mood.


    After what seemed an entirety, a large set of double wooden doors came into vision.


    Paying careful attention to the robot-like assassins, I imitated their actions perfectly to ensure that the horned figure didn''t notice anything.


    After the set of doors was within 10 feet of us, the horned figure turned around and addressed us.


    " *sigh* Wait here, I''ll report to the superiors..."


    Like the others, I stood to the side and watched the horned figure open the wooden doors, hoping to catch a glance inside; however, the doors shut before I could see anything.


    As I patiently waited for the horned figure to reemerge, I realized that everything had actually gone according to plan.


    I had successfully dealt with all the variables!


    I wonder how Lily is feeling right now... The kidnappers still injured Irene and a couple of guards during their search for Alya, so she had failed.


    For me to succeed, she must fail, so there''s no point in worrying.


    My survival matters most, and she''s risking that by altering the plot.


    She''ll continue causing problems for the remainder of the plot, so... what if I take care of her now?


    Ah, no, her role as Lily is too vital in the plot to be killed off.


    So, then, what? Am I forced to keep intervening in the incidents and ensuring everything goes according to the plot?


    Can I reach an agreement with her? After all, we are both from Earth.


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, I heard the doors opening again, so I readjusted my gaze to the sullen-horned figure walking out.


    Even I was somewhat anxious as all of this was new to me as the kidnappers were originally captured.


    Seeing our attitudes, the horned figure cleared his throat before saying.


    "Good News and Bad News..."


    For the first time, I saw one of the kidnappers get verbally angry.


    "SO? GET ON IT WITH IT; YOU''VE LEFT US TREMBLING HERE FOR 10 MINUTES ALREADY."


    "... Alright, for the good, we won''t be demoted or kicked out."


    A sigh of relief was released from everyone there, including me.


    "For the bad, we''ll lose 25 contribution points each..."


    That reminds me, how many contribution points did this guy have?


    After raising my hand and tapping on the Iron badge attached to my shirt, a digital menu appeared before me.


    [User: Zen / Rank: Iron / Points: 15]


    ... Is it possible to get into point debt?


    Looking up from my pathetic points menu, I noticed the horned figure standing in front of me. A peculiar grin was spread across his face, and his tone seemed happy rather than anxious or sad.


    "heyyy, the superiors want to speak to you personally."


    "..."


    This guy put all the blame on me, didn''t he? ... I am so screwed.


    Accepting my fate, I headed towards the double doors and pulled them open without any hesitation.


    The first thing in the room that caught my eye was a gigantic diamond crystal sitting in the center of the room, lighting up the entire area.


    Surrounding the diamond were other smaller gemstones, and there was a seat on each of those gemstones.


    All of the seats were empty except one; the ruby crystal had a figure sitting on it with jet-black hair and blood-red eyes.


    The same as me.


    Her hair was tied into a ponytail, and she was wearing a simple yet elegant black dress that stretched all the way down to her knees.


    One of the 7 main bosses of the Gemstone Order, Ruby.


    Despite her elegant and formal appearance, Ruby was actually the same age as Liam, Alya, and me.


    Not knowing what exactly to do, I walked a couple of steps forward before bowing my head.


    "Raise your head."


    Following her directions, I lifted my gaze and patiently waited for her further instructions. This person was an end-game boss, not someone like me could handle right now.


    For a moment, there was pure silence in the room as Ruby simply stared at me, but it felt weird, as if her gaze was infiltrating my body and looking deep down to find my darkest secrets.


    However, I didn''t dare move or act out.


    Was she still calculating my punishment? Was I even getting punished? What did that idiot say to her that made her want to speak to me personally?


    After a moment, Ruby spoke once again.


    "I heard you personally captured the princess. Was there anything of value on her?"


    ... Do I lie or not? The diamond ring isn''t necessarily that special as it simply increases mana capacity, but then again, with my meager amount of money, it would take me a year of saving to get another.


    Deciding that my life was worth more than a mana ring, I pulled out the diamond ring from my pocket and said.


    "Yes, I planned on reporting it to the leader before I was called."


    Gesturing for me to come closer, Ruby said.


    "Give it to me."


    Not wasting any time, I moved forward and placed the ring into Ruby''s hands.


    Instead of simply taking the ring and backing away, Ruby moved the hand containing the ring and threw it.


    *CLACK*


    The sound of the ring hitting the floor only a meter away from me echoed throughout the room.


    Paralyzed by fear, I stood still and let my thoughts run wild.


    Did she know I was planning to keep it? What is she going to do to me for almost lying...?


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, I felt a cold sensation on my chin that then rapidly spread throughout my body.


    Ruby''s hand, previously holding the mana ring, was now right below my chin, holding it in place.


    Looking down at me from the seat, she raised my head until my eyes directly met hers.


    Our blood-red eyes were in sync as we stared at each other, each of us blinking at the same exact time.


    "Using my eyes, I can peer into the souls of others and read their deepest and darkest desires. What do you think I see when I look at you?"


    It was an easy question. There was only one thing I desired.


    However, considering the circumstances of her holding my chin up and us directly making eye contact, only a small stutter came out of my mouth.


    "T-the d-desire to live. "


    A smile formed on Ruby''s face, causing me to lose my focus, as her beauty was simply blinding.


    Raising her other hand, Ruby placed it on my cheek and began to caress it.


    "You''re just like me..."


    For a moment, the world seemed to stop as Ruby continued to stroke my cheek while looking directly into my eyes.


    "One simple desire is all you have, yet in your soul, it shines brighter than any other desire I''ve ever seen. Disgusting, lustful, vengeful, pure, and happy desires, I''ve seen it all, but all of them are insignificant embers when compared to your inferno flame."


    "Though I cannot see my own soul''s desires, I imagine it perfectly matches your souls..."


    Being at a loss for words, I simply kept silent.


    What was I supposed to say?


    I wasn''t surprised. I was already willing to watch half of the people in this world die so that a happy ending could be achieved, ensuring my survival.


    But, did that mean she was also willing to...? Well, I guess that''s an end-game villain for you.


    Putting her hands down, Ruby dropped her serious tone and began speaking more playfully.


    "Well, the original reason I called you here was to reward you. The horned guy told me that you captured the princess when the mission initially went wrong, and although the mission was ultimately a failure, we must reward you."


    All my worries instantly disappeared.


    That horned guy really was an idiot!


    He could have taken all the credit for initially capturing the princess and received a reward, yet he decided to hand it to me.


    Wasn''t this guy a criminal and a djinn? Where the hell is his criminal spirit!?


    "You know, I have also taken an interest in you."


    ... You say that now after you caressed my cheeks and told me I''m just like you? Even that stupid horned guy could figure that out!


    Choosing my next words very cautiously, I spoke.


    "I am honored to receive such recognition."


    "haha, speak to me informally, don''t worry."


    "Yes... but about the reward."


    "Quick to get down to business, are you? Only a moment ago, you were completely silent while I rubbed your cheeks."


    "..."


    Of course, what am I supposed to say when an end-game villain boss starts rubbing your cheeks and calls you special?


    "Hmm, since you''re interesting, you can choose one item from the catalogue below 800 contribution points."


    I currently had a balance of -10 contributions points, and now, suddenly, I could buy anything below 800!


    It was free money! I had hit the lottery!


    Patting my chest, I internally thanked whatever flame was ignited in my soul for interesting Ruby so much.


    Next, I received the catalog from Ruby and headed to the doors, but I suddenly recalled something.


    "... about the mana ring."


    " *PFFT* you really are something else. You can take it if you so please."


    After grabbing the mana ring, I headed back to the double doors, but as I opened them, Ruby''s soft voice spoke once again.


    "Ren... we''ll see each other much more often now!"


    As I turned around to face Ruby bewildered, she winked at me, but before I could say anything else, the door was suddenly shut, pushing me out of the room.


    ... They always say free things cost the most.


    How did she know I was Ren...? What did she mean by "we''ll see each other?


    Various worries flooded my head, but those worries ceased when I opened the first page of the catalog.


    No matter what cost would be extracted later, currently, I WAS RICH!


    Flipping immediately to the dagger art section, I spotted two daggers arts.


    [Whispering Tempest / Stars: 3/5 / Cost: 500P]


    [Eclipse Blade / Stars: 4/5 / Cost 750P]


    While I had aimed for "Whispering Tempest" at first, through my training as an assassin, I realized that darkness and shadows were my greatest strength.


    What would a wind dagger art do in the shadows?


    Thus, I ultimately decided to pick Eclipse Blade, a dagger art based on darkness, shadows, and the absence of light.


    Not only that, but the dagger art was already 4 stars!


    All dagger arts involving natural elements such as fire, water, light, ground, rock, and dark were upgradable to 5 stars, so Eclipse Blade was also upgradable.


    Unlike "Whispering Tempest," I didn''t know how to upgrade the Eclipse Blade, but that was a problem for later.


    After I selected Eclipse Blade, an employee wearing a tiger mask walked out of the double doors and handed me a box.


    Was I receiving special treatment from Ruby? Delivery in less than a minute...?


    Wasting no time, I opened the box and immediately absorbed the dagger art.


    Instantly, I felt the first movement of Eclipse Blade planted into my head.


    It was an elemental slash of pure darkness.


    Also, as I checked my system menu, my rating had increased to D rank.


    ===Menu===


    User : Ren Montclair


    [Class: Rookie Assassin: (Level 2: 10%) ]


    -> Stealth : D-


    -> Intermediate Dagger Mastery : 42%


    -> Arts: Eclipse Blade [1/5]


    [Stats]


    -> Rating : D- {Dream not yet completed}


    -> Strength : E


    -> Agility : E+


    -> Stamina : E+


    -> Magic Power : D+ S§×arch* The n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    -> Luck: G-S {Conditional}


    -> Intelligence : E


    -> Charm : G+


    [Traits]


    -> Passive: Dragon''s Will [1 / ?]


    ---> Dragon Eyes : Your eyesight is enhanced.


    [Skills]


    -> [[E] Dash] : Not requiring any mana usage, the skill allows the user to move 10 meters from their current location in any direction with a cooldown period of 7 seconds. The skill does not instantly move the user but temporarily increases the user''s speed until they move 10 meters.


    =======

 Chapter 31 - 31:Nightclub [1]

    After realizing that I couldn''t learn any more movements of the Art until I mastered the dark elemental slash, I got up and headed back to my comrades.


    Upon arrival, the horned figure immediately confronted me with a large smile, which I reciprocated.


    "How was it?"


    "Perfect, thanks for the props."


    I had noticed all the other kidnappers speaking to him in a non-formal way, so I copied them to maintain my image.


    Of course, I didn''t know if maintaining my image as Zen even mattered anymore as Ruby somehow found out I was Ren.


    Probably shouldn''t have expected a simple mask to fool an end-game boss. But was my face so recognizable that she could recognize me as Ren by simply seeing my face?


    Ruby''s backstory was never mentioned, maybe she had a close connection with my family before?


    Patting me on the back, the horned figure continued.


    "No problem, you saved us back then. Our mission was only to cause fear and chaos in the academy, not actually bring the princess back. The superiors thought telling us that we needed to bring back the princess would make us try harder."


    "They were a bit mad, though, as the Academy discovered our tunnel, so we lost some contribution points."


    Ah, Lily''s doing; she must have also wondered how our group infiltrated the academy without being noticed and found it.


    Interrupting our conversation, another comrade yelled from behind us.


    "DECLAN AND ZEN, LOOK AT THESE."


    In his hands, the kidnapper held two devices that closely resembled a flip phone from Earth.


    Don''t they have smartphones and smartwatches in this world? Why would they need these?


    After passing a flip phone to both Declan and I, he continued.


    "The girl with a tiger mask told us that we will be using these to communicate now; we''re officially a group under the Ruby gemstone''s leader now!"


    Ah, is this what Ruby meant earlier? If so, why didn''t she just say that earlier? I would have found out anyway.


    After saying that, he also pulled a bunch of Ruby pins from his pocket and handed them to us.


    "These pins will teleport us to here and out from now on!"


    Then it dawned on me that this underground tunnel area was the Ruby gemstone''s headquarters...


    Ruby was the same age as me, yet she had this whole area as a headquarters???


    After mentally reminding myself to confront Raven later, I replaced the Iron pin with the Ruby.


    Declan, even more ecstatic than ever, started clapping his hands, gathering the entire group''s attention.


    "Who''s up for some drinks to celebrate the news!?"


    "DAMN RIGHT, I AM!"


    "WHEN ARE WE NOT UP FOR DRINKS?"


    Seeing the reactions of my group members, I could hardly recognize them.


    Weren''t they completely emotionless and robotic during the mission... who the hell are these happy and excited guys?


    Checking the time, I realized I would have to return to school, so I waved a quick goodbye to Declan and the others before tapping the Ruby pin attached to my shirt.


    Instantly, the space around me distorted, and I was brought into the middle of a forest.


    "Really, only an end-game villain organization can have access to this overpowered technology..."


    After tinkering with the pin for a second, I realized that you could actually set a place to teleport to when you leave the headquarters, and apparently, the place I was at was the default one.


    Of course, I couldn''t use the pin inside the Academy as the protection spells would block it, but setting a teleport place in the capital would be nice for the future.


    [Ren: Hey, I have a task for you.]


    [Raven: Oh really, another one? That''s perfectly fine with me! Making an entire business in less than a month wasn''t hard enough for me! Do you want me to buy out the entire black market next?]


    [Ren: Glad to hear that; you''ll need to buy a building for our headquarters. About buying out the black market, that''s your task for next month!]


    [Raven: Do you know what sarcasm is? Ah, surely you do; nice joke.]


    [Raven: You were joking, right?]


    [Raven: Hello?]


    After checking my location, I put down my smartphone and realized I wasn''t too far from the capital.


    After an uneventable walk, I returned to the bridge leading to the Academy''s island.


    The gate itself was in shambles due to Irene''s fireballs, so while the guards were worried about repairing it, I snuck inside unnoticed. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As I walked back to my dorm building, I noticed an abundance of posters plastered everywhere, but that was to be expected. After all, it was student council election season.


    Although plenty of different candidates were running, everyone already knew that Astrid would win.


    Ranked first out of the 3rd years, Astrid would probably win the election even if she didn''t do any campaigning.


    Of course, her student council group would consist of the main cast, with Liam, Lily, and Alya being on it.


    I don''t think Lily could even ruin this plot point if she tried, so there was no point in paying attention.


    The rest of this school week progressed regularly, and I could see Alya becoming closer to both Lily and Liam.


    The entire staff team surprisingly overlooked my absence due to Alya''s kidnapping, so I had nothing to worry about.


    After class ended on Friday, Jin grabbed Han and me and escorted us to a random nightclub in the capital. At first, the bouncers rejected us due to our age, but after displaying our student IDs, the bouncer had no qualms about letting us in.


    Jin immediately ditched Han and me after spotting an attractive girl. Han went off to who-knows-where, leaving me completely alone.


    Since I had never reached the age of 21 on Earth, I could never go into a nightclub, but after observing the scenery for a minute, I realized that the movies portrayed them perfectly.


    Huge dance floor, plenty of Alcohol, tons of girls and guys, and booths scattered throughout.


    Amid my observation, I suddenly heard the entire club clapping, so I adjusted my gaze to the stage, where three girls stood with a microphone and two guitars.


    Somewhat curious about this world''s music, I headed to the bar area for a better view of the stage.


    After ordering a drink, I glanced at the stage, and upon glancing at one of the girls, I almost fell out of my chair.


    The girl in the center of the stage had blonde hair, twin ponytails, and contacts that made it appear as if there was a star inside of the pupil in her eye.


    That was the student council president, Astrid...


    Although most people couldn''t tell, with my enhanced eyesight, I could easily recognize her from the countless posters around the school.


    Although Astrid didn''t descend from a Hero family or an imperial, her father was a Duke of a kingdom on the outskirts of the kingdom, so there was no way she needed money.


    Did she just really enjoy singing...?


    Realizing that I had been staring at Astrid far longer than any other person in the club, I tried to redirect my gaze, but before I could, my eyes met hers.


    Instantly, I turned my head, not caring if I looked suspicious or not.


    There would not be another Ruby incident, so help me god. By just existing, an end-game villain had taken an interest in me.


    The music sung by Astrid and the guitarists was surprisingly familiar as it closely resembled K-pop music from Earth.


    As the music continued to play, I sat on the barstool while enjoying my drink and occasionally glancing around.


    I should have been enjoying this outing, a completely new experience, and a break, but something felt off.


    Through my hours of training every day, I learned never to doubt my intuition as a fighter, but most importantly, never to doubt my sight.


    There were times when my eyes moved faster than my brain, like when I saw the trajectory of an incoming attack but could not react to it.


    That was the exact feeling I felt right now.


    I had seen a danger, but my brain couldn''t figure it out.


    Slowing, turning my head to look around, I scanned every inch until that feeling peaked.


    However, there was a problem: that feeling peaked at 5 different locations...


    The locations didn''t include any people, but they were 5 empty booths.


    After concluding that, I wasted no time and walked over to the first of the five booths. To my surprise, there was nothing amiss or wrong.


    Ignoring the singing of Astrid, I made my way to the 2nd and 3rd booths, where nothing was wrong.


    At this point, doubt seemed to creep into my mind, not doubt about my eyesight but doubt about whether this world was real or an apparition.


    I was more inclined to believe that this world was imaginary than that my eyes were off.


    After checking out the 5th booth, I decided just to leave the nightclub. There was no point in wasting more time figuring out the issue.


    Whatever was wrong with this nightclub wouldn''t affect me if I was already back at the academy.


    And there was no one important here in the nightclub that could die... right?


    Astrid.


    The death of the student council president would undoubtedly negatively affect the plot.


    Returning to the first of the five booths, I looked forward right into the wall behind it instead of at the booth itself.


    After glancing around to ensure no eyes were on me, I threw my first forward, and with my awakened power, a fist-shaped hole was formed in the wall.


    Maybe I was just looking in the wrong place earlier.


    Looking inside the hole, I immediately realized what was causing the feeling.


    Inside the small wall, there was a bottle. A bottle I knew very well because I had used it myself this week.


    A sleeping potion.


    5 sleeping potions... that''s enough to knock out the entire nightclub. And with the atmosphere, no one would bat an eye if they thought they felt sleepy.


    Rushing to the bathroom, I immediately splashed my eyes with water and instantly felt myself becoming reenergized.


    The potion was already in effect.


    The president was in danger.


    I pulled out my phone before making any rash decisions involving the president.


    [Ren: Let''s get something to eat; Han find Jin and tell him all of us are leaving.]


    [Han: I don''t know if he''ll listen...]


    [Ren: Remind him that this whole outing was originally for me.]


    They''ve hung out with me constantly and kept me company whenever I felt homesick for Earth, so the least I could do was this.


    Pushing aside the people in front of me, I made my way to the front of the stage and looked upwards, trying to find Astrid.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Singing was one of the few things that Astrid enjoyed, and a break from the constant studying and training was needed to prevent her from collapsing from stress.


    Singing was not an activity that could be done at the Academy, so Astrid searched for other outlets, and nightclub gigs were the easiest and most exciting due to their environment.


    Of course, as future student council president, Astrid couldn''t tell anyone that she sang at nightclubs, so she chose poorer nightclubs that were far from the capital.


    That was why she was so shocked to see a familiar face at the club.


    As she came from a somewhat influential family, Astrid often attended events hosted by important families, so when she saw Ren''s face, she immediately recognized it.


    Wasn''t he disowned?


    Ah, what a story, a fallen noble coming to a poor nightclub to find pleasure.


    As the rest of the night went on, Astrid slowly forgot the existence of Ren and instead became focused solely on singing.


    That was until she looked right down at the front of the crowd and saw Ren seemingly cheering her on like a fan.


    A bout of laughter almost escaped Astrid''s mouth.


    She remembered seeing Ren being so prideful and arrogant at whatever event he attended, looking down on everyone.


    Now, that same Ren looked serious and panicked while listening to her sing.


    Money must be running low for him.


    Enjoying the sight of Ren''s sullen and serious face, Astrid contemplated how to increase her delight.


    Whenever she attempted to speak with Ren in the past, she would be brushed off and ridiculed, so seeing Ren like this was almost a dream.


    Calling him out to everyone? ... Perfect.


    She, who had been laughed at by Ren, would now make Ren suffer the greatest humiliation by having everyone at the club laugh at him.


    Reaching her free hand over, Astrid placed her hand right in front of Ren.


    Seeing his surprised and happy face, a big grin spread over Astrid''s face.


    The same person who ridiculed and ignored her was now ecstatic that she was paying attention to him.


    Ren grabbed Astrid''s hand, so she pulled him up to the stage.


    Thinking this would be the perfect time to get her revenge on Ren by calling him out, Astrid grabbed Ren and pulled his head to her mouth.


    But Ren''s calm and indifferent voice came out before Astrid could say anything.


    "Astrid or student council president, you should leave now."


    [A/N: 75 Powerstones = 1 chapter / 1 gift = 1 chapter]

 Chapter 32 - 32:Nightclub [2]

    Astrid froze. Her smile disappeared, and her delight turned into fright. Ren could even feel the trembling of her body right next to him.


    What the... where... how did he get my name? How did he know it was me?


    Astrid was so shellshocked by Ren knowing her name that she completely ignored or forgot about the second part of his words.


    The guitarists on stage glanced at Astrid, who had frozen up and stopped singing, causing Astrid to regain her composure.


    Looking at the calm and indifferent expression on Ren''s face, memories of how Ren looked down on her with a cocky face resurfaced.


    Surrounded by countless noble children and guards, Astrid finally gathered the courage to approach Ren and start a conversation.


    "Hello Ren, I''m Astrid, how are you d-"


    " *pfft* I know are who you are. My family''s personal hunting dogs."


    "Wait... no, it''s not like that, we''re bot-"


    "Now you''re trying to deny it? A dog should know its place. Maybe I''ll have to report to my father that our dogs aren''t obedient anymore."


    The group of children surrounding Ren instantly broke into laughter while glaring at Astrid''s flushed face. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "No... please, I just wanted to ta-"


    "Talk? A peasant like you wanted to talk to me? Are you delusional?"


    Astrid''s face crumpled as those words came out of Ren''s mouth. Her father had explicitly told her to get Ren''s good side as her family was currently under the Montclair, so she just had to sit there and take the verbal beating.


    As Ren continued to ridicule her in public, she could also hear the other children laughing at her and trash-talking her. They didn''t even try to hide it; they simply hid behind Ren''s back while loudly insulting her.


    "You know, she may look good, but I don''t know about the brain''s department."


    "How did she even get invited to this party?"


    "She just looks so out of place. Like a penguin in a desert."


    Shrinking back from the constant verbal backlash, Astrid bowed her head to Ren and walked away.


    "Yeah, walk away, peasant!"


    "A country bumpkin like her shouldn''t even be here."


    For what? What did she even do to Ren? Was it a crime for her to try to make conversation..? She had done nothing wrong...


    No, she didn''t deserve this; it was all Ren''s fault. But what could she do about..?


    Astrid sat in the corner for the rest of the party, barely holding back tears, while the other children gathered around Ren, laughing at his every word.


    It was like she was back in that very same place right now.


    Was this bastard going to expose her hobby to the entire school..? Was Ren going to make the entire school ridicule her again...?


    It was ironic and quite humorous; only a few moments ago, Astrid planned to expose Ren''s identity to the entire nightclub, but now the tables were flipped.


    No... not yet; he doesn''t have the upper hand. If he dares to say anything, I''ll ruin him with rumors; no one will defend him if he tries to deny it.


    People don''t flock to him anymore; he''s just a stray dog with no master.


    Quelling her chaotic thoughts, Astrid tried to start singing again, but anyone with a brain could tell she was off-beat for the rest of the song.


    Fortunately, people in nightclubs aren''t using their brains.


    As Astrid continued to sing, she anxiously glanced at the audience to ensure that no one had noticed her mishap, and she was ecstatic to see that almost nobody was paying attention.


    It was weird, really. Only five minutes ago, she was the center of attention, but now everyone was almost completely ignoring her. The people weren''t even dancing; in fact, they were struggling to stand up straight.


    The nightclub floor was littered with tons of shattered glass from the dropped drinks and cocktails.


    Don''t they know they have to pay extra if they break the glasses?


    Dismissing the various odds things as people just being drunk, Astrid realized that she had more important things to pay attention to.


    Turning her head to the right mid-song, she expected to see Ren still standing there, but to her surprise, Ren was nowhere to be seen.


    As the song ended, Astrid ignored her guitarists'' surprised expressions and rushed off the stage to try and find Ren.


    That bastard! He must already be sprinting back to the school to expose me.


    As Astra sprinted off the stage and into the crowd, the anomalies within the nightclub grew clearer to her. The people sitting by the bar seemed to be asleep; the people previously dancing were collapsing to the floor one by one, and finally, she couldn''t even sprint anymore.


    In fact, she couldn''t even walk.


    "w-what is h-happening."


    Leaning on a table for support, Astrid paused for a minute before she felt her thoughts slow and her legs slowly giving out.


    Snapping her back awake, the doors of the nightclub busted open, and 3 men with black masks strolled into the club.


    Astrid''s eyes widened as she noticed that all 3 of them had horns.


    "djinns..."


    Pushing her hands down, Astrid attempted to stand back up and cast a spell; however, it was completely useless as Astra didn''t have the strength even to lift her hand.


    One of the figures had a light fire lit above their hands while the other two held broadswords. They glanced around before pausing at her barely-standing figure.


    "Looks like we got a fighter over here."


    "Hmmm, she''ll go for quite a bit underground."


    "Get going; only take the valuable things; we only have 5 minutes."


    Astrid''s legs finally gave out as she collapsed onto the booth couch while watching the masked figures steal everything valuable.


    Eventually, one of the masked figures, only a few feet from Astrid, turned around and said.


    "I''ll take the girl as my compensation."


    "Why the hell do you get to decide? Who died and made you boss?"


    "He''s right; the boss told us only to take jewelry and money."


    " *tsk* the boss won''t care if we take a single girl with us. Leave it to me."


    "Do what you want, but the blames on you if the boss gets pissed."


    "Alright, alright."


    Sitting down on the booth couch, Astrid mustered up all her remaining strength to move her head just to see a horned figure with a broad sword walking up to her.


    Barely opening her mouth, Astrid managed to say something.


    "Don''t you know I''m from Celestial Academy? You''ll surely be caught if you even touch me."


    "Even better, I love a fierce one."


    As the horned figure placed his hand on Astrid''s legs, Astrid struggled to remain conscious as she felt her eyelids becoming heavier and heavier.


    Mustering up the last of her awakened strength, Astrid remained conscious while the horned figure grabbed her leg and prepared to lift her up.


    Not having the strength even to open her mouth, Astrid could only internally scream in horror, wishing it was all a dream.


    Temporarily succumbing to the potion, Astrid closed her eyes for a moment, but when she reopened her eyes, she was somehow even more terrified.


    A body without a head stood in front of her.


    During the less than 1 second period, she had her eyes closed; the djinn had lost its head.


    The completely motionless body freefell forward towards Astrid''s unmoving body, but as the djinn''s chest was about to touch Astrid''s face, it suddenly stopped.


    The body of the djinn flew back and away from Astrid''s body, and she heard a familiar voice. A voice that she had heard over and over in nightmares when she was young.


    "Goddamn it, why doesn''t anyone ever listen to me?"


    Ren?


    Wasn''t he supposed to be off-exposing her at the academy? Why was he here? Did he save her, or was it someone else?


    Snapping Astrid out of her thoughts, she felt a cold sensation spread throughout her back as Ren carefully lifted her up with both his hands and placed her on the table.


    With her back propped up against the wall, Astrid could see the entire nightclub; hundreds of people lay motionless on the floor, and in the distance, there were two more djinns watching Ren and her starstruck.


    " *tsk* What the hell...? Didn''t you say everyone was going to be asleep, Rez...?"


    "Looks like he might have immunity; it''s just one person. Take him out; there can''t be any witnesses."


    A fireball manifested above one of the djinns while the other charged toward Ren and Astrid with his longsword already swinging.


    Although faintly, Astrid heard Ren mutter something.


    "Ah, shit."


    Grabbing a drink from the bar, Ren wasted no time and splashed the liquid in the cup on Astrid''s stationary body.


    Astrid watched in confusion as the dark purple liquid from the cup flew at her. As the liquid drenched her face, Astrid instinctively raised her hand to wipe her face, and after feeling the sticky surface of her face, she realized.


    "I..i can move again."


    Instead of attacking or defending the charging djinn, Ren sidestepped out of the way, and the djinn, having no time to reposition, charged right into the table Astrid was currently sitting on.


    Astrid screamed out, barely managing to avoid the charge by casting a magic shield.


    "YOU DAMN IDIOT! WHAT THE HELL?"


    Ren''s expression remained indifferent as he calmly responded.


    "We have bigger things to deal with right now."


    Being still cornered against the wall by charging djinn, Astrid had no choice but to agree. A wind current immediately appeared in Astrid''s palm, pushing the djinn back a couple of feet.


    Astrid immediately started casting as tree roots began to break out of the nightclub floor and hurl toward the charging djinn''s figure.


    The charging djinn, surrounded by the tree roots, raised his sword, which was now covered by an ominous dark red energy.


    "Devilish Mana.."


    The sword easily cut through the tree roots, and the djinn resumed his attack, causing Astrid to cast another wind current spell to avoid being cornered.


    Looking around, Astrid spotted Ren in an intense battle with the magician djinn as 3 fireballs were barrelling right at Ren''s body.


    Instead of dodging, Ren took out two twisted daggers from his pocket and cut each of his hands, leaving a trail of blood.


    Astrid became even more bewildered as Ren''s daggers became covered by an impenetrable black. The physical dagger couldn''t even be seen anymore; only the rough shape of the dagger formed by the black aura was visible.


    Ren swung his daggers at the air before him, and two impenetrable black slashes, one from each dagger, flew straight at the fireballs.


    "Only second-semester firsts year should be able to perform elemental slashes..."


    The ground shook as the two dark slashes intersected the fireballs, and smoke appeared at the junction point, completely dividing the nightclub into two.


    The magician''s sight of Ren, Astra, and the charging djinn was completely blocked.


    Taking advantage of this, Ren sprung forward toward the charging djinn with his daggers still covered entirely by the night-black color.


    Seeing the opportunity as well, Astrid immediately recast her Earth spell as more tree roots broke through the already broken floor and slowly encircled the charging djinn.


    Ignoring the plant roots, the charging djinn instinctively parried Ren''s daggers, pushing Ren back. However, that did not stop Ren, as he swung his daggers at the air once again, causing two more night-black slashes to appear.


    [A/N: 75 Powerstones = 1 chapter / 1 gift = 1 chapter]

 Chapter 33 - 33:Nightclub [3]

    As the two night-black slashes flew toward the charging djinn, the djinn held his ground and yelled.


    "HERE!"


    Instantly, 3 fireballs soared through the smoke and right at the night slashes. As the slashes and fireballs hit each other, the nightclub floor again shook, causing the roof''s light fixtures to fall down and break.


    The room was pitch-black, and no one could see anything except me. Anyone who cast a light spell would reveal their location and be susceptible to attacks immediately, so the others were forced to accept the pitch-black environment.


    After locating the charging djinn, who was blindly swinging his sword to cut down the tree roots, I crept towards him, not leaving a single trail of my existence.


    Although these djinns were at least D rank or higher, I was currently an assassin in my natural habitat.


    With my assassin abilities, I could completely erase my presence in the darkness, and with my dragon''s eye, I could easily figure out everyone''s location while they couldn''t do anything.


    While walking, I noticed the djinn magician occasionally throwing out fireballs and lighting up the area around him, making creeping up on him much harder.


    Astrid was back at the broken table, still creating and casting more tree roots to encircle the charging djinn.


    Originally, I had planned to stall the two djinns for 5 minutes, forcing them to retreat as everyone else woke, but now... it was completely different.


    I held the complete advantage.


    Taking the magician djinn would be problematic due to his fireballs, but the charging one was an entirely different story.


    I could feel my Art proficiency and dagger mastery increasing rapidly, so now was not the time to stop.


    Creeping up behind Astrid, I spoke right into her ear quietly while using my hands to cover her mouth.


    "Don''t make a sound. It''s Ren."


    Her entire body started trembling, but thankfully, she made no noise.


    "Use all your mana to create a tree cage around him; I''ll take care of the rest."


    Releasing my hand from her mouth, I stepped back into the darkness before she could say anything and silently approached the charging djinn.


    Astrid hadn''t listened the first time, but hopefully, she learned her lesson and listened this time.


    With my enhanced eyesight, I could see that Astrid had ceased casting the tree roots and was preparing to cast the tree cage; however, the charging djinn continued to swing his sword mindlessly.


    Having used most of my mana in the previous fights, the only ability I could use was Dash, so I preemptively activated it and waited for the tree cage form.


    A faint green light appeared, lighting up the dark room, but before anyone could act, the green light disappeared. The charging djinn, the magician djinn, Astrid, and I were now trapped in a cage made of tree roots, preventing anyone from leaving.


    As soon as the green light appeared, the charging djinn''s swings slowed, and he wasn''t paying attention, so I dashed forward with my dagger and plunged it right into his heart. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There was no sound made. A clean and unnoticeable cut was made, with no blood being visible.


    Instead of discarding his body, I put his corpse in front of my body, using it as a shield, and immediately made my way toward the magician djinn.


    Realizing that he was now trapped, the magician djinn began to release fireballs every second; however, I could easily avoid them with my eyesight.


    On the other hand, Astrid was taking quite the beating as she had to jump and move around to avoid the fireballs, but the sound caused by her dodging gave away her location to the magic djinn, leading him to release more fireballs.


    As I neared the magician djinn, a fireball whizzed by me, illuminating the area I was in; however, for the magic djinn, only his comrades'' body, which I was holding up, was visible.


    In a quiet voice, the magic djinn exclaimed.


    "Damian, is that you...?"


    Without making a noise, I titled the dead djinn''s body down and continued to approach the magician djinn.


    As I neared the magician djinn, I took one hand off the body and grabbed a dagger out of my pocket, ready to attack.


    Now, only a few feet from the magician djinn, I tensed my legs and prepared to lunge forward, but before I could, the magician djinn spoke once again.


    Not in a quiet voice but in a loud and ecstatic voice.


    "You know, Damian is a real idiot. He''d scream out "me" instead of nodding his head. Try a bit harder in your next life, and you might trick me."


    A wall of flames appeared around me, blocking my escape, and 5 fireballs manifested above the djinn''s head and immediately came flying toward me.


    There was no escape; my dash was on cooldown.


    Putting down the djinn''s body, I made no attempts to hide my voice and spoke candidly, ignoring the fact that 5 fireballs were rocketing at me, and behind me, there was a large wall of fire.


    "You''re quite stupid yourself. Why would I play such a risky move without any backup plan?"


    I hadn''t used any mana after the two-night slashes from earlier, while everyone else in the room had used tons of it.


    Astrid used the last bit of her mana to make the cage. The charging djinn had put all his demonic mana into his sword, and the magician djinn had just used all his mana with this attack.


    Like charging a phone, your battery and mana increase faster if you don''t use it.


    Using all of my regenerated mana, I raised my head in the face of the fireballs and tapped my eye.


    My perception of time immediately slowed, and finding an escape route was quite easy with all the time in the world.


    Using a broken stool near me, I jumped into the air, avoiding the first 2 fireballs. Then, using both my hands, I grabbed a metal bar on the roof, so the next 2 fireballs went right below me.


    Releasing no sound, I let go of the metal bar and silently dropped to the floor. The last fireball went to my far right, so I didn''t even have to dodge it.


    By now, light had reemerged in the nightclub as the fireballs had set parts of the club ablaze. The fire on the wooden bar spread rapidly, illuminating Astrid''s exhausted figure in one of the booths.


    The magician djinn was out of mana and trapped by the cage, so he could only watch in horror as I slowly approached him.


    "Who do you work for?"


    Since the book didn''t mention this, this entire situation was a variable, so I had to get some information on it.


    However, the djinn kept his mouth shut, not of his own volition. It was not uncommon for secret organizations to set spells to kill their members instantly if they revealed any information.


    There was no information to be gained here. After killing the djinn, I was tempted to take all the valuables, but the officials would definitely try to find me as those valuables belonged to the citizens in the nightclub.


    After grabbing the cloak of the magician djinn, I examined the exhausted Astrid. She was fine besides a few fire marks on her skin and some cuts from wood.


    Conversely, I was covered in wounds from both explosions; I had been right next to them both times, so there were multiple scars and scorch marks on my skin.


    Since this nightclub wasn''t very popular, the authorities would take a while to get here, but I still wanted to leave as soon as possible to prevent myself from being seen by the citizens waking up from the potion.


    Staring at the unmoving Astrid, I decided to take her back. If she was found here in this attire, it would be revealed that she had been singing in the nightclub, and rumors would spread, which would be another variable.


    "Hey, get up!"


    Surprisingly, she had a lot of energy for someone who could barely even move.


    "You think I don''t want to idiot? No, you''re right; I just want to lie here in a burning building for the rest of the night."


    "Alright, if that''s what you want."


    With that, I turned around and headed to the exit.


    "WAITTT, DO YOU KNOW WHAT SARCASM IS???"


    "That''s the 2nd time I''ve been asked that now. Could you elaborate?"


    "... it''s when y-"


    "I was being sarcastic, you idiot."


    Seeing that the citizens in the nightclub were slowly waking up, I stopped joking around and returned to Astrid before turning around.


    "What, you gonna get on or not?


    "I-i w-wh... alright."


    As Astrid climbed onto my back, I felt the cold sensation of Astrid''s hands on my bare shoulders, making me realize that my clothes were completely torn.


    "... those were my good clothes."


    "... we just almost died, and you''re worrying about YOUR DAMN CLOTHES?"


    "I''ll send you the bill for them later. Consider it your payment for me saving you."


    "You''re not being sarcastic, are you..?"


    After a few moments, I asked.


    "So, where do you want to go?"


    I had no intention of returning to the academy in this state. At that point, I would basically be encouraging the spread of more rumors about me.


    It was also possible that Astrid and I would be connected to the nightclub incident if we showed up in this state.


    "We can''t go to the academy, can we?"


    "mhm, I have a place, so where are you headed."


    "... I can''t go anywhere dressed like this."


    To say her attire was flashy was an understatement; if anyone caught her looking like this, the entire school would be spreading rumors, and the academy board might even take action.


    And that would be another variable.


    I have to take her, don''t I..?


    "If you want to come with me, just say so."


    "... it''s not that, it''s just I don''t have anywhere else.."


    It was true; she couldn''t even walk, so she was basically stranded.


    "Is that a yes or a no?"


    "What do you want me to say? Yes, you bastard."


    Such was the life of a third-rate villain, being scolded and insulted after saving someone.


    With a sigh, I pulled out my smartwatch.


    It had quite the dandy feature!


    You could actually see the real-time location of anyone on your contact list!


    [A/N: 75 Powerstones = 1 chapter / 1 gift = 1 chapter]

 Chapter 34 - 34:Sleepover [1]

    After checking the location and realizing that it wasn''t too far away, I draped the djinn magician''s jacket on Astrid to conceal her appearance.


    To any normal passerby, we would look like two homeless teenagers as both our clothes were torn and our faces were riddled with bruises.


    After another minute of walking, I heard Astrid grumbling from my back.


    "How long till we get there?"


    "You know that''s supposed to be my line."


    After that, Astrid surprisingly stayed silent, seemingly contemplating something. Not wanting to ruin the short silence, I recalled the previous events, and countless questions immediately popped into my head.


    Did this incident originally happen in the story? If so, then who saved Astrid initially?


    No... an event involving a named character like Astrid would definitely be in the book, so this happened because of either my or Lily''s intervention.


    I didn''t do anything recently... so it has to have been Lily''s fault!


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, Astrid seemed to be finished contemplating as she put on a serious tone and asked.


    "Why did you save me?"


    "You''re just now realizing I saved you? For a future student council president, you''re not that bright."


    "... bastard, you know what I mean. In the past, you..."


    Seeing as Astrid had just watched me kill 3 djinns and save her, there was no way she would suspect that I was a djinn, so there was no reason for me to pretend to be Ren.


    Even if I wanted to pretend to be Ren, I had no idea how I was to Astrid in the past, so it would be futile anyway.


    If I had to guess, though, Ren was probably an asshole to her. I mean, that was kinda Ren''s thing.


    "People change, you know. Forget about the past."


    "Guess being disowned did a number on your arrogant attitude, huh?"


    Shaking my back, I attempted to make Astrid fall off my back before saying.


    "Be careful with what you say."


    "See, if I said that in the past, you would just curse me out and drop me. Earlier, you could have just pretended to be asleep and let me be kidnapped. Just what...."


    How am I supposed to tell her that I''m not the past Ren anymore?


    Also, curse her out, really? Why the hell does Ren have to piss off every important character in the book?


    I can''t just tell her that I saved her because I want the world to have a good ending... can I?


    Taking my silence as a sign that I didn''t want to talk about it, Astrid asked.


    "So, where are we even going."


    A broad grin appeared on my face as I glanced at my smartwatch and said.


    "To a friend of mine!"


    " *pfft* y-you h-have a f-friend."


    Letting go of Astrid''s legs, she slumped down on the floor, barely still clinging to my back.


    "CAN''T YOU TAKE A JOKE?"


    "A joke is supposed to be funny."


    Leaning down, Astrid climbed onto my back once again, and we continued on our way.


    After another 10 minutes of walking in silence, I glanced at the directions on the smartwatch before announcing.


    "We''re here!"


    In front of us stood a seemingly abandoned building. Its windows were boarded off with wood, and the building was partially covered by ivy and various plants. It was completely surrounded by trees and isolated from the bustling capital city.


    "... you know if you were lying about the friend thing earlier, I get it"


    "Shut it."


    "... are we really going in there?"


    "It''s either that or sleeping in the forest."


    "... I''ll take my odds in the forest."


    Ignoring Astrid''s grumbling and complaining, I walked to the doors of the buildings and swung them open.


    Contrary to its outward appearance, the inside of the building was quite nice. There were various couches and even a TV set up. The huge building was mostly empty, and there were no decorations set up.


    Tilting my head upwards to face Astrid, I smiled before saying.


    "See, never judge a book by its co-"


    "Shut it."


    Using my eyes, I peered into the distance and saw a confused head pop out from one of the couches.


    "Boss... what are you doing here?"


    Raven, whose hair was surprisingly neat for someone who just woke up, approached me with his eyes still half-closed.


    "Do I need a reason to visit headquarters?"


    "WE AGREED, IT''S ALSO MY HOME! Would you like someone barging into yo-"


    "Irrelevant."


    ".. Since you''re here, about the ma-"


    Before Raven could continue, I stopped him and pointed to Astrid, who peered over my head with a confused expression.


    Upon seeing Astrid''s appearance on my back, Raven stepped back in shock before staring right into my eyes.


    Although he said nothing, I spent enough time with him to know what the glare meant.


    ''I''m not going to say anything, but god is watching.''


    Is it variable if I turned Raven, a mischievous and devilish scoundrel, into a devout believer of god...?


    Above me, I could hear Astrid muttering.


    "... impossible, he''s real..."


    Walking over to a couch, I let down Astrid and prepared to discuss some business matters with Raven, but before I could, Astrid piped up and asked Raven.


    "Hey, what did he do to you...?"


    Raven sniffled before covering his eyes with his arms and saying.


    "It-it w-was t-terrible."


    I didn''t know what to be more surprised at.


    The fact that Astrid, who was previously completely drained of energy, was now eager to question Raven or that Raven, the original leader of the black market, was at the brink of crying in front of me.


    After sitting down on the couch opposite Astrid, I grabbed a few bandages and covered up my wounds while listening to their conversation.


    "H-he t-tricked me and forced me to be h-"


    "Enough."


    At this point, I knew Raven well enough to know he was acting. This bastard was trying to gather sympathy from Astrid. His whole life was built off tricking and deceiving people, yet here he was crying because I tricked him!


    At my words, Raven pretended to tremble and step back in fear.


    ... He is a good actor, I''ll give him that.


    Astrid, being a pure-hearted character, responded.


    "Ren, just what have you done to this poor kid..? You really are a terrible person. I can''t believe you''d involve this little kid in your dirty schemes."


    "PFFT"


    At words "poor kid," I couldn''t hold in my laughter anymore, and it all came out. Similarly, with the words "terrible person," Raven also broke into laughter.


    Astrid stared at the two of us with a confused expression while Raven fell onto the floor and began laughing uncontrollably, and I rolled onto the couch while laughing.


    " *PFFFT* I-i n-need w-water."


    "S-say R-ren is a t-terrible person a-again p-please. I-i can''t."


    As our laughter finally ended, Astrid''s confused expression turned to anger as she glared at Raven and I.


    After that, the three of us settled into an awkward silence, one by one falling asleep.


    By the time I woke up, Raven was already up working on copying down the magic circles, and Astrid was nowhere to be seen.


    Seeing my confused expression, Raven continued staring at his paper while saying.


    "Ah, the girl left."


    Getting up from the couch, I noticed most of the wounds were better due to the advanced healing capabilities of an awakened, so I stretched for a bit.


    Finally, lifting his head from the paper, Raven exited his desk and asked while staring at me.


    "So, what happened last night."


    "What exactly do you mean?"


    "A boy and girl coming back with ripped clothes... Did you guys..."


    Sometimes, I forget that Raven is a naive kid who is the same age as me...


    Without bothering to answer Raven''s question, I walked over to the desk and knocked on it.


    "It''s learning time!"


    After sitting down with a sign, Raven continued working until he suddenly spoke.


    "Oh boss, the girl, I sold her a scroll; she seemed to really need it."


    "How much did you sell it for?"


    "7 gold coins! Triple the price of what we sell it for in the market!"


    Nodding my head, I gave Raven a quick thumbs-up before continuing to teach him. Our company had just scammed someone for the first time and DEFINITELY not the last!


    The rest of the weekend, I spent either training night slashes in the forest or carefully teaching Raven how to draw the healing magic circle.


    Upon returning to the academy on Monday morning, I saw that all the student council posters had disappeared, signifying that Astrid had won the position. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After entering class and sitting down, I didn''t even bother to glance at the board because I knew exactly what was on it.


    [Practical Training]


    As I zoned out, I felt a tap on my shoulder, so I asked without turning around to see the identity.


    "What the matter, Jin?"


    "Where were you on Friday? Didn''t you say that all of us were getting food?"


    Ah, he''s probably angry I dragged him away from the club. Thankfully, I had just the excuse to satisfy him.


    "You won''t believe it; I met the perfect girl on the way out!"


    Only after saying those words did I realize how loud I actually was. Thankfully, only Alya sat nearby me, and she wouldn''t care.


    Glancing downwards to confirm Alya''s reaction, I almost fell out of my chair when I saw Lily sitting right beside Alya.


    Jin patted me on the back and said.


    "Jealousy is not the way to get her back, man..."


    Han, putting his hand on my other shoulder, continued.


    "Jin is right for once..."


    Covering my head with the desk, I ignored Jin and Han''s consoling words and patiently waited for class to start.


    Finally, the bell rang, and the teacher walked to the podium.


    "As you can see from the board, tomorrow is our first practical training session. This will be done in our groups from the homework presentations, so group up. All of today''s class will be dedicated to preparing for the training with your groups."


    Slamming my head into the desk, I contemplated just dropping out of school. Spending two whole days with Irene, the most annoying person in the world, and Alya, the most stuck-up person in the world, would be worse than hell.


    On the other hand, Han and Jin were confused as those two idiots had skipped that class.


    "Hey, Ren, the teacher has gone senile... what is he talking about?"


    As I lifted my head from my desk, I noticed that most groups, including Irene and Alya, were already together.


    Ignoring the two idiots to my side, I begrudgingly got up and walked towards them, internally accepting my fate.


    [A/N: 75 powerstones = 1 chap / 1 gift = 1 chap]

 Chapter 35 - 35:Practical Training [1]

    Upon seeing Irene and Alya chatting happily, I didn''t know whether to be happy or sad. Unlike last time, those two were getting along, making the group dynamic better, but that was at my expense.


    Ignoring the disgusted expressions on their face as I sat down, I glanced back at Jin and Han, who were forced to be in a 2 person group. I mean, they''ll fail the practical 100 percent, but at least they''ll have fun!


    With the grading being entirely group-based, I could relax and let the two main characters do all the work.


    That didn''t mean I had my guard down, though, as with Lily in the field, anything could happen.


    Seeing everyone gathered into their groups, the professor continued.


    "The practical training will take place in an artificial dungeon created by the school. You will be led to a cave; from there, you will all choose a path to take."


    "Your ranking will be based on how many points you receive. In the dungeon, there are various monsters you can kill for points, and also a boss monster that will give a huge amount of points if killed.


    "Are there any questions?"


    With a smirk, Kevin raised his hand and asked.


    "Teacher, if we''re all in the same dungeon together, hypothetically, what would happen if we met each other?"


    The teacher seemed prepared for this question, almost like he was waiting for someone to ask it, as he chuckled.


    "You may cooperate or not, but keep in mind there are only a limited amount of monsters in each dungeon."


    A smirk appeared on the professor''s face as he continued


    "For the boss monster, the group of the member that gets the last hit will receive all the points from the boss monster."


    "what, not who deals the most damage?"


    "Can''t you just get the last hit by watching someone else do all the work and come in at the end?"


    Ignoring the student''s remarks, the professor started packing up his things.


    "If that''s all, you are free to leave. The rest of the day is to be spent developing strategies and learning how to cooperate with your group. Until the school day officially ends at 3, you must be with your group members at all times, or you will face a point deduction for the practical."


    Ah, there it is.


    At those words, Alya and Irene slowly tilted their heads toward me, but I didn''t dare look back as I nonchalantly glanced at Jin and Han, who seemed ecstatic at the news of there being no class.


    Without asking me or saying anything, Irene and Alya got up and headed out of the classroom, forcing me to follow behind them like a lost dog.


    After getting up from my seat, I noticed that a horde of students blocked the classroom exit, so I used my eyes to see through the holes in the crowd.


    The student council president, Astrid, was waiting right outside the classroom.


    Ah, she just won the election and must have come to recruit Lily, Alya, and Liam to the council.


    As Alya, Irene, and I exited the classroom, I saw Astrid walking towards us to ask Alya to join the council, so I immediately distanced myself.


    However, Irene didn''t seem to take the hint, as she stood right by Alya, who was waiting for the president to approach them.


    After concluding her conversation with Alya, Astrid threw a quick glance at me, which I pretended not to notice, and moved into the classroom to find Liam and Lily.


    As Irene and Alya walked away, I contemplated whether I really needed to follow them. Even with the point deduction, our group would definitely place in the top three, so was there really a need for me to put myself through the hell of dealing with them?


    "... yeah probably not."


    Deciding against following them, I pulled out my smartwatch and leaned against the wall while waiting for Han and Jin to leave the classroom.


    Feeling a subtle tap on my shoulder, I looked up from my smartwatch and saw Astrid standing before me.


    Looking around, I confirmed that Lily wasn''t around, as she would most definitely be suspicious of Ren if he randomly started talking to the student council president.


    "Something you need?"


    Getting straight to the point, Astrid demanded.


    "Join the student council, Ren."


    "I think you''d have to be crazy to think I would join the student council."


    The student council manages the entire study body of around 1000 students. Saying that the student council was a lot of work would be an understatement. Liam would have to stay up all night at least once a week to keep up with the paperwork as a council member.


    Of course, almost every student still desired the job because being on the student council allows one to build connections with graduated council members, who are all very influential and important people.


    Interrupting my thoughts, Astrid once again demanded.


    "You don''t have a choice."


    "You still haven''t told me why."


    "Must I, a noble, explain my intentions to a mere commoner."


    "* PFFT* Are you imitating me?"


    "... are you going to join or not?"


    "So now, it''s an option and not a demand? I think I''ll have to decline."


    If anyone else heard me decline the student council position, they''d probably go crazy, but personally, I was definitely not going to spend my Saturday nights doing paperwork in the student council room.


    A smile flashed on Astrid''s face at my answer as she took out a paper from her pocket.


    "You know, as student council president, I have access to all logs of people leaving and entering the academy. Recently, the multi-purpose club has been having a lot of unauthorized field trips."


    "Is the renowned student council president threatening me?"


    "Just saying, it would be a shame if the club was exposed as a fraud..."


    Pulling back out my smartwatch, I ignored her piercing gaze and said.


    "Do as you please."


    Astrid was a pure soul, so I knew she wouldn''t expose the club and get me in trouble after I risked my life to save her earlier. She was clearly bluffing.


    The sound of stomps echoed throughout the empty hall as Astrid walked away.


    Why did she even want a bum like me on the student council?


    Also, what the hell is taking Jin and Han so long in the classroom?


    Hearing the echoes of more footsteps approaching, I looked up from my smartwatch once again and saw a pissed-off Irene standing in front of me.


    Goddamn it, do they multiply???


    Thinking that she was mad about me not following them, I put down my smartwatch and said.


    "Alright, I''ll follow y-"


    "Why the hell was the student council president talking to you?"


    Only last week did she stop pestering me about the theory I came up with in the presentation, but now it was going to start all over again...


    Shuttering at the thought of hearing her annoying voice every day, I came up with a lie on the spot.


    "I asked to join the student council." S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Really? You thought that would work... are you actually slow? Never mind, I already know you are."


    Shrugging my shoulders, I ignored her clear insult and responded.


    "Worth a shot."


    Satisfied by my answer, Irene turned around and left while angrily grumbling something.


    She must have been angered by Alya being invited and not her. In any other year, Irene would have easily made the student council as she excelled in both magic and studies; however, this year was just too stacked with talents like Lily, Liam, Kevin, and Alya.


    After what seemed like ages, Han and Jin finally emerged from the classroom with the excuse that the professor had been scolding them.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    The next day, instead of putting on the academy uniform, I dawned on the training suit that we had been given previously.


    After trying it on, I realized how much easier it was to fight in, as it basically felt as if you were naked, as you could move around unrestricted by the fabric of clothes.


    Next, I headed out of the dorm building and toward the coordinates that were sent to my email.


    Upon arriving, I noticed that most of our class was already there and finalizing strategies with their group. Spotting Irene and Alya, I found a place to sit not too far away from them but not too close to them.


    As soon as the final students arrived, the professor grabbed everyone''s attention by clapping and announcing.


    "Alright, now that everyone is here, let''s get started! Remember, this is technically an exam, so any cheating will result in expulsion. Your scores here will also affect your rankings, so make sure to try your hardest!"


    "I will call your group numbers one by one. When your number is called, head into the cave behind us and choose a path. Best of luck to everyone!"


    "Group 4, you''re up first."


    Sighing, I reconvened with Alya and Irene before heading to the cave. Without any discussion, Alya headed to the first tunnel with the uttermost confidence.


    Some things never change...


    After we were a decent bit into the cave, Alya suddenly turned around to face Irene and I before saying.


    "According to the point manual given to us by the teacher, it will be most efficient for us to hunt Wolf Beasts. They are quite easy to beat as a group and give quite a decent amount of points."


    The words "as a group" were emphasized by Alya, as Wolf Beats may be weaker than other monsters, but their quick speed easily allows them to escape in dangerous situations. So, the most efficient way to hunt them is with many people, as you can block their way out.


    Turning back around, Alya quickly said.


    "My spirit tells me there is one nearby."


    At Alya''s words, a faint growling sound could be heard by some nearby rocks.


    Wasting no time, Alya and Irene seemed to be in sync as they charged in opposite directions to block off the wolf''s path of escape.


    Trailing slightly behind them, I ran forward at the wolf with my daggers out.


    3 fireballs immediately flew at the wolf; however, the wolf used its tail to redirect them at the rock wall.


    Not missing the opportunity, countless Ice spears appeared to the right and left of Alya, and they immediately barreled right at the wolf.


    With its only option being to dodge, the wolf charged forward right at me, so I grabbed my daggers and preemptively activated dash.


    As soon as the wolf was within a 10-meter distance of me, I moved forward using dash, instantly putting me right below the wolf''s huge body.


    With both daggers, I slashed forward at the wolf''s right leg, causing the wolf to lose balance and tilt toward the right


    3 more fireballs and 5 ice spears immediately rushed forward, penetrating the wolf''s body and creating a huge amount of smoke as the fireballs melted the ice spears.


    Just like that, the wolf collapsed to the floor, lifeless, signifying our first point gain. Of course, that was assuming that we hadn''t received a point deduction for not sticking together yesterday.


    Alya and Irene immediately moved forward without even glancing at the wolf''s body, so I had to scramble to catch up.


    After disposing of another wolf, we continued to walk forward, but after a moment, I paused.


    With my enhanced eyesight, I could see a singular person sitting on a rock in the distance. Before I could say anything, Alya also paused and said.


    "My spirit tells me there is a human there."


    Curiously, Irene asked.


    "Who?"


    Alya simply shook her head, causing Irene to be even more curious, so she rushed forward at max speed.


    "... Irene, is that you? Oh, Alya is here too?"


    "Lily... is that you?"


    "Ah, yes, I was just resting here for a second."


    "Oh h-"


    Interrupting Irene, Alya was clearly more cautious of Lily''s alternative motives as she carefully asked.


    "Where is the rest of your group?"


    The professor had not denied it when asked, so fighting among groups was technically allowed. With Lily being part of the strongest group, Alya was definitely on edge facing Lily here despite their close relationship.


    "Ah, Kevin went off to fight alone, and Liam did the same..."


    [A/N: 75 powerstones = 1 chap / 1 gift = 1 chap]

 Chapter 36 - 36:Practical Training [2]

    Standing farther from the 3 girls, I leaned against the cave wall and pretended to inspect my daggers while listening to their conversation.


    "And what are you planning to do?"


    "Well, what is there to plan? I''ll just kill any monster I come across."


    While Alya coughed at Lily''s words, Irene let out a snicker and said.


    "If only our leader was that simple..!"


    Seizing the opportunity to gather more information about their greatest opponent, Alya continued questioning Irene.


    "Any plans for the boss mob?"


    "How would this competition be if I told you our entire plan? I mean, the boss does give the greatest number of points."


    Seeing that any more questioning would be a waste of time, Alya turned to Irene and said.


    "Alright, let''s go back to hunting."


    Turning to face me, Irene said.


    "You really wanna get back to him? Come on, we have time to spare; we''re probably already ahead."


    Although my gaze was still on my daggers, I could still feel someone staring at me, but I couldn''t tell if it was Alya or Lily.


    Seeing the opportunity for further conversation, Lily asked.


    "So Alya, you got invited to the student council as well?"


    "Mhm, I plan to accept the invitation."


    "Same for me. How about you Irene, thoughts on joining the student council?"


    Clearly pissed off by the words "student council," Irene exclaimed.


    " *tsk* Why would I want to waste my time doing a bunch of paperwork?"


    Lily, ignoring Irene''s disgust at the student council, pressed on with the topic.


    "So, if you were given the chance, would you join?"


    Irene clearly wanted to lie and say that she would say no, but she was smart and realized that no one in the world would deny joining the student council.


    Of course, I wasn''t technically "in the world," as I originated from another world!


    "I guess I would accept if I was invited."


    Lily, seeing the bad-tempered Irene admitting defeat, responded.


    "You know, I''m pretty sure the president mentioned there was one open spot. Don''t get your hopes up, but I can recommend you."


    Irene''s terrible attitude immediately brightened as she exclaimed.


    "CAN YOU!?"


    Realizing that both Alya and Lily staring at her, Irene let out a cough and repeated.


    "If you would recommend me, I would be grateful."


    Though there was a lot of useless stuff mixed into the conversation, I could immediately grasp Lily''s intent throughout the entire exchange to get Irene to join the student council.


    She wasn''t planning to just recommend Irene; she would ensure that Irene got that empty position.


    However, could I let that happen?


    One of the main incidents that led to Irene''s blowup and transformation into an antagonist was not being part of the student council as most of the main cast, except her, was on it, so she felt excluded.


    From the student council field trips to events to even the countless hours they spent together doing paperwork, Irene had to watch as all her friends bonded together while she was forced to watch from the sidelines.


    I mean, surely, Irene not becoming an antagonist would be a good thing, right? That''s probably what Lily thought.


    On the other hand, I believe that the world maintains an equilibrium, so if Irene disappears as the antagonist, another one of a similar level or higher level must replace her.


    It was far too risky. I would rather go against Irene, as I know all of her abilities and weaknesses, than some new antagonist that I know nothing about.


    I might have to call in a favor...


    Seeing that the conversation was over, Alya walked back to me to prevent Lily from striking up another conversation with Irene.


    All be it, reluctantly, Irene followed Alya while Lily got up from her rock and walked into the right-most pathway.


    In silence, our group headed towards the left-most pathway and continued to descend deeper into the cave.


    Honestly, the pathway we took in this cave didn''t matter as all the pathways pooled into the dungeon''s center, where the boss mob was waiting.


    Since this dungeon was a Yin dungeon, a reminder of the past, the boss mob was the mythical Minotaur from Greek legends, and the wolves that we were currently farming were the divine messages of the Greek god Apollo.


    As we neared the boss room, we were confronted by two wolves instead of one. Since this wolf was closer to the boss mob, they were also much stronger than the previous ones we faced.


    This time, Alya seemed to take the situation seriously, as she had immediately commanded.


    "Irene, stall the one on the right. Den and I will take care of the left one."


    Den? Who the hell is Den?


    Letting out an audible sigh, I followed Alya''s charge to the left. Stopping a few feet before the wolf, Alya finally pulled out her sword and merged it with one of her contracted spirits, causing her sword to be immediately surrounded by light blue ice.


    Rather than using a long or broadsword, Alya used a rapier, which compensated for its lower attack power by being much less heavy, therefore increasing the speed of your swings.


    Thrusting her ice-blue rapier forward, Alya aimed right for the wolf''s leg; however, the wolf jumped to the right, dodging the blow.


    However, Alya seemed to predict this as immediately after, she speedily thrust her rapier straight up, impaling the wolf''s bottom while it was mid-jump.


    Due to Alya''s blow, the wolf landed unstable, giving me an opening. I ran forward with my daggers ready.


    Kicking its front-right leg forward, the wolf attempted to hit me; however, I had already activated the dash, so I immediately appeared 10 meters to the left. My target was not its front-right leg but its front-left leg.


    Seeing that the right wolf was wounded, Alya left me alone and ran towards Irene, who was struggling to fend off the other wolf with her fireballs. S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing that there was no longer a need for a show, I quietly cut my right hand, and my dagger immediately became surrounded by a night-black aura, making the physical dagger no longer visible as the black covered it fully.


    In reality, these wolves were probably the best match-up for me, as their greatest strength was their ability to dodge. With my eyes, I could predict their dodges, neutralizing their strength.


    Throwing a night slash would cause too much of a commotion, so with my daggers covered in the impenetrable black; I slashed at the wolf''s legs.


    Instead of stopping there like last time, I jumped off the wolf''s ankle, launching me upwards with my daggers'' tips facing upwards.


    Both my daggers sunk into the bottom of the wolf''s tummy, and I hung mid-air while still holding onto my daggers.


    After a second, I carefully removed my daggers from its body, causing me to fall to the ground. Glancing at the two spots where I had inflicted damage on the wolf, the night-black aura covering my daggers slowly spread from those wounds up to the wolf''s face like a plague.


    The wolf''s left leg was covered in impenetrable black, which rapidly spread upward to the wolf''s back. The wolf''s tummy was not much better, as it was now completely covered in the impenetrable black.


    This was the second movement of Shadow Arts: Corruption of the Night.


    As Irene and Alya''s fight with their wolf came to a close, my wolf collapsed to the ground, lifeless, and the night black aura left the wolf''s body and returned to my daggers.


    From an outsider''s perspective, they would be astonished as it would seem the wolf died simply from an injury on its ankle and tummy.


    For that sake, I plunged my dagger into the wolf''s body a couple more times to make it seem like I struggled to kill the wolf.


    After mastering the first elemental slash, I first tested Corruption of the Night on a tree in the forest near our headquarters.


    After holding my dagger in the tree for 5 seconds and taking it out, I saw two small holes in a tree made of daggers.


    These holes immediately filled with the night-black aura, which slowly spread upwards until it consumed the entire tree.


    After the tree''s death, the night-black aura returned to my daggers, making the image of the tree visible again. The tree''s leaves, previously a fresh green, were withered black, and the trunk had lost all its bark.


    It looked like a tree straight from the underworld.


    From this, I deduced that Corruption of the Night steals the life force of its opponent by slowly cutting off his vitals until it withers.


    The more of the night-black aura you inject into your daggers, the faster the corruption spreads from the wound caused by your daggers.


    Of course, this takes a lot of mana; however, the special thing about Corruption of the Night is that you gain the night-black aura back after the Corruption has killed the creature.


    You actually don''t just gain it back; the night-black aura increases in correlation to the life force of the creature it killed. It doesn''t just kill the creature by cutting off its vitals; it directly steals the life force of the creature and uses that life force to make itself more powerful.


    In short, the cap of this movement''s power is infinite. There is no cap to its power.


    Of course, if you fail to kill a creature with the corruption, your progress is reset, but if you never fail to... then this movement is... overpowered, to say the least.


    Well, for the first part, it''s never happened to me, and I don''t plan to let it happen, so I don''t know if the only punishment is solely your progress being rest and not something worse...


    If the skill is really overpowered, then the punishment for failing with the skill must be insanely terrible to maintain that equilibrium.


    For that reason, I must be careful and cautious when using Corruption of the Night, so I can''t afford to just spam it on whatever I like.


    Having finished early, I observed Alya dealing the final blow to her and Irene''s wolf. Her rapier, still surrounded by the blue ice, slowly killed the wolf. Like my corruption, the ice from Alya''s rapier remained on the wolf after the sword was removed, causing the wolf to slowly lose energy and slow down due to the ice''s influence.


    As Alya''s ice slowly covered the wolf, Irene threw a fireball right at the Wolf''s ice-covered back, causing an elemental explosion of Ice and fire.


    The wolf, now completely dry as Irene''s fire had melted all the ice, fell lifelessly to the ground, causing a loud thud sound to echo throughout the cave.


    Pretending to be exhausted, I limped over to Alya and Irene, who simply glanced once at my wolf''s body before moving on into the cave.


    Using my enhanced eyesight, I realized that those wolves were the last opponents we faced before reaching the boss mob.


    Now, it was only a couple of 100 feet separating us and the Minotaur.


    [A/N: 75 powerstones = 1 chap / 1 gift = 1 chap]

 Chapter 37 - 37:Practical Training [3]

    As we neared the dungeon''s center, our path split off into two once again. Using my eyes, I saw that the right path led immediately to the boss room while the left path went in a loop for a bit and then reached the boss room.


    Having no intention to interfere, I simply stood back and let the other two decide.


    "uhh, Alya, which path do we take?"


    "My spirits can''t see where the paths end up, so I''m not sure..."


    For a short second, Alya threw a glance at me, but I just shrugged my shoulders, leading her to turn back to Irene.


    "Well... I guess we have to pick one randomly."


    "OH! I''m feeling lucky."


    After saying that, Irene immediately ran towards the right cave, forcing Alya and I to follow after her. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Preparing for the upcoming fight with the boss, I grabbed my two daggers and trailed behind the two girls.


    After a minute of walking, Alya stopped and asked.


    "...Why are there no more monsters?"


    "I knew I was lucky! The boss room must be just ahead of us then."


    She wasn''t wrong; the lack of monsters spawning was due to the boss''s influence, and Alya seemed to agree with Irene as she nodded happily.


    Spacing out, I continued walking forward while playing with my daggers by tossing them up and down and catching them on the tip.


    After the tip landed on my finger, a small hole in my skin would be made, and some blood would ooze out. I learned that instead of making one deep wound on your hands to gather mana faster, you could create multiple small wounds, and it would have the same effect.


    After some tiny bubbles of blood began to pop out of the small wounds on my hand, I put my daggers back in my jacket and caught up to the girls.


    Finally, looking upwards, I saw that both Irene and Alya had stopped in front of a wall.


    Wait, a wall?


    After closing and opening my eyes for a second, I realized that there was, in fact, a wall blocking our path to the boss room.


    Not only 5 minutes ago, the path led straight to the boss room.


    The wall just appeared?


    " *tsk* Guess I really was unlucky."


    "Alright, we''ve wasted enough time; others could already be fighting the boss. Let''s head back."


    Ignoring the two turning around, I walked past them and put my hand on the wall. After tracing my hand on the wall for a minute and feeling the cold surface, I confirmed that it was actually a cave wall and not something made out of mana.


    My eyes far exceeded human capabilities, but they still had limitations. One thing I couldn''t do with my extraordinary eyes was see through walls.


    Maybe Liam and Kevin starting the boss fight caused all the paths to the boss room to close down?


    It was abnormal that in the book, Liam and Kevin fought the boss alone for the majority of the battle despite the abundance of people within the dungeon.


    Turning back around, I suddenly realized.


    "Those idiots left me!"


    Alya and Irene were nowhere to be seen, even with my enhanced eyesight. That meant they had already entered the second path, so the cave walls were blocking my vision of them.


    Didn''t they really realize I wasn''t with them? Was my presence that unnoticeable?


    Well, there really was no reason for me to stick with them anymore, as we had already killed a considerable number of monsters.


    Left with the unexplainable wall in front of me, I decided to experiment out of curiosity.


    Well, I also had already wounded my hands, so it would be a waste for me not to use my mana.


    Using Corruption of the Night was far too dangerous, as if the corruption wasn''t able to erode the wall... things would probably get messy.


    Analyzing the entire wall with my eyes, I quickly found the 3 most unstable spots.


    Injecting some mana into the daggers, only the tip of my daggers glimmered night-black while the rest remained normal.


    In quick succession, I swung my dagger 3 times, releasing 3 elemental slashes that all went in different directions.


    Having perfectly timed the slashes with my eyes, all the 3 of them hit the weakest point of the wall at the same time.


    Surprisingly, the wall didn''t even budge or show any signs of cracking despite its greatest weaknesses being attacked.


    Reanalyzing the wall, I noticed something peculiar.


    "The 3 most unstable positions of the wall have shifted..."


    In fact, every time I reanalyzed the wall, the 3 weakest spots shifted, making it impossible for me to pinpoint and hit them.


    Maybe, if I used my time-slowing ability, I could hit the 3 weakest points with my slashes before they shifted, but then, I would be completely out of mana and unable to fight the boss monster that was behind the wall.


    Sighing, I accepted my fate and slumped down on the mystery wall, waiting for the practical training to be over.


    I had plans after, so this would be the perfect time to rest!


    As I started to close my eyes, the sound of footsteps started echoing through the path, heading nearer to me.


    Irene and Alya, probably.


    Not bothering to look up, I relaxed my body even more, resting my head on a nearby rock.


    Only after the footsteps got a bit closer did I realize that there was only 1 set of footsteps, not 2.


    Confused, I turned around, with my head still on the rock, and peered through the darkness of the cave.


    Lo and behold, there was Lily walking right towards me and the mystery wall.


    The odds of her heading on this accident, especially after taking a completely different route, were close to 0.


    So, there was only one other way she could have come to find this path.


    She was spying on our group.


    Well, not our group, specifically me. If she had wanted the entire group, she would have come earlier, but instead, she came right when I was isolated.


    It wasn''t very shocking to me that she was spying on me after the Alya incident.


    She must have been suspicious of the changes I made to Alya''s kidnapping, so she probably started investigating.


    Due to me not originally being in the academy this time, I was a "variable" in her eyes and, therefore, a prime suspect for the changes in Alya''s kidnapping.


    Keeping calm, I turned around and pretended not to notice her while I scraped my daggers against the wall.


    If I was just sitting here doing nothing, her suspicions would only increase, so I pretended that I was trying to break down the wall.


    Of course, anyone with a brain wouldn''t do this, as cave walls can''t break, but I was a third-rate villain! My actions could be the stupidest in the world, and no one would even think to question them.


    Finally, I felt a gaze stop on my back as I continued to scrape away at the wall with my daggers.


    As I turned around, I pretended to stagger back in shock as I saw Lily standing only a few feet away from me.


    Instead of suppressing the previous Ren''s emotions, I let them run wild as a blush appeared on my cheeks.


    "L-long t-time n-no see, Lily!"


    If I could feel Ren''s previous emotions, there was a high chance that Lily could feel them as well, so she would 100% be disgusted just by talking to me.


    All I had to do was stall until the disgust reached Lily''s limit, and she left.


    Proving my theory right, Lily''s face scrunched up in disgust for a moment before returning to neutral.


    "What are you doing?"


    Letting Ren''s emotions free even more, I got up and felt my body subconsciously moving towards Lily.


    "a-ah, I was kicked from the group, so I stayed here. W-wait, you were kicked too; we can team up!"


    Though Lily turned her head away, I could still see the disgust swelling up inside her. Her fists were clenched, and her shoulder was shaking with anger.


    "This is a competition, we can''t team up!"


    Walking even closer to Lily, I continued.


    "Oh, come on, who cares about the rules? Let''s just go."


    Stepping back in revulsion, Lily clenched her teeth while responding.


    "I don''t want to. Just go already; I was wrong. You''re the same disgusting, old Ren."


    Paying no mind to Lily''s attempts to distance herself, I said.


    "Come on, rules are meant to be broken. Let''s just have a nice time during the remaining duration of the practical."


    "Just leave now! The professor didn''t prohibit attacking other teams, so I will attack you otherwise."


    "If that''s what you want... I''ll leave."


    I couldn''t even hold back the sad expression on my face from forming as Ren''s feelings ran wild.


    As I walked away from Lily and the mysterious wall in an awkward silence, the sound of footsteps once again echoed throughout the cave.


    Both Irene and Alya had returned here for some reason.


    Paying them no heed, I walked past them with a sullen expression, heading back to the area where the two wolves were.


    *CRASH*


    Only after I heard the sound of something collapsing did I turn around.


    The mysterious wall was no longer there as it had shattered into pieces. And behind the remains of the mysterious wall was a very pissed-off minotaur alongside two exhausted figures.


    Kevin and Liam.


    Oh, I could have just broken the wall by hitting every spot on it, couldn''t I...?


    As I scrutinized the minotaur, I could easily deduce that it only had a few minutes left as there were cuts and wounds all over its body, and heaps of blood oozed out.


    The thing about minotaurs, though, is that they do NOT go out without a fight. Once reaching the end of its life, the minotaur will temporarily enter a berserker mode, where it loses all sense of reason and gains a lot of strength.


    In this state, the minotaur just tries to kill anything in sight without any regard for its own life or safety.


    All the book had said about this practical training was that Liam and Kelvin had played a significant role in killing the minotaur, so I didn''t really care about this current situation.


    Although... how much Night aura would I gain from corrupting it and stealing its lifespan..?


    Alya, Irene, and Lily immediately sprung into action, attacking the minotaur with various spells while Liam and Kevin continued to swing at it.


    So far, I had only absorbed the lifespan of those two wolves from earlier, so stealing the minotaur''s lifespan was too tempting for me.


    Following their lead, I grabbed my daggers, activated the Dash''s grace period, and ran toward the minotaur.


    All I would need is one hit.


    [125 Powerstones = +1 Chap]

 Chapter 38 - 38:Practical Training [4]

    As the minotaur swung his gigantic battle axe, Kevin and Liam were forced to step back to avoid its attack, and the axe also deflected the spells cast by Alya, Irene, and Lily.


    Now left with an opening, the minotaur charged toward the defenseless spellcasters; however, Alya already had her ice-blue sword prepared.


    Facing the full brunt of the axe strike with her sword, Alya immediately flew back into the cave wall, and the ice on her sword shattered.


    Alya had placed her full trust in us by sacrificing her body to give us an opening and hopefully kill him. She had begun to trust humans...


    Taking full advantage of the opening, 3 fireballs appeared above Irene''s head, and a rainstorm, cast by Lily, appeared right above the minotaur, blocking the cave roof.


    It wasn''t just normal rain, though; the rain was green and hurt.


    Acid Rain.


    Even as the minotaur moved, the green cloud followed it wherever it went, releasing a relentless barrage of green raindrops.


    Slowed by the constant bombardment of acid rain and cornered by the fireballs barrelling towards it, the minotaur had no place to move despite being in the large cave.


    The wounded Liam and Kevin sprung towards the defenseless minatour with me trailing behind them.


    Rather than hitting the minotaur directly, as soon as the fireballs entered the area of the minotaur, they were hit by the acid rain.


    As the acid rain touched the fireball, an elemental reaction was caused, and the fireball exploded, causing a bout of smoke to appear, completely covering the figure of the minotaur.


    Using my eyes, I could see through the smoke that the minotaur was fatally hurt from being so close to the explosion. Blood oozed from all over its body, and its previous brown body was black and burned.


    Using the dash, I instantly moved forward 10 meters right into the smoke covering the minotaur''s body; however, there was one problem.


    The acid rain was still going...


    With the smoke covering my figure, there was no need to hide anything, so I injected my mana into my daggers, leading the tip of my daggers to turn night-black.


    As I swung the daggers forward, two night-black slashes were sent forward toward the minotaur, only to disappear a second later.


    As the slashes continued to move forward and touch the acid rain, a series of small elemental reactions took place, clearing the path in front of me.


    As the smoke dispersed due to the impact of the multiple explosions caused by my night-black slashes, I wasted no time and ran as fast as I could toward the minotaur.


    Nearing the burned figure of the struggling minotaur, I injected more mana into my daggers, making them completely covered by the night-black aura.


    Feeling the dash cooldown reset, I once again preemptively activated it before lunging right at the minotaur''s legs.


    My daggers sunk deep into the minotaur''s legs, causing it to struggle and attempt to move around, but I kept my daggers in place, allowing the corruption to spread from my daggers and into the minotaur.


    Using all my strength to keep my grip on my daggers and push them deeper into the minotaur''s skin, I glanced around and saw Liam making a mad dash through the smoke toward the minotaur and me.


    It seemed like he had some immunity to the acid rain. He didn''t even bother to dodge the raindrops, so he let them hit his body without any reaction.


    3 fireballs and tons of icicle spears were also barreling toward the minotaur, but it didn''t matter as they would explode after interacting with the acid rain.


    At this point, I was more afraid of being exploded than the minotaur killing me...


    Still clinging desperately to the minotaur''s legs with my daggers, I felt a gaze on my back, so I turned around and saw Liam looking at me, seemingly starstruck.


    To be fair, I was clinging to the minotaur like a newborn sticking to its mother, so it would definitely seem weird to an outsider.


    A moment later, Liam regained his composure as he continued running toward the minotaur, hoping to get the last hit.


    After a couple more seconds of me desperately attempting to cling to the minotaur''s legs while it tried to shake me off, I finally let my daggers go, causing me to fly back.


    The deep holes made by my daggers were already filled with the night-black aura, and it was already spreading at a rapid rate.


    As I flew back into the smoke, the relentless acid rain threatened to bombard me once again, so I instantly used the dash that I had triggered earlier.


    Just like that, I was back out of the smoke; all be it, my training suit provided to me by the academy was on life support due to the minotaur''s attempts to shake me off.


    All the others were so focused on killing the minotaur that they didn''t notice me walking away from it, so I slumped down against the cave wall.


    Strength was not my strong suit, so clinging to a beast like the minotaur for that long had taken a lot out of me.


    I couldn''t even extend either of my arms, and they were somehow trembling when all I was holding were my puny daggers.


    Even though I hadn''t expected it to be that long to corrupt it, it would make sense for the stronger a creature is, the harder it is to corrupt it.


    Watching the flurry of magic spells head into the smoke and cause multiple explosions due to the elemental reactions felt like watching a fireworks show.


    The smoke was filled with countless colors, and every so often, you''d feel an explosion that shook the cave.


    After a couple more moments, my daggers lit up a night-black, with the size of the aura even bigger. The aura didn''t just cover the physical dagger anymore; it covered the area around it as well, and somehow, the aura had gotten even darker.


    After the night-black aura diminished from my daggers, I tilted my head upwards and saw that the smoke alongside the acid rain had finally disappeared.


    In the middle of where the smoke used to be, Liam stood, his sword plunged into the minotaur''s lifeless body.


    While Kevin walked towards Liam with an angry expression, feeling defeated, Irene and Lily dashed towards Alya''s unconscious body and immediately checked her vitals.


    *RUMBLE*


    Looking upwards, I saw cracks and hundreds of unstable spots on the cave''s roof. Our battle had really damaged it, and it was about to collapse.


    Not bothering to warn others, I immediately began sprinting back out of the tunnel, and the defeated Kevin followed without any warning, too.


    With the cave rumbling and my sudden sprinting, Kevin must have also realized the cave was going to collapse.


    Behind us, Liam followed with Irene and Lily carrying Alya''s body, leaving the corpse of the monster behind.


    If the cave collapsed, the minotaur''s body would be lost, making everyone completely oblivious to the corruption I had spread to it.


    After a minute of sprinting, I noticed that some other students had joined us, and with my eyes, I was able to spot Jin and Han running with us in the big crowd.


    After another minute, all of us reached the exit of the cave, where the teacher was waiting for us with a happy expression. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Without giving any of us time to rest, despite seeing our shriveled appearances, the professor immediately announced.


    "Congratulations to Liam, Lily, and Kevin for defeating the boss monster and coming in first!"


    Though Alya was currently out cold, she would definitely be angry after hearing that we didn''t come in first.


    As Irene and Lily brought Alya to the teacher, I headed back to the dorm for a desperate change of clothes and a cold shower.


    Though I had managed to wane off most of the acid raindrops, some of them had managed to hit me while I was clinging to the minotaur, so I had burn marks all across my body.


    Well, that wasn''t what concerned me; after all, I was the boss of a company that produced the best magical healing circles.


    I needed a pair of decent clothes for my plans later, but somehow, they were all burned or torn to shreds!


    ...


    ...


    ...


    At the nurse''s office, Liam and the other girls crowded around Alya''s body, as she had just woken up.


    Not worrying about her wounds or even the people around her, Alya immediately asked.


    "Did we come in first...?"


    Barely suppressing her laughter, Irene responded.


    "No... but shouldn''t you be more worried about something else?"


    With her expression crumbling, Alya responded.


    "oh...? Did anything happen while I was asleep?"


    While Liam laughed and Lily facepalmed, Irene awkwardly said.


    "I was talking about yourself. I mean, you have bruises all over."


    "Oh, that? Don''t worry; my guards and I recently found quite the company. Despite being unknown, they somehow manage to produce the best healing circles."


    "Oh, what''s it ca-"


    Not willing to part with any more information about the company, Alya ignored Lily''s question and changed the topic.


    "So... is everyone else ok? What happened to the minotaur?"


    Besides Alya, the other spellcasters, Irene and Lily, had just stood from afar attacking the minotaur with spells, so they were unharmed besides a few scratches that came from the cave collapse.


    With a sigh, Lily stepped forward and glanced at Liam, who had bandages all over his body.


    "As you can see, we''re alright. Liam is in quite the state... As for the other two, I didn''t even see them."


    Ignoring Lily''s pitying gaze, Liam responded.


    "After I took care of the minotaur, the cave started to collapse, so we all had to run out without looting or even seeing its corpse."


    Liam was actually more worried about the loss of the corpse than his wounds, as he could have sold its horn for a lot, solving all his financial problems.


    Upon seeing Liam''s expression, Lily said.


    "Oh, not you too...! Why don''t you worry about yourself before other things?"


    Embarrassed, both Liam and Alya turned away, causing Irene to break out in laughter.


    At that moment, the door opened, revealing the figure of the current student council president, Astrid.


    Confused, Astrid glanced around the laughing students before saying.


    "... didn''t you guys just fight an E-rank boss monster...?"


    To Astrid, these kids were monsters, laughing happily after beating a creature that even second-year students struggled with.


    Not waiting for a response, Astrid shook her head before walking up to Alya, who awkwardly asked.


    " *ahem* President, do you need something...?"


    "You''re part of the student council now; therefore, my responsibility, so of course, I would need to check up on you if you''re hurt."


    Alya, who had never trusted humans before, felt mortified while staring at the student council president and others, who seemed to be so worried about her.


    Not all humans are bad... Alya felt ashamed for just realizing that now.


    With a slight blush on her cheeks, Alya responded.


    "ah, I''m alright... please, no need to worry."


    With a shrug, Astrid responded before turning to walk out of the room.


    "If you say so. Let me know if you need anything."


    However, blocking the exit to the room was Lily, who asked.


    " *ahem* President, about the last position on the student council, I have a recommendation for who it should b-"


    Cutting her off mid-sentence, Astrid said.


    "It''s already be filled."

 Chapter 39 - 39:Midterms[1]

    Irene''s laughter died down instantly, replaced with an unreadable expression. Irene knew it was unreasonable for her to be angry at the student council president or Lily for not getting chosen, but she still couldn''t stop the anger from forming and taking root in her heart.


    Ignoring the frozen Lily and the awkward atmosphere, Astrid walked out of the room without saying anything further.


    After a moment, Lily seemed to regain her composure, so she turned to Irene and said.


    "Ah, maybe a spot will open up eventually..."


    Lily was going to make a spot if not. Throughout the entire book, Irene''s transformation into an antagonist was the most tragic, and Lily was willing to do anything to stop it.


    Ignoring Lily''s words, Irene glanced around the room. Everyone besides her was on the student council...


    Was she not good enough? What made her different from the others? Ever since she was young, she was renowned as a prodigy and top of the magical world, yet she wasn''t good enough for some stupid student council?


    Worst of all, the first people she could confidently call her friends were all chosen while she was left out.


    Kevin and Lily would be together... and Liam and Alya... and she would just be alone. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Liam was oblivious to the whole situation as he had no idea Irene was the person Lily was going to refer to the council, and Alya kept silent as she had figured out the situation.


    Saying anything further to Irene would just make the situation worse.


    In contrast to her normal cocky and arrogant attitude, Irene had her head down as she waved goodbye before leaving the room.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    After taking a shower, I changed into the only clothes I had left, a suit that the original Ren had worn to the academy entrance ceremony.


    Adorned with a red tie, a black blazer with the academy emblem, and a white collared shit, I headed out of my room.


    Outside the dorm building, I met up with Jin and Han, who were uncharacteristically serious. Their postures were perfect, and this was the first time I had seen them in formal clothes.


    Leading the two, I headed into the forest where Alya''s kidnapping had originally taken place and walked forward for 2 minutes before abruptly turning right.


    Next, I continued walking right until I spotted a trunk with a circle drawn on it, and then I abruptly made another right.


    After walking in that direction for a few more minutes, I stopped in front of a tree trunk with a checkmark on it.


    Behind me, Jin and Han, who were silent the entire journey, finally spoke.


    "Are we here?"


    After giving them a nod, the two stepped up beside me and waited patiently.


    *WHISH*


    As the breeze suddenly came in harder than usual, pushing back my hair, I blinked for a second from the sudden wind.


    When I reopened my eyes, I saw a figure standing with a black robe that stretched all the way down to the floor and covered their face.


    A 3rd Year at the academy.


    "Did you come here for THAT?"


    Nodding my head, I gestured to Han and Jin, who each pulled out a pouch half filled with gold coins.


    I didn''t have to pay anything as I was the one who referred Han and Jin as customers to this person.


    One of Liam''s friends suggested this person to Liam later in the book when he was having trouble with his studies, but he, of course, refused due to his righteous personality.


    As Han and Jin stepped forward to hand over the pouches, I used my eyes to peer through the robe to see the unknown person''s face.


    I don''t recognize him... so he''s not a named character.


    Only the method of contacting him was mentioned in the book, so his identity and other stuff were unknown to me.


    While I scrutinized his face, the robed figure pulled out a stack of papers and handed them to Han.


    Then, the breeze once again hit harder than usual, causing me to shut my eyes involuntarily. When I reopened them, the robed figure had disappeared.


    As soon as Han and Jin returned to my side, I grabbed the paper. A wide smile appeared across my face as I read the first line on the paper.


    [Midterm Exam 05/23/22]


    The exam answers from last year.


    Although this year''s midterm exam will surely differ from last year''s, the concept remains the same.


    Stepping away from Han and Jin, I flipped through the 10-page packet of paper, using my enhanced eyesight to memorize every concept, formula, and pattern from each problem.


    Would this be enough to pass the midterm? Hopefully!


    During exams, we are all put into separate mini-rooms, so I can''t even cheat by using my eyes to see others'' papers.


    After completing my memorization, I handed the paper back to the confused Han and Jin before departing.


    Next week was the first set of Exams, so everyone was studying right now. The academy was relatively silent, so I enjoyed the serenity while I walked back to my dorm room.


    The next morning, I woke up begrudgingly. Despite midterms being next week, the school still held classes, but at least most of the professors had decided to give students free time to study during class.


    Opening the sliding door to the class, I noticed that Alya was all patched up from yesterday''s fight before heading to my usual seat where Han and Jin stood.


    Han and Jin were in quite a precarious situation. Their parents had told them that if they didn''t receive above a 60 on all the midterm exams, they would be financially cut off.


    Maybe they could be Raven''s assistants..?


    Nah, they''re too stupid.


    Ignoring the two desperately cramming notes beside me, I pulled out my smartwatch and awaited the bell.


    After the bell rang, the sliding door opened, and our homeroom teacher, Zia, walked up to the podium with a briefcase, causing murmurs to spring out across the room.


    "Is she actually teaching today???"


    "Really, we have exams next week, and she''s still trying to teach us new things???"


    "Leave it to Professor Zia to pull some stupid shit like this..."


    Noticing the murmurs antagonizing her, Zia immediately cleared her throat before clarifying.


    "Today will be a free-study session."


    Sighs of relief sprung out all across the room, especially from my sides.


    Why are these idiots acting like they''re going to study? Within 10 minutes, they''ll be on their phones, completely forgetting about the midterms next week.


    Ignoring them, I turned back to the teacher as she was waiting for the murmurs to die down once again.


    " *ahem,* Although it is unorthodox for the middle of the school year, we have a transfer student."


    Jerking back in shock, I almost fell out of my chair but managed to stabilize myself at the last second.


    Both Jin and Han were busy taking notes, so they didn''t even notice the teacher''s words of a transfer student, let alone me almost falling out of my chair.


    What?


    Did something like this happen in the book? It has over 1,000 chapters, so give me a break if I can''t remember a simple transfer student.


    Glancing at Lily, she seemed just as shocked as I was. So, then, Lily didn''t cause the transfer of this student? Then, did she just forget it from the book as well, or did I cause it?


    Also, transferring right before midterms...? They must have aced the entrance test and impressed the recruiters for the academy to be allowed in now. Maybe, with the academy''s reputation declining due to the Alya kidnapping, they wanted to recruit a prestigious student?


    Adjusting my slumping posture into an upright one, I curiously awaited the teacher''s next words.


    "Everyone, please welcome her kindly and respectfully. Scarlett, you may come in."


    In walked a girl with elegant black hair tied up in a ponytail that went all the way down to her waist. Her eyes were also black, complimentary to her jet-black hair; however, something seemed off about them.


    Maybe she''s wearing contacts?


    Adorned in a red skirt and a black blazer, the girl named Scarlett walked to the podium where the teacher was before turning to us and bowing down.


    Despite midterms being next week, the boys in the classroom now seemed more focused on Scarlett, who was a mysterious transfer student who also rivaled Lily, Alya, and Irene in the looks department.


    "Nice to meet you all; I''m Scarlett! I hope you''ll take care of me for the rest of our time at the academy, and I look forward to having fun!"


    At her words, Jin and Han rose from the notebooks and directed their gazes at Scarlett, who was walking to an empty seat in the center of the classroom.


    Nudging my shoulder, Jin quietly asked.


    "Oi Ren, who is she? A visitor or something? Wait, you think she has a boyfriend?"


    Sighing, I responded.


    "What about that girl you were talking about yesterday? Did you forget about her already? You specifically said, ''O-oh, she was the girl of my dreams!'' "


    Beside me, I heard Han chuckling, but Jin seemed unperturbed by my taunt and still pressed for an answer, so I continued.


    "The teacher just announced she''s a transfer student named Scarlett. No idea about the last part."


    Following Jin''s gaze, I also stared at Scarlett, who was taking her pencil out of her backpack. Her slender white arm reached into her backpack and came back out with a pencil, revealing her hands.


    Feeling an odd sensation, I stared at her hands, which were holding a pencil for a bit longer, confirming the feeling.


    ... A feeling of familiarity.


    Similar to how I can memorize concepts and formulas with my eyes, I can also recall people''s faces and their body parts, even through disguises. For some reason, I could recall Scarlett''s hands...


    I don''t just memorize or keep anything stored in my eyes, so for Scarlett''s hands to be familiar, I must have at least touched them before, or they must have been memorable.


    Contacts, oh right, she was wearing contacts!


    Realizing that her contacts might be a clue, I tried to get a closer look at her face, but since she sat in front of me, only part of her face was visible.


    Well, I can wait.


    After watching Scarlett sit down, the teacher continued while pointing at Lily, who was sitting right in front of Scarlett.


    "Scarlett, since you''re new, I''ll have someone show you around. Lily, here, is on the student council, so she can answer your questions and guide you through the school."


    Turning around to face Scarlett, Lily extended her hand for a handshake; however, Scarlett completely ignored her and spoke directly to the teacher.


    "Ah would it ok if I have someone more familiar show me around?"


    It would make sense for her to know people in the academy; she definitely had to pull some strings to transfer in at this time.


    Maybe Alya, Irene, or Kevin? Those 3 have the political power to make the academy accept a transfer student.


    Shushing the murmurs around the classroom, Zia curiously spoke directly to Scarlett.


    "Oh, you know someone in the class? I''ll need their name if they''re going to show you around."


    At this point, the curiosity of everyone in the classroom, including me, was at its peak, so the classroom went silent and stared at Scarlett.


    As Scarlett turned around, I immediately used the opportunity and activated my eyes to peer through her contact lenses.


    Her eyes weren''t black; they were red, blood-red...


    Blood-red eyes, glossy black hair, a multitude of connections, and finally, a familiar set of hands.


    ...It couldn''t be right...?


    Suddenly, I recalled a memory of someone with those exact features telling me something.


    "I''ll see around a lot more often now, Ren...!"


    ...Ruby.


    A mortified expression appeared on my face as Ruby turned directly in my direction before saying with a smile.


    "Ren, you''ll show me around, won''t you?"

 Chapter 40 - 40:Midterms [2]

    "Wait... him, the one who got suspended within the first week of school??"


    "Why does she want someone like him to show her around? I mean, I''m right here!"


    "How does she know him...?"


    Forcing a smile on my face, I replied.


    "It would be my pleasure."


    Pleasure, my ass... how did I end up having to guide a villain who infiltrated the academy around?


    In a way, it was a good thing.


    By being with her and guiding her around, I can keep track of her actions and prevent her from noticing Liam and the other main cast members as enemies.


    One misstep, though, and the entire story is over.


    Interrupting my train of thought, Zia let out of sigh before speaking.


    "If that''s what you want..."


    After Zia left the classroom, leaving us free study time, I was immediately bombarded by questions from both Han and Jin.


    A minute ago, these guys were talking about how much they needed time to study, yet here they were, wasting the time asking me pointless questions.


    Surprisingly, Han took the initiative to question me as he asked.


    "How do you know her, Ren?"


    Before I could think of an answer, Jin interrupted from my right side.


    "I KNEW IT!"


    Both Han and I stared at Jin with bewildered expressions.


    What the hell did he know?


    "From you telling us to leave the nightclub to you ditching us at the amusement park, and finally, your recent trips out of the academy to the capital."


    "You know you might be able to fool Han, but I knew it this entire time! You got a girlfriend!"


    ...well I guess I don''t even have to think of an answer.


    On my right side, Han surprisingly agreed with Jin''s hypothesis, mainly because of his lack of experience in romance and relationships.


    Realizing that the two idiots were far too loud, I knocked both of them on their heads before saying.


    "What happened to desperately needing time to study?"


    "Oh, come on, we can study later. Tell us about her! She must be quite a person to make you get over Lily."


    Ignoring the two''s questions, I glanced at "Scarlett," who was surrounded by students asking her questions.


    "Where did you transfer from?"


    She used her dark web of connections to bribe the higher-ups within the academy to allow her transfer.


    "What clubs are you planning to join?"


    Probably, the Sinister Society and Villains United.


    "Do you have any plans later?"


    Maybe assassinating every important figure in the academy?


    After hearing that last question, Ruby turned around to stare at me, causing the bystanders to flood her with even more questions.


    After class was over, I headed out the back entrance of the classroom and waited for the crowd around Ruby to disperse.


    Letting Ruby wander around alone with the main cast and protagonist could only cause problems, so even if I didn''t want to, guiding her through the academy was the best choice.


    After a moment, I saw Ruby walking towards me with a huge grin plastered all over her face.


    Taking the lead, Ruby walked past me, forcing me to follow behind.


    Wasn''t I supposed to be the guide?


    "You were pretty surprised, huh?"


    "Would you be surprised if your boss showed up to your school?"


    "I told you, call me Ruby. Also, I''m quite interested as to how you discovered it was me. This disguise is a magical artifact, so seeing through it is quite the accomplishment."


    Lying outright to someone like Ruby probably wouldn''t work, so I relinquished part of the truth.


    "... your hands."


    Breaking into laughter, Ruby stopped and stared at me.


    " *PFFT* Was that experience so memorable for you? If you wa-"


    Taking advantage of her stopping, I walked in front of her and interrupted.


    "The cafeteria is beside us. You can get all your meals here throughout the day. Simply walk up to a kiosk, let it scan your face, and then place your order."


    "You can pick the ready food up ov-"


    Making her tone more serious, Ruby looked at me before saying.


    "Do you know how hard it was for me to transfer into this academy? Do you think I spent all that time and effort to look at some cafeteria?"


    Now, I was at a crossroads.


    If Ruby had personally infiltrated the academy, the importance of her mission would have been great, so it would probably be an assassination of an influential figure in the academy.


    Do I let her or risk my life by attempting to stop her?


    Trying to gather more information on the victim of Ruby''s mission, I asked.


    "What exactly do you want to do?"


    Reverting to her playful tone, Ruby once again took the lead and said.


    "What do you think I''m here for, Ren?"


    "A mission?"


    "Nope, no missions."


    ... Didn''t she just mention that she had put in a lot of effort to infiltrate the academy? She did all of that without even being asked to by her superiors?


    After pondering for a second, I answered.


    "Recruitment for the Ruby gemstone group.?"


    "Well, that wasn''t exactly my reason for coming, but now that you mention it..."


    ... Did I just convince her to recruit people from the academy?


    Changing the topic, I interrupted.


    "Is it perhaps because of some personal reasons?"


    Combining her instant realization that I was Ren by just seeing my face and her ambiguous background, it was possible that she had some personal matters to settle with an important family inside the academy.


    "hmm, you could say that. That''s a good enough answer for now."


    As she led me through the halls of the school, with no clear destination in sight, I followed while continuing to ponder her true intentions.


    By now, we were far from the first-year building, so even I was beginning to become lost. Well, my job was simply to ensure that she didn''t do anything to the main cast, so I was fairly happy with just following her around and wasting time. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, I saw Ruby had paused up ahead, so I quickly caught up to her.


    In front of Ruby stood the student council president, Astrid, with an angry expression. Looking down at Astrid''s uniform, I saw a small stain that had been caused by Ruby bumping into her.


    Before anyone said anything, I immediately stepped right beside Ruby. Who knew what would happen if Astrid pissed off Ruby? Death, torture, or kidnapping?


    Actually, who would win a fight between the two? I had no idea about Ruby''s current power level as her power was only shown during her fight against the protagonist in 3 years, but so far, I just assumed she was strong.


    Astrid had 2 more years of experience than Ruby, so maybe she could win in a fight?


    Glancing back and forth between Ruby and I, Astrid''s expression contorted as she asked the both of us.


    "You do know this the area for 3rd years, right?"


    Not allowing Ruby to speak, I nodded my head and said.


    "My apologies, student council president, we will leave now."


    Not waiting for Astrid''s response, I grabbed the collar of Ruby''s shirt and walked the other way, dragging Ruby away from the confused Astrid.


    At this point, I was more willing to accept the punishment for dragging Ruby along than to allow them to fight.


    As we walked away, I swore I could hear a faint murmur come from Astrid.


    "So his number of friends has doubled from 1 to 2..."


    After exiting the vicinity of the 3rd-year building, I finally let go of Ruby, who seemed indifferent and unperturbed by what I had just done.


    In fact, she completely skipped over it.


    Maybe she realized she was in the wrong for bumping into Astrid?


    "What exactly do you do after school?"


    Well, I can''t take her to the training hall because the main cast is there, and there''s no point in going to the capital... is there anything else I do after school?


    Trying to pass the time, I just showed her around various parts of the academy, such as the park and the coliseum where the ranking exam took place.


    Contrary to my expectations, she didn''t mind being shown these areas and seemed somewhat interested in the building''s history.


    Did she just not like the cafeteria?


    As the sunlight vanished, I asked while following her as she led me to her dorm building.


    "Are you going to have to take the midterms?"


    With a laugh, she responded.


    "Does it matter if I do or not?"


    shameless...While everyone student is here studying their asses off to pass the midterms, she is just going to pull a few strings to pass!


    Usually, students study and prepare for exams to maintain their ranking, but does she even have a rank?


    "By the way, what''s your ranking?"


    After pondering for a moment, Ruby responded.


    "Oh, that little number they gave to me when I enrolled? I think I just got a random one because they gave me the number 7."


    "I mean, I didn''t even take an entrance test or anything, so I think they just pulled that number out of their ass."


    "..."


    Then, I noticed it¡ªthe gigantic and lavish dorm building standing in front of us. Her dorm building was specifically only for the top 10 ranks!


    Unlimited access to AI dummies, personal saunas, your own personal gym, and the place where all the main cast resided.


    As we approached the dorm building, I noticed it was completely separated from the rest of the academy. There were fences all around it except the entrance, where a guard was standing.


    Noticing our approach, the stern-faced guard asked.


    "Your student-id?"


    After fiddling through her pockets for a moment, Ruby took out her student ID, which displayed her rank of 7.


    Seeing the guard examine her ID, multiple thoughts flashed through my head, all bad ones.


    What if I came back the next day, and the entire dorm building was just gone, and all the main cast members, including Liam, were just lying dead on the floor?


    What if Ruby just kidnapped them all and turned them into slaves? What was I even supposed to do in this situation?


    Returning Ruby''s ID card to her, the guard glanced at me before turning back to Ruby.


    " *ahem* Since you''re new here, you are allowed to bring a guest in once a week; however, it is already past 8, so he can''t come in today."


    Before the guard could even finish his sentence, Ruby handed him a card while saying with a grin.


    "Ah, don''t worry, he has special permission."


    Unable to see the card as the guard''s hands were blocking it, I could only witness the guard''s astounded and bewildered reaction before he stepped back, allowing me entry in as well.


    "... did you plan all of this from the start?"


    "And if I did?"


    "I''d probably say that you could have just asked me."


    I mean, there was no way in hell I was going to leave Ruby unsupervised in a building filled with Liam, Alya, Irene, Lily, Kevin, and Zach.


    As I opened and held open the dorm building door for her, she responded.


    "Then, how would it be a surprise? You know, you''re not very bright."


    Didn''t I just say this to someone else the other day? Why are my words being used against me?


    Heading into the building after Ruby, I confidently responded.


    "I''ll have you know that my IQ is above 100."


    "...? What is an ''IQ''? "


    Ah, shit.


    How was I supposed to know that a world filled with magic and supernatural things didn''t have an intelligence-measuring system?


    Trying to play it off, I changed the topic by asking her.


    "Nothing important. Anyway, can''t you see that stain on your shirt?"


    Not wanting to anger her, I had ignored the stain on her shirt that she received when she bumped into Astrid, but now, I''d rather her be angry than realize that I was from another world.


    Slowly looking downwards, Ruby''s gaze paused on the obvious stain on her white shirt for a moment before in an eerily calm voice, she asked.


    "... you''re thinking just to tell me this now..?"


    Not backing down, I replied.


    "Why did always reply to my questions with even more questions?"


    "... oh, I see how it is."


    Turning around after saying that confusing and terrifying sentence, Ruby grabbed her room key and ran up the stairs to her dorm room, leaving me completely alone in the lavish building.

 Chapter 41 - 41:Midterms [3]

    Standing awkwardly against the wall, I pulled out my smart watch and memorized the few notes I had bothered to take during class.


    Knowing my luck, the odds that I would run into someone from the main cast while standing here was 100%, but that didn''t stop me from at least trying to prevent it.


    After a couple of minutes, I felt a gaze on me, causing my thoughts to fly into chaos immediately.


    Was it Liam? Lily? Irene? Alya? Undoubtedly, those 4 would be the worst people who could show up right in front of me, as I had bad relationships with all of them.


    Slowly tilting my head upwards, I let out a sigh of relief as a boy of similar height to me, with black curly hair and amber eyes, entered my vision.


    Zack.


    Although he was looking at me from the opposite side of the hall, his positive aura still managed to spread all the way to me.


    Since I had never met Zach before, even as the original Ren, I would just have to act according to the rumors.


    What were the rumors circulating about me again? They changed every week, so I couldn''t be bothered to check on them.


    Seriously though, I swear some students would proactively follow me and check if I left the academy so that they create more rumors and gain popularity.


    I basically had a fan club.


    If I had to guess, this week''s rumors probably related to me harassing or blackmailing Ruby due to the scene we caused earlier.


    As Zach approached me, I already knew what the conversation was going to be about. Would this positive guy really let it go if I were "blackmailing" Ruby? Unlike the others though, he wouldn''t have any qualms with me being in the top 10 building.


    Well, I haven''t messed around with Raven in a while, so maybe I could have some fun with this guy. I needed to pass some time while waiting for Ruby as well.


    Also, her eerily calm voice still echoed in my head, so I needed a distraction.


    Putting one of my shoes against the wall, I put on a smirk on my face as I stared at my smartwatch to make myself seem arrogant and cocky.


    Approaching me with a genuine and concerned expression, Zach waited in front of me for a moment before asking.


    "Ah, Ren, I don''t think we''ve talked before. I''m Kevin, nice to me-"


    Interrupting his introduction, I asked while staring at some random app on my smartwatch.


    "What do you want?"


    Surprised by my outburst, Zach stepped back and continued.


    "I-i was just curious about some rumors circulating ar-"


    "Get on with it, will you? Your very presence pissing me off. "


    "I apologize if my presence offends you... I just wanted to as-"


    Wasn''t I the one in his dorm building? Why is he just standing there and taking my insults and even apologizing?


    Internally laughing at his flustered face, I interrupted him once again.


    "Did you not hear me the first time? What do you want?"


    It was like a loop. He tried to explain what he wanted, but I interrupted him, asking what he wanted before he could finish explaining.


    "There were some damaging rumors spread around ab-"


    "Oh my lord, where did you learn how to speak? Stop with the bullshit and just tell me what you want?"


    How long can this loop last? Would I be unable to suppress my laughter anymore and break into laughter, or would Ruby come first?


    If you''re wondering why I didn''t mention the possibility of him actually explaining to me what he wanted, that would be genuinely impossible with me around.


    There was also the slight possibility that he broke, but for that, I would need at least 30 minutes.


    A crack appeared in his kind expression as he bit his lip, but he still persisted.


    "Some terrible rumors have been spreading around about you, and I was wondering if th-"


    "Are you illiterate? Spit it out instead of just saying, ''There have been rumors.'' Genuinely, I get and understand that you had a terrible education as a commoner, but this is a new low."


    "Alright, listen, some pe-"


    "Listen? What the hell do you think I''ve been doing for the past minute?"


    Seeing his smile slowly starting to break, I wanted to continue, but before I could say anything else, a voice called out from behind both of us.


    "Oh, hey Zach, what''s up with you?"


    My expression darkened as Liam came into sight.


    Seriously, I get there''s a 100% chance of me meeting someone while waiting for Ruby, but 200%? That has to be a new low, like really, where does it end?


    Is Lily going to show up next? No, she, Irene, and Alya are going to come barreling through the door within the next 10 minutes.


    Noticing someone standing next to Zach, Liam glanced at me for a second, darkening his expression, before turning back to Zach and asking.


    "Is he bothering you, Zach?"


    Letting out a chuckle at Liam''s words, I ignored the stares of the two and continued pretending to look at the weather app on my smartwatch.


    "no, no, it''s nothing serious. I just had a question about the rumors circulating around."


    At this point, can you even blame me? This guy has mentioned the rumors about a hundred times without actually explaining them once.


    After thinking for a second, Liam responded.


    "Oh, the ones about him and Ruby?"


    Take notes, Zach. Please do it for the sake of the future main party members! It took him one try rather than over 10.


    Finally acknowledging my presence, Liam turned to me and said.


    "You know, I''m quite curious about those as well."


    Without any hesitation or knowledge about the rumors, I confidently responded.


    "And what if they''re true?"


    Seriously, at this point, the words just flowed out of my mouth. Was I really a professional third-rate villain now?


    Responding to my clear provocation and ignoring Zach''s reaction, Liam replied.


    "First of all, how did you even get in here? Do I really need to call security tonight?"


    Looking at the disgruntled Zach, Liam added.


    "Zach, don''t worry, we can help Scarlett tomorrow. We just have to let her know of Ren''s past."


    Seeing Ruby in the distance with my enhanced eyesight, I strode right past Liam and Zach, letting out a chuckle and saying.


    "Please do call security. Also, don''t you have better things to do than obsess over my every action? Don''t tell me you''re one of my fans." Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As both of them looked at me with shock, Liam was the first to speak in an angry tone.


    "W-what t-the hell? Are you d-delusional? You''re the one who k-keeps do-"


    Patting him on his trembling shoulder, probably from anger, as I passed him, I added.


    "Are you stuttering? Don''t worry; it''s normal to be nervous in front of your idol. Unfortunately, I''m quite busy, so I can''t give you a picture right now."


    As I walked towards Ruby, I could hear Zach desperately trying to calm down Liam.


    "Liam, don''t let him get on your nerves. If you do, he wins."


    Snapping back at Zach, Liam replied.


    "You think I DON''T KNOW THAT? He''s just so goddamn annoying; I can''t"


    As I walked up to Ruby with a grin on my face, she asked.


    "And why exactly are you so happy?"


    "I think I get why you mess with me all the time."


    "Took you long enough."


    Taking the lead, Ruby guided me through the lavish and extensive mansion as we saw countless priceless paintings and various sculptures put up for display.


    In my dorm building, they don''t even have painted walls...


    As Ruby stopped in front of yet another painting, I paused and asked.


    "What exactly is a plan?"


    Was she trying to scout out the dorm building to see possible locations for an assassination or kidnapping?


    Still staring at the painting in front of us, Ruby ignored my question and once again responded with another one.


    "What exactly makes this painting worth so much."


    For the first time, I glanced at the painting. Using my eyes, I could see and count every precise stroke of an artist''s paintbrush, so looking at paintings usually gave me a headache.


    However, this one didn''t. It wasn''t because its beauty was dazzling or anything; it was just that this painting had way fewer brushes than the rest of the other ones.


    Staring at the painting of an apple on a white canvas, I responded.


    "Honestly, I have no idea. I could paint something like this in an hour. Where do I sign up to be an artist?"


    Chuckling as she walked away, Ruby replied.


    "It''s because of the name."


    After following her for another minute, we finally reached the common area of the building, and Ruby sat down on one of the seats.


    As I sat down on the armchair across from her and leaned backwards, a sense of comfort immediately enveloped me.


    "ahhh, it''s amazing"


    This was more comfortable than my bed!


    "You know, that chair is worth over 100 gold coins."


    Immediately jerking back upwards, I responded.


    "On second thought, it''s alright."


    As Ruby sipped tea and stared out the window, I could feel some glares on my back from the other residents, but I simply ignored them.


    I was going to enjoy this chair for as long as possible.


    After ensuring that Ruby was back in her room, I finally left the extravagant dorm building and headed back to my poor one.


    For the next week, I continued training my mastery over elemental slashes and worked on mastering the second technique I had learned when I rose in dagger proficiency.


    Mana Feint.


    By imbuing mana into one of my daggers, as I attack, I can create a fake holographic version of my dagger to throw my opponent off.


    As I swing my dagger at my enemy, another fake dagger will be formed, swinging at the opponent from another direction.


    Of course, this holographic version of my dagger doesn''t actually harm the opponent, but it confuses them, making them unable to dodge at times and giving me the split-second advantage I need to strike.


    In fact, even the AI training bots fell for it most of the time. They attempted to dodge both the real dagger and fake dagger strikes, putting them in a vulnerable position and allowing me to make an easy follow-up attack.


    Other times, the AI dummy''s sword would just parry both the fake and real dagger''s strikes, once again displaying the weakness of the small daggers.


    As I continued to face harder and harder AI dummies, it was clear to me that I had to do something about the dagger''s short reach.


    I couldn''t always wait for the bot to come to me. If I wanted to take the offensive, I would first have to get close enough to the dummy so that my daggers would actually hit it.


    Of course, getting close to the dummy was difficult when it swung around its giant broadsword, causing me to step back to avoid the attack.


    "Man, I really need a long-range weapon..."


    On the other hand, I didn''t have to worry about Ruby at all, as she just didn''t show up to class. Well, it didn''t really matter what she did; the odds of her being punished were 0 due to all her connections.


    Some rumors about me having something to do with her not showing up to class did spread, but besides a few glares, it didn''t really impact my daily life.


    Professor Zia, especially, began glaring at me from time to time during class, but it was during free study time, so I just went on my smartwatch to ignore her.


    When I woke up on the day of the exams, I grabbed a pencil and paper before heading to the room I had been assigned by email.


    After the exam, I would have to get back into action as the second incident of the academy would take place through the Academy''s training camp.

 Chapter 42 - 42:Training Camp [1]

    Opening the door, I saw a small room with a desk and a stack of papers on it. The walls and floors were painted dark grey to prevent students from getting distracted mid-test, and besides the chair, desk, and clock, the room was empty.


    To my right and left, I could see trembling students walking by and opening the door to their rooms, which mirrored mine.


    Looking at the crowd walking around, I identified Lily, Liam, Zach, and even Ruby. Well, I guess Ruby has to at least show up for the exam, or people will get suspicious of her passing grade.


    With a sigh, I stepped into the room, causing the door behind me to shut automatically, trapping me in the room for the next 5 hours. Is this a prison or a school?


    Sitting down in the chair, I immediately tried to touch the papers on the desk, but there seemed to be some invisible barrier preventing my hands from getting anywhere near them.


    Only the first page of the stack of papers was visible through the barrier.


    [May good fortune be with you.]


    Could they really not think of a better way to say good luck?


    Glancing upwards at the clock, I noticed that the exam would start in less than 10 seconds, so I grabbed my pencil and hovered my hands over the invisible barrier.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    The good thing about using my eyes for schoolwork is that I can solve any problem that involves a formula or concept I memorized within a mere 30 seconds; however, the bad thing is if there''s a problem that requires more than just concept memorization, I''m screwed.


    That''s how I ended up solving every multiple-choice question on the test but none of the free-response questions.


    "... this won''t look suspicious to the graders, right...?"


    Staring at the clock, I realized that I had about 2 hours left in my test-taking time, so I began pretending to work on free-response questions.


    After seeing my test score of 100% on multiple-choice and 0% on free response, I was certain that the teachers would check the camera footage of my room.


    If they saw me just sitting there doing nothing with 2 hours remaining, their suspicions would only grow.


    Flipping through the free-response questions, I alternated between drawing random diagrams that were implanted in my memory to a random bullet point on a note page that I memorized a week ago.


    Oh, right. How are Han and Jin doing? Though the test from last year was helpful to me for multiple choice, it didn''t really help much as the free-response questions were completely different.


    Still, after hearing about Han and Jin''s predicament, I decided to get it. They already complained about their parents enough to me, and if their parents financially cut them off, their complains would more than double.


    I didn''t see them around much last week, so they might have been actually studying to pass.


    As the bell rang, signifying the end of exams, the invisible barrier once again appeared, immediately pushing my hands away from the paper.


    As the door automatically flung open, I could see various students walking out of the exam with expressions ranging from disgruntled to happy to even none.


    Seriously, some kids were just walking away with blank expressions, acting as if they had just witnessed the worst thing in the world. Is it not just an exam?


    Funnily enough, the students with the happy expressions weren''t even excited about doing well on their exams, but the training camp.


    As a reward for students, the academy takes all the first years to Eldoria, the second most populated city in the entire realm of humanity.


    As for the name "training camp," students are assigned random groups and throughout the trip, these groups are surprised with random tasks they must complete.


    Besides the requirement that groups travel together and complete all the tasks assigned, the students are allowed to roam throughout the city and do whatever they want.


    However, if a group fails to complete one task out of the many assigned, they are immediately sent back to the academy, and they will lose 10% of their exam points.


    While the 10% loss in midterm grades is scary for the students, more are worried about not making it to the final day of the trip and being forced to return.


    On the final day of the trip, the academy personally rents one of the most expensive cruise ships in the world for the students. A ship meant over 10000 people, given to around 500 students for a single day and night.


    Leaving the desolate exam room behind, I pondered what to do the following two days before we departed from the academy.


    Instead of traveling by portal gates, the academy rented luxury buses and drove us to Eldora. While this may seem unnecessary and very expensive, the academy still insists on doing this, as this is when you are first introduced to your groups.


    The academy believes that the day-long bus ride will allow you to bond with your groupmates and make plans for what to do in Eldoria City, making tasks easier and less awkward to complete.


    The interference with djinns wouldn''t be until the cruise ship at the end, so I could rest easy for the rest of the trip, besides occasionally completing the tasks.


    As I stepped outside the exam building, Ruby, who seemed to be waiting for me outside, immediately rushed towards me.


    "What, why so surprised?"


    "Oh, that; I''m just surprised you had the audacity to show up today."


    She, someone who bribed their way through both the entrance exam and this midterm exam, still had the audacity to walk in like the rest of the students who worked their asses off?


    Of course, I was basically in the same boat as her, but she didn''t have to know that.


    "Oh, come on, why would I waste my time in those classes."


    "...You know, usually, classes are the main reason people choose to come to this school."


    After all, this Academy is so popular because it is known for producing important people within the magical world through its amazing classes and professors.


    Ignoring my remark, Ruby ran forward before turning around to face me with a smirk and saying.


    "Aren''t you even the least bit excited about the vacation we have?"


    "You''re planning on going?"


    Was she involved in the djinn interference? No... as far as I know, the gemstone order wouldn''t participate in this.


    "Of course, how could I miss out on vacation with everyone!?"


    "Well, you missed out on class with everyone."


    Waiting for me to catch up to her, Ruby softly hit my leg before saying.


    "You know, that''s different. Don''t act stupid."


    ...How is it different?


    Recalling my experience with Zach and my new reputation as a "woman harasser," I replied.


    "Anyway, you know you''ve caused some trouble for me by skipping class."


    Breaking into laughter, Ruby responded.


    "Oh, those rumors? *PFFT* I''ve been asked by like 10 ten girls if you''re blackmailing me."


    Pausing for a moment, Ruby grinned before getting on her tippy-toes and quietly whispering in my ear.


    "Don''t worry, I''ll make it up to you."


    As my mind exploded into confusion and various thoughts flooded through my head, I didn''t let it show in my face; I responded with an indifferent expression.


    "And, how exactly did you reply to those girls asking?"


    She had definitely been approached by Zach before, as that guy would much rather talk to the victim before the criminal; however, Zach still approached me after talking to her. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    That led me to the conclusion that Ruby wasn''t actively denying the rumors!


    "Oh, how do you think I responded? Anyway, just what did you do to all of those students to make them hate you so much? At this point, the entire class has warned me to stay away from you."


    With a smile on my face, I responded.


    "What do you think I did?"


    If she wasn''t going to answer my questions, why would I answer hers?


    Seeming to predict my answer, Ruby wore a sinister smirk as she said.


    "Am I to assume those rumors are all true then? Do you really go around harassing girls in the capital city after school? Is it true that you sneak around in the dark and prey on o-"


    I know I''ve heard all the rumors before, but seriously, hearing them aloud just...


    Interrupting her and feeling my excitement about the exams being over disapear, I said.


    "You can believe what you want. I''m going to go pack."


    ...


    ...


    ...


    "Hey Liam, how was your exam?"


    "Oh, Lily, I think I did alright."


    " *tsk* just Alright? I''m sure I got at least a 95%"


    Startled by Kevin''s sudden interjection, Liam responded.


    "Well, good for you, Kevin; you went an applause or something?"


    At the start, Liam was very cautious when talking to Kevin, as he was scared of Kevin doing something bad to him through his father''s connections; however, now, Liam had the backing of the academy''s headmaster!


    Now that Kevin couldn''t touch him, Liam didn''t hold back when speaking to him.


    Seeing that yet another dispute was going to break out between Liam and Kevin, Zach interrupted from behind them.


    "Anyway, Alya and Lily, how do you think you guys did?"


    In unison, the two calmly and confidently responded.


    "Perfect"


    Lily, combining her knowledge from the book and good study ethic, knew that she would probably get at least a 95, and Alya was also sure of the same.


    Letting out a chuckle at the two girls, Liam asked Lily and Alya.


    "Anyway, ready for the training camp?"


    "There are no cruise ships in the elven realm, so I''m not sure."


    "Yeah, might be fun..."


    With the djinn interference and possible student deaths, Lily didn''t have time to enjoy the vacation. After that fiasco with Alya''s kidnapping, she had to make sure that everything was done right this time.


    What should she do?


    Inform the academy that djinns may interfere. No... they won''t take me seriously unless I have evidence.


    Interrupting Lily''s train of thought, Kevin suddenly asked her in his most nonchalant voice.


    "Lily, you wanna group up?"


    Before Lily could even respond, Liam replied from the side.


    "You know they''re random, right idiot?"


    "Oh, you think they''re really random? Nothing in this world is random; everything has a mastermind."


    Letting out another scoff, Liam responded.


    "Oh, are you saying that you''re going to rig the selection?"


    "And, what if I am? Do we have a problem?"


    "Oh, I''m just curious what the headm-"


    Seeing yet another potential fight, Zach changed the topic.


    "Anyway... have you guys seen Irene around recently?"


    Ignoring Kevin fuming right in front of him, Liam though for a moment before replying.


    "Speaking of that, it has been a while since she hung out."


    Alya and Lily, who knew about the student council situation, glanced at each other for a moment before Alya spoke up.


    "I think she just needs some space for now."


    Zach was genuinely concerned, but he trusted the girls.


    "If you say so..."


    Kevin, who didn''t really care, turned his attention back to Lily.


    "Before Liam so rudely interrupted us, what did you think of grouping of?"


    "ah... I have some things to do in Eldoria, so I''ll be too busy to hang out a lot."


    While Lily didn''t want to hurt Kevin by outright denying him, she also needed to ensure that she had enough time to make preparations for the cruise ship incident.


    However, Kevin was persistent.


    "Oh, you can show me around the local areas."


    "uh... ah..-"


    Before Lily could say something else, Liam''s voice once again spoke out.


    "Oh, is that Irene?"

 Chapter 43 - 43:Training Camp [2]

    Sure enough, exiting the exam building was a sullen-looking Irene with textbooks in her hands.


    As Zach glanced at Irene''s departing figure, he was tempted to ask her, but Alya held him back.


    Liam, who also wanted to see what was up, was interrupted by a whisper in his ear.


    "Are you trying to cockblock me or something? Let me speak to Lily for more a second without you interrupting."


    Instantly, his attention was brought away from Irene and back to Kevin, who was fuming in front of him.


    Lily was too caught up in planning how to minimize or completely stop the djinn intervention on the cruise ship to even notice Irene, and Alya believed that talking to Irene would only make the situation worse, as Alya had been chosen for the student council while she wasn''t.


    Irene''s emotions declined even more when she saw that her entire group was laughing and discussing without her even being there.


    The final nail in her coffin was that Kevin and Liam seemed to be arguing about Lily, completely forgetting about her existence.


    For the first time, Irene was worried about her exam performance as she walked to the training hall after the exams.


    Her lack of focus and constant stress had gotten to her, causing her studying to decrease massively and, in turn, her test results.


    At the front of the training hall, she saw the familiar figure of Ren, instantly lightening her mood.


    If she thought she had done terribly, then Ren, being a moron, probably would get a 0. In other words, Ren was the perfect punching bag for her!


    Irene was constantly surrounded by people who were as talented as she was or even more, so being around a weakling like Ren was just what she needed.


    Following Ren inside the training hall, Irene was thinking about how to insult him when the sound of the door closing snapped her out of her thoughts.


    When she looked up, she realized that Ren was no longer there; instead, he was inside one of the AI dummy rooms.


    Holding her anger in, Irene realized that as a weakling, Ren should only have access to the AI dummies for 3 hours.


    "I can wait... yeah, I can."


    Heading to the training hall''s target practice area, Irene fired fireballs even more powerful than usual until, finally, the sound of a door opening echoed throughout the empty hall.


    Since exams had just finished, no person besides Irene and Ren was crazy enough to train, so that had to be Ren!


    Dusting the ash off her clothes, Irene cockily walked over AI dummy area with her lines already prepared.


    However, as Irene glanced upwards, no lines came out of her astonished mouth.


    Beside the sweaty Ren was Scarlett, the new transfer student who ranked 7th in the first year and was comparable in beauty to her.


    Even that weakling had friends now... while she was left all one. Despite all the prejudice and terrible rumors surrounding him, Ren had a smirk on his face as he walked out of the training hall with Scarlett trailing behind him.


    Listening closely, Irene could even hear the two bantering about, while completely ignoring her presence.


    "Oh, if I don''t? Are you going to harass me like the rumors say?"


    "Sorry, couldn''t hear you. I was too focused on that spot on your shirt."


    "You''re bringing that up again? Oh, just wait, you''ll see."


    Stepping in front of the exit to the training hall, Irene stared silently at the two, trying to adjust the insults she had come up with earlier.


    "Do you know her? Is she one of the girls you harassed, Ren?"


    "...? Really? After a while, the joke gets boring, you know."


    "But didn''t you tell me to believe what I wanted about the rumors? How do I know it''s really a joke?"


    "So you decide to follow my directions now? What happened to earlier and the day before that and that."


    Shifting his gaze from Scarlett to silent and stationary Irene, Ren asked.


    "Are you a statue or something?"


    Finally coming up with something, Irene arrogantly spoke.


    "Trying to get over failing the midterm by spending time with girls? Really, that might just be a new low for you."


    Looking at Ren for his reaction, she was surprised that a smirk was still plastered all over his face as he responded.


    "Oh, are you projecting? Where''s your entourage? Oh wait, don''t tell me..."


    "... you... little-"


    "Yeah, I have plans later, unlike you, so I gotta go."


    Stepping past her, Ren and Ruby left the training hall, leaving Irene seething behind. Up into the night, the sound of fireballs hitting the poor targets could be heard, and the sound of yelling echoed throughout the empty room.


    "I SWEAR TO GOD, YOU''RE.."


    "WHY NOT ME!?


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Having spent the last days practicing and preparing my skills for the upcoming cruise ship fight with both Lily and possibly the djinns; I didn''t have any time to pack.


    When I woke up on the day of the bus''s departure, I stuffed the few pairs of clothes I had that were not torn in my luggage before taking a shower and changing into the academy uniform.


    Taking out my smartwatch, I contacted Raven to ensure that things would continue to run smoothly in my absence.


    [Raven: Boss... if you have a vacation, can''t I?]


    [Ren: When we''re rich, you can take a vacation every day, so just keep working through it, Raven. You got this!]


    [Raven: You keep saying "when." When the hell are you going to tell me when that "when" is? What if I die tomorrow, then what use will working bring me.]


    [Ren: Don''t worry, you won''t die while I''m alive.]


    [Raven: ??? what does that mean?]


    [Ren: You got this; keep selling those scrolls!]


    Putting down my smartwatch, I exited my dorm building and headed to the bridge that connected the academy to the capital.


    Nearing the bridge, I could see countless luxury buses and a crowd of students excitedly surrounding them while talking.


    Of course, some students were huddled up in the corner praying to the gods for good exam grades.


    "...wait isn''t that Han and Jin?"


    First, Raven, now those 2?


    Leaving them to the prayer group, I dropped my luggage off our class bus and checked in with my professor.


    Somewhat curious and nervous, I asked Profesor Zia.


    "Can you tell who my group members are?"


    "You''ll find out in a minute."


    "... if I''ll find out in a minute, why not just tell me now?"


    "Ruins the surprise."


    "Since when have you liked surprises? Aren''t you the one who said in class that they''re obnoxious?"


    "So, that''s what you pay attention to in my class?"


    "... we''re getting off-topic. About my group-"


    "Just go sit down."


    Nodding my head disappointedly, I walked back over to the crowd and started looking at my smartwatch


    On the bus, there was no technology allowed as the school wanted groupmates to bond, so this would be the last time I could check anything for the entire day


    After another couple of minutes, Profesor Zia''s voice spoke out, immediately silencing the talking students and catching the attention of the praying students. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "As you enter the bus, you will be given a group number. The bus is sectioned off into areas for each group, so head to the area marked by your group number."


    Heading into the line of students waiting at the bus entrance, I suppressed the urge to use my stealth to sneak to the front of the line, using the shadows of the students and the bus.


    After what seemed like an entirety, I was once again met with the face of Professor Zia. Before she could say anything, I cautiously said.


    " *ahem* As you know, my reputation is not the best, so the group would be awkward if it''s not people I know. So, with that in mind, what is my group?"


    "And, whose fault is that?"


    "It''s my fault that my every action is monitored by gossiping students?"


    "Are you saying that your actions described by the students are true as they observe you everyday?"


    "Now, you''re just grasping at straws. Aren''t teachers supposed to use logic?"


    "Your group number is 5. Head in and don''t cause any trouble."


    "You didn''t say that last part to the student before me."


    Ignoring my last remark, Profesor Zia pushed me into the bus, so I headed to the back where section 5 was located.


    Since I was the first group member to arrive, I immediately found the most comfortable and spacious seat in the section and sat down.


    Reclining my chair, I almost fell back to sleep when an angry voice sounded from right above me.


    "...oh don''t tell me... What the hell is this?"


    Seeing the angry Irene standing in front of me, I replied.


    "You understand that this a punishment for me, not you, right?"


    Before Irene could respond, another voice sounded from the entrance to the section.


    "h-hello, is this the right section?"


    In walked Zach, accompanied by a digital camera that hung around his neck.


    The thing about my luck is that I couldn''t tell when it was S or G. Was it good luck or bad luck that I was put in a group with Irene and Zach?


    Anyway, it didn''t really matter to me as the main group during this trip of Lily, Kevin, Liam, and Alya was formed.


    "Should we all introduce ourselves...?"


    Seeing the opportunity to entertain myself, I shot back at Zach


    "What is this kindergarten? Grow up."


    Ignoring Zach''s crumbling figure, Irene replied.


    "Oh, you''re one to talk? Didn''t you attack someone else because they stole your crush? Aren''t you just a spoiled child?"


    Really bringing up Liam and Lily?


    Even though she was talking about the original Ren, I still felt offended on his behalf, so I immediately began thinking of insults.


    Before I could reply, another voice entered the section.


    "Ohhhhh, that was a low blow..."


    [A/N: Sorry for the short chap. 2 tomorrow. 75 PW or 1 Gift = +1 Chap]

 Chapter 44 - 44:Training Camp [3]

    I slumped down on my seat without even turning my head towards the entrance, where Ruby stood with a grin.


    Did Professor Zia actually listen to me? I mean, technically, these were people I''ve met before... but honestly, I''d rather be with randoms.


    Ruby and Irene just don''t seem like a good combo in any shape or form.


    While Zach sat down next to me, Ruby took the last remaining seat across from him. Without technology, all of us awkwardly stared out the window except Ruby, who was staring ahead with a smile.


    Did Ruby have something to do with this odd group?


    After a couple more minutes, the speakers of the bus announced.


    "The bus will now depart and arrive in approximately 8 hours. We recommend that you use this time to get to know your group members and make new friends!"


    After that, the bus started moving, but it moved faster than I expected, so I was immediately jerked upwards from my seat and right towards Irene, who was across from me.


    Well, Irene didn''t notice, as she was trying her best to avoid looking at me. She stared at the floor, the walls, the window, and even Ruby with a permanent disgusted expression.


    Seeing an opportunity to end this awkward silence, Zach immediately stepped up and said.


    "Seeing as we''ll be together for the next few days, why don''t we all introduce ourselves and give one fun fact?"


    Is he a camp counselor?


    Looking at the scenery of the sea that I had dived into not too long ago, I replied.


    "I''m good."


    Zach''s exasperated expression only grew as Irene remained silent while staring out the window; however, his expression did a quick 180 when Ruby responded cheerfully.


    "Sure, we might as well."


    Sending me a menacing glare that I could only see through the reflection of the window, Ruby said.


    "Right, Ren?"


    Well, she is technically my boss, so I can''t really say no to her. Anyway, looking out the window is giving me a headache. Seeing too much causes my brain to be overloaded with information, which in turn causes me to have a headache.


    Closing my eyes, I replied.


    "Alright... let''s have Irene go first because she''s clearly in desperate need of friends."


    If I was going down, then Irene was going right down with me.


    Silently looking away from the window and back at me, a small flame began to generate on the palm of Irene''s right hand. The flame was pure red, and its edges were as sharp as my daggers.


    "WAIT, WAIT IRENE, CALM DOWN, HE WAS JOKING."


    Letting out a scoff at Zach''s panicked words, I looked straight back into Irene''s fiery red eyes before saying.


    "Don''t worry, Zach; I don''t think her flames can even cause the fire alarm to go off."


    The size of fire extended beyond the palm of Irene, threateningly growing closer and closer to me while Irene replied.


    "You wanna test it?"


    Interrupting our heated confrontation this time was not Zach but Ruby, as she cheerfully announced.


    "Well, since no one else wants to go first, I''ll go. My name is Scarlett, but you can call me Ruby. For my fun fact, I enjoy playing knowledge-based games like chess."


    Reaching into her backpack, Ruby pulled out a set of cards before continuing.


    "I even brought a deck of cards if anyone wants to play cards."


    Enticed by the possibility of playing poker, I immediately raised my hand to shuffle the deck, which would give me control over what game we would play, but Ruby stopped me.


    "You''ll have to introduce yourself to play!"


    "I''m Ren, and people say my hobby is harassing girls."


    "..."


    "..."


    "..?


    Catching Ruby off-guard by my interesting introduction, I swiftly grabbed the deck of cards from her hand and began shuffling, ignoring the starstruck gazes of the entire group.


    After hesitating for a couple of seconds, Zach also introduced himself.


    "You can call me Zach, and as you can see by the camera around my neck, I enjoy taking pictures. As an avid member of the academy photography club, I have been assigned the task of documenting this trip, so I hope that you''ll help me find some interes-"


    Still shuffling the deck of cards, I interrupted Zach and turned to Irene.


    "Good for you, Zach. Mrs. No friends, what about you?"


    Incited by insult, Irene immediately replied.


    "Mr. Harasser, you all already know my name, and my hobby is magic research."


    "Mrs. Friendless, don''t you think you should be good at magic research if it''s your hobby?"


    The things she said about Lily and the original Ren were still fresh on my mind, so I wasn''t going to pass up an opportunity to jab back at her.


    Of course, she is good, even maybe the best, for her age at magic research, but after not being selected for the student council, I doubt she feels that way.


    Also, it was fun to watch Zach''s face grow more and more flustered at every exchange. This trip was going to be the most stressful few days of his life.


    "Mr. Creep, are you saying that you''re good at harassing girls?"


    "Are saying that you agree with my sentiment that you are not good at magical research? I was merely pointing out a singular contradiction in your introduction; it does not apply to me."


    Before the flames could reemerge from Irene''s hands, Zach quickly interrupted while Ruby sat back and laughed.


    "a-about the C-card game, Ren?"


    Placing two cards in front of each of us, I replied.


    "Oh, that, let''s play a game of poker. Of course, gambling isn''t gambling if we don''t lose anything..."


    Perking up at my hint, Irene and Ruby asked in unison.


    "What exactly are you suggesting?"


    "Why don''t we allow the winner to command the ultimate loser of the poker game around the entire trip?"


    As I was confident in my poker ability, I believed that I could win the game while simultaneously making Ruby the loser. If I didn''t have to worry about Ruby going off and causing some variables, my plans on the cruise ship would be a lot more effective and planned out.


    Placing her hands on the two cards in front of her, Irene sighed before saying.


    "True to your name, you really are a creep, but I''ll play along."


    ??? How does saying that make me a creep?


    Flipping over her two cards, Ruby stared at them before also saying.


    "You know, I am really starting to believe those rumors..."


    Just then, I felt a pat on my shoulder, so I turned around and saw Zach looking at me with a pitying gaze.


    "Don''t worry, Ren, I trust you."


    "..."


    I wasn''t even mad at him for trying to sympathize with me; I was more confused about why he trusted me. I mean, I hadn''t even denied the rumors spreading about me, so why did he believe me? Just, what the hell is going on in this guy''s mind?


    Brushing Zach''s hand off my shoulder, I glanced at my two cards, a ten-high and an ace, before putting three open-faced cards on the table.


    Instead of immediately looking at the open cards, I used my enhanced eyesight to examine each subtle reaction and movement of my group mates.


    Looking at Zach, I saw his jaw muscle twitch ever-so-slightly into a grimace, signifying his discomfort or dissatisfaction with his current cards.


    He would probably fold under a little bit of pressure.


    Glancing at Irene, I saw her rate of breathing increase, probably due to excitement. Her eyes kept glancing back and forth between her cards and the cards on the desk as if she were confirming her good cards.


    Turning my eyes towards Ruby, I was ready to examine her when suddenly, two soft and sweet words escaped from her mouth.


    "I fold."


    Next time, then.


    Ignoring Ruby''s fold, I raised the bet, causing Zach to fold, and then placed the fourth card on the desk.


    The current state of someone wasn''t the only thing I used when making bets in poker. Irene clearly suffered from a lack of confidence due to her rejection from the council, so even if she had good cards, she would begin to doubt herself as time passed.


    Raising the bet even more, I saw some self-doubt appear on Irene''s expression as she tersely bit her lip before matching my bet.


    After placing the fifth card on the desk, I called out, maintaining my calm and composed poker face.


    "All In."


    Instantly, Ruby and Zach''s gazes shifted to Irene to await her choice, causing her to feel even more pressure and even less confident as all eyes were on her.


    Realizing that she had bet less than 10% of her money, Irene placed her cards at the bottom of the deck and replied.


    "I fold."


    The next hour progressed smoothly as we continued playing poker. Besides a couple of rounds where I folded early on due to both Irene and Kevin having good cards, I was almost always winning money.


    There was one problem, though...


    As I glanced at Ruby, who was holding her two cards between her fingers, she calmly replied.


    "I fold."


    This was the 7th time in a row that Ruby had folded. Not once in the past hour had she made it past the reveal of the 3 cards on the desk.


    What good was it winning if Ruby wasn''t the one I got to command around?


    Both Irene and Zach were almost lower than Ruby in balance, so I had to stop winning. However, Ruby wasn''t dumb and would notice if I suddenly started throwing the game.


    For the first time, I wished that my luck stat was actually G...


    After briefly calculating everyone''s balance, Zach announced the results.


    "In first place is Ren, who won by a whopping 500 silver coins. In second is me, third is Ruby, and finally, fourth is Irene."


    My luck had let me down once again... what''s new?


    While Ruby winked at me, Irene sent me a death glare as she recalled the reward given to the winner of the poker game and said.


    "Don''t even think about it."


    Ignoring her comment, I got up from my seat, left our group''s section, and headed to the bathroom on the bus. After walking a couple of steps away from the section, I immediately turned around and saw Ruby following me.


    "What was that all about? And don''t answer with another question."


    "Shouldn''t you be even a little happy? I mean, you get to command that girl around the entire trip."


    "You want me to get down on both knees and thank you?"


    "I''m not forcing you to, but you know, if you had any semblance of gratitude, you should."


    "Oh, shut it."


    Squeezing by me, Ruby walked a couple of steps before turning around and saying.


    "Oh, is it possible that you wanted to command me around? Now that I think about it... Hmm, I mean, it would be interesting if our roles were swapped." S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Did she see right through me at the start..?


    Realizing that hesitating while talking to her would bring more suspicion, I replied immediately.


    "Where does all this bullshit come from? You seem to have an endless amount of it stored in that head of yours."


    "Oh, come onnn, I was just joking around. Unless you maybe took it seriously?"


    Disregarding her comment, I turned around and headed back to the section. There was no way I was going to a bathroom on the bus, no matter how luxurious it was.


    You may say, Ren, didn''t you use the bathroom on a dangerous mountain range for three days straight? But I''ve come a long way since then.


    As I entered the section, I saw Zach trying to sleep while Irene was staring out the window, paler than usual.

 Chapter 45 - 45:Training Camp [4]

    For the next few hours, I laid my head on the windowsill with my eyes closed, trying to sleep; however, it seemed like people in the section beside us were really getting along, as constant screaming and laughing could be heard.


    If I had enhanced hearing instead of eyesight, I probably would have jumped out the window...


    Slightly opening my eyes, I saw Irene and Zach also trying to fall asleep, as well as Ruby, who was leaning back against her chair and enjoying a snack that had been given out earlier.


    Reclining my chair, I relaxed my body and began to fall asleep, ignoring our loud neighbors.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    "We have arrived. Please grab your belongings from the bus compartment and head into your rooms. Lights out will be in 30 minutes."


    Jerking upwards from the sudden announcements, I glanced outside the window and noticed that pitch-black darkness had completely replaced the sunlight.


    Following Zach and Ruby''s lead, I got up from my seat, exited the bus, grabbed my smartwatch and backpack from the compartment, and headed into the hotel.


    The school did tell us that groups would have to be together at all times, so it was no surprise to me when the receptionist handed the four of us only one key. On the other hand, Irene seemed shocked and flabbergasted before once again telling me.


    "Don''t even think about it."


    "Not that I would, but how would you even know if I did? What''s the point in saying that?"


    "What''s the point of your life? To be a constant nuisance to me?"


    Before our dispute could grow any louder, the exhausted Zack grabbed the room key and led us to our room.


    After opening the sliding door with our room key, I realized how similar the room was to a traditional Japanese room.


    There was a living room with nothing but a round table and some cushions, and there was also an empty room beside it that was separated by another sliding door.


    Two futons were already placed on opposite sides of the table in the living room, and two more were placed closer together in the other room.


    Without any discussion, Irene walked into the room as if she owned it and immediately headed for the other room before settling down on one of the futons.


    Ruby seemed happy with this arrangement. She settled down on the futon beside Irene, and about 10 seconds later, Irene shut the sliding door.


    Left with Zach alone in the living room, I chose a futon and laid down while checking my smartwatch for updates.


    Standing alone at the entrance, Zach blinked for a couple of seconds before kindly asking.


    "I''m going to turn off the lights if you''re alright with that."


    "Do what you want."


    As the room became shrouded in pitch black, of course not for my eyes, I saw Zach struggling to find his way to the futon before putting down my smartwatch and trying to sleep.


    Just how was our group going to fare tomorrow? The whole point of this training camp was to encourage teamwork, as heroes are often required to cooperate with others to complete missions, but our team had no semblance of that.


    Of course, I am partially at fault for the lack of teamwork, but what would pointing figures and playing the blame game solve?


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, I heard a slight movement from the other side of the table, so I shifted my head slightly to get a full picture.


    Peering through the pitch-black darkness, I saw Zach slowly getting out of his futon and doing his very best to move through the room quietly.


    Sliding open the door, I saw Zach disappear into the darkness of the night as it was impossible for me to see through walls.


    Now, what exactly is he up to? S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Using my stealth skill as an assassin, I did the exact same thing as Zach, but a hundred times better as I snuck out of the room.


    Utilizing my eyes once again, I looked around for a quick second before spotting Zach heading to the exit of the hotel building.


    Using the darkness of the night, I ran towards Zach''s departing figure, making no sounds or indication of presence.


    Now, right behind Zach, I watched him carefully and cautiously open the exit door before sneaking out right behind him.


    Unless Zach was looking at my vicinity, there was no way he could notice, even though I was right next to him. However, that came with the restriction that I couldn''t make any sudden moves, like pulling out my daggers or getting closer to him.


    Welcoming the cold air of the night, I used the shadow of the hotel building to sneak behind Zach while he walked around the building to its backside.


    Why would the epitome of an upstanding citizen be sneaking around and even breaking the school''s curfew?


    Reaching his destination, I watched from a distance as Zach leaned against the back of the hotel building.


    *BZZT*


    *BZZT*


    As the sound of a ringing smartwatch echoed throughout the empty night, Zach pulled out his smartwatch and put it right to his ear.


    "I''m here."


    ''..."


    "Yes, no one should know."


    Unable to hear the voice speaking to him on the phone, my curiosity only grew. There was no way someone like Zach would be doing something shady, so was it a possible lover..?


    "..."


    "Alright, Lily, tell me what this is all about now."


    Lily?


    Was Lily his possible lover? If so, I wasn''t even mad at her for ruining the plot this time; I was just disappointed.


    How could she fall in love with a fake person? Everyone besides her and I are fake and fictional characters that were written by some author.


    How could she live the rest of her life in this world with Zach when, in her heart, she knows that he and everyone else are nothing more than a book?


    I guess that''s the difference between her and me. Would she even go back to Earth if given the opportunity? Could she even be considered to be from Earth if she completely and utterly accepted her relocation to this book world?


    Taking me out of my thoughts, Zach''s voice once again sounded.


    "...What do you mean you want to keep watch on Ren?"


    Is that how it is? With the upcoming cruise ship event, I knew that she would definitely keep watch over me to ensure I didn''t do anything, but is she really handing the job off to Zach?


    That would be a huge mistake for her. Such a naive person could easily be fooled, just like right now.


    Even if Zach knew nobody was following him, he still should have taken the call in a 100% secluded place like the bathroom, but he decided to take it outside where countless people could be hiding and listening.


    "..."


    "Yeah, I''ve heard the rumors about him, but he doesn''t seem to be that type of g-"


    For the first time, while responding to Zach, I could actually hear Lily''s voice as her scream reached my hears despite my distance from Zach''s smartwatch.


    "ZACH, DO YOU WANT ANOTHER GIRL TO BE HARRASED BY HIM?"


    "... alright, I''ll keep watching him if you''re sure."


    "..."


    Realizing that their conversation would end soon, I took the same route as I headed straight back to the hotel room.


    What exactly am I in Zach''s eyes, and why does he trust me so much? Maybe Ruby told him something?


    Hearing Zach open the door of the hotel building, I quickened my pace and rushed towards the hotel room, jumping from shadow to shadow to ensure that my figure wasn''t illuminated by the moonlight streaming in from the windows.


    Approaching the room, I saw a figure standing by the open hotel room, whom I quickly identified as Irene.


    I had left the dorm room open when I left!


    Being caught by Zach now would make Lily even more suspicious of me, and she would probably send even more people to keep an eye on me, making me unable to plan.


    If Irene caught me, what would she do?


    Stepping out of the shadows and in front of Irene, I placed my hand around her mouth, moved her inside the room, and let the door fall shut behind us.


    Seeing my face illuminated by the moonlight, Irene murmured through the holes in my hands.


    "Mfff the hell, you dirty, g-get y-your h-hands off me."


    Hearing Zach''s approaching footsteps, I whispered into her ear.


    "I won the poker game, and you lost, right? Go back to your room, and don''t say anything about me leaving to anyone."


    If she saw Zach coming back now as well, she would probably report my disappearance to Zach, and Lily would figure out I was following Zach, so I needed to send her away now.


    Letting go of Irene, I opened the sliding door to her room, revealing Ruby''s sleeping figure, and gestured for her to come in. Even in the dark, I could see her red eyes shining with anger and hatred.


    After shutting the door, I slid into my futon and pretended to be asleep while Zach quietly entered the room and got into his futon.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Waking up the next day to dozens of hard knocks on my door, I heard Professor Zia scream through the wall.


    "REN, YOUR GROUPMATES ARE WAITING FOR YOU DOWNSTAIRS IN THE BREAKFAST HALL. GET UP!"


    Looking around the room, I noticed that it was entirely empty. I wasn''t even mad that they left me, but more so confused. Didn''t they understand what the academy meant when they said, "Groups are required to remain together at all times?"


    They just didn''t bother to wake me up at all?


    "Yes, Professor, let them know I''m on my way."


    Taking my time, I imagined my 3 groupmates impatiently staring at the food with angry expressions while I showered and put on a set of casual clothes that I had bought after midterms.


    As I arrived at the breakfast, the scene was just like my imagination: Ruby, Zach, and Irene were sitting together in silence while staring at the large buffet of food ahead of them.


    Not informing them of my appearance, I grabbed a plate and searched around the spacious area before loading my plate with food.


    Satisfied with my plate, I made my way to the table where my 3 groupmates sat impatiently.


    Irene was the first to speak after seeing me standing in front of them with a plate of steaming hot food.


    "When the hell did you get here?"


    Shrugging my shoulders, I responded.


    "A couple of minutes ago, I think. Might have been longer."


    Her expression distorting and her eyes burning with red fire, Irene responded.


    "And you didn''t think to let us know? Even though we waited here for over 10 minutes for you."


    Sitting down at their table, I picked up my fork and replied.


    "Did you guys let me know when you got up?"


    "Is it our job to wake up? Right, guys? guys..?"


    As Irene glanced around, looking for our two group mates, who had run to get food during our dispute, I dug into my food while flashing a smirk at the pissed-off Irene.


    Irene being angry and pissed off was actually essential for my plans today, so I wasn''t just doing it to have fun today.

 Chapter 46 - 46:Training Camp [5]

    After a very awkward and silent breakfast, our group was left with a difficult choice.


    What exactly do we do?


    Besides the requirements of completing the tasks and staying in your groups, the school basically gave us complete freedom over what to do.


    After being ignored by Irene and I for so long, Zach seemed to lose his confidence as he cautiously asked.


    "so... w-where should we go today?"


    Watching the two girls stare at their smartwatches in silence in response to Zach''s questions, I pretended to think for a second before replying.


    "Let''s just go to the areas recommended by the school."


    The main reason this trip was so popular was that students were given entire freedom over what to do, yet here we were, following the school''s instructions and recommendations like a bunch of sheep.


    Pulling out the pamphlet given to us on the bus, I opened it to the first page and held it open for my groupmates.


    The History of Magical Artifacts Museum, or better known as the HMAM.


    "Sounds good. Does anyone have any objections?"


    "Fine with me!"


    " *tsk* whatever."


    Clapping his hands, Zach got up from the bench and headed to the hotel exit, with us following behind.


    Since the city was so large, we had to take mana trains, which were basically bullet trains from Earth, to get around everywhere.


    After scanning our student IDs, the four of us got onto the mana train and sat down. Admiring the fleeting scenery of the city through the window, I began to formulate my plan for the day.


    In preparation for their raid on the cruise ship, the djinns and demons would attack this museum to steal some powerful magic artifacts.


    Unfortunately for them, I quite liked one of the magical artifacts they were planning to steal. As for the plothole caused by my interference in this event, I already had a solution.


    Getting off the train, I followed Zach''s lead as we walked towards the looming museum building ahead.


    Why do you always have to walk up at least 10 stairs to enter a museum?


    Passing by the normal queue, we headed into the VIP line and displayed our student IDs before being immediately allowed in. The Celestial Academy was just that revered by people in the human realm.


    Pausing in the museum lobby, Zach turned around and asked,


    "Any specific exhibit you guys want to go to?"


    With Zach now being a spy for Lily, it would be far too suspicious if I conveniently suggested the specific exhibit from which the djinns would steal, as I had already led us to choose the museum as our destination.


    Taking out the school''s pamphlet once again, I pretended to fan myself with it while its open pages advertised the special exhibit on stealth-related magical artifacts.


    After subconsciously seeing it on the pamphlet, it would be Zach''s first choice as it was already on his mind, and nobody else suggested anything.


    Also, the bench we were all sitting on was conveniently only a couple of feet away from the entrance to the special exhibit.


    Breaking the silence, I immediately let out a sigh as Ruby''s cheerful voice spoke out.


    "Why don''t we check out the exhibit on the creation of magical artifacts?"


    Isn''t she a high member of the gemstone order? Why the hell would she care about creating them when she could have countless of them by her doorstep by just giving an order?


    Well, I''m already suspicious in Lily''s eyes, so who cares if I become more? At least, I can say I tried when Lily eventually figured out that I''m not actually Ren!


    Standing up, I responded.


    "I''m going to the stealth artifact exhibit."


    Why would I have to ask them for permission to go anywhere?


    Blocking my path to the exhibit, Zach stepped in front of me and responded.


    "wait, wait, Ren. Let''s all decide on one exhibit."


    Turning around, I looked at Irene, who had put down her smartwatch and asked.


    "You''re fine with going to the stealth exhibit, right?"


    It wasn''t necessarily an order, so she didn''t have to agree, but it was quite obvious that if she disagreed, I would command her to agree.


    "I don''t even care; let''s just go somewhere already."


    With that, Zach stepped out of my way and bowed down to Ruby.


    "Sorry, Scarlett, we can go there another day... it seems Ren and Irene want to go to a different exhibit."


    "It''s fine; I just wanted us to go somewhere instead of just sitting around, so I randomly recommended an exhibit. Don''t worry about it."


    As soon as we entered the exhibit, a short film was played, teaching people how to make their footsteps quieter, how to classify monsters using clues such as the size of their footsteps or the range of food they eat, and how to control their heart or breathing rate.


    This information would be quite useful for a magician, swordsman, or any other class, but as an assassin, I innately have most of these skills, so it was pretty much useless for me.


    Just as a swordsman has an easier time learning how to use a sword than other classes, I have a much easier time learning stealth and tracking techniques as an assassin.


    Heading out of the film room, I saw countless full-black cloaks, throwing knives, and masks displayed, each with a description of their effect.


    Since they were displayed in the museum, most of them had decently non-combat-related effects, such as a cloak that could never get dirty or a dagger that cut through wood specifically easier than other materials.


    Of course, the item I was looking for today wasn''t displayed here; rather, it was put in the special area as its ability was combat-related.


    Lingering around the mask area, I paced back and forth, waiting for my groupmates to catch up to me.


    The artifacts that the djinns and I were aiming to take were far too powerful and rare to be displayed in the museum''s open space.


    One of the djinns infiltrated the museum as an employee and gained information, revealing that the true location of combat-related artifacts was a subspace connected to the museum.


    Checking the time on my smartwatch, I closed my eyes.


    The flashing lights of the alarm and the chaos that would ensue would overwhelm my eyesight and give me another headache.


    I was already almost out of medicine from the train ride alone.


    The next moment, a high-pitched ring sound began to echo throughout the museum, silencing all the hundreds of footsteps and chatters.


    *RING*


    "EMERGENCY ALERT! EMERGENCY ALERT! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! EVACUATE TO YOUR NEAREST EXIT!"


    *RING*


    Though I hadn''t yet opened my eyes, I could hear the panicked footsteps all running towards what I assumed to be the exit.


    Interestingly enough, no one screamed or made any calls, showcasing the trust they had in awakened heroes, as they all just rushed towards the fire exit without making much noise.


    They all assumed that the heroes would arrive and save them, so they ran toward the exit without asking any questions. It''s crazy how people can entrust their lives to others without any fight or resistance.


    Then again, they don''t have a choice; such is the fate of those who do not become awakened.


    Proving the rushing bystanders right, three sets of footsteps stepped in the opposite direction of the emergency exit and towards me.


    Just as expected.


    "Let''s help out guys."


    " *tsk* Better than looking at this stupid exhibit."


    "Sounds good, Zach."


    Ruby and Irene, two of the book''s main antagonists, were now helping save people with a main cast member. Is this what people call the butterfly effect?


    Opening my eyes, a grin spread across my face as I did what any self-respecting third-rate villain character would do.


    Run.


    "I''m good on that; you guys have fun, though."


    Running past my groupmates, who all looked stunned, I sprinted towards the emergency exit without waiting for a response.


    Which third-rate villain wouldn''t run when any form of danger showed up? What did they expect me to do? Help out the richest people in the realm by protecting their museum property for them?


    Blending into the crowd of people who were pushing and shoving to get into the exit, I took out my daggers and stabbed my hands, causing droplets of blood to fall, not onto the floor, but onto my shoe.


    If my blood was found on the floor by the investigation team after the incident, there could be massive problems.


    Finding my way to the right wall of the emergency exit, I stood still, using my awakened strength to avoid being pushed and shoved by the rushing citizens, and stared ahead.


    Very interesting spot to put a painting, isn''t it?


    sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 47 - 47:Training Camp [6]

    Ignoring the people pushing my back, I extended my arm forward right into the painting, and instead of being stopped by the canvas of the painting, it went right through it.


    Reeling my arm back in, I glanced around before realizing that everyone was so preoccupied with escaping that they didn''t pay attention to me. In fact, there were countless other people leaning against the wall like me instead of trying to escape.


    Since the alarms went off, the djinns should have already infiltrated the subspace, so there was a slight possibility that they could have set a trap for anyone who entered it after them.


    Feeling another arm pushing against my back, I didn''t hesitate as I turned around, grabbed the arm on my back, and threw it into the painting.


    First, his arms disappeared into the painting, then his head, then his stomach, and finally, his legs disappeared, leaving no trace of his existence outside of the subspace.


    Wasting no time, I curled up into a ball as I jumped right into the painting after him with my daggers in each hand and a hood over my head, covering most of my face.


    Similar to a mana gate, my surroundings distorted for a moment before stabilizing and revealing a gigantic room with a ceiling well over 50 feet high and an area big enough to fit at least 1000 people.


    In the center of the room, there was a large circle, and on that circle, there were countless pedestals, each with a magical artifact inside.


    Each pedestal had countless runes flying around it; each rune embued with some sort of protection or defensive magic.


    The innocent man who I had thrown in the painting lay passed out on the floor from the warp into the subspace.


    On the floor, around a dozen guards lay in the circle, their weapons scattered about. In the middle of the circle, there were around 11 djinns, each equipped with a sword or wand.


    All the djinns seemed to be surrounding one, who was currently mid-cast while aiming his wand at the runes on the pedestal.


    In a gigantic and empty room like this, sneaking around would be impossible, so there was no point in trying to assassinate them one by one.


    "Well, it''s not like I wanted to do that anyway."


    Injecting mana into my daggers, a night-black aura immediately enveloped them, completely covering the shiny metal of my daggers, leaving only the black hilt visible.


    Get a magical artifact and answer my questions about Corruption of the Night? Don''t mind if I do!


    Assessing that all of the djinns were in the range of low E-rank to mid-D-rank, I prematurely activated dash as I ran towards the center of the circle.


    In the completely silent room, my loud and fast footsteps echoed throughout the massive room, immediately catching the attention of the djinns.


    "THERE''S ONE MORE!"


    "GET HIS ASS!"


    "KEEP HIM AWAY!"


    Leaving 5 djinns behind to defend the casting djinn, the other 5 immediately rushed toward me, with 2 of them staying at the back of the rush and preparing to cast spells.


    Does Corruption of the Night work on humans?


    Confronted by the 3 sword-wielding djinns, I immediately swung my daggers at the air, releasing a night-black slash that barreled toward the charging enemies, causing them to split up as two dodged to the right while one to the left.


    After sending another night-black slash at the alone djinn, causing him to dodge back further away from his comrades, I used dash, appearing right in front of the two djinns.


    Releasing more mana into my right dagger, I created a holographic dagger as I swung both my daggers at one of the djinns.


    Unable to block both of my daggers with his sword, the djinn stared at his partner for help; however, the holographic dagger was slashing right at his partner.


    Faced with the dilemma of protecting his partner or himself, the djinn''s true nature was exposed as he used his sword to parry the holographic dagger instead of assisting his helpless partner.


    The djinn''s expression distorted as the holographic dagger went straight through his sword, but by then, it was too late, as I plunged one of my night-black daggers right into his partner''s chest while allowing other to be parried by his partner''s sword.


    The wound wasn''t fatal enough to kill the djinn, but it was strong enough to immobilize him completely.


    Shaking the djinn''s body off my dagger, I allowed it to drop to the floor and then immediately created an X with my daggers to block an ariel strike from the other djinn.


    Scanning the battlefield, I noticed that the two magician djinns were almost done casting as dark-purple frisbees appeared above their heads, and the other djinn was done with dodging, so he was rushing towards me.


    Well, my questions can wait, I guess.


    Kicking my leg forward, I hit the djinn''s stomach, causing him to fall back immediately and lose his balance for a second.


    That second was all I needed as I freed my daggers and sidestepped to the right before plunging one of my pitch-black daggers into his heart.


    "..huh?"


    The night-back aura on my daggers grew a bit bigger, as the aura now partially covered the hilt of my dagger.


    After confirming the growth in aura, I swung my daggers at the air, sending an elemental slash to interrupt some of the dark-purple frisbees.


    Activating dragon''s eye for a brief second, I felt my perception of time slow as I turned around and saw the sword of the djinn already mid-slash and slowly heading toward my head.


    Feeling my mana reserves diminish, I ducked and deactivated the dragon''s eye before hurling one of my pitch-black daggers right at the djinn.


    Caught off guard by my sudden dodge, the djinn''s eyes widened as my dagger flew straight at him, and with his sword at his feet due to his last slash''s miss, he had no way or time to dodge.


    Using my other dagger, I faced the remaining dark-purple frisbees head-on as they hit my dagger, causing my stance to fault before I flew back due to the impact.


    After landing on my legs, I had time to sidestep, leading me to narrowly dodge the dark-purple frisbees, which my direct opposition had slowed.


    Picking up my other dagger from the djinn''s body, I confirmed that the night-black aura had grown again before running toward the two magicians.


    But these magicians weren''t defenseless as two more sword-wielding djinns had abandoned protecting the casting djinn and stepped up to face me.


    Prematurely activating dash, I jumped onto one of the pedestals before launching myself upwards and right over the sword-wielding djinns and right toward the magician djinns.


    The sword-wielding djinns stopped in confusion and stared at me mid-jump. After all, in their eyes, I had completely trapped myself. Even if I managed to kill the two magician djinns, I would be immediately surrounded on all sides by the other djinns.


    Using both of my daggers, I stabbed right at one of the magician djinns before turning around to face the other.


    Roughly shaking my daggers, I sent the dead magician djinn''s body right at the alive one, and then swinging my daggers at the air, I released a night-black slash in the same direction.


    Having his sight blocked by his partner''s dead body, the magician djinn dodged to the right, or right in front of my night-black elemental slash.


    Wasting no more time as I saw the remaining djinns slowly surrounding me, I pushed my right foot backward and activated dash, immediately taking me back to the place where the 3 original djinns had met their end.


    Looking at the remaining djinn''s confused faces as they now surrounded a bunch of air, I smiled and said.


    "It''s called a hit and run."


    However, my smile disappeared as I noticed that the dagger''s night-black aura hadn''t grown with the last kill on the magician djinn.


    Damn, I have to kill them directly with my daggers, don''t I?


    At that moment, a white light immediately enveloped the area, blinding my eyes for a second. As I reopened them and glanced around, I realized that all the protection runes on the pedestals had been broken.


    Thus, the caster, along with the 5 remaining djinns, turned all their attention toward me as 5 sword-wielding djinns charged right at me while the caster began casting again.


    Unfortunately for them, during my previous fights with the sword-wielding djinns, I realized one important thing: All of them used the same fighting style. My eyes were quite good at catching repetition.


    Looking at the five charging djinns, I could see all their next moves. One was posed to use an aerial slash, while another was going to attack my right leg, and the other three were going straight for my heart.


    Lifting my right leg, I kicked it forward until it reached the height of my waist, and then I sent an elemental slash at the area right above the height of my leg before making an X with my daggers right above my head.


    One djinn missed their attack as my right leg had moved, my daggers parried the other''s ariel slash, and finally, the other 3 had been forced to slow down and reposition due to my leg blocking their sword''s path to my heart.


    And then, those 3 met their end with elemental slash as they had slowed down and repositioned themselves to be right in front of the night-black slash.


    More night-black aura lost...


    Taking out the other two was relatively easy as I simply preemptively dodged their attacks and then immediately counterattacked, leaving them with no defense.


    Thus, only the caster was left.


    Surrounding the caster was a huge cage made of mana. While his comrade djinns had been dying trying to protect him, he had used up all his mana and time to create a shield to save him and only himself.


    Walking up to the cage, I ignored the trembling caster''s figure as I touched my pitch-black daggers to the mana of the cage.


    At the point where they touched, the blue mana cage turned black, and that black began to spread rapidly until, after a minute, the cage was entirely black. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The caster could no longer see anything out of the cage, but I could still see inside due to my enhanced eyesight.


    Stepping into the black mana cage, I felt at home. This was an assassin''s perfect environment: Everything was pitch-black, so you couldn''t see anything, or in other words, the perfect place for an assassin to sneak around without any worries of being caught.


    Peering through the darkness with my eyesight, I spotted for caster clumsily trying to navigate his surroundings as he bumped into pedestals and rocks almost every second.


    Jumping from pedestal to pedestal, I reached the caster without making a single sound before swiftly plunging my night-black dagger right into his heart.


    When I walked out of the cage, the sudden light blinded me for a second before I started my search through the various artifacts.


    After a moment, I finally found what I was looking for.


    [Shadowbinder Cloak / Effect: All the user''s attacks and abilities are boosted by 10% when in an area with a lack of light.]


    Putting on the cloak, I used to hood to completely conceal my face as I walked back to where I had entered the subspace and saw another painting.


    Picking up the unconscious civilian body from earlier, I silently prayed for him for a second before once again throwing him through the painting.


    A moment later, I popped through the painting, and I was immediately overwhelmed as there were still crowds of people in the emergency exit area.


    In the chaos, many people must have taken the chance to steal artifacts, so the guards were probably checking every person who left to ensure nothing had been stolen.


    Of course, my other three groupmates were nowhere to be seen. They were probably still fighting against the forces the djinns had used to distract the museum so that they wouldn''t discover the breach in the subspace.


    Glancing around for a moment, I smiled as I grabbed the painting and pulled my hood down ever further.


    Why would I leave behind the treasures in the subspace? What am I, stupid? Even if they''re of no use to me, they could probably sell for a load of money!


    Fun fact: subspaces are connected to objects, so by taking this painting, I am essentially taking the subspace.


    Now, just one problem: how do I get out of here with the painting?


    [A/N: I''m pretty behind on chapters, so 3 chapters today!]

 Chapter 48 - 48:Training Camp [7]

    Taking the painting off the wall, I attempted to hide it beneath my shirt, but... it was far too big as the frame peaked out from below my new cloak. Even if it were smaller, it wouldn''t have worked as the guards would have easily spotted it through the abnormal shape of my cloak.


    The number of people in the emergency exit area was dwindling, so sooner or later, someone would notice the fact that I was holding a painting and call me out.


    Taking out my smartwatch, I immediately sent a message.


    [Ren: Outside the museum emergency exit, now.] sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Completely covering my face with my new cloak, I activated the dash''s usage period before instantly pushing aside everyone with my awakened strength and sprinting through.


    Like Moses parted the Red Sea, I created a path through the crowd of civilians by simply pushing them away with my hands.


    Nearing the security checkpoint, I slowed to a walking pace and patiently watched.


    Dash wasn''t teleportation. I could move 10 meters in any direction if and only if there were no obstacles or humans blocking my path.


    Honing in on the checkpoint, I saw that there were multiple lines, each consisting of a search of your body and other items. After that, the guards opened a gate, allowing you to exit the building.


    Getting into one of the shorter lines, I tapped my right eye, using up the last of my mana, and activated Dragon''s Eye, causing my perception of time to slow.


    As the guard opened a small gap in the gate, just big enough for the civilian at the front of the line to pass through, I activated dash.


    Since Dragon''s Eye was still active when I dashed, I saw the guard slowly close the gate more, so I immediately curled myself even more, allowing me to fit through the gate.


    Landing on one of the countless staircase steps outside the museum, I lost my balance and began to fall face-first onto the floor, but I stabbed my daggers into the ground, regaining my balance.


    Putting my daggers in my new cloak, I walked down the stairs with the painting still in my hands and visible to everyone else before spotting a familiar face.


    Leaning against a bicycle, I saw a scrawny teenager with messy black hair and pitch-black eyes that oddly resembled the color of my night-black aura.


    Wasting no time with introductions, I got on the bicycle and handed Raven the painting before gesturing for him to get on the seat as well.


    Glancing at the painting in his hands and the commotion outside the museum, Raven sighed before speaking.


    "Is this painting really worth all of this? Seriously, boss, this might be a new low even for you..."


    Earlier, I had been avoiding looking at or examining the painting as it would give me a headache, but giving in to my curiosity, I glanced at the painting for the first time.


    ...It was... interesting. No...who the hell comes to a museum to see this???


    Making sure that Raven had a tight hold on the painting, I put my legs on the pedal and responded.


    "I made a lot of money, alright, don''t ask any questions."


    "You say that, but then it''s my job to clean everything up. Just say you liked the painting and wanted it..."


    Recalling the image of the painting in my head, I immediately responded.


    "No... just no. I did not want the painting for what was on its canvas!"


    "mhm, alright... if that''s your story, boss..."


    Flying past the museum, I pedaled with all my strength until, finally, the crowd of reporters and civilians surrounding the area was no longer visible.


    Stepping off the bicycle, I put away my cloak in the backpack before turning to Raven and carefully handing him back the painting.


    "Take this back to the office."


    "...you made me take a train all the way here so that I could go right back?"


    "This painting is worth more than you; it''ll fund our scroll business."


    "...Maybe this is worth a lot to you... Most people aren''t into this kind of stuff, boss."


    "Didn''t I already tell yo- Never mind, alright, just take it back."


    Nodding his head, Raven carefully concealed the painting using a cover he had brought before. Then, he put the cover on his back like a backpack and got onto the bicycle while staring at me with an expression that said, "Really, you stole this out of all things in a museum?"


    As he prepared to leave, I suddenly recalled something, so I called out.


    "There''s a person still alive inside the painting, so don''t go inside it."


    Later, I''d check on that guy to see if my corruption truly worked on humans.


    Ignoring the fact that Raven almost fell off his bicycle after my last words, I made my way back to the museum''s entrance just in time to witness a show.


    Three people descended from the sky like angels, each equipped with a cloak plastered with the royal family symbols.


    The Heroes had come to save the day!


    Of course, the day was already saved by my groupmates, but these officials just had to keep up the stereotype of always showing up after everything was done.


    Leaning against the railing of the stairs, I pulled out my smart watch and waited for my groupmates, ignoring the reporters crowding around the heroes.


    After a couple of minutes, I suddenly heard a thunderous applause, so I turned my head towards the emergency exit area and saw my 3 groupmates leaving while waving to the admiring members of the audience.


    They do know that 2 of the 3 people they''re waving at will become humanity''s greatest enemy, right?


    As the 3 descended down the staircase, I casually joined them, acting as if nothing had happened.


    After a minute of silence, I turned to Zach and nonchalantly asked.


    "How was it?"


    Jumping back in shock, Zach almost tripped and fell down the stairs before responding.


    "REN, w-when did you g-get here?"


    Not giving me any time to respond, Irene immediately spoke up as if she had been waiting for this opportunity.


    "Oh, while we were out saving people, you wanna guess what he was doing? Helping evacuate the people? Calling for help? Nope, he was on his smartwatch! What an outstanding student! Truly representing Celestial Academy perfectly!"


    Shrugging my shoulders, I matched her overly cheerful tone as I replied.


    "you know, I really do try my best. Your recognition really goes a long way, Irene!"


    Interrupting our words of sarcasm, Ruby asked.


    "Aren''t you guys hungry? Let''s get something to eat."


    "Good idea, Scarlett; the school recommended a place nearby!"


    Following Zach, the four of us headed into the hot-pot restaurant that the school had recommended.


    The restaurant was completely empty beside us, so as we entered, the television immediately entered our ears.


    "In the recent attack on the HMAM by djinns, brave students from Celestial Academy, alongside heroes from the Central Dominion, stepped up to protect, ensuring that everyone was safe. The museum has yet to make a statement, but from our reporters on the scene can estimate that about 10 people were injured in the attack."


    So, they still haven''t found out about the missing subspace? Shouldn''t that be the first place they look after a robbery, considering it contains the highest-value items?


    After ordering and eating the food, the 4 of us explored all the monuments and historical sites mentioned by the school.


    After one hour had passed since we ate, the mood of the group became eerily silent as we all waited for our first task to be assigned.


    However, as time passed and the clock eventually reached 6, no task was assigned to us. Weird, isn''t Liam''s group doing a task right now?


    As we entered the hotel dining hall for dinner, we heard various rumors already spreading around.


    "Didn''t you hear group 6 already got sent home for failing their task!"


    "Already? How is that even possible? The task was so easy!"


    "Idiot, we all have different tasks assigned to us."


    Sitting down at the same spot as breakfast, Zach was the first to break the awkward silence as he asked.


    "Why didn''t we get any task?"


    Putting down my fork, I replied.


    "Why are you complaining about not getting a task? Shouldn''t we be happy?"


    Taking my smartwatch, I continued to refresh the latest news websites, but there was no news of any museum items being stolen.


    In the statement made by the museum, they didn''t even mention anything about stolen artifacts or paintings; they just addressed the safety concerns.


    In the book, it wasn''t mentioned if the museum released the news of the stolen artifacts, so maybe things are still going according to the plot?


    But then again, why wouldn''t the museum mention the stolen items? Having the support of the public in finding lost artifacts would be a great help.


    Finishing up the last of the food, I was about to get up and head back to the hotel room when Professor Zia suddenly appeared in front of our table.


    "The news of the recent museum attack and your involvement had already spread to almost everywhere in this city."


    "First, I want to thank you four for upholding the values of Celestial Academy by standing your ground and protecting the citizens from the djinns instead of running away to save yourself."


    "To honor you for saving and protecting the museum, the academy and museum will be holding an award ceremony tomorrow. More details will be sent to your phone later, but as your teacher, I just wanted to mention how proud I am of you. Your heroic actions will not go unnoticed as long as I am around!"


    After hearing those words come out of the professor''s mouth, grins spread on everyone''s face for a moment, but when Professor Zia left, everyone''s glaze slowly wandered over to me.


    ...There is a fake among us.


    With a cold and deep voice, Irene said.


    "She said 4, didn''t she? Don''t tell me I''m hearing things."


    Afraid to talk due to the coldness in Irene''s voice, Zach silently nodded his head while Ruby simply continued staring at me.


    Why are you staring at me? We are both villains; why would we help the heroes by attacking our own kind instead of just walking away!?


    With a grin, I broke the tension by cheerfully exclaiming.


    "It truly was a team effort!"

 Chapter 49 - 49:Cruise Ship [1]

    After waking up the next morning, I checked my smartwatch and noticed that the email mentioned by Professor Zia had been sent. In fact, it had not just been sent to us 4, but the entire school had received it.


    Now, everyone is aware of my amazing actions!


    As our group ate our breakfast awkwardly, a sudden vibration erupted from all of our smartwatches.


    Checking my email, I saw that the school had just sent us an email.


    [Task #1: Make your way to the attached location and complete the puzzle inside. Time Limit: 1 hour.]


    Clicking on the attached image, I saw a half-broken-down hut that seemed to be located on the outskirts of the city. Alongside the picture, there was also a set of coordinates for us to use.


    Instantly, the four of us got up from our table, leaving behind our plates of food, and rushed out of the hotel building.


    Leading us was Zach, as he asked.


    "The mana train is the fastest way there, right."


    Nodding our heads in approval to Zach''s question, the four of us sprinted through the city and to the nearest train station.


    Ignoring the long line of civilians outside the train stations, the four of us flashed our student IDs to the security guards and skipped the entire line.


    Descending down the stairs, the four of us finally arrived at the drop-off station for the mana train; however, alongside a gigantic crowd, a flashing sign awaited us.


    "Due to unforeseen circumstances, the arrival of all mana trains has been delayed 15 minutes. Please bear with us, and we thank you for your patience."


    Opening the navigation map on my smartwatch, I plugged in the coordinates and calculated the amount of time we would have after the train ride.


    15 minutes.


    As I turned to face my groupmates, who were doing the exact same thing, Zach asked.


    "The mana train is the fastest way, right?"


    Checking my smartwatch once again, I saw that walking would take 3 hours while traveling by bicycle or carriage would take 1 and a half hours.


    Tasks were the only weakness in my entire plan.


    If I failed a task and was sent back to the academy before reaching the cruise ship, there was nothing I could do.


    After what seemed like an eternity, the sound of screeching entered my ears, signifying the arrival of the train.


    Pushing past the crowd, our group squeezed our way into a compartment and found some seats.


    When the station before ours was announced, the four of us stood up and camped beside the train doors.


    As the train doors slid open, I was the first to exit as I sprinted through the crowd, twisting and turning through the gaps between people.


    Feeling the sunlight on my head, I glanced around and noticed there were almost 0 people, so I started to speed up.


    Nearing the hut from the attachment, I turned around and saw Irene and Ruby slightly behind me while Zach was in the distance.


    Stopping at the entrance to the ragged hut, I took a breather while Ruby caught up to me and asked.


    "This might be the first time I''ve seen you serious. Why the change in attitude? Oh, maybe a l-"


    Interrupting Ruby''s speculation was Irene, who responded from behind us.


    "Who the hell cares? Let''s just get this over with."


    After another few moments, Zach caught up to us, panting like a dog and sweating bullets while staring at us in amazement.


    Contrary to its rugged and broken-down exterior, the inside of the hut was actually quite cozy. There were two armchairs, a polished wooden table, and a well-made bed.


    Sitting down on one of the armchairs, I tried examining the entire hut again with my eyes, but nothing else was revealed.


    Still standing at the entrance, Zach also glanced around the hut for a second before asking.


    "... what exactly is the puzzle here?"


    Sitting down on the bed side by side, Ruby and Irene stayed silent, also pondering the next course of action.


    With the time limit of 1-hour closing in, the four of us got more desperate for clues on the puzzle as we basically flipped the entire room upside down, searching under all the furniture.


    Even I was at a loss for words.


    Was the school trying to screw me over?


    Interrupting our frantic search of the room was a sudden voice.


    "Congratulations on reaching the hut. Please, all of you, take a seat."


    Sound Magic?


    Following the sound''s directions, Zach and I sat across from each other on the armchairs while the other 2 sat on the bed.


    "Completing this task can either be easy or very difficult. Please open the last book on the third shelve of the bookcase and read it for instructions. There is no time limit; all you must do is complete what is said in the book."


    "... although, I would appreciate it if you finished it as soon as possible. I am required to stay at the school until your competition."


    "... Also, don''t worry about me listening in; the sound connection in the room will be cut off no-"


    Leaning against the armchair, I relaxed my tensed body. Sure, it was odd that the school was giving us a task with no time limit, but at least I have time to plan now.


    If that voice hadn''t come out at that exact moment, I would have probably done something drastic, like burning down the hut or cutting it into a million pieces.


    Irene, not sharing the same sentiment, immediately rushed to the bookshelf and grabbed the mentioned book.


    Watching Irene''s expression as she read the book, I saw her face twitch up and distort into a disgusted expression before she put the open book onto the table.


    [Getting to know your teammates is essential for cooperating as heroes, both inside and outside dungeons. This leads us to your current task: The Truth Game.


    During this game, each person creates a question and asks it to one of their teammates. Each person must ask and answer a question. The game ends after this.


    Finally, if ANYONE is detected to be lying, you will all automatically fail the task and be sent back to the academy.]


    Our group''s faces displayed a variety of expressions: Irene remained disgusted, Zach''s expression lit up, Ruby wore a grin, and I remained indifferent.


    Surely, we have no idiots among us who decide to ask a stupid-ass question?


    Breaking the silence, I calmly asked.


    "So we''re not going to be idiots, are we?"


    Since I wasn''t asking a specific person, this wouldn''t count as my question, but maybe the others would believe I had wasted my question.


    I could ascertain Ruby''s true intentions possibly, but of course, completing the task came first.


    "Ren, what''s your favorite color?"


    "... Zach, it''s blue. Hey Zach, what''s your favorite color?"


    "Thanks for asking, it''s red!"


    Well, there goes my answer and question!


    Well, even if Ruby did answer my question, she would have to expose her identity as a villain to both Zach and Irene, and that would cause some trouble.


    Turning my head to face the two girls, I saw Ruby turn to Irene and say.


    "Who do you li-"


    Is this what the school wanted us to do during this damned truth game? Ask each other about our favorite colors and romantic interests? What are we?


    As I stared at Ruby, who still held a smile while speaking, I honestly had no idea what she was thinking. What could have compelled a great and powerful antagonist to ask another great and powerful antagonist who they liked?


    Interrupting Ruby''s question mid-way, I asked Irene.


    "What''s your favorite color, Irene?"


    There was no rule about not being able to ask more than one question; all it said was everyone must ask and answer a question for the game to end.


    I wasn''t about to risk my entire plan because someone wanted to know someone else''s love interest.


    " *ahem* I like the color Red as well."


    Now that Irene had answered a single question, she had no obligation to answer any other questions.


    For the game to end now, Ruby would have to answer and ask a question, and Irene would also have to ask a question. From the bed, Ruby tilted her head before asking.


    "Ren, why did you do that?"


    Since I had also answered a question, I had no obligation to answer hers, but knowing Ruby, she would probably refuse to ask any other question, leading to the four of us being stuck here for ages. If she wanted to, Ruby could force us to answer any question by just refusing to ask any other.


    Could I mix in some lies and truth in my answer, or was it all required to be true? Deciding against risking failure on this task, I answered truthfully.


    "I didn''t want to fail the task."


    Instantly, Irene''s gaze at me transformed into a glare.


    What are you looking at me for? You know damn well you were about to lie.


    Although I was curious about Ruby''s intentions with that question and, as a whole, I didn''t want her to reveal her villain identity or just lie, so I asked.


    However, a moment before my question, Irene''s voice spoke out.


    "Why did you ask that, Scarlett?"


    "What''s your favorite color, Scarlett?"


    ... I just saved her, and now she''s already screwing me over???


    The rules didn''t mention anything about answering if two questions were asked at the same time, so Ruby would probably get to choose which question she answered.


    With a grin remaining on her face, Ruby turned to Irene and responded.


    "I wanted to make sure our likes didn''t overlap."


    With that last answer, the door of the hut flung open as everyone had asked and answered a question truthfully.


    The rest of the train ride back was spent in silence, but I didn''t really mind it as we had completed the task.


    There was some animosity between Ruby and Irene, but they would have to get over it eventually.


    I still had some curiosity about Ruby''s last answer, but like Irene and Zach, I didn''t question it further.


    Does she also like Liam? She was said to enjoy the company of powerful people, so it''s not out of the question.


    Looking at Irene, who was twitching, I wondered how this would affect her. She already had Lily as a competitor so with Ruby in the play, she might just give up. S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After arriving back at the hotel, the four of us put on our academy uniforms before heading into the award ceremony, which was held in the hotel lobby.


    Sitting down in the front row with Ruby next to me, I glanced around and saw some familiar faces from the book.


    However, there was one face that almost made me pull out my daggers and charge.


    Ren''s former father was here.


    Dressed in an expensive and elaborate suit with his long black hair tied into a ponytail, Ren''s father mingled with the other important figures, including Irene''s father, while eating from a plate of food.


    My anger at Ren''s father, mixed with Ren''s fear of his father leaking into my own emotions, immediately caused my legs to tremble with an undescribable emotion.


    Before I knew it, my shining, blood-red eyes locked onto him, refusing to let his figure out of my sight.


    Do I just kill him now? Who''s going to stop me? This asshole doesn''t deserve to live another day.


    Snapping me out of my trance, I heard a familiar voice call out from my right.


    "Lot of animosity between you two, isn''t there?"


    Forcing myself to turn my head away from Ren''s former father, I looked at Ruby while suppressing all my emotions. While I couldn''t suppress Ren''s emotions specifically, I could simply quell all my emotions.


    "It''s one-sided."


    "Yeah, I''m sure he''s already forgotten about your existence."


    Before I knew it, my hands were raised off my lap as I replied.


    "Are you trying to piss me off?"


    Letting out a laugh, Ruby imitated me by raising her hands and responding.


    "No, it''s just interesting to see someone like you showcase so much emotion. It''s actually quite nice, you know?"

 Chapter 50 - 50:Cruise Ship [2]

    Interrupting our conversation, a man in an extravagant suit walked up to the stage before picking up a microphone, which could also be considered an artifact due to its embedded sound magic, and started speaking.


    "Welcome all, far and wide, to this event hosted by the Museum of Magical Artifacts. With the rising amount of djinn attacks on humanity, those who can confidently step up and protect our fellow humans at the cost of their own lives are rare."


    Didn''t he just say the opposite of what I am? Well, I am protecting the world by ensuring things go according to the plot, but is it really "protecting" millions of people to die in the process?


    Where is the moral line start and end?


    "Today at this fine establishment, we are here to honor those few people who stepped up to the task in the recent djinn attack at the museum. As students of the famed Celestial Academy and as civilians who protected your fellow humans against the dangers of the world, I extend my greatest thanks to you 4 brave souls!"


    *CLAP*


    *CLAP*


    As a deafening applause echoed throughout the room, the event organizer gestured to us, so we all slowly got up and walked up the stairs to the stage.


    Walking to the podium, I used my eyes and saw some familiar faces, such as Liam, Lily, Alya, Kevin, and Astrid.


    Wait, Astrid? Aren''t third-years on a break after exams? Why is she here?


    As the four of us stood next to the podium and the applause died down, another figure¡ªIrene''s dad or the headmaster of the magical tower¡ªwalked up the stairs.


    With long red hair that went all the way down to his shoulders and black eyes, he wore an indifferent expression as he walked in front of the podium; however, with my eyes, I could see his face practically twitching with excitement.


    "On behalf of the Magic Tower, I would like to once again thank you 4 for protecting the museum of our magical artifacts and the tourists inside. As we understand that this ceremony isn''t nearly enough to repay you, I would be willing to help out of any of you in the future to the best of my abilities!"


    Grabbing 4 gold medals from under the podium, Irene''s dad or Shawn walked over to us, starting with Zach.


    After placing a gold medal around Zach''s neck, he turned to his daughter, Irene, and smiled before wrapping another gold medal around her neck.


    Giving Ruby the same treatment as Zach, Shawn turned to me, displaying a somewhat bewildered expression, before awkwardly placing a gold medal around my neck.


    He recognized me. It''s probably awkward to give a medal and thank someone who was once your best friend''s son.


    As the award ceremony was now officially over, the doors flung open, inviting people to leave; however, no one moved.


    This room held some of the most important people on the entire continent, so leaving first would undeniably make a bad impression. Also, it was a chance for people to build important connections by talking.


    Heading down the stage, I immediately saw the main cast group waiting for Irene and Zach, so I walked past them and headed outside.


    Even if I was technically the guest of honor, no one would notice my disappearance, so I could sneak out from the terrace.


    When I opened the double doors, the cold evening wind immediately rushed and enveloped me, causing me to shiver, but my focus was on something else.


    Looking out the terrace, I saw a gigantic cruise ship, the size of more than 10 mansions, sitting by the port with the academy flag next to it.


    The main event had finally arrived.


    Feeling a gaze on my back, I turned around and saw Ruby. Her long black hair fluttered in the breeze, and her red eyes were once again visible as she had removed her contacts.


    With all the important people in this room, I had half-expected Ruby to do something drastic, like blow up the entire hotel, but after seeing her mess around with Irene earlier, I was pretty sure she wasn''t planning anything for the time being.


    As our blood-red eyes met, Ruby tilted her head, staring at the port before asking.


    "Already trying to leave?"


    "Would you want to stay if you were in my situation?"


    The people attending the event consisted of nobles who despised fallen nobles like me, students who also hated me, and my father, who disowned me.


    Could it even get worse?


    Oh, wait. The entire hero''s party, who also hated me, was attending as well!


    "hmm, I''d probably stay, actually." S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "And why is that?"


    "Revenge is a dish best served pipping hot, isn''t it?"


    "Isn''t that saying c-"


    "You get my point, Ren."


    The only thing stopping me from trying to assassinate Ren''s father was the plot point of his character. Not the powerful people guarding him, his political authority, or even the immense power he wielded.


    I could find ways around all of those given time. Taking revenge on Ren''s father was the least I could do for the original Ren after I stole his body, life, and basically everything from him, wasn''t it?


    Ren''s father also posed a serious threat to me as the original Ren''s fear would always appear when I was near him, causing me to lose my focus, which is instant death in a fight.


    ...It''ll have to wait.


    Trying to get some clues on Ruby, I asked.


    "You seem to know a bit about revenge."


    "Anyway, don''t you think sneaking off as one of the guests of honors would only serve to decrease your reputation?"


    Yet again, she answers my question with another question!


    "When you hit rock bottom, there is only one way to go...UP!"


    Letting out a scoff at my clear sarcasm, Ruby walked up beside me at the edge of the terrace and leaned against the railing.


    "Well, let''s go, then."


    "? what?"


    "Were you planning on leaving your boss, an evil villain, behind in a room full with heroes that could decimate her at any moment?"


    "..."


    Sighing, Ruby put her hands on the railing.


    "Well, you''re the one who wanted to leave so bad; let''s go."


    Taking the lead, I jumped over the railing and onto the ground, which was only about a 10-foot down jump.


    Landing silently on the ground with my assassin skills, I waited for Ruby, who hesitated for a moment after watching me jump before surrounding her legs and feet with fire and jumping.


    Kneeling down on the ground, Ruby looked up and asked.


    "How the hell can you do that?"


    Revealing my class choice to a potential enemy in the future would be dangerous,s I sarcastically responded.


    "Genetics."


    "...?"


    Paying no mind to Ruby''s confused face, I walked into the forest surrounding the hotel and towards the gigantic cruise ship figure that could still be seen through the gaps in the trees.


    In the silence of the evening, only the occasional bird chirping alongside the sound of branches breaking from Ruby trailing behind me could be heard.


    Reaching the port, I looked down into the ocean and saw the familiar scene of seaweed swaying at the seafloor alongside dozens of fish swimming about.


    Feeling my brain flooded with all the information my eyes took in, I immediately looked up to the dazzling cruise ship that seemed to reach the sky.


    Catching up to me, Ruby admired the cruise ship for a moment before curiously asking.


    "So... what exactly are we doing?"


    "What are we doing, Ruby?"


    "Sarcasm just feels weird when it comes out of your mouth."


    "...I''m the weird one. Aren''t you the mob boss who just got crowned a hero and defender against djinns?"


    " *PFFT* When you dashed out of there, I was about to die of laughter. Anyway, can''t villains have a little bit of heroism?"


    "..."


    Heroism? An antagonist who aided in the slaughtering of countless humans is talking about heroism.


    "I mean, Ren, I get you''re all evil, but some of us are different."


    ...Did I just get called evil by a future human killing machine?


    I''m here working my ass off to save the world, just to be called evil by objectively one of the most evil people in the future world.


    Am I actually evil?


    "i-i just don''t care anymore."


    Good and Evil are just a bunch of words, so who cares!? Not me!


    Raising my hand up, I waved goodbye to Ruby before jumping off the port and plunging into the water.


    "IT WAS JUST A JOKE, DON''T JUMP!"


    What is it with people yelling stupid stuff at me while I''m jumping into bodies of water? First, Raven, and now her?


    Seriously, who is she to decide if I''m evil or not? ...But maybe I''ll help out a bit more in the future.


    Not because of her, though! What happens after I save the world and everything is fine? Do I want to be known as the scumbag of the empire for the rest of my life here?


    Feeling the cold ocean water embrace me, I basked in its comfort before diving further into the water until my hand finally touched the sea floor.


    Looking upwards, I saw the huge cruise ship floating above me, and I tensed my legs before lunging upwards toward the bottom of the cruise ship.


    Tracing my hand along the rough exterior of the cruise ship, I took out my daggers, which were concealed in my pockets, and plunged them both into the bottom of the ship.


    No longer having to put any effort into floating, I let my body sway with the current as I hung onto my daggers.


    Removing one of the daggers, I ensured that the hole in the ship''s exterior was deep enough before placing an explosive that I had acquired before the trip through the black market.


    Of course, I didn''t involve in Raven in this purchase as I couldn''t imagine what he would think of me after hearing I wanted to buy an explosive.


    Putting my dagger back into the ship''s exterior, I pushed the small explosives as far as I could into the hole before removing my other dagger and doing the same thing with some leftover fireworks from Alya''s kidnapping.


    If metal detectors were a thing in this era, I would have been long caught as my suitcase would have triggered every possible alarm in the system.


    I filled the holes in the ship with sand I had gotten from the ocean floor, concealing my daggers once again before swimming up to the surface of the water.


    Looking upwards, I saw Ruby waiting for me at the port, her glossy black hair practically dazzling in the moonlight.


    Pulling myself onto the wooden planks of the port, I walked towards Ruby, with water droplets falling from my hair, clothes, and arms.


    Looking at Ruby''s perplexed expression, I shrugged my shoulders and said.


    "What can I say? I was in the mood for a quick swim."


    "... don''t you feel cold at all?"


    Most normal people probably would have gotten hypothermia from doing this, but what can I say, I was blessed by the Sea God!.

 Chapter 51 - 51:Cruise Ship [3]

    The next few days flowed by without any trouble as we received various tasks ranging from solving a puzzle around the city to taking care of a sudden outbreak of monsters in the forest nearby.


    In the forest, we met up with 3 other groups, who were assigned to the same task and dispatched the horde of goblins without any trouble.


    As the horde of 10 goblins approached our group of 12 students, I was the first to... step away from the frontline!


    Watching Irene cast countless fireballs, Ruby with her fire-tornados, and Zach charging into the battlefield with his battle axe in his hands, I patiently waited until the entire battlefield was covered by smoke before making my move.


    Using dash to appear in the center of the battlefield, I took out my daggers, now completely covered in a night-black aura, before locating the various goblins with my eyes.


    Like a true assassin, I silently crept around the battlefield, killing each goblin with a clean dagger strike right into the heart.


    As the aura surrounding my dagger grew in size, I could also feel my mana capacity growing bigger, and my elemental slashes seemed to grow more powerful.


    The Corruption of the Night was essentially fuel for the rest of the movements. The more fuel you had, the longer you could use other skills and the more powerful they were.


    As for my planning, I was able to find time to visit various stores and areas without the others noticing. Well, Ruby would notice occasionally and tag along, but I didn''t really mind as she didn''t question my motives.


    Thus, the last day of the training camp arrived, and only one group was sent home for failing a task.


    Walking up the ramp to the ship, I could feel the freedom as we were no longer forced to stick together with our group besides the banquet in the evening.


    Immediately heading to my room, I pulled out my new cloak from my backpack and laid it out on my bed.


    After getting my room situated, I headed back down the stairs to the breakfast hall, where hundreds of students were already eating and talking.


    Waiting at the hostess stand, I looked around for a second before confirming that there were indeed no tables left.


    The hall should have been large enough to accommodate our first-years, but the problem was that students were sitting at the tables with empty plates and talking instead of just leaving.


    "Currently, we are at maximum capacity; however, if you''re willing to share a table with another guest, we can accommodate you in two minutes."


    Nodding my head, I sat down in the restaurant lobby while browsing my smartwatch. Let''s see what my luck decides to be today: G- or S+!


    Better to know it now than to be surprised during the incident when 10 S+ ranks randomly show up and jump me.


    Receiving a gesture from the waiter, I got up and followed her to a table that sat in the corner of the hall and right next to the window, displaying the sea that seemed to sparkle under the sunlight.


    Sitting down at one of the three chairs, I wasted no time grabbing my plate and heading towards the buffet area.


    Today was going to be a long day. No matter how much planning and strategizing I did, there were bound to be variables that could cause me to adjust or even completely change my plan, rendering all my effort useless.


    After scooping a variety of food onto my plate, I headed back to my table, where a bag was now wrapped around one of the chairs.


    Taking out my smartwatch, I sent a quick message to Han and Jin, letting them know I would be unavailable today.


    [Ren: Will be busy today.]


    [Jin: ??? Wdym, this banquet is actually the perfect place for you to get with that girl.]


    [Ren: What girl?]


    [Han: He''s talking about the transfer student, I think.]


    Yeah, let me just ask out my boss, who is one of the biggest threats to the world!


    [Ren: yeah, yeah, Jin, why don''t worry about getting a girl yourself.]


    [Jin: Low blow...]


    [Han: he''s right, you know.] S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [Jin: Look at whose talking? Han, really?]


    Putting down my smartwatch, I began to enjoy the scrambled eggs and toast on my plate. The soft and fluttery texture of the eggs danced on my tongue, while the toast''s saltiness perfectly complemented the eggs. The sweetness of the apple juice next to me just made the already amazing meal immaculate.


    If only the academy cafeteria food was this good...


    During my last fight in the museum, I accidentally learned about the third movement of the shadow arts. When I placed my corrupted daggers to the mana cage of the caster, I had done it as a subconscious reaction, and it had caused the blue mana cage to turn to pitch-black


    What if I made a mana cage of my own and then corrupted it so I could have my class''s perfect environment whenever I wanted?


    That was the whole idea of the third movement.


    A Shadow Cage.


    By spreading out my mana and creating a mana cage, then corrupting the cage with my daggers, I could create an area with absolutely no light, activating my cloak and creating the flawless habitat for an assassin.


    The third movement also increased my capability in handling spell attacks, as by touching my dagger to a spell attack like a fireball, I could somewhat corrupt it and take control of it.


    If I held my daggers long enough to a fireball, I could completely steal control over the spell and send it right back at the caster.


    Well, the domain part was easier said than done, as after an entire week of practicing, I could barely even cover myself with the shadow cage.


    The entire movement depended on my ability to control and spread my mana, and my ability to do that was connected with the severity of the wound on my hands. So, technically, I already had full mastery over the movement. If I made a deep enough wound on my hand without killing myself, I could flawlessly create a shadow cage whose size would be unknown even to me.


    Of course, with the cruise ship incident coming up, I hadn''t been crazy enough to do something like that, but who knows what could happen on the cruise ship?


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, a very jolly voice suddenly came out from my left side.


    "Hey, Ren! Even though we''re not required to stay together anymore, I think as groupmates, we should still st-"


    "I''d rather jump off the ship, Zach."


    "... actually, well, I was assigned to sit here by the waitress, so if you don''t mind, I''ll g-"


    "I actually do mind. This confrontation alone has ruined my appetite."


    "..."


    Ignoring Zach''s crumbling figure, I picked up my fork and went in for another bite when another voice sounded from in front of me.


    "Ren? Zach? Are you two sitting here as well?"


    A very relieved Zach sparked up at the prospect of not being alone with me as he responded.


    "Scarlett, hey! Yeah, we were sitting he-"


    "Who''s we? I just said I do mind."


    "Ignore him, Zach; he''s grumpy in the mornings."


    "?How would you know that?"


    Ignoring my question like always, Ruby headed towards the buffet with Zach following behind like a sad golden retriever.


    Well, I guess I''m in for a streak of bad luck today!


    I would say, at least Irene isn''t here, but at this point, I wouldn''t be surprised in the slightest if she just appeared at the table.


    But seriously, what were the odds of us 3 all deciding to eat at the same exact time?


    After finishing the last of my eggs, I decided against going for another round and instead went back to my room.


    Sitting down on my bed in a lotus meditating pose, I stabbed the tip of my dagger slightly into the palm of both my hands, feeling the mana immediately flowing alongside my blood to the wounds.


    Instead of controlling my mana and channeling it all into my daggers, I did my best to let my mana run wild as a small blue barrier surrounded my figure, trapping me inside.


    Feeling the amount of mana decreasing, I stopped the leaking of mana and began sending the blue orbs into my daggers.


    Seeing the pitch-black aura surrounding my daggers, I placed the tip of one of them onto the blue cage. The intersection spot became black, then quickly spread like a plague before covering the entire cage in pitch-black.


    This movement did not require skill or practice. It was simply: put more mana in, get a bigger cage. After one week of trying to use the movement, I had finally come to that conclusion.


    Then, how does one progress to the next movement? I technically already have full mastery of this movement, yet the information on the next movement still isn''t available.


    Drawing back in my mana, the cage disappeared, revealing the sun shining through my cabin''s window.


    I had hit a wall in progression for the Eclipse arts, so is time to switch?


    Well, if I had hit a regular wall in progress for my Eclipse art, then I would have hit the Great Wall of China in my progress for Dragon''s Will.


    No progression had been made in that AT ALL.


    ===Menu===


    User : Ren Montclair


    [Class: Rookie Assassin: (Level 2: 92%) ]


    -> Stealth : D+


    -> Intermediate Dagger Mastery : 95%


    -> Arts: Eclipse Blade [3/5]


    [Stats]


    -> Rating : D {Dream not yet completed}


    -> Strength : E+


    -> Agility : D


    -> Stamina : E+


    -> Magic Power : D+


    -> Luck: G-S {Conditional}


    -> Intelligence : E


    -> Charm : G+


    [Traits]


    -> Passive: Dragon''s Will [1 / ?]


    ---> Dragon Eyes : Your eyesight is enhanced.


    [Skills]


    -> [[E] Dash] : Not requiring any mana usage, the skill allows the user to move 10 meters from their current location in any direction with a cooldown period of 7 seconds. The skill does not instantly move the user but temporarily increases the user''s speed until they move 10 meters.


    =======


    Completing my next dream would take who knows how long, so I decided to attempt it any time after the cruise ship incident.


    Getting off my bed, I patched up the small wounds on my hands before walking to my room''s terrace.


    Yes, every single room on this gigantic cruise ship had a terrace.


    Putting my hands on the railing, I peered down into the ocean, examining the various species of fish and resisting the urge to jump off the railing and into the ocean below. At this point, it just felt like second nature to do so.


    With all my preparations made, I passed the time by covering any wounds with bandages and peering into the ocean with a wistful gaze like a king looking over his kingdom.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Finally, it was time.

 Chapter 52 - 52:Banquet [1]

    Hanging my cloak on my shoulders but not putting my arms through the sleeves, I walked out of the hotel room, the bottom of my cloak hovering right above the floor.


    My main goal was not to allow Liam to defeat the djinns, as in the book; rather, it was to allow the djinns to take hostages.


    Enraged by the djinns'' actions against his fellow classmates, Liam unlocks a new ability and uses it to defeat the djinns. This ability is used throughout the book, so Liam''s not receiving it would pose a massive threat to my attempts to maintain the plot.


    By analyzing Lily''s past interferences in the book, it was clear that she wanted to protect and ensure the safety of innocent bystanders. So, I was almost certain that she would make a play here to prevent hostages from being taken, inadvertently stopping Liam from unlocking his new ability.


    But... what was the play?


    Walking down the set of stairs, I finally reached the banquet area, where I could see various luxurious chandeliers hanging from the high ceiling, countless tables spread about, and even a dance floor, which was currently empty.


    Each table was shared between 2 groups, and with my current luck, I had a decent idea of which group I was going to sit with.


    Well, can I really call it bad luck? What if sitting with them is actually good luck?


    Finding my table, I saw Irene and Zach sitting at the table next to some empty seats. Zach wore a tuxedo with a red bowtie, and his short brown hair was slicked back, revealing his regular-sized forehead.


    On the other hand, Irene wore a one-piece red dress that revealed the pale-white skin on her right leg while the other leg was completely covered. Her red hair was tied back in a ponytail, and her eyes seemed to contain more fire in them than usual.


    The empty seats either had bags or backpacks near them, so it seemed that the other group had arrived but left already to get their food.


    Of course, Zach and Irene were stuck waiting for Ruby and I.


    Glancing at the food area, I saw everyone was either wearing suits or elegant dresses, making me and my cloak, which wasn''t even properly on, look out of place.


    There was no dress code; what is this!?


    Pushing back my hair off my forehead, I sat down on the chair next to Zach and patiently waited for Ruby.


    After another minute, I saw Ruby walking into the banquet area in a black dress that sparkled when light reflected against it. Her glossy, long black hair was parted to the right.


    Upon seeing Ruby, the three of us got up and headed to the food area, which already had a long line of people. Despite the hundreds of people in the room, I could feel Irene''s piercing gaze locked onto me.


    Didn''t Ruby arrive later than me? Why am I being blamed?


    Interrupting my thoughts, I heard Ruby''s voice speak out from behind me.


    "You know... no dress code doesn''t mean show up like..."


    Although the cloak was considered a magical artifact, it did NOT look like one. With some burns and rips from my fight in subspace combined with the entire thing being colored pitch-black, it looked like something you could get from a vendor for less than a silver coin.


    "You know, fashion is subjective, right?"


    Interrupting our conversation, Irene interjected.


    "Not when you look like that."


    Hearing someone break into laughter behind me, I resisted the urge to retort before finding some familiar faces ahead of us in the line.


    Ignoring Ruby and Irene, I walked out of the line and headed towards the front. Upon getting to the front of the line, I squeezed my way in before wrapping my hands around the shoulders of Han and Jin, who were right at the front.


    The two of them were wearing jeans, a collared shirt, and an oversized jacket with a logo. I could always count on them!


    "What''s up, friends?"


    "Oh hey Ren, it''s you. When''d you get here?"


    "shhhh, Han. Look in front of us...!"


    Following Jin''s gaze, I saw one of the imperial princesses, Kate, scooping some food out of one of the buffet containers only a few feet in front of us.


    Nudging Jin''s shoulder, I said.


    "Oi, don''t get your hopes up."


    Trying to comfort Jin after he was rejected by a girl was the LAST thing I wanted to do right now.


    Grabbing a plate, I ignored the stares of the tens of students I had cut in line and surveyed the food choices.


    Heading back to the table, I saw some familiar faces sitting alongside Zach: Kevin, Liam, Lily, and Alya.


    Who would have thought that? Oh wait, I did! How does luck even work? Were they originally supposed to sit somewhere else, but my luck changed that and made them sit with me? Isn''t that just fate, then? Or destiny?


    As I halted a couple of feet away from the table, Ruby caught up and asked.


    "What?"


    "I think I''ll eat on the floor today."


    Staring at our table, Ruby replied.


    "... that bad, huh?"


    By now, Ruby should probably have heard all the rumors about my encounter with Liam at the start of school and the rumors about Lily and Ren.


    "..."


    "Out of 200 groups in the hall... just how unlucky are you?"


    "...you don''t wanna know."


    Well, it''s not like they''ll kick me off the ship mid-banquet if I''m not with my group... right?


    "What the hell are you guys waiting fo-. Oh..."


    Behind us, Irene also stared at our table with a dismayed expression.


    As the three of us stood in silence with our plates of food in hand, Irene made the first move as she walked toward our table.


    Staring down at the delicious food on my plate, I contemplated just leaving and exploring the ship until the time came, but how could I let this food go...


    "Is it really that hard of a decision?"


    "... don''t rush me."


    As I picked up a piece of medium-rare steak, the juices squeezing out, and put it in my mouth, my decision was made.


    Who cares about Liam or others?


    I was saving the world, too! Why can''t I get a break?


    Strolling over to the table, I ignored the conversation going on and sat down at my seat, which was next to Ruby and across from Lily''s seat.


    Picking up my fork, I didn''t even acknowledge the others at the table and focused completely on the perfectly cooked and seasoned steak.


    "Oh, Zach, what happened at the museum that day?"


    "I already told you, Liam; it was nothing big. We just held off some djinns until the actual heroes came in."


    At the words "we," I heard a slight laugh come from my right, where Ruby sat.


    "Got something to say?"


    "*PFFT*, y-you s-said, ''I''m good on that,'' then r-ran l-like a- *PFFT* i-i c-can''t"


    Wait, no, wasn''t she in the wrong? Both of us are villains, not heroes!


    Letting out a slight cough to cover Ruby''s laughing noise, I looked up from my plate of food to immediately meet Lily''s gaze.


    Entranced by her ocean-blue eyes, I kept eye contact for a second before turning my head to Ruby, acting like nothing had happened.


    "Alright, I''m done."


    Paying no mind to the ongoing conversation, I got up from my seat, which made a screeching sound and headed to the empty dance floor.


    By now, the djinns should be on the cruise ship and making their way to the banquet area; however, Lily had definitely set up some kind of defense system to stop them.


    "Well, let''s see if the past 2 weeks have been for something..."


    I needed a distraction. Neither Lily nor I knew the exact location or area where the djinns had infiltrated, and it was impossible for Lily to defend the entirety of this gigantic ship.


    That would mean her plan would be on standby until she noticed something abnormal, and then, once noticing something, she would commence her plan.


    Reaching my hand into my cloak pocket, I felt the smooth and cold surface of a small button alongside the hilt of my daggers.


    Pushing my hand down further, I pressed the button, feeling it shrink down under the pressure of my hand.


    *BOOM*


    *BOOM*


    *BOOM*


    The sound of 3 explosions echoed throughout the ship, and the shockwaves shook the floor, causing some people to lose their balance and drop their drinks.


    Keeping the hand in my pocket, I glanced at my table out of the corner of my eye and saw Lily immediately reaching for her smartwatch.


    It wasn''t just Lily, though...


    Kevin, Alya, Liam, and even Zach were also reaching for their smartwatch.


    Ah... the guard and school wouldn''t trust Lily if she randomly said there would be a djinn attack on the ship today... but who would? sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The main cast.


    So, to save the world, I have to go against the very beings who are destined to save the world.


    "What a joke..."


    Silencing everyone amidst the chaos, Liam''s loud voice echoed throughout the room.


    "EVERYONE EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY."


    ah, not good...


    How are the djinns going to take hostages if there''s no one even here?


    Well, I wasn''t completely unprepared. All I had to do was keep everyone here until the djinns appeared.


    Pressing further down on the button with my hand, another explosion sounded; however, this one wasn''t at the bottom of the ship.


    *BOOM*


    The roof right above the set of double doors, which were the only exit to the banquet room, immediately collapsed. Debris, brick, and dust now covered up the exit, halting everyone who was rushing towards it.

 Chapter 53 - 53:Banquet [2]

    Snapping everyone out of their daze, Liam, who, after speaking to Lily for a moment, immediately announced.


    "FIND ANOTHER WAY OUT!"


    Most people would disobey or just ignore Liam, a commoner, but in the past year, Liam has come to be known as one of the most powerful students due to being ranked highly, being part of the student council, and being friends with the main cast.


    With all those accomplishments and Lily, Kevin, and Alya behind him, everyone blindly followed his instructions as if he were their leader.


    I mean, I swear I even saw Han and Jin following his orders just now when, last night, they had been making fun of him in the group chat!


    It was only a matter of time until they cleared their way through the rubble, and I had no more explosives to use.


    Grabbing a grass-green colored potion from my pocket, I shied away from the crowd and the watching eyes of the main cast, heading to the corner of the room.


    In that corner of the room stood around 5 people who were barely able to stand with the support of the wall, and they were oblivious to the situation happening around them as they continued to laugh their asses off while just staring at the wall.


    "Seriously... getting drunk at a banquet is insane."


    Well, don''t worry, Celestial Academy, I''ll punish these delinquents for you!


    After taking my cloak off my shoulders, I put it on properly, causing its pitch-black color to disappear and be replaced by a blood-red color.


    Taking my daggers out of my pocket, I stabbed both of my hands, and instead of letting the blood fall to the ground, I pulled out my arm and let the blood fall out onto my cloak, creating a flower symbol.


    My previous black cloak now had various red streaks along the middle of it, and on its arms, it had a blood-colored flower symbol.


    If an unaffiliated random person showed up, Lily and the school''s investigators would find it far too suspicious, so I would just have to demonstrate that I was related to an evil organization.


    Of course, it couldn''t be a real evil organization, as Ruby would probably know all of them, so I was basically faking being part of a non-existent organization¡ªor technically, I was creating an evil organization!


    Was I finally moving up the ranks in the villain world? Could... I be... a second-rate villain..?


    Nearing the corner of the banquet hall where the drunk students were stumbling about, I stamped my foot down hard on the already weakened floor, causing the drunkards who were barely holding onto the wall to lose balance and fall to the floor.


    Unscrewing the cap of the green-colored bottle, I held my bleeding hand above it, allowing droplets of my blood to fall into the potion. Instantly, the potion''s green color transformed into a dark purple, signifying that it was ready for consumption.


    After delivering a swift blow to the nape of one of the drunks, rendering him unconscious, I held up his head and forcibly opened his mouth before pouring the entirety of the dark-purple potion into his mouth.


    Dropping the empty potion bottle onto the floor, I watched it shatter into thousands of glass fragments, making it seem like another case of someone dropping a beverage due to the explosion.


    Stepping back, I watched the student''s face quickly transform to mimic my exact face. Of course, it wasn''t exact, as I had accumulated some wounds from rubble falling on me, but it was good enough to fool anyone who didn''t have my enhanced eyesight.


    His body type was also different from mine, but I doubted that amidst all the chaos, people would take the time to examine his body type rather than just look at his face.


    Pulling the hood of my cloak down, completely concealing my face, I wasted no time as I took out my daggers and watched them light up with a night-black aura from the Corruption of The Night.


    Unfortunately, today wasn''t going to be an aura farming session.


    Swinging my daggers at the air, I sent 3 small elemental slashes right at every chandelier and light source in the room.


    *BZZT*


    The once fully lit up room was now enveloped in darkness, only small parts of the room visible due to the moon shining through the windows.


    Jumping from table to table silently, I reached the pile of rubble blocking the exit, where tens of students were already doing their best to clear it with their bare hands.


    As it was a banquet, no one brought any weapons or swords; well, the main cast did, probably due to Lily''s warning about the attack.


    Seeing the students run into chaos due to the sudden darkness and Lily talking with Liam, Kevin, and Alya, I wasted no time as I sent a night-black elemental slash right at the students, clearing the rubble.


    The room, now illuminated by my elemental slash, displayed a scene of ten students standing weaponless and frightened in front of a flying slash that seemed as dark as the night sky hurling toward them.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    "Lily, now what? The lights went off."


    "I''m not sure, keep trying to find an ex-"


    *BZZT*


    Instantly capturing the attention of the four main cast members, an elemental slash flew through the room, illuminating its target of the ten innocent students.


    Even though not a single word was said, the four immediately sprang into action as Lily pulled out her wand, casting a current of wind that instantly propelled Kevin and Liam toward the slash.


    Alya pulled out her ice-covered sword and immediately created a barrier of ice between the helpless students and the elemental slash.


    Finally, Liam and Kevin, who were flying right at the elemental slash, had their swords in hand and faced the slash directly.


    Confronted by the two''s swords, the elemental slash got sent right back to where it came from, hitting a wall near the corner of the room.


    Desperate and on edge, Liam screamed out.


    "WE NEED LIGHT!"


    Instantly, a red inferno of fire appeared in the hands of Irene, who was sitting awestruck at the table beside Ruby and Zach. Unlike Lily''s group, these 3 had no idea that the attack was going to happen.


    If only they had someone like Lily in their group...


    Now, being able to see everything once again, Liam regrouped with everyone at the original table.


    Unbeknownst to them, there was one issue. There was a slight difference between magical fire and natural fire. While natural fires are technically light sources as they result from combustion chemical reactions, magical fires do NOT constitute being a light source as they are created from mana.


    Looking at Irene, Ruby, and Zach''s confused expressions, Lily started off by explaining the situation.


    "Look, we''re being attacked by a group of djinns who plan to take us hostage to blackmail the academy. I can''t say much now as we''re low on time, but that''s the situation."


    Looking at the three nodding their heads, Lily paused for a second before continuing.


    "However, there is a problem right now. One of these djinns or another enemy is in this room right now..."


    Confused, Zach asked.


    "Wait, how do you know that one of them is w-"


    Kevin, who had been silent up till now, angrily responded.


    "You idiot, where the hell do you think that elemental slash came from."


    Interrupting them was Liam, who was in a state of panic after staring at the already injured students from the explosions earlier.


    "Ignore them. What do we do now, Lily?"


    Pausing for a moment, Lily glanced around the table before asking.


    "...has anyone seen Ren?"


    "Yeah, I did."


    Expanding the fire in her hand, Irene lit up more of the room and then pointed to the corner where an unconscious Ren lay on the floor beside a couple of other people.


    "It''s kinda his thing to run away when anything remotely dangerous happens."


    "... *PFFT*"


    "KEVIN, IS NOW THE TIME TO LAUGH?"


    "...my bad, dude, but honestly, just look at h-"


    "Enough. Our primary goal remains the same. Get out of the banquet hall. It''s only a matter of time before more djinns come, and then they take us hostage."


    Nodding at Lily''s words, Liam stood on the table and loudly announced, capturing everyone''s attention.


    "WE NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE!"


    Picking up the utensil knives from the table, the remaining group of students walked towards the exit alongside Lily''s group.


    Alya, who had been silent due to the severity of the situation, picked up her sword and manifested 5 icicle spears above her head. Not skipping the beat, the icicles immediately hurled towards the pile of rubble.


    However, before the ice could reach the rubble, another night-black elemental slash intersected it. The elemental reaction caused by the ice and darkness hitting each other generated a grey fog that enveloped part of the room.


    "LILY, HE''S OVER HERE."


    Alya was smart. She knew that she wouldn''t be able to destroy the rubble without any interference. She actually wanted the interference so that she could find the location of the intruder.


    Lily, who was waiting for Alya''s signal, cast 2 wind tornados, but she stopped right in her tracks mid-cast.


    The icicles that Alya had created were now flying right back at her, seemingly having a mind of their own... Alya had no idea, as she was looking straight at Lily.


    Changing the direction of her attack, Lily sent the tornados right at the returning ice spear and screamed.


    "ALYA, MOVE!"


    Hearing Lily''s urgency, Alya immediately dove to the right, narrowly evading the wind tornado. Looking back, Alya''s confusion only intensified as she saw her own icicle spears attacking her while Lily''s tornadoes held them off.


    As another bout of smoke appeared from the elemental reaction between the tornado and the ice, Liam, Zach, and Irene joined them outside the smoke area.


    "What''s going on?"


    "Liam, the intruder is preventing us from leaving."


    "Alright, I''ll take care of him, you gu-"


    Pausing mid-sentence, Liam noticed no one was paying attention to him. He followed the others'' gaze and saw a figure emerging from the smoke.


    Clad in a mix of blood-red and pitch-black colors, a figure emerged from the smoke with two ominous dark shapes in his hands.


    They couldn''t even be identified as weapons. They were just roughly the shape of something covered by a black aura.


    Before anyone could say anything, the figure swung the two ominous shapes at them, releasing an elemental slash that was as dark as a black hole right at all five of them.


    S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 54 - 54:Banquet [3]

    "DUCK!"


    At Lily''s words, the 6 students dove toward the ground, narrowly avoiding the slash as it whizzed right above their heads.


    Glancing ahead, Lily looked at where the cloaked figure had been previously, but he was no longer there. In fact, he wasn''t anywhere in their sight; he had disappeared right back into the smoke.


    Snapping Lily out of her thoughts, Liam spoke up with his sword aimed towards the smoke.


    "It''s just one of them."


    "Even if it''s just one... we have to get to the exit and defeat him while he just has to stop us from clearing out the exit."


    Nodding at Alya''s words, Lily regrouped with others, her wand ready to cast a spell at any moment.


    "We need to do something about that smoke."


    "Oh, good fucking insight, Captain Obvious. What? Are you going to tell us we need to escape this room next?"


    "Kevin and Liam. Is this really the time?"


    "..."


    "..."


    Irene, standing at the edge of the group with the fire still burning in her hand, considered using her fire to burn away the smoke but dismissed it because it could backfire and add more smoke.


    Yet again, she was useless.


    Interrupting the silence, Alya asked.


    "Lily, why don''t you use water to dilute the smoke and make it slowly disappear."


    "That could work... but the time it would take."


    "Why don''t we just go into the smoke and take him out? It''s a 6v1."


    "I think we might actually agree on something, Liam. Am I dreaming?"


    "Shut it, moron."


    Lily turned to Alya, Zach, and Irene, who nodded their heads at Liam''s suggestion. Why did they need to devise a complicated plan?


    It was 6 main cast members against some random third-rate villain!


    Recalling the earlier scene where Alya''s icicles came flying back at her, Lily nodded her head before saying.


    "Alright, but be careful of your own spells as well as his."


    "Yeah, don''t worry about it, Lily. I''ll take care of that random for you."


    "Yo, Kevin, do you even think before you speak? Like, are you really flirting right now? This might actually be a dream."


    "Big talk from someone who''s never spoken to a girl."


    "Yo, are you fucking stup-"


    "Time and place, you two."


    At this point, Lily felt like a chaperone on a kindergarten field trip. Was she really entrusting the fate of the world to these two?


    As the 6 of them got ready to charge into the smoke, Zach pulled out his hand and placed it in the center of their huddle.


    "t-team Celestial Academy on 3! 3... 2..."


    "Yo, shut the hell up, will you?"


    "..."


    This time, Lily didn''t even intervene at Kevin''s ill-tempered words.


    While Liam, Kevin, and Zach directly charged into the smoke with their weapons pointed forward, Lily, Alya, and Irene stood at the edge with their wands shining, indicating that their spells were ready to be cast.


    Inside the smoke, Zach, having lost sight of both Liam and Kevin, swung around his axe, temporarily clearing the smoke before it immediately regrouped.


    The villain couldn''t have planned the smoke, as Alya spontaneously decided to send the icicles. That meant if Zach couldn''t see, the enemy couldn''t either.


    Thus, Zach didn''t feel any need to be prepared while walking around. His main goal was to locate the villain and relay his location to the 3 girls, who were waiting with their spells ready outside the smoke.


    Swinging his battle axe once again, Zach cleared the smoke in front of him. Through that gap he cleared, he could see a pitch-black elemental slash charging towards him.


    Then, next the second, the gap closed, and the smoke regrouped, hiding Zach''s vision of elemental slash.


    Blindly diving to the right, Zach felt something bang against his chest and looked downwards, seeing that he was now lying flat on a table.


    Having the wind knocked out of him due to the diving on the table, Zach struggled to get up until, finally, he was able to sit upright on the top of the table.


    Looking forward, Zach saw something variation in the grey fog. A pitch-black color was spreading and replacing the grey color of the fog. The black color was spreading quickly towards the area where Zach was sitting down.


    Before Zach could react or dodge, he heard a voice speaking directly into his ears.


    "Have a good dream."


    With a soft chop on the nape of Zach''s neck, he fell unconscious, his body sprawled out across the half-broken table.


    Somewhere else in the large fog, Liam and Kevin were walking side by side, searching for the cloaked figure.


    "Why the hell are you following me?"


    "Is your ego so big that you trick yourself into believing the lies you make, Kevin?"


    "Aren''t you a delusional one? You''re quite literally following me right now." S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Can you put aside your ego for one fucking second? Do you really wanna split up in this gigantic smoke? Why would we let the villain fight us 1 by 1 instead of just fighting him together?"


    " *tsk* You really are delusional. Didn''t you leave behind, Zach?"


    "I lost track of him in the fog, so I followed you. Is that all of your questions? Do you want to know my favorite colors and hobbies now?"


    "Look ah-"


    "Oh no, Kevin, maybe you want to know my favorite dish? My fav-"


    "LOOK AHEAD OF YOU."


    Sensing the urgency in Kevin''s voice, Liam looked forward and saw smoke suddenly parting, revealing the cloaked figure only a few steps in front of them.


    "HERE!"


    Instantly, dozens of icicles, fireballs, and wind bullets flew towards the three of them, causing the smoke to further disperse.


    Combined with the fact that Lily had been slowly diluting the smoke with water magic, the smoke was on its last legs, as you could actually see through parts of it now.


    As the spells neared the figure of the defenseless villain, who couldn''t even dodge as Kevin and Liam were surrounding him, a smile appeared on Liam''s face.


    A moment later, that smile disappeared.


    "w-what?"


    The villain was gone; he had disappeared.


    The spells meant for the villain hit the wall behind him, causing further damage to the room. As a result, more rubble fell from the roof, further blocking the exit route.


    "BE CAREFUL!"


    Hearing Lily''s scream behind him, Liam snapped out of his confusion and disbelief before surveying his surroundings. The smoke was now gone, or in other words, the villain had nowhere to hide.


    After looking around the room a moment, Liam was about to walk to the other side of the room to search when a sudden shriek echoed from behind him.


    "HEL-"


    Instantly, Liam turned around to see a masked figure standing right behind Irene with his hand wrapped around her mouth.


    Before Liam could even react, Lily was already on the move. She summoned a portal that immediately flung out an endless amount of water right at the villain.


    However, it was too late. Irene''s body fell onto the floor, and most importantly, the fires dancing on Irene''s palm disappeared, returning the room to complete darkness.


    The moonlight shone through the windows, illuminating the villain standing over Irene''s body, still holding the odd pitch-black shapes.


    Facing the water beam directly, the villain held his daggers up to the water, slightly faltering and being pushed back by the pressure of the water.


    Recovering from their shock, the other 3 immediately made their moves as Liam and Kevin charged toward the villain while Alya summoned a lance made out of pure ice and hurled it at the villain.


    However, the villain remained in front of the water beam, not making any attempts to dodge or move.


    Then, the water beam halted. Lily watched in confusion as the source of the water beam, the portal, moved without her permission and flung towards the villain.


    Now with the portal floating right above the villain''s head, the water beam flowed out of the portal once again, this time heading straight for the charging Kevin and Liam.


    Surprised by the sudden twist, the two barely managed to dodge as the water beam grazed Kevin''s clothes, immediately causing him to become drenched.


    As the portal changed directions and hit the ice lance, instantly shattering it into hundreds of pieces, Liam and Kevin scrambled to regroup with Lily, who was standing in front of one of the windows.


    A moment later, the portal entirely disappeared, and the villain, who was no longer illuminated by the moonlight, was nowhere to be seen.


    "LILY, WHAT THE HELL WAS T-"


    "No time for questions, Liam; there''s been a change of plans."


    Gesturing towards the window beside her, Lily said.


    "There''s another way to leave."


    Considering the option for the moment, Alya asked.


    "How are we going to get everyone out of here? Zach, Irene, and the others. Sure, we can make it out, but not them."


    "Welp guys, we''ve tried our best, I think it is t-"


    "Shut it, Kevin, and listen to her."


    Seeing Liam gesture to her, Lily opened the window and continued.


    "Look down."


    On the surface of the ocean below the window stood 3 normal-sized ships, each equipped with various canons.


    "w-what, h-how? I thought you didn''t tell anyone e-"


    "Look closely, Liam."


    Upon closer inspection, Liam realized that each boat was plastered with Elven royal family symbols, and the boat''s flag was the image of the World Tree.


    "W-was this your backup plan...?"


    As Alya and Lily nodded their heads, Kevin angrily exclaimed.


    "WHY DIDN''T YOU TELL US?"


    "Would you really have stalled to the best of your abilities if you knew it was all a diversion?"


    Having no response to Lily''s question, Kevin muttered something under his breath before turning to Liam, who responded.


    "Does it even matter anymore? Let''s get going."


    While Alya and Lily went to the bodies of the two fallen main cast members, Liam gathered the students and guided them through the darkness towards the open window.


    Beside Liam stood Kevin, who had his sword equipped and ready for any attack that could come.


    However, there was no attack.


    The four of them gathered all of the students, even the drunken and uncoscous ones, at the open window.


    "...isn''t something off."


    "Liam''s right, Lily. The villain can''t just be letting us go..."


    "Maybe, he got scared of my almightyness and ran off."


    "Kevin, I don''t think you even got close to him for more than a second."


    Maintaing a calm composure, Lily simply pulled out her wand and turned to the others.


    "Get ready."


    In her mind, there was only one reason why the villain would stop attacking.


    Reinforcements had arrived for him.


    The ground shook, and the roof above the food area collapsed, causing more rubble to fall and block the original exit.


    After all the dust was cleared out, the image of 5 djinns, each with a set of red horns and longswords, could be seen standing on the remannts of the roof.

 Chapter 55 - 55:Banquet [4]

    Stepping forward, the leader of the djinns wore a grin while speaking. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Well, well, what do we have here? Are our little pups trying to escape?"


    Her sparkling red horns lit up the dark room, illuminating the main cast alongside Ruby and others standing near the open window.


    Dropping a ladder out of the open window and down to the boat, Alya said.


    "We need more time."


    "Unfortunately, we can''t let you have that. You have my dearest condolences!"


    With those words, a blood-red aura enveloped all of the djinns before materializing in the form of tens of sharp red discs.


    Time seemed to slow for Liam as dozens of blood-red disks surged towards them, each of the disks capable of killing more than 3 people.


    With his sword, Liam was only capable of defending against one or, at best, two disks, so what were we supposed to do against dozens of them?


    "DEFEND!"


    Stepping forward, Alya cast an ice barrier right in front of the incoming disks while Lily created a shield of water right behind the ice barrier to slow the disks'' speed.


    As the disks pierced the ice barrier and raced through the water shield, Liam and Kevin stood in front of the group, their swords pointed at the remaining seven disks.


    Holding their swords horizontally, Kevin and Liam each took on 3 disks while leaving the last one for Lily and Alya, who were helping get people down the ladder and onto the ships below.


    After being pushed back by the discs and into the wall, Liam and Kevin managed to redirect the discs to a nearby wall, away from their fellow students.


    However, despite his attack being completely foiled, Djinn''s expression didn''t change a single bit.


    Instead, he raised his hand again. The horns of the djinns behind him began glowing a dark red as 12 more discs manifested above their heads.


    "Usually, I would just get it over with... but now, I feel like playing with my prey. Who''s gonna save you out here in the middle of the ocean? We have ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD!"


    "Ah, those expressions of yours. Can''t wait to see them again in 10 minutes."


    Alongside the disks, chains broke through the floor beneath the djinns and surged toward the four main cast members, preventing them from blocking the disks.


    "WHAT DO WE DO?"


    "I-i d-don''t know."


    Lily couldn''t even plan for this scenario. In the book, all that was mentioned was Liam gaining a power-up and defeating the powerful djinns, so she couldn''t have predicted their attacks or movements.


    Turning to Liam, with her hands clenched in desperation, Lily said.


    "Do something, Liam."


    "???"


    After a moment of silence, Kevin exclaimed.


    "YOU''RE PUTTING OUR LIVES IN THIS IDIOTS HANDS, LILY??"


    Even Alya seemed concerned by Lily''s words as she replied.


    "...Lily, maybe we should take our loss and leave."


    "*PFFT*"


    Even Ren, who was hiding in the shadows, couldn''t help but laugh at Lily''s outrageous words. Of course, Ren was just laughing rather than doing something because he knew those outrageous lines would actually work, as Liam now had achieved the perfect conditions to obtain his power-up.


    They and the students were at risk of dying or being kidnapped, the djinns were here attacking them, and finally, there was an escape route present.


    Those were the 3 conditions that needed to be fulfilled.


    "I-I''ll t-try. W-we can''t just leave these students behind. If we wanted to survive in the first place, we would have never gotten on the cruise ship."


    "Why did we even come to the banquet in the first place? What was this planning and effort for if we just left now?"


    "All four of us wanted to save these people; that was our goal at the start, and it still is."


    After giving a solemn nod to Lily and a quick wave to Alya, Liam turned around and punched Kevin as hard as he could in the chest.


    "WHAT THE HEL-"


    "Always wanted to do that before I died!"


    Leaning down, Liam patted both Zach and Irene''s unconscious bodies before pulling out his sword and facing the incoming chains.


    Made of pure blood, the chains were dark red instead of metallic gray, and they showed no mercy as they rampaged through the tables and chairs in the room to reach Liam.


    The fact that the chain was able to pierce through the tough wood of the table without even slowing down said enough. One hit and that chain would pierce right through Liam''s body.


    Staring down the incoming chains, Liam laughed for a moment before saying to himself.


    "Didn''t this already happen once?"


    Ah, yes, at the amusement park, Liam had faced this exact some ordeal and made it out alive, all be it with some luck.


    He had survived last time, so why wouldn''t he this time?


    As the chains neared Liam''s figure, he briefly turned around and saw Alya alongside Lily, sending the hostages down the ladder with grim expressions.


    There was also Kevin, but he was just giving Liam the middle finger while clutching the lower half of his body with a pained expression.


    "Is the last thing I see really going to be that bastard...? I''ll be damned."


    At least he wasn''t dying for nothing.


    Born an outskirt rat to a poor family, Liam was very familiar with the concept of selfishness. In fact, it was his whole ideology!


    Stealing from vendors to get food, fighting other beggars to receive money from civilians, and even attacking other rats who dared to enter your territory.


    Growing up, Liam was forced to endure and adapt to these conditions.


    Beg, attack, steal. Beg, attack, steal. Beg, attack, steal. An endless loop, with one goal.


    It was all to survive. That was all that mattered to Liam.


    No matter how many terrible actions or crimes Liam committed, he never felt bad. Whether it was robbing a fellow beggar for money or stealing bread from a market stand on the fringe of collapsing, Liam always walked away with the same indifferent expression.


    Why should he care? None of it was his fault, was it?


    Was it his fault he was born on the outskirts? Was it his fault that he was born to a poor family? If all he was doing was adapting to his environment, why should he be blamed?


    All that mattered was him and only him.


    "Who would have thought I''d be here? From stealing and attacking to sacrificing myself for others with no regrets, even in the face of death."


    The old Liam would have been long gone as soon as the news of the djinn''s attack reached his ears, yet the new current Liam was here, protecting them at the cost of his life.


    What was the cause of this transformation?


    Recalling his backstory, Liam let out a chuckle before saying.


    " *PFFT* When I die, they BETTER create a play about me and my life. Wait, who would be the villain? Kevin? No...? Oh, that Ren guy would be perfect!"


    Remembering the time when he had been caught off guard and beaten by his jealous classmate, Kevin sighed.


    The weeks of anxious anticipation of the jealous boy''s revenge had been too much for him.


    "I really wasted a week biting my nails waiting for his revenge..."


    "If I knew I was going to die this soon, I would have just beaten him up and gotten it over wi-"


    [Who says you''re going to die?]


    "huh? What the hell???"


    In front of Liam appeared a system menu, all too familiar to the one that portrayed the stat''s menu.


    Blocking Liam''s view of the incoming chains, the blue system screen disappeared before reappearing with a different message.


    [Embrace it, hero. The one destined to save it all.]


    Not giving Liam any time to react, he felt his entire body overflowing with power; his trembling legs had stabilized, his sword had grown ten times lighter, and he felt something weird whenever he moved his hands.


    An unknown presence in his body.


    "Well, it can''t get any worse than this!"


    Like how he used mana, Liam gathered the unknown presence in his body, leading it towards his chest. There was far too much of whatever substance it was to stay in another part of his body.


    As the last particle entered the square that his substance formed in his chest, Liam suddenly felt a flashing light blind his eyes.


    Reopening his eyes, Liam saw that the system menu had disaperead, instead replaced by his sword, which was now shining a light blue.


    The blue aura engulfed his sword, illuminating the dark room to the point that most people would have thought it was daytime outside. He seemed to have absorbed all of the unknown substance in his body.


    As the first set of chains pierced right toward Liam, he charged forward with his now blue sword, ready to intercept it.


    Putting all his strength into his sword''s slash onto the chain, Liam was surprised when his sword simply passed through the chains like a knife cutting butter.


    Falling onto the ground due to the strength he had put into his sword''s slash, he watched as the entire chain disappeared despite him only hitting one small portion of it.


    Magic Nullification.


    Standing back up, Liam did the same thing for each of the disks as his sword effortlessly cut through them like butter, causing the discs to shatter into thousands of pieces before disappearing into thin air.


    Ignoring the djinn''s surprised and dreaded expression, Liam swung his sword in the air, releasing all of the unknown substance he could muster. A light-blue elemental slash charged right at the group of djinns.


    With no time to dodge, the djinns watched their lights both literally and mentally flash before their eyes as the elemental slash neared them.


    *BOOM*


    After the slash cut right through the djinns, it continued charging forward, even cutting through the cruise ship''s walls before flying out into the ocean and out of sight.


    "Well, goodbye to you too, sword slash!"


    Not giving any explanation to the astounded Kevin, Lily, and Alya, Liam walked up beside them before carrying out the rest of the people, who were unable to witness the event due to fainting from fear or the rubble that fell on them.


    In the other corner of the room, Ruby, who was completely oblivious to other events, stared at one body that seemed to be unconscious.


    Holding their head up, Ruby swept her hands across the boy''s cheeks, but upon feeling the prickling sensation of their skin, she immediately dropped the head onto the hard floor.


    "That''s not him."


    Channeling her eyesight to confirm her suspicions, Ruby peered deep into the individual lying on the floor''s desires.


    "... the desire is as strong, but unless he became an alcoholic in a single day, it''s not him."

 Chapter 56 - 56:The Return [1]

    Carrying the unconscious "Ren" in her hands, Ruby walked towards the window where Liam and Lily were carrying the last few people down the ladder and onto the ship.


    Upon seeing Ruby holding "Ren," Liam resisted the urge to take some kind of revenge and scoffed.


    " *tsk* Look at this guy."


    Warning him, Lily put the last person in her arms and began climbing down the ladder.


    "Liam, don''t do anything else right now."


    After sending the last elemental slash, Liam almost collapsed on the floor due to exhaustion, but after getting up, he still insisted on helping the people down the ladder despite the fact that his legs were trembling from just standing up.


    Of course, Kevin had bombarded Liam with questions about his light-blue sword of light, but with Alya''s guidance, Kevin had been forced to postpone his questions and head down the ladder with Alya, Irene, and Zach.


    Besides a few injuries from the initial explosions and the purple discs, the students were all fine, so Lily sighed in relief.


    She was now 1-1 in victories, disregarding the incident that took place before the plot started!


    While Lily hadn''t necessarily planned for Liam to achieve his power up during this incident, as she believed that he could acquire it any time after, she was still fine with this outcome.


    Letting his curiosity get to her, Lily asked.


    "What did it feel like?"


    She already knew the name of his power-up and the reason why he got it, but she was still curious about how it would feel to wield a sword that dazzling.


    "I felt like I could do anything. Every step I took was exhausting but exhilarating at the same time. Felt like I was on top of the world, but every second that passed, I felt like I was being pulled further down to the bottom."


    Nodding her head, she watched Liam climb onto the ladder behind her and then Ruby, who had been silent this entire time.


    Although she was suspicious of Ruby at the start due to her sudden transfer, Zach had been vouching for her ever since the trip started, so she wasn''t majorly concerned anymore.


    During this incident, she hadn''t done anything special and acted like a normal student who was scared by the djinns; however, when Lily saw her with Ren''s body, more suspicion began to rise.


    "...I''ll have to keep an eye on her."


    The two variables in the book, Ruby and Ren, were sticking together? There had to be something odd going on there.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Standing unnoticed in the shadows right next to the window, I let out a sigh as I watched Ruby, the last person, begin to climb down the ladder, leaving the room completely empty.


    Wasting no time, I sprinted towards the severed djinn bodies before grabbing all their items and searching for valuables.


    Was the hero cast stupid? Leaving behind this vault of treasures for the investigators? I''ll be damned!


    Going through jacket pockets and taking necklaces, I took everything without even testing to see if they were useful to me or not.


    Even if they weren''t useful to me, one man''s trash is another''s treasure!


    The amount of money I had collected during this trip was insane! Business was booming... but I needed a plausible way to explain all the wealth to Raven.


    If I didn''t, he would side-eye me and pretend to shiver every time he saw me for at least a week.


    Wasn''t the previous owner of the black market supposed to be a bit tougher... and scarier?


    Picking up the last few necklaces, I put them inside my huge cloak pockets before taking off my cloak and wiping the blood stains on it.


    Taking some water and tissues from the broken-down food area, I wiped and wiped until every last bit of blood from the cloak was gone, reverting it to its normal pitch-black color.


    Folding the cloak, I tied it around my waist, ensuring that nothing fell out, before walking back towards the open window.


    Looking down the window, I saw Ruby, Liam, and Lily still slowly descending the ladder with the bodies of their students. The ship was at the very bottom of the ladder, waiting for them.


    Although I had been surprised by Lily''s choice to use ships instead of a helicopter or something that could fly, I wasn''t complaining about riding home on luxury speedboats.


    Due to the current situation with the world tree being corrupted, all the Elven heroes would have been stuck in the Elven realm, so these ships were probably all the Elvin kingdom could send to help Lily and Alya out.


    Tensing my legs, I smiled as I jumped out of the window and down to the ship, which was more than a 100-foot drop.


    Falling down, I felt the air rush onto my face, refreshing me from that long battle earlier. In the pitch darkness of the night, no one even noticed my falling figure.


    Landing silently on top of one of the speed ships, I hid in the darkness of night, waiting for Ruby, who, for some reason, was holding the body I disguised to be me. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This was going to be... a lot harder than I expected.


    As Ruby got onto the speed boat, she began to walk to the storage room, where the rest of the students were stored.


    Lily handed the body in her arms to Ruby and headed to the top of the speed ship, where Liam, Kevin, and Alya were waiting with the bodies of Irene and Zach.


    Jumping from the top of the speed ship to the ladder, I quietly climbed down the ladder before following Ruby to the storage room.


    Hiding in the shadows behind her, I closed in on her as she neared the storage room and then hid in her own shadow. When she opened the door to the room, I slipped in right behind her, completely unnoticed.


    Watching her lay down the fake Ren''s body, I saw her kneel down and touch his cheek again before walking out of the storage room.


    ...Does she know? Surely not.


    As the door slammed shut behind her, I moved out of the shadows before unwrapping the wound on my hands and letting my blood drip down on the fake Ren''s face.


    Seeing his face transform out of mine and to his, I moved his body out of the way and prepared to lie down on the floor when suddenly a noise interrupted me.


    *SLAM*


    Slowly looking upwards, I saw Ruby standing at the wide-open door, staring at my face with a grin apparent on her face.


    ... it was all a trick. She already knew the person wasn''t Ren!


    But did she know I was the cloaked figure fighting against them in the room?


    Scratching my head, I reciprocated her smile and said.


    "Ah I just woke up, the alcohol really got to me!"


    "Really, still going with that? You''re actually shameless."


    I''m a third-rate villain; isn''t my entire life and existence meant to be shameless?


    Putting my hands on my back, I reapplied the bandages to my hands and slipped my sleeves over them so they were invisible.


    "Well, I guess you learn something new every day! Still, shouldn''t you know about my shamelessness? I''m quite disappointed."


    Walking towards me without any concern for the bodies she was stepping on to get to me, Ruby said.


    "Don''t get it twisted; I knew you were shameless, but not THAT shameless."


    ... what the hell is going on?


    DOES SHE KNOW THE CLOAKED FIGURE WAS ME OR NOT?


    Quelling the chaotic thoughts in my head, I maintained my smile and asked.


    "What exactly do you mean by that? I''m quite offended."


    Ignoring my question like usual, Ruby reached me and looked up into my eyes before saying.


    "We''re on a luxury speedboat, yet we''re here rotting away in the storage room."


    Exactly my thoughts!


    But are we just going to brush over my question...? Alright, then!


    Feeling a sudden light blind my eyes, I involuntarily closed my eyes, but when I reopened them, the chaotic wind of the night immediately rushed into my face.


    We were no longer in the storage room; we were at the top of the ship, where I had been earlier.


    Looking down, I could see the 4 main cast members talking seriously, and below them, the waves of the night blue ocean water crashing against our boat.


    So, she already had access to it... but how much access?


    The Ruby gemstone''s order specialty: Spatial Magic.


    Even with Liam''s new powerup, if Ruby had this access to spatial magic, she could probably kill Liam or at least injure him before backup arrived.


    Looking at my expression with a disappointed face, Ruby said.


    "You know most people are surprised when something like this happens."


    Shrugging my shoulders, I replied.


    "Do I look like most people?"


    "hmm, you''re right. You''re way too shameless and stupid to be considered normal."


    "... not what I meant, but ALRIGHT!"


    Chuckling at my sarcastic words, Ruby put her hands on the railing of the boat and stared at the land, which was getting nearer and nearer to us.


    "You know, for a school known as the best in the world, there are quite a lot of problems."


    Looking down at Liam, the reason for all the academie''s problems, I responded.


    "Yeah, like a major villain boss infiltrating the academy. Imagine if that happened; that would be a HUGE problem!"


    "*PFFT* or if an academy student that harassed girls on the daily ran away to save themselves when djinns were attacking other civilians."


    "Really needed to add that ''harassing girls'' part, huh?"


    "Just wouldn''t be right if I didn''t."


    Using my enhanced eyesight, I peered into the distance and saw on the land that plenty of heroes and academy supervisors, having heard about the situation, were already waiting for us.


    Really, that stereotype about the security always arriving late is pissing me off. Isn''t the author overusing it at this point?


    How did this author, out of thousands, get his book turned into a real world? Well, that''s assuming that the other books are NORMAL and don''t have people getting transmigrated into them.


    Looking at my sour expression, Ruby followed my gaze before asking.


    "Scared of your father?"


    Confused, I looked further into the incoming land, and sure enough, there was my father waiting with a sword in his hand.

 Chapter 57 - 57:The Return [2]

    Shaking my head at Ruby''s question, I replied.


    "Not really."


    It was true. Back at the award ceremony, it was my first time seeing him as Ren, so all his explosions just exploded outwards. Now that it was the second time, I could stop the leakage of emotions as I was more accustomed to it.


    Of course, my anger at him for being a terrible human being was still there, but I could keep that under control, partially because I knew I couldn''t do shit about it right now.


    What was more important at this moment was how Ruby knew so much about me. From recognizing my face back in the cave from a simple glance to even knowing the backstory about my father disowning me, she had to have met me before.


    Most of Ren''s childhood memories were fragmented, so I couldn''t recall ever seeing or meeting someone similar to Ruby.


    I also couldn''t ask Ruby about anything as she would immediately realize that I wasn''t the real Ren for not remembering, in the case I had met her before.


    After my response, the mood turned somber as the two stared at the land without saying anything.


    As the ship approached the land, I got ready to leave.


    As if I was going to help the main cast carry all the students out of the storage room and onto the land!


    Seeing me ready to jump off the boat, Ruby cracked a grin before asking.


    "You ask me why I call you shameless?"


    A third-rate villain must embrace that shamelessness to advance to a second-rate villain! Or something like that; honestly, I just needed to give myself an excuse to leave.


    "You act like that, but you''re doing the same thing."


    Turning to Ruby, who was also on the ledge of the boat, ready to jump, I reciprocated her smile before waving and jumping.


    However, Ruby was shocked, not because I was jumping, though. It was because of where I was jumping: into the deep blue water.


    Embracing the cold ocean water, I sunk to the ocean floor before swimming towards the land like a mermaid; I was actually swimming faster than the speed boat!


    As I turned around to see how fast I was moving compared to the speed boat, I peered past the darkness of the water and saw a figure also in the water.


    "... no fucking way."


    Right next to the speed boat was Ruby, who struggled to stay afloat while wildly slashing her arms to stay above the surface of the water.


    ...Doesn''t she have teleportation? I guess water is spatial magic''s weakness...?


    Swimming back towards the speed boat, I swam right next to Ruby and floated above the water effortlessly before saying.


    "Are you actually stupid?"


    "Oh, so when you do it, it''s alright, but when I do, I''m stupid?"


    "... you know, maybe it''s a stupid idea for you BECAUSE YOU CAN''T SWIM"


    "Details, details; who cares?"


    "..."


    Well, I can''t just leave here to drown or get run over by the speed boat, can I?


    Turning to Ruby, who was desperately flailing her arms and legs to sway afloat, I asked.


    "So, what''s your plan now?"


    Stopping her flailing arms and legs, she grinned and asked.


    "I don''t know; maybe catch a ride?"


    Then, a second later, she started to sink into the water as she stopped flailing.


    Diving into the water below Ruby, underwater, I gestured to my back, and without any hesitation, she threw her arms out and attached her hands to my drenched shirt.


    Even though I knew she couldn''t hear, I said.


    "Hold on, tight."


    Boosting myself off the ocean floor, I swam using breaststroke as fast as I could toward the land, which became closer and closer with every second.


    Turning away mid-stroke, I saw Ruby trailing behind me, holding on with all her might to my shirt, which was already almost torn due to her tight grip.


    ...Why do all my clothes always get torn?


    Reaching the shallow area of the water, I stood up with my shoulders barely above the surface and walked towards the sand, only a few feet away.


    On the other hand, Ruby only had her head above the water as she struggled to walk due to the resistance of the water.


    As soon as we reached the sand of the beach we swam towards; Ruby collapsed on the ground panting.


    "a-are y-you a d-damn m-mermaid?"


    Shrugging my shoulders, I crouched beside her and stared at the speedboat, which had already reached the port that was only a couple of miles away from the beach we were on.


    "Well, we should get back to the hotel."


    "g-go like this?"


    Staring down at my drenched suit, which did not make me uncomfortable or irritated in the slightest, and Ruby''s dress, which had sand all over it, I grabbed the cloak tied around my waist and handed it to her.


    Since the sun was just rising, the cloak shouldn''t have any effects, so she wouldn''t realize it was a magical artifact, and I could just take it back once we reached our dorm room.


    Watching her put on my cloak, which was far too big for her as the bottom of it scraped against the ground, I suppressed the urge to laugh... but failed.


    She looked like she just came from the circus.


    "*PFFT*"


    "Something funny to you? Enlighten me as to what''s so funny."


    "*PFFT* i-i, n-nothing at all."


    Stepping in front of me, she blocked my path and held out her hands horizontally, causing me to laugh even more. Her sleeves were so big you couldn''t even see her hands.


    Upon reaching our hotel room, I promptly took back my cloak and put it in my luggage before showering and changing.


    Stepping out of the shower, I noticed that the room was mostly empty. Zach and Irene were probably in the hospital being treated like the others, leaving me the entire living room.


    Tomorrow, we would be heading back on the buses, so I crammed everything into my suitcase and even used my awakened strength, almost breaking the suitcase, to zip everything up.


    Wrapping a towel around my neck, I sat on one of the cushions near the table and drank a cup of green tea that Ruby had made because she was cold from the swim.


    Scrolling on my smartwatch, enjoying the sweet tea, relishing the view of the ocean from our room, and recalling the earlier swim made me realize something.


    Was it so bad to live a normal life here?


    When I first came to this world, I was so confident that living here would be hell and so determined to head back to earth, but now, here I was, enjoying the simple things in a student''s daily life.


    I had always denied that I was enjoying my life here, but at this point, it was hard for me not to have fun.


    Just messing around with Zach and Ruby, hanging out with Jin and Han, and even just training against the AI bots brought me happiness and solace. Things I would never be able to do if I went back to Earth.


    Guess it''s true you only miss things when you realize that you can no longer have them...


    What if I never even got back to Earth?


    That thought had crossed my mind many times, but I had always denied it as if I was transported to this world; there must be a way to travel to other worlds, but I just hadn''t found it yet.


    Of course, in the meantime before discovering the method, I had decided to do my best to save this world from destruction by maintaining the plot structure.


    But... was this life really so bad? With the prestige of the academy and the money from Raven''s business, I could live comfortably after graduation, maybe move to the countryside, and buy a mansion.


    Wasn''t that better than working a 9-5 job on Earth? Wasn''t living comfortably in a mansion with no worries way better than waking up at 6 AM every day just to be yelled out by my future boss?


    Why was I so persistent in making my way back to Earth?


    Interrupting my thoughts, Ruby opened the door of her and Irene''s room before strolling into the living room and taking a seat on the cushion across from me.


    Staring at me with a curious expression, she asked.


    "How''s the green tea."


    "Could be better."


    "...? Are you insane? I made t-"


    "Alright, alright, it''s good."


    Lifting up the cup of tea to my mouth to prove my point, I tilted the cup towards my mouth, letting the gold liquid flow into my mouth; however, when I attempted the put down the cup, I couldn''t.


    Ruby was holding the cup to my mouth with a grin on her face.


    "AH, HOT, HOT, HOT!"


    Overpowering Ruby, I put the cup down, but the damage was already done. With my tongue burning in pain, I rushed to the bathroom sink and covered my tongue in water, but that just made it worse!


    Further adding to my situation, I could hear someone breaking down in laughter back in the living room.


    With my tongue still writhing in pain, I rushed back to the living room, grabbed Ruby''s cup of tea, and raised it to her mouth.


    "OPEN YOUR¡ªhiss¡ªMOUTH!"


    However, Ruby teleported back 5 meters away from me and ran for her room before frantically shutting and locking the sliding door.


    While washing my tongue in the sink for the next hour, I could hear the constant bangs against the door and laughter from the other room.


    When I woke the next day, I didn''t even bother to eat breakfast, as the tea had burned all my tastebuds off.


    Everything was tasteless...


    While glaring at Ruby, who was comfortably gathering food, I also saw Irene and Zach, who were completely healed, walking towards the table.


    Sitting down next to me, Zach exclaimed.


    "last day, guys, I''ll really mi-"


    "Don''t lie, Zach, you won''t miss Ren."


    "Wait, really, I will, I ac-"


    "Shut it, please."


    After I silenced Zach, Ruby also sat down beside us before saying. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    " Zach, don''t listen to him; Ren can put up with you for one more day. Isn''t that right, Ren?"


    Ignoring Ruby, I got up from the table and headed to the luxury bus outside that had just arrived.

 Chapter 58 - 58:The Return [3]

    Entering the luxury bus, I made my way through the empty seats and to my section, where an exquisite gift basket full of various expensive candies, chips, and beverages sat, with an attachment that said, "From the Museum of Magical Artifacts."


    ... my tastebuds.


    Even though I had technically done no work to prevent the museum from being robbed on the outside, I had literally defended their subspace from being robbed by the djinns and taken care of 11 of them!


    Of course, I had stolen the subspace instead, but who would you rather have stolen from you: a bunch of djinns with evil ulterior motives or an innocent student like me?


    Surely, I was entitled to have part of this gift basket.


    "... Would Irene really let me take anything in the gift basket?"


    Imagining Irene slapping away my hands every time I attempted to reach for a snack, I realized that there was no way in hell she would let me within a 10-meter radius of the gift basket.


    Well, if there was a gift basket, to begin with...


    Grabbing the gift basket from our section, I put it between my arms and strolled to the bus''s exit like nothing had ever happened.


    You know, even though it was my choice to work in the shadows where no one would notice me, some recognition was nice!


    Walking down the bus stairs, I noticed Alya at the entrance alone, blocking my exit route.


    In the awkward situation where one had to move first, I decided to be the rude one as I started walking down the bus stairs, forcing Alya to move out of the way.


    No matter how much I concealed the gift basket, the vibrant colors of the candy stood out, so Alya inevitably saw it as I descended down the stairs.


    Seeing the handwritten note on the gift basket, Alya turned and stared at me.


    Even though I didn''t have to say anything, I felt compelled to give an excuse as her gaze locked onto me.


    "...I''m going to share it with the others."


    "If you''re innocent, you have nothing to hide."


    I think she might be worse than Ruby... ??? What does that even mean?


    Ignoring her, I exited the bus and was going to walk to the luggage compartment to store the gift basket, but Alya just stood there outside the bus, staring at me.


    Then, as I slowly walked towards the cafeteria, glancing behind me to see if Alya was still watching, the worst possible thing happened.


    Ruby walked out of the hotel doors, stared at me for a moment, adjusted her gaze to the large gift basket hidden between my arms, and grinned before asking me.


    "Oh, and what might that be, Ren?"


    Employing my overly sarcastic tone, I replied.


    "Oh, you''ll never believe it! The museum WE saved earlier kindly decided to gift us a basket full of treats!"


    Copying my tone, Ruby responded.


    "Oh really! How kind and respectful of them! Were you just about to inform us of this kind and amazing present."


    "Of course! I thought this treat would go perfectly with our breakfast!"


    Walking up to me, Ruby examined the gift basket before grabbing it from my arms. Looking at the gift basket, now her hands, I whispered.


    "You know, you''re an asshole, right?"


    "Are you sure? It sounds like you''re projecting."


    To make things even worse, at that moment, both Zach and Irene walked out of the hotel, seeing us and Alya near the bus.


    Getting on her tippy toes, Ruby whispered directly into my ears.


    "Don''t worry, we''ll give you the candy you deserve."


    "... just say none."


    After the gift basket tragedy, I reentered the bus, brushed past Alya, and sat back down in my section.


    "... who even cares about some stupid treats? I''m rich now; I can get them anytime I want!"


    The bus trip back went relatively well. Both Zach and Irene were exhausted from yesterday''s treatments, so they didn''t talk. And every time Ruby tried to make conversation, I glared at her with the utmost contempt.


    Drinking water, which was the only thing I could have with my tastebuds burned to crisp, I stared out the window and finally saw the familiar city of the academy.


    Crossing the bridge, I picked up my phone and texted Raven.


    [Ren: I''ll be coming by today.]


    [Raven: Oh, so now, you decide to warn me? What changed?]


    [Ren: Don''t worry about it.]


    [Raven: You say that knowing DAMN well, that just makes me worry more.]


    [Ren: ??? Like, what do you want me to do about it?]


    [Raven: You''re just going to say no to whatever I suggest, aren''t you?]


    [Ren: Of course not; a good boss always listens to their employees.]


    [Raven: Be more specific; don''t just say vague things and expect m-]


    [Ren: No can do! It''s a good thing you''re a co-owner and not an employee.]


    Putting down my phone, I exited the bus behind Ruby and immediately headed to the academy gate to exit.


    After taking a train to the outskirts of town and entering the seemingly abandoned warehouse that we called our headquarters, I saw Raven sitting down, working on drawing more circles.


    "... you''re not good at hiding it all, are you?"


    "Whatever do you mean, boss?" sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As someone who had to fake doing schoolwork for my parents, I knew exactly what to look for, and with my enhanced eyesight finding the clues was just easier.


    "You started working as soon as I texted you, didn''t you?"


    "... no."


    "Your pencil has barely been touched, and there are only 3 papers beside you. "


    "I''m a slow writer."


    Recalling how I had made similar excuses in the past, I gave Raven a break and headed to the back of the room where the painting was hung on the wall.


    "what the hell are you doing now, boss...?"


    Wasting no time, I jumped into the painting, ignoring Raven''s screaming behind me. I felt my surroundings distort before stabilizing to reveal the area of my previous fight.


    Using my eyesight, I examined the entire room before finding some faint scrape marks on the floor.


    Following the scrape marks, I saw the test subject I had left behind in the fight lying face-down on the floor. His horns were almost out of color; only a faint red was visible.


    Observing his body, I was somewhat disheartened to realize that Corruption of The Night had no effect on him as, besides the wound applied by daggers, there was no other damage done to him.


    Well, then, I guess that begs the question: what do I do with him?


    I could just kill him... but Raven has been complaining about having too much work recently. This djinn was persistent enough to live this long, so maybe he was a harder worker than Raven!


    Walking to the barely conscious djinn, I yanked him upwards by his horns and stared him in the face.


    "Well, you have two options now. Either die or work for me."


    At this point, if Raven had those two options, I think he would have chosen to die...


    Unable to speak due to lack of water, the djinn simply stared at me with a pained expression.


    "Do you want to live?"


    Immediately, the djinn mustered up all his strength and nodded his head until I finally gestured to him that I understood.


    Using my mana, I created a mana contract with the same terms as Raven''s, except there was no time limit, and he didn''t get any percentage of the company.


    Or, in other words, he was my servant... that didn''t get paid.


    Mustering up his mana, the djinn released a blood-red form of mana towards the contract, causing it to shine a bright purple instead of white before disappearing into the air.


    Putting the djinn on my shoulders so that his horns didn''t poke at me, I headed to the exit of the sub-space before jumping into the painting once again.


    Right in front of the painting stood a bewildered Raven examining it. Then, his expression soured as he noticed me¡ªand our new guest.


    Without giving any time for Raven to speak or even react, I said.


    "Meet your new assistant."


    Leading the djinn to the kitchen, I immediately gave him water and food. Usually, you''re not supposed to eat this much after not eating for a while, but he was a djinn, so it didn''t affect him.


    As the djinn loudly gulped down the water and food, Raven hesitantly walked toward the kitchen before quietly whispering in my ear.


    "b-but, h-he''s a djinn."


    "So? Aren''t you evil too? You''ve been scamming people in the black market for ages without any regrets. How are you different from him?"


    "THE HORNS, maybe that''s how we''re different!? How is scamming even comparable to killing, boss."


    Patting Raven on the shoulder, I responded.


    "You''ll get over it."


    it wasn''t a lie; as the boss of the black market in the original timeline, Raven frequently got his hands dirty


    Seeing the djinn having regained enough energy to at least speak, I asked.


    "So... introduce yourself."


    Showing no hesitancy or surprise at his current situation, the djinn responded in between taking massive sips of water.


    "I-I''m Zeng; I don''t really have any hobbies, but I do enjoy swordsmanship."


    "Alright, Raven, your turn."


    "... I''m Raven, and I''m a... co-owner of a business with Ren over there."


    "I''m Ren, and I enjoy swimming or diving."


    Employing the mana contract''s power of the djinn having to listen to my commands, I said.


    "Alright, Zeng. You''re in Raven''s hands. He''ll show you the ropes and teach you some things. Listen to him."


    "... Why do I even try?"


    Leaving the sullen Raven and Zeng, who were still gulping down food, I waved goodbye and headed back to the academy.


    While I did want to stay in the warehouse, security in the academy would be getting tighter due to the incidents, so even with my fake club card, re-entering the academy after 8 would be difficult.


    Nodding my head to the security guards, I headed inside the academy and towards my dorm building, but to my surprise, there was someone familiar waiting for me outside the dorm.


    In front of my dorm building stood Ruby... with the gigantic gift basket from earlier!


    Seeing me, Ruby ran up to me with a grin and said.


    "Don''t worry, I''m shameless too."


    She had hidden the gift basket from Zach and Irene!


    Bowing my head, I said.


    "You''re my savior."


    I had almost forgotten that she was also a villain; why would she share the gift basket with the others?


    " *PFFT* Well, let''s go have a feast!"


    [A/N: Would appreciate you guys drop a review; if we get enough, I''ll drop an extra chap tmr as well.]

 Chapter 59 - 59:School Festival [1]

    Following Ruby''s lead, I headed into the forest right outside the dorm building. Confused as to why we were going so deep into the forest when there were almost no students out, I asked.


    "Where are we going?"


    "You''ll see."


    "Is it really that hard to answer a question?"


    "Do you have no patience?"


    Sighing, I tried to use my eyes to peer through the darkness and see the end of the path, only to realize that we weren''t actually taking a path.


    "... we''re not lost, are we?"


    Smirking, Ruby didn''t answer my question but instead fastened her pace, taking seemingly random turns every 20 steps.


    Realizing that the ground below me was actually tilting uphill instead of being flat, I looked up and realized that she was leading me up one of the tallest hills in the forest.


    Reaching the peak of the hill, Ruby abruptly sat down before immediately opening the gift basket, letting all the sweets spill out.


    Taking a seat across from her, I grabbed one of the orange-looking beverages that resembled Fanta from Earth and admired the view of the forest.


    The sound of birds chirping while flying through the sky, the green vines stretching all the way from the top of the tree to the bottom, and the moonlight shining down on certain spots of the forest created a perfect balance of light and dark.


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, Ruby''s voice spoke from my left.


    "What are planning for the school festival?" S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ah, yes, the school festival. Unlike the previous events, I was not required to do anything, as the primary reason this event was held was to introduce Ren''s father to Liam, which Lily would have no qualms with.


    Featuring a variety of events, the school held the festival to prove to the world that Celestial Academy was the best, as the top students from other schools in the human realm would compete against ours.


    After this week''s break, the competing students from the other academies would temporarily join our class, but besides a few disputes among students, there was nothing special about it.


    There were also the djinn infiltrators who would sneak about, but they would do nothing besides try to recruit a couple of students.


    Well, with all the changes made to the plot, I can''t be too sure about the future, so I wasn''t planning to drop my guard completely, especially when one of the variables was sitting right next to me and eating.


    Responding to Ruby, I said.


    "Nothing much, what about you?"


    Since I wasn''t among the school''s top students, I was not required to participate in any of the festival''s events, but Ruby, on the other hand, was forced to sign up for at least one event.


    While it sounds bad that the academy requires its top students to compete in an event, it was actually a good opportunity. All the influential people in the realm would attend, so if you did fairly well, you could possibly receive an offer.


    One such case is Liam, who wins multiple events, leading him to gain the recognition of Ren''s father.


    "hmm, I haven''t decided on an event yet. Are you planning to go to the tryouts?"


    If you were outside the top 10, there was still a possibility that could compete if you did well enough in the team tryouts, but the tryouts were insanely intense as the academy wanted to filter out the unworthy students.


    Vehemently shaking my head, I basked in the sweet beverage that somehow tasted exactly like Fanta before grabbing another candy, which resembled Kitkats from my world.


    ..wait?


    Looking at the entire gift basket, I noticed that every single treat in there resembled a snack from my own world, with there being root beer, skittles, and even starburst.


    Was this Lily''s doing? Creating a candy company would be a decent way to make money...


    Feeling the sugar high from all the treats I had eaten, I stood up and aimlessly walked around the small clearing we were sitting in.


    Eating a candy that resembled a Hershey''s chocolate bar, Ruby silently stared at the ocean through the gaps in the trees.


    If I had to say the main reason why Ruby and I got along so well is that we both had secrets that we refused to share with anyone else in the world.


    So, silent times like this were common, as neither of us wanted to talk too much, inadvertently revealing our secrets.


    The other times we talked, our words were full of sarcasm and jokes, as neither of us wanted to be honest or real with each other.


    That''s why I didn''t spend too much time around Ruby, as getting too close to her would cause me to drop my guard and be less cautious when speaking.


    In all honesty, I think that we both knew that this relationship was a ticking timebomb as a relationship built on lies, deceit, and fake lives would never last for long; however, the time before the bomb exploded would be fun, at least.


    Before the training camp, I had forced myself to believe that all the relationships I was making were fake and would end whenever I returned to Earth, so I really didn''t care too much about what happened.


    Now that I had a different perspective, I could more clearly examine my relationships with people around me and realize that basically every relationship I had contained some kind of problem.


    Han and Jin only hung out with me because they knew the original Ren and my relationship with Ruby could end at any time. Raven was only there because I had the power of the mana contract over him, and in the first place, I only met him because of my knowledge from the book.


    Everyone else in the world hated or had no opinion of me.


    I had spent maybe 2 months in this world, but besides my power, I had nothing at all to show for it...


    Ignoring this problem had been so much easier when I had been determined to get back to Earth as these people would all disappear soon enough, so what was the point in having a good relationship with them?


    With the doubts about my return to Earth creeping in, I guess I had started to see the people around me as more than book characters¡ªactual human beings with souls.


    Ending the silence, I waved my hands and said.


    "Well, I''ll see you later then; thanks for the treat."


    Standing up, Ruby grabbed the remainder of the gift basket while I departed from the clearing and made my way back to my dorm building.


    On the way back, I saw a crowd of students gathering at the entrance, which was weird for this time. Curious, I made my way to the back of the crowd before using my eyes to peer through the gaps and see what everyone was so interested in.


    [Midterm Grades]


    [#1: Liam]


    [#2: Kevin]


    [#3: Alya]


    [#4: Lily]


    ...


    ...


    [#9: Irene]


    [#10: Scarlett]


    ...


    ...


    ...


    [#199: Ren]


    Well, good enough, I guess.


    The next week of break passed slowly. Realizing that all relationships were meaningless or built on lies, I was less inclined to hang out with the people around me, leading me to seclude myself.


    It''s ironic that when I started to recognize that the people around me were actually people with souls, I hung out with them less than when I saw them as book characters...


    Ignoring the text messages on my phone, I dedicated all of my time to training as that was the only thing that brought me some solace and distracted me from everything.


    That training allowed me to take the next step in mastering the Eclipse blade as I realized that I hadn''t yet mastered the third movement.


    The third movement allowed me to create a Shadow Cage and, as I later learned, to manipulate my Corruption of the Night as a whole.


    Combining Corruption of The Night with the mana in my body, I could create actual physical objects like daggers, swords, and even a bow.


    I didn''t yet have enough Corruption of the Night to create a bow and an arrow simultaneously, though, so that was useless for now.


    The quality of the daggers I created with Corruption of the Night far surpassed that of my normal daggers; however, creating them would require a lot of mana and use a lot of Corruption.


    That also led me to the realization that, just as I could gain Corruption, it could also be lost when I manifested items or Shadow Cages when using it.


    I was glad to realize that elemental slashes didn''t make me lose Corruption of the Night, though.


    Finishing up my fight with an AI bot, I slumped down against the wall and checked my stat''s menu.


    ===Menu===


    User : Ren Montclair


    [Class: Proficient Assassin: (Level 3: 2%) ]


    -> Stealth : C


    -> Moderate Dagger Mastery : 7%


    -> Arts: Eclipse Blade [3/5]


    [Stats]


    -> Rating : D {Dream not yet completed}


    -> Strength : E+


    -> Agility : D+


    -> Stamina : E+


    -> Magic Power : D+


    -> Luck: G-S {Conditional}


    -> Intelligence : E


    -> Charm : G+


    [Traits]


    -> Passive: Dragon''s Will [1 / ?]


    ---> Dragon Eyes : Your eyesight is enhanced.


    [Skills]


    -> [[E] Dash] : Not requiring any mana usage, the skill allows the user to move 10 meters from their current location in any direction with a cooldown period of 7 seconds. The skill does not instantly move the user but temporarily increases the user''s speed until they move 10 meters.


    =======


    That "Dragon''s Will [1 / ?]" was really starting to piss me off, but what could I do about it? Go ask an extinct creature, a dragon, how to advance?


    I was by no means in a hurry to complete my next dream due to my memories of the last one, so I had also put that on hold. With my death on the line in these dreams, I decided to advance my power a bit more before attempting that.


    Checking the calendar, I realized that classes would be starting tomorrow, and the festival was less than a week away.


    Sighing, I left my training hall and headed back to my dorm room to sleep.


    I knew that secluding myself forever would be impossible and stupid, but wasn''t that a normal reaction for someone suddenly transferred to another world?


    What was the next step for me? Was I still being hell-bent on going back to Earth, or had that obsession decreased a bit?


    Did I want to build new relationships and advance my current ones, or just give up?


    There was only one question I could confidently answer: Do I want to continue maintaining the plot, or should I just let Lily do what she wants?


    I wanted to maintain the plot and keep the world from being destroyed.


    Lying down on my bed, the thought suddenly came to me.


    "... Is this what people call a mid-life crisis?"


    No, I''m too young for that, aren''t I?

 Chapter 60 - 60:School Festival [2]

    Waking up the next morning, I finally decided to check my smartwatch messages for the first time in a week.


    [Unread: 99+]


    [Jin: 99+ unread]


    [Han: 30 unread]


    [Raven: 7 unread]


    [Ruby: 4 unread]


    Putting on the academy blazer, I put down my smartwatch without checking any of the messages and headed off to class.


    With most students starting tryouts for the festival team tomorrow, schoolwork should be minimal, so I didn''t even bother doing the homework assigned.


    With my ability to manifest corrupted daggers at any time now, I didn''t bother bringing my daggers everywhere, so I didn''t have to worry about wearing heavy clothing like a sweatshirt to hide them.


    Just in time for summer!


    Looking at the sun, which was shining especially bright today, I decided to put aside all my problematic and conflicting thoughts for now.


    Sooner or later, I''d have to make a decision, but procrastinating was my specialty!


    Heading inside the building of my classes, I put inside my earbuds, which I had been using more and more recently, before heading up the stairs.


    Looking downwards at the reflection of the shiny metal stairs, I saw a figure right in front of me, so stepping to the right, I continued ascending the stairs.


    However, the figure blocking me also stepped to the right.


    Finally, looking upwards, I saw Astrid standing in front of me with a disgruntled expression and a clipboard in her hand.


    Not bothering to take out my wired earbuds, I irritatedly asked.


    "What?"


    "...have you thought about my offer to join the student council?"


    "My answer stays the same."


    "That''s fine, but I just wanted to let you know that I have another candidate who''s interested in joining. If you don''t accept, I''ll be forced to allow them in."


    Letting out another sigh, I recalled that Lily would be trying to prevent Irene''s transformation into a villain, and the first step to do that was to get Irene on the student council.


    Honestly, why did Irene have to be a villain?


    I justified my attempts to continue to make her a villain by assuming that if she didn''t become a villain, a more powerful existence would replace her and make my life harder, but did I even know that would happen?


    ...well I''m too far in to give up now, aren''t I? Sometimes, you just have to go with gut instinct, even if it''s based on pure speculation.


    Anyway, it wasn''t like this was my final choice; I could leave the council at any time and get Irene on it.


    "Alright, I''ll join, but don''t expect anything."


    Anyway, wouldn''t the student council be worse off if they had me? I mean, when found schools out the one AND ONLY Ren is on the student council, countless rumors like bribery and harassment will rise. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    I mean, it wasn''t like I was going to contribute to the student council or anything, either. Like, even Astrid should know that there was no way in hell I was doing any paperwork for the council.


    To be honest, I was just going to be a council member in the name. There was no way you''d catch me showing up to meetings or wasting my time doing work for this shitty school that somehow has djinn attacks every month.


    Well, I guess this is Astrid''s way of giving back to me because I saved her life. Surprisingly, this relationship was not formed on the logic of the book or the previous Ren.


    Walking past Astrid, who was writing something down on her clipboard, I entered our nearly empty classroom as class started in over 20 minutes.


    Grabbing a starburst that I had taken from the gift basket, I savored the sweet taste of it before pulling out my smartwatch and scrolling.


    Before the training camp, I had been basically forced by Han and Jin to install the popular social media app, "Nexu."


    [Zach / Followers: 1045 / Following: 102]


    "Just got back from training camp! :)" [Attachment]


    Suppressing the urge to comment something on Zach''s post, I moved to Irene''s profile.


    [Irene / Followers: 50932 / Following: 23]


    "A lot has happened..." [Attachment]


    For Irene, the attachment was a picture of the half-broken-down cruise ship taken from the port, but seriously, did she have to make her post so edgy?


    All of the comments were something like, "OMG, what happened?" and "Are you okay?" and "Call me now." and "This is your father, please ca-"


    Putting down my smartwatch and taking out my earbuds, I realized that the classroom was already almost full. Jin and Han were the only ones who were not here yet.


    Seeing them walk into the room as the bell rang, I didn''t feel anxious or awkward about having to talk to them despite having ghosted them for a week; I just felt normal.


    After Han and Jin, the teacher walked in and stood at the podium before writing "Exchange Students" on the blackboard.


    "From today until the end of the festival, exchange students from the other best academies in the human realm will be taking classes with you. As you guys are Celestial Academy students, I don''t think I need to remind you, but just in case, Do not be disrespectful or rude towards our visitors. Treat them as if they are normal students at Celestial Academy just me and you."


    "Is that understood?"


    Nodding at Professor Zia''s words, I saw Han and Jin sitting beside me, staring at the blackboard in confusion.


    After passing midterms, those two had partied and celebrated all week, so they probably had no idea about the upcoming Celestial Academy Festival.


    Opening the sliding door, 6 students, two from each academy, entered our class and stood next to the professor.


    "You all can get to know them at a later time. The class will begin now."


    Nodding at the professor''s words, the two students from Eldertide Academy, the second-ranked academy, confidently walked towards the seats with smug expressions before sitting in the row in front of the main cast.


    Those 2 would be the main culprits of the disputes between schools.


    The other four students from the third and fourth-ranked academies, Mystic Vale Institute and Drake Haven Academy, sat in the first row, right in front of the students from Eldertide, with expressions varying from concerned to happy.


    Recently, Professor Zia had given more and more detentions to Jin and Han for talking in class, so the two stayed silent while occasionally glancing at me.


    Hiding the wire of my earbud under my blazer, I put in one earbud and zoned out while staring out the window, where the cherry blossom trees were now light green.


    Unlike Earth, there were no climate change or environmental issues, so nature was beautiful almost everywhere, and the colors of everything were so vibrant.


    Feeling a tap on my shoulders, I saw almost the entire class, alongside Professor Zia, staring at me.


    I just had to be called on right now, didn''t I?


    Well, I guess it is a third-rate villain''s job to appear as stupid and shameless to everyone.


    Turning down the volume of my earbuds, I immediately heard Professor Zia speak.


    "Ren, once again, answer the question on the board. Or were you not paying attention to my lesson?"


    Scanning the whiteboard and reading the question, I was surprised to see that I had actually read a similar question and answer in my mind.


    But, alas, I had to stay true to my role. Well, at this point, it wasn''t "had," but I honestly preferred staying true to being a third-rate villain, as it more suited my personality than anything else.


    Shrugging my shoulders, I responded.


    "I don''t know."


    Of course, most of the class burst into laughter at my answer, but they were all book characters... weren''t they?


    ... ah, weren''t they actual people like me, too?


    Well, no matter the case, I ignored it and looked on as Professor Zia sighed before calling on another student.


    Zoning out until the bell rang, I was the first to get up and leave the classroom, as I had no intention of dealing with the dispute that would take place with the new exchange students.


    However, one of the exchange students from Eldertide Academy was blocking my exit to the classroom as they glanced at me.


    "And where are you going?"


    "To get lunch? Is there a problem?"


    "hah, no, I''m just surprised that this school is considered #1 when people like you can attend."


    ...Isn''t this a battle between third-rate villains? Both of us were created simply so that the protagonist would be more powerful or have a greater reputation.


    But, then, is there a hierarchy among third-rate villains, or why is he so damn annoying? We''re of the same kind, aren''t we?


    "So... can you move?"


    "And why should I listen to you."


    "You''re blocking the door; what the hell are you talking about? Are you brain dead?"


    "Seriously, you calling m-"


    Realizing that he had no intention of moving, I secretly conjured a pitch-black cover around my hand before grabbing his shirt and throwing him out of the way with the extra strength provided by my corruption.


    *BANG*


    Was this a rash action simply because I was more annoyed than usual today? Yes, but it was friendly fire since we were both third-rates, so it didn''t count!


    Watching him fly like an arrow and land on a couple of empty desks with his back downwards, causing the chairs to topple down, I exited the classroom without waiting for anyone''s reaction.


    However, right outside the classroom doors was Astrid, waiting with her clipboard in her hand. Seeing my exit, she immediately gestured at me with her hand, so I reluctantly followed.


    A third-rate villain like me couldn''t hope to take on a main cast member like Astrid.


    Trailing slightly behind her, I once again asked in an annoyed tone.


    "Is there something you need?"


    "?? I have to show you the student council room, give you your badge for the upcoming festival, and explain your duties."


    ...? Does she seriously believe that I''ll work?


    After thinking about it for a moment, I realized that the student council badge would actually be nice for the event as I would get access to all the VIP areas, so I continued to follow her.


    When I entered the empty student council room, I first noticed that it was as big as my classroom despite being for a maximum of 10 students.


    Handing me a lanyard with my face and "student council member" on it, Astrid started explaining how to sign various documents and which teachers to talk to, but I just zoned out once again.


    "Are you listening?"


    "What do you think?"


    "You''re not."


    Realizing conversation with me was futile, she handed me a guidebook before heading to her desk in the center of the room, where the teacher''s podium normally sat.


    Putting the guidebook in my backpack, I considered reading it as it would only take me an hour with my eyes before Astrid spoke once again.


    "Alright, well, that''s it. Welcome to the student council."


    "Can I leave now, then?"


    "You know most people would be jumping up and down after being personally invited to the student council."


    "That''s nice; thank you for sharing."


    Sighing, most likely contemplating her decision to invite me, Astrid got up from her desk and gestured for me to follow her once again.


    "One more thing."

 Chapter 61 - 61:School Festival [3]

    Following Astrid out of the student council room and further into the building, with no students besides us in sight as it was lunch, I was tempted to ask about our destination, but after a bit of thinking, I realized there was about a 99% chance she didn''t tell me.


    Abruptly stopping in front of a door, Astrid pushed it open before immediately walking in. Staying outside the room, I peered in, noticing that the room was a janitor''s closet as it solely consisted of brooms, mops, and tissues.


    My previous calm and indifferent attitude immediately transformed as I stared into the small room, devoid of any light, where Astrid was waiting for me inside.


    Looking at me hesitantly standing outside the small room, Astrid scoffed before grabbing my arm and pulling me inside, letting the door slam shut.


    Not giving me any time to create a misunderstanding, Astrid immediately pulled out her phone and held it up to my face.


    The picture showed a circle with a full black X that had two red horns protruding out of the top. Legs were added to the bottom of the X, making it seem like a human, and the rest of the outer edges of the circle were dark red.


    As I stared at the symbols, a sense of familiarity washed over me. Recalling the djinns I had fought with Astrid at the Nightclub, I remembered that the cloaks I had taken from them, which were currently stored in my room, had that same exact symbol.


    "Recognize it?"


    Seeing me nod my head at her question, Astrid continued.


    "I''ve received intel that their organization has something planned for the upcoming Festival."


    With the book never mentioning anything about their initial attack at the nightclub or anything at all about the organization Astrid was talking about, I could neither confirm nor deny her words, so I simply nodded.


    If they were to attack, that could be a huge problem for Lily and my goals.


    Recognizing our situation, I was confused to realize that Astrid had probably brought me here to ask me to help her prevent this organization''s attacks.


    "Why me? Don''t you have your family or the academy?"


    With the position of student council president, she must have thousands of powerful people who would be willing to help her, and that wasn''t even including her family, which was a force of its own.


    Shaking her head, Astrid responded.


    "No... I can''t mention this to them."


    Was it because it would reveal her part-time job in singing? Did she really care more about keeping her singer identity a secret than preventing the academy from being attacked?


    Well, it''s not like I have anything better to do...


    "Alright, I''ll help, but you''ll need to give me more information."


    " mhm, they''re called the Xylo Syndicate, and their main goal is to overthrow the High Dominion and the Empire as a whole."


    So, another revolution organization?


    Nodding my head, I prompted Astrid to continue, however...


    "Besides that... not much is known about them."


    What kind of lazy source is feeding her this information? They know of the Xylo''s plan to attack, but nothing else?


    Well, I guess we have to get the information ourselves.


    "I have their cloaks in my room; we can use them."


    If they were planning to attack during the Festival, they must have some sort of base set up in the capital, so we''d need to find them before attempting anything else.


    Nodding her head, Astrid pulled something out of her pocket and handed it to me.


    [From now until the start of the Celestial Festival, Ren is excused from attending all classes due to critical matters that require his participation. / Astrid, Celestial Academy Student Council President]


    Grabbing the slip out of her hands with a smile, I asked.


    "What''s the plan?"


    Surely, she didn''t come to me, hoping I could pull some plan out of my ass and have it magically work.


    "Today night, we''ll depart from the academy and ask around the city for clues on their hideout. Once we discover their hideout, we infiltrate using the cloaks and find out their primary objective."


    Indeed, attacking the Celestial Festival as a whole was too unrealistic for such a small organization that wasn''t even mentioned in the book, so they must have a more specific objective.


    Slightly opening the door to see if anyone was around, I walked out after confirming no one was in sight and immediately headed back to my classroom.


    Entering the classroom, I saw Professor Zia picking up the chairs that had fallen from my throw earlier, so I attempted to slip the note into the teacher''s podium... but she noticed me.


    "And what might that be, Ren?"


    Even with my Stealth rank at a C, I couldn''t avoid her sight. Sighing, I walked over to her and handed her the note that Astrid had written.


    Glancing at the note, then glancing at me, then glancing back at the note, and then back to me, she asked.


    "If I were to call to confirm the authenticity of this note, I would receive a positive answer, right?"


    Did she really have that little trust in me?


    Nodding my head, I patiently awaited her to pull out her smartwatch and call the office, but to my surprise, she just grabbed the note and put it in her pocket.


    "Well then, you''re free to go." S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After a second, I regained my composure and picked up a single chair and set it up before walking to the door, but as I exited the classroom, Professor Zia''s voice sounded once again.


    "Be careful; I can''t have any of my students dying on me."


    "... Yeah."


    What kind of teacher says that to their students? Clearly, she''s jinxing me; does she want me to die?


    Going back to my room, I packed up the two cloaks and my daggers before immediately heading to the academy''s mana gate.


    A bow and arrow would be quite useful, wouldn''t it? I had some corruption farming to do.


    Setting the mana gate destination to a town on the outskirts of the kingdom, I walked through, immediately adjusting my surroundings to a nice village with no insanely decorated buildings but instead nice two-story cottages.


    Since it was daytime, the adults were all at work, and the students were at school, so I enjoyed the serenity of it all for a moment before making my way towards a nearby forest.


    Channeling my corruption and mana, I manifested two pitch-black curved daggers in both of my hands. Each dagger seemed to have been created by darkness itself, as their surface was smooth, glossy black, devoid of any reflections or imperfections.


    Since these daggers were created by corruption itself, I didn''t need to imbue them with the pitch-black aura, as it was already contained within them.


    It was a bit of a loss, as the pitch-black aura helped hide the size and shape of my daggers so my enemies couldn''t estimate their reach, but you can''t have everything.


    Corruption would only be lost if the daggers were destroyed or damaged, so I just had to keep them safe.


    Peering through the gaps in between the trees, I quickly found a horde of D-rank goblins hunting for food about 3 miles away from my current location.


    Wasting no time, I dispersed my two corrupted daggers and sprinted toward the clearing without any attempt to be silent.


    As I neared the goblin camp, my existence was already known, as dozens had already gathered at the front with spears in their hands.


    Well, the more the merrier.


    Pulling out my standard daggers, I threw them at the two goblins at the front before activating the dash and dashing right into the center of the camp.


    Those two kills wouldn''t count for corruption as they weren''t embedded with the aura, but I needed some distraction to get to the center of the camp.


    Creating the two pitch-black daggers once again, I chipped at my hands before using all of my remaining mana to create a Shadow Cage. While it was risky, as if the cage was damaged by the goblins, I would lose corruption, the benefits were far too good to pass up on.


    As a pure blue slowly enveloped me and the remaining goblins before turning pitch black after it was at full size, the light slowly disappeared until there was none.


    Putting on my cloak artifact, I felt a surge of power envelope me as I stared around to see that most of the goblins were running around chaotically as they could no longer see.


    *SWISH*


    *SWISH*


    *SWISH*


    Switching from goblin to goblin, I silently stalked my target until I found the perfect moment, then lunged at them with my dagger already directly aligned with their fatal organ.


    As fast as this process was currently, imagining how much easier I could do all of this bow almost made me drool.


    Wait, don''t I have enough already?


    Feeling a surge of corruption flood into my daggers, I dismissed the two daggers before manifesting a single bow and arrow.


    Made of pure darkness, the entire recurve bow appeared in my hands. Colored a lustrous black as even the normally white strings were pure black, the limbs of the bow curved gracefully towards me, almost poking me in the face.


    Placing the single night-black arrow in my hand, I effortlessly pulled the bow''s soft elastic string back and nocked the arrow. From the goblin''s perspective, I doubted the bow could even be seen, as the darkness of the shadow cage perfectly complimented its color.


    Releasing the string, I watched as the arrow gracefully flew through the air like a hawk gliding towards its prey.


    *ZING*


    Having perfectly calculated the goblin''s approximate location with my eyes, the arrow was right on the mark as it pierced all the way through the goblin''s body, showing its perfection.


    A normal arrow wouldn''t even have the sharpness to harm the goblin''s body as it would bounce off, yet this pitch-black arrow had punctured all the way through the goblin''s body when it wasn''t even at full speed.


    Realizing that it was the last goblin, I marveled at the bow in my hands before dispersing the shadow cage and walking towards my arrow, whose tip was now painted a dark red from the goblin''s blood.


    Opposite the shadow cage, the bow and arrow in my hands stood out immensely in the sunlight, perfectly contrasting with the pure sunlight emanating from the sun''s rays.


    Staring at the countless goblin corpses in front of me, I sighed as I realized that all I could conjure with my bow for now was a single arrow.


    Although I hadn''t realized it at first, gaining corruption was getting tougher and tougher every time I killed something.

 Chapter 62 - 62:Undercover [1]

    Dismissing my bow, I took the mana gate back to the academy before heading to the front gates, where Astrid was waiting for me.


    Staring at the wounds on my hands that I had forgotten to clean, Astrid confusedly asked.


    "What were you doing?"


    "Farming."


    "...? Like plants or crops?"


    "...You think I enjoy planting things in my free time?"


    "You literally said farming is what you were doing."


    "You think it''s more plausible that I enjoy farming than the possibility of me lying to you?"


    "Why would you lie about that, though?"


    Shrugging my shoulders at Astrid''s question, I walked past her and onto the bridge that led to the capital city.


    Using my eyes to peer into the city, I realized that it actually bustling with people, despite it being almost 9, as visitors from other areas in the realm had already arrived in preparation for the Celestial Festival.


    Turning to face Astrid, who was trailing behind me, I asked.


    "How exactly do you plan to question people?"


    "I''d assume they would put their headquarters in a run-down area to avoid attention, so we can pay beggars or shopowners for information about recent suspicious activities in the poorer areas of town."


    "Sorry to break it to you, but I''m dead broke."


    Giving me a deadpan stare, Astrid sighed before replying.


    "It''s from my own money."


    "Wow, quite the selfless person we have here, using your own money!"


    "Are you taking this seriously? I can find someone else."


    Stepping off the bridge and into the bustling capital city, I smirked while responding.


    "Bit late for that now, no?"


    Walking past the countless shops that were decorated with banners that said, "Celestial Academy is #1!" or "Go Celestial Academy!" we continued to head deeper into the city.


    Recognizing the cake shop where I had first met Raven, I signaled to Astrid that we had entered the slums.


    Astrid probably chose me for the job because she knew I had experience with and knowledge about the slums of the capital from when I brought her to the headquarters.


    Waiting outside the cake shop, I watched as Astrid entered the shop and walked to the owner to ask some questions.


    A couple of seconds later, she walked out of the shop.


    "Nothing."


    Following her lead, we went deeper and deeper into the city, seeing rats crawling around and drunken people fighting occasionally. After another hour stopping every 20 or so feet to ask questions to people yielded no information whatsoever, I stopped Astrid.


    "Let''s try again tomorrow; there might be different people around."


    While it was true that more asking around today would be useless, I had also noticed signs of people following us through the reflection in the apartment glasses.


    Calling these stalkers out now would be rash as there was the slight possibility that our followers were part of the organization we were trying to track.


    If they got away after we confronted them and notified the organization of our activities, the infiltration would be impossible, and we would have to create a whole new plan.


    Right now, they couldn''t know that we were specifically looking for them, so there was no harm in letting them be.


    However, if they were also following us tomorrow, we would be forced to act.


    Two Celestial Academy students looking for information in the slums of the capital for 2 days straight would be far too suspicious to any evil organization.


    Seeing Astrid nod her head at my words, I stared awaiting her further instructions, but she just stayed silent and stared back at me.


    Tapping me on the shoulder, Astrid asked.


    "Well, what are you waiting for?"


    Is it really a secret headquarters if everyone already knows about it...?


    Taking a detour back to the bustling area of the city, I walked aimlessly until I was sure no prying eyes were tracking us.


    Using a different route with some unnecessary loops, I added to be careful; we finally arrived back at the abandoned building.


    Standing in front of the headquarters building, I turned to Astrid and said.


    "Wait, here for a moment."


    I entered by slightly opening the doors, ensuring that Astrid couldn''t see inside, before immediately closing the door behind me.


    In the kitchen, Raven, who was passed out on one of the chairs, sat, and across from him sat Zeng, who had red horns clearly visible as if he were actually showing them off.


    Walking up behind Raven, I shook his chair until his eyelids finally opened.


    "Wake up."


    "wh-whw, w-wh. Is this another nightmare..?"


    "Oi, you brat, am I really someone who would be in your nightmares?"


    "...depends on the day."


    Seeing that Raven was fully awake, I pointed towards Zeng, who had also passed out, and asked,


    "Is there any way to get rid of those horns?"


    "...why are you asking me? Ask Zeng; he''s right there... Did you really wake me up just to ask me a question THAT YOU KNOW I DON''T KNOW THE ANSWER TO?"


    "Nah, we also have a guest."


    "...I''m going back to sleep."


    Ignoring Raven, who contradicted his own words by pouring himself a cup of coffee, I did the same thing to Zeng as I shook his chair.


    Not having any reaction to being suddenly woken up, Zeng tilted his head upwards, meeting my eyes, and asked.


    "Oh, hey, boss, what''s good?"


    Pointing to his horns, I repeated.


    "Any way to get rid of these things?"


    Finally having some reaction, Zeng almost fell out of his chair as he dejectedly responded.


    "You... you want to get rid of my horns... they''re so cool though..."


    Interjecting from my other side, Raven replied while drinking his coffee.


    "I''ve told you a hundred times, Zeng, those are NOT cool."


    "You''re just jealous you don''t have any, don''t lie."


    "Zeng, ignore Raven. Is there a way? We have a guest waiting outside."


    "So, let them in? They''ll be amazed at my horns, just trust me! Back in my village, everyone used to comp-"


    "No one gives a fuck about your damn village, Zeng."


    Shocked at Raven''s outburst, I was stunned for a moment.


    This was the real Raven, the cruel mastermind who ruled over the black market! ...But why was he emerging now?


    Ignoring Zeng and Raven''s exchange of insults, I shifted my gaze to the painting in the corner before turning back to Zeng.


    Astrid would be staying here for 5 days, so hiding Zeng in the subspace that long would be unreasonable.


    Even I felt some pity for the guy, he had spent over a week alone in that subspace... I wouldn''t be surprised if he had some trauma that prevented him from entering it again.


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, I heard Raven ask me.


    "Why don''t you just put him in the subspace, boss?"


    ...really Raven?


    Before I could even respond, Zeng jumped up from my seat and sprinted towards me. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "DON''T, DON''T; I''LL DO ANYTHING, PLEASE, DON-"


    Holding the panicking Zeng in my arms, I wore a disgusted expression as I turned to Raven and asked.


    "Have you no sympathy? Really... you are a terrible person."


    Finally, some payback for all those times...


    Raven, who almost dropped his coffee from Zeng''s sudden outburst, sighed and stared at me before sitting down on the couch and turning on the television.


    Turning back to Zeng, I asked.


    "You''re not going in the subspace, but you still haven''t answered: Can you hide those horns somehow."


    Relieved at my words, Zeng stepped back and thought for a moment before replying.


    "I can''t use magic to hide them, yet... but..."


    Stopping mid-sentence, Zeng ran toward Raven''s closet before pulling out a shiny brown fedora.


    "I can use this!"


    Watching Zeng put on the hat, completely concealing his horns, I nodded before heading back to the headquarters entrance.


    Opening the door wide, I saw Astrid tapping her foot up and down as she waited for me.


    "What took you so long?"


    "Farming."


    "... why do I even try?"


    Shaking her head, Astrid headed inside the headquarters.


    With Astrid, Raven, and Zeng around, I felt no need to keep up the facade of Ren, so it actually felt kinda freeing talking and honestly just living without always having to consider, "What would Ren do in this scenario?"


    Sure, I had used my book knowledge to find Raven, but this entire time, we had been talking as friends and partners. Zeng was someone I met based on pure chance, and the same with Astrid.


    Maybe I did have some relationships to show for my time here?


    Watching Astrid''s gaze pause on Zeng, who for some reason was trying to style his fedora, I asked.


    "That''s Zeng; he''s new around here."


    Raven, staring at the television, gave a slight wave to Astrid before returning his attention to the news, which was conveniently displaying information about the Celestial Festival.


    On the other hand, Zeng continued to stare at himself in the mirror while occasionally muttering things like, "hm, is this better... No, I look better like this!"


    Shaking my head, I let my thoughts leak out as I said.


    "...What terrible kids I have raised."


    "Can''t agree less."


    Finding an empty couch, Astrid sat down and also started watching the news, leaving me alone with Zeng.


    "HEY, BOSS, HOW DOES THIS LOO-"


    Scratching my head, I considered spending the night in the subspace before sitting down on the couch next to Raven.


    After a while the exhaustion started to kick in, so I went to the corner of the headquarters, which I had turned into my own bedroom, and fell asleep.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Waking up the next day, I saw the television was still somehow on, so I turned and saw Raven staring blankly at the screen with 3 cups of coffee on the ground.


    On the other couch was Astrid, who somehow fell asleep despite the loud television being right next to her.


    Zeng had fallen asleep on the kitchen chair, so his fedora was hanging downwards, revealing part of his horns.


    Readjusting the fedora on Zeng, I poured myself a cup of coffee and added sugar before manifesting a pitch-black stirrer to mix them.


    Corruption of The Night was actually quite useful in day to day life!

 Chapter 63 - 63:Undercover [2]

    Taking a sip, I noticed that Astrid had just woken up. She was stretching her hands while getting off the couch.


    Snapping Raven out of his barely conscious daze, I tapped him on the shoulder and asked.


    "Any suspicious activity in the area recently?"


    While Raven didn''t leave the headquarters much anymore, as he had already hired people to sell the healing scrolls, it was possible that he knew something.


    Ignoring my question, Raven continued to stare silently at the television, which was currently displaying an advertisement, like a zombie.


    Reading my thoughts, Astrid grabbed the remote and turned off the television; however, Raven continued to stare into the blank screen, which was just reflecting himself now.


    Sighing, I pushed Raven down on the couch, forcing him to lie down and close his eyes before heading to Zeng.


    Trying my best not to knock off his fedora, I shook his chair a bit before he finally opened his eyes.


    "You''re coming with us today."


    It had been 4 days since we started investigating the slums, yet we didn''t even have a single bit of information. Astrid and I were tired, and the festival was tomorrow, so we needed all the help we could get.


    An extra pair of hands and eyes would be nice for investigating.


    Tapping his fedora with his right hand, Zeng simply smiled and took a bite of the cold toast that was on the table.


    "Anything but that painting."


    Before reconvening with Astrid, who had put back on the television, I pulled Zeng aside for a moment.


    "If I tap you, follow me and be ready to fight, no questions asked."


    "Just so you know, I''ll have to reveal my horns to fight."


    "That''s fine."


    After putting a blanket over the sleeping Raven, who was shivering because the windows were open, I walked up to Astrid with Zeng behind me.


    Just like that, the three of us exited the warehouse, leaving Raven slumped down on the couch.


    A third-rate villain, a main cast member, and a random ass djinn... just what kinda team were we?


    Turning to the djinn, who was a former villain organization member, I asked.


    "Hey, Zeng, hypothetically, if you were a djinn, where would you put your hideout?"


    Stopping mid-strut, Zeng turned to me confused.


    "What do you mean if..... OH, WAIT, I see what you''re doing, boss..! Haha! IF I were a djinn, I would hide it in plain sight, somewhere so obvious that no one would think to look there."


    Proud of himself for catching onto my obvious hint to conceal his djinn identity, Zen grinned while once again tapping the top of his fedora like a businessman.


    "...where do you find these guys, Ren."


    Pointing to Zeng, I replied.


    "I found that one in a painting, and Raven... raven was an interesting one."


    Looking me dead in the eyes, Astrid asked S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "... in a painting? That''s really the best thing you could come up with?"


    "Well, I found you in a NightClub, so I wouldn''t be talking if I were you."


    For the next two hours, the three of us walked around, occasionally stopping to question people and shop owners, but yet again, this yielded no information, as we were right back where we started.


    There was one hint, though.


    Waiting outside the original cake shop for Astrid, who was once again questioning the owner, I looked into windows and examined the reflection before finding two shady figures in the nearby alleyway simply staring at us.


    Tapping Zeng on the shoulder, I immediately activated the dash''s usage period before using it a split second later.


    Appearing in the alley with Zeng only a few feet behind me, I manifested my two midnight black daggers while taking out my standard ones.


    Throwing my standard daggers like shurikens at the stalkers, who had noticed my presence, I blocked off their exit route for a second, preventing them from leaving.


    Then, a second later, Zeng appeared on the other side of the alleyway, his bright red horns glistening in the sun.


    Now cornered by Zeng and me, the masked stalkers abandoned all pretenses of escaping and stood still.


    In the hands of one of the stalkers, a sword manifested, exactly like how my Corruption of The Night worked. The blood-red sword in his hands perfectly matched the color of Zeng''s horns, and similar to a katana, the sword was thin yet fatally sharp.


    The other simply pulled out a standard broadsword and slung it around his shoulder, like he was expecting that he would not need to participate in the battle.


    Even as a villain, someone who is naturally very cautious and distrusts everyone, the broadsword stalker still had so much confidence in his teammate...


    Not wasting any more time, I sprinted toward the biggest threat in the battle while Zeng went for the broad-sworded individual.


    Swinging my corrupted daggers at the air, I sent an elemental slash right at the stalker, but he met the slash right on, instantly mitigating it with his blood-red sword.


    Continuing my charge, I thrust my right dagger right at his stomach; however, he sidestepped to the right, avoiding the attack, and at the same time, he swung his sword right at me.


    Ready for his counterattack, I tapped my right eye, instantly slowing my perception of time and allowing me to avoid the sword as it whizzed right past me narrowly.


    With time still slowed and my mana almost drained, I stepped back and sent another elemental slash right at his barely moving figure.


    Not waiting for the outcome, I dispersed my two black daggers and conjured my slender curve bow and glossy-black arrow.


    Surprised by my sudden movement and the elemental slash barreling towards him, the stalker didn''t have time to raise his sword, so he stepped to the right.


    *WHIZZ*


    Like clockwork, the arrow pierced right through his body, going even further before hitting and even partly puncturing the brick wall.


    Turning to Zeng, who held the unconscious body of the other stalker in his hands, I gestured for him to put it down before heading to the blood-red sword that was somehow still shining.


    It felt like I was drawn to it...


    My body naturally started to move towards it until, finally, my hand was about a centimeter away from the hilt of the sword.


    Like a magnet to metal, I couldn''t stop my hand as it drew closer and closer until my fingers wrapped around the hilt of the sword.


    Picking up the blood-red sword, I held it in my hands, but every second I held it, more and more fatigue flooded into my body, causing me to drop the pitch-black arrow in my hands.


    Even though I knew it was dangerous, I just couldn''t put it down. My fingers were glued to the hilt of the sword, no matter how hard I forced them to let it go.


    Just then, I felt a slight decrease in the force connecting my fingers to the hilt of the sword, so I immediately yanked my hand away, causing me to fall back onto the floor.


    Looking upwards, I saw Zeng holding the blood-red sword while staring at me with a concerned face.


    Feeling the fatigue disappear, I immediately grabbed my standard daggers off the ground and stood up while staring at Zeng.


    "How do you feel?"


    "b-boss, I saw you falling while holding the sword, so I-i j-just wanted to h-"


    "That''s not important; tell me how you feel."


    "I feel completely normal, why were y-"


    "Are you sure?"


    Hearing the seriousness in my tone, Zeng didn''t dare joke around as he responded.


    "Yes."


    "Put down the sword."


    Not wanting to take any chances, I watched Zeng carefully place the crimson-red sword onto the ground before backing away slowly.


    Walking towards the sword, I dispersed the bow and arrow, which were slightly damaged, resulting in a loss of corruption, before manifesting a pure black duffel bag.


    Nodding to Zeng, I watched him pick up the sword and carefully place it in the duffel bag. Zipping up the duffel bag, I ensured that there were no side effects before slinging the bag around my shoulders and walking back towards the cake shop.


    Following me with the unconscious stalker in his hands, Zeng asked.


    "What was all of that boss? I didn''t know you could shoot a bow and arrow; also that duffel bag, where did it come from? I mean, the color on it is just so perfect. Can you tell me where you bo-"


    Raising my hand, I silenced Zeng and put his fedora back on him before gesturing to Astrid, who was awkwardly standing in front of the cake shop.


    With Astrid following us back into the alley, I explained.


    "Found some people following us; there was on to us on the first day we visited as well."


    "...you didn''t say anything yesterday, did you?"


    "couldn''t, they could have heard."


    "What about in the headquarters?"


    Shrugging my shoulders, I responded.


    "You never know when they''re listening."


    As Zeng forcefully woke up the stalker, who stared at his dead teammate for a second before glancing back at us, Astrid immediately interrogated him.


    "Why were you following us?"


    "... y-you s-shouldn''t have done this."


    Holding a dagger to his legs, I prompted.


    "Tell us."


    A smirk appeared on his face as he replied.


    "No matter what happens to me, it''s too late for you guys."


    Even though he wasn''t saying anything, I was using my eyes to examine his body meticulously, and his eyes were doing all the talking I needed.


    He desperately tried to avoid looking at the cake shop, and every time the bell on the shop''s doors rang, his facial expression tightened as if he were waiting for something.


    Dispersing the duffel bag, revealing the blood-red sword to Astrid, I handed it to Zeng and said.


    "Take him and the sword back to headquarters... you know where to put them."


    Tightening his face at my explicit mention of the painting, he nodded his head before sprinting away from us and towards the abandoned building.


    Turning to the confused and distraught Astrid, I continued.


    "The cake shop. They were following us because we kept investigating it, and the guy kept subtly glancing at it. It''s also in plain sight, and the shop is awfully well built for something from the slums. "


    "...is that really enough to go off of?"


    "They only followed us on the first day, and today, coincidentally, the 2 days we visited the cake shop."


    "I guess, but can''t that b-"


    "Well, we don''t have anything else, and the festival starts tomorrow."


    "I guess so..."


    After I internally thanked Astrid for basically ignoring the blood-red sword so I wouldn''t have to make up something, the two of us entered the cake shop.

 Chapter 64 - 64:The Cake Shop [1]

    When I entered the cake shop, the sweet aroma of the countless pastries immediately flooded my nose, leading me to inadvertently glance at the variety of cakes contained in the display cases.


    Turning to Astrid, I said.


    "Distract the owner."


    Still somewhat dazed by the rapid succession of events, Astrid nodded her head and headed to the counter to speak to the owner once again.


    Surveying the room with my eyes, the first oddity I noticed was that there were barely 5 people in the entire bakery.


    How was this place making a profit?


    The 5 people seemed to be regular civilians as they simply ate their cakes while reading the newspaper.


    Seeing Astrid completely distracting the owner and the others not caring about me, I stood in the center of the room, slowly turning in a circle while scrutinizing every corner.


    Finding an odd-looking painting on the right wall, I immediately attempted to insert my hand into it, but unfortunately, it was not a subspace.


    "Just as I thought..."


    If there was a villain headquarters in this bakery, it would definitely be hidden behind the counter, where no normal civilians could go.


    This was the only lead we had in our entire week of searching, so I wasn''t just about to let it go, even if it meant breaking some rules.


    Walking next to Astrid, who was pretending to buy some pastries, I whispered into her ear.


    "It''s probably behind the counter."


    "Well... what should we do?"


    "Don''t ask questions you already know the answer to."


    Sighing, Astrid pulled out her Celestial Academy Student Council badge, immediately attracting the attention of the shop owner, while I slipped past him and the counter.


    Wasting no time, I used my awakened strength to deliver an especially powerful karate chop to the shopowner''s neck, causing him to slump down to the floor slowly.


    There was a high possibility that he would be involved with the organization if their headquarters really was here.


    Jumping over the counter, Astrid glanced at the shopowner''s body for a second before turning her attention to me.


    "We better not have done this to an innocent man."


    Examining the various cupboards and storage units and finding nothing, I shifted my attention to the floor, where, after a minute, I spotted an area of the floor that was slightly more elevated than the rest.


    Leaning down, I made a night-black cover for my fist using Corruption before punching the elevated area of the floor.


    Shattering into pieces, the elevated floor dispersed, revealing a small ladder leading downwards for as far as the eye could see.


    Peering downwards, I ensured that the bottom of the ladder wasn''t booby-trapped before gesturing to Astrid.


    After seeing the ladder, Astrid quickly regained her composure, pulled out her wand, and cast a small current of wind that surrounded both her and me.


    Squishing together, the two of us jumped down the hole at the same time as we slowly glided to the bottom.


    Why are ladders even things in a world of magic?


    As my shoes touched the soft dirt of the floor, the first thing that entered my sight was a long tunnel that went straight before curving to the right.


    Holding a finger over my closed mouth, I turned to Astrid; however, she just stared at me in confusion.


    "What the hell are you doing?"


    ... is that really not a sign to be quiet in this world?


    "...it means to be quiet."


    "Why didn''t you just s-"


    "Let''s just go, alright?"


    Taking the lead, I manifested my two corrupted daggers, which were invisible to Astrid as there was no light in the cave, before heading straight.


    As we went further and further into the tunnel, I noticed the quality of the path significantly deteriorating as there was water leaking from the roof, and using my eyes, I could spot more and more unstable areas.


    A fight here could cause parts of the tunnel to collapse... leaving mid-fight would be difficult, to say the least.


    Seeing a large clearing in the distance, I raised my hand out, stopping Astrid, and once again put a finger over my closed mouth.


    Clinging to the wall, the two of us peered out of the tunnel into the large clearing, which was rather quiet considering how big it was.


    On the back wall of the vast room, there was a large board with countless pictures, various items, and, finally, red strings that connected all the different things.


    Was this a detective movie?


    Using my eyes, I examined the pictures, looking for similarities... before realizing it was all useless.


    On the center of the large board, there was a large picture with a gigantic red cross drawn over it.


    Their target was Bertus... the imperial prince and the next emperor of the kingdom.


    Astrid, who had seen the picture of Bertus way before me as I had wasted time examining everything, turned to me.


    Variable after variable, isn''t it?


    The target didn''t really matter to me, as my goal was to prevent their attack throughout the festival.


    Looking at the 5 djinns dressed up in lab coats who were pacing back and forth under the board, Astrid asked.


    "Is that all of them..?"


    "Seems like it."


    Considering the organization had to be small, our destroying their base and ending five of their scientists would definitely be enough to put a halt to their plans.


    With the festival starting in less than 12 hours and us 2 having done nothing, there was also no time to do anything else.


    Stepping into the darkness, I manifested my bow and arrow while watching Astrid pull out her wand, which lit up a light green.


    As a tree suddenly appeared in the center of the clearing, alarming all the scientists, I shot my arrow, immediately eliminating one of the 5.


    As roots expanded from the tree and surged toward the scientist, I dispersed the arrow that was on the other side of the clearing before manifesting another one in my arms.


    Since the scientists were all grouped together in an attempt to fight against the tree''s roots, I was able to take out 2 this time as my arrow pierced right through their group.


    Casting another spell, Astrid conjured an energy ball, colored dark green, and sent it hurling toward the two remaining scientists.


    Cornered by the roots, scared of my arrows, and surprised by the sudden attack, the two scientists were oblivious to the energy ball, ultimately resulting in their deaths.


    Walking out of the tunnel and into the clearing, Astrid and I stared at the board for a moment before Astrid broke the silence.


    "Is this enough?"


    "Probably... but you can never be too safe."


    Gesturing for Astrid to step back into the tunnel, I manifested a new arrow and used my eyes to determine the weakest spot in the clearing.


    "GET READY!"


    As my shout echoed through the empty tunnel and clearing, I released my arrow, which hurled right at the weak spot, before activating dash and dashing into the tunnel.


    *RUMBLE*


    With Astrid trailing behind me, I sprinted back towards the ladder, using my eyes to avoid the countless rocks that began falling from the roof.


    Having her wand ready, Astrid cast another wind current around us, causing the two of us to slowly levitate up.


    Reaching the floor of the cake shop again, I peered down the ladder, which now had rocks all over it, before mourning the loss of my arrow.


    It was inevitable but my arrow had been destroyed in the process, causing me to lose even more corruption.


    I was actually net-negative in corruption gain over the last week!


    After leaving the cake shop, the two of us headed back to the Academy instead of my headquarters.


    As we got onto the bridge, I thought for a moment before warning Astrid.


    "There might be more; we should still be cautious during the festival."


    "I''ll send extra guards to protect the prince. Contact me if you notice anything."


    Astrid''s main goal wasn''t to prevent the attack as a whole but rather determine the target of the attack, so we had been somewhat successful


    Nodding my head, the two of us parted ways at the Academy gates as I headed towards my dorm with the loss of the arrow still on my mind.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    When I woke up the next day, trumpets were blaring even through my closed windows, and upon further inspection, I saw the Celestial Academy band playing right outside my window.


    Really, this damn early?


    Checking my smartwatch, I realized that it was actually almost the afternoon, so I showered and got ready before immediately heading out.


    [Ren: Anything happened?]


    [Astrid: Everything seems good with the prince.]


    Putting down my smartwatch, I headed to the Coliseum to view the upcoming events, which would actually be interesting, considering that Celestial Academy would almost lose this year.


    Walking through the park and towards the towering coliseum, I stopped dead in my tracks as I heard a frail female voice scream out.


    ''WEN! WEN! WEN!"


    Is she talking to me?


    Turning around, I saw a little kid, at most 5 years old, running up to me while continuing to scream, "WEN!"


    As the kid approached me, I leaned downwards and asked.


    "Hey kid, are you lo-"


    "BIG BROTHER, WEN! YOU''RE HERE!" Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Clutching my head, I felt a sudden surge of memories flash through my head as I recalled the appearance of this small child.


    My younger sister and the youngest child of the Montclair family... Audrey


    Wait, does that mean..?


    Immediately glancing around, ignoring the searing pain in my head, I ensured that my "father" was nowhere in sight before calming down a bit.


    Shifting my attention back to the little girl with cascading blonde hair and dark blue eyes in front of me, I was about to ask her a question when she suddenly stretched out her hands, revealing a small black kitten.


    The slick, black kitten, previously sleeping peacefully in Audrey''s arms, immediately woke up as it stretched its paws out before turning to face me.


    "Big bwotha, I brought your cat!"


    Ren had a cat?


    Staring at the cat in Audrey''s hands, I lifted it up and placed it on the floor; however, the cat immediately ran forward, clinging to my pants.


    ...is it fate that my clothes are ALWAYS going to be torn?


    Not wanting my last pair of pants to be torn even more, I lifted the cat back up and placed it in my arms.


    *RUMBLE*


    *BOOM*


    *RUMBLE*


    As the ground suddenly shook, I immediately stood up, holding the cat in my hands, and looked around before immediately identifying the source.


    In the distance, the towering coliseum was somehow falling...


    The rightmost suite of the coliseum was now visible to everyone as the walls surrounding it were shattered into pieces, and inside the suite, a large fire was burning.


    Using my eyes, I peered into the broken-down suite, immediately seeing the crest of the Royal family plastered on one of the walls. Beside the crest were the battered bodies of Astrid and Bertus.


    "w-what was there another attack."


    Trying to calm myself down and reassess the situation, I closed my eyes.


    What had happened? Did we get the wrong organization? Was there another attacker?


    Feeling a sense of serenity washing over me as the noises of people screaming disappeared, I reopened my eyes... only to be met with the scenery of the cake shop in front of me.

 Chapter 65 - 65:The Cake Shop [2]

    After opening and reopening my eyes, I confirmed for the fifth time that I was indeed right in front of the cake shop and not back at the academy with the collapsing coliseum.


    ...not again, man... didn''t I already go through this shit.


    Recalling the incident at the amusement park, a slight sliver of hope appeared in my mind.


    My dragon''s eye had advanced the last time I time-traveled, so what if it upgraded and activated my Dragon''s will again this time?


    ...First, let''s get through this alive, then worry about that.


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, I nearly jumped back in shock as a voice spoke from my left.


    "Boss... where the hell did you get a cat?"


    Zeng is here... so we haven''t entered the tunnel yet or fought the stalker with the blood-red sword.


    Why is this the checkpoint, though, and not somewhere else? Did the critical moment happen now, then? Is it a clue about what I need to do? What do I need to change? What did Astrid and I do wrong?


    "... wait, repeat that last part, Zeng."


    "...boss the cat in your arms."


    Inhaling and exhaling, I slowly shifted my gaze downwards, and indeed, in my arms was the cat that Audrey had given me back at the coliseum.


    WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? WHY THE HELL DO I HAVE A CAT NOW? HEY GODS, DO YOU THINK THIS SHIT IS FUNNY???


    Venting my angry thoughts for a moment, I looked at the cat, which was now standing up in my arms and staring at me.


    The cat''s ocean-blue eyes perfectly contrasted with my blood-red eyes, and its glossy black fur seemed to be as dark and black as Corruption of the Night.


    Did this mean something?


    Surely, it can''t be a coincidence that out of all the things in the world, a cat was sent back in time with me, right?


    Staring intently at the cat, trying to see if there were any hints, the cat simply licked its whiskers before laying back down in my arms.


    ...this world is a joke, isn''t it? Yeah, it has to be. I''m dreaming, right? This can''t be real life, right?


    Haha, come out, who''s playing this joke on me..?


    Recalling the memories of the coliseum almost collapsing, I regained my composure as I seriously considered what my next actions should be.


    Let''s just put aside this cat for now...


    Staring at the reflection in the cake shop''s glass windows, I saw the 2 stalkers once again intently staring at us from the alleyway.


    Do we attack and capture them like last time?


    Before figuring out the cause of the attack on the coliseum or why Astrid and I failed, I needed to figure out why I was sent back to this specific moment in time.


    Clearly, I needed to change something at this time period, but the question was, what?


    Should I still attack the stalkers but not kill the blood-red sword one, or should I just avoid attacking them at all?


    ...Or could I take the easy route and just skip everything?


    "Zeng, let''s go inside."


    Well, since Zeng was useless because he couldn''t fight without revealing his horns, I wanted him to return to headquarters with the cat. After some thinking, I decided to keep both of them, as the cat must have some purpose, and Zeng still could be valuable¡ªalbeit as a distraction.


    Not wasting any time, as the stalkers would be suspicious if we were inside the cake shop for too long, I walked up to Astrid, who was making small talk with the owner to make him lower his guard.


    "It''s here."


    Surprised by my sudden appearance next to her, Astrid blinked for a moment before asking.


    "...and what exactly are you talking about?"


    Not answering her question, I jumped over the counter and delivered a karate chop to the shop owner''s nape, rendering him unconscious.


    Following my lead, Zeng jumped over the counter, clumsily knocking over a couple of decorations in the progress, while Astrid simply stood there in disbelief.


    "Come on, what are you waiting for?"


    "y-you... just what the hell are you doing?"


    As Astrid jumped over the counter, joining Zeng and me, I used my awakened force to crush the same elevated area of the floor, revealing the gigantic hole and ladder.


    Astrid, who had been awestruck by my sudden sequence of actions, immediately regained her focus as she realized that I had somehow discovered the location of the hideout we were looking for.


    Casting a wind current around the 3 of us, Zeng and I jumped down first while Astrid followed a second later.


    Sprinting into the tunnel, leaving behind Zeng and Astrid, I manifested my bow and arrow before realizing that the corruption I had lost from my arrow''s destruction earlier was back!


    Slinging the bow around my shoulder, its curves resting on my back, I carefully placed the sleeping black kitten in my sweatshirt''s hoodie to free up my hands.


    Reaching the clearing, I wasted no time as I immediately threw my 2 standard daggers at the scientists, instantly impaling two of their bodies, and nocked my single arrow.


    As my arrow flew through the air and towards the remaining scientists, Astrid appeared just in time as she trapped them scientists in a cage of tree roots, making them unable to dodge my arrow. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As the arrow pierced through one of the scientists, I dispersed it and my bow before manifesting my two daggers and dashing into the cage of roots.


    Slicing the roots with my daggers, I forced my way into the cage before taking care of the remaining scientists, gaining some corruption.


    As Zeng and Astrid stared at the gigantic board with Bertus''s picture, I shifted my attention to the other aspects of my room and examined everything for any clue or hint as to their actual plan.


    However, even after surveying every single corner of the room with my eyesight, I didn''t find anything peculiar.


    The only things in the room were the scientists and the board.


    Was this cave all a distraction?


    Maybe, in an act of desperation, or maybe I was just going insane, I slowly removed the cat from my hood and placed it in my hands.


    Like Simba''s dad from Lion King, I extended my arms upwards, holding the cat right above my head.


    "DO SOMETHING!"


    Waking up from my shout, the cat stood up on my hands before staring at me for a moment... and then letting out a... growl.


    After ensuring I heard its growl, the cat simply laid back down in my hands.


    ...This cat was mad at me for interrupting its rest.


    Well... they do say pets tend to resemble their owners... that goddamn Ren must have taught his pet this!


    Putting the sleeping cat back in my hoodie, I glanced at Astrid and Zeng as they shifted their attention from the board.


    As the two stared at me with confused and concerned expressions, I simply shrugged my shoulders and said.


    "...It was worth a try."


    In a cheerful tone, Zeng gave me a thumbs up and enthusiastically said.


    "Well... it was a good damn try at that! You''ll get ''em next time, boss!"


    Looking at Astrid, who looked like she was a second away from banging her head against the cave walls, I tried to recall other clues from the previous timeline.


    The broadsword guy was quite suspicious, but I couldn''t tell if he was insane or not. He was right, though... what we did to him didn''t matter as they still succeeded in their academy attack in the end.


    Walking back up to Astrid and Zeng, I said.


    "Let''s wait here."


    "... and why would we do th-"


    "Sounds good, boss!"


    Stopping Zeng from sitting down on the floor, I responded to Astrid.


    "There were some people following us today. If they''re part of this organization, there''s a possibility they could come down here and see that their plan has been foiled."


    "Isn''t that a good thing? If they see their plan failed, they might give up entirely."


    "Conversely, they could also come up with another plan or target on the spot, basically making all our work here useless."


    "Then, what do you suggest we do?"


    "Well, it''s pretty simple; I''ve already done it once."


    Gesturing to Zeng and Astrid, we left the clearing and hid behind some rocks near the end of the tunnel.


    With my bow hung around my shoulders, I peered towards the ladder and saw two figures descending down it.


    "Be careful... they''re down here."


    "What do you mean, Caster?"


    "You idiot, did you not see the trapdoor fucking obliterated?"


    "...my bad."


    "How did they even find this place... we hid it in a damn cake shop."


    "maybe they just really like sweets."


    "...yeah man, they love sweets so much that they''re destroying the damn floor."


    As the two of them neared our rocks, we all stayed absolutely still, ensuring that no noise leaked out, until finally, the two villains entered the clearing.


    Stopping a few feet into the clearing, the two silently stared at the dozens of tree roots and dead bodies lying on the floor.


    "See, I was right."


    "...is this really the time?"


    "Shut it, they were bound to die anyway; they''re just a bunch of decoys."


    As the two villains walked further into the clearing, I crawled out from the rocks, silently equipping my bow and nocking another arrow.


    With the arrow strung against my bow, I aimed toward the weak spot on the roof and patiently waited.


    It was like gambling.


    For the trap to be most effective, the two would have to be as far into the clearing as possible, but they could turn around and head back at any time.


    Do I shoot now and be safe, or wait and risk them turning back?


    Seeing them examining the bodies in the center of the clearing, I didn''t hesitate as I let the soft string of the bow go, releasing the arrow.


    *RUMBLE*


    *RUMBLE*


    As the arrow hit its mark perfectly, the roof of the clearing immediately began to collapse as rocks began falling down and the ground started shaking.


    Unfortunately, the entrance to the clearing was almost immediately blocked off by countless rocks, so I couldn''t see how the two villains inside were fairing.


    However, that did give me time to think about their words.


    Decoys... huh?

 Chapter 66 - 66:The Cake Shop [3]

    My assumption from the start had been that we were dealing with a small villainous organization, so the thought that this place was a decoy never crossed my mind.


    I mean, considering the size of the clearing and tunnel, this place must have taken at least 6 months to be built. Magic couldn''t have been used as the High Domiino would have detected it, so this entire tunnel must have been built by hard labor.


    Did a small organization really have the manpower, resources, and time to build something like this just to use it as a decoy or trap?


    As the ground stopped shaking, Zeng and Astrid emerged from under the rocks and stood beside me in front of the entrance to the clearing, which was now blocked by rocks.


    While Zeng was happy to follow instructions without asking any questions, I could tell Astrid had plenty of questions for me as she tapped her foot up and down anxiously.


    Thankful that Astrid was keeping her questions bottled up for now, I broke the silence by saying.


    "Well, let''s check the damage."


    As I began clearing the rocks blocking the entrance to the clearing, Astrid stood behind me with her wand in hand while Zeng simply placed one hand on his fedora.


    After making a hole big enough in the rocks for the three of us to fit, we entered the clearing, which was in shambles.


    The gigantic board on the wall had fallen and shattered due to the walls'' rumbling, and the previously polished floor was now covered with debris and rocks.


    Using my eyes, I immediately surveyed the room for the two villains. The broad-sworded individual was lying under a rock, only his legs visible from beneath it. While I couldn''t find the other, I noticed a peculiar bright red light.


    Stepping onto a rock to gain a higher vantage point, I stared downwards and saw the blood-sword individual, surrounded by rocks, with his sword in hand.


    Staring at the broken pieces of rock and debris under the blood-sword figure, I realized that he must have somehow survived by just swinging his sword at every rock that came near to him.


    Noticing the light of the blood-red sword from a distance, Astrid asked.


    "What... is that?"


    "It''s one of them; be ready."


    Heeding my warning, Astrid immediately cast an energy ball, but instead of using it, she let it float idly over her head.


    After a moment, the entire figure of the blood-sword individual was visible as he climbed out of the hole and up onto one of the rocks.


    Riddled with countless bruises and blood, the figure''s red sword illuminated the entire clearing, so he was able to spot us after a moment.


    Summoning my bow and arrow, I immediately sent an arrow flying right at him while Astrid sent her energy ball hurling toward him.


    Standing still, the figure simply swung his blood-red sword, causing an inferno of flames to appear right in front of him, completely melting the incoming energy ball.


    My arrow managed to get through the wall of flames, but it was slowed down enough that the figure could easily dodge it.


    Not concerned about the loss of corruption from my arrow in the slightest, I stepped back in shock and confusion. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...those flames were the exact flames in the suite back at the coliseum. My eyes were never wrong, and they were telling me those flames were the same.


    But... then the blood-red sword had caused it all... but who had the blood-red sword in the previous timeline?


    Zeng...I had given it to him to take back to the subspace.


    Calming myself down, I decided to first focus on the task at hand as I used my remaining corruption to summon my two daggers.


    Swinging the two daggers in the air, I sent two night-black elemental slashes hurling towards the figure while Astrid cast two more energy balls.


    Activating my dash, I hid in the shadows of the energy balls as I silently sprinted toward the wall of the flames.


    Watching my slashes and Astrid''s energy balls enter the wall of the fire, I used to dash, instantly propelling myself through the wall of fire and toward the defenseless figure.


    Since the dash wasn''t teleportation, I had basically run through the wall of the fire, so my hands were slightly burned, and the bottom of my pants was painted a dark black.


    Reaching the defenseless figure, I didn''t hesitate as I lunged towards him with my dagger aligned with his heart.


    Unfortunately, it seemed like he had enough time to react as he pulled his blood-red sword up, deflecting my dagger and sending me stumbling back.


    Swinging his sword in the air, he sent a crimson fiery slash right at me, and like him, I stood still, facing the slash head-on.


    Holding my daggers in the X formation, I met the slash head-on without falling back, and for every second I held on, it became much easier to continue holding on.


    After a few more seconds of holding my daggers to the elemental slash, I felt my control over it grow, so without any hesitation, I sent the slash right back at the figure.


    Activating the usage period of the dash, I also sent my own night-black elemental slash right at him, trailing behind the fire slash.


    Injecting mana into my daggers, I created a holographic dagger that floated right in front of me before using dash.


    Appearing in front of the battered and exhausted figure, who had been barely able to hold off the two elemental slashes, I swung all three daggers right at him.


    As my right dagger plunged into his body, the figure slumped down on the crowd before completely collapsing and finally releasing his grip on the blood-red sword.


    Staring at the blood-red sword on the ground, various thoughts came to mind, almost all of them telling me to get rid of it now.


    As Zeng and Astrid approached me, I instinctively stepped in front of the sword, blocking their sight of it.


    While it was possible that someone had stolen the weapon from Zeng when he was returning to the headquarters, there was still a chance Zeng had done it.


    Dismissing my daggers, I manifested a midnight-black sheath before carefully placing the blood-red sword into it, ignoring the sudden surge of exhaustion.


    Putting the sheath on my waist, I stood back up and headed to Zeng and Astrid, who were standing in front of the broad-sword individual''s legs.


    "We should interrogate him."


    Nodding our heads at Astrid''s words, Zeng and I both pushed the boulder off the villain, revealing his full body, which was somehow less battered than his teammates.


    Waking up the villain with a sharp slap to the face, I saw his eyes flicker open for a moment before immediately closing after he saw us three standing in front of him.


    Seeing Astrid turn to me, I started the questioning.


    "What is this place?"


    "..."


    "Not talking, are we?"


    If this organization wasn''t as small and weak as I originally thought, there was the possibility that the organization had forced him to sign a mana contract, preventing him from disclosing any information about their group.


    Fortunately, Astrid seemed prepared for this kind of situation. She pulled a small green vile out of her bag and handed it to me.


    A Truth Serum.


    If there was a contract, he would die upon consuming the potion and being asked a question, as the mana contract would kill him for disclosing information.


    And if there wasn''t, he would be forced to answer our questions.


    Of course, there were ways to negate the truth serum, as you could technically tell a lie by only partially revealing the truth or mixing the lie with the truth. But how would some third-rate villain like this guy know that?


    Opening his mouth, I poured the green liquid in, ensuring that he drank it all and didn''t spit it out.


    "One more time! What is this place?"


    "i-its w-was a research headquarters b-but boss abandoned it a week ago."


    Getting straight to the point, I asked.


    "What is your plan to take out the prince?"


    "I-i d-don''t know."


    Whether he knew it or not, this guy was actually counteracting the truth serum by only revealing part of the truth.


    "What did your boss tell you?"


    "h-he just said t-to distract people searching and leave the rest to him."


    Looking at Zeng''s expression for a moment, I walked up to him and straight-up asked him.


    "Zeng, answer truthfully. Do you have any intentions of attacking the academy?"


    "w-what, of course not, boss! Well, unless you say so."


    He can''t lie because I ordered him to be honest, so he wasn''t the one who attacked the academy with the sword...


    The only possible scenario then is that Zeng was attacked while transporting the sword.


    This person then stole the sword and used its immense power to blow up the royal family''s suite.


    But for this person to have known about the sword, they had to be related to this broad-sworded individual and the sword''s original wielder.


    This person also has to be aware of the actions and locations of these villains, which means that their boss did it all.


    That begs the question, though, why didn''t he just take the blood-red sword in the first place instead of giving it to his subordinate?


    He couldn''t, but why?


    Recalling the fatigue I felt when I picked up the sword, I realized that it might have something to do with wielding the sword too long, making you weak.


    Shaking my head, I left the clearing and headed back to the ladder with Zeng, leaving Astrid alone to ask whatever questions she wanted to.


    I had already done enough by preventing the blood-red sword from falling into the hands of this boss figure.


    Exiting the cake shop, I sent Zeng back to the headquarters and headed to the academy, as it would be safer to store the sword there.


    Ensuring that no one was following me, I stepped onto the academy bridge before heading through the front gates and entering my dorms.


    As I laid down on my bed, still studying my situation, a thought suddenly came to me.


    There was no plan or infiltration mission or anything, so how did this boss get into the academy?


    How did he get all the way to the royal suite without anyone stopping him? Security guards and teachers were the only ones allowed into that area of the coliseum.


    The High Dominion handpicked the guards, so then that leaves the teachers...


    Teachers can''t usually bring swords or weapons onto the academy grounds, but for the festival, a certain group of teachers can... those chosen for the battle royal event.


    The villain''s boss was then a teacher¡ªnot just any teacher, a teacher prestigious and powerful enough to be chosen to participate in a battle royal event.


    Was the academy safe for storing the sword, then...?


    *THUD-THUD*


    [A/N: I think I''ve caught up on gift extra chapters, so I might go back to doing 9-10 chapters/week.]

 Chapter 67 - 67:Attack on the Dormitory [1]

    At the sound of the sudden knocking on my door, I immediately stood up from my bed, clutching the sheath with the blood-red sword in my right hand.


    Meanwhile, the black cat that was lying next to me continued sleeping as if it had never heard the sound.


    Who could be here knocking on my door in the middle of the night?


    Sitting on my bed, I tried to use my eyes to peer through the peephole on the door, but it was blocked by something.


    Silently moving across my room, I considered escaping out the window, but after thinking it over, I decided there was a likely trap there. S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If this person was an enemy, why would they knock on the door, notifying me of their presence?


    Clearly, they would want me to panic and try to escape the room.


    Staring at the night-black sheath in my hands, I considered just handing it over to whoever was at the door in exchange for my life.


    All the teachers at the Academy were at least C rank, and since my enemy was chosen for the school''s battle royale, he had to be B rank at the minimum.


    ...But would he really let me live after I handed him over the sword?


    Why did he even use the blood-red sword in the first place?


    Why couldn''t he just use some other magical artifact to attack the prince; there were plenty of artifacts in the world that could generate fire and explosions.


    What was so special about this damn sword?


    Recalling my initial encounter, where I was naturally drawn to the sword, I came up with an assumption.


    What made me different from everyone else, even Lily, who was also from Earth?


    I possess the special trait of a dragon''s will.


    This sword had to be somehow related to that attribute of mine for me to be attracted to it, while both Zeng and Astrid were indifferent to it.


    *THUD-THUD*


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, my door once again shook as someone knocked on my door.


    Keeping my tone calm, I carefully concealed the sheath by putting it under my bed before responding.


    "It''s midnight; who the hell is knocking on my door?"


    "IT''S ME, OPEN THE DOOR!"


    Almost falling down in shock at the sound of a familiar female voice, I rushed to the door, putting my ear right beside it.


    "Who is this?"


    "YOU KNOW WHO; OPEN THE DOOR."


    Could it be a voice changer..? No, they don''t have those in this world, do they...


    Yanking open the door, I saw Irene in a tattered uniform standing right outside my door with a panicked expression.


    Without waiting for my reaction, Irene rushed into my room, slamming the door behind me and immediately grabbing a letter and a piece of paper.


    As Irene began frantically scribbling something on a piece of paper, I regained my composure and hurried to her side before asking.


    "So, do you mind explaining to me what the hell is going on, or are you just going to con-"


    Standing up from the chair, Irene walked to the window and pointed to something in the distance before answering my question.


    "T-the main dorm has been attacked... the others are fending off the intruder right now. T-the intruder is a teacher from this Academy."


    Rushing to the window, I followed Irene''s finger and saw the scene of the Royal Dormitory, a building famed for its impressive decor and architecture, in shambles.


    Numerous windows were broken, pillars were knocked down, and inside the building, I could see the flashing of lights, indicating that spells were being cast.


    ...Why in the world would the teacher go to the royal dorm building instead of mine when I held the blood-red sword?


    In the first place... how did the teacher know Zeng had the blood-red sword?


    The only way for him to know Zeng was carrying the sword while he was in the academy was for him to use a tracking device.


    Staring at the corrupted sheath that was covering my blood-red sword, I realized that my corruption had probably blocked the signal radiating from the tracking device on the sword.


    Astrid was the last person in the collapsed clearing, wasn''t she..? Coincidentally, she lived in the royal dormitory, the target of the teacher''s attack.


    Seeing that his signal had been cut off, the teacher must have gone to the tunnel under the bakery and somehow discovered that Astrid was the last one in the room, then assumed that she possessed the sword.


    Or... was this entire attack bait to lure me and the sword in?


    Turning the panicked Irene, who was staring out the window, I asked.


    "Why did you come to me...? The teachers should be your fir-"


    "YOU THINK I CAME TO YOU FIRST? a-all the t-teachers were gone a-and the principal too."


    All of them must be meeting with important figures and working on setting up the festival... but still, leaving 0 teachers at the academy is...


    Ah, they did leave teachers behind; they left behind the one that was currently attacking the royal dormitory!


    "But still, why me, of all people? What the hell do you expect me to do..?"


    Turning to me, Irene stammered out.


    "A-astrid t-told me to come to you after the teachers... then she and the others left to fight."


    Staring silently out of the window, I seriously considered my options.


    Back after the Alya kidnapping incident, Liam, Lily, Kevin, Alya, Zach, and Irene had all entered the same dream and completed it together, ascending to D-rank.


    Would Ruby and the entire main cast be enough to take a B-rank? Well, at their peak, one of them could destroy an A rank with ease... but right now, they were all D rank or less, so it was 100% a no.


    But... what could I even do if I joined the fight?


    Even if I handed over the blood-red sword, the teacher would still kill us to leave no witnesses alive, so that was useless.


    A single D-rank like me would definitely be unable to turn the tides of the battle... but could I really leave this situation be?


    No doubt, the teacher would be able to kill all the students in the dormitory before reinforcements arrived, so leaving the situation be was tantamount to me allowing the entire main cast and Ruby to die.


    Sitting down on my bed, I turned to Irene, who was staring at me with eyes filled with hope and desperation as Astrid''s words about me must have given her some false hope.


    Wasn''t this the same girl who called a harasser not even 3 weeks ago?


    Grabbing the sheath under the bed, I tucked it under my waist. If I came face-to-face with the teacher, I could use it to stall for time or catch him off guard, albeit making me his target alongside the prince, Bertus.


    ...Wasn''t the first time-line better than this? In that world, only Astrid and Bertus died, but now the entire main cast was in danger.


    Looking at Irene, who had just handed the piece of paper she was writing on to a carrier pigeon outside my window, I said.


    "Go get help from the outside; I''ll see what Astrid needs."


    Beating or defeating a B-rank at my level was impossible, but with all the tricks and abilities in my arsenal, stalling him for a short period was possible.


    With Ruby''s teleportation abilities, she could evacuate everyone while Irene rushed to the capital and sought support.


    ...Was I really entrusting my life to Irene and Ruby? Just who was I anymore?


    Well, if I really was on the brink of dying, I would 100% escape using one of my contingency plans, even if everyone wasn''t evacuated, but hey, at least I was trying.


    Watching Irene surprisingly listen to my instructions and rush towards the academy gate, I headed to my wardrobe, put on my cloak, and grabbed a couple of mana-boosting rings that I had gotten back from the museum.


    Unlike my cloak artifact, these weren''t permanent, but for a short period of time, they would increase my mana capacity by an insane amount.


    "...Well, there goes my stockpile."


    Now fully dripped out in artifacts, I headed outside my dorm building, which was eerily quiet as no one besides me had noticed the attack on the royal dormitory yet.


    What if I just got every student in the academy to help me siege the royal dormitory and take down the teacher?


    Well, it would be a massacre. The teacher could simply cast a couple of AOE spells at the charging crowd, instantly killing hundreds of them at a time.


    It would be funny, though... charging into the royal dormitory with an army of sixteen-year-olds by my side.


    As I stared back at my dormitory, I noticed that a figure was exiting the building... well, a small figure at that.


    Running up to me, the small black cat jumped onto my legs before climbing all the way up to my cloak and once again diving into my hoodie.


    Well... it was the cat''s choice, not mine.


    [A/N: Do you guys prefer this novel cover or the last one + new character illustrations.]

 Chapter 68 - 68:Attack on the Dormitory [2]

    While leisurely strolling towards the forest, where the royal dormitory was located, I started to reminisce about my abrupt entrance into this world.


    It wasn''t that bad, was it?


    From going to nightclubs to doing presentations in class, I had basically been a normal student, aside from the few times I presumably saved the world.


    As a high schooler back on Earth, my life was pretty much the same, but instead of nightclubs, I went out with friends.


    In this world, I didn''t even have to worry about going to college! ...Well, I did have to worry about saving the world instead, but that was out of my own volition.


    If I wanted to, I could stop at any time and let Lily do her thing with the plot, whereas with college, I had no choice; it was a requirement set by my parents for me.


    My parents, huh... it''s been a long time, hasn''t it?


    I''d love to say that I got along with my parents... but that was far from the truth. Constant fights about my future, and my parents getting angry at me, telling me to do more extracurriculars and get better grades.


    Well... it was because they cared. They just wanted me to have a good future where money wasn''t a problem and I could honestly enjoy life.


    Would they be happy seeing me right now..?


    With business doing well on Raven''s side and the number of artifacts I had gotten from the cruise ship, money absolutely wasn''t a worry for me right now.


    ...my grades weren''t the best, though.


    Putting my hood over my face, forcing the black cat to cling onto my shirt to stay afloat, I stared at the half-collapsed royal dormitory building in front of me.


    Inside, it was eerily silent, and there were no more flashing lights, but just one glance through a window, and I could tell that the fight wasn''t even close to being over.


    ...In fact, it was only beginning.


    Glancing up at the sky, I saw small particles of mana gathering and spreading out to create a cage that completely surrounded the entire mansion.


    In the next few seconds, the mana gathered and gathered until the entire mansion was covered by it.


    Unlike my shadow cage, you could still see outside the mana cage as the stars shining in the night sky were visible; however, as I put my hand on the mana barrier surrounding the mansion, I was immediately propelled back.


    I couldn''t leave...


    Well, there was one way: Ruby''s teleportation magic.


    I had considered the possibility that Ruby would just teleport at the first sign of danger, leaving everyone behind, but like me; I believed that she had undergone some transformation from her original villain identity, not to say she''d risk her life, though.


    If that weren''t the case, I would have to stall until Irene''s reinforcements arrived and broke down the cage.


    Manifesting a dagger with my corruption, I touched the tip of it to the mana cage and watched as the corruption spread for a second before being immediately halted and then overtaken by the original mana.


    Sighing as I realized that my corruption wasn''t yet strong enough to take control of the mana cage that the teacher cast, I found a broken window on the ground floor of the mansion before immediately heading in.


    Walking through the empty hallways of the dormitory, I realized that after talking to Irene. Astrid must have gathered all the students together to fight against the teacher.


    As my eyes led me to feel a sense of familiarity with this area, I recalled that this was the exact hallway where Ruby and I had been when I had been showing her around on the day she transferred.


    Would Ruby still be in her room, or had she gathered with the others?


    Turning back around, I headed towards the area where Ruby had rushed to when she said she was going back to her room and left me behind.


    Finding a single door, I prepared to break it down, but to my surprise, it was left open as a simple push opened it.


    Looking inside the extravagant room that even had its own personal sauna and training room, I looked inside for a moment before realizing that Ruby wasn''t there.


    As I turned around to head back toward the dormitory''s common area, I recognized something that stopped me dead in my tracks.


    In the corner of the room, there was a painting of an apple. It had been the only painting I could look at without immediately getting a headache.


    Wasn''t it in the hallway last time? Did she really just steal it and bring it here...?


    Looking at the painting, I further recalled that Ruby had mentioned that despite the painting being simple and boring, it was expensive solely because of the name.


    Feeling my hood lift up, I glanced upwards and realized that the black cat had climbed onto my head and was now staring at the painting as well.


    How did this damn painting of all things catch this cat''s goddamn attention?


    When time had turned back, it had been indifferent. When I was fighting the original owner of the blood-red sword, it had been asleep.


    Even when the coliseum originally exploded and caught on fire, it simply did not care, but this painting of an apple on a blank canvas had captured its interest..?


    Who made this painting? Well... I haven''t heard any fighting yet, so maybe I have some time!


    Letting my curiosity take over, I strolled into Ruby''s room, heading closer and closer to the painting until, finally, I was right in front of it.


    Looking at the bottom of the canvas, where the painter''s name is usually mentioned, I was surprised to see no mention of the author''s name, just the title of the painting.


    "The Dragon''s Forbidden Fruit."


    As I stared at the painting, I was just about to turn around when I felt a sudden pressure exerted on my head.


    Looking upwards, I saw the black cat jump off my head and right into the painting. Before I could even react, the cat''s body disappeared as it went straight through the painting.


    "... a subspace?"


    Is that why Ruby said the painting was so valuable and why she stole it from the hallway and brought it into her room?


    Hesitating outside the painting moment, I decided that I would spend only 5 minutes inside it before heading back out and continuing my search for the teacher.


    Anyway, it wouldn''t really matter if I found the scene of the battle right now, as my plan was to intervene after everyone besides me was taken out, as the teacher wouldn''t kill anyone until he got information on the blood-red sword he was after.


    Then, right as the teacher realized that none of them knew about the sword, I would intervene, making the teacher waste as much as possible.


    Standing in front of the painting, I carefully placed my dagger into it, watching it disappear before jumping in after it.


    Feeling my surroundings distort, I shut my eyes and, for some reason, felt dizzier than usual as I waited for the area around me to stabilize.


    When I opened my eyes, all I could see was the darkness... but then I quickly realized I was lying face down.


    Dusting myself off, I got up and immediately looked at the area in front of me.


    "w-what t-the hell???..." Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In front of me stood the same circle when I had fought the djinns, and even the pedestals from the museum were there. Remanant of our battle could be seen as I recognized countless burn marks.


    Looking downwards, I immediately recognized that Zeng''s scratch marks from when he was in here were also there.


    This was my subspace... there was no doubt about it.


    The only problem was the painting entrance to my subspace was currently in my headquarters...

 Chapter 69 - 69:Attack on the Dormitory [3]

    Had there ever been a case where there were two entrances to one subspace?


    Absolutely not; that would go against the whole reason subspaces were created, as they were made specifically to give the main cast a private space to plan things and hang out.


    How would it be a private space if some random person could just enter from another entrance?


    So... did Ruby have access to my subspace this entire time?


    No... Ruby and I had found this painting way before I even stole my subspace from the museum.


    Then, was the apple painting the original entrance to my subspace, and the painting from the museum the second one?


    ...Wasn''t this subspace technically Ruby''s and not mine, then?


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, I heard a growl echo throughout the gigantic room. Turning my head, I saw the black cat sitting on one of the pedestals.


    Having nothing better to do as I already knew this place perfectly, I walked towards the pedestal before extending my hand to the cat.


    This entire thing was a mystery, but it was a mystery that could wait.


    The most important thing right now was stalling the teacher until everyone was evacuated or when Irene''s reinforcements arrived.


    However, the cat refused to get back on my hand as it adamantly stood on the pedestal, just staring at me.


    Did it want to be left behind?


    *meowww*


    Throwing its paw out as it meowed, the cat slapped away my hand while still intently staring at me as if it was expecting me to do something.


    Following the cat''s stare down to my waist, I was surprised to see that the night-black corrupted sheath now had some red to it.


    When did that start?


    Holding the sheath in my hands, I curiously examined the corrupted sheath as it glowed blood-red.


    This was the first time my corruption had not been pitch-black.


    Dispersing the sheath, I let the blood-red sword fall to the ground, not daring to pick it up, and watched it grow brighter and brighter with every passing second.


    Since this was a subspace, the sword''s tracking device wouldn''t work, so I wasn''t scared of the teacher suddenly appearing and attacking me.


    Looking back up the cat, I asked.


    "Happy now?"


    *meowww*


    Am I really talking to a cat right now...?


    Staring intently at the sword, the cat gracefully jumped down from the pedestal and circled the sword a few times before staring at me once again.


    Did it want me to do something?


    "You know, I''m the owner, and you''re the pet, right?"


    *MEOWWW*


    Doing my best to suppress the attraction force between me and the sword, I stared at my cat''s eyes as it threw its paw at the sword before looking back at me.


    Well, this cat was the only thing sent back in time with me, so maybe I should trust it? ...but aren''t black cats bad luck?


    Realizing that the 5-minute time limit I had set myself was drawing closer, I stopped suppressing my body and let natural instinct take control as my hand reached for the sword without me even doing anything.


    Feeling the cold metal of the sword''s hilt, I gripped the sword before lifting it up like a torch and using it to illuminate the dark room.


    Feeling the same sense of fatigue and exhaustion seeping into me, I stared at the cat, awaiting its further instructions... but it just stood there.


    Ignoring me while licking its fur with its tongue, the cat seemed to tell me, "What? Do you want me to tell you how to do everything? Aren''t you my owner?"


    Recalling how my corrupted sheath had suppressed the side effects of the blood-red sword, I mustered the last of the remaining energy, and instead of manifesting something, I sent all the corruption within my body to my right hand, which was holding the sword.


    Feeling a sharp pain in my palm as my corruption fought with the blood-red sword to gain control, I dropped to the floor, clenching my right arm.


    Slowly but surely, the room was getting darker, and the light of the blood-red sword was diminishing...


    As the room descended back into full darkness, I was about to relax when the room suddenly lit up again.


    Looking down at the source of the light, I was almost blinded as I stared at my hand, which was glowing a blood-red, and next to it, the sword had lost all its light.


    "... that is NOT normal."


    Turning to my cat, I watched as he scurried away, seemingly saying, "Don''t you dare fucking pet me with that crazy red hand."


    Wait... am I really trying to assume what the cat is saying? Have I gone insane?


    Waving my blood-red glowing hand up and down, I was surprised to see that my hand was functioning normally, and I didn''t feel any pain or exhaustion.


    Attempting to control the glowing red substance, I moved it towards my stomach. My arm began shining a blood red, and the substance traveled through my blood veins.


    As the substance reached my shoulders, my shoulder shined a blood-red, even illuminating my pitch-black cloak, making it partially red.


    Moving the substance down to my stomach, I realized that it was just about to hit the area where my mana was stored before I would stab my hands to gather it. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As the blood-red glowing substance moved downwards, touching the mana particles, I immediately dropped to the ground in pain. It felt like a shockwave had just been sent through my entire body.


    As I uncontrollably began coughing, the floor below me began to be stained red with my blood.


    Looking down at the puddle of blood below, I saw my reflection...


    My body was completely devoid of the blood-red substance, and none of it was glowing, but on my back, there was one wing on my right shoulder.


    Opposite an Angel''s pure white and divine wing, my wing was a combination of dark red and pitch black, and I only had one wing.


    Staring at me, the cat simply nodded its head before sitting back down as if saying, "I told you to listen to me!"


    Regaining control over my body, I tried to control my wing, and as my wing flapped once, my surroundings distorted for a moment before stabilizing and revealing that my position had changed 10 meters.


    It wasn''t teleportation, but like dash, an increase in speed... but the speed boost was instantaneous, and it could be used infinitely as long I had mana.


    The blood-red and pitch-black wing stretched all the way from the top of my head to my feet, so I stood back up; I had to be careful not to scratch my wing on the floor.


    Recovering from the surging pain, I looked at my smartwatch and immediately realized I had lost track of time.


    It had been more than double 5 minutes...


    Grabbing my cat, who happily jumped onto my shoulder before climbing onto my wing, I rushed back to the painting and jumped through.


    As my wing didn''t fit, I was forced to turn horizontally when I jumped through, causing me to land face-first on the ground of Ruby''s dorm.


    Standing back up, I decided to check something really quick as I stretched out my hand back into the painting, but instead of my hand disappearing, it was met with the hard surface of the canvas.


    ...What did it all mean?


    Despite the fact that my subspace and that room were identical in every aspect, my suspicions started to grow when I saw my reflection in the blood puddle.


    My reflection was off. My eyes didn''t recognize myself; there was no sense of familiarity with myself.


    However, when I looked in a mirror or my reflection in a window, it was the opposite, as my eyes immediately recognized me.


    The time-traveling cat, wherever I just was, the blood-red sword''s relationship to dragons and that teacher, and finally, the teacher''s plan to attack the Celestial Festival, which was not mentioned in the book.


    What did all of these things mean?


    Hearing the sound of swords clashing and spells being cast, I didn''t waste any time as I rushed out of Ruby''s room... only not to fit through the door due to my wing.


    Turning vertically, I sidestepped out of the door before pulling the cat under my cloak and completely concealing my face with the hood.


    Imagine the rumors that would spread if Ren had a goddamn wing on his back.


    Opening my system menu, a smile unconsciously slipped onto my face as I realized those goddamn words "[1 / ?]" were finally gone.


    ===Menu===


    User : Ren Montclair


    [Class: Proficient Assassin: (Level 3: 2%) ]


    -> Stealth : C


    -> Moderate Dagger Mastery : 7%


    -> Arts: Eclipse Blade [3/5]


    [Stats]


    -> Rating : D+ {Dream not yet completed}


    -> Strength : E+


    -> Agility : D+


    -> Stamina : D-


    -> Magic Power : D+


    -> Luck: G-S {Conditional}


    -> Intelligence : E


    -> Charm : F-


    [Traits]


    -> Passive: Dragon''s Will [2 / ?]


    ---> Dragon Eyes : Your eyesight is enhanced.


    ---> Dragon''s Transformation : You are able to harness a physical part of a dragon.


    [Skills]


    -> [[E] Dash] : Not requiring any mana usage, the skill allows the user to move 10 meters from their current location in any direction with a cooldown period of 7 seconds. The skill does not instantly move the user but temporarily increases the user''s speed until they move 10 meters.


    =======

 Chapter 70 - 70:Attack on the Dormitory [4]

    *BANG~BANG*


    *BANG~BANG*


    Woken up by the loud knocking on her door, Ruby grabbed a jacket before opening the door, revealing the figure of a panicked Lily.


    "Need something?"


    "w-were under a-attack, f-follow me."


    Considering that Lily wasn''t the type of person to lie about something like this, Ruby immediately woke herself up fully before grabbing her weapon and following Lily.


    Trailing behind Lily, Ruby saw countless indications of an attack, such as broken windows, torn walls, and even the smell of fire.


    Seeing the trembling Lily in front of her, Ruby didn''t press further for answers, instead deciding to figure everything out once they reached their destination.


    Entering the common area, Ruby saw the group of almost 40 students gathered, with her being the last one to enter.


    Well, her room was secluded from the rest as she had just moved in less than a month ago, so Ruby wasn''t surprised.


    What surprised Ruby more was the fact that no one was hurt.


    Examining the groups of nervous students, Ruby could not spot a single wound or scratch on any of them.


    The only person harmed was the student council president, Astrid, as she had a bloody scar on her knee.


    Was there only one intruder, then? But, then, where was that intruder now?


    Maintaining her composure, Ruby walked to the back of the common area, where the window was located, and peered out.


    With her teleportation skill, Ruby could scout out the mansion and then immediately return to this area, but as Ruby looked out the window, her gaze suddenly froze.


    There was a mana barrier for as long as the eye could see, as it seemed to envelop the whole dormitory.


    They weren''t just dealing with some regular villain; this person had to be at least B-rank to create a mana cage of this size while still having power left over.


    Didn''t anyone tell this attacker that the academy was Gemstone Order territory? Who the hell did this villain think they were?


    While this wasn''t a problem for Ruby personally as her teleportation would still work so she could escape... Ruby glanced around the crowded hall for a moment, noticing that everyone was oblivious to the cage.


    "well... I can''t just let another villain invade our territory."


    Walking to the front of the common area where Astrid stood, surrounded by Lily, Liam, Kevin, and Alya, Ruby patiently waited until their conversation was over.


    "I-i c-can''t f-find Irene."


    "Lily, I sent Irene off to find backup as I found her before all of you, so don''t worry. Let''s focus on the intruder."


    "Astrid, are you sure it''s only one person who attacked you..?"


    "Yes, for the millionth time, Liam, there was only one."


    "Well, if there''s only one attacker and 40 of us, why don''t we split up into parties and look for him?"


    Sighing, Astrid hesitated for a moment before responding to Kevin''s question.


    "The intruder isn''t just someone. I recognized him...it was Mr. Darkwood, the professor for Alchemy. I saw him on the signups for the teacher''s battle royale..."


    A teacher?


    While Ruby knew of countless villains who posed as security guards, janitors, and even students at the academy, she had never heard of a villain pretending to be a teacher.


    As Liam, Lily, Alya, and Kevin were shocked and stunned by Astrid''s news, Ruby took the opportunity to break the silence. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Lily, I think you should see this."


    Snapping her out of her thoughts, Lily responded.


    "W-what is it, Scarlett."


    Pointing towards the window, Ruby purposely made her tone nervous as she replied.


    "W-we''re t-trapped inside a m-mana cage."


    As the 5 students rushed to the window to confirm her words, Ruby began to formulate a plan.


    With the mana cage already formed, it was already clear that this "Mr. Darkwood" would reappear as soon as he recovered, so their preparation time was running low.


    Staring at the over 40 students in the crowded hall, Ruby estimated that she could transport around 10 of them out before the teacher recovered his mana, and if given thirty minutes, she could evacuate everyone.


    During her fight at the museum, Ruby had already showcased her teleportation abilities to her teammates, so it wasn''t the unwanted revealing of her ability that kept her from immediately starting to transfer the students.


    Rather, it was the fear of becoming the villain''s target, as if he found out that Ruby was the sole person who could escape from the mana barrier, she would be the first one dead.


    "...Well, I already made my decision when I told them about the mana cage, didn''t I?"


    Ruby could have left as soon as she heard about the attack and spotted the mana barrier, yet she decided to stay here.


    In other words, her decision was made as she entered the common area with the other students.


    Recalling the faint image of someone she had not seen around recently, Ruby smiled inwardly as she muttered.


    "You would be happy if I helped, wouldn''t you?"


    Even with all the bad rumors surrounding him, Ruby knew inwardly that he did not hold any malicious intentions as the flames of his heart were pure and divine white.


    When she originally met him, she lied, stating that their flames were similar when, in full honesty, they could be considered opposite.


    While both their flame shined for the same reason, Ruby knew that her flame was a dark black even without seeing them... although her flames must have been lightening up recently.


    Walking to the 5 students, who were staring out the window, Ruby explained.


    "Irene and my other teammates might not have told you, but I have access to teleportation."


    "Can it get past this barrier?"


    "Yes, president, I can teleport people out of the barrier and to safety."


    "Alright, start now; it''s only a matter of time before Mr. Darkwood makes his move."


    "w-wait, Astrid, shouldn''t we esc-"


    "Shut it, Kevin, we''re staying and helping."


    "Liam, do you have any regard for your own life? Sorry to break it to you, but not all of us are suicidal. He''s a powerful teacher, and we''re just some students."


    "Kevin, we''re staying."


    "...fine, Lily."


    As Ruby began transferring students one by one out of the barrier, in between consuming mana potions supplied by Lily and the reluctant Kevin, Astrid began strategizing.


    "Look, all we have to do is stall long enough for Ruby to get them all out."


    "Oh yeah, a bunch of D-ranks and one C-rank, Astrid, have to stall one of the most powerful teachers in the academy. What a simple plan!"


    "Is this the time for sarcasm?"


    "... why do I even talk? You guys never listen."


    Ignoring Kevin, Astrid continued.


    "Alya, take the rear and slow down his speed using your ice. Kevin and Liam will take the front, attacking directly with their sword, and Lily and I will cast attack spells to supplement them."


    Nodding their heads, all 5 of them split off in different directions, with Liam taking a quick detour to say goodbye to Zach, who was in charge of leading the students who Ruby teleported out.


    Taking a breather in between teleportations, Ruby slumped down against the wall, drinking yet another mana potion.


    Faced with the desperate stares of almost every student in the room, Ruby sighed as she got back up and continued teleporting.


    How did a villain boss like her end up saving people not once but twice!?


    *BOOM*


    Interrupting Ruby''s thoughts, she heard the sound of something crumbling, and a second later, the roof above the common area completely collapsed.


    As the dust settled, Ruby could see the scene of a teacher, adorned in a full black tuxedo and a brown bowtie, standing on the debris of the roof with a cane in his right hand.


    Not giving the students any time to react, the teacher raised his cane, the bottom facing towards them, before thrusting it forward twice, sending 3 wind bullets right at them.

 Chapter 71 - 71:Attack on the Dormitory [5]

    As the three wind bullets darted at them, Alya immediately sent countless spears of ice to intercept the bullets, slowing them down significantly but not destroying them.


    On the other hand, Lily took the defensive approach, creating a massive shield of water to protect Ruby and the students behind her.


    The elemental reaction created by the air and ice intersecting decreased the room''s temperature significantly, causing a chilly breeze to spread throughout the vast common area.


    Stepping forward, Liam lifted his sword, causing it to shine a bright blue, before directly taking on the first two slowed bullets while Kevin took on the third.


    As Alya and Astrid began preparing a counter-attack, the teacher silently raised his cane upwards, with the bottom of it facing the collapsed roof, before chanting some words that could not be heard.


    As tree roots emerged from the floor of the common area and countless lances of ice appeared beside the two students, the bottom of the teacher''s cane began to shine a dark purple.


    Before the counterattacks could even go past Kevin and Liam, a sudden purple flash blinded everyone in the room.


    5 purple lightning bolts appeared immediately appeared in the sky above the dormitory before surging downwards.


    Passing through the floors of the royal dormitory like they were nothing, five lightning bolts, each positioned above one of the main cast members, broke through the second floor and spiraled right towards each of their heads.


    Being the first to open her eyes, Astrid immediately noticed the dark purple light above her, so while diving to the side, she screamed.


    "DIVE!"


    Even though they were blind, the other four students obeyed Astrid''s instructions as they dove to their right and left sides.


    As both Liam and Kevin both dived towards each other, the two of them landed on top of each other, causing Kevin to scream out in pain as Liam''s elbow pushed down into his stomach, coincidentally the same place Liam had punched during the cruise ship incident.


    Staring at the floor below his previous locations, Liam almost collapsed once again as he saw that the wood was shattered into hundreds of pieces and that a slight fire was burning on some of the pieces.


    That could have killed them...


    As the five students regrouped to their original formation, the teacher, instead of attacking, simply watched them before lifting his cane and asking.


    "You should know that this battle is a lost cause; after all, you are the top students of the best academy in the realm. So, just hand it over, will you?"


    Of course, the teacher wasn''t planning to spare the students even if they handed over the sword as he still had to take care of the prince, but right now, obtaining the blood-red sword was his greatest priority.


    Astrid, who saw this talking as an opportunity to stall for more time, pretended to think for a moment before slowly responding.


    "Yes, as we are students of Celestial Academy, the 5 of us are inclined to understand that continuing to fight this dangerous and terrible battle will lead to our demise. However, we are quite confused and befuddled by your choice of words when you say, ''Just hand it over.'' "


    Standing behind Astrid, Lily continued.


    " *ahem* In other words, we have no idea what we are supposed to give you."


    Not realizing the number of students in the common area was dwindling as Ruby teleported back and forth, the teacher tapped his cane on the floor, manifesting a swirling orb filled with darkness above his head.


    " *sigh* Student council president, must you play dumb? I have already confirmed your presence at the scene. Nobody wants their time wasted here, but if you must, I am looking for a sword-colored blood-red."


    Thinking for a moment, the teacher pointed to the light-blue sword in Liam''s hand.


    "It is quite similar to that one, except it is red. Wait... is it that sword? Did you manage to alter its color?"


    While the teacher curiously stared at Liam''s light-blue sword, Astrid, who faintly recalled the djinn with the blood-red sword in the cave, said to her fellow students.


    "I don''t know where the sword is, and it is most definitely not with me.."


    Kevin, inwardly cursing as he realized that he had not once but twice gotten himself into near-death situations, replied.


    "So... you do know about the sword?"


    Pointing at Liam''s bright-blue sword, Astrid replied.


    "It''s exactly like that but red."


    Alya glanced around the common area, noticing that almost all of the students were already gone, and quietly said,


    "It''s only a matter of time before he realizes that we''re almost done evacuating the room... we need to keep him distracted."


    Staring at Liam''s light blue sword, Lily hesitated for a moment before speaking.


    "Well... if we don''t know where the sword is, why don''t we just give Liam''s. He already seems to think that it''s the one he''s looking for."


    For the first time, Kevin actually expressed anger at Lily, and he outragedly responded.


    "WHAT ABOUT WHEN HE REALIZES THAT ITS NOT? DON''T YOU THINK HE''ll KILL US, THEN?"


    Kevin did have a point; they were basically gambling with their lives. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Realizing the teacher''s attention on Liam''s sword was starting to waver, Astrid stared at the others, who nodded their heads.


    Liam did not have any problems with the plan. After testing for a bit, he realized that he could make any sword light up a light blue, so this sword didn''t matter much to him.


    "Yes... you''re right; that''s the sword you''re looking for."


    "Then, what are you waiting for? Hand it over already."


    After Lily created a wind current connecting Liam and the teacher, Liam placed the sword in the current, allowing it to fly toward the teacher.


    However, Liam forgot to mention one thing about his sword''s light blue aura... it only shone light blue because of him.


    When he received the sword, the teacher stared at the regular metal sword in his hands for a solid 10 seconds before slowly turning his head up with a creepy smile on his face.


    "Oh, are you guys pranking me now? Is this some kind of joke to you? WHAT THE HELL IS THIS SHIT!?"


    As the teacher threw the metal sword on the ground, Kevin immediately turned to Liam with a dead serious face.


    "Before we die... I just want to let you know THAT YOU ARE THE SINGLE DUMBEST PERSON I HAVE EVER FUCKING MET."


    Tapping his cane multiple more times, the teacher sent countless more balls filled with darkness toward them, exhausting most of his mana.


    Being a djinn, his desire for the sword had taken all rationality out of him, so he no longer cared about conserving mana but solely obtaining the blood-red sword.


    Glancing around for a moment, Lily was ecstatic to see that Scarlett and all the students beside them were gone. However, her ecstasy soon transformed into horror as she was faced with countless dark energy balls surging towards her.


    Scarlett was their only way out, but now she had probably left after transferring all the students.


    They had been so focused on saving their fellow students that they had forgotten to save themselves...


    All 5 of them were now stranded inside the dormitory with the crazed teacher. They had accomplished their goal, but at what cost...


    While Astrid was able to stop one of the many balls with her tree roots, the other simply broke through the weakened roots with ease.


    Liam, who was left with no sword, was forced to retreat immediately. Similarly, Alya, Lily, and Kevin, whose attacks were futile against the tens of energy balls, retreated as well.


    With the walls behind them and the energy balls in front, the five students had nowhere to dodge.


    Turning to the wall behind them, Kevin and Liam immediately screamed out.


    "SLOW THEM DOWN."


    As Lily, Alya, and Astrid cast dozens of spells at the horde of energy balls, their expressions only darkened as they realized that there were far too many, and their pace was only decreasing by a tiny margin.


    Meanwhile, Kevin and Liam hacked desperately at the wall, trying to create a hole big enough for them to fit through.


    Unfortunately, the magic spells cast by the girls were unable to break the wall, so Liam and Kevin were forced to make a hole the old-fashioned way with their swords.


    From outside the mana barrier, Ruby stared inside the house, immediately recognizing the situation inside was perilous.


    Even if she intervened now, she could at most save one of them, but in the process, risk being hurt by one of those energy balls.


    Just as Kevin formed the hole in the wall, the energy balls were less than a second away from hitting them.


    Ruby immediately recognized it was too late...

 Chapter 72 - 72:Attack on the Dormitory [6]

    Staring at her classmates through the hole made by Kevin and Liam in a wall, Ruby closed her eyes in preparation for the upcoming gruesome sight.


    She had done her best, hadn''t she?


    It was their choice to stay behind and hold off the villain despite knowing that he was much more powerful than them. Their series of stupid decisions had led them to their death.


    ...But then why did she feel sad and nervous? Why was her head spinning in circles? Why were her legs trembling? What was she feeling right now?


    It was their choice... they could have escaped immediately upon hearing of her teleportation ability... yet they decided to stay.


    Was this what a hero was?


    Someone who prioritizes the welfare of others over their own, even towards those they do not know personally.


    It was such a simple definition, yet Ruby had never met someone who had not only acted based on it but didn''t expect anything in return.


    Sure, there were heroes from the government, but they only did it for the money.


    If the government stopped paying the heroes... then they would all disappear and do their own thing without any care for the world.


    Ruby was mistaken.


    When she had begun teleporting people out of the mana barrier and when she held off djinns at the museum, she believed that she was a hero.


    No... that wasn''t it.


    In both scenarios, her death was never a possibility, so she was content helping out, but with death now in the picture, all she could do was watch from a distance.


    She had never prioritized the safety of others over herself.


    For Ruby, it wasn''t the realization that she wasn''t a hero that hurt... it was the fact that she had deluded herself into genuinely believing that she was a hero.


    She had become the very thing she hated the most.


    A fake, a fraud, and a phony.


    Those students: Alya, Astrid, Lily, Liam, Kevin, and even Zach were true heroes.


    Forcing herself to open her eyes, despite her entire body resisting, Ruby opened her eyes wide, prepared to face the aftermath.


    However, there was no blood. There were no severed limbs. There were no dead bodies.


    Instead, there was a cloaked figure with one pitch-black and blood-red wing attached to his right shoulder, which swayed back and forth in the cold night breeze.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Looking at the distance between the trapped main cast and the charging dark energy balls, I finally emerged from my spot.


    They had done well; in fact, better than I expected.


    Whatever they had done... they had managed to break the djinn''s mentality.


    Like the minotaur back during practical training, he no longer held any sense of reason; he was overcome by his desire to get the blood-red sword back.


    In fact, his sense of reason was so far gone that he didn''t even realize that his tracking device on the sword had re-enabled, as my corruption was no longer blocking it.


    Using my eyes to calculate the perfect route where I could pick up all of the main cast while getting through the hole at the same time, I repositioned myself before flapping my wing twice.


    Feeling my surroundings distort, I once again used my eyes to grab each main cast member as I sped past them for less than a second.


    With all of them now in my hands, I flapped my wing once again, instantly speeding right through the hole and into the outside world.


    Dropping the five of them, who had not yet adjusted to their current situation as they had their eyes closed, on the ground, I glanced around, immediately spotting Ruby.


    The tens of dark energy balls were still heading for us; I had just given us some more time.


    "GET THEM!"


    As the dark energy balls broke through the walls like they were made of paper, Ruby, despite not knowing my identity, immediately teleported beside me.


    Ignoring my presence, Ruby, one by one, teleported all of them outside the mana cage within less than 10 seconds.


    That ability really was something else...


    Awestruckingly, staring at the disappearing and repeating figure of Ruby for a second, I snapped out of my thoughts as the dark energy balls neared me.


    Flapping my wing 3 times in quick succession, I disappeared out of the range of the swarm of energy balls and appeared on the other side of the dormitory.


    As the swarm of dark energy balls directly collided with the mana barrier, a shockwave was sent throughout the entire dormitory. I felt the ground around me shake, and even more pillars of the dormitory collapsed.


    As the smoke surrounding the area disappeared, I saw that even though the mana barrier had no hole, bunches of mana were leaking out of it, making it significantly weaker.


    "...Just what I needed."


    Not waiting for the teacher''s next move, I instantly manifested my two corrupted daggers before once again touching their tip to the mana cage.


    Unlike the last time, my corruption persisted, usurping the authority of the original mana before spreading like a plague upwards.


    Before the teacher even emerged from the dormitory, the entire mana cage had turned pitch black, so nothing could be seen from the outside or from the inside.


    Well... that was unless you had my eyes!


    My perfect environment, my boosted cloak attributes, my new wing power-up, and finally, my countless mana ring artifacts.


    Was it enough to beat a B-rank?


    Well, I wasn''t sure... but it was a good thing that the teacher couldn''t even be considered a B-rank.


    With his loss of rationality and current low mana, the teacher was in no way classified as a B-rank anymore, more like a mid-C-rank.


    Flapping my wing again, I reappeared in front of the broken wall, which the swarm of dark energy balls had brought down.


    Peering inside, I immediately spotted the teacher, who was frantically searching around instead of doing the logical thing and casting a light spell.


    Flapping my wing, I appeared right in front of him, thrusting my right dagger forward; however, he was able to react in time as he threw his cane up, blocking my dagger.


    Despite its normal appearance, the cane was actually rock-hard as it managed to repel my dagger without even receiving a scratch.


    Well, I guess I just wasn''t simply fast enough...


    Stepping back, I flapped my wing, then thrusted my dagger forward, then flapped my wing, reappearing in another position beside the teacher, then pushed my other dagger forward, then flapped my wing again and reappeared in another position beside the teacher, and then used my other dagger.


    And again and again and again and again.


    Moving so fast that countless speed mirages were created, the teacher was unable to discern my location as he relied solely on instinct to block my dagger strikes.


    However, his instinct simply wasn''t good enough.


    As I disappeared before he could counterattack and reappeared in another position beside him with my daggers already ready, countless stab wounds began to form on the teacher''s body.


    Flapping my wing one last final time, I appeared on the roof above the djinn, using it to boost downwards with my dagger''s tip aimed right at the djinn''s head.


    Using his cane to attempt to hit one of my countless speed mirages surrounding him, the teacher was oblivious as my dagger pierced right through his head.


    Watching his lifeless body slump to the floor, I grabbed my dagger, which remained pitch-black despite the blood all around the teacher''s wound and prepared to walk back...


    Then, I collapsed...


    When I fell to the floor, I was surprised to find that my back directly hit the floor instead of my wing¡ªmy wing had disappeared. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Using some of my remaining energy, I moved my hands to my shoulder, where my wing had been attached, and surely enough, there was nothing.


    Moving back my hand, I noticed that it was completely drenched in blood... and the wooden floor below my back was also drenched in blood.


    I had overexerted myself...


    The countless mana rings on my fingers had cracked and disappeared, my entire body was trembling with pain and exhaustion, and half of my back was covered in blood.


    Using the dragon''s wing without knowing the consequences of it or what it required, mana, corruption, or something, had cost me terribly.


    Lying lifelessly on the floor, I slowly gave in to my body as my eyelids began to close, causing my whole world to go black.


    Resisting the urge one last time, I managed to open my eyes.


    Right above me, looking directly into my eyes, was a female with long, glossy black hair and blood-red eyes.


    Opening my mouth, I attempted to say something, but my mind abruptly went blank, and my world turned black as I finally gave in...


    "hey, Ru-"


    [A/N: Creating a stockpile so only 1-2 chaps a day. Chap = Gift / every 100 PW or 20 Golden Tickets]

 Chapter 73 - 73:A Day Off [1]

    Regaining consciousness, I attempted to open my eyes or move any part of my body, but nothing happened despite my desperate attempts.


    Forced to stay in a world of pitch darkness as I couldn''t open my eyes, various scenarios flashed through my head as I attempted to pass the time.


    Did the authorities find me next to the teacher''s body and apprehend me? Was I brought to the hospital for my wounds? Where even was I right now?


    Honing my ears, I heard what I thought were birds chirping. As I continued to stay in my pitch-black world, a cold breeze enveloped me, causing me to shiver more than usual.


    Did I not have clothes on? Was I outside? Why were there birds?


    Giving in to my curiosity, I used all my remaining energy to force my eyes open.


    Almost immediately, the rays of the bright morning sun appeared in my vision, causing me to close my eyes again due to the brightness.


    ...I guess I''ll have to wait.


    As I patiently waited for my energy to recover, I recalled my sudden breakdown yesterday.


    What was the reason for it? Was I so just physically exhausted that I collapsed, or did I run out of mana and suffer from mana exhaustion?


    But then, how come I didn''t feel it until the last second? Until moments before my collapse, I felt physically fine, and I was sure that my mana supply was not empty.


    Maybe the adrenaline from the fight had caused me to lose my sense of reason temporarily?


    Or was it something completely different?


    Realizing I had more than enough energy and could once again move my body, I decided to leave those questions for when I had recovered.


    Using my hands to press against the floor to lift myself up, I opened my eyes only to be greeted by the familiar scene of a forest.


    Looking around at the surrounding trees, a sense of familiarity emanated from my eyes, causing me to recall that this was near the exact area where the academy''s secret entrance was.


    Moving my hands to my right shoulder, where my wing used to be, I felt the hard surface of a bandage instead of my shirt.


    In fact, my entire back and chest were covered by these bandages, which were painted a light red from all my blood.


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, a familiar voice spoke from behind me, causing me to fall back down onto the forest floor.


    "Long time no see, Ren."


    Turning my head, I saw Ruby dressed in some jeans and a crop top with her long hair tied into a ponytail.


    It had been a long time...


    But there was something much more important weighing on my mind.


    What did she know?


    Did she know I had wings? Did she know I was the figure in the cloak?


    Turning my head to Ruby, I immediately spoke with a tone of urgency.


    "Astrid sent me to he-"


    "Oh, I know; the student council president told us that even before attack, so why don''t you just shut up about that stuff?"


    Astrid told them that Irene was going to get me and the teachers?


    So... she thinks I was there because Irene asked me to go?


    "That wing you had yesterday was pretty cool, though. Where did you get it from? Is it a store nearby?"


    "... yeah."


    She was more curious about the wing than how I was able to kill the teacher...?


    Standing up, I put on my shirt, which lay beside me, and leaned against a tree while sneaking glances at Ruby to survey her.


    Was she purposely playing dumb?


    Meeting eyes with Ruby, she flashed me a quick smile before running over to my tree.


    "Well, since you''re fine, let''s explore the festival!"


    Grabbing my shirt, Ruby didn''t wait for my response as she dragged me behind her while walking out of the forest and towards the looming coliseum.


    Just as we were about to leave the forest, I felt a sudden pressure on my shoulder, causing me to wince in pain. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There on my shoulder sat a little black cat, who stared at me for a moment before sitting with no regard for how it was hurting me.


    Well... whether it knew it or not, it helped me yesterday.


    Exiting the forest, my eyes were immediately overwhelmed as the streets of the academy were filled with thousands of tourists, students, and even teachers.


    Clasping my head in pain as the overload of information gave me a headache, Ruby stared at me with a concerned expression before searching her backpack.


    After a moment, her hand emerged from her bag with a pair of dark black sunglasses.


    "Too bright for you?"


    Nodding my head, I graciously accepted the sunglasses and immediately put them on.


    With the lens of the sunglasses blocking my eyes, the amount of information I was taking in was much less and more manageable for my brain.


    As the two of us continued to walk toward the coliseum, Ruby abruptly stopped in front of one of the booths, staring at a figurine.


    Noticing that it was a religious booth due to the church symbols on it, I glanced at the figure, which was a depiction of Saint Elena, an angel...


    Dressed in a pure white cloak with long blonde hair, the angel had two beautiful and divine white wings stretching from both her shoulders.


    Pointing at the wings, Ruby stifled in a laugh while asking.


    "I-is that your si-"


    "Not funny."


    "I think your brain might still be hurt from the fight because it is quite comedic."


    "So... now we''re resorting to calling me braindead, really?"


    "When you go low, I go lower!"


    "When did I go low?"


    "Lying is a sin, you know?"


    With that Ruby turned away from the booth and continued in the direction of colisuem.


    After finding the student section of colisuem, the two of us headed in before quickly finding seats in the second row.


    Since today was only the first today, there would be no events with Liams, but that didn''t mean it wouldn''t be interesting.


    Something about watching the future most powerful people in the world struggle in food eating contest made me laugh.


    The cat, which was resting in armrest of my seat, snapped me back to reality by jumping back on my shoulder and staring at my side-profile.


    Perhaps I just forcing myself to laugh to avoid thinking about Ruby?


    As I stared at Ruby, who was belatedly enjoying the match, I was confused on why she kept silent and didn''t ask a single question for the entire 2 hours we were at the colisuem.


    Why did I lie about my wing? How did I have a wing? How did I kill the teacher? Why did I try to hide my identity?


    If I was in her situation, I would have bombarded the other party with questions until I received valid answers... yet Ruby seemed satisfied just sitting next to me.


    As the final contest ended for the day, I got up from my seat, following Ruby out of colisuem.


    While I did want to leave this stressful situation, she was the one who teleported me out of the dormitory, saving me a lot of trouble by not letting the authorities discover me.


    At least, I owed her this much.


    What would I even say to them if they found me lying right next to the dead body of the teacher?


    While Ruby went to use the restroom, I waited outside the colisuem, checking up on the news about the incident on my smartwatch.


    With the government''s help, Celestial Academy had managed to keep the news from spreading outside the academy, so there were no articles about it.


    However, the academie''s public chatroom was crowded as different people were discussing the incident non-stop.


    I mean, who wouldn''t be curious if they woke up one day just to see the entire royal dormitory destroyed?


    So far, the assumption that most people had came up with was that Ruby and the rest of the main cast had been the heroes of the incident and defeated the teacher djinn using the power of teamwork!


    They were able to neither confirm nor deny this as no students from the royal dormitory were allowed to speak up about the incident.


    While Astrid might believe its me who saved them as she called for me, I could just say I was scared and never came.


    A true third-rate-villain!


    On the other hand, the rest of main cast probably didn''t see my appearance and just believed Ruby had came to save them.


    While that sounds good in theory, that could be problematic in the future...


    Who would have thought that Ruby and I, a bunch of villains, would be the true heroes of the incident?


    Looking up from my smartwatch, I saw Ruby emerging from the bathroom. Walking past me without saying anything, Ruby wore an indifferent expression as she headed in the direction of the dormitory buildings.

 Chapter 74 - 74:A Day Off [2]

    Seeing her head in the direction of the dormitories reminded me of something.


    "What are you gonna do now that your dormitory is destroyed?"


    "Oh, that? They paid to give all of us 5-star hotel rooms in the capital."


    Oh, so I, the hero, get to sleep in a small dorm room while the "victims" who ran away at the first sign of danger get an all-expense-paid vacation?


    Blasphemy, I say!


    As night was nearing, the streets were crowded with tourists heading to the front gates, so Ruby used the forest shortcut to get to the main gate.


    Walking through the forest, trailing slightly behind Ruby, reminded me of the first few days I had spent on the mountain range, looking for the Dragon''s Eye.


    When times had been much simpler...


    Sure, I was powerless and weak, and one slight wrong move could result in my death from a monster... but at least death was my only worry.


    Now, I had to worry about death alongside keeping the plot together, becoming more powerful, not exposing my identity, and finally, other people besides myself.


    What if I had never come back to the academy?


    Would life have been much simpler, then?


    At that point, I didn''t know Lily was also from Earth, so I would have assumed that the plot would go precisely as in the book and that the world would have been saved just like in the book.


    With the meager savings I had received from my father, I would have lived in that small mountainside town. I would have worked a regular job to earn wages, bought a small wooden cabin to live in, and enjoyed the simplicity of life there.


    No... the old me would have hated that.


    Simply accepting my circumstances in this new world and pretending everything was real and not a book instead of trying everything to get back to Earth.


    The old me would have rather jumped off the peak of the mountain range.


    But would me right now like that?


    It''s not like I would be leaving anything behind at the academy.


    Lily knew the plot, and unlike me, she seemed to care about the people around her. Sure, she was a bit naive, but wouldn''t she be more than qualified enough to keep everyone safe?


    Ruby, Raven, Zeng, Jin, Han, Astrid, and the main cast would all be safe with Lily''s guidance, wouldn''t they?


    But would I be fine with that? Leaving everything to someone else?


    Well, I guess already knew the answer.


    I mean, me still being at the academy despite having enough money to live comfortably was answer enough.


    Looking upwards, I saw our surroundings shift as the forest ended, and we neared the railing that separated the edge of the academy from the ocean.


    Walking up to Ruby, who was leaning on the railing, I stood beside her, staring at the vast dark-blue ocean before me


    Turning to Ruby, who was also focused on the ocean, it felt like an immeasurable burden was weighing on me.


    In fact, every time I talked or even looked at anyone related to the old "Ren," that burden only increased.


    It was all a lie, wasn''t it?


    As the memories of spending time with all of them resurfaced in my head, a sudden thought flashed through my head.


    The times I had spent hanging out and talking to Jin and Han, whether on the smartwatch or in person. The times I joked or messed around with Raven and Zeng, and the times I explored with Ruby and Astrid.


    Wasn''t it fine for it all to be a lie?


    Was it my fault I was transferred into this body? Was it my fault I had taken this body?


    Why was I blaming myself?


    Couldn''t I just accept this lie?


    I had accepted that this world, alongside everyone else in it, was real, so why couldn''t I accept that I was the real "Ren" now as well?


    I was no longer "Silas" from my life on Earth; I was Ren. The time had long passed since I needed to act like the old "Ren."


    This body, these relationships... they were all mine, weren''t they?


    As Ruby noticed I was staring at her, I asked.


    "Did you know me before we met at the hideout that day?"


    Why did it matter if people thought I wasn''t the original "Ren" at this point? Why should I care? It''s my body and mind, now, isn''t it?


    Shaking her head, to my surprise, Ruby replied.


    "No... but I would be lying if I said I didn''t know your family."


    So... the old "Ren" played no part in our current relationship? Why had I been worrying all this time and avoiding her, then...?


    Without me even asking anything, Ruby continued.


    "That''s not why I came to the academy, though. Not why I befriended you or continued to talk to you."


    "So, then, why?"


    Turning to face me, Ruby got on her tippy-toes to reach my height and put her hand over my mouth before replying.


    "I''ve answered one of your questions, so now it''s your turn!"


    Nodding my head, I said, with her hand still covering my mouth.


    "Mmf, ask away."


    "What happened last night?" S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Shrugging my shoulders and pushing her hand away, I replied.


    "Nothing big, just killed some big-shot teacher. Made quick work of him."


    "Oh really?"


    "Yeah, I think I heard that the top first-years AND the student council president couldn''t even take him out. What a bunch of frauds, no?"


    "You know, you are calling me one of those frauds, right?"


    "You sure? The whole academy seems to be calling you a hero and their savior. Quite the villain boss you are"


    "Oh? I heard some rumors flying around the academy that say you were actually the mastermind behind the whole attack."


    "... really."


    "*PFFT* really."


    How was I the mastermind behind the whole thing? Was my reputation that bad..?


    I can''t even blame Ren now! I''ve been in this world for more than two months, and it''s even gotten worse!


    "Is my suffering really that funny to you, Ruby?"


    "Maybe check your smartwatch next time when I message you."


    Sighing, I checked my smartwatch and finally turned off the "DND" mode of my message apps, causing a flurry of messages to be released as my phone started ringing uncontrollably.


    Looking at Ruby, who was smirking, I pressed further.


    "So, why did you come to the aca-"


    "Oh, it''s getting late, isn''t it? Sorry, but the FIVE-STAR hotel has a curfew, so I must depart."


    "really had to emphasize the 5-star, didn''t you?"


    "Oh, maybe, if you defeated the teacher and saved the top first years from dying, you could have gotten a hotel room."


    "... real funny one, aren''t you?"


    Watching Ruby depart to the main gate of the academy, I turned around and headed back to my shabby and old and small and disgusting dorm room.


    Why do the real heroes always get treated the worst?


    [A/N: Felt the identity thing was starting to get repetitive, so I used this chapter to end it off. Did you guys think it was rushed or anything?]

 Chapter 75 - 75:A Restart [1]

    Waking up the next morning, it felt like the gigantic burden weighing on me since the end of the cruise ship incident had lifted.


    It felt freeing...


    The festival would go on for the next couple of days, and there would be no classes. I had no reason to intervene in the plot during the festival, so basically, this time was all free for me.


    However, after the festival, the plot jumps right back into action as the travel club visits the Elven realm under Princess Alya''s guidance.


    That would require a lot of my guidance if Lily did what I thought she would...


    Having spent the last week constantly investigating or worrying about the attack on the Coliseum, I had no intentions of doing anything for the time being.


    Unable to sleep due to the loud noise of the tourists outside my window, I got up and prepared to head out for the day.


    When I checked my smartwatch, I was surprised to see that Jin and Han had continued to use the group chat despite my not responding to either of them for at least a week.


    [Han: Jin, we''re meeting up by the coliseum at 11, right?]


    [Jin: Yeah, we''ll figure out what to do once we''re there.]


    [Ren: Mind if I join in?]


    [Han: Ren?]


    [Jin: Not if you don''t tell us where the hell you''ve been for the past week.]


    [Han: Yeah... you weren''t even in class. Did you not get in trouble?]


    [Jin: If you found a way to skip class without being trouble and didn''t tell us... you''re dead, buddy.]


    [Ren: You won''t believe me... but I spent the past week working on a special task force with the one and only student council president to protect the school!]


    [Jin: Yo, bro, if you don''t wanna tell us, just say so.]


    [Han: You''ve had a week, and that''s the best excuse you could come up with..?]


    [Ren: ??? See, you guys never believe me.]


    [Jin: Alright, bro, whatever you say. See you at 11]


    [Han: Yeah, we''ll see you at 11.]


    [Ren: Wait, mind if I bring my little brother?]


    [Han: your what?]


    [Jin: You have a brother???]


    [Ren: Yeah, he''s my long-lost little brother; I just found him recently in the slums.]


    [Han: Alright...?]


    [Jin: I''m fine with it... if he''s real.]


    [Ren: Yeah, he''s real. I''ll see you two.]


    As students of the academy, we were allowed a tourist ticket without paying, so I could bring one person into the academy for free.


    Who else but him?


    Leaving the academy and entering the capital, I headed straight for headquarters as it was already almost 11.


    As I entered the capital''s slums, I noticed the cake shop with the underground hideout for the teacher had been shut down.


    The windows were broken, and I could see countless homeless people inside stealing the chairs or anything else of value.


    ...That tunnel could be quite the hideout, couldn''t it?


    While the cake shop in itself was a decent investment as it could provide some daily income, the hideout below must have taken ages to create, and it would be the perfect place for me to train.


    It was so far underground that even if I used countless elemental slashes, no one would notice. The royal family investigators would just think of it as a normal cake shop and not investigate it, so they wouldn''t even find the tunnel, meaning the shop would be very cheap.


    And Raven and Zeng would be pretty happy if I bought a cake shop, wouldn''t they?


    Reminding myself to check the newspaper for the future listing of the cake shop after the royal family repossessed it, I continued on my way to the headquarters.


    Without knocking or anything, I unlocked the headquarters doors with my key and entered inside.


    Raven, lying on the couch next to the television, was still fast asleep despite it being almost afternoon.


    On the other hand, Zeng lay slumped over in the chair once again, a plate of ice cream in front of him.


    Quite the evil djinn he was, eating strawberry ice cream...


    Sighing at my workers'' laziness, I walked up to the couch with Raven sitting on it and swiftly and cleanly removed the blanket from him.


    With my enhanced eyesight, I saw Raven''s eyes open for a short moment, meaning he was awake, yet he still pretended to be asleep.


    "Oh, asleep, are you?"


    Watching him and staying still, I made sounds to make it seem like I was moving around and picking things up until Raven, after a couple of seconds, burst upwards and screamed.


    "NO, I''M AWAKE. DON''T DO ANYTHING, PLEASE!"


    Staring me motionless right above him, Raven blinked for a second before sighing.


    "You really have to come right in the morning, don''t you?"


    "It''s almost 11; what morning are you talking about?"


    "...Just let me sleep."


    As Raven pulled up his blanket to cover his face, I replied.


    "You''re coming with me today."


    "Whenever you say that, it always means something bad."


    "You''re coming with me to a festival, relax."


    Scaring the shit out of me, I heard a voice sound from behind me.


    "What about me, boss?"


    Turning around, I saw Zeng sitting up on his chair with his horns out and continuing to eat his ice cream.


    "When you do something about those horns, we can talk."


    "...but they look go-"


    "Yeah, they look so good that everyone just runs around screaming in horror when they see them."


    "..."


    As Raven sluggishly walked to the bathroom, I waited while Zeng walked to the mirror and stared at his horns for a solid minute.


    Finally, Raven emerged from the bathroom in some decent clothes I had gotten him recently, as all his previous ones were in tatters.


    Wearing a pair of navy blue jeans and a black shirt, Raven walked out with his wet-black hair covering the top half of his face.


    Could he at least look presentable? I''m calling him my brother!


    Walking up to Raven, I pushed his hair up, revealing his onyx-black eyes, and parted it to the side before tucking in his shirt and handing him a jacket.


    Raven, who did not care for his looks, simply stood still with an indifferent expression, allowing me to make him look presentable.


    Looking at Raven''s finished appearance like a proud father, I tapped him on the shoulder before leading him out of headquarters and towards the academy.


    As we reached the academy gates, I presented the guard with my student ID, and he stared at Raven for a second before letting us through.


    I thought I did a good job...


    Rushing towards the coliseum with Raven trailing behind me, we arrived a minute early, spotting Jin and Han a few feet away from us.


    Walking up to them, I pulled Raven beside me and said.


    "Hey, you two, this is my brother, Raven."


    Nudging Raven like he was a baby, I said.


    "Say hi, Raven!"


    Slowly turning his face with an expression that even I couldn''t decipher, Raven choked out the words. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "h-hi, I''m Raven."


    Looking at me struggling to hold in my laughter, Han and Jin stared at us for a second before they both said,


    "N-nice to meet you, Raven."


    "Well, where to guys!"

 Chapter 76 - 76:A Restart [2]

    As the four of us walked through the festival, I had to keep a constant eye on Raven, who always seemed to wander off to some random booth.


    Stopping in front of one of those carnival booths where you had to land a ring on one of the hundred bottles across the floor, Han and Jin each gave it an attempt before failing.


    Exchanging a ring for one of the tickets I had received, I used my eyes to calculate the future trajectory of the ring before adjusting it so it perfectly overlapped with the bottle''s lid.


    Tapping Raven, who was watching countless people fail the game, on the shoulder, I smirked and said.


    "Watch this."


    As I began the throwing motion, my hand behind my shoulder, I moved forward at the perfect pace. Just as I was reaching the perfect place to release the ring, I felt a sudden pressure on my shoulder.


    The pressure messed up my entire throwing motion, as my ring went flying in the complete opposite direction and far away from the rings'' bottles... and right at someone''s head.


    "*OW*"


    Pretending I didn''t hear or see anything, I turned back around to Raven, who was smiling more than usual.


    "*PFFT* How did you manage to miss that damn bad?"


    "It''s something you''ll understand when you''re mature."


    "Really, that''s your best excuse?"


    Turning to the source of my miss, I saw my cat silently sitting on my shoulder while licking its paw.


    When I had woken up, the cat was gone, presumably through the open window, and now it had just reappeared.


    It really just came and went as it pleased...


    As we were finished with the game, I turned around to look for Han and Jin, but after glancing around a bit, I found them trying to talk to some girls.


    Before, I dismissed girls because I didn''t believe this was the real world with real people, but now... what was my excuse?


    Was I going to become just like Han and Jin...?


    Raven, noticing me staring at Han and Jin with the group of girls, curiously asked.


    "Aren''t you going to join them?"


    Shaking my head at Raven''s answer, I replied.


    "Then what would I do with you?"


    "I could just go back to headqu-"


    "You know you always complain you have no breaks, but when I bring you to a lavish festival like this, you just complain."


    Ignoring my previous words, Raven glanced back at the group of girls before saying.


    "Ah, you already have that one girl you brought to the headquarters earlier, don''t you?"


    "hm? What are you talking ab-"


    "GO CELESTIAL ACDEMY!"


    "LET''S GO CT!"


    Interrupting my words were the sounds of countless people yelling chants, signifying the start of the events within the coliseum.


    Liam would be competing today, wouldn''t he?


    Before I knew it, Han and Jin had already come back to the booth and ditched the group of girls.


    "Let''s go watch."


    "What are you waiting for? Let go!"


    As Raven and I followed the two to the student section of the coliseum, I realized we had actually arrived fairly early, as almost all of the seats were empty.


    Choosing the first and best row, we four sat down; however, Han and Jin immediately left to get snacks, leaving jackets on their seats.


    Raven was in complete awe upon seeing the size of the coliseum. He was so entranced that he didn''t even notice me tapping him on the shoulder.


    Well... he had lived in the slums all his life, so things like this coliseum had probably only been in his dreams.


    This book''s damned author... leaving a good kid like Raven to rot away in the slums.


    Leaving Raven to enjoy this new experience, I grabbed the cat off my shoulder, which still hurt from the incident two days ago, and placed him on my lap.


    As more and more students flooded into the student section, the sweet and calming silence soon disappeared and transformed as excited students loudly discussed the events and who would win.


    As the fireworks emerged from the coliseum and exploded into the sky, the contestants of the first event finally arrived, and Liam, Ruby, the main cast, and the transfer students emerged, adorned in their academy suits.


    Watching the events was... anticlimactic, to say the least.


    What point is there in watching a competition if you already know the winner?


    Turning my side, Raven didn''t seem too interested in the fighting either, as the novelty of the coliseum had already worn off for him.


    Tapping Han and Jin, who actually seemed quite interested, I said.


    "I''m gonna go drop Raven off; I''ll be back in a bit."


    As the two of us exited the coliseum, Raven wanted to buy some food, so I gave him some money and waited at the exit. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After waiting for a few minutes while looking at my smartwatch, I felt a gaze on me, causing me to look up.


    Not even 10 feet away stood Ruby, who walked over to me upon seeing me looking away from my smartwatch.


    "...Aren''t you participating in an event?"


    "Oh, that? Who cares?"


    "Which one did you even sign up for?"


    "Oh, I got chosen for the battle royale!"


    Oh, is she participating with Liam and Lily in the battle royal event instead of Irene? Eh, it won''t make much of a difference; they''ll still win.


    As Ruby waved me goodbye, I saw Raven also arriving in the distance. He looked at Ruby and me for a second before stopping dead in his tracks.


    Not again...


    After dropping Raven back to the headquarters, I spent the rest of my day walking around with Han or Jin and rotting in my bed.


    As the last day of the festival arrived, the cake shop was finally put up for sale in the newspaper, so I immediately pounced, using up some of my savings to purchase it.


    Since today was the last day of the festival, the famed battle royale event would be taking place.


    Ruby, Liam, and Lily had already qualified for the event during their performances in the previous days, and I was sure Lily would lead them to victory with her book knowledge, so there was no need for me to do anything.


    Arriving at the boarded-up cake shop, I entered with the key, ignoring the countless cracks in the walls and trash over the floor before heading directly towards the tunnel.


    Climbing down the ladder, I immediately made my way to the clearing before placing down my backpack, which contained some healing potions in case anything happened.


    I had put it off for long enough...


    It was time to understand my new ability, Dragon''s Transformation, finally.


    As I opened my backpack, I saw the black cat suddenly jump out before immediately running to a corner of the cave and settling down.


    Had it been in the backpack the whole time...?

 Chapter 77 - 77:A Restart [3]

    The cat was a mystery in itself; not only had it managed to go back in time, but it also somehow led me to the painting in Ruby''s room, which was another mystery.


    This cat was just a series of mysteries muddled together, but what should I do about it?


    Was I supposed to investigate and experiment on a goddamn cat?


    "...step by step, I guess."


    Sitting cross-legged in the middle of the clearing, I basked in the silence and serenity for a few moments, letting out my chaotic thoughts.


    Focusing my mind solely on my body, I specifically concentrated on the center of my body, where all my mana would gather.


    Feeling an unknown red-colored substance in the area where my mana was stored, I moved it around and examined it to get a rough shape.


    After a few minutes, I finally had a rough outline.


    Inside my chest, there was a modern yin-yang symbol, as the yin was my mana while the yang was the blood-red substance.


    The two were so close to touching, yet so far, as every time I attempted to move them together, they would repel against each other, breaking their shape, before quickly regathering to form the yin-yang symbol.


    Bracing myself for the upcoming pain, I knew what I had to do as I forced the blood-red substance near my mana, overpowering the repulsive force between the two.


    As the two opposites met, a sudden shockwave was sent through my body, causing me to fall back in pain for a few seconds.


    Regaining my composure, I once again examined my body and noticed that while the yin and yang symbol of the blood-red substance and mana was still there, a small purple particle was in the center of the symbol.


    Navigating the purple particle out of the center, making sure it didn''t touch the mana or blood-red substance, I let it sit near my heart while pondering.


    Now.. the question was, what do I do with it?


    Leading the sole purple particle up from my chest and towards my shoulder, I stopped it right at the spot where my wings had appeared last time.


    Leaving the particle there, I patiently waited a couple of seconds before feeling my back suddenly grow heavier.


    Sure enough, on my right shoulder, a wing had formed; however, rather than being a combination of pitch-black and blood red, the black had been replaced by a light blue.


    So, I can either combine the blood-red substance with my mana or corruption, and the colors change depending on that?


    Simply sitting still with the wing on my back, I patiently waited for whatever side effect this ability would cause, just as my Dragon''s Eye caused my eyes to bleed if I used it for too long.


    Am I really a masochist...? I''m just asking for pain now...


    However, after a couple of minutes of just sitting there, I felt nothing.


    Flapping my wings and teleporting throughout the room, I also felt no side effects; in fact, it actually felt calming...


    Examining my body, I noticed that the purple particle in my shoulder had shrunk significantly, to the point where it could barely even be seen anymore.


    I guess this is the time limit...?


    As the purple particles diminished and disappeared, I felt my thoughts blur and become convoluted, making me unable to focus on a single thing.


    It felt like my entire mind was in chaos as countless unrelated memories rushed through my head, overloading my brain.


    Clutching my head in pain, I dropped to the floor, immediately noticing that my wing had disappeared.


    Crawling over to my backpack, I grabbed a stack of healing scrolls worth over ten gold coins, immediately ripping all of them in one motion.


    As the scrolls disappeared and turned into dust, a green aura began to surround me, easing the pain in my mind; however, when that aura disappeared, my mind immediately went back into chaos.


    Lying down on the floor, facing the ceiling, I simply gave into the pain as I attempted to close my eyes to fall asleep, only to be immediately woken up by the random and constant thoughts racing through my head.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    After who knows how long, I finally felt my mind return as I could actually control the thoughts appearing in my head.


    Sitting back up, I was in no rush to continue experimenting as I grabbed the meal I had gotten from one of the stands at the festival.


    Taking the container out of my backpack, I heard the sound of scratching on a hard surface, causing me to turn my head upwards... just to see the black cat, barely hanging onto the roof of the clearing with its claws.


    Seeing my look upwards, the cat released its claws, falling face-first right onto my head.


    Who said cats always land on their feet..?


    Putting the cat on the floor, I watched it lick its paws with the utmost dignity, like nothing had happened, before walking up to the corner of the clearing to do who knows what.


    After finishing my lunch, I recreated the same process, leading a new purple particle out of the yin and yang symbol.


    Instead of moving it to my shoulder, I moved the purple particle to my hands, causing an enormous red paw to replace my hand immediately.


    Staring at the paw of a dragon, which had completely replaced my right hand, I retracted and extracted the claws for a couple of seconds.


    Leading the purple particle out of my hand, causing my right hand to appear again, I pushed it towards the back of my legs.


    Almost immediately, a long, bright red tail adorned with countless spikes appeared behind me.


    Was I some sort of transformer now?


    Checking my body every few seconds, I saw the purple particle was beginning to fade into nothingness, so I immediately moved it back to the center of the yin and yang symbol.


    A couple of seconds later, the purple particles disappeared from the center, leaving no trace and, most important of all, no pain!


    So... my new ability allows me to recreate any physical attribute of a dragon, such as their wings, tail, claws, and even legs.


    Is this dragon''s will thing slowly transforming me into a dragon...? At the next stage, will I be able to completely become a dragon or what?


    Combining the blood-red substance with my corruption, I curiously watched how, like last time, the area where the particles of blood-red and pitch-black were located shined a bright red, even through my clothes.


    Lighting up the cave with my glowing right hand, I formed a dragon''s paw once again before confirming that the only difference was the color, as the power output stayed the same.


    Checking my smartwatch, I realized that most of the festival had already ended. My social media page was filled with people congratulating Lily, Liam, and Ruby on their victory in the battle royale.


    On the other hand, my group chat was also blowing up. Apparently, Jin had placed all his money on their victory, so he was rich now.


    [Jin: I TOLD YOU BET WITH ME, I TOLD YOU DIDN''T I, HAN?]


    [Han: You also told me to bet with you the last hundred times, and you lost all those times...]


    [Jin: 99% of gamblers quit before they hit big, and I''M NOW THAT 1% WHO MADE IT THROUGH BABY!]


    [Han: Dude, the odds were 10/90; no sane person would bet on that.]


    [Jin: Nope, the odds are 50/50. You either win, or you lose!]


    Picking myself off the floor, I sent a quick message to Raven, letting him know about our acquisition of the cake shop.


    [Ren: You remember the cake shop where we met?]


    [Raven: How could I forget it...?]


    [Ren: Our meeting must have been that significant for you, huh?}


    [Raven: Moron, I''m talking about the cake.]


    [Ren: You know, a simple thanks for getting you out of homelessness would suffice.]


    [Raven: Yeah, yeah. Now, why are you mentioning that shop.]


    [Ren: It''s ours; I dipped into the savings.]


    [Raven: You bought a cake shop...?] S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [Ren: Hire some employees and cleaners; it''s kinda a dump right now.]


    [Raven: A cake shop...thank you, boss...]


    [Ren: So, this is what you thank me for? Not me saving you from the black market, giving you a job, a house, and money?]


    [Raven: I just asked Zeng, and he said he''s down to work as the baker!]


    ...that guy just gets less and less evil every day... is he really a djinn?


    Sighing, I put down my smartwatch and headed back to the academy with the cat hiding in my jacket.


    With the festival now over, it was time for the main plotline to start once again.


    These pleasant and leisurely times were nice while they lasted, but it was quite hard to relax, knowing the upcoming events.


    The corruption of the World Tree should have begun by now...


    Heading into my dorm, I slumped down on my bed, clearing my head of all thoughts while drifting off to sleep.

 Chapter 78 - 78:A Quick Lil Duel [1]

    I woke up the next day, not to the sound of tourists bustling about, but to my cat, which was pawing at my head.


    Sighing, I reluctantly got up from the comfort of my bed and added some cooked chicken to its bowl. At this point, it was already part of my daily routine... and honestly, I was kinda scared of the cat.


    What would it do me if I didn''t listen to it..?


    Was this cat a god? I mean, it had traveled back in time with me... So, in conclusion, treating it well was probably the way to go for me.


    What if I forgot to feed it once, as it just gave me bad luck for the rest of my life!?


    After changing into some casual clothes and making scrambled eggs for breakfast with a sauce that tasted like a sweet hot sauce from my world, I sat down while checking my smartwatch.


    [Dear All First Year Members of the Travel Club,


    I hope you''ve all had a great time at the Celestial Festival, whether you were enjoying time with family or having the honor of representing our school in one of the events. Overall, I hope all of you, as fellow students, had a great first semester, and trust me¡ªthis is only the start!


    With the first semester over and the second semester starting, it''s, of course, time for club activities to resume!


    This year, however, our trip will be different!


    As Travel Club President, I am delighted to announce that all members of the travel club are invited to a week-long visit to Elven Realm!


    Yes, THAT ELVEN REALM!


    The lush, green forests north of the Human Realm, where real Elves live!


    More details about the trip and our departure time will be sent out shortly, so please look out for the following emails.


    Thanks,


    Your Travel Club President]


    Putting down my smartwatch, I prepared to head to Capital City to check on the cake shop''s progress.


    How was I going to explain that tunnel to Raven..?


    *THUD~THUD*


    "hm?"


    Hearing a couple of knocks on my door, I looked up from my plate of food before getting up and unlocking the door.


    In front of me stood a student adorned in another academy''s uniform with a smug expression.


    After a couple of moments, I remembered that he was the one who had blocked my way out of the classroom on the day Astrid and I left the academy to search.


    "uh... sorry, you are?"


    " *AHEM* I am the honored Blaine Bradford, the third rank student in the entirety of Eldtide Academy."


    "...good for you?"


    With a smile now apparent on his face, this obnoxious Blain kid stared at me for a moment before twisting his head and saying.


    "On behalf of Eldertide Academy, I challenge you, Ren, to a duel in the coliseum."


    "...? Really, dude?"


    Ignoring him, I slammed the door shut and headed back to my plate of delicious scrambled eggs.


    Since his academy, Eldertide, had lost to Celestial Academy in the Celestial Festival, their reputation would be at an all-time low, especially after they claimed they would win in all the newspapers.


    Blaine, as a proud student of Eldertide Academy, must have been thinking of a way for the academy to regain its reputation.


    He probably thought that challenging and easily defeating a student from Celestial Academy would improve their reputation.


    *BANG~BANG*


    "I KNOW YOU''RE IN THERE!"


    Ignoring the constant knocks on my door, I continued eating my scrambled eggs while my cat happily chowed down on the chicken.


    I could never let that thing discover steak... I would go broke just from feeding it.


    *BANG~BANG*


    "YOU HAVE TO ACCEPT, YOU CAN''T DENY!"


    Sighing, I got up from my seat, placed my empty plate in the sink, and grabbed my school-issued daggers.


    Unfortunately, no matter how annoying this Blaine was, his words were right.


    If you were challenged to a duel, your choices were either to accept the duel or receive detention for a whole week.


    Since denying a direct duel request as a student would tarnish Celestial Academy''s reputation as their students would seem scared and weak, the academy imposed harsh punishments to persuade students not to deny these requests.


    Of course, with this rule in effect, students couldn''t just challenge anyone they wanted to do a duel; they had to have a good reason.


    And... unfortunately, I had given Blaine that reason by throwing him out of the way when we first met.


    Opening the door, revealing the furious and confused figure of Blaine, I wasted no time as I grabbed his shoulder and forcibly dragged him out of the dorm building.


    "...WAIT WHAT ARE YOU DO-"


    "You said you wanted to duel? Let''s go now. What the hell are you waiting for? This was your idea, wasn''t it?"


    Letting go of Blaine, causing him to stumble forward, I walked towards the looming coliseum buildings, with Blaine following behind.


    Maybe when I had first transmigrated here, I would have purposely lost to make sure people didn''t know anything was wrong with Ren, but who the hell cares about the old "Ren" anymore?


    I''m Ren, now, aren''t I?


    I could do whatever the hell I wanted!


    And what I wanted to do was to defeat Blaine quickly so I could go to the capital and complete my original goal of the day!


    Walking up to the guard, who was waiting outside the coliseum, I pointed to Blaine while saying.


    "We want to duel."


    Nodding his head like it was an everyday occurrence, the guard moved aside, letting Blaine and I pass through.


    Heading to the right, where the home team''s side was located, I handed my daggers to another guard, who confirmed that they were weapons allowed in a duel.


    Wasting no time, I rushed to the tunnel that led out into the coliseum and patiently waited for Blaine''s arrival.


    Peering across the coliseum and into the other tunnel, I finally noticed Blaine walking up with a broadsword in his hands.


    While he didn''t have a grin on his face anymore, he still seemed rather confident as he was holding his sword leisurely while leaning against the wall.


    Seriously, where do third-rate villains get all this false confidence from?


    I mean, the first thing I did when I entered this body was humble myself!


    That mountain tyrant in that mountain range cave really did numbers to me...


    The referee, who was sitting on a chair in the middle of the coliseum, noticed us a second later before announcing.


    "The duel between Ren from Celestial Academy and Blaine Bradford of Eldertide Academy will now commence." S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    While you might think that duels would take longer to organize rather than just simply walking into the coliseum and asking for a duel, the academy had already prepared for dozens of duel requests today, making the process extremely fast.


    I mean, even the academy knew that hundreds of third-rate villains like Blaine would be salty about their defeat and duel someone else to get over it!


    Grabbing my standard daggers, I walked out of the dark tunnel and into the middle of the coliseum, where a makeshift duel arena was already set up.


    In the middle of the coliseum sat an elevated platform where the duel would take place. The rules were simple: you either lost by surrendering, being completely defeated, or being knocked off the elevated platform.


    Walking up the stairs of the platform, I noticed that despite Blaine asking me for a duel not even an hour ago, there was already a huge crowd in the stands.


    That goddamn idiot Blaine must have told everyone to come and blabbered about our duel so that they could witness him win it!

 Chapter 79 - 79:A Quick Lil Duel [2]

    "Kevin... where are you taking us? None of us have even eaten breakfast yet."


    "Yeah, dumbass, you can just show up and tell us to follow you."


    "Yo, Liam, you, of all people, are going to be happy, even you too, Lily."


    As the group of 3 neared the coliseum, Kevin led them up countless stairs before finally entering the student section, which was half-full.


    Looking at the somewhat crowded student section, Liam curiously asked.


    "Isn''t the festival over? Why are people still here?"


    Lily, who recalled that the transfer students were all sore losers, thought for a moment before asking.


    "Is there a duel going on?"


    "mhm, not just any duel..."


    "What are you on about, Kevin?"


    "Liam, your one and only hater, besides me, is dueling today!"


    Thinking for a second, Liam asked.


    "That Ren, kid?"


    "Yep, not only that but the person he''s facing is ranked top 3 at his own school! It is SO OVER FOR HIM!"


    Lily, who had already taken a seat, gazed out into the arena before asking.


    "Why didn''t he just take the week of detention?"


    Taking a seat next to Lily, Kevin picked a basket of popcorn, which had just magically appeared, and said.


    "Are you really complaining, though?"


    Taking a seat on the other side of Lily, Liam replied.


    "Yeah, Lily, let''s just enjoy the fight, you know?"


    Inwardly, Liam was much more excited.


    Why wouldn''t he be happy?


    Finally, the person who had attacked him for no reason and ruined the reward that the principal gave him by sharing it with everyone was being punished!


    "Justice really is real..."


    "What was that, Liam?"


    "...nothing, Lily."


    Looking around the student section, Liam noticed almost all of the students here were praying for Ren''s downfall.


    Wasn''t it weird that all the students here were wishing that their own team, Celestial Academy, would lose the duel?


    Nope! That was just the effect Ren had on everyone!


    Continuing to glance around the student section, Liam tried his best to suppress his laughter as a poster held by one of the students caught his sight.


    [PLEASE BEAT REN!]


    [HE''S NOT OURS; CELESTIAL ACADEMY DOES NOT CLAIM HIM!]


    Kevin, however, failed as he burst out in laughter upon seeing the poster, taking a few seconds to regain his composure.


    "t-that *PFFFT* i-i c-can''t."


    Nodding his head, Liam replied.


    "I think this student section is going to be more entertaining than the fight."


    As both Ren and Blaine emerged from their tunnels and headed up towards the arena, the student section only grew louder as some wild cheers could be heard.


    "REN, YOU''RE A JOKE; ALREADY FUCKING BROKE!"


    "REN, YOU''RE A JOKE; ALREADY FUCKING BROKE!"


    Unable to hold in their laughter, both Kevin and Liam broke into laughter simultaneously while covering their face with their hands.


    For the first time, the two seemed to be in sync... and actually getting along like friends...


    " *PFFT* t-thank you so much, Kevin *PFFFT*"


    "i- *PFFT* y-your welcome!"


    Lily, who was stuck between two, let a slight grin slip onto her face while staring intently at the arena.


    Ren, reaching the top of the stairs and arena first, stood awkwardly with a long, twisted dagger in each of his hands.


    On the other hand, Blaine took his time walking up the stairs, waving at the crowd, who was actually cheering him on.


    Noticing her sight of the fight was blocked, Lily looked up and saw a familiar face.


    "Astrid?"


    "Oh? Lily, you''re here to see the duel, as well?"


    Exchanging greetings with Lily, Astrid took her seat next to Liam, ignoring the cheering and keeping her attention solely focused on the duel below.


    Lily, returning her sight to the arena, saw Blaine finally arrive at the arena before the referee raised a large white flag and announced with a sound magic artifact.


    "Duelers, please take your positions."


    "Do any of you need clarification on the rules of the duel."


    "..."


    "The duel will begin when my countdown hits 0."


    "3..."


    "...2..."


    "1.....zer-"


    Ren, who had already activated the usage period of dash before the countdown, immediately dashed forward as the words "zero" slipped out of the referee''s mouth.


    Tapping his right eye mid-dash, Ren slowed his perception of time.


    Blaine, who had reacted to Ren''s dash, held his sword horizontally, the perfect place to parry both Ren''s daggers and give an immediate counterattack. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Embueing mana into his daggers, Ren, with time still slowed, swung his dagger countless times, creating six holographic daggers, all appearing next to his hands.


    Speeding backup time, Ren used the last of his mana on his daggers, activating a movement he had not used for a very long time: Serpent Slash.


    The slash that was able to temporarily paralyze your opponent upon contact.


    Sending his holographic daggers ahead of him, Ren watched as Blaineswiftly raised his sword by an inch to parry the new holographic daggers.


    However, that sword''s raising was all Ren needed as he lunged forward with his right dagger, piecing forward and hitting the armor Blaine was using.


    Frozen in time, Blaine stood there with his sword, watching as the daggers he had tried to parry simply flew through his sword before disappearing into nothingness.


    Covering his hand with corruption, Ren used the force of the corruption to propel the frozen Blaine upwards and toward the edge of the arena.


    Blaine, who had regained his senses mid-air, attempted to land by pushing his sword downwards into the ground of the arena, but it was too late.


    Following up, Ren dashed forward once again, meeting Blaine mid-air... and palming him once again.


    Flying backward at an even faster pace, Blaine flew right off the platform and into the wall of the coliseum


    *THUD*


    Slumped down on the ground, Blaine was dazed by both the impact of his head hitting the wall and his 15-second defeat.


    Looking at Blaine''s body, Ren whistled before muttering.


    "What a combo! Guess, all that Super Smash Bros wasn''t for nothing!"


    With that, Ren simply bowed to the judge, who declared Ren''s victory with a surprised face before heading back into the tunnel, disappearing from the public''s sight.


    "...R-ren of Celestial Academy emerges victorious!"


    At the referee''s words, the entire student section went quiet, even those who had been intently cheering a few moments earlier.


    Some of the students, who had been eating and missed the short 15-second fight, were looking at the referee in confusion.


    Astrid was the first to move in the silent student section. She simply nodded her head before heading to the exit and leaving the coliseum.


    Kevin and Liam, who had previously been leaning back in their chairs and laughing uncontrollably, now held grim expressions on their face as they stared at the empty arena.


    But it was neither of them that broke the silence first.


    "W-what was that? H-hey, Kevin, you said he was third-ranked, right?"


    "...y-yeah Lily... he w-was."


    Silently standing up from the chair, Liam gazed at Blaine''s dazed body.


    "Whoever said justice is real is fucking liar."


    This was the opposite of what he wanted!


    Ren should have been the one lying motionless against the wall; not that random, Blaine.


    Kevin, who had dropped his basket of popcorn out of surprise, stared sullenly at the floor covered with popcorn before following Liam''s lead and getting up.


    "Well... it was only a matter of time before that loser did something with his life. I guess better late than never. But, once a loser, always a loser still applies to him."


    "i-i-ll t-take j-justice into my own hands!"


    "What the hell are you on about, Liam..?"


    Amidst the two''s argument, Lily stayed rooted to her seat.


    For any person, a development like this would be regular.


    After being disowned by one''s family, one would definitely train non-stop to become more powerful and gather new skills.


    However, that wasn''t Ren.


    A stubborn, cocky, self-centered, and spoiled brat.


    The word "training" wasn''t even in Ren''s dictionary.


    Did the book wrongly characterize him..? Or was this the result of her changes to the story?


    Behind Lily, the students in the section came back to their senses as their conversation transformed from insulting Ren to accusing him of cheating.


    "Hey dude, you didn''t see any of the fight; I didn''t see any of it. I''m not gonna say anything, but that referee might have been bribed."


    Of course, there were people who had logic in the student section who were able to recognize Ren''s power, but they stayed silent, simply observing from a distance.

 Chapter 80 - 80:The Trip [1]

    While confirming that the cake shop was progressing regularly, I was surprised to see Raven and Zeng both more enthusiastic, as they had already cleaned the entire shop.


    Alongside the fast progression of the cake shop, I was also surprised to hear that Zeng could finally hide his horns.


    As your power as a djinn grows, you can better hide your qualities, so Zeng is probably equivalent to a D-rank hero, like me, as he can hide his horns.


    Heading back to headquarters, I decided to organize my subspace before heading to the Elven Realm, as I was likely to return to the academy after my trip with a bunch of new artifacts.


    Looking at the dull metal sword stored in my painting subspace, I carefully held it in my hands for a second before confirming that there were no side effects.


    The blood-red sword had become a normal metal sword now. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Heading out of the subspace with the sword in hand, I looked around for a second before spotting Zeng, who was being taught how to interact with humans by Raven.


    "Zeng, what do you say when you meet someone new for the first time?"


    "Hello, fellow human, my name is Zeng. May I ponder as to what your human name may be?"


    "...? Is this some kind of joke to you?"


    "Whatever could you mean by that, Raven, sir?"


    "WHAT DOES THE WORD "PONDER" MEAN?"


    "...I found it in a dictionary... and thought it sounded cool..!"


    "This is useless... I''M A BUSINESS OWNER, NOT SOME DAMN LANGUAGE TEACHER"


    As Raven stormed out of the kitchen, brushing by me, I turned and asked.


    "...Do you know what "ponder" means?"


    "...no... but that''s not my point! The way he talks is so fucking annoying. HE''S ALREADY USING WORDS I DON''T KNOW, AND I"VE SPOKEN THIS LANGUAGE MY ENTIRE LIFE!"


    Sighing, I left Raven to watch television on the couch while entering the kitchen, seeing Zeng avidly reading a dictionary I had brought to the headquarters from the academy.


    With Zeng now being able to hide his horns, he would be a formidable ally in future battles, so giving him a weapon was essential.


    Placing the sword on Zeng''s dictionary, I waited a few seconds before he finally realized the sword''s appearance and turned towards me.


    "And what might this be, boss? Perhaps a sword?"


    "...Raven''s right... you really do sound like a pretentious prick."


    "Hm? What does "prick" mean? I don''t believe I''ve seen that in the dictionary..."


    "It means "a good person," but don''t worry about that. This sword is all yours... think of it as a reward for ranking up."


    "This dictionary and a new sword... are you planning on making m-"


    "No, nothing about the painting; all of them are yours for free."


    Leaving Zeng behind, as he continued to read the book, I waved goodbye to Raven before heading out.


    This would be my last time here for over a week...


    Upon reentering the academy, I immediately returned to my dorm room to grab my packed suitcase, which only contained two pairs of clothes.


    I had really gone overboard on preparation this time...


    Lugging my suitcase down the countless stairs, I exited my dorm building and headed to the academy''s front gate, where a single luxury bus stood.


    Of course, there weren''t any magic gates in the Elven territory, so we had to travel the old-fashioned way.


    After taking the bus to the edge of the human territory, we would transfer over to carriages and ride until we reached the forest.


    Upon reaching the forest, we would regroup and head towards the central Elven Village in the forest''s center.


    All in all, the trip lasted about two days: one day was spent using the bus, and another was spent riding the carriages and walking through the forest.


    Having arrived early, I put my suitcase in the storage space under the bus before boarding and finding a seat.


    Unlike the buses from the training camp, there were no separated sections, as it was just a normal bus, and people could sit wherever they wanted.


    Finding a window seat near the back of the bus, I sat down before taking out my smartwatch and checking up on the news recently.


    *CLOMP~CLOMP*


    Hearing the sound of footsteps echoing throughout the bus, I saw Lily entering the bus with an expression that seemed like a mixture of confusion and anger.


    Recalling my antics in the duel earlier, I wasn''t surprised at her confusion, but I was somewhat surprised why there was anger mixed in there.


    *BZZT~BZZT*


    [Jin: Yo, Ren, YOU''RE NOT A CELEBRITY, RESPOND TO OUR TEXTS]


    As the sound of my phone vibrating filled the bus, I slowly looked upwards, locking eyes with Lily, who was staring at me.


    Raising my trembling hand and waving, I suppressed my laughter while staring at the shocked Lily.


    Silently staring at me as I sat in my seat, Lily stood there for a solid ten seconds before slowly walking towards me.


    Well... I can''t complain; I knew what I was doing when I won that duel.


    But... was it really that unlikely to Lily that Ren had improved and trained after being disowned by his family?


    I mean, damn, I was a reader like her too once, so I knew personally how evil and stupid Ren was.... but still, he was only in a single chapter.


    Did she really believe she fully understood Ren''s character and personality as a whole after reading just one chapter?


    I know third-rate villains are supposed to be plain and straightforward, but come on!


    Well, in Lily''s mind, she had already introduced dozens of variables, so this wouldn''t be that hard to justify in her mind, would it?


    Looking up at Lily as she approached my seat, I honestly didn''t know what to say, so I just waited for her.


    Stopping before me, Lily pointed to the aisle seat next to me and asked.


    "Anyone sitting there?"


    "...? pardon?"


    "I''ll take that as a no."


    Sitting beside me, Lily also took her smartwatch and began texting away.


    ...What was her end goal here? To interrogate me, to investigate me, or to keep an eye on me?


    Well... I wasn''t planning on doing anything on the trip to the Elvin Kingdom... but I''m a high school student!


    I don''t need a damn babysitter!


    Putting down my smartwatch, I stared out the window, contemplating my decision to arrive early.


    Yeah, arrive early, and get a good seat, my ass!


    As more footsteps entered the bus, I didn''t bother to look up as I awaited the bus''s departure.


    Things couldn''t get any worse, could they..?


    Feeling my smartwatch vibrate non-stop for a minute, I eventually scanned the bus for a second and noticed Han and Jin sitting in the seats right in front of Lily and me.


    Looking at Lily, who was simply staring at her smartwatch, completely distracted, I discretely leaned forward and whispered through the seat.


    "What''s up?"


    "The hell do you mean, "What''s up?" Going back to your ex, really, dude?"


    "Jin, let him explain... but Ren, come on man, you can do better..."


    "Both of you, it''s nothing like that, alright?"


    "... doesn''t seem that way to me."


    "Ren, lying to your own friends for her... desperation really isn''t the way."


    Noticing Lily looking up from her smartwatch, I ignored the two and leaned back into my seat.


    The misunderstandings would solve themselves when Jin and Han noticed the unbearable and awkward atmosphere between us.


    "What was that about?"


    "A simple conversation between friends."


    "Didn''t seem like a ''simple'' conversation."


    "Eavesdropping isn''t a good quality, is it?"


    "When you''re ''whispering'' that loud, I can''t help but hear."


    *BZZT~BZZT*


    [Jin: Still nothing like that, huh, man?]


    Silencing my smartwatch, I turned away from Lily and back to the window.


    As the last pair of footsteps entered the bus, I heard the doors slam close before the bus started moving.


    Sighing as I looked ahead, I could hear the argument between Liam and Kevin at the front of the bus.


    "FOR THE LAST DAMN TIME, I DON''T KNOW WHERE SHE IS."


    "Liam, so help me god if you''re lying..."


    "Kevin, she''s definitely on the bus; the traveling president took attendance."


    "Oh, real fucking specific, man."


    "Remind me never to help you ever again."


    Crouching back down under the cover of my seat, I avoided the prying gazes of Liam and Kevin as they glanced around.


    Fortunately, the bus had no lights, as students were supposed to sleep during the ride to prepare for the upcoming carriage ride so that Lily couldn''t be spotted by the two as well.


    Hearing another set of footsteps, I looked upwards and saw the familiar figure of Ruby navigating her way toward Lily''s seat in the darkness.


    Is this just the Ren fanclub meeting?


    Watching Ruby near our seats, I was tempted to say something, but with Lily right here, any interaction between us would be heavily monitored.


    As Ruby passed by, I pulled my hood over my head, concealing my face... but as Ruby took a seat in the chair right behind Lily, I felt my blood pressure actually rise.


    This G- luck stat was really starting to piss me off!

 Chapter 81 - 81:Flashback [1]

    Keeping my hood over my face, I continued staring out the bus''s window to avoid making eye contact with either Lily or Ruby.


    But seriously, why the hell was Ruby here?


    Why had she chosen to join the travel club out of all the other club options? I hadn''t even told her I was in the travel club or anything.


    As the bus sped up, entering the capital''s streets, I continued staring at the fleeting buildings and crowds of people who had yet to leave after the Celestial Festival had ended.


    Getting a headache from my eye''s overload of information, I sighed as I forcefully closed my eyes, attempting to drift off to sleep to pass the day.


    In front of me, I could hear the constant sound of the chair twitching as Jin and Han kept turning around to try and keep an eye on me.


    Somehow, these two reminded me of my parents...


    They were annoying... yet at the same time, deep down, I knew that they cared for me and were trying to keep me safe.


    How were they doing right now?


    Recalling my last day on Earth, I involuntarily clenched my fists while reopening my eyes for a slight second.


    It had been a normal day: after finishing school, rather than going straight home to study like my mom wanted me to do, I decided to head to a karaoke place with some of my classmates.


    "Come on, Silas, you never come with us."


    "Yeah, your parents won''t care if you stop studying one time!"


    "Hurry up, man. Are you coming or not?"


    Slinging my backpack around my shoulder, I stared at my smartphone for a second, contemplating whether to ask my mother if I could go.


    Didn''t this already happen countless times?


    Not even a month ago...


    Standing at the front door of my house, I finally gathered enough courage before unlocking the door with my house key.


    Hearing the door open, my mom walked from the kitchen to the front door and nodded to me, confirming my presence.


    Seeing her turn her back to head back to the kitchen, I clenched my fist before nervously asking.


    "Mom... my friends are going out after school tomorrow, can I g-" S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Stopping mid-walk, my mom turned around to face me before replying.


    "Don''t be stupid, Silas. Let them go; it only benefits you."


    "W-what do you mean, mom..?"


    "The more they go out, the less studying they do, which means their grades are worse. That means less competition for you and more college spots."


    "B-but mom, I want to go..."


    "Silas, you''ll have all the free time in the world once you finish college and get a good job. You''ll be giving up your advantage by going out with them right now."


    "That''s in over six years, mom..."


    Ignoring my complaints, my mom guided me from the front door to my room before handing me another packet of work to do.


    "You''ll thank yourself for listening to me when you''re older."


    Hearing the door slam shut as my mom headed back to the kitchen, I furiously grabbed my pencil before forcing myself to solve the problems in front of me.


    Why was my mom the only one who didn''t let their son go out?


    As my furious thoughts grew, I turned away from my sheet and stared out my window, seeing countless students younger than me walking around and enjoying the winter with their friends.


    As the winter snow fell, I could see countless middle-schoolers and younger students throwing snowballs at each other or lying down, attempting to make snow angels.


    *KNOCK~KNOCK*


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, I heard my mom knock on my door for a second before cracking the door open.


    Standing in front of my door with a plate of takoyaki, my mom carefully slid the plate through the crack in the door and onto my desk.


    With a smile, she said.


    "Here''s your favorite, Silas!"


    Slowly shutting the door and leaving behind the plate, I could hear my mom''s hurried footsteps back to the kitchen.


    Ignoring the plate, I pressed on with my problems.


    Snapping me back to the present, I heard the sound of a video playing from Lily''s smartwatch.


    Ignoring the sound, I reopened my eyes and continued staring out the window.


    ...thinking back on it, did I even like takoyaki...?


    No...I was angry at my mom for not letting me out, so I had specifically asked for an expensive snack that took a long time to make.


    But, no matter how difficult the task or how expensive the ingredients were, my mother still delivered the plate to me every day.


    Yet, I left the plate of food untouched every time, purposely leaving it on my desk for my mother to see.


    I had thought my mother would be angry, and it would be the perfect revenge if my mother saw that the food she had worked so hard on was wasted.


    ...But I was wrong.


    With the same smile and content expression, she continued delivering the snack to my room daily, not even mentioning how I had left the plate untouched earlier.


    "Did you enjoy the snack, Silas?"


    Lying, I replied.


    "yes."


    With a smile, she would just move on from the topic, inquiring about my progress with my studies.


    Just how many hours had she wasted in that kitchen making a snack for me¡ªjust me to not eat it?


    How did she feel after spending all that time making the food and cleaning the kitchen just to see it untouched?


    Our family was low-income and middle-class, yet somehow, she still had the money every day to make the takoyaki despite its expensive ingredients.


    The money that my father and mother worked so hard to gain was wasted on me because of a petty grudge I held.


    Even with a scholarship for my outstanding grades, my father still had to fork over more than a fourth of his income just for tuition, not including textbooks and study resources.


    A fact I had only come to realize after my entrance to this world.


    What kind of son was I?


    I was here criticizing Ren''s father''s parenting earlier... but was I even qualified to do that?


    Closing my eyes, I reentered my flashback of my last day on Earth.


    Tapping my cellphone and checking the time, I approached my classmates before saying.


    "Yeah, you''re right..! It''s just one time; she won''t care that much."

 Chapter 82 - 82:Flashback [2]

    Looking around the new area, I followed my classmate''s lead out of the school and towards the karaoke shop.


    Ignoring my classmates'' laughs and discussions, I intently looked around, taking in every part of this new experience.


    Upon entering the shop, one of my classmates paid for a huge room before leading us in.


    Watching my fellow classmates sit down, order drinks, and eagerly look for songs on the iPad like this was an everyday thing, I felt a tinge of jealousy inside me.


    Why had I been holed up in my room, studying this whole time, while they had been enjoying life to the fullest?


    Laughing alongside my classmates as I watched my friends try their best to sing, all thoughts and doubts about returning home disappeared.


    When I was handed the iPad, I asked my classmate beside me for a recommendation before looking at the screen with the lyrics and trying my best to sing.


    "haha, Silas, why is your voice so monotone?"


    "Show some emotion, will ya, haha."


    "Hey, ignore them, Silas; your singing was much better than whatever bat screech came out of Kang''s mouth."


    "Kai, if we''re talking about singing skills, then you''re at the very bott-"


    Picking up a melon cream drink before me, I saved its sweet taste while watching the next person in line sing.


    "HEY SILAS, LET''S DO A TRIO!"


    "YEAH, ME, YOU AND KANG!"


    Putting down my melon drink, I headed to the front stage of the karaoke room where my two friends, Kang and Kai, were waiting.


    *BZZT~BZZT*


    Feeling a vibration from my phone in my pocket, I hesitated momentarily, thinking whether I should check the message.


    How was I going to explain this to my mom? What was she going to say? What was my punishment going to be?


    "SILAS, GET OVER HERE!"


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, I felt my adrenaline surge as everyone in the room glanced at me from Kang''s shout.


    I''ll worry about it later.


    Following Kang up to the stage, I picked up a microphone alongside my two friends and began singing the lyrics off the screen.


    As I saw my classmates clapping and laughing while watching the three of us sing, all thoughts about returning home disappeared.


    For the next three hours, I stayed in the karaoke room, laughing and enjoying my free time with my friends.


    As people slowly started to leave to head home, I stayed, intending to savor every moment of this time.


    I already knew my mother would punish me when I got home, so why wouldn''t I enjoy this time to the fullest now? Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As the sun fell and nighttime arrived, I was left in the karaoke room with my two friends, Kai and Kang.


    Upon seeing those two finally getting ready to leave, I decided that this had gone on long enough, so I also departed from the karaoke room.


    In the darkness of the night, I used my phone to navigate my way out of the unfamiliar area and back to my house.


    Reaching my house''s front door, I hesitated momentarily at the door before deciding to accept my fate.


    There was no possible way for me to excuse my way out of not showing up until this late at night.


    Unlocking the door with my key, I creaked it open slightly, expecting to see my mother''s anxious and angry figure; however, she was nowhere to be seen.


    After opening the door fully, I entered the house, which seemed empty, as all the hallway lights were off.


    Was I really going to get away with this?


    Heading to the kitchen next to my room, I noticed the light was on, so I peeked inside from the hallway.


    Seeing my dad anxiously pacing back and forth in the kitchen, I immediately thought I was caught.


    Realizing that the chances of me falling asleep were zero as I would be too scared of punishment, I entered the kitchen, ready to tell my dad everything.


    *CLOMP~CLOMP*


    As the sound of my footsteps entered the kitchen, my dad immediately turned around and looked at me for a moment.


    Accepting my fate, I waited for the anger and frustration to pour out of his mouth; however, none came.


    Instead, a barrage of questions immediately exploded from my dad''s mouth.


    "Where were you? Where''s your mother? Did she send you back here? Where is she? She is not picking up her cell, and you weren''t either."


    Realizing I had completely shut off my cell after the first few vibrations, I took it out of my pocket and confusedly answered my dad''s question.


    What was all this stuff about Mom?


    "I-i was with my friends at a Cherokee place... I didn''t see mom at all. Where is she?"


    Rather than being outraged at my confession of guilt, my dad simply paused momentarily before grabbing a sticky note off the counter and showing it to me.


    [Honey, I''m sure where Silas is... he''s not picking up his cell. I''m going to the school to look for him. If I''m not back by then time you''re here, dinner is in the fridge. If Silas somehow arrives before me, please tell him that his Takoyaki plate is in the fridge.]


    It was ten a clock... where could she be right now?


    As thousands of thoughts rushed through my head, only one emerged.


    I have to find her...It was my fault; she left.


    She even took the time out of her already work-filled day to prepare my snack while I was enjoying Cherokee...


    A snack that she knew I didn''t even eat...


    What if she had gotten into danger while looking for me...?


    Reget.


    Tons of regret instantly flooded into my head.


    Why couldn''t I take a single second to check my phone and let her know I was with friends...?


    She spent her entire life, day in and day out, caring for me, cooking me, taking care of me, and helping me... yet I couldn''t spare a second for her.


    Unable to articulate the words coming out of my mouth due to my head''s chaos, I spit out.


    "t-the Cherokee shop, s-she''s there."


    If she had gone to school, she would have found out from the teachers that I had left with my classmates for the shop, so she would have had to be there.


    With my father trailing slightly behind me, I rushed to the train station and took the train back to the shop.


    Camping the doors, I jumped off the train as soon as the doors opened and rushed toward the shop.


    Nearing the intersection where the shop stood, I looked around before immediately noticing my mother standing in the middle of the crosswalk while frantically looking around.


    All this time, she had still been searching for me... more than five hours straight.


    Realizing that my voice alone wouldn''t reach her due to all the noise from others, I frantically waved my hands around, trying to catch her attention while yelling as well.


    "MOM! IT''S ME; I''M HERE!"


    "MOM"


    Hearing my yelling, I saw my mother pause before looking at my area and spotting my flailing hands; I sighed in relief.


    Did the punishment even matter anymore?


    As my mother made eye contact with me, stopping in place, I rushed towards her, ready to profusely apologize and thank her.


    However, the light next to the crosswalk turned green at that moment.


    Whether the driver was distracted or intoxicated, he failed to notice my mother still standing in the middle of the crosswalk as his truck surged forward.


    "MOMMM"


    "MOMMM GO"


    No matter how loud I screamed, my mother kept her eyes on me, a single tear falling from her right eye as she stared at me... completely oblivious to the oncoming truck.


    Not hesitating for a second, I sprinted to the start of the crosswalk, diving forward right at my mother with my arms pointed forward.


    None of the stares I received for yelling loudly or the people passing by mattered at that moment.


    There were all blurs beside the clear figure of my mom right in front of the truck.


    At that moment, there was only my Mom and I.


    Feeling the palms of my extended hands touch my mother''s soft jacket, all my worries faded.


    Still mid-air from the dive, I smiled as I saw my mother fall back away from the truck and onto the sidewalk.


    I never did apologize to her for sneaking out, did I?


    That''s why I needed to get back to Earth.


    To apologize.


    That''s all I needed and wanted to do.


    Ah, how I would die for a plate of takoyaki now...


    [A/N: Hope this helps you understand Ren better. This is not the end of his backstory; there will be many more flashbacks in the future, so don''t worry if you have questions.]

 Chapter 83 - 83:The Trip [2]

    *TAP~TAP*


    *TAP~TAP*


    Snapping me back to reality, I heard two footsteps rapidly approaching my seat.


    Unable to look away from the window as Ruby was sitting right behind me, I attempted to see the reflection of the windows, but the timing could not have been worse as the bus had just entered a tunnel.


    Well, even without turning around, I could guess who the two''s footsteps were.


    "Kevin, where the hell are you going?"


    "It doesn''t matter to you, so why are you following me?"


    "Well, I have nothing better to do on this bus, and I thought this might be entertaining."


    "So, I''m just a pawn used for your entertainment?"


    "Well, when you put it like that...? Think of it like this: you''re an actor putting on a show for me."


    Hearing an audible snort, I realized that Kevin and Liam were now only a few seats away from Lily and I.


    Well, this was going to be...


    If I got up to pretend to use the restroom, Ruby would notice me, but if I stayed, Kevin would bug me for the rest of this trip because I sat next to Lily once.


    Placed in this lose-lose predicament, I ultimately decided that my well-being was more important than Lily being suspicious of Ruby and I.


    Unfortunately, Kevin''s footsteps fastened even more at that moment, blocking off my escape route.


    "She has to be on a bus somewhere, right?" Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Kevin, don''t ask me. As an audience member, I can''t intervene in the play."


    "??? What are you saying?"


    If I were to step out into the aisle right now, Kevin would see me immediately before noticing Lily sitting beside me.


    Looking at Lily, who was also looking up as she heard Kevin''s voice, I quietly said.


    "I need to use the restroom."


    Looking straight at Kevin and Liam, she replied.


    "Quite the coincidence, don''t you think? As they''re approaching, you suddenly need to use the restroom."


    "Oh, is it?"


    Not wasting any more time conversing, I peeked my head over the seat, making sure Liam and Kevin were looking at the seats in the other direction.


    Confirming that I was not in their line of sight, I stood up in my seat, with my back facing Lily, Liam, and Kevin.


    Looking to my right, I saw Lily staring at me confusedly, and looking towards the back of the bus, I saw Ruby in the seat behind Lily.


    Seeing Ruby staring down at the smartwatch and not noticing me, I did what I thought was an elegant somersault over the seat, landing face-first on the window seat right next to Ruby.


    As the seat shook from my landing on it, I saw Ruby almost drop her smartwatch before adjusting her gaze to my back, which was pressed against the window.


    Quickly adjusting myself to sit normally with my back pressed against the chair, I turned to Ruby, who had just probably noticed it was me and not some random person.


    Pretending to be shocked, I asked.


    "Oh hey, when''d you join the travel club?"


    As her shock disappeared and a wide grin took form on her face, she chuckled before responding.


    "You do know you''re a terrible liar, right?"


    Slumping down on my seat to avoid Lily''s gaze, I replicated her smirk and replied.


    "What makes you say that?"


    "Quite the entrance you had there. Did it take you the bus ride this far to plan that?"


    "Greatness takes time."


    "When I entered the bus, all I saw was a hooded figure next to Lily. Even looking through the gap in the seats, I saw the same hooded figure staring out the window."


    "What can I say? The scenery outside was amazing!"


    Resting her elbow on the armrest between us, Ruby put her head on her hand, looking straight at me, before saying.


    "You do know, I knew it was you from the start, right?"


    ...she can see desires, can''t she? How did I even forget that...?


    From the start, she must have seen the flame of my desire in the hooded figure and noticed it was me...


    Putting my hood down, causing the black cat resting on my hair to fall back into my hood, I employed my sarcastic tone and responded.


    "Really? I didn''t even know you were sitting behind me. Wow, what are the odds!?"


    Lifting her hand off the armrest, Ruby abruptly reached towards me before grabbing my hand and bringing it closer to her.


    Shellshocked by her actions, I froze, completely ignoring the voice of Kevin, who had just discovered Lily''s seat.


    "AHH.*


    With her other hand, Ruby pinched my hand over and over again. While a normal pinch wouldn''t hurt me, Ruby used her awakened strength to grab my skin.


    "S-STOP."


    "Can''t hear you!"


    "STOP P-PLEASE!"


    Pausing her relentless pinching, Ruby shook her head while saying.


    "Lying isn''t a very good thing, Ren."


    She had been fine with me lying to her earlier, but now it was a problem. What the hell had changed?


    Usually, she just acted oblivious to my lies, but now she was inexplicably taking action and... punishing me?


    Nodding my head up and down, I quickly replied as her hand almost resumed pinching.


    "YES! I WON''T LIE!"


    Hearing my answer, instead of pinching me, she placed her hand on my hand, now completely surrounding my right hand as her hands were both below and above mine.


    "Now, answer my question like an honest person, would you?"


    Feeling the soft sensation of her hands, I didn''t dare to lie as I honestly replied.


    "I-i was pretending not to se-"


    "No, I already know that. Why were you sitting next to Lily when you always used to avoid her?"


    "...what? She sat next to me, though."


    Making eye contact with me for a second, Ruby nodded her head before removing her hands.


    Am I allowed to ask what the hell just happened..?


    Completely ignoring my confusion, Ruby changed the topic by asking.


    "So, enjoying the bus ride? I believe you said the scenery was interesting."


    Turning back to the window, I noticed that we were out of the tunnel as numerous trees were in front of the sun that was setting.


    Wait... the sun was setting? It had already been 7 hours..?


    Just how long had I been staring out that damn window?


    Was the scenery really that good?


    "*PFFT*"


    Laughing uncontrollably as I stared out the window with a confused expression, Ruby said.


    "*PFFT* y-you really weren''t lying."


    Turning around to look at Ruby, I noticed three blank figures standing in ailse while staring intently at us.


    ...my screaming might have been a bit too loud.

 Chapter 84 - 84:The Elven Forest [1]

    Flustered, both Ruby and I avoided their gazes before turning to the window.


    "...quite the interesting scenery."


    Barely suppressing her laughter, Ruby replied.


    "y-yeah, that tree really is just...I can''t describe it in words."


    "...we''re in a tunnel... there are no trees..."


    "...*PFFT*...."


    "..."


    Banging my head against the window to keep my laughter from leaking out, I tried to see if those three were still staring at us through the window''s reflection, but once again, we were in a tunnel.


    This timing is really starting to piss me off!


    Well, at least I could look at the tunnel outside without getting a headache...


    Why can''t my damn luck choose a side? Be either good or bad, not both!


    Raising my right hand to my eye, I activated the dragon''s eye and used the slowing of time to sneak a peek behind me without being noticed.


    Right next to me was Ruby, covering her face with the back of Lily''s chair and her hands tightly gripping the armrest.


    In front of Ruby was Lily, who was looking back at us through the gap in the chairs with a confused and interested expression.


    Next to Lily was Kevin, who was completely oblivious to the situation. His gaze remained on Lily despite all the noise we had made.


    Finally, Liam...


    He was just staring at me with a disgusted expression...


    ...Aren''t I screwed if the protagonist of the book hates me..?


    What the hell did I even do to him!? I''m why he got that power-up on the cruise ship; he owes me his life!


    Speeding back up time, I continued staring at the window... but we were still in the tunnel.


    Seriously, how goddamn long is this tunnel!?


    Regaining my composure, I braced myself as I turned around and casually took out my smartwatch, acting like the three main cast members weren''t there.


    At a loss for words, the three of them stared at me while I was casually scrolling on my smartwatch.


    After a couple of moments, Liam and Kevin finally moved on as they turned to Lily.


    "Why''d you sit all the way back here, Lily?"


    Forced to answer Kevin''s question, Lily reluctantly turned away from Ruby and I, allowing us to finally relax.


    "I wanted to sleep, and it was quieter back here."


    "Oh...ok"


    Laughing at Kevin''s sullen face, Liam''s expression transformed from disgust to cheer as he said. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Kevin, it''s actually over for you. She does not lik-"


    Cutting Liam off midsentence, Lily, being her kind soul, pointed at the seats across the aisle and said.


    "You guys can sit over there."


    "What was that, Liam? Sorry, I couldn''t hear you!"


    "Pity points, you know damn we-"


    "shhh, Liam, didn''t you hear? Lily said she wanted some peace and quiet."


    "..."


    As the two of them took their seats, Ruby finally regained her composure as she removed her head from the back of Lily''s seat and turned towards me.


    "Is that why you moved?"


    Nodding my head at Ruby''s question, I employed a sarcastic tone and replied.


    "No, I just really wanted to sit with Lily!"


    "..."


    Receiving no answer from Ruby, I turned back to her, only to see her giving me the cold shoulder and completely ignoring me.


    ...this was supposed to be a relaxing bus ride for me, wasn''t it?


    After what seemed like ages, the bus finally slowed to a halt, putting an end to the awkward silence.


    Following Ruby out of the bus, I looked around at the beautiful scenery of the wildness around me.


    We had entered the Elven Realm and left the Human Realm.


    Using my enhanced eyesight, I spotted the carriages in the distance and our travel club president beside them.


    As the carriages stopped in front of us, I saw students split into groups of four before each carriage''s entrance.


    Of course, my trusty buddies, Jin and Han, walked over to a carriage with me.


    Seeing our group, The travel club president narrowed his eyes before joining our group of four.


    Were we really that untrustworthy..?


    Looking at Ruby, who was glancing around, I was going to try to sneak her in with us, but before I could do anything, she was approached by Liam, Kevin, Alya, and Lily.


    Alya had received her own personal carriage from the Elven kingdom so their group could be as big as they wanted.


    Some sense of logic in my carriage would have been nice, but alas, it was expected.


    After all, in the main cast''s eyes, Ruby had saved all of them from dying to the teacher''s djinn attacks.


    Entering the carriage, I sat down next to the travel club president, facing Jin and Han, who were staring out the window.


    Even as nobles, Jin, Han, and Ren had never left the human realm, so everything here was a new experience.


    In contrast to the smooth bus ride, the carriage ride was much worse, as there was a bump almost every second.


    Looking out of the carriage window and ignoring the pain in my back, I enjoyed the beautiful nature around me. The carriage was moving much slower than the bus, so my brain could actually process everything my eyes saw without giving me a headache.


    The backdrop of the gigantic plains, which seemed to stretch forever under the resting orange sun, made for a painting-like scene.


    The rabbits hopping around, the beautiful white birds elegantly gliding through the sky, and the lush green grass at the bottom.


    In everyone''s eyes, it was picturesque, perfect and beautiful


    However, even though I couldn''t see it with my eyes, I knew something was wrong.


    In a couple of weeks, the problems would be visible: the vitality of everything was slowly decreasing.


    Underground, the roots of everything were slowly withering, eliminating the food source of all the animals here.


    The trees, the plants, the animals, and even the water of the lakes.


    In a matter of time, all of it would be gone, turned to waste.


    But that was just the start...


    The Elven Forest was in a much more precarious situation.


    After what seemed like ages, hundreds of trees that seemed to stretch up to the sky entered my sight.


    We had arrived at the Elven Forest.


    Like the plain before the forest, I couldn''t see anything wrong even with my eyes even when I knew there was a problem.


    After all, the problem was underground, and no matter how much I tried, I couldn''t see through physical objects.


    Leaving the carriage first, I stared at the thousands of trees before me, feeling like an ant in a world of giants.


    Well, this ant was about to save the world!

 Chapter 85 - 85:The Elven Forest [2]

    As the others exited their carriage, I turned away and caught a glance at Ruby, who was emerging from her carriage with a sheepish expression.


    Would Lily have taken advantage of the situation with Ruby alone to question her about our relationship?


    Whatever the case, I doubted Ruby would reveal that she and I were part of an evil organization.


    After everyone had exited their respective carriages, Alya stepped away from her group and headed into the forest.


    A few minutes later, Alya emerged from the forest with two Elves on her right and left, each holding a spear alongside a bow.


    Elves were known for their bowmanship and affinity to spirits, so as a fellow bow user, I was curious to see how the normal Elves used the bow.


    The elf on Alya''s right glanced at us briefly, showing a disgusted expression, before sharply saying.


    "Follow me."


    Even if humans and elves were technically in cooperation, our relationship was still prickly. Elves tended to look down on everyone, believing they were the superior race, so their attitude was terrible.


    In other words, they were just a bunch of people with superiority complexes.


    This was also the first time humans had entered the Elven forest in over a hundred years, so most Elves only knew about humans from rumors.


    Of course, those rumors weren''t saying good things about humans, as the ones creating them had superiority complexes!


    Walking with Han and Jin, we looked around in awe as our group entered the forest.


    The trees were so tall that the sunlight was mostly blocked, but that poor lighting added to the forest''s mystery, making it seem almost mythical.


    Taking my gaze off the forest and turning to my side, I activated my system menu out of curiosity.


    ===Menu===


    User : Ren Montclair


    [Class: Proficient Assassin: (Level 3: 7%) ]


    -> Stealth : C


    -> Moderate Dagger Mastery : 11%


    -> Arts: Eclipse Blade [3/5]


    [Stats]


    -> Rating : D+ {Dream not yet completed}


    -> Strength : E+


    -> Agility : D+


    -> Stamina : D-


    -> Magic Power : D+


    -> Luck: G-S {Conditional}


    -> Intelligence : E


    -> Charm : F-


    [Traits]


    -> Passive: Dragon''s Will [2 / ?]


    ---> Dragon Eyes : Your eyesight is enhanced.


    ---> Dragon''s Transformation : You are able to harness a physical part of a dragon.


    [Skills]


    -> [[E] Dash] : Not requiring any mana usage, the skill allows the user to move 10 meters from their current location in any direction with a cooldown period of 7 seconds. The skill does not instantly move the user but temporarily increases the user''s speed until they move 10 meters.


    =======


    Even with the duel from earlier, my dagger mastery hadn''t increased a bit...my progress was plateauing.


    I''m going to have to enter that dream sooner or later...


    At this point, saying I wasn''t prepared anymore wasn''t an excuse. With my recent upgrade in Dragon''s Will, I was more than prepared.


    ...but, how could I not be scared..?


    In my last dream, I faced off against an S-rank creature, and that was only my D-rankup dream!


    What the hell would I have to fight in my C-rankup a dream? A god, a demon, or a whole hoard of S-rank creatures?


    Sighing, I looked upwards, seeing the Elven guards ahead stop abruptly before turning to each other.


    Peering past the guards and further into the forest, I found the cause as a stack of branches blocked our path head.


    Clearly, the stack of branches was not naturally made, so it was obvious that some other Elves had set it up to annoy us and halt our progress.


    Were we really that hated by the Elves?


    To be honest, I wasn''t even mad at the part, though.


    I was more mad that those Elves had actually thought that a stack of branches could stop us from advancing!


    Did they really think we were so weak that a simple stack of logs could stop us..?


    Sighing, I watched as Liam effortlessly cleared the stack of logs with one sword strike before turning to the Elven guards.


    The rest of the trek to the forest''s center went without a hitch, as before long, I could spot the path open up to a gigantic clearing.


    The two guards standing in front of the expression glanced at our group before reluctantly stepping aside with indifferent expressions.


    However, when they glanced at Alya, their expressions wholly transformed as they bowed their heads, admiration apparent on their faces.


    As our group of students entered the clearing, I felt like some sort of museum exhibit, as more than a hundred eyes pierced through me, watching my every movement.


    Thankfully, that ended quickly as Alya emerged from our group and quickly captured the elves'' attention.


    As Alya headed to the palace on the opposite side of the clearing, our group stood still, admiring the view.


    The clearing was about as big as the academy''s island, except there were no flashing buildings, streets, or even decorations.


    Everything was so simplistic... almost all of the huts and houses resembled each other, except for a couple of small differences that could only be spotted by my eyes.


    Instead of streets, there were paths carved out in the ground that connected the entire clearing, and there were no walls, so you could see everything in the clearing from any spot.


    Turning my head, I finally rested my eyes on the main attraction of the elven realm.


    The famed World Tree.


    With a long and wide wooden trunk, the tree actually stretched up to the sky, its branches and leaves completely blocking the sunlight.


    However, that didn''t mean it was dark in the clearing; in fact, it was the opposite as the tree branches lit up gold, illuminating the entire clearing.


    Despite the clearing being as big as the huge island of the academy, the world tree somehow lit up the entire place, leaving no dark spots.


    ...it was actually doing a better job than the sun!


    Retracting my gaze from the world tree, I stared across the clearing at the elegant pure-white palace that stood out amongst the simplistic houses.


    With a large fountain in front of it, the palace almost resembled the White House from Earth, as they were both completely white and gigantic.


    Seeing Alya exit the palace, I felt somewhat jealous that I would not be able to see its beautiful interior.


    Well... I''ll get my chance later.


    Leading us to a row of huts, our group of students split into our carriage groups from earlier and stood in front of a hut.


    Entering the hut, I was surprised to notice that the hut was double the size of my dorm room despite its seemingly small outward appearance.


    It had two floors, each decorated with two beds and a wooden desk, and instead of a roof, there was just a circular window on top. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Since there was no light in the Elven Realm, the roof had to be a window so the light of the World Tree could shine through, illuminating the hut.


    Taking a bed on the second floor, I laid on one of the beds, looking up and staring at the branches of the World Tree through the window.


    Raising one of my hands, I stretched it upwards as far as possible while staring at one particular gold branch.


    This wasn''t a tree.


    It was all a spirit.


    The entire World Tree was just a powerful spirit that, despite having been alive for thousands of years, worked around the clock to keep the Elven realm safe.


    This secret was only known by three people in the entire world.


    Lily, the current Elven queen, and I.


    There was also another secret known by the three of us.


    The spirit was slowly dying and fading away into nothingness.


    Recalling the spirit''s description in the book, I felt a pang of jealousy once again as I realized I wouldn''t be able to meet her.


    How cool would it be to meet a thousand-year-old spirit!?


    Opening the window next to my bed, I let the cat out of my hood and carefully placed it on the windowsill before getting up.


    Peeking down to the first floor of the hut, I saw both Jin and Han slumped down on their beds while the travel club president had already left.


    Leaving the hut, I walked towards the education area of the clearing in search of an archery range.


    Ignoring the spiteful gazes of some Elves, I finally found an archery range, but I was immediately stopped before I could near the area.


    In front of me stood two elves, who seemed to be around the same age as me despite being much shorter than me.


    "Need something?"


    Shaking their heads, the elf on my right said.


    " *tsk* The food hall is over there."


    ...really?


    Trying my best to keep a civil smile on my face, I replied.


    "Oh, don''t worry, I know exactly where I''m going."


    Stepping out of my way, the two elves smirked before saying in unison.


    "If you say so."


    Confused, I stepped past them and continued towards the archery range.


    Why had they let me through so easily?


    I had expected a full-on confrontation! I mean, I had already manifested my corrupted daggers in my jacket pocket!

 Chapter 86 - 86:The Elven Forest [3]

    Since there were no walls, I could see the archery range from even this distance as I saw countless elves practicing from the outside.


    In particular, the ones to the right side caught my eye. Their bows had a soft silver lining along the elegant white surface, and the bow''s wood was perfectly carved to suit each person.


    Even their arrows looked like they took ages to craft, as each was painted soft white and had a golden tip.


    Looking at the stack of crummy practice bows to my side, I immediately manifested the corrupted bow and my maximum of two arrows.


    I could shoot the arrows, disperse them, and then re-manifest them in my hand, so the number didn''t matter.


    Noticing all the good spots were filled, I headed to the archery range''s left side, where the quality was significantly worse.


    The targets had holes and stains, and even worse, the bow Elves'' form was disgusting, even to me, a beginner!


    As I manifested the arrows, I ensured the tips were soft enough so the targets wouldn''t immediately collapse.


    "Hm?"


    Turning back around, I saw an open spot on the right side of the archery range as one of the elves slammed his bow on the ground before angrily walking away.


    "...bad archery day, huh?"


    Unnoticed by the other elves, who were so focused on aiming, I slipped into his spot before selecting the option for a 25-meter target.


    Nocking an arrow, I pulled back the black string before using my eyes to calculate the exact route my arrow should take.


    After finalizing my calculations, I released the string, allowing the arrow to fly forward so fast that unawakened people could not see it.


    Watching as the arrow perfectly hit the center of the target, I went back to the control panel to add a couple more targets and make them mobile rather than stationary.


    Firing my two arrows in quick succession, I watched as each one perfectly went through two targets by perfectly timing the point at which the targets were lined up.


    Unfortunately, these new targets did not survive my arrows. When my arrows made contact, the wood targets shattered into tens of pieces.


    Thankfully, my arrows made no noise, so I could spawn another set of targets from the control panel without being noticed.


    Changing the arrow''s size so that it was more aerodynamic and less wide, I nocked another arrow and allowed it to gracefully glide through the air, once again hitting the dead center of the target.


    Unfortunately, this single shooting process took well over 30 seconds, as I had to calculate the route necessary for my arrow perfectly.


    But... there was nothing I could do about it.


    Ultimately, I was an assassin, not a sniper or marksman, so there were no shortcuts to improving my bow proficiency. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    To decrease the time needed for an arrow shot, I just needed to practice¡ªand practice every single day.


    There was also no way to check my progress in the short term, as sometimes my shooting rate would be inexplicably faster before immediately dropping to below average.


    My main reason for coming to the arrow range today was not to shoot my bow but to analyze how the elves around me used their bows and then incorporate their techniques.


    After glancing around for a minute, making sure not to keep my gaze on the same elf for too long, I found the perfect specimen.


    Adorned in an elegant white cloak with a visible symbol of the world tree, the elf has a crowd of people gathering around him and watching his every move, even though he hadn''t even begun to shoot yet.


    Pretending to drink some water, I watch the elf with long white hair draping down to his waist and amber-brown eyes walk toward my section.


    Following the lead of the other elves, who were no longer focused on shooting and instead on the white-haired elf, I stepped back and dropped my bow.


    As the section was full, there was no spot for the elf to use; however, in the next moment, the elf next to me bowed before immediately giving up his spot.


    He didn''t seem mad at giving up his spot; rather, he looked like he was honored to have done so.


    Well... he was giving up his spot to the prince of the Elven kingdom and the first successor to the kingdom, even in front of Alya.


    But... sadly, he would never actually ascend the throne.


    Well, I wasn''t complaining about receiving first-row seats to the show!


    Actually, it wasn''t just me who had dropped everything to watch the prince''s performance, as the elves around me also carefully observed the prince''s form.


    Watching him take his first shot, which took less than 3 seconds but still managed to hit the dead center of the target, I opened my mouth in awe.


    Even though I observed his every movement and muscle twitch with my eyes, locking it down in my memory, I could not see myself replicating it.


    The bow was naturally drawn to him... like it was a part of his body rather than a physical item.


    Like a hand, the bow appeared to be an extension of his body. Despite being a physical object, the bow seemed to be able to read the prince''s mind and follow his every instruction.


    The prince was a marksman... a marksman who had practiced for over ten years with his specialized weapon, receiving the best training and teachers possible.


    ...Just what was his weapon proficiency?


    Even Alya''s proficiency with this sword did not compare, and of course, my measly dagger proficiency was leagues below.


    That 3-second shot of his did not even use any mana or incorporate any of the techniques he had learned through progress in his bow art or weapon proficiency... yet it was already perfect.


    My corrupted daggers could probably stop it, though... couldn''t they?


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, I suddenly felt countless gazes on me before a soft and bright voice emerged.


    "Oh, and who might you be?"


    Showing proper etiquette, I bowed before gesturing to the Academy''s symbol on my jacket and replying.


    "A student of the Celestial Academy here on a visit."


    Scratching his chin, the prince warmly replied.


    "Oh, I did hear that a couple of visitors would be coming... but this soon? Well, no matter, I hope your time thus far has been pleasant in the kingdom. I''m Albis, the first prince."


    Nodding my head, I was prepared for this conversation to end as the disgusted gazes of the other elves was starting to piss me off.


    However... the prince had other plans as he glanced at my control panel, easily spotting my pitch-black bow, which stood out amongst all the other pure white-colored bows.


    "Oh? Did you, by any chance, come here to practice with your weapon?"


    "...why else would I be at an archery range?"


    As those last words escaped my mouth, I immediately felt the atmosphere around me shift as the disgusted gazes transformed into anger.


    ...I had said that out loud, hadn''t I?


    Discretretely picking up my bow and arrow upon realizing the hostile reactions of the Elves, I carefully observed Albert''s reaction.


    Activating the usage period of the dash, I prepared for the worst-case scenario as I looked up.


    But... there was nothing to observe.


    "*PFFT*, HA, HA, *PFFT* You r-really a-are."


    ...was it a fake laugh? Or was he laughing?


    However, my worries quickly faded as Albert, still laughing, dispersed the crowd and casually walked over to me, his figure devoid of the previous elegance.


    Was this another person...?


    "Well, let''s have it?"


    "Have what?"


    "An archery competition, of course!"


    Instantly, I heard countless elves around me break into gasps while staring at me, their eyes now wide.


    Well... they say losing is the best way to learn!


    Slinging the bow around my shoulder, I curiously asked.


    "What''s with all of them?"


    "Well, you are the first living being I''ve ever challenged to an archery battle!"


    "..."


    Breaking into laughter upon seeing my reaction, Albert gestured to two elves, who dashed over to our control panels and set up the competition.


    A competition like this had taken place in the book between Liam and some Elven general, so I practically knew the rules.


    Well, it wasn''t hard to understand.


    You shoot as many targets as possible within 2 minutes, and the closer to the center you hit, the more points you receive.


    Without further talking, the competition started as countless targets, moving as fast as the luxury bus, appeared before me.


    Nocking my arrow, I partially calculated the arrow''s route, decreasing the process to 10 seconds; however, my arrow hit near the edges of the target instead of the center as a result.


    Shooting three more times, I glanced at the scoreboard, my expression immeediatly stiffening immediately.


    [Home: 110]


    [Visitor: 12]


    But... the score wasn''t the reason for my expression change.


    In front of the scoreboard stood Albert, who was casually sipping a cup of tea while staring at me, his bow nowhere in sight.


    ...THERE WERE STILL 30 SECONDS LEFT IN THE COMPETITION.

 Chapter 87 - 87:The Elven Forest [4]

    After gaining a mere ten more points in the last 30 seconds of the competition, I glanced at Albert''s bow, which was lying a few meters away from me, and the corrupted bow in my hands.


    Why the hell couldn''t my bow do that!?


    Of course, I knew it was a skill difference, but blaming myself wouldn''t do anything, so I needed to blame something else!


    Well, even if I couldn''t copy Albert''s technique, this trip wasn''t completely useless as I now know what a real bow looks like...


    Engraving the image of Albert''s bow, I dismissed the bow in my hands before re-manifesting it to mimic Albert''s bow completely, except for the color.


    *CLAP*


    *CLAP*


    *CLAP&


    Hearing the thundering applause and sneers, I considered putting my new elegant bow to use...


    Getting angry at losing now wouldn''t do anything. Anyway, my primary weapon was a dagger, so who cares about the bow?


    Not me, that''s for sure...!


    Raising his hand to silence the crowd, Albert approached me with a smirk... not a condescending one... but a genuine one.


    With his pure-white cloak and long blonde hair rustling in the breeze of the wind, Albert picked his bow off the ground before turning to me.


    "It was a good match!"


    "... are you fu- *AHEM* It w-was indeed."


    Walking up next to me, Albert placed his hand on my shoulder... and pat me on the back before returning to his original position.


    "..."


    Either not noticing or pretending not to notice my foul and confused temper, Albert continued in his joyful tone.


    "So, how was your academy''s trip through the forest and into the kingdom?"


    Dismissing the bow from out of Albert''s sight, I slung my backpack around my back before replying.


    "Nothing out of the ordinary, just a simple walk through the woods to get here."


    Rubbing his chin with his hand, Albert seemed to think briefly before asking again.


    "Nothing abnormal?"


    hm? Is something abnormal happening inside the forest that I don''t know about?


    Recalling the incident where some stacks of wood had blocked our path, I stayed quiet, simply shaking my head at Albert''s question.


    It was not because I had lost miserably to him. I didn''t want to add unnecessary variables to the event by divulging this information.


    If it were that important, Albus would ask the other students, like Liam, and receive his answer.


    As the crowd again encircled Albus once again, congratulating him on his win against me, I slipped out amongst the noise.


    Albert could be quite a useful resource in the future, just like Liam had Alya, but at the same time, the relationship was to be built slowly, didn''t it?


    *TAP~TAP*


    However, as I walked farther and farther away from the training range, I heard the sound of rapid footsteps approaching me.


    Turning around, surprising Albert, who was rushing toqES me, I asked.


    "What is it now?"


    Seeing that Albert wasn''t the type of person to be offended if I didn''t use a civil tone and no other Elves were around, I dropped the act from earlier and spoke to him normally.


    Taking a second to regain his composure, Albert brushed back his hair, revealing his amber eyes, and replied.


    "Did you have any plans after this?"


    "..? None in particular."


    Beaming with brightness, Albert nodded his head up and down before responding.


    "How would you like to visit the royal palace?"


    ...Being able to scout out the palace in advance would be nice... but what exactly was this prince planning?


    Challenging me to duel could be seen as him merely trying to test my skills, but inviting me to the Royal Palace was entirely different.


    In the book, even Alya had to convince the current Elven queen to allow the main cast into the palace when we had first arrived.


    Once again, patting me on the back, Albert did not wait for my response as he said.


    "No need for any thanks! I felt that the bow competition might have gone too far... so this is my way of making it up to you!"


    Gone too far?


    Aren''t you the one who scored 110 points in the first thirty seconds and then drank tea for the other one minute and thirty seconds?


    Considering I had nothing better to do and knowing the layout of the Elven royal palace would be nice for my plans, I nodded and followed Albert.


    Fortunately, Albert seemed to know a secret route to the palace, as the two of us were able to find it without being noticed.


    Stepping before me, Albert knocked on the huge metal gate before it promptly opened without any identification measures.


    Did that work for everyone?


    As the gates opened, the fount sitting right before the entrance to the house entered my view.


    Taller than the hut I was staying in, the fountain was unnatural. Water flew out at incredible speed, and despite all the water pressure, no water leaked out. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A fountain can be a magical artifact..?


    Taking a moment to look inside the fountain, I was surprised to see countless leaves from the World Tree inside.


    Seeing my confusion, Albert smiled before replying.


    "For the royal family, it''s a sign of good luck and prosperity if the leaves of the world tree enter the fountain."


    Well, I was here, so their good luck had worked!


    Following Alber''s gaze, I looked directly above the fountain and saw a large branch of a world tree covering the royal palace.


    As we went deeper into the palace courtyard, I was also surprised to see that there were close to no guards; rather, only a couple of chiefs and servants were running about.


    Well, in the elf kingdom, revolts and tension were uncommon, if not nonexistent, so they didn''t have to worry about security.


    But, recently, there must been some tension rising about the elves due to our presence in the clearing.


    Though, as we can see from the academy''s terrible security systems, guards don''t do anything to protect, so I understood their lack of security.


    Finally, the two of us crossed through the massive courtyard as two massive double doors stood before us.


    Raising his hand, Albert''s hand shone a light green before he touched his glowing hand to the door, causing it to open immediately.


    That was what it looked like to anyone else in the world, but I could see a completely different story with my eyes.


    For a split second, I saw a light green spirit in the shape of a ball appear in Albert''s hand before it merged with his hand, causing it to turn light green.


    Could I ever get one of those?


    Pretending I didn''t see the spirit, I entered the palace immediately and noticed the countless glass chandeliers hanging above my head.


    One earthquake and all of this would be gone...


    Stopping in front of me, Albert turned around and curiously asked.


    "Well, what do you think?"


    "Extravagant but not in a bad way."


    "You know, saying it just looks nice also works, right?"


    "Now you''re just putting words in my mouth."


    "Am I? Your expression says otherwise."


    Erasing my expression of awe, I walked past Albert, examining the painting in front of me, and replied.


    "What? Are you going to challenge me to another bow duel?"


    "For your sake, I won''t!"


    As Albert led me around the massive palace, occasionally stopping to explain parts of the Elven history, I used the time to examine as much of the palace as I could, specifically looking for the secret entrances.


    But... there was none.


    Was my only way in here with a spirit like Albert?


    Looking out one of the windows on the top floor of the palace with Albert by my side, I felt somewhat weird, as the light had remained safe throughout the entire day.


    Even though it was almost 9 PM, it was still as bright as it was in the afternoon.


    "Is there no control remote for that thing?"


    Flustered, Albert stepped back before asking.


    "...by that saying ''that thing,'' are you referring to the world tree...?"


    "Yeah, you would think with all the Elven history you''ve been telling me about, they would be able to figure out how to do some proper lighting."


    Not wanting to further this topic of conversation, Albert returned to the window and responded.


    "...I''ll keep that in mind when I succeed to the throne!"


    How does he say stuff like that without a single bit of sarcasm?


    After a couple more moments, Albert and I headed down the stairs as it was finally time for my departure.


    At this point, I had already extended my stay in the palace for over three hours, and any time Albert tried to hint at my leaving, I simply acted oblivious, asking him more questions about history.


    "When the tree elves first LEFT the forest and encountered the ice elves, there was a slight conflict. Speaking of leaving, do you b-"


    "Interesting! Tell me more about these so-called ice elves!"


    "

 Chapter 88 - 88:The World Tree [1]

    Having surveyed most of the mansion, I had the blueprint of it in my head, so I was content with leaving.


    Also, I learned quite a bit about Albus.


    Despite being terrifyingly strong... he was somewhat of a pushover. I was sure he would forcefully kick me out after the second out, yet he still let me stay for another!


    Leaving the palace and heading out of the gates, I dropped by the hut for a quick meal.


    As I entered the hut, I realized both Jin and Han were nowhere to be seen while the travel club president was eating at the table


    ...I''ll eat later.


    As I reopened the door and headed out, I used my eyesight to quickly scan the entire hearing before catching a glimpse of the two walking around with one of the Elven local specialties in their hand.


    The specialty large resembled ice cream from my word; however, the main difference was that you could bite right into it as the surface was made to be warm.


    Could an awakened even receive a brain freeze?


    Wasting no more standing around, I decided to head out of the clearing to scout to see if they had arrived yet.


    The World Tree doesn''t just randomly corrupt after being fined for over a thousand years; there has to be a cause for it.


    That cause is the dark elves.


    Like humans, elves can also become djinns, but the number of dark elves is much lower than that of djinns. It''s almost impossible for them to meet a demon, as they''re always stuck in this forest.


    But when there''s a will, there''s a way.


    As a result, only elves with the most hate and desire could transform into dark elves.


    Using their dark mana, they slowly began to corrupt the World Tree, hoping to wipe out the entire elven population.


    And while their plan worked perfectly, for now, they would soon realize something very important.


    The World Tree, or in this case the World Tree''s Spirit, cannot be ended from the outside world. To completely corruption the tree and take control of it, they must directly enter the tree and corrupt it from the inside.


    That''s why the Elven Queen has yet to take action on these dark elves. So far, they do not pose a significant threat.


    But she was soon to be proven very wrong...


    Considering the importance of this mission, the demons had personally sent their own, a B-rank at that, to help the C-rank dark elves.


    Unlike humans and other species who simply die, when a demon meets its demise, all the djinns contracted with it instantly die, all the demon''s blood-related family dies, and finally, the demon itself meets its end.


    Simply put, sending a demon out of the dark lands right now was a huge risk, but they had decided to do it anyway.


    Well, with Lily on their side, the queen should know about the demon and not underestimate the power of the dark elves.


    But that was exactly what I wanted.


    There were two goals that I needed to be accomplished.


    The World Tree needed to be saved.... and the spirit needed to be replaced.


    While the first part would likely happen naturally with Lily and the main cast''s help, our paths diverged in the second part.


    Looking at the guards, who were standing outside the only entrance to the clearing, I let out a sigh.


    There was only one problem.


    I was genuinely in the wrong here.


    In the book, the World Tree''s Spirit hadn''t been replaced and stayed the same... yet here I was trying to change that.


    Had I become my greatest nightmare, Lily...?


    Well, technically, I was purposely changing the plot, but it was for good reason!


    Later in this story, Alya and the main cast are forced to return to the Elven Kingdom as the spirit of the World Tree is fading away.


    The corruption sent by the Dark Elves and his already long lifespan had already put it on death''s door.


    But with the addition of the incoming wars and more demons leaving the Darklands, the spirit simply couldn''t hold on any longer.


    So... they replaced her.


    The World Tree is essential for the Elves as all their magic and power stems from it, so losing it would be incomprehensible.


    But then, who would want to volunteer to become the Spirit of the World Tree?


    Well, I''ve already met him...Albert.


    Thus, that entire ark was spent with the main cast finding a way to replace the Spirit with Albert before it dies.


    Of course, with Lily over there, they did not need for that long journey as she already knew the method.


    So, then, what''s my job?


    I need to convince Lily that something changed, and now the World Tree is already more corrupt and on death''s bed. She''ll see that and immediately speed up the events by replacing the World Tree early.


    Why was I trying to change the book''s events when my motto was to follow the plot?


    First, this change wouldn''t significantly impact the plot, which centers around the human realm. As long as the elves retain their power, what happens in their realm won''t have any significant impact.


    Sure, it would introduce some variables, but I was ready to accept that.


    But, the more important reason is... that it''s my only option.


    During their attempts to replace the World Tree spirit with Albert, the dark elves would take advantage of this by launching countless attacks. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    That was just a distraction, though...


    On the same day, for the first time in ten years, the demons would make a public move as they would attack not the Elven realm but the human one.


    As you can expect, the sudden attack caught the entire realm off-guard, and with Liam, the story''s protagonist, not here, it only got worse.


    Only after two days were the demons able to be stopped with the help of two top hundred heroes from the high dominion.


    When Liam and the cast returned from the realm, completely oblivious to the events, they could only describe what they saw as a wasteland.


    Confusion and shock immediately enveloped them as they stared out the carriage window at the area of the demon''s attack.


    A wasteland.


    Burned villages, trampled vegetation, no life to be seen in a hundred-meter radius, and finally, the dead body of someone I knew very well...


    Han.


    What was his use in the story?


    Just like me, another character fated to die just to help the protagonist''s personality advance...


    The village the demons attacked was the one that Han''s family had control of.


    Liam''s reaction to seeing a fellow academy student dead was to train even harder and become even stronger before the eventual counterattack.


    That was something that didn''t require Han''s death at all, though...


    Finally, my third reason was power.


    I knew I had to do something after seeing Albert''s performance versus mine in that bow deal.


    Especially since I plan to complete my dream advancement to C-rank soon, I need all the power I can get right now.


    You can never be too careful; I had learned that lesson too many times now...


    All I wanted was a fruit from the World Tree, which was very obtainable considering my goal destination.


    Waiting in the bushes about five meters from the guards, I waited for the perfect moment when both of them were turned away before dashing ahead and out of sight.


    Now, once again surrounded by the tower trees, I moved the corruption inside my body to combine with my mana in the center.


    Manifesting one black and red wing attached to my right shoulder, I ignored the pain and flapped it three times.


    Instead of moving forward in any direction, I moved upwards, along the trunk of one of the trees.


    Sitting on a high branch of one of the trees, I kept my wing before using my eyes to scan the part of the forest I was in.


    Nothing.


    Flapping my wing again, I appeared on an elevated branch of another tree before scanning with my eyes.


    Taking advantage of my limited time with the wing, I did the same actions until finally... there was something.


    Although I couldn''t see anyone or anything with the density of the trees, my eyes caught a faint sign.


    A misplaced leaf was sitting on the forest floor.


    Bingo.


    Sitting atop the elevated branch, I didn''t immediately rush in, but I first disseised my wing as I was running too low on time.


    With my wing gone, I manifested my two corrupted daggers alongside a mask to cover my face.


    Twisting my head, I tried to work around the trees'' density by specifically peering through their gaps, but there were no more signs.


    Besides that one misplaced leaf, there was nothing.


    Yet... that was a good sign for me.


    Dark Elves are pretty stealthy and sneaky, aren''t they?


    Jumping off the tree, I stabbed my daggers into the trunk''s bark to break my fall, the tree''s leaves turning grey shortly after due to my corruption

 Chapter 89 - 89:The World Tree [2]

    Using the shadows cast by the towering trees and the trees'' branches partially covering the sun''s rays, I silently made my way toward the area.


    Climbing up a tree next to the misplaced leaf, I peered again through the forest, finding even more signs of a disturbance.


    While no footprints were left behind, I could see parts of the ground barely less elevated than others, indicating that pressure had recently been placed on that area.


    Jumping from branch to branch, I followed the path of the uneven area until the signs finally became clearer.


    Now clear footsteps were left in the ground, and the leaves were scattered about, indicating they no longer cared about hiding their presence.


    What had changed? Were they in a rush now?


    The attack on the World Tree was tomorrow, so what were they doing now?


    Speeding up, I manifested a blood-red and night-black wing on my right shoulder before raising my right hand.


    Tapping my hand, I flapped my wing five times in succession, using my eyes and the slow-down time to perfectly calculate the best route despite going faster than visible to a human eye.


    Releasing no noise, I appeared on one branch, perfectly avoiding another tree''s trunk, before appearing on another branch over 10 feet away.


    I went so fast that speed mirages were being left behind on the previous branches. I went at maximum speed until finally, after 8 seconds, I felt my mana starting to run low due to the dragon''s eye.


    On the other hand, the orb in my right shoulder, which was attached to my wing, seemed to be able to hold up for another 15 seconds. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But that was because I combined the red substance with corruption instead of mana, so I wasn''t using any mana but rather my corruption.


    This would mean that after 15 seconds, I could still use my wings, but I would begin losing corruption for every second it manifested.


    As for the difference between using mana or corruption with the red substance, that was something I had yet to figure out.


    The only visible one was that my wing changed to blood-red and ocean-blue or blood-red and night-black, depending on what I used.


    Feeling my perception of time slow back to normal, I almost crashed into a tree after flapping my wing a final time, as even my eyes couldn''t keep up with the speed of these wings.


    Turning back around to spot more signs of unusual activity, I realized that in these seconds, I had sped through over half the gigantic forest of the Elven territory.


    Yet, despite that long distance, the footsteps and scattered leaves remained.


    Why were they traveling this far...?


    Seeing the trail of footsteps halt, with only a couple of trees in front of me, I stood still, perched on an elevated branch, and used my eyes to scan everything like a hawk waiting for its prey.


    Unfortunately, there was no prey in sight...


    *THUMP~THUMP*


    Hearing the sudden sound of pressure on the ground, I pushed back my black mask, adorned with the same blood symbol I had used during the cruise ship and coliseum incident, before immediately turning around.


    But there was nothing there.


    Using my eyes, I scanned the area below me for the source of the sound, but to my surprise, there was nothing.


    Nonetheless, sounds like that doesn''t just magically appear and disappear.


    Every effect has a cause.


    After taking out my corrupted daggers, I equipped my cloak and prepared to use the shadow cage in case anything happened.


    With my hands enveloped with corruption and my mana a second away from colliding with the blood-red substance, I waited for any signs.


    *...*


    Pure silence.


    Like a leaf in the wind, the sound had come before immediately vanishing.


    The trees rustled in the breeze of the soft wind, the sun''s rays peeked through small holes in the forest to illuminate small spots, the occasional chirping of birds as they flew by, and the sound of squirrels knawing at the wood.


    Something was wrong...


    Unable to put my mind onto whatever made me uneasy, I stood still, hunched over and perched on the tree branch with my daggers in hand, aware of any sudden attack.


    No... the sound.


    If whoever made that sound was trying to kill me, they wouldn''t have made that sound in the first place...


    Why would they make the noise, then?


    They had to have known I was here.


    If they had the hiding skills to evade my eyesight, they could see through my guise easily. It couldn''t be some passerby dark elf... could it?


    If it was a single dark elf, I could take them... but if they were multiple.


    Using my cloak to blend in with the darkness, I slipped down the tree trunk, hiding in its shadow.


    In front of me stood one of the small areas illuminated by the sun''s rays, the grass being dyed orange instead of dark green.


    Leaning with my back against the tree, I studied the small circle of light in front of me and the footsteps that ended right inside it.


    Earlier, I thought there were multiple footsteps due to the countless lower-elevation areas, but now there was just one set..?


    There were multiple footsteps earlier... I was sure of it with my eyes.


    The path also had no diversions; this was the only way it led.


    Rather than being happy upon realizing there was only one set of footsteps, my suspicions grew.


    The other footsteps had been created by that one person as well, then...


    Why would he want to create false footsteps to indicate more people and that noise..?


    A trap...?


    If they were trying to catch my attention, it had worked perfectly.


    *RUSTLE~RUSTLE*


    Hearing the leaves around me rustle for a split moment, I immediately looked upward, keeping the mask on tightly, and spotted a figure.


    Levitating in the air right above the center of the illuminated spot, the figure of a tall man with a top hat and horns peeking out of it was visible.


    With the sun sitting right behind him, he looked as if he were some protagonist or chosen one, as the rays perfectly complimented his floating figure.


    Tilting his top hat downwards, the djinn gracefully began slowly descending down from his spot before asking.


    "Oh? Did I keep you waiting for too long? You must have been quite fast to get here before I even realized someone took the bait."


    Ignoring his question, I locked my gaze on the upper part of his top hat.


    The symbol that Astrid showed me and the teacher held was sitting comfortably on the top hat, the sun''s ray illuminating it perfectly.

 Chapter 90 - 90:The World Tree [3]

    A trap...?


    The thought had never occurred to me.


    How could I, a self-proclaimed variable, be trapped if my existence in this scenario was never planned?


    How could someone set a trap for someone they didn''t know would be here?


    Traps had to be meticulously planned, well thought out, and personalized, so setting a trap for someone like me, whom you had no information about, would be impossible.


    Yet, it had worked perfectly at this moment, directly refuting my words.


    I was so focused on setting a trap for and hunting the dark elves that I hadn''t even realized I had walked right into another trap.


    As the figure descended into the forest, I got a better look at him, realizing his eyes were yellow, the key indicators of demons/


    He wasn''t a djinn... he was a full-fledged demon.


    Was this one of the demons planning to raid the World Tree...?


    Snapping out of my confusion, I didn''t wait for his complete descension as I slashed my daggers in the air, releasing an elemental slash barrelling right at him.


    Since the figure was a demon, the odds of a mere D-rank elemental even touching him were 0, but the main goal wasn''t to hurt him.


    It was to understand him: his tactics, way of dodging, way of attack, and personality.


    Would he be mad that I had attacked him before he landed?


    Staring at the elemental slash of night-black, the figure snapped his figure, causing an easter bunny to jump out of his hat...?


    Staring at the bunny made of the fire manifested on his hat; I almost applauded as the flame bunny jumped right in front of the elemental slash, causing an elemental reaction between fire and dark.


    As a result, a sudden amount of smoke enveloped the illuminated clearing before clearing a moment later, leaving the demon now standing on the solid floor.


    "Bit feisty, aren''t you?"


    He was amused... at my attack?


    Trying to get more information before the battle started, I asked.


    "Says the one who led me into a trap."


    Shrugging his shoulders, he pointed to the familiar symbol on his hat before saying.


    "Orders from the top. You are not, though; this isn''t my style. They are the opposite! Magician acts should be done in front of an audience where people can applaud, cheer, and eventually cry at your actions!"


    Talkative and a show-off?


    Seeing that he was still adjusting his suit and top hat without attempting an attack, I inquired further.


    "Cry? Aren''t magic acts supposed to be entertaining, not sad?"


    Tying his tie around his neck, the demon responded.


    "A play without drama and tragedy cannot be considered a play. Unfortunately, in this case, you are the tragedy. *tsk* Such a tragedy, there won''t even be an audience here to witness this world-class play..."


    "Are you even a magician? That''s a drama, not a magic act."


    "I''m an actor, not specifically a magician, my dear little tragedy."


    Realizing that all the information spewing out of his mouth was useless, I readied my daggers, awaiting his attack.


    Even though he was the demon, I still held the advantage through various cheat abilities.


    I would only reveal these secrets and give up my advantage if I knew using them would guarantee my victory.


    Staring at me with a wide smile, the demon touched his hands to his cheeks before looking downwards.


    The demon slowly rose from the ground until he levitated about two feet above it. Not skipping a beat, the demon took off his top hat, causing three doves made of the air element to fly out.


    Swinging my two daggers, I replied with three of my elemtantel slashes before stepping back.


    I knew that mere elemental slashes couldn''t come close to stopping those covers... but the slashes were enough to trigger an elemental reaction.


    What happens when dark and air collide? Pollution and Smoke in a Forest...


    The perfect indication to the main cast and Elves, who should already be on watch due to Lily''s warnings about tomorrow!


    As smoke covered the clearing, blocking the sunlight and the demon''s sight, I swiftly dismissed the three doves using my corrupted daggers and the new third movement I had obtained by upgrading my dagger proficiency.


    The Cataclysmic Burtst.


    The movements channel a devasting amount of magic energy together to create a powerful explosion that takes care of everything around it; however, as it uses magic energy or mana, the explosion cannot damage physical objects but only magic spells or shields.


    Watching the doves disappear from the explosions, I activated the dash''s usage period before peering through the smoke and spotting the demon, who was still levitating in the same spot.


    Jumping out of the smoke, I plunged my dagger into his levitating body; however, he was ready.


    Manifesting a pure-red umbrella in his hands, he threw it forward, expanding it to full size, which completely blocked my dagger strike.


    Activating my dash, I appeared 10 meters backward and into the smoke, already beginning to disperse.


    An umbrella user...?


    Haven''t heard of those, have I?


    As the smoke finally disappeared, the demon dropped to the floor, the umbrella over his head, blocking the sun, and said.


    "Such a tragedy that there won''t be an audience. I''ll have to recreate this act when I get back to the theatre... so don''t mind me if you say me taking notes."


    Demons go to the theatre...? Who in the right mind would watch a demon perform!?


    Seeing a moment to regain some mana, I stalled for time by further questioning.


    "And who exactly is your audience eager to witness your plays."


    Shaking his head, the demon pointed into the forest while shaking his head and said.


    "Unfortunately, they''re busy with the World Tree. I don''t know if you''ve heard of it.... if you ask me, it''s not all that. I mean, it''s just a tree! My plays are much more interesting, yet everyone is obsessed with that damn tree."


    ...the attack had changed days from tomorrow to today.


    If this had happened over an hour ago, I would have thought Lily and Company had already been prepared for an attack, even if it had happened a day early.


    But... now it had changed.


    The appearance of this demon and, most confusing, the appearance of the unknown organization. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If there were only three demons in the book''s battle, I was sure there would be at least ten in the battle now.


    They had reinforcements...


    Enough reinforcements where they could spare a demon just to make some stupid trap and capture a single person.


    *HA~HA*


    Snapping back to reality, I turned around to see the demon laughing hysterically in the middle of the illuminated area.


    "HA, SO EVEN YOU''RE MORE INTERESTED IN THAT DAMNED TREE THAN MY ACT WHEN IT''S RIGHT INFRONT OF YOU!? I''LL HAVE TO TEACH YOU A LESSON, WON''T I?"

 Chapter 91 - 91:The World Tree [4]

    Reaching into his pocket, the demon clenched his fist before reopening it, revealing countless cards between his fingers.


    Throwing the cards right at me like a shuriken, the demon turned away briefly, manifesting more cards and sending them right at me.


    Standing completely still, I looked forward, dismissing my two daggers and summoning my corrupted bow.


    At the same time, I had already begun to calculate the perfect route my two arrows would need to take to hit intercept every card.


    Nocking one of my two arrows, I sent it flying straight at the five cards nearest me, as they were all lined up perfectly.


    Not skipping a beat, I nocked another arrow and aimed towards the right. Release the soft and elastic string from my hands, I watched the second arrow hit the first two cards before bouncing off one of the trees at the edge of the illuminated spot and hitting the other three perfectly.


    Scanning the area, I frantically looked around for the demon, but he was nowhere to be seen, once again avoiding me despite my enhanced eyesight.


    If they could spare a demon to deal with outliers like me, there must be tons of demons attacking the World Tree right now.


    Could Lily, the main cast, and the Elven queen defend all of them?


    Or would they have underestimated the number of demons due to Lily''s book knowledge and not been prepared, leading to their loss in the fight?


    In any case, I had to get back to the clearing as soon as possible.


    *THUMP~THUMP*


    Instantly turning around to the source of the noise, I saw the demon perched on one of the trees like me earlier with an umbrella facing towards me, blocking his lower body.


    Nocking one of my arrows, I aimed at the demon and released the arrow, barrelling right at him.


    Activating the dash''s usage period, I prepared for his attempt to dodge by aiming my other arrow at his right side.


    But, he simply stood still.


    Keeping the arrow still nocked in my bow, I watched the demon stand unfazed in front of my streaking arrow.


    Holding my breath, I watched the arrow get nearer and nearer to the demon unit, and finally, it was right in front of him.


    *SPLUNK~SPLUNK*


    The arrow passed right through his body like he was a hologram before lodging itself in the tree behind him.


    "...a hologram...?"


    Under the pressure of my arrow, the tree''s trunk instantly cracked, slanting to the right and on the verge of completely collapsing.


    Ignoring the tree, I gazed around the clearing before instantly finding the demon again... and another demon and another one.


    Three demons were perched on a branch of a different tree, watching me as if I were a museum exhibit.


    Attempting to discern the identity of the real demon, I looked up at the one nearest to me and asked.


    "Aren''t you the one supposed to be putting on the play? It seems like I''m the one doing all the work here."


    However, in response, they all opened their mouths at the same time, perfectly timing their voices in unison.


    "I need to set the exposition, don''t I? Don''t worry, you won''t be ready for rising action."


    ...Freytag''s pyramid? S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    How did he know about that?


    Was that really a thing in this world, too?


    The pyramid describes the events that take place in a piece of literature: the exposition, which is the background and setting, and the rising actions, which are the time used to build up to the climax.


    He knew about all that... yet he got it wrong.


    Genuinely curious about whether he knew about the full Freytag pyramid, I corrected him.


    "I think you mean the inciting incident...also the pyramid is used for works of literature not plays and dramas..."


    Standing still, I watched the three figures open their mouths for a second, trying to dispute my claim before immediately closing them.


    "...h-how do you know that?"


    Was the Freytag pyramid some rare concept in this world or something? That would explain why I didn''t know about its existence while a demon of some powerful organizations did.


    "..? Because I do. Is there a problem?"


    Staring at me with a dazed expression for a second, the three figures simultaneously shook their heads before stammering around.


    "N-no, let''s just continue this, alright?"


    ...Are all demons this... civil?


    He''s making sure I''m ready before he continues the fight..? Was this an intermission or whatever it''s called?


    "yeah...I''m ready."


    As I nodded my head, the three figures instantly sprung into action. Each one of them took off their top hat, and their open umbrella began shining an elegant gold hue.


    After examining the three, I decided that winning quickly was more important than keeping my abilities a secret.


    Even if they were winning, what if I returned to the World Tree, and all the power-ups were gone?


    All of this would be for nothing!


    Conserving my mana for the fight, I combined the blood-red substance with my corruption, manifesting a mixed wing on my right shoulder.


    At the same time, each umbrella lost its gold hue as a beam appeared from the middle of each umbrella, steadily heading towards me.


    Staring at the three beams: one to my right, one to my left, and one right at me, I carefully decided my next actions.


    Since two of the figures using the gold beam were holograms, wouldn''t their attacks also be holograms?


    So, two out of three of these attacks would do nothing to me...wouldn''t that be true?


    If I wanted to, I could flap my wing several times to maneuver around all three beams to dodge them.


    But that just put me on the defensive again, as he could prepare another attack while I was dodging.


    Raising my head, I slowed, allowing myself more time to think as the gold beams slowed, still approaching me but at less than half their original pace.


    Recalling the initial time I had hit the holographic figure, I compared that scenario in my head to the one in front of me, using my eyes to examine all the abnormalities.


    After a moment, a smile, unconscious, appeared on my face.


    "I think... I got it."


    Well, even if I didn''t, I still had a 66% chance of choosing the holographic ones!


    I had been quite unlucky recently, hadn''t I? I guess some good luck has to balance it out now!

 Chapter 92 - 92:The World Tree [5]

    The sun.


    Looking at the sun''s rays, which overlapped with the three gold beams heading right at me, I saw something weird.


    The refraction created as the sun''s rays passed through the gold beams was inconsistent throughout all of the beams.


    One handled it normally, while the other had unusual patterns as they interacted with the sunlight, creating an interesting visual effect.


    However, upon closer inspection, the inconsistent beams had different visual effects at the point where the sun''s rays intersected them.


    Weren''t they supposed to be the same?


    ...how were the holograms different?


    Looking at the two suspicious beams heading right at me and to my left, I decided to ignore them for now.


    Even if the holograms were somehow different from each other, it didn''t change the fact that they were still holograms.


    I had confirmed earlier that the figures, aside from the demon, were holograms when I saw my arrow pass through one of them.


    As I raised my hand to speed up the backup time, I suddenly felt the area around me increase in temperature.


    Normally, a change like this would be unnoticeable to me, but it was to the point where I almost sweat from just standing still.


    Allowing my mana to drain further, I scanned my surroundings, instantly finding the source...


    Behind me, another beam, clearly not holographic, made of pure fire barrelling right at me.


    ...there were two demons, not one...


    The holograms were different because each one was of a different demon


    How could I not have noticed the two demons then?


    There was only one way...


    He must have just arrived.


    Recalling my conversations with the original demon earlier, I realized something.


    It was quite clear I was stalling; who would stop in the middle of a battle to ask some questions... but why had he gone along with it...?


    Was he stalling as well?


    How many demons are here if they can spare two whole ones just to deal with some random exploring the forest like me...?


    If they keep those two demons here instead of using them on the World Tree attack, their confidence in the attack succeeding must also be high.


    Reigning back in my thoughts, I realized the situation was dire; I needed to get out of her as fast as possible.


    Deciding to take on the second devil who had just arrived, I sped back up time and ran through one of the holographic beams, avoiding both the real ones and using a dash to appear in front of the source of the fire beam.


    Taking one-on-one battles would be my best chance at winning this battle, so I needed to take care of one of them.


    But as I appeared at my destination... there was nothing there.


    The start of the beam seemed to float above the ground, somehow still going further and further into the forest.


    A magical artifact, shaped like a button and shining bright red, was sitting on the ground below it.


    Hearing the grass rustling behind me, I immediately manifested my two daggers, spreading my mana and corruption around me and creating a small mana cage that only surrounded me before inputting the corruption.


    This shadow cage blended in perfectly with my black clothes, and due to its small size, it could not be seen by anyone besides me.


    "A true playwright is always prepared for any actor''s mistakes. It appears a mistake was made when you did not die just then."


    Looking down at the button on the floor with my wing ready to flap at the sudden movement, I replied to the voice behind me.


    "...What about the holograms...?"


    "Humans tend to believe the first answer they see without considering other options. *sigh* The human brain is such a repetitive and boring thing."


    Out of mana from using Dragon''s Eye for so long earlier, I saw the bright red button on the ground slowly sink, immediately causing me to flap my wings.


    But, as I moved forward at an insane speed, I realized that a mana cage completely encapsulated the area around the button, trapping me inside.


    Looking at the mana cage with my eyes, I immediately noticed that its composition was completely different from the teacher''s. It used demon attributes, shown by the blood-red dots spread among the blue cage.


    Corrupting that cage would be impossible for me.


    Outside the mana cage stood the demon, staring at me with a wide grin while weighing a similar button in his hand.


    "I would be quite the bad playwright if I didn''t explain the scene to the audience, wouldn''t I?"


    Desperate for any sort of information, I nodded my head.


    "From the start, I had backup plans upon backup plans set up. After all, this was my personalized trap. This cage around you was just one of them. This button in my hand will set off an explosion that can even kill a B-rank hero."


    Holding my two corrupted daggers, I walked toward the edge of the cage, my small shadow cage moving with me.


    The shadow cage was so perfectly sized that it was less than an inch from my clothes and head, surrounded by only me.


    So what if I couldn''t corrupt and take over it?


    Looking at my walking figure, the demon curiously observed me before asking.


    "Shouldn''t an actor narrate their actions? That wing is quite interesting..."


    Shaking my head, I kept my expression indifferent as I replied. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "This isn''t a first-person-narrative, is it?"


    "You do know I''m the scriptwriter. I have control over what it is."


    ...Is he still going along with this plaything act...? It''s getting a bit weird now...


    After activating the dash''s usage period and getting my wing ready to flap, I walked right to the edge of the cage... and continued forward.


    Stepping through the barriers of the mana cage like it was nothing, I activated dash while simultaneously flapping my wings.


    The demon, who hadn''t even registered that I just casually stepped through his cage, stood still with his mouth open.


    My daggers, already in the perfect spot, stabbed right into the demon''s vital spots as I appeared before him.


    Not just two daggers, though...


    Using ALL of my corruption, I manifested over seven daggers, each immediately appearing in the air before stabbing right into every part of the demon''s body.


    Losing all control over his muscles, the demon stared at me, petrified, blood leaking out of his mouth as he attempted to talk.


    Seeing his body slump to the floor, I dismissed the shadow cage that perfectly surrounded my body and my daggers.


    Giving him one last stare as I headed in the direction of the World Tree, I replied.


    "I''m going to pick up my payment! An actor never goes unpayed, right!?

 Chapter 93 - 93:The World Tree[6]

    Walking back to the Elven clearing, I used the rare moment of peace to catch my breath and recover.


    Although it hadn''t seemed like it as I casually walked through his mana cage, it had taken a lot of corruption and energy as I had to strengthen the barriers of the shadow cage to the max.


    "...guess I''m back to one arrow."


    Seeing the familiar path leading to the World Tree, I quickened to a jog while occasionally scanning my surroundings for any more outlying demons.


    Fortunately, there were none around, so after a couple more minutes of jogging, the entrance to the clearing was in sight.


    No guards were at the entrance, and it was eerily quiet despite the clearing housing thousands of elves.


    Unable to peer through the entrance walls, I went through the entrance and immediately used my eyes to scan the entire clearing... but nothing was there.


    Looking through the windows of some huts, I could spot some frantic-looking elves shuffling about and staying quiet the best they could, but there was no one outside the huts.


    Looking inside one of the windows, I made eye contact with one of the children before he immediately stepped back and hurried out of sight with a terrified expression.


    Oh right... I''m still wearing a mask...that''s why, isn''t it!?


    No demons. No Lily, No main cast members, and no elven fighters were visible.


    All that stood in front of me were the abandoned streets and areas of the Elven realm. In the entire clearing, which was as big as the capital city of the human realm, it was just me who stood outside in the empty streets.


    Complete silence enveloped the city, and besides the lack of people outside, nothing was out of the ordinary.


    There were no damaged buildings, no signs of any fights, and finally, no dead bodies.


    My one fight with the demon from earlier did a shit ton more damage than this!


    Sighing as I realized that my rush was for nothing and I had put myself in danger for no reason, I strolled towards the trunk of the looming figure of the World Tree, which stood in the center of the clearing.


    Peeking inside the shops and food stands scattered around the clearing, I was surprised to see that all the goods were still there despite the lack of people.


    "Don''t mind if I do!"


    Grabbing the elves'' local specialty snack, which resembled a snowcone from my world, I continued, slowing my pace every time I took a bite of the snow cone.


    The cold, refreshing ice mixed with the sweet and tangy syrup made the treat so delicious that I even stopped for a second to relish its flavor.


    With a simple cover made of tree bark, the ice from the snow cone piled up on my head as I held the bottom of the cover at chest level.


    As my tongue turned a dark blue from the syrup, I felt the hot temperate''s effects wash away, leaving some coldness in its place instead.


    Seeing the massive and wide trunk of the World Tree come closer, I took a step back, figuratively and not physically, to reanalyze the situation.


    The elves of the realm must have been in a rush as they left all their products and goods in the open.


    The only question was then: What were they rushing to get away from?


    Looking around the empty, silent clearing, I couldn''t see any concerns or latent dangers waiting.


    However, I didn''t doubt that a battle was taking place right now.


    Lily, the elven army, and the main cast members were all gone, so some fight or event had to occur.


    The Elven queen must have also alerted all these Elven citizens to hide in their houses; they wouldn''t just run there and hide without specific orders.


    Or maybe the main cast and the Queen were all coincidentally out on vacation at the same time!? So now, I can enjoy life and forget about saving the World Tree!


    "...yeah in my dreams...What would these stupid characters do with me!?"


    Reaching the base of the World Tree, I once again scanned my environment, this time finding an abnormality.


    Visible to only my eyes, I could see the roots of the World Tree shaking and rumbling every so slightly... as if people were fighting and attacking inside it.


    Confirming my theory, I placed my hand on one of the roots, marking its exact spot and coordinating with my eyes.


    A second later, when I reexamined my hand''s location, I sighed as I looked down and saw that my hand had indeed changed locations due to the vibrations of the roots.


    The Elven Queen and main cast must have allowed the demons to infiltrate the World Tree to prevent the outside clearing from being destroyed.


    Then, inside the World Tree right now, they must defend the spirit inside the tree from the attackers.


    All my questions were answered now... yet I still had a problem.


    Staring at the root in front of me, which shook violently for a second before returning to normal, I placed my hand on it before removing it and placing it again and again.


    "...how exactly do I get inside this damn tree...?"


    Recalling how Albert, the Elven prince, had previously used the spirits to unlock the Elf mansion, I had somewhat of an idea.


    But where exactly was I going to get a spirit from?


    "Hey bro, I need to borrow your spirit."


    "...why?"


    "To save the world, you actually need to trust me, dude!"


    "Next time you''re trying to steal or kidnap something, think of a better excuse, man... this is just sad..."


    "..."


    Feeling a sudden pressure exertion on my shoulder, I immediately snapped out of my thoughts and tilted my head.


    The black cat stood on my right shoulder, licking its paws, once again oblivious to the events happening right now.


    Staring up, I could see the branch of the World Tree that the cat had jumped off as it had left some scratch marks.


    "...that''s at least 25 meters..." Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Looking at the black cat, who was now licking its fur, and at the World Tree, a sudden thought came to my mind.


    Don''t animals count as spirits...?


    Both have a conscience despite not being humans, and they both have wills and desires.


    Feeling the roots tremble even more, I stared at the cat on my right shoulder for a second.


    "You must forgive me... whatever existence you are..."

 Chapter 94 - 94:Inside the Tree [1]

    After internally and externally to the cat sitting on my shoulder, I slowly lifted it up, carefully holding it in my hands.


    Lowering the cat in my hands, I walked closer to the World Tree''s trunk before carefully grabbing one of its paws and touching it to the trunk.


    ...


    Nothing.


    Absolutely nothing changed or happened.


    Turning back around, I attempted to back away, but even when I mustered half my strength, I couldn''t move.


    Looking down at the cat, I found the reason: its claws were embedded in the trunk, and it held on for some reason, like there was no tomorrow.


    ...That trunk''s wood was supposed to be harder than metal; just what the hell is this cat...?


    Letting go of the cat, I stepped back and watched the cat swinging its feet around with its claws attached to the tree like it was nothing.


    Ignoring the odd scenery of my cat, I recalled that Albert had hit the palace door with power combined with the spirit.


    Well, in this case, I assume I''ll have to attack the tree simultaneously with my cat, as it''s pretty much the same thing as both of us will still be attacking the World Tree.


    Wasn''t my cat technically already attacking the tree by clawing at it?


    Standing beside my floating cat, I manifested my two corrupted daggers before reaching back like I was throwing a spear and hurling my dagger at the tree''s trunk.


    In the case I angered the World Tree''s spirit by attacking it, I did NOT want to be right next to it.


    While dispersing my two daggers and ensuring my mask was on correctly, a sudden bright light enveloped me, forcing me to close my eyes.


    After a few seconds, I attempted to open them again, only to close them out of the pain immediately as the bright light was still there.


    This battle was a gamble on Lily''s part; she had essentially gone all in.


    If she won, there would be no civilian deaths or damage to the village outside, but if she lost, the entire village would collapse, and the World Tree would be gone.


    Finally opening my eyes again, I immediately scanned my surroundings, realizing I was surrounded by bark.


    In front of me stood the only way out. A path that seemed to lead me closer and closer to the center of the tree, where the spirit was held.


    Looking down, I saw my cat lying on the floor with its tummy upwards, so I swiftly scooped it up and placed it into my hood.


    Fastening to a jogging pace, I followed the path, occasionally feeling the tree rumble due to an attack.


    The closer and closer I got to these rumblings, the more I regretted my decision.


    This tree was my counter.


    The entire thing was surrounded by impenetrable walls, so even with my eyes, I could only see the area around me... like I was a normal person...


    The only good thing about this tree''s inside was the lack of light, so it would be relatively easy to sneak around unnoticed even if I wanted to.


    Of course, the problem was that this space was so narrow that just one person blocked the entire path, so how was I supposed to sneak past people...


    As the split continued to diverge and split, I would quickly find the one leading the center of the tree by using my eyes to peer as far as I could into both paths and finding which one was directed towards the center.


    This strategy wasn''t foolproof as it was possible that a path could loop around before heading to the center, but it was either testing or checking for three hours.


    As I silently walked through the path, a sudden rumble enveloped the tree, but this time, a sound came with it...


    *BRR~BRR*


    The spirit of the World Tree... the demons were already there. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Immediately sprinting down the path, still silent but now leaving footsteps as my feet touched the ground, I manifested my two daggers.


    Had Lily and the main cast lost the fight already...?


    Peering down the path once again, I found myself proven wrong.


    Ahead of me on the path, I saw Lily, Albert, and the main cast, similar to me, sprinting towards the tree''s center.


    The demons had somehow gotten to the center before they did, and the Elven queen is occupied with a fight, so she can''t help now.


    Combining my corruption with the blood-red substance, I rapidly created a wing and flapped it several times, immediately closing the distance between Lily and I.


    Then, I stopped for a second and repositioned myself before using the wing to appear right below the roof and then dashing forward over the heads of the main cast members.


    Dismissing my wing to save energy, I continued my mad sprint to the center of the tree, and after a few more moments, I finally arrived.


    The path opened into a small cave, where a clearing was the size of a hut. More importantly, two demons were sitting down criss-cross on the floor.


    Behind the two demons were the roots of the World Tree, which were shining a malevolent red.


    I had two goals to accomplish.


    Ensure Lily and the main cast win the fight and corrupt the tree to the point Albert is forced to replace it.


    Of course, one goal was more important than the other, but that didn''t mean I wouldn''t try to complete both.


    Thankfully, the clearing had no walls or barriers, so my eyes were of some use.


    Walking to the entrance, I was about to sneak in and find a place to hide when a sudden force propelled me backward, almost causing me to fall.


    Picking myself off the floor, I realized a mana cage was blocking the entrance; however, this mana cage was somehow invisible...?


    Unfortunately for the demons inside, they had used regular mana to create it instead of demonic infused, so I simply placed my daggers to the invisible barriers.


    Though I couldn''t see the progress, I felt myself gaining more and more power over the barrier until I finally had complete control without the demons inside even knowing.


    Changing the barrier settings, I didn''t completely dismiss as it could be useful but instead altered the properties so that anyone could just walk in.

 Chapter 95 - 95:Inside the Tree [2]

    Still retaining control over the barriers, I could enter the clearing without being noticed, as the two demons were so confident in their barriers that they were staring at the spirit.


    Suspended in the air and floating in the middle was a foggy figure that even I couldn''t discern with my eyes.


    However, it was better than nothing, as all the demons could see with their normal eyes was just a bunch of fog gathered up that stretched from the floor to the roof.


    But just looking at it... I could feel the presence of a mystical entity.


    Just like how an A-rank gave up an imposing aura, this mystical entity emitted the same thing... but it wasn''t damaging.


    One could struggle even to move or stand up under the pressure of an A-rank''s aura, but with this entity''s aura, which was indisputably stronger than an A-rank, you had no physical effects.


    In fact, it was quite calming. I felt a sense of serenity wrap around my brain, removing all the stress and worries clashing in my head.


    With the Elven Queen fighting the majority of the demons someplace else, only two demons were stationed here, despite it being the most important point in the entire tree.


    With Albert''s insane bow skills, I was confident that the main cast could defeat these two demons quickly.


    Below the foggy figure floating in the air were the two demons, one holding a cube-shaped device.


    *THUD~THUD*


    As the sound of the main cast and Albert''s rapid footsteps finally made it into the clearing, the demons still showed no signs of life as they remained below the fog.


    One of the demons held a cube-shaped device with a small hole on the top, emitting black smoke that flew upwards toward the fog.


    As the black smoke slowly mixed with the cloud of fog in the middle of the room, my vision of the figure inside became less clear, and the pure white fog began to turn light grey.


    They were corrupting not the physical World Tree but the spirit and manifestation of the World Tree.


    Staring at the corrupted daggers in my hand, I wondered why they had only brought one cube-shaped device to corrupt the cube.


    If they had brought about a hundred, the World Tree would have been gone by now!


    Looking away from the figure inside the partially grey fog, I focused on the device in the demon''s hand, perfectly capturing all its outward details.


    Searching around the clearing, I finally found a vantage point to stand on before discreetly climbing onto a rough rock protruding from the walls.


    Using the higher vantage point, I peered into the cube''s inner portion using the hole on the top that was emitting the black smoke. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Using my eyes to memorize the exact details of the cube-shaped device, I stored the information in my head before shifting my gaze to the clearing''s entrance.


    *THUMP~THUMP*


    As the main cast and Albert walked through the mana cage, which was now under my control, I stepped back into the shadows, dismissed my daggers, and manifested the same device the demons were holding.


    Using the last of my corruption, I created a lid covering the top so the black smoke wouldn''t leak out.


    Since the device had so many intricate details and was so complicated, I had to use every single bit of my corruption to replicate it, so it worked perfectly.


    Unfortunately... that left me with no weapons or corruption for my wings.


    All I had was my mana in my chest, the blood-red substance flowing in my body, and my cat sitting in my hood!


    Reaching into my jacket pocket, I felt the cold and fragile glass of the countless potions lined up, each filled with a dark blue substance.


    All my preparation was really just finding a shit ton of mana potions...


    What would Raven say when he saw our expenses for this month when I get back...?


    All his hard work and time spent distributing scrolls, putting up advertisements, and hiring and interviewing people were used in a single day.


    ...Would he believe me if I said I was saving the world...?


    He wouldn''t... but Zeng probably would!


    Letting out a final sigh as I imagined Raven trying to hand in his resignation papers, I made sure I was out of sight before watching Albert enter the clearing.


    At the same time, the demons continued staring at the device on the ground with their backs turned away, still having complete faith in "their" mana cage.


    Wasn''t I just the best person?


    I had set up the perfect sneak attack for them!


    At this point, shouldn''t I basically be a main cast member?


    I sure as hell have done more for them than Zack! What does that guy even do besides provide emotional support!?


    Wait, aren''t I the entire main cast and protagonist at this point?


    I''m the one saving the world, not Liam!


    Me, Raven, Zeng, and the cat in my hoodie! We were the new and improved main cast!


    A savior from another world, a money-hungry kid from the black market, a villain who became a good guy, and finally, a random ass cat that could be a god with time travel magic!


    We even sounded like a real main cast from a magic book, didn''t we!?


    There was only one thing missing... none of us had good intentions.


    My goal was to leave this world and return to mine, and the rest of the members just wanted money or were animals who just wanted food.


    Unlike the pure-hearted Liam, the naive Lily, the humble Alya, and the good-natured Zach, who just wanted to save people and better the world with their actions.


    ... we were just a bunch of anti-heroes out for fame and glory, weren''t we...?


    Well, who cares about the journey there? It''s only the end goal that matters.


    Our groups were both saving the world, but my group was doing a lot better!


    For now, that main cast spot was ours!


    Scrapping those thoughts out of my head, I began unscrewing some of the mana potions in preparation while watching Albert nock his first arrow.

 Chapter 96 - 96:Inside the Tree [3]

    -*- (An Hour ago)


    Inside the white palace, more specifically, the ballroom, the Liana, also known as the Elven Queen, sat at the front of the dining table.


    Beside her, on a smaller and less extravagant chair, sat Albert, who was staring at the cold food on the plate in front of him.


    On the other side of the table sat, Lily, Alya, Liam, and Kevin... but besides the primary members of the main cast, there were also two other guests.


    Ruby, who Alya had invited due to her saving them during the dormitory attack, and Irene, who had been coerced into coming by Lily, were awkwardly sitting side by side, staring at the countless utensils in front of them.


    Breaking the awkward silence, Liana stood up from her chair, which very much resembled a throne, with its countless gemstones and size, and turned to her son, Albert.


    "*ahem* Now that everyone''s here.


    As Albert''s face turned a rose red, and he inwardly cursed the damned person who had stayed for OVER three hours, the queen continued.


    "Everyone here should have already been informed about the situation tomorrow. However, that is not to say that the details are certain. For now, all we confirm is that an attack will occur on our realm."


    "The details, time, and location are all variables for right now, so do NOT blindly trust what you have heard earlier."


    Seeing the humans nod their heads, Liana delved into the defense and military side of things. He issued them special badges and explained the positions in which their defense forces would be located.


    For ten years, she had not even spoken to a human, but here she was now, trusting them with most of their military secrets.


    Glancing at her daughter, Alya, mid-explanation, Liana recalled how her daughter had pleaded with her to at least listen to her fellow human''s words.


    Unable to resist her daughter, Liana agreed and heeded their words, learning about the inevitable attack on their city.


    Obviously, Liana did not fully trust the human''s words despite Alya''s constant vouching, as she knew of humanity''s terrible nature, but in the end, she decided it was better to be safe than sorry.


    If the attack happened, they would be prepared and ready to fight with strategies already set up.


    But if it were the opposite, it would just result in a lot of wasted time and resources.


    It was a simple choice: either be prepared for and save countless lives during a battle or lose some resources that they could regain later.


    However, Liana had specifically left out the existence of the inside of the World Tree alongside the World''s spirit.


    Such information was too much to give to anyone; not even her daughter knew about those existences, as she had only disclosed it to Albert, her successor and the future ruler of the Elven realm.


    Finishing up her explanation of the strategies, Liana sat down before continuing to dig into the food below them, prompting everyone else to follow suit.


    Within a few moments, the silence was already gone as Liam and Kevin were already arguing about which of them would be able to kill a demon first.


    On the other hand, Alya bombarded Lily with questions, trying to gather as many details as she could about the future attack.


    It was her hometown with all her family, so seeing the usually calm Alya stressed and nervous wasn''t surprising to the others.


    Though, Alya didn''t dare pry too far.


    Within the main cast group, there was an unwritten rule already established.


    "Do not ask Lily where she receives this information."


    All four of them were among the smartest in the entire school, so they were able to see through Lily''s flimsy excuses when she attempted to persuade them to help her.


    Despite all that, they still decided to believe in Lily due to their friendship, and it ended up being true.


    Time after time, every time Lily came to them with information about the future, the scenario would always occur, albeit with some changes.


    At this point, it was normal for the group when Lily came to them asking for help, and all of them were happy to agree.


    Thus, an unbreakable bond of trust and comradery was born within their group. From their perspective, it was easy to see Lily was hesitant and nervous about giving up her source of information, so the rest of the group created that unwritten rule to make her feel more comfortable.


    At this point, the four of them were inseparable, despite how it may have seemed to outsiders who only saw the constant arguments.


    Thus, Ruby and Irene were awkwardly left to eat their food in silence.


    Of course, having invited Irene, Lily tried her best to drag her into the conversation. Still, with Alya''s constant, understandable questioning and Liam and Kevin''s arguments, such a thing was impossible.


    Tired of the silence, Ruby turned to Irene before asking.


    "So, did you get invited too?"


    Irene, who felt so out of place, finally looked away from her food as she confusedly stared at Ruby.


    "Invited to what?"


    Impatiently tapping her figures on the table, Ruby pressed further.


    "Their main party thing or whatever."


    Putting down a glass of water, Irene''s expression turned sullen as she responded.


    "oh... that? I was invited at the start of the scho-"


    *BANG*


    *BANG*


    *BANG* S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Flicking her head from her food to out the window, Liana immediately checked her pager and saw the emergency alarm going off.


    Using her exceptionally good sight, which she had been granted through one of her countless contracts with spirits, Liana peered towards the entrance of the clearing.


    Demons.


    Not two demons like the humans earlier had mentioned.


    Not 5.


    Not 10.


    Not 20.


    More than twenty...


    Twenty was just the max Liana could see with her eyes from this location.


    Two demons could be taken care of quite easily... but twenty demons could destroy the entire clearing and the tree and the thousands of Elves living inside without breaking a sweat.


    Not skipping a beat, she returned her gaze to the confused Albert and others before loudly announcing.


    "LEAD THE DEMONS TO THE TREE!"


    A good ruler had to know how to choose between two bad options.


    Reveal the World Tree''s inside or have thousands of civilians die from the demons, which would be roaming the streets in a matter of minutes.


    Now, she also had some trust in the humans due to the demon''s attacks. The demons hadn''t publicly made a move in hundreds of years, so calling this a coincidence would be far-fetched.


    The humans in front of her had somehow predicted their attack.


    Albert, who had never seen his mother in such a frantic state, immediately followed her orders, rushing out one of the windows.


    Lily and others, who were somewhat surprised at the attack, immediately regained their composure and flooded out of the mansion through the double doors.

 Chapter 97 - 97:Inside the Tree [4]

    Jumping out the open window, Albert rushed towards the designated location for the Elven reinforcements, his bow already in his hands and a quiver full of arrows on his back.


    Navigating through the city streets and jumping from object to object to avoid obstacles, Albert finally made his way to the highest points in the clearing, excluding the top of the World Tree.


    Heading up the hill, Albert felt a sense of relief as he saw over five hundred archers lined up from the emergency alarm.


    Lifting his elegant white bow above his hand with his right hand, Albert stared down at his soldiers, who were either confused from the sudden alarm or nervous as they had realized this was not a drill.


    Silencing the cacophony of noises from his soldiers, Albert''s voice rang out, even being heard from civilians in a nearby street.


    "THIS IS A NOT A DRILL! FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT REALIZED, THIS IS NOT A DRILL."


    Raising his bow even higher, Albert grabbed an arrow from his quiver with his other hand and held it by his side.


    Looking down at his quivering soldiers, who had grasped the severity of the situation, Albert suppressed his unease and nervous emotions, maintaining an indifferent facade.


    The Elven Realm hadn''t been attacked in hundreds of years.


    Sure, they had trained these soldiers and improved their weapon technology in that time... but they were still missing the most important thing.


    Experience.


    This was these Elven soldiers'' first time facing a crisis. A crisis where the death of themselves, their fellows Elves, and their families were on the line.


    No amount of training or technological advancement could have prepared them for this moment.


    The clash of emotions inside their brain, their natural instinct telling them to run away to survive, and their nerves and doubt.


    All those things would simply drag Albert''s soldiers down... his troops needed to be at their peak strength.


    As a leader, his job was to quash those emotions, leaving only fighting and battle imprinted in their minds, allowing for the most optimal performance.


    The thing was... Albert was never a good liar. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Albert knew nothing about what was going on.


    Never in his life had he seen his mother that distressed, and she had even mentioned the tree, a secret that was only supposed to be known by the Elven rulers.


    The implications of those words and her mother''s expression were apparent to Albert.


    An unfathomable danger was approaching them.


    Would the Elven realm fall today? How many of his fellow Elves would die today? Was this battle even winnable? Would he survive this battle...?


    How could he stand there and tell his Elves that they and all their families would survive and to focus on the battle when he couldn''t even convince himself of that much?


    Was he even qualified to be their leader? The future ruler of the Elven kingdom... yet he could not even lead a single squadron of troops into battle.


    With his left hand raised, Albert placed an arrow in his upward-facing bow, carefully putting it against the bow''s soft, elastic string.


    He was never a good liar... but he was an actor.


    Staring down at his troops, knowing damn well that there was a high chance that many of them could die today, Albert simply acted.


    Just as he had acted naive and kind to the human visitors, he could do the opposite.


    He acted as if he was oblivious to everything. His mother''s odd behavior was pushed to the back of his mind.


    Who cared what danger was facing them?


    They were going to win this fight. It wasn''t a thought or a question circulating in Albert''s head.


    It was a concrete statement.


    Albert and the elves were going to kill whatever abominations were daring to attack their home and send them right to hell.


    One of them was dying today.


    Those abominations attacking them or Albert.


    As the emotions disappeared from Albert''s head, leaving his pupils completely lifeless, he placed the arrow against the string before pulling the string back.


    With his hands on his bow, Albert turned his emotionless gaze to the shivering soldiers below him.


    "I understand that you may all be worried, and there is a good reason for you to be worried. But worrying won''t do anything. It will simply drag you down here. Focus on your weapons in front of you and win this battle."


    Responding to Albert''s words, a single soldier spoke up from the crowd.


    "WHAT ABOUT OUR FAM-"


    Cutting him off mid-sentence, Albert locked his piercing gaze onto that soldier, speaking harshly.


    "Win here, then. If you care so much about saving whoever, then win. You all want to survive, right? Lose, and you, alongside all your family, die; it''s simple. What more do I have to explain to you all?"


    Turning away from the soldier, who was still trembling, Albert refocused his attention on the bow above him.


    Even if they won, there was no guarantee that his soldiers and their families would survive, but all Albert had to do was convince them that there was indeed a guarantee, giving them a false sense of hope.


    And Albert had just done that.


    Even if they didn''t know it, Albert''s words were imprinted in their minds.


    After all, Albert was their prince and future ruler; just like it was instinct for them to run, it was instinct for them to believe the words of their superiors unconditionally.


    Releasing the string of the bow and sending the arrow flying straight up at the fastest speed he could, Albert continued.


    "Ready your bows."


    Nocking another arrow in his bow, now facing the incoming demons, Albert didn''t turn around, not bothering to see if his soldiers were running or staying behind.


    As his earlier arrow began its descent, flying straight down at speed completely invisible to the regular eye and even some awakened eyes, Albert waited until the descending arrow was right in front of his face before shooting his second arrow.


    As Albert''s arrow collided with his earlier one, they both were propelled at speed invisible to a C-rank and below''s eye towards the entrance of the clearing.


    "SHOOT!"


    As Albert''s two arrows reached the entrance, perfectly hitting the first demon who dared to enter the clearing, a barrage of over a thousand arrows flew over Albert''s head, heading in the same direction.


    Many elves could shoot up to three arrows simultaneously with their constant training, so Albert wasn''t surprised or happy upon seeing a thousand arrows flying over his head.


    Instead, he was shaken.


    He could now see the entrance of the clearing perfectly... where countless demons were already flooding into the clearing.


    The two guards stood in front of those charging demons, running as fast as they could away... but it was still too slow.


    His emotions emerged again for a short moment, causing him to clench his fists; however, in the next second, they disappeared.


    The loss of two people was a small price to pay for victory.


    Either lose two people and win the fight, or lose millions by being defeated.


    Just as the first set of arrows hit the ground, an urgent voice rang out throughout the entire clearing.


    "EVACUATE AND FIND COVER IN YOUR HOMES. THIS IS NOT A DRILL! I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL."


    The Elven evacuation drill had been set off, marking the start of their battle.


    Of course, Albert still remembered his mother''s words throughout all of this.


    Lead them to the tree.


    Albert''s plan was simple.


    Shoot all their arrows at the demons, forcing them to take cover at the World Tree''s trunk, where the branches were lower down and would block their arrow''s trajectory.

 Chapter 98 - 98:Inside the Tree [5]

    Watching the thousands of arrows fly above them like stars falling from the sky, Lily stopped for a second, staring up in awe.


    "LET''S GO!"


    Interrupting Lily''s stargazing, or "arrow gazing," in this case, was Alya, as she forcefully grabbed Lily''s shoulder, dragging her through the streets of Elves and running around chaotically.


    Only a few steps behind them were Kevin and Liam, who paused the arguing momentarily upon seeing Alya''s seriousness.


    Though, this didn''t stop them from throwing small jabs at each other.


    "Yo, idiot, you almost tripped me." S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Liam sped up before responding to Kevin''s comment.


    "Maybe if you watched where you were going, we wouldn''t have this problem."


    "??? What the hell are you on about? You purposely walked in front of m-"


    Ignoring Kevin''s reply, Liam sped up even more, catching up with Lily and Alya in the front, and began discussing.


    Even though the Elven queen had only given orders to Albert, Alya was determined to help, and of course, the rest of the main cast didn''t dare refuse but insisted on helping.


    Even though the four of them had no idea about the enemy they were facing, they were still heading toward the attackers, saving and helping elves evacuate on their way.


    Seeing the burning desire and determination in Alya''s eyes, Lily reminded her.


    "Alya, our job is to help save the elves; Albert and the queen''s job is to defend the attackers."


    Even though Lily knew they could take out two demons she thought were attacking, she didn''t want to take any unnecessary risk and instead left the job to the strongest characters.


    Forced by Lily to nod her head, Alya and the rest of the main cast rushed even faster toward the entrance to the clearing.


    Far behind the main cast were the two invitees, Ruby and Irene, who were still following the main cast, albeit from a far distance.


    Awkwardly turning to Ruby, Irene hesitated for a moment before asking.


    "...so what are we supposed to do?"


    Ruby, staring at a particular stand, snapped out of her daze before replying.


    "Whatever we want to do? It''s not like we''re children... we can do whatever we want."


    "yeah..."


    Leaving behind the dazed Irene, Ruby walked through the crowds of Elves before stopping right in front of a stand.


    On the abandoned stand''s table sat the Elven realm''s local specialty, a bunch of ice topped with various syrups in a cone-shaped cover.


    A snow cone!


    Picking up the snow cone, Ruby licked the top of the ice momentarily, savoring the refreshing ice and sweet cherry syrup, before heading back to Irene.


    "Well, I''m gonna go help them... are you going as well?"


    Staring at the snow cone in Ruby''s hand for a moment, Irene nodded, prompting Ruby to head toward the main cast with the snow cone still in her hand.


    Since the sun was entirely blocked out by the branches of leaves of the World Tree, it didn''t melt, so Ruby was able to enjoy the entire trip to the entrance of the clearing.


    Alya, who had rushed forward to help another elf, arrived at the main entrance before the rest of the main cast, immediately spotting the two elven guards running from the incoming demons near the entrance.


    Not skipping a beat or waiting for the rest of her friends to catch up with her, Alya pulled out her sword, summoned her wind-contracted spirits, and created an air current.


    Seeing Alya, the two guards screamed in unison.


    "PRINCESS ALYA, LEAVE ITS TOO DANGEROUS HERE."


    The two guards were on the verge of death, yet they stayed true to their duties and protected the princess to the very end.


    Alya, seeing this, only stretched the length of her wind current further, draining more mana and forcefully pulling the two guards toward her.


    However... when she increased the size of her wind current, Alya forgot one thing.


    The demons could also use the wind current.


    The first two demons, one heavily injured by Albert''s arrow shots, emerged from the entrance and saw the opportunity, immediately catching the wind current behind the Elven guards.


    Unable to cancel the wind current, Alya could only run and watch as the two massive demons flew towards her.


    The non-injured demon was to attack Alya as a gigantic orb of darkness appeared between his two horns before surging right at Alya.


    Swapping to her ice spirit, Alya created a massive ice shield to protect herself and the guards; however, the ice shield cracked under the pressure of the dark energy ball.


    Diving out of the way, Alya stared in horror as the energy ball charged right at the two Elven guards, who were lying unconscious on the floor.


    *WHOOSH*


    An arrow that Alya barely managed to catch sight of appeared right above them before descending in a perfect spiral right at the non-injured demon.


    Then, Liam, with his light-blue sword, and Lily, with her water magic, appeared in front of the dark energy ball, stopping it completely.


    Using the opening, Ruby teleported right in front of one of the injured demons, creating three birds made of fire while Irene cast an inferno tornado.


    Coupled with the barrage of arrows reigning in every second, that demon quickly disintegrated under the fire attacks, falling on the ground with countless burn marks.


    On the other hand, Liam and Kevin took care of the other injured demon as they attacked in sync, giving the demon no time to counterattack or dodge.


    Their attacks were timed perfectly, so the demon had no time to think. After a few seconds, the demon eventually fell under the barrage of attacks.


    Feeling a page on her communication device, Lily gestured for everyone to gather up before taking the device out of her pocket and displaying it.


    [Albert: TO THE WORLD TREE, THE QUEEN AND I HAVE THE REST OF THEM THERE]


    In sync, the entire group voiced their thoughts.


    "...rest of them...?"


    As their group glanced around, they didn''t see any other demons apart from the two corpses lying on the ground.


    [A/N: I believe I''m done with the extra chaps, so I''ll go back to stockpiling for my next feature.]

 Chapter 99 - 99:Inside the Tree [6]

    Hearing a beep on the page, the group returned their gazes to the navigator, which displayed another message of Albert hurriedly urging them to come to the tree before hurriedly dispersing.


    "WHICH WAY IS THE WORLD TREE!?" sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "YO... KEVIN LOOK UP, YOU DUMBASS."


    Zach pulled out his swords and used a buff spell on the entire group to increase their speed, so Ruby, Irene, Lily, Kevin, Liam, Alya, and himself all sprinted toward the looming figure of the World Tree.


    Throughout the streets, the elves, who still hurriedly rushed to their houses, stopped momentarily before blinking to confirm their eyes were working.


    The scene of seven students, all clad in school uniforms, sprinting through the streets could be seen¡ªone of them even had a snow cone!


    Why were they evacuating and forced to take cover while a bunch of little humans were free to roam the city..?


    Sighing, the elves continued their trip back to their homes, albeit less stressful and slower, as they no longer assumed they were in dire danger.


    As Ruby followed behind Alya, who was leading their group, she carefully examined the expressions of each Elves they passed on their way to the tree.


    Those were not the expressions of Elves who had seen demons...their expressions seemed more annoyed than scared and nervous.


    But how was that possible?


    For the demons to have reached the World Tree, as Albert implied in his message, they must have crossed these same streets on their way there.


    There weren''t even any signs of fight or damage; everything looked the same as yesterday.


    Slowing down her pace, Ruby fell to the second last place or right in front of Irene.


    Running alongside Irene, Ruby was about to ask Irene about her suspicions when she saw Irene running ahead with an unusual smile.


    Curious at the change in attitude, Ruby turned to Irene mid-stride and asked.


    "Are you coming to help them fight even if there are more demons..?"


    During the carriage ride and dinner, Ruby and Irene developed a sense of camaraderie as they were in similar situations regarding the main cast.


    Ruby just didn''t want to join the main cast, but she was practically being forced to be. Lily bombarded her with invites and requests every second.


    On the other hand, Irene did want to join the main cast... just not this way. Sure, she had been invited months ago, but Irene knew it was a pity invite.


    It was clear that, unlike Alya, Liam, and Kevin, she had done nothing particularly special to prove herself.


    After the cruise ship incident, Lily asked if she would like to join their group without giving any tests or asking questions.


    Irene didn''t even remember being useful at all during the cruise ship incident, whereas Liam was able to block the final attack, and the others were each able to at least contribute to the fight.


    It was clearly a pity invite...but was that so bad?


    At this point, Irene herself didn''t know what she wanted.


    Life had been much simpler when she could simply force herself to cling to Kevin and follow him around.


    At least then... she had a purpose, even if it was a dog or something like that.


    But as she spent more and more time at this school, she discovered that she could no longer force herself to do things like that.


    Did she even want to join Lily''s group anymore...? Was that just another thing that she had forced herself to do?


    She had lost her sense of identity, grappling with the thoughts in her head, trying to discover which memories and thoughts were forced and natural.


    However, she could never find the answer... because it was right in front of her all this time.


    Even if the thoughts were forced, there were still her thoughts.


    Whose head were those "forced" thoughts in? Irenes and nothing in the world could ever change that.


    Whether forced or not, those thoughts belonged to only Irene; thus, they were part of her, a foundation on which her personality and behavior were built.


    So, why did it matter if the thoughts were forced or not?


    Irene''s thoughts were still there at the end of the day.


    After this realization, Irene was finally able to realize what she wanted.


    Using BOTH her forced and natural thoughts, Irene concluded that... she didn''t want anything.


    Why did she have to want something? Why did she have to have a goal that she needed to complete? Why did she have some overarching goal that made all her decisions?


    Why couldn''t she live in the present instead of worrying about the future?


    Live moment by moment and make decisions based on what you want, not on how they will affect the success rate of your goal.


    And at this very moment, Irene wanted to kill some demons and save some elves.


    Was there some moral obligation that forced Irene to decide that? Was there some peer pressure from the main cast?


    Nope. It was just what Irene wanted to do.


    Decisions didn''t need to have reasons behind them. Why did she have to prove herself and defend her decision against anyone?


    At the end of the day, who cares?


    It''s her life and her decisions.


    Turning to Ruby, Irene shrugged her shoulders, a small grin appearing, and replied.


    "I guess I am!"


    Seeing the unusually motivated Irene, Ruby dropped all thoughts of revealing her suspicions out of fear that it would dampen Irene''s attitude.


    Friends.


    They were a weird thing for Ruby... but she was certain of one thing about friendship.


    She didn''t want to lose it.


    The times she had spent chatting to Irene in the corner of the carriage while the rest of the main cast were off discussing antics about saving the world, the times she had spent playing hide and seek with Irene yesterday when the main cast was off talking to the elven queen, and countless other memories surfaced in Ruby''s head.


    It brought a sense of serenity and peace to her always stressed and chaotic mind. A peace that she didn''t want to lose.


    Replying to Irene, who had suddenly sped up, Ruby said.


    "Well, someone looks joyful today."

 Chapter 100 - 100:Inside the Tree [7]

    After saying that, Ruby used her teleportations to move past the rest of the main cast and catch up to Alya at the front.


    The odds of the pagers being stolen or hacked are zero, so if Ruby''s suspicion is true, Albert or the queen must be defeated.


    Or a betrayal... but Ruby highly doubted that.


    But then there was the fact that Ruby was a traitor herself.


    An evil villain boss turned good is now invited to a group of crazy students who are determined to save the world from any danger.


    Sighing and scratching her head, pondering how this all started in the first place, Ruby turned to Alya and asked.


    "Say, princess, how strong are the prince and queen?"


    Looking straight ahead at the looming tree, Alya replied.


    "One single arrow from ''the prince'' could destroy a B-rank beast and my mother...I don''t even know."


    Since Ruby was already a part of their group in Alya''s eyes, she had no qualms about sharing such important information; however, that didn''t stop her from being curious.


    "And why do you ask?"


    "My curiosity got the best of me."


    "Heard the saying, ''Curiosity kills the cat?'' "


    Putting her hands on her head to form cat ears, Ruby replied.


    "And do I look like a cat to you?"


    Letting a slight laugh, Alya regained her composure before saying to herself.


    "If only we had cats back at the academy...but of course, they have to be banned."


    "What''d you say?"


    Interrupting their conversations, the trunk of the World Tree came into sight, looking the same as it did yesterday... except for one thing.


    Albert was slumped against the tree, drenched in sweat, his bow and quiver resting next to him.


    Running past Ruby, Alya sped up for the next minute until she finally reached the exhausted Albert.


    Grabbing his hand and pulling him up, Alya asked.


    "Where did you all your troops go...?"


    Scratching the top of his head, Albert gave a smirk, which was clearly forced, and replied.


    "hah... I guess our mother is a better person than me... Here, I thought I was being a perfect ruler by lying to the soldiers earlier..."


    Recalling the memory of his mother, Liana, frantically sending all the Elven reinforcements away and telling them to evacuate with the citizens, Albert almost fell back onto the ground.


    He wasn''t a true leader... he was a fraud... once again.


    Leaders didn''t need to be emotionless and cold-hearted... well, they could be.


    There was only a requirement that a ruler needed to fulfill, and somehow Albert failed in that.


    Care about your subject''s lives.


    What an actor he was...


    After waiting for the rest of the group to catch up to Alya and him, Albert pointed at the World Tree, and in the most serious tone he could muster, he said.


    "In there is where we have to go."


    Seeing the group''s confused expressions, Albert didn''t even bother to explain but moved on to the next topic.


    "Well, I''m sure you''re wondering where all the demons are, huh? Well, they''re in that tree as well!"


    "..."


    Breaking the silence, Kevin''s annoying voice sounded once again.


    "So you''re telling me that we''re going inside a tree that is filled with demons...?"


    Seeing Albert nod his head at his question, Kevin was just about to ask another question when Liam suddenly slapped him on the back.


    "OW! WHAT THE HELL, MAN."


    Sighing, Liam said to Kevin.


    "Oh, come on, man, you do this every time. You complain about how hard the task is and how we''re all going to die, and we''re all stupid for doing this, but then you end up doing it anyway. Let''s just skip the complaining part, all right?"


    With a serious expression that did not fit his face in the slightest, Kevin turned to Liam and placed his hand on Liam''s right shoulder.


    "...I''m about to risk my life to do this shit, and you''re saying I can''t even complain about it?"


    "..."


    The whole group went silent.


    For once... Kevin might be right. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Shouldn''t he be at least allowed to complain a bit?


    Opening his mouth in triumph and complaints already on the tip of his tongue, Kevin was about to speak when Albert, completely oblivious to Kevin''s attitude, interrupted him.


    "Alright... let''s move on. I''m taking you to the World Tree, and the eight of us have one job: Get to it and save it."


    Lily, who was also suspicious of the whole situation as she had come to the same realization as Ruby after seeing no Elven civilians scared in the slightest, asked.


    "Then... what about the demons?"


    Patting Alya on the shoulder, Albert replied.


    "That''s our mother''s job."


    Following Albert''s lead, the eight of them placed their hands on the rough and unpolished bark of the World Tree.


    Not explaining anything else, the group was about to enter the World Tree under Albert''s guidance when they heard a sudden sound.


    *MEOWWWW*


    Since the sound came from the other side of the massive trunk, they could not see the source, and with their hands already on the World Tree, it was too late to back out and find it.


    "Was that a ca-"


    As their surroundings distorted, and the eight of them appeared inside the World Tree, in a completely different place than Ren, another sound caught them off guard.


    *BANG*


    *BANG*


    As the sound of gunshots and cannonball shots echoed throughout the tree''s inside, the eight of them, even Albert, stepped back and instinctively covered their ears.


    *BZZT*


    Blinding their eyes, a sudden flash of bright purple appeared before dispersing right before them.


    In front of them stood a lady dressed in all black, with two revolvers in each hand and a lighting purple current surrounding her entire body, making her look like some sort of mythical figure.


    Breaking the silence first was Alya as she rushed towards the figure with no weapons in her hands.


    "MOMMM!"


    Taking Alya into her embrace, Liana tilted her head upwards and stared at the rest of the group before asking.


    "Let''s save the thanks for later. Trust me, you eight will be rewarded and revered at the very least."


    *BANG*


    Releasing Alya from her embrace, Liana tilted her two revolves up at the roof before asking.


    "Best of luck to you all. My appreciation cannot be expressed in words, but may the World Tree guide your path. Get back here alive, all of you. Or trust me, you''ll regret it!"


    *BZZT*


    Just like that, Liana was gone before the students could even blink.


    Leaving behind only a single spark of purple for the students, a streak of lightning could be seen deeper into the tree, following Liana''s back as she dashed back toward the dozens of demons.

 Chapter 101 - 101:Inside the Tree [8]

    Zigging and Zagging through the various diving paths in the cave, leaving behind a trail of pure purple lightning, Liana moved faster than the speed of light as she navigated toward the sound of the demon''s footsteps.


    Twisting and turning to take the correct path, the streak of lightning made the shape of the letter "Z" behind her before she finally spotted some demons approaching.


    As the streak of lightning stopped with Liana, she took her revolvers out of her pockets and spotted three demons right in front of her; however, they also saw her.


    With gigantic battle axes, the three demons charged at Liana from different directions. Each attack was coordinated perfectly as they swung their axes at the same angle to prevent counterattacks or dodging.


    Flicking her revolvers up to the roof, Liana took one step forward, her foot completely covered in lightning and leaking onto the floor below as lightning sparks lit up the dark cave.


    Lunging downwards, Liana disappeared from the demon''s sight, leaving sparks of lightning on the ground with every step she took.


    As Liana moved so fast that she was invisible to the demon''s terrible eyes, she purposely left behind sparks of lighting, leaving a trail for the demons to follow.


    Noticing the sparks of lightning, the demons used them to locate Liana; however, that was exactly what Liana wanted.


    There was a delay.


    Liana moved so fast that by the time the lighting sparks appeared on the floor, she was already more than 10 feet away from that location. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Twisting and turning, running up the roof, running on the walls, and sliding on the ground, Liana treated the cave as a playground.


    Running up the cave walls and running on the roof with her entire body facing the floor, Liana watched with a smile as the demons swung their axes at every spark.


    They were slowly losing their edge and becoming more frustrated.


    Increasing her speed to the maximum, lightning sparks started reacting with each other as small bits of fire appeared around the cave.


    Finally finding a gap in the demons'' formations, she stopped mid-sprint, causing gravity to actaully take effect, and propel her head-first downwards at the cave floor.


    Doing a flip mid-air, Liana landed in the middle of the demon''s formation, with one demon to her right and two to her left.


    With her revolvers pointed in different directions, each at a single demon, Liana stopped her mad sprint for a split second.


    *BANG*


    *BANG*


    If you had looked down from the roof at the floor below at this very moment, it wouldn''t have looked like a battle in the slightest¡ªit would have looked like an art piece.


    The rough cave floors, the protruding rocks from the wall, and the three confused demons were just the backdrop¡ªthe canvas of the painting.


    And the art? The paint?


    It was the lightning.


    The entire cave was glowing a dark purple as the small sparks of lightning on the ground left behind by Liana had grouped, forming various intricate shapes that transformed the bland cave into a world-class art exhibit.


    It was not a battle or a fight... it was a masterpiece, an abstract painting.


    Even though Liana seemed to sprint around at light speed smoothly without care, her tracks of lightning sparks seemed to come together and form interesting yet abstract images that would enthrall any viewer and amaze any art critic.


    Her battle style wasn''t just powerful... it was beautiful, amazing, intricate, and elegant...


    The world around her wasn''t a battlefield... it was a blank canvas, waiting to be graced with Liana''s refined art style.


    As the two bullets barrelled out of the revolvers, the growing lightning sparks on the ground finally stopped.


    As the bullet flew mid-air at the frozen and oblivious demons, the lightning sparks on the ground accumulated and gathered together, forming one of those lightning bolt symbols you would see in a cartoon.


    The lightning bolt symbol was so large that it covered the entire cave floor, making it look like a dance floor as everyone''s feet were glowing purple.


    And the center of this symbol?


    It was right under Liana and the three demons.


    Splitting into two halves, the thousands of lightning particles finally started reacting and pushing against each other, causing gigantic purple flames to rise from the ground.


    Two walls of purple fire stretched up from the ground in an instant, the tip of the dark purple flames touching the bullets shot by Liana.


    The metal bullets did not combust under the insanely high temperatures of the fires; instead, they changed color from pure white metal to dark purple.


    There was even an artistic touch on the bullets, as the tips of the purple flames were formed so perfectly that they adorned a small lightning bolt symbol on the right side of each bullet.


    As the first bullet penetrated the first demon''s body, creating a hole directly through it, the flames and remaining lightning sparks dispersed, moving from the cave''s center to its edges.


    The remaining lightning sparks collided at the edge of the cave, forming a ring of purple fire around Liana and the two demons who remained alive.


    It was too late when the demons finally realized that the particles had disappeared and Liana had stopped. The second bullet pierced right through the first demon before curving mid-air and going right through the vital spot of the last demon alive.


    A collateral shot.


    Just like that... two A-rank demons and all the djinns under them had died.


    As the two demons dropped to the ground, causing the cave to shake under the weight of their body, the purple flamed surged, rising all the way to the roof of the cave.


    Looking at the scene around her, Liana sighed before snapping her figures, instantly extinguishing the walls of purple flames around her.


    "that''s 3 out of 23...well onto the next."


    The next second, Liana was gone, leaving behind a final spark of lightning.


    Once again, the figure of a woman with a streak of lightning following her lit up the dark and dull cave.

 Chapter 102 - 102:The Center [1]

    After seeing Liana''s lightning trail and incredible speed, the group looked at the sparks of lighting in awe for a second before regaining their composure.


    Taking the lead was Albert as he immediatly ran in the opposite direction of Liana before gesturing to the students behind him.


    "THIS WAY!"


    Trailing behind the main cast with Irene, Ruby followed Albert as he led them through the various paths.


    Even though there was a chance of demons popping out at any wrong turn or a sudden sneak attack, Ruby''s mind was completely elsewhere.


    Where was he?


    First, he attempts to infiltrate the gemstone order before she catches him after looking into his soul. Then, he somehow remained awake and completely fine after the cruise ship incident, and finally, he somehow managed to take down the djinn during the dormitory attack.


    Once, it could have been a mistake; two could have been coincidences, but three were far too many.


    For the past three months, Ren had been involved in every important moment, and... it was all of his own volition.''


    He had been purposely placing himself in danger to save the same people who had spread malicious rumors about him.


    Recalling the rumors spreading at the academy about Ren being a terrible, selfish, and moral-less person, Ruby almost wanted to laugh.


    He had been there at all the most important moments behind the scenes, and despite there being no proof for the other incidents besides the dormitory attack, Ruby was inclined to believe that he had also contributed the most during those.


    Even Liam and Kevin, who Ren had basically helped save during the dormitory attack, were bad-mouthing him.


    Although Ruby knew that Ren was always involved in these important events, she still had no idea why and how.


    How had he known about Alya''s kidnapping beforehand and managed to infiltrate the squad despite only being a D-rank?


    How was he able to arrive at the royal dormitory during the attack when nobody else should have known about it?


    Why was he interfering in these situations?


    She had a lot of information, but somehow, none of it seemed connected, like a bunch of randomly plotted points on a line graph.


    Ruby knew that Ren had to be here somewhere based on his previous actions... but since she didn''t know or understand his methods in the slightest, she had no idea where.


    The chances of him being here were almost zero, considering the special entry method required to go inside the World Tree and the fact the demons were roaming around... yet Ruby couldn''t shake the feeling that he was somewhere here, just waiting for them...


    "Well... if it''s Ren... he''s probably already at the World Tree''s center, already fighting and saving the tree from death."


    Hearing Ruby''s muttering, Irene asked.


    "What''d you say?"


    Waving her hands, Ruby replied.


    "Nothing, nothing."


    "If you say so..."


    Although Ruby''s muttering had mostly been incoherent to Irene, she had managed to make out a single word.


    Ren.


    Recalling that she had gone to see Ren for help under the student council president''s instructions, Irene pondered whether Ren had gone to help them.


    The investigative reports did not mention him at all, but the student council president wouldn''t call him for no reason, right?


    Well... even if he had gone to help, he had probably arrived too late, as Ruby had teleported them and the rest of the students out while the official heroes took care of the djinn.


    As Albert''s pace suddenly increased, both Irene and Ruby refocused their thoughts on their current situation, speeding up to catch up with the group ahead of them.


    As they reconvened with the rest of the group, Albert began speaking while slowly increasing his pace, allowing everyone to keep up with him.


    "We''re almost there; be ready. We can''t be sure that the queen has all the demons detained; the possibility of a few outliers is high."


    While Irene, Lily, and Ruby drew their wands, the other five took out swords, bows, quivers, and other various weapons that the Elven queen had given them.


    Seeing a pure-white light illuminating the path ahead, Albert immediately recognized it as the the spirit of the World tree, sprinting ahead.


    Leaving the rest of the group behind, Albert nocked an arrow in his bow and charged straight into the center of the tree... where he spotted two demons with their backs completely turned to him.


    "...?"


    Not giving up the opportunity, Albert waited for the rest of the group to catch up before shooting his arrow at one demon while the others all simultaneously attacked the other one.


    With incredible speed, though not comparable to Liana''s lightning, the arrow pierced right through the first demon.


    As the other demon turned his head in shock, it was too late. Various spells such as fireballs, ice lances, water bullets, a light-blue shining sword, and a regular sword were barrelling towards him with no mercy.


    Unlike the clean and precise death of the first demon by Albert''s arrow, this one was a mess. After disposing of the demon, the various spells reacted together, creating many explosions.


    Seeing the excited figures of the group behind him, Albert turned around after confirming the demons'' death to face the group.


    "That was luck; all luck. If it had been a confrontation, our victory would have been much longer... and maybe impossible. So, don''t get co-"


    Interrupting Albert''s speech was Kevin as he replied.


    "Hey, luck is a part of the game. So what if our luck won that fight; in the end, our attacks and spells won!"


    Chucking, Liam patted Kevin on the shoulder and replied.


    "So, when you win, it''s all you and no luck, but when you lose, it''s always luck''s fault. Make it make sense."


    Ignoring the two''s banter, Albert began examining the spirit of the World Tree from a distance, noticing a faint gray polluting the pure white color of the fog.


    The amount of grey would naturally clear up in a couple of days, but there was just one problem: the amount of grey would slowly increase.


    Staring at the device below the fog, Albert rushed over and picked it up, immediately noticing the black smoke it was emitting.


    Smashing it onto the ground with all his awakened force, Albert attempted to break it; however, the black fog kept coming out despite the outside being heavily damaged.


    Wasting no time, Albert tossed the device to Alya, who he obviously trusted the most among the group.


    "Take this out of here now; the longer it stays, the worse the tree becomes. You know how to leave, don''t you the tree, don''t you?" sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Alya and the others, who had been previously staring at the white fog in confusion and awe, immediately realized the connection between the fog and the World Tree''s condition at Albert''s words.


    Catching the device, Alya nodded her head before sprinting out of the room and back towards where they started.


    Upon seeing Albert''s way of entering the World Tree, Alya immediately deduced that to enter and exit the tree, she simply needed to use one of her many contracted spirits.

 Chapter 103 - 103:The Center [2]

    After watching Alya wander back into the tunnels of the World Tree, Albert continued staring at the pure white fog, not saying a word.


    Behind him, the rest of the group, understandably, felt restless just looking at the fog. They had expected a long and drawn-out fight with some demons... but now they were just watching some fog?


    Putting their weapons back into their sheaths, the group awaited Albert''s next words... but they never came as Albert just continued mindlessly gazing at the fog.


    Whispering to Kevin right next to him, Liam asked.


    "Hey, go ask him what we''re supposed to do."


    Nudging Liam''s shoulders, Kevin met Liam''s gaze and replied.


    "Why don''t you go ask?"


    "...if you do it this time, I''ll do it next time!"


    "WHEN THE HELL IS THERE GOING TO BE A NEXT TIME!?"


    Behind the two''s bickering, Ruby was prepared to leave as she saw no signs of Ren, who was invisible to her unless she specifically looked at his location for more than a few seconds, and the battle seemed to be over.


    On the other hand, Irene looked disappointed before meeting Ruby''s gaze.


    What were they supposed to do now?


    Even further behind Liam and Kevin stood Lily, who stood there with her wand still ready to cast a spell, and Zach, who was just staring straight ahead without a thought.


    Not a thought behind those eyes...


    Finally, after what seemed to be ages, Albert noticed his companions growing increasingly restless, so he spoke with his gaze still locked onto the white fog.


    "Before leaving this place, we must ensure the tree is no longer corrupted. If we allow it to be more corrupted, serious consequences will ensue."


    Pausing for a moment, Albert scratched his chin before finally turning to face the group of students.


    "And don''t ask me how long we must stay here to keep guard. It could be an hour, a day, or even a week, depending on what the queen tells us. But don''t worry, you all are free to leave; what you have done thus far has already been a great help."


    Turning back to face the white fog, Albert raised his hands, waving goodbye, without even seeing their departure.


    Looking at Kevin, who was about to utter complaints, Lily sighed before gesturing for the group to huddle.


    "I think we should stay until, at the very least, the queen comes back and gives us some information."


    As Zach and Irene nodded their heads with affirmation, Liam also replied.


    "We''ve come this far, so it doesn''t make sense for us to leave without seeing the conclusion anyway. It is quite sad that our last few days of vacation here might be spent in this tree..."


    Patting Liam on the shoulder, Zach leaned over him and positively responded.


    "Don''t think of it that way, Liam. We''re spending our vacation in a magical tree that only the queen and the prince know about! How lucky are we!?"


    Stepping away from the ground, Ruby picked up a rock from the ground and stared at the normal cave for a second before muttering.


    "Nothing special or lucky about this..."


    Walking back over the group, Ruby had thought about leaving but quickly dismissed the idea, not because she wanted to stay but because she couldn''t leave.


    Staring at Albert''s standing figure from a distance, Ruby pictured the smirk on his face even without seeing it before sighing.


    "These kids would stay anyway to help... there was no need for you to lie or trick them."


    As the group concluded that they would stay until more information arrived, everyone began hesitantly gazing at Kevin, who had been unnaturally quiet throughout the entire discussion.


    There was only one question on everyone''s mind.


    How was Kevin going to react!?


    It was like a game show!


    Liam, holding his laughter, turned to Ruby and Irene before whispering.


    "We''re taking bets. I bet ten gold that he walks over to Albert and slaps him, and Lily puts ten gold that he just complains for an hour before giving up."


    Holding out his cupped hands, Liam smiled before asking.


    "You have any bets?"


    "...we''re good."


    As Liam turned away from Irene and Ruby, the whole group became silent as Kevin stepped forward, and approached the cave''s exit.


    Showing no emotion, Kevin simply shrugged shoulders in response to the group''s confused expressions before saying.


    "What? You guys can stay here, can''t you? You guys are more than enough to watch that stupid fog, so there''s no really no need for me. I''ll be taking my leave now!"


    "FUCK, MY PARLAY!"


    "..."


    Ignoring Liam''s outburst, Lily sighed before sitting on the cold, hard floor, oblivious to Kevin''s actions.


    This made Kevin even more angry as not even Irene and Ruby were paying attention to him as they were playing tic-tac-toe with rocks on the floor.


    The only one paying attention to Kevin was Liam, who was on the floor in shambles after losing his ten gold coins.


    Taking another step towards the exit of the cave, Kevin said.


    "I''M REALLY DOING IT!"


    But the outcome was the same: everyone in the room, except Liam, ignored him, more focused on whatever was in front of them.


    Zach, who had remained silent until now, glanced at Kevin''s departing figure before sitting down next to Lily and asking.


    "...aren''t you going to do something."


    Shaking her head in response, Lily picked up a stick and began drawing an image on the cave floor while speaking.


    "Don''t worry, Kevin won''t make it past the cave exit."


    Completely missing Lily''s point, Kevin quietly replied.


    "Look, I know Kevin can have a bad attitude, but I''m sure he won''t give up this time. I mean, look at him; he actually looks confident and ready to leave the cave."


    Putting down her stick and staring at the scribbles on the cave floor, Lily sighed before replying.


    "Zach... how exactly do you think he''s going to leave the cave?"


    Recalling their entrance to the cave and the spirit, Zach thought momentarily before realizing it.


    "...ah"


    Kevin didn''t have any type of spirit, and Alya was gone alongside Albert being busy; it would be impossible for him to find a spirit and exit the World Tree.


    In fact, there was no way for any of them to leave the World Tree!


    Snickering from the corner of the room, Ren said to himself.


    " ''Leave if you want,'' my ass *PFFT* "


    Noticing almost everyone''s realization, Albert turned around briefly, with the exact smirk that Ruby had imagined, and said.


    "Well... I can''t watch this thing all day; we''ll all just have to take shifts and split up the work!"


    ...What a shameless king!?


    Kevin, who was almost through the cave exit and out of sight, stopped for a second, turning around to face Albert dead in the eyes.


    "So you''re telling me that you''re not only trapping us here, but you''re using us so that you can get some rest...?"


    "...well when you put it like that.... I would like to think that w-"


    "Shut it!"


    Comprehending the situation, Kevin walked back into the center of the World Tree and sat next to Liam, who was hiding his eyes with his knees.


    Lightening up, Liam removed his knees and asked.


    "Bad day for you today as well, huh?"


    Ignoring Liam''s voice, Kevin simply put his head against one of the rocks, using it as a pillow, and attempted to drift off to sleep.


    Meanwhile, Zach and Lily drew on the cave floor with sharp sticks, and Irene was still playing tic-tac-toe with Ruby by her side.


    Looking at the students resting, Albert was somewhat tempted to take a break and pass on the shift to someone else, but it was too early.


    Albert didn''t want the damn night shift!


    Turning back around to face the white fog, Albert resumed his duties and observed the fog, making sure to be aware of any peculiarities.


    The World Tree needed time to recover after the demons'' actions, so it''s being further corrupted now, which could cause permanent issues.


    At least, that was what Albert had surmised based on his mother''s information, which he had learned only two years before.


    "hmm?"


    Although it was feint, Albert could now see a small black fog of grey, the same as the previous one, slowly creeping out of the wall.


    Although it was far from the fog, Albert immediately left to investigate. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Was there another device that the demons had?


    With his bow in his hand, Albert carefully walked over the source of the smoke, but as soon as he reached the wall, the smoke completely disappeared...


    With his cloak wrapped around his face, Ren swiftly dispersed the device as Albert reached the cave wall before resummoning it on another side of the cave.


    It was like a game of cat and mouse.


    Ren knew that further polluting the World Tree spirit could be dangerous, so he wasn''t doing that.


    Remember, all he had to do was make it appear more corrupted.


    And how could he do that?


    By making its surroundings look polluted.

 Chapter 104 - 104:The Center [3]

    -*- (Back to first person)


    Standing still for a moment upon witnessing the trail of smoke suddenly disappear, Albert rubbed his eyes before heading back to the center.


    "..I might have to switch shifts with them earlier than expected if I''m already sleepy enough to be hallucinating things..."


    On the other side of the cave, the lid of my copied device was already slowly emitting smoke again, causing a small stream of smoke to spread throughout the room.


    Positioning the top of the device so that the smoke was as far away from the center of the cave as possible, I glanced at Lily, who was simply drawing on the floor.


    "...do I have to make it more obvious?"


    Why was she sitting on the floor and scribbling on the ground like some toddler in the MIDDLE of A MAJOR INCIDENT?


    The queen was out there still restlessly fighting against demons while her son, daughter, and friends were playing TIC-TAC-TOE!


    Well, it wasn''t like they could do much against the hordes of demons... but still, shouldn''t they at least pay attention to the spirit of the World Tree right in front of them?


    Seeing Albert return to his original position in front of the spirit, I slowly amped up the smoke output.


    At the same time, I moved to the shadows right next to the cave exit, with a hand on my hood, which contained my cat.


    If I were to be caught before the tree appeared corrupted enough, I would have to deal with the entire main cast, Ruby and Albert, attacking me thinking I was an intruder... which, to be fair, I was.


    Dying or being heavily injured was not particularly on my schedule today...


    Seeing Albert start to scan my section of the cave, I once again dispersed the device before dashing over to another portion of the cave and re-manifesting it.


    At this point, the smoke was grouping together and growing in size, making it easily visible if you stared at the wall for more than a second¡ªbut, alas, no one did.


    This was a good thing as I could release more corruption into the surroundings without being noticed, but at the same time, there was a limit I couldn''t pass.


    I purposely sent all the smoke in the same direction so it would group as if I had just sent it around randomly; the smoke would spread through the entire cave, eventually hitting the spirit of the World Tree.


    The problem was that if the group of smoke I was producing actually hit the World Tree, it would be immediately fully corrupted and in danger of dying.


    Also, was Albert even willing to sacrifice his life for the World Tree''s survival..? Well, he had done it in the original story, but what about now?


    He hadn''t developed any character that I knew of, so I assumed it was highly likely that he would agree.


    If not, there were always alternative ways. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Well, you can''t get any rewards without taking some risks, right...?


    Holding the device steady in my hands and watching the smoke flow out, I glanced around the cave and saw Liam alongside Kevin with their backs on the wall, both clearly in a foul mood.


    Completely oblivious to their surroundings, the black smoke accumulated and accumulated until there was just a gigantic cloud of black smoke in the corner of the cave, wavering above the floor.


    Now, I just had to make it noticeable...but wasn''t it already way too recognizable?


    To be fair, there would be no reason for them to just randomly stare at the corner of the room, but what was I supposed to do?


    Moving that cloud of smoke would be impossible as it would simply disperse and hit the spirit of the World Tree in the white fog, and if I yelled out, "OVER HERE GUYS!" I would be more screwed than the spirit of the World Tree...


    Looking at Lily, who was still drawing on the cave floor with the tip of the branch, I surmised a plan.


    The branch tip would eventually become too dull to make marks on the cave floor, so Lily would be forced to look for other branches.


    And where will all the branches in the cave be?


    Coincidentally, under a gigantic, suspicious cloud of smoke!


    Were there easier ways to make them notice the cloud? Yes, but all of them would require someone else besides Lily to find out about the smoke first.


    Lily needed to find out about the smoke so she could immediately take command and give the group the solution mentioned in the story.


    If someone besides Lily found it, they could devise a different and unsuccessful plan before Lily could even say something, and in a rush, everyone would follow that plan.


    And then there was also the chance that Albert, who was essentially the leader of the group right now, would choose another plan over Lily''s, as Lily''s plan meant he would die.


    Even if Albert wanted to save the World Tree and his fellow elves, it was a natural instinct for him to want to survive.


    It was something that he couldn''t change as this instinct was deeply rooted in every single living body.


    Given the choice between a plan that involves his death and one that does not, all sense of reason will go out the window, and Albert will obviously choose the one without his death.


    If Lily had discovered the smoke first and had the chance to completely explain her plan, no one would suggest any alternatives, so Albert wouldn''t have had a chance to escape anymore.


    *CRACK*


    Tensing my entire body, I saw the tip of the branch break, causing Lily to look around for another one.


    Finding the group of branches I assembled near the cloud of smoke, Lily dusted her hands before getting up and walking over there.


    As Lily stopped a couple of feet before the pile of branches and noticed the floating cloud of smoke, I dispersed the device and moved toward the white fog in the middle of the room that contained the spirit.


    Using the shadow of the spirit''s fog to conceal myself, I waited as Lily''s lips slowly parted and... a sudden voice came from the cave''s entrance.


    "Albert, the device is stashed away, what d-"


    Watching Alya take another step, Lily sprinted towards her and screamed.


    "STOP NOW, ALYA, DON''T MOVE."


    But it was too late.


    The cloud of smoke I accumulated with my device scattered into thousands of particles as Alya stepped through the entrance, where the smoke was located.


    Using my eyes, I immediately calculated the trajectory of each of the thousands of smoke particles.


    A hundred.


    A hundred particles of smoke were heading right into the fog.

 Chapter 105 - 105: The Center [4]

    It was far too many...


    Even If I slowed down time and used my dragon''s wing speed ability, I could only stop fifty of them at most.


    I had placed the cloud of smoke near the entrance so no one would be entering or leaving, and it was right behind everyone so no one would notice the smoke there.


    But... then, how was Alya already back..?


    I had calculated her entire path; it would have taken her ten minutes to leave the tree, five to store the device, and another ten to get back here.


    Yet, she had arrived in ten minutes, less than half of that predicted time.


    Sbe would have to have skipped the entire way back to this cave...


    Putting aside those thoughts, I tapped my right eye, slowing my perception of time, before combining the mana and blood-red substance, creating a dark-purple wing on my right shoulder.


    Since these smoke particles were made out of her pure corruption, they were different: they could completely pass through physical things, so simply standing in front of them wouldn''t do anything.


    What was the only way to stop the corruption then?


    With most corruption... or you could just completely overpower the particles with stronger magic, but that wasn''t something I could do.


    Dismissing the devices, I used all my corruption to create a jar about the same size as those pickle jars at grocery stores.


    Simply creating a gigantic jar to cover the entire room with my corruption wouldn''t work, as the jar would be too weak to withstand the impact of the smoke particles.


    Thus, I created a medium-sized jar but concentrated all my corruption into its exterior, making it strong enough.


    Stepping in front of the pure-white fog with a pickle jar in my right hand, I extended my hand to the right, catching the first two hundred particles.


    Then, moving the jar to my left hand, I caught three more particles.


    Then two more, then three more, then two more, then seven more, then ten more, then five more, then three more... but at some point, the particles started to get past me.


    Forced to step back, I found myself with my back right against the wall, with no room for any mistakes, as one missed particle would immediately enter the fog.


    From here, I could see Lily and Alya, who were still staring where the cloud of black smoke used to be, and Albert, alongside the rest of the group, staring at Lily as she had just screamed.


    Soon, their perception of time would catch up, and they would notice me...


    My jar, now half full of particles, struggled to maintain its shape as the particles clashed with my concentrated corruption in the exterior. To make it even worse, I hadn''t accounted for the fact that particles could have erratic movement, throwing off my predicted trajectories.


    There were more than two hundred particles... double my original estimate.


    Sure, one extra particle going into the fog wouldn''t do too much more... but if over a hundred particles entered the fog, the spirit of the World Tree would be in serious danger.


    Feeling my mana drain insanely fast due to my using mana for wings and slowing down time simultaneously, I sighed while continuing to catch the incoming particles with my jar.


    What now?


    If the World Tree becomes corrupted, the fall of the Elven realm is only a matter of time away.


    The Elven realm, one of the significant forces aiding humans in the future war of the demons, would fall in the third or fourth incident...


    We hadn''t even finished the academy arc yet...


    Worst of all, it wasn''t because of Lily or some variable.


    I had chosen to put the smoke there; I had willingly created the smoke, and I am going to have destroyed the Elven realm alongside the spirit of the World Tree.


    Catching ten more particles, I stayed until the end, ignoring my body growing fatigued due to loss in mana, and frantically moved around my jar.


    For the next second, not a single particle passed by me.


    The next second, one particle passed by me and entered the pure-white fog.


    In the third second, three passed by me.


    Then 4.


    Then 7.


    And finally, as my mana dropped to zero, I stood still with the half-filled jar in my hand, staring at the hundred particles heading right at me.


    No... not yet.


    I had only gotten fifty of the particles this far... I needed at least seventy to be happy with myself, didn''t I?


    Downing my remaining mana bottles in less than a second, I swiped my jar up and down once, catching the twenty particles about to hit the pure-white fog.


    Only seventy?


    I''ll need at least ninety to pay for dinner tonight.


    While mana potions increased your mana, they didn''t heal or alleviate the fatigue or pain of using mana.


    In fact, they only worsened it.


    Combined with the mana potions I had used earlier in my fight with the demon, I used about twice the maximum capacity today.


    As my arms trembled and my eyes involuntarily closed, threatening to lose consciousness, I continued swiping up and down.


    For the next five seconds, not a single particle passed by me.


    One hundred thirty particles is not too bad for my first time...


    However, that was it. My wings disappeared due to lack of mana, leaving me only with the measly remaining time I had left on my dragon''s eye.


    Once again, I faced over fifty incoming particles despite having no more mana.


    Was it enough?


    "...I guess it was."


    *BZZT*


    As the main cast slowly turned their heads towards the pure-white fog, catching up to the current time, the entrance of the cave glowed a dark purple, and a streak of lightning could be seen approaching.


    Even with my dragon''s eye activated, I could barely see her.


    Going straight past the main cast, Liana briefly glanced at my mask and current position before turning. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And turning and turning and turning.


    Like a NASCAR driver, Liana drifted and turned while going as fast as a car, even with my perception of time slowed.


    Zigging and Zagging around the particles with perfect precision, the streak of lighting behind Liana melted the smoke particles of corruption instantly as she ran past them.


    The entire cave turned a dark purple for a second as lightning beams shot out of Liana''s body, crushing over thirty particles at a time.


    At a single second, over three beams, each having a diameter of the entire cave, could be seen appearing for a short second before disappearing and reappearing in a different location, where more particles were located.


    Within the next five seconds, all the particles were gone, leaving behind a couple of lightning sparks on the ground.


    Stopping a few feet away, Liana focused on the white fog, which was partially tainted with black, before turning her attention to me.


    The next second, she moved.


    Right at me.


    Exhausted, drained of mana, and completely powerless, I watched as Liana moved towards me, slower than before, with her hand stretched out toward me.


    Despite the horror in my chest at that moment, a feeling of awe also appeared as I felt like I was watching a movie.


    The purple sparks on the ground glowing the cave a dark purple, the sparks of lightning flying off her body as she moved towards me in slow motion, and her indifferent expression as she approached me.


    All of it combined to create the perfect scene, the climax.


    Well, what happens to villains in movies...?

 Chapter 106 - 106:The Center [5]

    As the streak of lightning-fast approached me, the sparks of lightning hanging off Liana''s body blinded me, forcing me to close my eyes.


    At the same time, my mana completely ran out, returning my perception of time to normal, so when I reopened my eyes, I couldn''t even see her, only the sparks of lightning on the floor.


    I had no weapons. Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If I dismissed the jar I had made out of corruption in my hands, all the particles inside it would leave the jar and head straight at the tree.


    Even at Liana''s speed, destroying all those particles before they reached the tree would be impossible, so the spirit of the World Tree would be further damaged.


    But... was that a bad thing for me?


    Staring down at the jar filled with particles clashing against each other, I seriously considered opening the jar and letting them all out.


    If Liana had to choose between me and saving the tree, as the elven queen, she would obviously prioritize trying to destroy as many particles as possible before they hit the tree.


    In that time, I could use my dash, which required no mana, and leave the cave before immediately exiting the World Tree with my cat in my hoodie.


    But, then, what would happen to the World Tree?


    No, who cared about what would happen to the World Tree..?


    It was between my damn life and this stupid spirit of the World Tree!


    Weighing the two options, I knew I had to choose as even though I couldn''t see Liana due to my lack of mana, I could still predict and calculate her speed with my eyes.


    Within two seconds, she would reach me.


    My life or some random tree.


    To any person, including me, this choice should be easy.


    As a second passed, I placed my hand on the lid of the jar, unscrewing the top, causing the particles at the bottom to rush upwards in search of freedom.


    Staring at the people in the room, who were about to notice my presence, I continued unscrewing as their gazes lingered on the lightning sparks on the ground.


    How many people here would die as a consequence of my actions?


    No... how many people in the world would die in the future war if I destroyed the Elven realm today?


    Why did I have the right to decide who lived and died in this world? Did being from another world make me some god?


    Hiding in the shadows, manipulating every important event like some puppeteer tugging on the strings of fate, controlling humans like dolls, and doing it all without a single person finding out.


    All of it was to save the world, wasn''t it?


    Then, weren''t my actions today completely contradicting that...?


    No, my true goal has remained unchanged since my transmigration to this world.


    My survival was the utmost priority now, just like it had always been.


    The flame that Ruby saw in my chest hadn''t grown any smaller... in fact, it would probably have grown even bigger and become even brighter since all the near-death incidents I''ve experienced.


    Ripping the lid of the jar, allowing a single particle to fly out, I held my breath, seeing the sparks of lightning on the ground slowly approach me.


    What if this didn''t even work, and Liana just completely ignored the spirit of the World Tree, leading to the death of me and the tree?


    Well, I would be a goner, so that wouldn''t be my problem then... so there was no point in thinking about it, right?


    As my heart rate quickened, and my legs attempted to tremble, but they couldn''t due to my lack of energy from using my mana, I stared straight ahead, the location where my eyes predicted Liana would be by combining her average speed and previous pattern of moving.


    Suddenly, my vision flickered momentarily as a white flash blinded me, and when I reopened my eyes...


    A person with silky, long black hair stood in the exact location I had predicted Liana to be, her backside only visible to me.


    With her hands waving desperately as the lightning sparks approached her, she turned around to face, revealing her blood-red eyes.


    Ah... she had teleportation, didn''t she?


    ...what''s the point of this mask if everyone already knows who I am...?


    Despite Ruby now blocking her path, the lightning sparks continued appearing ahead, revealing no signs of slowing down.


    Activating the dash I had been saving for my escape out of the World Tree, I stepped forward, speeding forward at Liana''s predicted location and Ruby''s current location.


    But... I was still slow; Liana''s normal speed far surpassed the speed of my dash.


    Ignoring the pain coursing through my body, more than double my usual maximum mana, I forced my head to tilt upwards and look at Ruby''s figure.


    Activating the dragon''s eyes with the mana I had regained in the short span of 5 seconds, I could see Liana''s figure for a short second.


    Over Ruby''s shoulder, Liana, with a streak of lightning following her, was heading straight at Ruby with the same indifferent expression.


    With her head turned towards me, Ruby seemed to see right through my mask as she waved with an indecipherable expression; her cheeks contorted, her mouth wide open, and her eyes locked onto the figure.


    ...didn''t she say that her flame of desire to survive was the same size and brightness as mine?


    "...what a liar.."


    Who was I to talk about lying... when this entire life was built on lies upon lies, though...?


    Her glossy, black hair glowed a dark purple and fell back, revealing her eyes as Liana and her streak of lightning-fast approached her.


    "well... I guess I''m quite the liar myself, aren''t I?"


    Throwing the open jar, full of particles, away from the tree and right at Ruby, my dragon''s eye forcefully deactivated causing blood to start leaking out of my eyes.


    Unlike last time, though, there was no pain in my expression as my blood-red eyes turned to the color gold, and blood leaked out, creating a path from my eye to my lips.


    My last line of defense was gone.


    Sure, my survival was my highest priority, but that didn''t mean it had to match my actions, did it?


    Plenty of people, myself included, say getting into a good college is their highest priority, but then they slack off and play video games instead of studying.


    Humans are unpredictable and never consistent.


    People say something, then do the opposite.


    That is just the intrinsic nature of humans, isn''t it?


    Inconsistency is a human''s greatest challenge, yet it is their most common trait.


    As Ralph Emerson said


    "A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines."


    People should not be afraid of being misunderstood and should know that it is okay to contradict themselves.


    People who think alike are more easily controlled.


    People can have ultimate freedom by contradicting themselves and never thinking the same.


    Looking down at my now empty hands, I started an internal countdown in my head.


    "10 seconds... that''s all I need."


    That was all I needed.


    Maybe my actions would actually match my greatest priority today... even after all of these inconsistencies along the way...?

 Chapter 107 - 107:Faster and Harder [1]

    As my jar remained upright as it flew through the air, still preventing particles from leaving, I was unable to see Liana, but I imagined her expression was one of confusion and befuddlement.


    On the other hand, Ruby seemed to have not noticed the open jar barrelling towards her as she was still intently staring at my chest, where I assumed my fire of desire was located.


    Unable to reply to her with any expression or signal, my body slowly started to crumple up, falling to the ground as I didn''t even have the energy to stand up straight anymore.


    Nine seconds left for my cooldown and one second until Liana would reach her predicted location.


    Well, with my jar already thrown into play, the predicted location was probably a bit off...


    By now, everyone else''s perception of time had caught up to the present. Lily was staring at my mask with a confused and anxious expression, and Liam and Kevin were staring at the jar in the air. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Albert and Alya focused on the sparks of lightning on the ground, knowing it was a sign of their mother arriving. Finally, Irene and Kevin stared dumbfounded at Ruby''s figure, which had disappeared right before them and appeared right before me.


    Holding my breath, I watched as the jar tipped downwards, finally causing some particles to fall out and head towards Ruby.


    Looking at the ground, which was the only thing I could see now as my head could no longer tilt upwards, I used the sparks on the ground to predict Liana''s new location.


    Eight seconds.


    With the jar now in play, Liana prioritizes destroying the particles and ignores me. This also causes her to slow down and reassess the situation, noticing Ruby''s figure blocking her current path.


    Then, Liana would undoubtedly recognize Ruby as one of the people helping her and alter her path to exclude Ruby''s figure in front of her and then include destroying all the particles with her beams of lightning.


    But then, what would happen to me after Liana destroyed all the particles..?


    Well, my dash cooldown should have regenerated by that time... right?


    Calculating the distance between the lightning sparks on the ground and the rate at which they were appearing, I was able to get an approximation of Liana''s current path...


    There was just one problem...


    Liana''s path had changed a single bit.


    Seven seconds.


    The next second, a lightning spark appeared right in front of Ruby, and the jar I had thrown continued tilting downwards, letting my particles out.


    Did she not see Ruby''s figure? Was she prioritizing killing me over destroying all the particles and saving the World Tree? Did she believe she could do both?


    As soon as that lightning spark appeared, I dispersed the jar, allowing every particle inside it to escape and scatter around the area in front of Ruby.


    The jar simply disappeared mid-air, returning my corruption to me and causing all the particles inside to roam free in the cave.


    I had already gone this far, so there was no point in stopping now.


    As the particles surrounded Ruby and the lightning-sparked around her, I continued by manifesting another smoke-emitting device with the corruption I had gotten back.


    Surely, she would slow down or change her path if another device appeared and a bunch more particles were heading for the tree.


    Six seconds.


    As I threw my new smoke-emitting device right at Ruby''s figure and the surrounding lightning sparks, I watched as the entire area turned into a dark cloud of smoke.


    The particles from the original jar combined with the output of my new smoke-emitting device, which had its output ramped up to the maximum, all accumulated together.


    Inside the dark cloud of smoke, countless lighting sparks appeared, causing a part of the cloud of smoke to glow a dark purple.


    If I hadn''t created the cloud, I would have thought it was a thunderstorm; the dark-black cloud of smoke combined with the lightning sparks created an exact replica of how a thunderstorm looked.


    Using my eyes, I peered into the smoke, immediately sighing upon seeing Liana''s figure in front of Ruby, inside the smoke.


    If Liana had slowed down to the point where I could see her even though I was a D-rank, she must have noticed Ruby.


    Though Liana had considerably slowed down, she still had no stopped completely as she ran through the cloud of smoke, her expression still somehow indifferent.


    Wait, why was she not panicked or anxious...? The spirit of the World Tree would be completely corrupted if she didn''t do anything in the next ten seconds...


    5 seconds.


    In the next moment, Liana was right in front of Ruby, only a couple of centimeters apart, but she still had not stopped moving.


    *BZZT*


    The next second, a purple flash exploded inside the smoke, overpowering the black cloud completely and turning it into a dark purple cloud.


    When I reopened my eyes, I watched in shock as Liana ran right through Ruby as if Ruby were a hologram.


    She had phased through a person.


    Liana had become the fastest person in the entire world, including demons.


    She had achieved the state of intangibility.


    The state at which you move so fast that her state turned from physical to non-physical, making it possible for her to phase through physical objects.


    Quantum Tunnelling was the ability''s name.


    A phenomenon where particles can pass through potential barriers that they classically shouldn''t be able to at the quantum level of particles.


    In the book''s story, she had never achieved this level of speed... and no one else in the entire world had achieved this level of speed.


    She had changed states: physical to non-physical.


    An ability that was so strong that it was incomparable to teleportation.


    Looking at her figure as she passed right through Ruby''s body, I immediately noticed her change in state with my eyes as she was nothing...


    Her body was made of pure lightning.


    She had no physical body.


    Her entire body was shining a dark purple as her body was literally created out of lightning.


    Sparks of lightning flew off her body as she moved, covering the entire cave, not just the floor anymore.


    4 seconds.


    The entire cave, now doused in lightning, uncannily reassembled my shadow cage, but instead of corruption making the cage, it was pure and powerful lightning.


    The only downside to this new ability was that she was now completely visible even when running at maximum speed due to her body of lightning.


    3 seconds.


    The next second, she had covered the distance Ruby and I, her lightning body only a few meters in front of me...

 Chapter 108 - 108:Faster and Harder [2]

    As sparks of lightning flew off her body and hit me as she rapidly approached me, my body''s condition deteriorated even more as the sparks of lightning burned right through my clothes, leaving burn marks.


    Only my stomach was left untouched, as even the sparks of lighting couldn''t penetrate through the magical artifact.


    Looking past Liana, I saw Ruby lying on the floor, and the others slowly lost consciousness.


    Being treated as a hologram by another person had probably caused Ruby to pass out as Liana''s lightning body had phased right through her, but I had no idea why they were slumped down on the ground for the others.


    Stopping right in front of me, the Elven Queen looked down at me as I kneeled on the ground in pain.


    Opening her mouth, which creepily had no teeth or gums but just pure lightning, Liana stared at my hands, still covered in corruption from my manifesting of the new device, and commanded.


    "Get rid of it."


    Behind Liana, all the smoke particles that came out of my original jar had been destroyed by Liana''s lightning strike from her change to a non-physical state, so the only thing left was the new device I had manifested.


    Barely managing to open my mouth while sprawled across my floor, the pants torn to pieces by the sparks of lightning, I muttered out.


    "c-can y-you move back."


    I literally could do anything but convulse in pain with the constant stream of lighting sparks flying off her body.


    Staring at the lightning sparks flying off her body at me, Liana''s eyes, made out of lightning, widened for a moment before she stepped back.


    This was her first time being in this state... but shouldn''t she be a bit more self-aware??? I mean, I was literally rolling on the ground in pain...


    Raising my hand, I dismissed the device on the ground next to Ruby, causing the cloud of smoke to grow smaller, and I also felt a bit more energized as the corruption returned to my body.


    Stepping further away from me, which I internally thanked her for, Liana raised her right hand, and her entire arm glowed a darker purple for a second.


    *CRACKLE*


    The next moment, a beam of pure lightning appeared in the palm of her hand and barreled right at the remaining cloud of particles.


    The beams instantly melted all the particles as it passed through the cloud, but it didn''t stop there as the beam went further and further until it hit the cave walls.


    Then... it passed right through the walls, creating a gigantic hole in the cave wall, and went further away, creating more and more holes in the walls of the entire tree.


    ...yeah use that one-of-one overpowered ability without testing it all; it''s a perfect idea!


    Forgetting about my presence for a moment, Liana''s mouth opened in awe and confusion as she stared at the countless holes she made in the tree.


    She had damaged the tree more than me at this point, but here I was, lying on the ground in pain!


    Justice is fake!!!; what the hell is this!?


    As Liana slowly turned back towards me, I immediately cleared all of my thoughts: What would happen if I got hit with that beam!?


    1 second.


    I needed one second until my dash''s cool down wore off; that second was all I needed. Well, that second activated the usage period, and then another second to actually dash forward.


    It had to be perfect.


    Liana''s speed was now almost three times as fast as my dash with her new lightning body, so with my calculations of her current speed factored in, I decided that I had to dash forward and leave the cave within a period of around three seconds.


    With the energy I got back from returning my corruption, I raised my hand and placed it on my hood, feeling the soft fur of my asleep cat.


    ...was he really sleeping this entire time?


    At this point, I wasn''t even mad that the cat had been happily resting while I was in this near-death situation; I was more astonished.


    Did none of the light from the beams and sparks of lightning or when I literally collapsed to the ground not wake it up...?


    Staring at me with my hand on my hood, Liana ensured she was far enough so that sparks wouldn''t hit me... before bowing?


    With head facing the ground below her and her back turned, Liana, with an indifferent expression, said.


    "I must thank you for allowing me to destroy all the particles. If you hadn''t removed the jar and allowed the particles to fall out slowly, there would have been a chance they hit the tree."


    Standing back up, Liana offered me her hand and continued expressing her thanks.


    "Although I came later, I was early enough to see how you heroically defended the tree''s spirit from the particles with that jar of yours. If you had allowed those particles to pass through and hit the tree, I can''t imagine what would have happened..."


    As the cave returned to normal, devoid of any smoke particles, Liana pointed to Ruby''s unconscious body and continued.


    "I understand why you threw the jar of particles, and I do not blame you. You were simply trying to save that human from being crushed by my rampage... that is my fault."


    Staring at her hand, which was also made of pure lightning, I hesitated for a moment.


    Does this queen have no self-awareness!?


    If I accepted her hand, I would be immediately electrocuted and fall to the ground in pain... but the damned queen of the Elven realm was personally offering her hand to me.


    ...Could I even reject that?


    However, despite that dilemma, I was relieved to see that the queen was not planning on killing me but rather thanking me. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There was still one problem, though... she was expressing all these thankful words and bowing with an indifferent expression...


    Shouldn''t she show at least some emotion?


    Maybe the lightning body didn''t let her change her expression?


    Noticing my dilemma, the queen stared at her lightning hand before quickly contracting it. Then, just like I dismissed my corruption device, the queen de-manifested her lightning body, returning to a physical state.


    Taking her now normal hand, I stood up, my legs still trembling, and awkwardly looked around the room where everyone else was lying unconscious.


    Hm?


    As I turned to look at Liana, I noticed that she was wearing a rather awkward expression while scratching her hair.


    " *ahem* t-there is still one problem, I still may need your assistance for..."

 Chapter 109 - 109: The Queens Mission [1]

    Staring at the queen with a deadpan expression, I simply pointed at my trembling legs and my mana potions, which were now empty as I had drunk them all.


    Behind her, there was the main cast, two powerful future villains in Irene and Ruby, her strong bow-using son, and the damned protagonist of the ENTIRE BOOK.


    But no, she chose to ask me...: a third-rate villain who is completely exhausted, out of mana, stressed out, in immense pain, and has just come out of a near-death scenario.


    Trying my best not to show my anger to the person who had just unlocked the ability to quite literally phase through things, I shook my head and replied.


    "ah... I don''t think I''ll be of much help to you in this state. However... if I were to recommend a couple of people to you..."


    Pointing at Kevin, Liam, Zach, and Lily''s bodies on the floor, I continued, using all the marketing knowledge I had gained from watching advertisements on the television on Earth.


    "Now, those three people, I can vouch for! With them, you won''t have to worry about a single thing; their power and work ethic are unmatched. You five w-"


    Putting her hand on her forehead, Liana ignored their bodies and replied.


    " *ahem* Unfortunately, I specifically require your device and jar to solve this problem."


    Wasting no time, I manifested the device, keeping the lid over it to block the smoke, and handed it to Liana.


    "This work?"


    Staring at the device in my extended hand, Liana hesitated for a moment before replying.


    "I''ll need both of them interchangeably... so you''ll need to be there to create them."


    "..."


    Staring at Liana, I realized that she wasn''t really asking me but telling me, so I de-manifested the device and accepted my fate.


    Seeing me nod my head, Liana took a mana potion out of her pocket and handed it to me.


    Even though every single muscle and cell in my body was telling me not to drink the potion or use any more mana today, I sighed before drinking the potion.


    As I gulped down the dark-blue liquid of the mana potion, Liana noticed my lack of motivation and said.


    "Of course, you won''t go unrewarded for undertaking this mission. Combined with your previous saving of the World Tree, I''ll personally see to it that you''re rewarded!"


    Yet, this didn''t increase my motivation in the slightest.


    I was already planning on stealing my rewards myself, so who cared if she was just giving them to me now!?


    I was gonna get them myself even if I didn''t do this mission with her!


    After putting the empty mana potion on the floor, I felt my body regain some of its former energy as I could actually move without feeling immense pain.


    But.. this was just a decoy.


    I knew that once the day was over, all the pain I had been avoiding through drinking potions would hit at once, basically paralyzing me.


    Well, that was a problem for me later!


    As I removed the potion from my face, I noticed Liana hesitantly staring at me.


    "Your face is a bit... yeah."


    Putting my hand under my mask and lifting it up for a moment, I immediately noticed my hand was drenched in blood from my overuse of dragon''s eye earlier.


    There was so much blood that she could see it just through the eyes and mouth hole in my mask.


    Well, it wasn''t hurting me, so I didn''t really mind it.


    Shrugging my shoulders, I ignored the blood on my face, not bothering to wipe it away, and said.


    "I''m ready to go when you are."


    Following Liana, I noticed that we were heading straight toward the center of the cave, where the fog containing the spirit of the World Tree was.


    Stopping right in front of the fog, Liana drew the shape of the jar with her hands, so I manifested it and waited behind her.


    Feeling the temperature suddenly grow colder, I saw an ice spirit hovering above Liana''s head.


    Seeming to communicate with the spirit, Liana pointed at the fog before making some gestures that even I couldn''t understand.


    Next, the spirit flew into the fog, disappearing from my sight, as the spirit seemed to combine with the fog and become one.


    *WHOOSH*


    A sudden gust of wind shot at us from the direction of the fog; I stepped back, putting my hands over my face.


    However, I had done it far too late, as the blood on the right side of my face flew everywhere, staining my cloak and hair.


    "..."


    "..."


    She really wants to say, "I told you so now," right now, doesn''t she?


    As the two turned to face the fog, I realized a whirlpool was in front of us made out of the fog.


    Like a tornado, the portal of fog tried to invite us in by using the wind current to pull us inwards.


    Seeing Liana purposely succumb to the wind current, I did the same and allowed myself to be pulled toward the fog until I finally entered the portal.


    A secret place inside another secret space, which is inside a tree? The author of this book must have been running out of ideas...


    Unlike a mana gate, my surroundings didn''t distort at all, as the environment around me automatically shifted without any downtime.


    Side by side with Liana, we looked around the fairy-like world as there was a single path in front of us, and a small, neat house stood at the end.


    There was nothing else.


    Just a small strip of land with a house at the end of it.


    Looking down from the edge of the small strip of land, I saw an endless void with nothing else in sight, and above us, it was the same.


    The only thing illuminating this entire space was the occasional light poles along the path to the house.


    Looking at Liana, who was surprised by me, I asked.


    "Have you never been here before...?"


    Looking at the house at the end of the path, Liana replied. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "No... I''ve only heard about it from the diaries of the previous rules."


    Suddenly, the thought occurred to me.


    Was she planning to use me as the sacrifice for the World Tree instead of Albert...?


    She brought me to a place only she knew about, which was also inside the spirit of the World Tree.


    ...Was I going to become a spirit?

 Chapter 110 - 110:The Queens Mission [2]

    Seeing Liana walk onto the path, I hesitantly followed behind her, keeping some distance between the two of us.


    Beside the path, the lush green grass, which was perfectly groomed, and the a couple of small trees were apparent, each looking well taken care of.


    Glancing further a the trees, I noticed some leaves were darker and almost dead while others were a perfect green, and it was the same with the grass as parts of the grass were golden, indicating a lack of water.


    Was this the affect of the corruption?


    Paranoid of tripping and falling off the small strip of land and into the void, I didn''t dare stare too long and returned the very middle of the path.


    Seeing me walking behind her like a puppy following its master, Liana''s expression changed as she let out an awkward laugh before slowing down to walk side by side with me.


    "I''m not going to push you off, you know?"


    "...I wasn''t thinking about that."


    Well, now I was!


    The scenery of Liana suddenly pushing me off the land and into the void during this stroll was now imprinted in my memory...


    Unlike me, Liana seemed enchanted by the fairy-like space as she often stopped to glance around and admire the small details, such as the perfectly groomed trunks of the trees.


    Though, she too had noticed the effects of corruption as every time we passed by a golden shade of grass or a brown leaf, she would let out a sigh before continuing on.


    Though she tried to hide it, with my enhanced eyesight, I could see her cheeks contort and twitch at those times.


    For her, it must be like seeing her entire world fall apart: her home, her family''s home, and her subject''s home.


    For the hundred years since the last demon war, she had confined herself to the Elven realm, so this realization must have been terrible for her.


    This was the first time the World Tree had been corrupted in history, and it had happened under her rule as queen.


    As we walked past another area that was lost due to corruption, a somber expression appeared on her face before she turned to me.


    "You should know why we''re here at this point."


    Looking at the golden and dry grass ahead of us, I replied.


    "To stop the corruption from spreading? But... didn''t we already do that?"


    Shaking her head, Liana sped up her pace as we neared the hut at the end of the path and replied.


    "No, we''re not here to stop the spread... we''re here to destroy it. All of it. Every single last bit of it."


    Inwardly sighing, I pretended to act oblivious as I replied.


    "And... how exactly would one person do that?"


    There was only one way.


    Someone had to replace the spirit, resetting the state of the World Tree to its original form where there was no corruption.


    There were two of us here.


    Giving no answer to my question, Liana stopped briefly, and leaned against the trunk of a nearby tree while staring upwards the black sky, devoid of any stars.


    Gathering up my courage, I strayed away from the path and stood on a patch of grass, looking into the endless void that surrounded us.


    There was also a cat here... sleeping inside my hoodie.


    Of course, it couldn''t be the one to replace the World Tree as it was an animal.


    Shaking my hoodie and forcefully waking up my cat, I allowed to climb up to my head, where it sat down on my hair and staired out into the endless abyss with me.


    I wouldn''t be the one being sacrificed here today, as well.


    How did I know that?


    I wasn''t actually here, unlike the queen.


    I had first noticed it when I stepped onto the lush, green grass.


    My shoes didn''t press down on the grass and cause it crumple up and break; they simply passed through the grass like a hologram.


    Extending my hand, I tried to touch the tree trunk beside me, but my hand simply passed through it like it was nothing.


    My physical body was still in that cave, but my soul and essence were here.


    Seeing me stop, Liana walked up behind me, not stepping on the green grass, and watching my figure from the path.


    She didn''t want to harm this fairy-like world further by stepping on and destroying the grass.


    So, then who was going to be sacrificed, today?


    Putting her hand on her forehead and forcing out a smile, Liana said.


    "You know... a lot of people seem to know the future nowadays. First that girl... and now you."


    The method to enter the tree was only known by two people in the queen''s eyes: herself and her son, Albert.


    Since Lily also knew the method of the tree and knew the future; she probably assumed that since I also knew the method, I knew the future. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Nodding my head, I laid down on the ground, allowing my body to pass right through the grass, and stared up at the sky.


    Technically, I was floating right now as my body should have passed through the path, but that wasn''t the thing on my mind, right now.


    I was brought here to facilitate the transfer of the spirits for the World Tree with my corrupted power.


    Gently taking the cat off my hair, I placed it on the grass, but it had the same affect as me: nothing at all, the grass remained the exact same.


    As the cat ran in circles around me, seemingly confused about why nothing it did had any affect on the grass or nearby tree, I turned around.


    I wasn''t one to stop someone from making a decision that they were already determined to make, but here, I felt like I had to at least try.


    Deep down though, I knew it was impossible.


    Her entire life, since she was a born, was dedicated to protecting her people, so how could she stray away from that goal during this desperate time.


    But before I could even say anything, Liana''s voice once again sounded as she sat down on the path.

 Chapter 111 - 111:The Queens Mission [3]

    "What happens to the world in the future...if you know about it, of course."


    Seeing no reason to lie, I placed the black cat on my lap to stop it from franticly running around and replied.


    "We win, the demons are eradicated, and the Elven realm perseveres through some tough times but survives in the end."


    Watching her nod her head and intently stare at me for more information, I couldn''t help but ask.


    "You actually believe me?"


    I mean, I most definitely wouldn''t believe some random person who says they know the future. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    I would have just pushed off my entrance into the World Tree as some coincidence and not immediately assumed that person was the future.


    Letting out a slight chuckle, Liana turned to face the abyss of black surrounding us and replied.


    "Why not? If it''s true, then it''s true, and if it''s false, it''s still interesting nonetheless."


    At a loss for words, I let out a sigh and sat up straight for a moment to take off my cloak, which was drenched with blood.


    Even if it wasn''t my physical body, I still felt weird walking around with blood on my clothes.


    Laying the cloak down on the ground, which also had no affect on the grass, I laid back down and continued staring at the endless black sky above me.


    "Is that mask coming off as well?"


    "Don''t you have more important things to worry about than how my face looks?"


    "You know you''re the only human in the entire world to have seen this place, right? A show of thanks would be nice."


    "Haven''t I already done enough by saving that tree of yours?"


    Pausing mid-sentence, I hesitated before curiously asking.


    "By the way... don''t you blame me for all of this?"


    I could have done better and done a lot more to save the Elven Tree from ever being corrupted and even prevented the need for a sacrifice to be taken.


    Lily had done her best... but had I?


    Every bad incident that happened in this world... wasn''t I partially at fault for all of those?


    With my knowledge of the future, I could have prevented and stopped so many deaths, but instead, I chose to start a business to make money, steal powerful items, and be selfish.


    Voicing my thoughts aloud to the silent queen, I continued.


    "I''m the cause of all this...aren''t I? Yet, you don''t seem to mind it one bit. You don''t seem to even have the tiniest bit of hater or anger for me..."


    The burden of the entire world was on my back, pressing down on me at every moment.


    Even at this moment, constant scenarios were replaying in my head.


    Couldn''t I have done more?


    Wasn''t there a world where the queen didn''t need to sacrifice herself, and the tree was never corrupted?


    Why hadn''t I achieved that world despite having knowledge of the future?


    If someone else had been in my place... they would have saved the queen, wouldn''t they?


    Why couldn''t I? Why hadn''t I been able to save everyone?


    Every mistake I made resulted in deaths upon the deaths. Those deaths just added and added to the unbearable burden on my back.


    It came to the point where I couldn''t even enjoy vacations or talking to people anymore.


    Anytime I was doing anything fun, fulfilling, or entertaining, the constant thoughts always appeared in my head.


    Is this how you''re using your knowledge of the future? To enjoy yourself and have fun?


    Thousands of people die every day because you chose to have fun? Shouldn''t you be out trying your best to save the world?


    Every second you''re not doing something to save the world is wasted. Those precious seconds you used to have "fun" or "enjoy yourself" could have saved hundreds of people.


    Can you live with yourself?


    Happiness wasn''t a feeling I felt anymore.


    I couldn''t even remember the last time I thought about doing something for myself...


    Every second I spent not working to save the world or doing something about the future felt like hell.


    Sleeping felt terrible.


    Eating felt disgusting.


    How dare you waste time eating or sleeping when you have knowledge that could save thousands of people...


    Like a god, I could control people''s fates, whether they live or die, without them even knowing.


    But I was a human, both now and on Earth.


    I had my limits.


    Lily had the main cast to share the burden with... but I had taken it upon myself to carry the burden by myself, even if it meant constant sleepless nights and deep negative thoughts.


    Noticing my silence and inward turmoil, Liana stood up, took off her shoes, and stepped on the grass, the grass being slightly crushed under her physical body.


    Taking slow strides toward me, Liana sat beside me and replied in a soft and sweet voice.


    "You know what my spiritual contract allows me to do, right?"


    Nodding my head, I replied.


    "See the emotions of others."


    Shaking her head, causing me to sit upright in confusion, Liana replied.


    "I can see them, but I can also feel the emotions of others if I would like to."


    "..."


    "You know you''re just a child compared to me, yet you have ten times my worries. So, what if you knew about the future? From your emotions, I highly doubt that you willingly chose to regress."


    Putting a hand on my shoulder, Liana continued.


    "No one is telling or forcing you to save the world. Honestly, if you don''t want to save the world, then don''t. No one is going to force you to do anything."


    "It''s your life; don''t let how you spend it be affected by anything. Future knowing or not, you''re just a child at the end of the day. You make a mistake, so be it."


    Looking up at the endless sky in front of me, a genuine smile appeared on my face as I replied.


    "Is this a therapy session? Aren''t you the one about to die? Why am I the one who''s being treated."


    Laughing, Liana stood up and headed back to the path.


    "Looks like someone''s feeling better."


    Following her back to the path, she stopped for a second and turned around.


    "When I said ''don''t save the world,'' I didn''t m-"


    Waving my hands, I laughed and responded.


    "Don''t worry... I still want to save the world, not because of anyone else. Just because I want to. That''s all there is to it."


    Turning around, Liana also erupted into laughter and headed towards the distant hut.


    As we approached the hut''s door, Liana spoke in a half-serious and half-joking tone.


    "Well, I guess it''s time."


    [A/N: Well, that''s six chapters today as I was stupid and forgot to fill up my privilege.]

 Chapter 112 - 112:The Queens Mission [4]

    As Liana walked up the stairs, her amethyst-purple eyes seemed to glow with more intensity than usual.


    In contrast to the darkness around us, her purple eyes stood out like a beam of hope in a world full of despair.


    Her long, elegant white hair cascaded down to her waist and stayed perfectly still as Liana moved upwards, as there was no wind or breeze in this space to move it.


    Going up the last step, the entire space around us was plunged into darkness as there were no more streetlights to illuminate our path ahead.


    Yet... I could still see Liana walking next to me.


    The only thing I could see in this world of darkness was Liana''s purple eyes.


    Her shining amethyst-colored eyes seemed to be floating in the air, as her entire body was invisible due to the darkness.


    Even with my enhanced eyesight from the dragon''s eye, I couldn''t peer through the darkness as some sort of invisible force was blocking my eyesight.


    It was the first time I had been blind.


    Ignoring the sense of anxiety that enveloped me as I strode further into the darkness, I continued walking forward with a pair of purple eyes by my side.


    As we continued wandering further and further into the neverending abyss of darkness, my surroundings became increasingly visible.


    Not because of any streetlights but because Liana''s amethyst eyes were glowing brighter and brighter as we approached the hut as if responding to it.


    As Liana''s purple eyes started to illuminate the area around us, the trees and grass outside the path also turned purple, and the entire world around me seemed to bathe in the light of her eyes.


    Finally reaching the hut, Liana hesitated before the hut door for a second, so I said.


    "It''s not too late to stop now."


    Shaking her head, Liana replied.


    "No, it''s not that."


    "Aren''t you the one who told me to do what I wanted and ignore what others would think?"


    Placing her hand on the doorknob, Liana replied.


    "This is what I want to do, though."


    As she twisted the doorknob, I asked.


    "So, then, what were you thinking about?"


    Pulling back the door, Liana stepped into the hut without taking any precautions and replied.


    "I''m just thinking how my people... and my family would react to the news."


    "You''re about to die and turn into a spirit basically, but you''ll still be thinking about everyone but yourself."


    Strolling into the small hut behind Liana, I saw that it was basically a replica of the Elven huts that the academy students and I had slept in.


    Though there was only one floor, the layout was practically the same: two beds were on each side of the hut, and a couch was on the back wall.


    The only difference was what was lying in the middle of the hut.


    Instead of some desks, there was a large circle, with coordinates plotted on the outside and intricate symbols in the middle.


    In the center of the circle, there was a symbol of a diamond surrounded by a rectangle, and that rectangle was surrounded by countless triangles on every side.


    The tip of each triangle almost reached the outer circle, and inside each triangle was the symbol of the moon.


    To top it all off, inside the diamond at the very center of the circle, there was a large tree resembling the ones we had seen on our way here.


    Kneeling down on the floor and touching the outside of the circle, Liana finally answered my question... with another one.


    "Is there anything wrong with that?"


    Making sure not to walk through the magic circle, I walked around the room until I finally reached the couch against the back wall.


    "I mean, it''s your choice, so I don''t see anything wrong with it. But as a living being, wanting to survive''s in your nature."


    "And, what exactly are you trying to say."


    Looking up to the roof, where a large window was, I stared into the black abyss above us and responded.


    "You''re not being honest, but then again, that''s not a problem; after all, I haven''t been completely honest either."


    Walking into the center of the circle where the diamond lay, Liana placed her hand above it, allowing electric sparks to fall.


    However, the sparks did not fully fill the diamond as they left the symbol of the tree untouched. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although I hadn''t recognized this fairy-tale-type space due to its location, which is different from where the main cast and Albert arrived, I knew of this ritual.


    So, I wasn''t surprised or confused to see Liana walk slowly around the circle, allowing lightning sparks to fall on specific locations. However, to the outside eye, the locations weren''t connected.


    In the original story, the queen wasn''t even involved, so instead of pure lightning, Albert used ice crystals.


    After going around the circle once, Liana summoned a lightning spirit and made it hover above the circle''s center.


    Sighing, Liana finally turned to me and replied.


    "You really think I want to have a child tell me off before I permanently turn into a spirit?"


    Sitting down on the couch, I responded.


    "I was just repaying the favor. You gave me some thoughts, and I gave you some thoughts."


    Standing up from the floor, Liana intently stared at the circle while replying.


    "Really, is that all?"


    "I like to repay all of my debts."


    Chuckling at my answer, Liana looked up from the circle and gestured to me, so I reluctantly stood up from the couch and headed to her.


    Stopping next to her, I already knew what to do, so I manifested the corrupting device made by the demons and handed it to her.


    After standing there shocked for a second, Liana took the device out of my hands and fiddled with it before asking.


    "So, you knew from the start?"


    "Only halfway through."


    Walking over the sparks of lightning, Liana released the lid from the device and placed it right inside the symbol of the tree and below the lightning spirit.


    "Well, this is a lot easier now that I don''t have to explain anything to you."

 Chapter 113 - 113:The Queens Mission [4]

    Silently waiting for a minute, Liana and I watched the smoke flow out of the device and into the spirit, creating a thunderstorm-like cloud.


    The cloud of smoke combined with the occasional lightning flash alongside the circle, which was now glowing a dark purple from all the sparks, made for a mythical-like scene.


    My face, bathed in the purple light even through my mask, stiffened as the occasional lightning strike strayed from the circle and came close to me, hitting the edge of the magic circle.


    On the other hand, Liana showed no changes in facial expression, even when a lightning flash struck down from the cloud right in front of her.


    "...thank god, I have this mask.


    "What was that?"


    "nothing."


    As the lightning storm cloud accumulated to the point where it was covering the entire hut roof, I dismissed the device and waited for Liana''s gesture.


    After another moment, Liana tapped me on the shoulder, indicating that everything was ready.


    In the original book, the main cast has reformed and used a demon for the ritual, but that was no longer necessary as I was here.


    Gathering the corruption in the palms of my hands, I didn''t try to manifest anything; instead, I allowed the corruption to leak out of my hand and fall to the floor.


    *DRIP*


    *DROP*


    *DRIP*


    As the puddle of corruption leaked from my hand and entered the magic circle, instead of combining or attracting with the sparks of lightning, it resisted them.


    The corruption repelled the lightning sparks, causing them to fly back and create a path straight to the circle''s center. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A tiny river of pure blackness led straight to the tree symbol inside the magic circle full of lightning.


    Corruption was the medium that Liana needed to change into a spirit, and lightning sparks were her power that would fuse together with the corruption.


    As the corruption reached the tree symbol inside the diamond, I carefully managed it so that the corruption filled the tree, not leaking out.


    Thus, a magic circle with a night-black tree surrounded by purple lightning was created.


    Leaving the corruption inside the tree, I rubbed my hands and turned to Liana.


    "It''s done."


    Staring at the magic circle, Liana replied.


    "Looks a bit different from the memories I received from my ancestors... are you sure?"


    "Who do you trust more? Someone from the future or some scrambled-up memories."


    Although I had never seen or heard about the magic circle from the memories, I assumed, like the original book, it involved using the mana of a demon.


    I had just replaced the demonic mana with corruption.


    Giving me a single wave, Liana walked into the circle and stood right on top of the corruption, which I controlled and kept from spilling out.


    Bathed in the purple light, surrounded by the sparks of lightning and the pitch-black tree below her to top it all off, Liana already seemed like a goddess or higher being.


    Shifting my mask further downwards and pulling the cat into my hoodie, I carefully observed Liana as she clasped her hands together and jumped into the air.


    However, her descent never came.


    Levitating above the pitch-black tree and below the thunderstorm cloud, Liana sat criss-cross with eyes closed and her hands still clasped together.


    As a lightning bolt bolted out of the cloud and towards Liana, the bolt passed through Liana and hit the corruption below her instead of hitting her.


    The lightning bolt never disappeared... it was like I was frozen in time.


    Familiar with this type of situation, I watched as the lightning bolt, unlike the others, didn''t disappear after hitting its target but instead remained hovering over the corruption.


    Like a stirring rod, the lighting finally moved as it swirled around the corruption puddle, causing a whirlpool to form in the puddle of corruption.


    Liana, who seemed like a holographic being as a giant rotating bolt of lightning was going through her body, finally opened her eyes and stared down at the whirlpool forming below her.


    As the thundercloud disappeared, leaving only the swirling lightning bolt, I stared upwards through the window and into the sky, which was no longer pitch-black.


    A shooting star appeared for a second, entering my vision for a moment before disappearing back into the depths of the night-black sky.


    Make a wish, you say?


    At that moment, I extended my hands and touched the hut''s walls, and, unlike earlier, when my hand simply passed through it, I could feel the cold, hard wood.


    It wasn''t just my soul and spirit here anymore.


    Staring at the whirlpool below Liana, which was starting to resemble a portal, I felt a sense of ease as I realized I was no longer powerless in this world anymore.


    All my abilities were back.


    Peering with my eyes, there was no longer a force blocking me out. Despite the lack of lights, I could see everything outside the hut''s windows.


    In this world full of darkness, every detail was now visible to me.


    Stretching my hands, I preemptively activated the grace period of the dash while staring at the oblivious Liana.


    How was I going to save the world if I let the current strongest being in the universe slip away from me?


    Quantum tunneling was a one-of-one ability, like my time manipulation, so how could I just let it go?


    As Liana floated in the air, staring at the portal below here, which was finally starting to take shape, I walked into the magic circle, instantly causing my entire body to bathed in the same purple light.


    Albert was quite an entertaining and cool character in the book, so when he was sacrificed, needless to say, the fans weren''t happy.


    In fact, the backlash was so bad that after the novel ended, the author was practically forced to write a "What If Story."


    What if Albert was never sacrificed?


    Then, the question is raised: how is the World Tree saved?


    The author couldn''t risk sacrificing another character out of the fear that he would have to create another "What If?" story, so what did he do?

 Chapter 114 - 114:What If? [1]

    Simply circumventing the entire plot by making it a way for that already overpowered protagonist, Liam, to become even stronger!


    Such was the method of authors who wrote books with overpowered characters.


    Standing at the edge of the circle with sparks of lighting surrounding me, I reconsidered my decision.


    Once again... I was gambling with my life.


    At this point, it felt like a daily thing...


    Were the "What If" stories contained in this world, or did they only contain the canon part of the story?


    Then, would I survive even if the "What If" plot was even in this world? Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Since it was a short "What If" story consisting of barely twenty chapters, the author had to make it entertaining by adding an interesting and nerve-racking boss fight.


    How could a boss fight be entertaining if there wasn''t a high chance of someone dying?


    In the end, no one died, but Liam literally had a plot armor while I was just some lousy ass villain!


    However, just like a gamble or bet, I would gain a lot¡ªand I mean a lot¡ªif I survived the whole ordeal.


    Of course, doing this wasn''t particularly in my itinerary or schedule, as who just sets up a plan where they have a high chance of dying?


    However, as I stared at Liana''s elegant and powerful figure floating above the portal, I kept telling myself it was necessary.


    Whether it was her incomparable power or the short moments we shared that persuaded me, I was already convinced.


    The prize of gaining power and, by far, becoming the most powerful D-rank, even past Liam, in history was also a nice little incentive.


    There was also some partial confirmation that the "What If" story was here as the shooting star had appeared, and I had returned to my physical body during the ritual.


    Still, then again, that could have happened in the original without them mentioning it.


    Combining the ocean-blue mana and blood-red substance in my body, I used the Dragon''s Transformation ability to turn both my legs into those of a dragon.


    With my new and improved legs, I could move through the field of electric sparks without being harmed.


    Using the claws of my dragon''s legs, I scraped away the lightning sparks before me, creating another path to the middle of the magic circle.


    Dispersing my mask and revealing my face, I waited for the last bits of my corruption to return before heading to the puddle of my corruption.


    Staring at the floating Liana, who was so focused on the portal below here that she didn''t notice my movements, I began using the corruption I had received from disbanding my mask.


    Making a shadow cage, I perfectly surrounded Liana''s floating figure, completely trapping her inside the cage.


    With no corruption left to my name, I arrived at the middle of the circle, in front of the portal that was now finally formed.


    Liana, who had noticed the portal''s completion, attempted to leave her floating position; however, the barriers of my shadow cage prevented her from moving a single bit.


    Right now, Liana wasn''t at her full power or even close as she had poured every single bit of it into the magic circle below.


    She didn''t expect to come out of this situation alive, so she had completely put all her power toward the circle... but that left her completely defenseless.


    Right now, she was far from being the most powerful living being. A mere C-rank was all she was.


    Confused for a moment, Liana tilted her head up before finally realizing that she was completely surrounded by the darkness of my shadow cage.


    Ignoring the floating cage, I stepped towards the portal.


    She would regain her power quickly and break out of the cage, so I had little time to spare.


    Staring at the portal below, which seemed like a black hole, I dismissed my dragon''s legs and momentarily hesitated at the entrance.


    Moving the shadow cage with Liana away from the portal and outside the magic circle, I looked outside the hut''s windows, admiring the beautiful fairy-like space one last time.


    *BANG*


    Behind me, it seemed that Liana had already gained some of her power back as my shadow cage disappeared, revealing the figure of Liana.


    Turning back to face Liana, who couldn''t yet move due to using most of her regained power to break the shadow cage, I gave her the same simple wave she had used on me a few minutes ago.


    Although I couldn''t hear her because the portal behind me was making so much noise, I was able to read her lips.


    "what are you doing..."


    Not knowing whether she could hear me or not, I replied back.


    "You said to do what I wanted, right? This is what I want to do. Blame yourself for this!"


    Before Liana could activate her speed and head to me, I moved backward, falling back first into the portal.


    As my body entered the portal, it completely closed, leaving me stranded in darkness.


    After free-falling into the pitch-black void for a couple of seconds, I finally felt my surroundings shift, transforming the scenery around me into a pitch-black void... but with a tree in the distance.


    The first gamble had paid off.


    The "What If" story was real.


    *CRASH*


    Finally hitting something concrete, my back crashed into what I felt like wood, causing me to yelp in pain.


    Standing up, I observed my surroundings awestruck.


    It was like I was in outer space...


    The entire world around me was pitch-black except for a couple of stars in the distance that partially illuminated the void.


    There was no floor below me... I was just standing on an endless void of darkness somehow.


    Below, it was pitch-black; beside me, it was pitch-black, and only above me was there only semblance of something as a couple of stars could be seen in the distance.


    Instead of planets, just one gigantic tree stood in the distance, its root clearly corrupted as dark spots could be spotted on the brown trunk.


    Hesitantly taking a step forward, I was glad to see that I was still standing instead of falling into the endless void below me.


    But... I wasn''t floating or flying.


    It seemed like there was an invisible glass floor below me.

 Chapter 115 - 115:What If? [2]

    While adjusting to this new space, I felt my corruption, all my mana, and even my energy had returned to me.


    I was no longer exhausted or hurt in the slightest.


    It felt like my body''s state had been reset to how it was yesterday.


    Using my newly recovered corruption, I manifested two pitch-black daggers, which were invisible as they blended in with the darkness of the space.


    Looking down at my hands, I saw nothing; if not for the fact that I could feel them, I would genuinely believe there was nothing in my hands.


    Getting used to the feeling of basically walking on nothing but pure darkness, I moved towards the tree at a walking pace.


    As I approached the tree, this outer-space-like world seemed to plunge further into darkness as the stars became farther and farther away.


    When I arrived at the tree''s trunk, only one star was left, barely visible through the branches of the tree.


    Moving my remaining corruption near the blood-red substance in my body but not yet combining them, I freed one of my hands and extended it.


    In front of me stood a trunk that seemed to tower forever, and I couldn''t see its top, even with my eyes. On that trunk, there were countless cracks.


    Peering through the cracks, I saw countless spots of black on the interior and even some small black shapes moving around inside the trunk.


    How do you remove corruption from a tree?


    You kill it.


    The physical manifestation of corruption lay slumbering and slowly spreading inside this tree, slowly taking control.


    Now, how was I going to lure it out?


    What does any monster want?


    More power.


    Dissolving the two daggers in my hands, I allowed my hands to be covered in the pitch-black aura of corruption.


    Extending my hands to touch the trunk, I offered the corruption in my hands as bait and watched through the cracks in the tree.


    Shapes of black figures move around and slowly accumulate in the center of the trunk, creating a big blob of corruption.


    Seeing the blob at its maximum capacity, I removed my hand and dashed outwards, my eyes still locked on the crack.


    Then, the big blog of corruption finally moved towards the crack, but instead of moving through the hole, the blob allowed bits of corruption to fall off it and onto the invisible floor outside the tree.


    Finally, as the last bit of corruption leaked out of the tree and onto the floor, I examined the crack one more time, ensuring that no corruption remained in the tree.


    There was no more.


    Looking down at the floor next to the tree, I saw the countless drops of corruption again accumulating, but... this time not to form a blob.


    Attacking the corruption right now wouldn''t do anything as it didn''t have a form yet, so I patiently watched the small droplets combine.


    Eventually, the droplets started eruptions upwards, creating a gigantic wall of corruption, and then they expanded outwards.


    Then, it all stopped as the corruption took on its final form.


    In front of me stood a human-like figure made of corruption, except there were no eyes. A pitch-black aura surrounded the figure, darker than even the void space we were in.


    The figure the corruption took on felt familiar... because it was me.


    In front of me was a replica of Ren.


    Manifesting my two corrupted daggers, I waited for the first attack of the corrupted figure... but it also waited.


    "...oh, right, it''s me too..."


    Combining the corruption and blood-red substance, I manifested a wing on my right shoulder before flapping it.


    The next moment, I was right in front of the corrupted figures, with my daggers already relentlessly slashing at it.


    However, every time my daggers slashed and made a hole in the figure, countless more bits of corruption filled those holes back in immediately, rendering my attacks useless.


    Looking upwards, I saw the corrupted figure looking at me with a wicked smile on his face.


    The only reason Liam could damage this corrupted creature was because of his light-blue sword, which was made of pure divinity.


    Thus, the entire attack and attack pattern were different, so I had no idea what the monster would do next.


    All I knew was its moveset.


    Flapping my wing again, I appeared 10 meters away from the corrupted figure and watched as it slashed its long arm, releasing countless pitch-black slashes at me.


    Unlike the figure, I didn''t have instant healing, so I flapped my wing once, appearing 10 meters up in the air.


    Flapping my wing over 10 times, I intricately moved to new locations every second to avoid the slashes released by the corrupted figure.


    Seeing the figure slow its barrage of slashes down, I took a moment to dismiss the two corrupted daggers in my hand.


    Summoning an elegant, night-black bow in my hands, I nocked an arrow and aimed right at the figure''s head.


    Releasing the arrow, I watched as the corrupted figure stood completely still, letting the arrow fly right through his head and create a massive hole.


    The hole was then filled in the next second.


    He was immune to corruption...


    Dismissing my bow, I stared at the figure, whose body was just made of corruption, and pulled down the hood of my cloak.


    Not giving me any time to devise a solution, the corrupted figure pulled a sword out of the air in front of him, imbuing the pitch-black aura around him into the sword.


    The pitch-black swords then multiplied until ten were above him, and then, at his gesture, all the swords came flying at me.


    Then, in the next second, the corrupted figure also sprinted at me, the claws on his hands dangerously sharp.


    Dispersing my wing, I used Dragon''s Transformation to make both my hands turn into those of dragons, with claws at the end of them.


    Swiping at the incoming swords with my claws like they were nothing, I knocked them all to the floor. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 116 - 116:What If? [3]

    As the swords hit the invisible glass floor below us, they instantly shattered into thousands of pieces before turning into corruption and accumulating into multiple blobs on the floor.


    Facing the claw attack of the corrupted figure, I stood still, swinging my own dragon''s claws at him.


    As my claws hit his arms, his claws, in turn, hit my arm, leaving a trail of blood and corruption.


    Although I wasn''t immune to corruption, I couldn''t be corrupted.


    Wincing in pain, I dashed backward, ignoring the blood pouring out of my arm, and stared at the area of his corrupted body I had hit.


    There was a dent in his arm, albeit small, but the important part was that the dent wasn''t regenerating.


    From the dent, corruption flowed out of the figure''s body, weakening the figure and causing him to shrink in size.


    However, a moment later, he simply manifested a makeshift bandage made out of corruption and placed it over the dent.


    Matching his creepy grin, I de-manifested my dragon''s arm on my right, leaving the left side still a dragon''s arm.


    Using the blood-red substance I got back, I combined it with my mana and manifested a wing, much smaller than usual, on my right side.


    The next moment, I was gone and right in front of the bandaged figure.


    Swiping my claws at him for a second, I briefly dodged his attack by instantly flapping my wing and appearing 5 meters away.


    Again, again, and again.


    Claw.


    *CLASH*


    Wing.


    Claw.


    *CLASH*


    Wing.


    Claw.


    *CLASH*


    Wing.


    The night-black was no longer dark and silent as our battle illuminated the abyss both above and below us.


    The fire that sparked every time our claws made contact, my blood-red and ocean-blue wing and claw shining every time I moved, and my golden eye that allowed me to perfectly time my attacks.


    *WHOOSH*


    Retreating once again, I stared at the figure, who now had multiple bandages all around his body, and flapped my wings once again.


    Appearing right before him, I slashed my claws at him, and he did the same.


    *CLASH*


    As our claws fought against each other, I removed the dragon''s claw from my left hand before instantly manifesting it on my right hand.


    Throwing my right hand, which was previously by my side, at him with the claws extended outward, I cut into his body, dealing yet another dent.


    But, in exchange, he thrashed his claws forward at my body, but before his attack could hit, I was already gone.


    *WHOOSH*


    Perfectly timing my moment to dodge, I appeared mid-air 5 meters above him and instantly dived downwards at his head with my right hand''s claws pointed straight downwards.


    Examining his surroundings for a second, the corrupted figure quickly noticed I wasn''t around him, so he looked downwards and then upwards.


    As his eyes locked onto my descending figure, it was too late, as my claws pierced straight through his head.


    *WHOOSH*


    Materializing 5 meters to his right, I de-manifested the dragon''s claw in my right hand and returned it to my left side.


    Looking down at my body, which had countless scars, and observing the corrupted figure''s body, I noticed that my bloody scars and his dents were practically in the same place.


    He had a dent in his right shoulder; I had one there, too.


    He had a dent in his right leg; I had a scare there.


    "...we really are one of the same."


    Placing a bandage on his head, the corrupted figure tilted his head at my words, seemingly trying to understand what I said.


    Failing to comprehend my words, the corrupted figure raised his palm to face me and materialized a beam of pure darkness.


    This wasn''t your usual beam, though. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As I instinctively moved out of the way to dodge the beam, the beam followed me, twisting and turning to lock on me.


    Open his other palm, another beam of the same sort materializing before charging towards me as well.


    *WHOOSH*


    Flapping my wing countless times, I appeared all over the space, with the beams following me at every turn.


    The black beams followed me in the sky as I used my wings to float, and as I passed by the tree, the beams shot right through the tree trunk, creating two massive holes.


    "...probably shouldn''t destroy the thing I''m trying to save."


    The next second, two more beams manifested from above the corrupted figure''s nonexistent eyes and locked onto me.


    Moving in unison, the four beams charged towards me, and flapping my wing countless times, speed mirages formed at every location.


    However, this beam completely ignored the speed mirages and continued towards me, while in turn, I moved even faster, combining dash with the flapping of my wings.


    Dashing and flapping my wings while I waited for the cooldown to reset, I took full advantage of the large void, moving as away as I could from the corrupted figure while simultaneously dodging the beams.


    As my dash cooldown finally reset, I flapped my wing while using a dash, instantly taking me into the middle of where four beams met.


    As the two beams on my right and left met, large explosions sounded from my sides, causing a bout of smoke to appear.


    Dismissing both my wing and left-hand claws, I used the last bit of my mana and blood-red substance on one final dragon''s transformation.


    Covered in the smoke and not visible to the corrupted figure, my head instantly transformed into that of a dragon with countless spikes materializing.


    However, despite having a dragon head, I felt completely normal as my senses remained the exact same.


    As the smoke wore out, I opened my mouth, and inside, a beam of ocean-blue and blood-red materialized, creating a purple ball.


    Releasing all my mana and blood-red substance, I felt the purple beam grow until it was finally too big for my mouth to contain.


    Activating the dash one last time, I sped forward 10 meters, appearing a few meters away from the corrupted figure.


    As the corrupted figure stood there, shell-shocked, the purple beam materialized and instantly shot down right at the corrupted figure.


    Illuminating the pitch-black void, the purple beam moved at an incredible speed, seeming like a meteor in this outer-space-like space.


    As the end of the beam touched his body of corruption, it instantly made a hole big enough to cover his entire stomach.


    No bandage could cover that up.

 Chapter 117 - 117:What If? [4]

    Closing my mouth, the purple beam disappeared, and the space descended back into darkness.


    Having no mana left, I plummeted to the ground while observing the corrupted figure''s body, which was breaking down.


    Corruption leaked out of the gigantic hole in his stomach, and with the massive losses of corruption, he couldn''t even manifest a bandage.


    The figure looked fine on the outside, as the pitch blackness of the void filled in the massive hole in his stomach, making him seem normal.


    However, with my eyes peering through the darkness, I could see tons of corruption leaking out and falling to the floor


    *BANG*


    As I crashed into the invisible glass floor, the corrupted figure''s body dissolved even more as he no longer had a head.


    Dusting myself off, I got off the ground, blood leaking from my countless wounds onto the floor.


    But, the blood descended further into the night-black abyss below the invisible glass floor until it finally disappeared from my sight.


    It seemed that the invisible glass floor... had some special properties that made it not like blood.


    Not leaving behind any trail of blood, I walked towards the puddle under the corrupted figure''s body, which, unlike the blood, was able to stay above the invisible glass floor.


    As the last bit of corruption leaked out of the figure''s hole, the corrupted figure completely disappeared, only leaving behind not a puddle.... but a lake of corruption.


    Kneeling down on the glass floor, I moved one of my fingers into the lake of corruption, instantly feeling a sense of unease and coldness down to my very bones.


    Peering into the lake of corruption, I attempted to see its bottom; however, I couldn''t even see through the surface with my enhanced eyesight.


    Shivering from the coldness, I persisted, placing the rest of my fingers into the corruption before moving forward.


    Placing my right leg into the lake of corruption, I felt it actually sink below the surface, indicating that it had somehow gotten past the invisible glass floor.


    After placing my left leg into the lake, I slowly descended further into the void below the glass floor.


    Finally, my head was the only remaining body part above the lake.


    Taking one last glance at the star through the tree branches, I let myself go, allowing my head and entire body to fully sink into the lake of corruption.


    As my eyes went under the lake''s surface, my vision was instantly cut off and shrouded by complete darkness.


    Attempting to move my body, I realized that no matter how much I tried, my legs and arms wouldn''t move a single bit.


    It was like I was swimming in a hard substance like oil.


    Further descending into the lake of corruption and the pitch-black void below, a sense of unease and powerlessness enveloped me.


    "Just die."


    "Give up and drown already."


    Ignoring the thoughts, I sunk further into a lake, and to my surprise, there was no pain anymore.


    In fact, I wasn''t feeling anything.


    Where was my body...?


    Who was I?


    Where was I?


    What am I?


    How did I get here in the first place?


    I was nothing...


    Just a leaf, forever bound to my tree, swaying in the breeze.


    A meaningless grain of sand on a gigantic beach.


    My memories became foggy, and no matter how much I tried to recall the past few months of life, nothing came.


    It was like everything I had up to this point was a dream.


    These memories began to fade away, and even though I could tell that I was losing them, I had no idea what they were or what they were about.


    I couldn''t even remember the fight with the corrupted figure I had just a few minutes ago... or was it a few minutes ago?


    Was it a few days ago... or months... or years?


    As my consciousness slowly slipped away, and my eyelids became unbearably heavy, my mind eventually cleared.


    Who was I?


    I had no identity.


    Who was I without my past experiences?


    An empty and lifeless expression appeared on my face as I sunk further into the void, not knowing how much time had passed by.


    Had it been a day? A month? A year? A century? A millennium?


    Who even cares?


    Only one word echoed throughout my mind.


    Corruption.


    Ah, I was a vessel, wasn''t I?


    I was surrounded by corruption, so I was corruption, wasn''t I?


    A particle of corruption... that was me.


    This was my home... surrounded by my fellow particles of corruption.


    Why was I trying to leave, then?


    A smile appeared on my empty face as I mouthed.


    "Ah, how stupid am I? Trying to leave my own home...didn''t my mother teach me better?"


    Mother?


    I had a mother, didn''t I...?


    Then, a sudden light enveloped me for less than a second before instantly returning my world to darkness.


    Instantly, a surge of memories flooded my head, causing my grin to disappear and a pained expression to appear.


    The scenery of a truck and the vivid streets of Japan replayed in my head, seemingly removing the shroud of darkness covering my eyes.


    I was that dead body on the road.... but wasn''t I a particle of corruption?


    How was I, human...?


    Then, a word echoed throughout my mind, replacing "corruption."


    Promise.


    A promise...?


    I had a promise to keep, didn''t I?


    As the scene played out, the flashing of blue and red entered my vision, and the loud ringing of sirens entered my ears.


    As my eyes slowly closed in that memory and blood leaked out of my mouth, my eyes became shrouded in darkness once again.


    I had to escape.... to keep a promise.


    What was that promise?


    I couldn''t tell you even if I thought about it for centuries...


    But I knew I had to keep it.


    That was all that mattered.


    I had to leave and fulfill that promise.


    A particle of corruption, a human, or whatever being I was, I had a promise to keep.


    That was all that mattered. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There was also a single girl...whose foggy figure appeared before me for a single second before instantly dispersing.


    Returning to my senses, I mustered up all my force and opened the palms of my hand.


    Then, the lake of corruption slowly shrank and shrank, entering my body through the palms of my hands.


    Ignoring the overflow of corruption inside my body, I continued draining... and draining the lake until finally, I was out.


    Lying lifelessly on the invisible glass floor with my memories back, I simply stared upwards at the single star above me in the vast black sky.


    A star... huh?

 Chapter 118 - 118:What If? [5]

    A single star had saved my life.


    Managing to shine through the darkness of the corruption, that single moment of light gave me a second of clarity.


    With that clarity, I could recall my most important memories, just for a single fleeting second, but that was all I needed.


    My past experiences and memories shaped me into the person I am today, so when the lake of corruption took them all away, I was nothing¡ªno identity or thoughts.


    Just a blank canvas.


    Rolling over onto my backside, I stared down into the pitch-black void below the glass floor, actually admiring it for once.


    Where had the lake of corruption gone?


    Straight into my body.


    Every single vein of my body flowed with corruption as my blood intermingled with the pitch-black corruption in my body.


    No longer was I limited to a single arrow... I could create an entire quiver and hundreds of arrows at the same time.


    More than that, I had discovered something new.


    Corruption was a living being just like me.


    It could move and form living objects, just like how the corrupted had come together earlier to form that corrupted figure I fought.


    I could create living and moving things if I used enough corruption...


    After lying down and silently staring into the night-black abyss below for a couple more minutes, I finally mustered the energy to stand up.


    Using some of the newfound corruption in my body, I manifested bandages and placed them all over my body to stop the blood from leaking.


    Limping across the invisible glass floor, I slowly approached the tree before slumping down against the trunk.


    Looking up, I saw the log now colored a perfect dark brown, and every single leaf was colored a pure green with no blemishes.


    All the cracks in the tree had healed, and the tree was even growing, new branches sprouting out of the trunk every second.


    It was no longer corrupted.


    The tree is back to its original state.


    More than that, as I continued glancing up the tree, I saw a shiny golden fruit hanging from one of the branches, just waiting to be picked.


    "ah... it can wait."


    Climbing up this tree and picking that golden apple in my current state was just impossible.


    Anyways... I was tired.


    Finally, giving into the burden on my eyelids, I closed my eyes, seeing the familiar sight of pure darkness.


    "...For someone with the best eyesight in the world, I''ve been seeing darkness a whole lot recently..."


    Using the log as a pillow, I leaned back and slowly drifted asleep. Even in this creepy outer-space-like area where I had almost died countless times, I immediately fell asleep.


    -*-


    Tapping her foot anxiously while staring at the closed portal on the ground, Liana resisted the urge to use her power and break the entire fairy-like space in half.


    "You said to do what I wanted, right? This is what I want to do. Blame yourself for this!"


    That what was the boy had said before jumping into the portal.


    Just when she had started to feel sympathy for him, he had been so infuriating.


    How could someone be so annoying and sad at the same time???


    Reeling her thoughts, Liana focused on the real problem at hand.


    The tree, what would become of it... now that a human had entered the portal.


    What would become of the human?


    The elves, herself, and their forest... what would happen?


    He knew the future, didn''t he?


    Did he know something about the tree that Liana didn''t know?


    He doesn''t seem like the type to go into situations without planning... but then again, Liana had only chatted with him for less than twenty minutes.


    As countless questions swirled inside Liana''s head, she realized that there was nothing she could do at the moment.


    Walking to one of the beds, Liana laid down, but didn''t close her eyes; instead, she stared through the window and at the pitch-black sky.


    Just letting time pass by, Liana emptied her mind of her worries while enjoying the moment of silence. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    How long had it been... since she was able to relax?


    Would she have seen this sky had she sacrificed herself earlier in the ritual?


    *CRASH*


    A sudden flash appeared and blinded Liana''s eyes. She instinctively looked at the portal she had been closely eying the entire time.


    As the portal opened up, Liana jumped off the bed and ran to the magic circle, only to see the masked boy walk out of the portal.


    His clothes were practically non-existent as his shirt was ripped in pieces, revealing his chest, and the bottom half of his legs were also visible.


    But, despite those large areas of no clothes, almost none of his skin was visible.


    He was covered in bandages, which, for some reason, were pitch-black.


    As Liana stared at the emerging masked figure in shock, he spoke before Liana could say anything.


    "Look for yourself; the tree is fine."


    Flicking away from the masked figure to the window, she immediately noticed that the grass was healed as it was colored a lush green, and the trees had completely healed.


    More than that, the space was no longer dark...


    A bright sun illuminated the entire area, making the space feel even more fairy-tale-like as the green grass and tree leaves seemed to frolic in happiness under the sun''s rays.


    Hearing a mutter from the masked figure, she turned around from the window.


    "happily ever after, my ass..."


    Collapsing on the bed, Liana was just lying on, the masked figure put his head on the pillow and went silent.


    At a loss for words, Liana stared at the slumped masked figure for a moment before sighing.


    "I-i don''t know what happened in there... but I must thank you. Not for just saving the entire elven kingdom... but for saving me as well..."


    However, the masked figure was unable to respond as Liana quickly noticed he was asleep...


    *CRASH*


    The next second, the masked figure rolled off the bed and onto the hard wood floor of the hut.


    But... that was not what made the loud crashing noise.


    His decent to the floor had actually been silent.


    On a wall across from the sleeping figure, there was a pitch-black mask lying down...


    It had flown off his head when he fell off the bed.

 Chapter 119 - 119:The Good Life [1]

    Opening my groggy eyes, I realized that I was no longer in the fairy-world space as the structure of the room I was in was much different.


    After climbing up the massive tree to pick up the golden apple, I was absolutely exhausted, and sleeping in the outer-space-like world didn''t seem like a very good idea on second thought.


    Thus, I collapsed right on the bed right after leaving.


    Stretched my hands outwards, I lifted myself up from the pillow and sat on the bed while surveying my surroundings once again.


    I was in a suite room, almost double the size of my dorm room, with a massive king-size bed, two desks, a gigantic window to my side, and finally, two double doors that led outside.


    Feeling a sense of familiarity with the scenery with my eyes, I realized that this had to be a room inside the Elven royal palace as the furniture was similar.


    As the bed cracked and I got up from it, I looked down at my body, which still had the same tattered clothing.


    De-manifesting the corrupted bandages on my body, I was glad to see most of the wounds and scars had healed, but there were still some purple marks on my skin.


    Checking my cloak pocket and feeling the soft touch of the gold apple, I sighed before turning my attention to the food on the nearby desk, or around ten steps.


    But... it was so far away.


    Sitting back down on my bed and staring at the delicious food on the nearby table, I wanted to get up and eat so badly... but my legs refused to.


    Manifesting a boomerang, I tried to calculate the exact way I would need to throw it so that it would bring the food to me.


    However, that just caused my brain to hurt, furthering my already bad headache, so I quickly gave up.


    Then, as the memories of my time in the outer-space-like world slowly flooded my head, I thought of the perfect idea.


    A way for me to test a discovered ability and get some food at the same time!


    "living things, I can make those now....wait... where the hell is my cat...?"


    At this point, the cat had spent so much time and gone through so many near-life death situations with me that I considered him my pet.


    Quickly scanning my room, my worry immediately transformed into anger as my cat peacefully rested on the windowsill, enjoying the breeze from the outside world.


    Perhaps, sensing my gaze, the cat lazily threw its paw at me as if saying, "yeah, yeah, I''m here," before lying back down, angling itself so the breeze perfectly hit the fur on his head.


    Sighing, I returned to the task at hand and released some of the corruption, which shrouded my hands in a dark, black aura.


    Turning the black aura into a physical object, I put a massive lump of physical corruption, which resembled black slime, into my hands.


    Visualizing the image of a bird in my head, I closed my eyes and let my brain guide my hands into forming the shape.


    Feeling the soft yet cold slime in my hands, I moved my hands slowly and intricately, like I was making pottery.


    Thankfully, my high school back on Earth required students to take an art elective, and I chose ceramics, so I wasn''t completely clueless.


    Though the real reason I chose the class was just because the upperclassman said it was a free A+, I still learned a bit.


    After a minute, I opened my eyes and saw the shape of an animal that closely resembled a crow sitting in my hands.


    However, like a lifeless object, it was just sitting there, not moving at all.


    "...how do I give it life?"


    Recalling the formation of the corrupted figure, I infused more and more corruption into the crow; however, I did not allow its size or shape to change, simply filling the inside of the crow up.


    After a moment, I noticed a slight movement in my hands as the crow quietly flapped its wing.


    Staring at the crow, I thought.


    "Go get the plate with the chocolate croissant."


    *CACAW*


    As the crow stared at me with a confused expression, I repeated.


    "The plate next to the book."


    Leaving my hands, the crow flapped its wing, gracefully moving through the air before reaching the table and standing to the side of the plate.


    However, as the crow reached forward with its claw, I felt a weird feeling shroud my brain.


    I couldn''t just give orders to the bird... it felt like I could control it.


    Giving into the feeling, i felt my location instantly shift as I was no longer sitting on my bed, I was right next to the plate.


    Looking down at my body, I realized it wasn''t a human body below me... but the crow''s body.


    Looking at the bed, I saw my lifeless body slumped back onto the bed.


    I had... taken control over the animal.


    Looking through the eyes of the crow, I realized that my sense of smell was actually enhanced as the sweet smell of chocolate strongly surrounded me.


    Grabbing the plate with my beak, I slowly flew the air before carefully dropping the plate onto the bedside table.


    Then, the next instant, my location transferred as I was back in my human body, lying down on my bed.


    Picking up the plate of food, I noticed the crow curiously looking at me.


    Could it eat?


    Taking a small crumb, I handed it over to the crow, and it indeed entered the crow''s beak; however, it simply passed right through his body, landing on the bedside table below the crow.


    Guess it couldn''t.


    Savoring the sweet chocolate in my mouth, I considered the usefulness of this ability.


    It was quite useful in day-to-day life, but in battle, it wasn''t the best.


    To switch bodies, I had to basically leave my physical body completely defenseless for that time, so if it was spotted, my death would be inevitable.


    However, after a couple more tests, I found a solution to the problem.


    I didn''t have to completely transform bodies; I could leave my body defenseless for less than a second and look through the crow''s eyes for that short second.


    Then, I could immediately return to my body, leaving it defenseless for less than a second while also having the eyesight of the crow temporarily.


    The crow would be a good scout and information gatherer... and that was just one of the thousands of animals I could possibly manifest. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 120 - 120:The Good Life [2]

    As I finished the croissant, I dismissed the bird, starting to feel the strain of keeping it alive for so long on my body.


    Picking up a mug of mint tea that was left on my bedside, I enjoyed the sweet and minty taste while staring out the window.


    The garden of the royal Elven palace was the only place in this entire world to have cherry blossom trees.


    Watching the pink leaves sway in the soft breeze that rolled in every once in a while, and the lush green grass below them all brought me a sense of serenity.


    This was the good life...


    At the same time, a sense of disappointment and sadness washed over me.


    If I wanted to, I could be living this life every day.


    Waking up in a mansion on the city''s outskirts with amazing food and beautiful scenery everywhere...


    Sipping a hot beverage while resting on the balcony of my mansion''s bedroom and bathing in the sun''s rays while simply enjoying the beauty of nature.


    Yet, instead of doing all of that, I decided to take the path of hardship and adversity to ensure this world''s safety.


    That was why these beautiful and amazing moments were bittersweet for me.


    It just reminded me what I was missing out on.


    I wasn''t immortal or anything.


    Every moment was valuable... but here I was, risking my life to save the world and carrying the burden alone instead of enjoying life.


    However, despite all that, a smile was resting on my face as I gazed out the window and saw the blooming of the cherry blossoms outside.


    Because, deep down, I knew it was the decision I wanted to make.


    No one made it for me. It was what I wanted to do.


    That was why I had to enjoy these small, fleeting moments where I could relax to the fullest... as I didn''t know how many of them I had left.


    Death could come at any moment; that was true.


    But that didn''t mean you had to spend every single waking moment of your life worrying about it; instead, make the best of your life before it''s gone.


    Don''t have a single regret.


    *KNOCK*


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, I heard a soft and gentle knock on my door, prompting me to respond.


    "I''m awake."


    I didn''t just teleport to the Elven royal palace after blacking out in the fairy-tale-like space; someone would have had to bring me here.


    As the door opened, revealing the figure of Liana, I put down my mug of tea and waited for her to come in.


    However... she just stood there.


    After a moment of awkwardness, she stepped into the room and sat on one of the nearby desks.


    Finally breaking the silence, she turned to face me and asked.


    "You seem to have healed."


    "Yeah, I needed the rest."


    "Not just physically... emotionally too."


    Gazing out the window and at the beautiful, swaying cherry blossom trees, I curiously asked.


    "Aren''t you at all curious?"


    After all, I had just randomly intervened in her ritual and stolen her portal entrance. Then I had just shown up with a bunch of bloody wounds on my body and magically saved the World Tree.


    Shaking her head at my question, Liana replied.


    "We can talk about those things later; you''ve just recovered."


    As more memories of my journey to save the World Tree resurfaced, I let out a sigh while staring at the rabbits hopping around in the garden.


    "What is it?"


    I hadn''t planned to tell anyone in the world about my possessing knowledge of the future, so sitting in front of someone who knew that truth made me worried.


    It was uncontrollable; no matter how much I tried to convince myself that she was a good person and would never tell anyone, the doubts and worry still entered my thoughts.


    My second-biggest secret was now at risk of being exposed... even if the chance was probably less than 0.0001%


    Turning around to face Liana, ready with an excuse, I realized that I actually didn''t have to come with any.


    In her hand, Liana was holding the mask that had fallen off my head at some point during my blackout with an awkward expression.


    "...yeah that mask..."


    Putting the corrupted mask on the desk, Liana immediately started reaffirming to me repeatedly that she was very grateful and that she would never expose my identity unless I gave permission.


    Simply nodding my head over and over again, Liana finally took the hint and changed the topic by asking.


    "So, Celestial Academy, you go there as well?"


    Seeing no reason to lie to someone who already knew one of my biggest secrets, I nodded my head and replied.


    "Yeah, I''m a first-year."


    Almost immediately, Liana''s expression lit up as she enthusiastically replied.


    "Oh, a first year!? My daughter is one, too."


    "Yeah, it''s hard not to know that... Alya is one of the most well-known students."


    Ignoring my response, Liana silently began to scan my face and body for a second before standing up.


    "mhm, yep, perfect. It''s settled."


    "...what''s perfect? What''s settled...?"


    "Oh, don''t worry about that; it''s time I gave you some more time to rest. We can go over the important details once you''ve recovered."


    As Liana left the room, I checked my phone, seeing a barrage of messages from Han and Jin alongside a school email.


    [Jin: Ey bro, this is your final strike. Did you really sneak out without us?]


    [Han: You''ve been acting really suspicious lately, Ren.]


    [Jin: Seriously, if you knew a good spot, you could have brought us along with you.] S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing tensions rising, I attached an image I had taken earlier in preparation for this exact situation: a picture of me pretending to work after being punished.


    [Ren: (Image) Does this really look like fun to you guys?]


    [Jin: ...]


    [Ren: Jin, you still down to come?]


    [Jin: uhhh, I would.... but I''m actually busy..]


    [Han: Getting caught is a rookie move, Ren.]


    On the other hand, the school email was simply telling us we would leave the Elven realm in two days, so I returned my gaze to the beautiful scenery outside.


    Then, remembering something very important, I immediately picked back up my smartwatch and went to the messages app.


    [Ren: Long time no see... or I guess, depends on what we say "see" means]

 Chapter 121 - 121:The Good Life [3]

    Finally, getting off the bed, I put on a pair of neatly folded clothes and sat on the desk with my food.


    Feeling cold from the breeze, I manifested a black hoodie with corruption before allowing my cat to slip into the hoodie.


    As the cat fell into my hoodie and curled up to sleep, the thoughts came to my mind.


    ...Would he get along with the animals I made with corruption?


    How would he react if I just manifested a corrupted cat and put it in my hoodie with him...?


    Sighing, I turned my head and walked to the room door, glancing one last time at the cherry blossoms through the window.


    One moment, I was in a life-defining battle where the fate of the world was on the line, and the next moment, I was thinking about my cat and cherry blossom trees.


    "...the duality of mankind, huh?"


    Opening the door, revealing a gigantic hallway with royal banners and gold decorations hung on the wall, I stepped onto the red carpet ahead.


    The hallway''s width was double the size of my dorm room, and the openness of the gigantic hallway that stretched around the palace made it seem like a maze.


    "...how long would the walk to the kitchen be? Where are the directions and street signs!?"


    ...It would be easier to get lost in this massive hall than actually find your destination.


    Admiring the banners streaking across the elegant white walls, I noticed that they were actually covering massive windows.


    Manifesting a crow with corruption, I took full control of its body while my body fell lifelessly to the ground.


    Flying upwards until I reached the roof, I spotted the top of the banner and flew over before unstringing it.


    As the banner rose up to the roof, revealing the gigantic window behind, I returned to my body and dusted myself off.


    My enhanced eyesight still carried over when I transferred to my corrupted figures... but did my abilities like time manipulation?


    Looking out at the huge glass window, I was about to open it and escape the palace through it when a sudden noise interrupted me.


    *BAM* Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As the door of the room next to mine slammed open, Albert, with his hair all scrunched up from sleeping and in pajamas, walked out.


    "WHAT IS ALL THAT NOISE."


    However, as Albert looked at me, the source of the noise, he immediately covered his eyes and shrieked back.


    "MY EYES, MY EYES! TOO BRIGHT. MY EYES!"


    ...this banner was probably here for a reason, wasn''t it...?


    Scratching my head awkwardly, I waited until Albert finally removed his hands from his face, adjusted to the light, and stared at me.


    Silently staring at me next to the window, Albert rubbed his eyes over... and over again until his eyes turned red.


    "W-WHAT A-ARE YOU DOING HERE!?"


    "..."


    "I-I KICKED YOU OUT ALREADY, HOW DID Y-"


    *BAM*


    Interrupting Albert''s sentence, another door across from mine slammed open, revealing the groggy figure of Liam, who gave Albert the death stare.


    "Albert... I swear to god IF YOU DON''T SHUT THE HELL UP."


    *BANG*


    Zach, who was to the right of Albert''s room, also opened his door with a slightly less happy expression than usual.


    "Hey guys... what all this noise for? Can we please be civil and solve whatever dispute this is later? Our teammates are trying to sleep."


    *BANG*


    *BANG*


    *BANG*


    *BANG*


    *BANG*


    As the sound of countless doors slamming open echoed through the massive hall, I turned to face a window with a slightly irritated expression.


    She just HAD TO PUT ALL OF OUR ROOMS NEXT TO EACH OTHER, DIDN''T SHE?


    As my fellow classmates and Albert''s confused yells sounded, I was about to use the opportunity to escape through this window... when, yet again, another voice interrupted me.


    This time... it was slightly older.


    "What''s all the noise for?"


    Ignoring the commotion going on in the hall, Liana walked up to the window next to me.


    "Oh... I don''t know. Someone thought that putting a bunch of high schoolers right next to each other was a good idea."


    After saving Liana and her fellow Elves, I felt that I had the right use sarcasm in the presence of the queen, but it was still a bit nerve-wracking joking around with someone who could kill me in less than a second.


    Well... not anymore.


    It would be at least 2 seconds now!


    Feeling the golden apple in my cloak pocket, I anxiously waited for the queen''s reaction, but thankfully, instead of reaching for a weapon, she simply chuckled.


    As Liana stepped towards the crowd to quell the commotion, I reached for the lever of the window to open it.


    "Not so fast."


    *CRASH*


    Instantly, the banner reappeared in front of me, blocking the window, and this time with electric sparks cackling on its every side.


    "...why?"


    Shaking her head, Liana replied.


    " *sigh* Skipping lunch and leaving already? I''m going to have to teach you some manners in preparation..."


    "Preparation for what?"


    Dismissing my question, Liana simply pointed in the opposite direction and replied.


    "The table is over there; you can go check it out while I bring everyone."


    ...shouldn''t she have servants or something to deal with them?


    "Is calming down high-school students a part of the Queen''s daily duties..?"


    "I''m a mother alongside a queen, you know? *tsk* Your mother really didn''t teach you anything, did she?"


    "...she taught me a lot."


    "Maybe you should have listened then."


    If only I had heard those words a bit earlier...


    As Liana headed to the main cast and Albert, who were currently in a heated discussion about who woke everyone up, I followed Liana''s directions to the banquet room.


    In my elven attire and sweatshirt, I admired the beautiful diamond chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and the intricate designs on each wall, which perfectly complimented the room''s mood.


    Sitting at the side of the table, I picked up a glass of water and tried to distract myself by counting how many diamonds were in each chandelier.

 Chapter 122 - 122:The Good Life [4]

    Back in the gigantic hallway, Ruby, Alya, Albert, Liam, Kevin, Zach, Irene, and Lily all followed the Elven queen to the banquet room.


    Of course, this awkward atmosphere didn''t affect Liam and Kevin''s constant bickering as they continued arguing.


    "I TOLD YOU, IT WASN''T ME!"


    Matching Kevin''s tone, Liam shrugged his shoulders and replied.


    "yeah, yeah, that''s exactly what a guilty person would say."


    "...what the hell would AN INNOCENT PERSON SAY THEN!?"


    "Well, they wouldn''t say what you said... that''s all I need to know."


    "..."


    As silence finally descended amongst the group, Albert took the moment of silence to gather in his frantic thoughts.


    Was it all a dream...?


    Recalling the familiar figure of that damned person who had taken up so much of his time, Albert couldn''t help but shake his head.


    There was no way he could have snuck into the palace... the security was the best.


    Yeah... I was probably hallucinating from yesterday''s events when I saw him today...!


    As Albert began to create more and more delusional scenarios in his head to convince himself that he hadn''t seen Ren today, Lily silently walked next to Alya.


    After being knocked unconscious inside the tree, Lily suddenly woke up in the bedroom of the Elven palace with no recollection of how she had gotten there.


    Recalling the bout of the fog about to hit the tree before she was knocked unconscious, more confusion was added to Lily''s thoughts.


    How had the tree been saved?


    That much smoke should have killed it...


    Looking outside the window, Lily could easily see that the tree was back to its normal state.


    This was because of Lily''s special ability to directly see and understand magic.


    If a fireball spell was cast, Lily could read the spell procedure from the fireball and completely mimic it within seconds.


    Of course, the time would increase with more complicated spells, but given enough time, Lily could replicate any spell by just seeing it once.


    Lily could copy a world-shattering skill that took a magician millions of years to create within a few months.


    So, when Lily woke up, she immediately cast a spell to test if there was still corruption within the tree.


    When she cast a simple water spell, she realized that the magic was pure and clean, unlike before, when parts of the spell were tainted and corrupted.


    The only way for this to happen is for all the corruption within the Tree to be removed.


    The question is then begged: how?


    As more memories rushed into her head, Lily recalled the small purple light she had seen as her consciousness faded.


    The queen... did she save the tree?


    The only way for the tree to be completely cleansed of corruption is for someone to have replaced it... but the queen was still standing there, right in front of Lily.


    Was there another way to cleanse the tree...?


    If so, who had figured out the other way and done it? Had it been the queen?


    Sighing, Lily decided to put aside her thoughts for the time being: the present was more important than the past, after all. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "You can''t move forward if you''re always looking back."


    Of course, this was only for the time being; as soon as Lily arrived back in the academy, she would continue her investigation.


    For now, all she had to do was act oblivious... which wasn''t hard considering everyone else was doing as well.


    Everyone in this group probably knew the World Tree had been healed as the Queen was no longer acting strangely, but they kept silent, not asking any questions.


    Even Albert and Alya didn''t ask their mother questions about the World Tree''s sudden and abrupt cleansing and what happened after they were knocked out.


    As Lily turned to Alya to strike up a conversation, Ruby and Irene also began talking.


    "You seem happier than usual."


    Puffing her shoulders up, Irene had a smirk on her face as she replied.


    "Well, I just helped save the World Tree and the entire Elven realm, so I''m quite content!"


    "And how do you know it''s saved?"


    "Do you really think we''d be leisurely walking around with the Queen if the Elven realm and World Tree were still in danger?"


    "I guess so."


    "And what about you, Ruby? You don''t seem that excited."


    Shaking her head as she recalled yesterday''s events, Ruby covered her face with her hands and replied.


    "n-no, I''m just as excited as you."


    Although Ruby knew there was a high percent chance that, for whatever reason, the queen didn''t stop and run her over, she still decided to teleport in front of Ren.


    But... in the end, it had paid off.


    She was alive... and Ren, or at least Ren''s phone, was alive.


    Ren was right... what types of criminals and villains were they...?


    Both of them had done more good than bad at this point!


    Were her and Ren even villains at this point...? No way... could they be considered heroes...?


    As the group arrived at the dining room under the guidance of Liana, they were all shocked to see someone already sitting down.


    Right at the edge of the table, a familiar figure sat, mindlessly staring upwards and completely oblivious to their existence.


    "AHHHH"


    At that moment, a single person dropped to their knees with tears streaming down from their eyes as they stared at the roof.


    "WHYYYYY!?"


    "Get up, Albert."


    Regaining his composure from his mother''s words, Albert stood up and immediately asked.


    "Mother, why did you invite s-such a person to th-"


    Ignoring Albert''s question, Liana interrupted.


    "You''ll have to get along with that boy well, soon enough, so at least try to be friendly, alright?"


    Without waiting for Albert''s response, Liana left for her chair at the very top of the table.


    Then, as the rest of the group members stared at Ren''s figures with expressions ranging from confusion to nervousness to disgust to not even caring, Liana spoke up once again.


    "Alya, be a proper host and welcome our guest, will you?"

 Chapter 123 - 123:A Completely Normal Meal [1]

    As Alya looked at her mother in confusion, I inwardly criticized myself for being distracted with Albert and not immediately escaping.


    Since we were all from the same school, Liana must have assumed we were all friends or knew each other, so she invited me to lunch with them.


    Of course, Liana couldn''t be farther from the truth...


    Pretending to ignore the gazes on me, I simply leaned back in my chair and stared out the window with a blank expression.


    What exactly was I going to say...?


    Recalling that the leaders of the human race were particularly close with the Elven leaders back in the demon war, I considered using my former last name... before quickly discarding it.


    I would rather be found out as a transmigrator than use the wretched last name ever again.


    As Alya and her mother seemed to be coming to a conclusion about whatever they were arguing about, Alya approached me with a sour look on her face while Liana watched from a distance.


    Who would have thought I would be having lunch side-by-side with the same person who completely ignored me not even two months ago?


    Albert seemed done with his existential crisis as he reluctantly got up from the floor and sat on the chair next to the queens.


    Moments later, the rest of the group regained their composure as they slowly made their way to the table... except for one person.


    While everyone was staring at me, Lily immediately turned around and walked back into the hallway.


    Then, within a few seconds, Lily reappeared before speed-walking past the rest of the group and immediately taking the seat on my right while Alya, under the glare of her mother, took the seat on my left.


    Sighing, I made eye contact with Liana, who responded with a gaze that seemed to say, "You''re Welcome!"


    ...who''s gonna tell her?


    Trying my best to ignore Lily, who was staring at me with her eyes practically sparking, I looked across the table where Ruby and Irene were sitting.


    To their side were Liam and Kevin, and on my far right, or next to Lily, was Zach, who was also staring at me... with a much more positive expression than the others.


    I''ll take it, I guess...


    As soon as everyone was seated, two elven servers, each wearing a suit, appeared before serving appetizers.


    Thankfully, that seemed to take most of the attention off me as the servers used wind magic to carefully float each plate to us.


    As my plate descended onto the napkin in front of me, I tried to keep my expression intact as a bowl of ramen, topped with a scrambled egg, appeared in front of me.


    Staring at the bowl with a rich orange broth, thin yellow noodles, a pure yellow scrambled egg, and a huge piece of chicken, I tried my best to look surprised while looking to the right out of the corner of my eye.


    How could I not recognize a classic bowl of ramen!?


    But... how had it been replicated so perfectly...?


    Looking at the others, I noticed that everyone besides me was looking at the bowl of the ramen like it was another everyday meal.


    Then, before anyone could take a bite, Liana''s voice echoed through the massive dining room. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Thank you once again for teaching us this delicious recipe, Lily! I must tell you, ever since you taught the chefs how to make it, the entire Elven kingdom has been gathering to get a taste!"


    ...what the...?


    Carefully turning my head to Lily like everyone else, I saw Lily staring right at me with a large smirk plastered on her face.


    Was this a test?


    Had she already concluded that I was also from Earth...?


    Trying my best to eat as messily as possible, I raised my spoon and tried to take a piece of chicken before purposely allowing it to fall off the spoon, leaving only the broth.


    Tasting the delicious broth, I put on a forced smile and replied.


    "Wow... I don''t think I''ve ever had anything like this before. It''s... out of this world!"


    Watching Lily''s expression transform as the last few words came out of my mouth, I suppressed my inner laughter and picked up another spoon of broth.


    ...The ramen was delicious, not because I was extremely homesick, but honestly, the mixture of flavors and ingredients was done perfectly.


    For the first time in a while, I was jealous of the main cast...


    While I had been eating the shitty school cafeteria food, they had been enjoying this!?


    What other Earth foods did Lily know had to make...?


    Watching me gulp down the bowl of ramen, Lily put her hand on her elbow and replied.


    "Is it?"


    Nodding my head in between eating, I replied.


    "It is! I never knew you knew how to cook."


    Then, as the servers came into the dining room again, I could barely contain my excitement as a small plate of kimchi descended right next to the ramen.


    Maybe... this meal would be manageable.


    As if attacking my statement, Lily finally asked the question everyone in the room was thinking.


    "So... you know the Elven Queen as well?"


    At those words, everyone''s attention returned to me as Alya stared at me with an intrigued gaze.


    How could an idiot like Ren know someone so formidable and powerful as the Elven Queen?


    Of course, my reputation had been going upward ever since I stopped acting like Ren, but the previous damage to Ren''s reputation would take years to make up...


    Seeing Liana''s gaze turn towards me, allowing me to come up with a story, I was thankful she kept her word and did not tell anyone about our experiences together.


    Indeed, I had been contemplating how to answer this question ever since I first saw Albert, but nothing had come to mind.


    It was like not studying for a test at all but expecting to get a good grade.

 Chapter 124 - 124:A Completely Normal Meal [2]

    Studying is doubting your ability to perform under pressure, though.


    Studying is doubting your own potential.


    And I never doubt myself!


    One of these answers had to be correct, no?


    Walking into the dining room with no answer to the question, those were thoughts swirling around in my head.


    But... as I looked around the room and saw basically everybody staring at me, my expression turned grim.


    Putting my hands on my head, I stayed silent for a second.


    This wasn''t a multiple-choice question that I could guess; it was a free response...


    As the room became unbearably silent and everyone''s gazes remained locked on me, I sighed before finally speaking.


    Partial credit was better than no credit, right?


    " *ahem* Actually, it was the craziest thing... I was just walking around the clearing when.... when... a bunch of demons surrounded me! I was about to be robbed and killed when suddenly a lightning bolt appeared in the form of the queen and saved me!"


    "..."


    "PFFT"


    Turning my head to face Ruby, who was desperately trying to cover her mouth in order to stop the laughter from leaking out, I put on a deadpan expression and asked.


    "Is me almost dying and being robbed funny to you...?"


    "PFFFFFFFFFFT"


    Of course, this just caused Ruby to break into more laughter, and Irene, who was next to her, also began laughing.


    That, I had no idea why.


    Was laughter really contagious, like people say?


    Thus, the attention was successfully redirected to the two people laughing as everyone else turned to stare at them with confused expressions.


    "PFFT"


    To Ruby''s right, Liam also started laughing uncontrollably... while pointing at me?


    ...was laughter really that contagious? ...I wasn''t feeling any urge to laugh.


    Looking back at Lily, I saw her practically dying to ask me more questions as her hands trembled, but thankfully, she decided to stop for now.


    Crisis Averted!


    As the waiters reappeared, bringing more plates of food that were unfortunately not from Earth, the table slowly broke off into cliques.


    Kevin, Liam, and Zach were chatting about their plans for the rest of the day while Irene and Ruby were snickering about something.


    Seeing those two girls together just felt right... yet a bit weird at the same time.


    Two future-powerful villainesses were chatting and laughing happily... while sitting next to the protagonist and his party members.


    The only area of the table that was completely silent was mine.


    Alya clearly wanted to talk to Lily, but I was in the middle. Lily wanted to ask me questions, but she didn''t want Alya to hear for some reason.


    Thus, the three of us were left in a stalemate.


    Seeing our awkward silence, Liana looked at Alya with a weird expression before asking.


    "Say, Alya, weren''t you planning to go shopping this afternoon? Why don''t you bring some friends along.... like. Oh, I know! You can bring our new friend, Ren!"


    "..."


    "..."


    Alya stared at Liana silently, her eyes colder than usual, and I pretended not to hear her by staring at my plate, resulting in the table becoming completely silent once again.


    Either taking advantage of the situation or wanting to help her friend, Lily broke the silence and replied.


    "Oh, I was thinking of going shopping...why don''t I come with you two?"


    Before Liana could even reply, Alya immediately responded.


    "Yeah, sounds good!"


    Seeing Alya agree to the new plan, Liana begrudgingly nodded her head and gave us the thumbs up.


    Since I had given the story of the queen being my savior, I would have no right to disagree with the plan in front of everyone here, so I just silently nodded my head in agreement.


    It wasn''t like I had any plans to train, especially after what had happened inside the tree... but Jin and Han were complaining about me not going out with them...


    Sneaking away could be a possibility... but Lily would probably hold me back.


    But... it wasn''t like I had to pretend to like Lily anymore, as the time had far surpassed when I had to act like Ren.


    So, then, couldn''t I just leave and ignore her?


    Yet... I didn''t want to... or I guess I couldn''t.


    It was weird... it felt like a part of my body was telling me to do one thing while the other was saying the exact opposite.


    All the other emotions or lingering feelings of Ren had disappeared... so why was I still feeling like this?


    They say one can''t reincarnate or go to heaven if they still have lingering regrets...


    The real "Ren" had not completely disappeared from this world yet... there was just one regret holding him back from going to heaven...or maybe hell, considering his behavior.


    His first love.


    No matter how cursed or forced his love for Lily was, one''s first love is always special and important.


    Unfortunately, in "Ren''s" case, his first love was unrequited...so his regret and emotions probably built up over the years, leading to this large pent-up feeling of regret in my body.


    Sighing, I turned to Lily to see if she still had any of Lily''s emotions, but simply looking at her didn''t tell me anything.


    She hadn''t flinched in disgust at all despite being so near to me, in difference to when before her eyes flicked whenever she saw me.


    Still, it was hard to tell if she was going through the same dilemma as me and was just hiding it.


    Well... if its a simple shopping trip, I can deal with it if it makes this weird feeling go away...


    Having all the power in the world wouldn''t mean shit if I didn''t even have complete control over my own body and emotions...


    Going with Lily on the shopping trip now was just a temporary solution, so I needed to figure something out soon.


    At least, the problem wasn''t too bad as the feeling only appeared occasionally when I was with Lily. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, as I continued to nod, I felt a cold gaze coming from right in front of me, instantly causing me to shiver.

 Chapter 125 - 125:Changes [1]

    *BZZT*


    Putting my hand under my desk, I checked my smartwatch and saw a message from the very person in front of me.


    [Ruby: Are you really planning to go?]


    [Ren: Well... it''s not like I have a choice.]


    [Ruby: Oh, so now, you decide to act like a normal human being when making decisions?]


    [Ren: ... what do you mean by that?]


    [Ruby: Was trying to save the World Tree, completely alone as a mere D-rank, a good and rational decision?]


    [Ren: You know, there is no such thing as a good or bad decision, right?]


    [Ruby: Yeah, that''s what delusional people say when they make a terrible decision for the hundredth time.]


    [Ren: Guess it''ll be the hundredth and one time, now.]


    Putting down my smartwatch, I looked up at the roof, seriously thinking about her words.


    Use the resources around me?


    What resources did I have?


    No one and nothing.


    I had some money, but that was it.


    Raven and Zeng were useful occasionally, but what good were they in fighting battles and making strategies?


    I was the only one on the battlefield, risking mine and only my life.


    The main cast had various members, each powerful and useful in their own right: Zach with his buffing spells, Liam and Kevin with offensive attacks, Lily with defense, and Alya with long-range.


    They had connections that basically meant they could procure any needed items or resources for free.


    They had all the resources in the world.


    Everything... the main cast had it all: power, connections, money, knowledge of the future, and intelligence.


    All of that... and they still lost to me every single time.


    Every single event, I was one step ahead of them and every time, it ended in the exact scenario I wanted it to end.


    Not a single event went the way they had envisioned it.


    All of it was my perfect victory and conclusion.


    They could have all the resources in the world, and I would still bet on myself winning every single time without any doubt.


    Resources didn''t mean shit.


    And I was the evidence.


    I didn''t need anyone to do what I did successfully.


    Unlike the main cast, I wasn''t even saving the world for the correct moral reasons; I was doing it for myself.


    I didn''t have any conviction or moral superiority.


    Then, what made me so successful?


    That... was a question I couldn''t yet answer as I didn''t know it myself.


    Was it my ruthlessness or selfishness? Or even my small bits of selflessness and occasionally kindness?


    Looking up from the table, I noticed that everyone was done, and both Lily and Alya were ready to depart.


    Waving goodbye to Ruby, who was getting dragged around by Irene, I silently followed Lily and Alya out of the palace.


    Leaving the main gates, I noticed that the guards were greeting us with slightly more positive expressions than earlier.


    The news of the humans supporting the Elves should have spread by now... I wonder how the rest of the world will react.


    The demons had made their first public move in over fifty years... and the future was more messed up than ever, mostly my fault.


    What would change?


    The future was still useful information to me, but it could also bite me in the back if I relied on it too much.


    But... it was slowly becoming less and less valuable like a stock.


    Irene''s transformation into a villain should occur when we get back to school, and I had no intention of forcing that event. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    I guess this would be Lily''s first win over me if we''re even counting it.


    Two major villainesses in Ruby and Irene are now partially heroes... that would make for an interesting future.


    After this trip, the main cast should enter a dream together and all advance to C-rank, and I would probably follow.


    Now that Ruby and Irene are back in the equation, though, would they enter a dream with the main cast or do it alone?


    Heading out of the gates, I followed Alya and Lily from a distance, only catching up to them once we stopped at the first store.


    As we headed into the store, which had a variety of hats and caps on display outside, I began experimenting with "Ren''s" feelings.


    Watching Alya head to the cashier to ask about sizes, I sat down on the bench beside Lily and simply looked around, seeing how my feelings emerged.


    However, the feeling of regret was no longer there.


    It was like that for the rest of the day.


    Even as I walked side-by-side with Lily through the bustling streets of the clearing, the feeling never appeared.


    Even though I didn''t say a single word to Lily throughout the whole day.


    Even though Lily didn''t say a single word to me.


    Even when I attempted to leave and ditch them as a test, the feeling never appeared.


    As the sun slowly set, bathing the city in a bright orange from above the branches of the World Tree, the three of us went our separate ways.


    Well... that was useless.


    As the day ended and the new one started, I packed up my bags with Jin and Han, who were somewhat annoyed, and headed to the exit of the clearing.


    At the exit stood the Elven queen alongside a bunch of guards who were supposed to see us off.


    As I was the last to exit the clearing, Liana was able to pull me aside for a short moment without being noticed.


    "Take this."


    "A pager?"


    "Just use it if you need me."


    ".I-"


    "And don''t say you won''t ever need help."


    After Liana essentially stuffed the pager into my hand, I followed the rest of my classmates and officially exited the Elven realm.


    The trip out of the forest was uneventful as we quickly arrived back at the plains, where our carriages stood.


    As we stood outside the carriages, it seemed that Liana had got the last laugh as the carriage Jin, Han, and I had arrived here on was gone.


    Instead, a bigger carriage stood with an official Elven crest and my name printed on it.


    But my name was not the only one printed on the massive carriage...

 Chapter 126 - 126:Changes [2]

    Looking at Han and Jin, who stared at the carriage with their eyeballs wide, I couldn''t help but sigh.


    Unfortunately, their names were not printed on this carriage but on the one next to mine.


    Before I could think of something to say to them, Jin walked over to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulder.


    "Looks like you''re finally moving up in the world, Ren..."


    A moment later, Han reappeared and wrapped his arm around my other shoulder with a somber expression.


    "Yeah... don''t forget about us when you''re at the top, alright...?" Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Shrugging their arms on my shoulders, I replied.


    "Look, you guys are being way too over dramatic...it''s just a damn carriage."


    Putting his head in his hands, Jin replied.


    "It always starts with ''just a carriage,'' man."


    Looking at Han, I expected him to be the voice of reason as usual, but instead, he simply nodded his head, agreeing with Jin''s words.


    "You guys ever heard of overreacting?"


    Walking to their carriage, Jin screamed back.


    "WE''RE NOT OVERREACTING MAN...YOU''VE BEEN ACTING LIKE A CELEBRITY RECENTLY."


    "...I forget to reply to your texts a co-"


    "PFFT"


    "PFFT"


    Looking at Han and Jin, who burst out in laughter, I scratched my head and asked.


    "...what''s going on?"


    Shaking their heads while still laughing, Jin replied.


    "PFFT, we were just messing with you. Don''t worry, alright."


    Nodding in approval to Jin''s words, Han replied.


    "Make sure to get us some of those ''free complimentary gift bags,'' alright?"


    Seeing the two walk over to their carriage, still laughing, I sighed for the hundredth time this week and finally mustered up the energy to enter the courage.


    The carriage''s interior was gigantic as it could easily fit over ten people, and as Jin and Han said, countless free items were lying around.


    On my right, Kevin, Liam, and Zach sat down, and on my left, Irene, Alya, Lily, and Ruby sat down.


    Feeling their stares, I chose to sit in between the window and Zach, directly facing Lily.


    Taking my seats, I ignored the ongoing conversations and stared out the window, admiring the plain''s beauty now that the World Tree had been healed.


    Feeling an awkward atmosphere formed due to my sudden presence, I decided to try to sleep.


    Even if they were technically my enemies... I still felt odd intruding on their team bonding time, even though it wasn''t even my fault.


    Opening the window and allowing the soft breeze to enter the carriage, I covered my hands with my school jacket.


    Using my corruption, I created a crow much quicker than before and felt my body transform into a crow.


    As my body lifelessly slumped over, I decided to experiment as I raised the crow''s wings to my eye in an attempt to use my time-slowing ability.


    After a moment, I peeked out from under my jacket as the crow and noticed that it had actually worked as people''s mouths were moving in slow motion.


    Taking advantage of the time slowing, I slipped out of my jacket and escaped the carriage through the window.


    Flying into the open sky, I was once again an oddball, as my black crow body stood out among the sun''s vibrant yellow and lush green grass.


    Before continuing to experiment, I attempted to do some aerial tricks to familiarize myself with flying with two wings instead of one.


    From doing flips in the air to testing my reaction time by free-falling in the air and flapping my wings to stop the fall right before I hit the ground, I finally felt a bit more comfortable flying.


    Using that newfound confidence, I flew even higher in the air, above the clouds, and began testing out my abilities.


    Unfortunately, I couldn''t use corruption as a crow, but on the bright side, skills were available to me, as I could use dash and time-slowing.


    My stats also worked as a crow as I could use my stealth stat to sneak around unnoticed in the shadows of the trees.


    As a crow, all my senses except eyesight were also enhanced, and I could call other similar animals.


    *CA-CAW*


    At my sound, multiple birds flocked to me like a servant waiting for orders from their kings.


    I couldn''t speak or understand the bird''s language, though, so I was forced to use visual signals to command my small army of birds.


    At my cry, birds would gather worms and tree sticks before bringing them to me, in an attempt to please me.


    Feeling my corruption fading, I dismissed the crow and returned to my body in the carriage, immediately feeling a warm sensation under my head.


    Looking below, I realized that there was a pillow under my head, blocking out the carriage''s hard, cold wood.


    But, as I looked around the carriage, everyone else was asleep, with no pillows under their heads.


    Yet, in the back of my mind, I knew only one person in the carriage cared enough about my comfort.


    Taking the pillow from under my head, I quietly and carefully slotted it under Ruby''s head before returning to my seat.


    While my body was energized from the rest during my body transfer, my mind was exhausted, as commanding a bird''s body was exhausting.


    About to drift off to actual sleep, I placed my hand on my elbow and stared out the open window, observing the mountain range in the distance.


    Slowly closing my eyes, I was about to drift off to sleep when I suddenly recalled something.


    Peaking my head back out the window, I stared behind us... but no carriages were following us despite five carriages having left after us.


    Rushing to the driver''s carriage area, I was shocked to see that the seat was completely empty.


    No mountain range was in sight when we traveled to the Elven realm initially...


    *RUMBLE*


    As if confirming my worries, the carriage began to shake uncontrollably, causing everyone else to finally wake up.


    There was only one other place near the Elven realm where a mountain range was located.

 Chapter 127 - 127:Stranded [1]

    The barrier between the Human Realm and Underlands, better known as the Demon''s realm.


    At the end of the war, when the demons knew their loss was inevitable, they launched a full-out attack on the helm.


    Not caring at all for the survival of their species, millions of demons flooded the human realm, simply trying to kill as many people as possible.


    Seeing this, one brave hero sacrificed his life and all his magic force to create a mountain range between the Human and Demon realms to prevent the demon''s relentless attacks.


    Do you know want to know what the mountain range was called?


    Named after the hero who sacrificed his life, the mountain range was named the "Hajin Range."


    Yes... the very mountain range I went to as soon as I transmigrated and discovered the Dragon''s Eye in.


    Quite the throwback... is what I would be saying if I wasn''t panicking.


    There was no possible way for our carriage to suddenly appear here, over ten thousand miles away from the Elven realm.


    Something had gone wrong... very wrong. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    When I meant the future would be uncertain, I didn''t mean that it would just randomly teleport me to the first place I visited after my transmigration!


    Looking at Ruby, who had woken up, I wondered if she had noticed anything as she had access to teleportation, but her clueless expression showed that she hadn''t realized anything.


    In fact, I was the only one in this carriage who knew we were over ten thousand miles away from our intended location without a driver.


    ...oh, wait, a driver, we didn''t have one of those, did we...?


    Peeking my head back out the window, I immediately noticed we were nearing a cliff with a waterfall.


    ...god my luck stat just really hates me today, huh?


    Rushing past my confused classmates, I grabbed the carriage wheel, steering the horses away from the cliffside.


    However, this sudden change in direction caused the carriage to suddenly tilt to the right, causing everyone to fall to their right side.


    *BAM*


    *BAM*


    *BAM*


    ...my bad.


    However, it seemed like my luck stat wasn''t done with me just yet...


    Turning around from the wheel, I immediately saw a body heading right at me, and before I could react, the body hit my stomach, knocking both of us to the ground.


    *BAM*


    Coughing from the impact on my lungs, I slowly opened my eyes and saw a familiar figure lying down on my stomach.


    With her silky black hair stretched across my stomach, Ruby slowly tilted her head upwards, meeting my eyes directly.


    Her sweet aroma entered my nose, and the soft feeling of her skin and mine enveloped me, sending shockwaves through my body.


    As our eyes met, her blood-red eyes seemed to shine with passion, and a bright red tainted her usual pale skin.


    Closing my eyes for a second, I could barely even feel her on me as only her head rested on my stomach.


    It was... comfortable.


    The warmth surrounding us and the feeling of her tiny head pressing my stomach made everything else seem insignificant...


    What was this feeling...?


    Two unknown feelings had appeared in my body in two days now...


    After a moment of silence, Ruby was the first to move as she slowly got off my stomach and stood up while still staring at me.


    As the unknown feeling disappeared, I regained my composure and looked up at Ruby.


    With a bit of red marked on her usual pale cheek, Ruby examined her surroundings, looking at our other classmates, before turning back to me.


    "...what did you do now?"


    Still lying on the ground, I raised my hands and replied.


    "I''m innocent this time... really."


    Looking between my body on the floor and the wheel right above me, she coughed.


    " *ahem* It certainly doesn''t seem that way."


    "Look outside."


    Following my instructions, Ruby looked out one of the windows, immediately noticing the change in our surroundings.


    Well, it wasn''t hard to notice it.


    We were supposed to be an empty plain with a bunch of carriages following up, but now we were in the forest, right next to a cliff and right in front of a gigantic mountain range.


    Slowly turning around to face me again, Ruby placed her hand on her forehead and said.


    "...you know I''m still your boss, right?"


    "..."


    "Tell me exactly what you did so we can fix this, alright? That''s an order, not a question, alright?"


    "...I TOLD YOU I DIDN''T DO ANYTHING!"


    Sighing, Ruby looked around to ensure no one was watching us before replying.


    " *sigh* we''re going have to do it the hard way, aren''t we?"


    "...the hard way...? w-what is that?"


    Shaking her head, Ruby responded.


    "You''ll find out soon enough."


    But, thankfully, before Ruby could do anything, Lily''s voice sounded from behind us.


    "What was that...?"


    Quickly getting off the floor, I stared at Lily as she carefully walked through the carriage into the driver''s area.


    Glancing at Ruby and me with her eyes twinkling with suspicion, Lily asked.


    "What happened?"


    Pointing at the empty driver''s seat, I confidently replied.


    "Our driver is gone."


    After staring at the empty driver''s seat for a moment, Lily replied.


    "...and where is he?"


    Shrugging my shoulders, I responded.


    "No clue...when I woke up, he was gone."


    At my answer, Ruby made eye contact with Lily with an expression that said, "Do you understand what I''m dealing with?"


    After the brief silence that ensued, Lily took control of the carriage and stopped it before heading back into the main area where the rest of the main cast was situated.


    Peeking my head out of the stationary carriage, I looked at the mountain, trying to pinpoint our location.


    "BOO!"


    Seeing Ruby''s head also peek out of the window in front of my face, I stepped back in shock.


    "Hah, got you!"


    Regaining my composure, I stepped away from the window and replied.


    "Is this time for jokes? We''re stranded in the middle of nowhere with no idea how we got here."


    Staring at the mountain range, Ruby replied.


    "Just tell me what you did, so we can fix this already."


    "...FOR THE LAST T-"

 Chapter 128 - 128:Stranded [2]

    *BAM*


    Interrupting me mid-sentence, the stationary carriage somehow flipped over, sending everyone flying downwards to the floor.


    This time, I was prepared for more sudden shakes, so I raised my hand to my eyes, instantly slowing my perception of time.


    Using the well of corruption inside me, I magnified six tentacles that all appeared on my back before soaring upwards at an incredible speed.


    Catching me mid-fall, the tentacles plunged into the hardwood of the carriage roof, suspending me in the air.


    Creating multiple holes in the roof, the corrupted tentacles pierced right through the roof of the carriage.


    Controlling the tentacles while unstable hovering in the air, I attached them from the roof and made them plunge downwards at a slower speed. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    All five tentacles moved in different directions: two went to my right, two to my left, one to the back of the carriage, and one to the front.


    As both the tentacles and I plunged towards the ground, I sent the tentacles downwards at an even faster speed until they finally made contact with the ground.


    As the tentacles dug straight through the grass and dirt of the ground, my body was finally stabilized in the air, hovering a couple feet above the carriage''s floor.


    Like a spider, I had six legs or tentacles, in this case, holding me up. Each one flew right out of my back, out of the hole in the carriage roof, and down into the ground.


    From an outside perspective, it would seriously look like there was a massive spider inside of the carriage.


    Suspending in the air and looking downwards, I also saw Ruby falling straight at the hard ground, so I manifested yet another tentacle, this time appearing above my shoulder.


    In a swift and fluid motion, the tentacle pierced through the air and wrapped around Ruby''s body right before she hit the floor.


    With the tentacles now carrying Ruby''s additional weight, I infused more corruption into the six tentacles, causing them to grow longer and dig further into the ground.


    As the tentacles pierced right through the stone below the ground like a knife cutting butter, I finally stabilized both Ruby and me.


    "AHHH"


    "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS"


    "KEVIN, WHAT THE H-"


    "I DIDN''T DO ANYTHING; STOP PROJECTING."


    As the carriage completely flipped over and loud screams could be heard from further inside the carriage, Ruby and I were the only ones to remain unharmed as my tentacles held us up the entire time.


    Feeling the carriage stop shaking and become motionless again, I dismissed the tentacles, causing both Ruby and I to fall to the ground.


    Landing on my feet, I saw Ruby gently descend to the floor and land on her back with a confused expression.


    ...I guess you really can learn from your former enemies.


    This whole spider tentacle thing had been a spontaneous decision inspired by my first-ever battle with the djinn in the mirror room.


    The horror I felt when seeing the tentacles for the first time transformed, as now I felt like Spider-Man when I used them myself.


    How much have I changed since that first incident..?


    Quite a bit... I guess.


    Still, recalling how the tentacles effortlessly pierced through both Liam and Irene''s bodies, a sense of horror still remained.


    Could I do that...? Did I want to do that?


    As the sun shone through the hole in the carriage room from my tentacles, Ruby covered her eyes and asked.


    "Do I even want to know at this point?"


    Offering her my hand with a smile, I replied.


    "I learned a couple of new tricks."


    As she overlapped her hand with mine and gently applied pressure to my palm to stand up, I felt the same sense of warmth from earlier.


    Why was it so comfortable... so natural?


    In that fleeting moment where our hands were joined together, it felt like time stopped...and not literally.


    All my worries and thoughts about our current unknown sensation faded away, being overpowering a sensation of relaxation and warmth.


    Who cared if we were stranded and lost in the middle of a forest...? Who cared if we were about to die?


    The soft sensation of her hand pressing against mine seemed to overpower my mind, calming down my brain, which was moving at the speed of light, trying to figure out our current situation.


    At that moment, there were no negative thoughts or worries inside my head.


    Only positive memories and thoughts flooded my head, causing a small and awkward smile to subconsciously appear on my face.


    If only this moment could last forever...it felt so comfortable and calming...


    However, that was just a dream.


    As Ruby stood up and removed her hand from mine, my mind quickly returned to internal chaos as I tried to make sense of our current situation.


    How had our carriage been teleported over 10,000 meters away from our intended location...?


    Interrupting my thoughts, I saw Lily and Alya appear as they entered the driver''s part of the carriage with Ruby and I.


    Behind her, I could see the carriage in shambles. The chairs were all flipped over, and the floor had dents from things falling, and there were dust clouds everywhere.


    On the other hand, the driver''s compartment was in slightly better condition as I had partially stabilized it with my tentacles.


    Ignoring the destroyed carriage behind her, Lily looked right at me and asked.


    "Are you ready to talk now?"


    "PFFT"


    As Ruby broke into laughter at Lily''s words, I sighed before saying the same exact thing.


    "Like I said, the driver wasn''t here when I woke up."


    Pointing out of the window, I continued.


    "Look, do you know where we are?"


    Glancing out the window, Alya, who had some territorial knowledge as she was the second successor to the Elven throne, muttered.


    "T-that''s the Hajin m-mountain range."


    "..?"


    Responding to Lily''s confusion, Alya continued.


    "I-it''s the barrier between the human and demon realm... which is over ten thousand miles away from where we are supposed to be."

 Chapter 129 - 129:Stranded [3]

    As Lily, once again, slowly turned to face me, I sighed and said.


    "Look, do you really still believe I did this?"


    "...I guess not."


    It seemed like Lily hadn''t hit her head too hard when the carriage flipped over, as she had enough reason to deduce that I wasn''t at fault.


    Seeing the cloud of dust spread towards the driver''s compartment with my enhanced eyesight, I crouched down and jumped upwards.


    Going straight through the hole that my tentacles had made, I landed on the exterior roof of the carriage.


    Looking around, I saw a waterfall and a large clear nearby, and besides that, there was a gigantic forest surrounding us.


    Using my eyes, I tried to peer through the trees and to the edge of the forest, but the forest was so big that even my enhanced eyes couldn''t reach its end.


    Above me, the sky was a bright blue with no clouds in sight, and the sun shined right down on me, causing me to start sweating immediately.


    I wanted to remove my sweatshirt... but my cat was sleeping, and I didn''t want to wake it up...


    From below me and inside the carriage, Ruby''s voice rang out.


    "See anything up there?"


    Shaking my head, I replied.


    "It''s just a forest and a cliff, nothing unusual."


    However, as I continued surveying my surroundings, my thoughts became distracted and abstract.


    Sighing, I realized this would only slow down the time I would take to figure out our situation, so I inwardly told myself.


    "Fine... I''ll do it!"


    Crouching down again, I looked back inside the carriage through the hole before reaching my hand downwards and saying.


    "Here!"


    As the three girls stared at my hand in confusion, I looked away from the hole to avoid their gazes and asked.


    "Two pairs of eyes are better than one... does anyone want to look outside as well?"


    As silence descended in the carriage, I didn''t dare look inside to see what was going on; instead, I continued dangling my hand.


    Surely, this would work, right...?


    Still looking away from the carriage in silence, I felt a warm sensation enveloping my hands as some pressed them to mine.


    Interlocking our fingers, I pulled the hand upwards with my awakened strength, raising them through the hole in the roof.


    But... the figure that was the hand''s owner was not who I was expecting.


    Instead, on the roof next to me stood Lily, whose dazzling blue hair was rustling in the spring breeze.


    Well, my thoughts were back on track, so I wasn''t necessarily mad, but I felt a small disappointment when I looked at Lily next to me.


    Yet, even with that feeling, as Lily''s ocean-blue eyes met mine, I felt memorized and could not force myself to look away.


    Letting go of Lily''s hands and un-interlocking our fingers, I finally gathered the energy to look away and continued surveying our surroundings.


    Beside me, Lily did the same, except I would catch her occasionally gazing at my back with a confused expression.


    *BAM* S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Back inside the carriage, the sound of things loudly moving around echoed, presumably from Ruby and Alya helping the rest of the main cast to stand up.


    After a few moments, I looked back in the carriage and saw Irene waiting inside with Liam, Kevin, and Zach behind her.


    The three of them were covered in bruise marks from falling, and their clothes were a mess, crumpled up and stained from the complimentary snacks.


    Liam gazed at my unbrushed and unblemished clothes with a malicious glint in his eyes, causing me to awkwardly avert my gaze.


    Leaving the job to Lily, I jumped off the carriage and onto the ground, making sure to avoid the holes that my tentacles had made in the ground.


    Using the shade of a nearby tree to avoid the sun''s rays, I took out my smart watch and attempted to use it, but unfortunately, there was no service.


    The humans wouldn''t dare put telephone poles this near to the barrier between them and the demon realm, so it wasn''t surprising.


    Leaning against the tree log, I watched everyone, one by one, jump off the carriage and onto the ground with annoyed expressions.


    Once again, leaving the job of explanation to Lily, I climbed up the tree, standing on the highest branch, to get a better vantage point of the forest.


    There were no concerns about water or food since a waterfall was nearby, and we were in a forest with animals.


    If there were no external variables, we could escape this forest and head back to the human realm with ease.


    Of course, considering that our carriage had been somehow teleported over ten thousand meters, it was safe to assume that at least one variable was present.


    Manifesting a corrupted crow, I sent it flying up into the air and only stopped it when it reached the sky''s height.


    Making sure my branch was stable, I exchanged bodies with the crow for a second before instantly switching back.


    Catching myself on the branch, I sighed as I realized I hadn''t discovered anything, even with the crow''s vision.


    Keeping the crow alive, I sent it flying towards the waterfall and cliff while heading back down the tree.


    Jumping down from the lowest branch, I saw Lily and Ruby walk over to me while the rest stayed by the carriage.


    Shrugging my shoulders, I said.


    "Nothing new."


    Before Lily and Ruby could reply, Kevin''s voice sounded from behind us.


    "We''re a bunch of damn awakened with superpowers... why don''t we just... leave the forest? I mean, it''s not rocket science; let''s just keep walking in a direction until we''re out of this damn place."


    Kevin''s solution had many problems, as wandering around in a forest with no information was practically asking for trouble, yet it was the only solution.


    Staying still would do nothing but waste time.


    Nodding my head to Lily and Ruby, I said.


    "I agree with him."


    We were the strongest D-ranks in the entire world in some mundane forest... escaping it should be easy.

 Chapter 130 - 130:Stranded [4]

    Watching the main cast start discussing whether to do what Kevin said or not, I slunk back into the shadows.


    Switching bodies between me and the crow, I saw a vivid blue lake below the gigantic waterfall that was about the size of a skyscraper in New York.


    However, I still couldn''t find any traces of humanity as the forest remained untouched with no signs of anything moving.


    It was creepy...


    Shouldn''t there be at least some footprints from animals or some traces of blood from predators and prey fighting?


    Then again, this was a mundane forest devoid of any monsters, so the scariest predator here was probably a grizzly bear.


    Returning to my body, I saw that the main cast ahead of me had finished discussing and deciding their decision, not that it mattered to me.


    If they decided to stay, I would still leave.


    To be fair, I doubt they cared about my decision either.


    As their group slowly dispersed, Liam was the first to exit as he started to walk back to the carriage while exclaiming.


    "wow...this day should go down in history...we''re actually listening to one of Kevins'' ideas!"


    Before Kevin could snap back, Zach appeared behind him and started sympathetically patting him on the shoulder.


    "Ignore him, Kevin. Be the better person!"


    Well, that obviously just set off Kevin''s anger even more as he ignored Zach and followed Liam, insulting words already on the tip of his tongue.


    That left Alya, Lily, Ruby, and Irene, who were trying to pick a direction to travel in as they all carefully examined their surroundings.


    If I couldn''t find any clues, what made them think they could?


    Seeing that they had made the decision to attempt to travel out of the forest like me, I turned around, ready to depart.


    Heading in the opposite direction of the waterfall and cliff, I ran at a slow pace until I was finally out of sight. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Quickly ensuring that nobody was around me, I moved the corruption around in my body towards the center, combining it with the blood-red substance.


    Even though I had more corruption, I still couldn''t form two fully-sized wings as my blood-red substance was still lacking.


    Having one big wing was also much faster than having two small wings, but it came with some balance issues, which I was slowly getting used to.


    A wing appeared on my right side as the pitch-black corruption and blood-red substance combined to create a maroon-like substance before flowing to my right shoulder.


    Partially black and partially red, the wing stood out in contrast to soft green grass and light-blue sky, but it didn''t really matter.


    No one would be able to see me while I was moving.


    Flapping my wing twice, I appeared twenty meters in the air and above the trees of the forest.


    Flapping my wings non-stop, I moved through the air at an impeccable speed, only small speed mirages left behind at every location.


    As the wind rushed against my face and my hair flew back from the pressure, I continued speeding through the sky.


    Not caring about conserving corruption or mana, I also used dash every time the cooldown reset, moving even faster.


    Flap.


    Flap.


    Dash.


    Flap


    Flap.


    Dash.


    Although I most definitely wasn''t moving faster than Liana, with the combination of dash and my corrupted wing flapping non-stop, I was only visible to those of low C-rank and above.


    Looking straight ahead, I noticed that despite my incredible speed, the end of the forest wasn''t getting any nearer.


    Deciding to experiment, I looked straight down at the forest instead of looking ahead while flapping my wing and dashing.


    Raising my right hand to my eye, I slowed my perception of time and examined the forest while I flew through the sky like a meteor.


    Behind me, a trail of black and red could be partially seen, as my wing was also present in the speed mirages I left behind.


    The perfect light-blue sky became tainted with the colors of blood-red and night-black every time I flapped my wings, but then, a moment later, the sky would return to normal.


    Examining the forest below me, I noticed something peculiar, causing me to stop after one last dash.


    Levitating high in the air with my wing, I stared down at the forest, feeling a familiar sight with my eyes.


    Was this forest the one I had seen when I first arrived in the mountainside town?


    If so, where''s the town?


    Spinning my head around with my perception time still slowed, I attempted to look for the town... but there weren''t even any signs of humans.


    It was the same as earlier...


    Still levitating in the air, I switched bodies with my crow, immediately seeing a whole new scene.


    In front of the crow, I saw a bustling town at the bottom of the waterfall with countless huts and people frolicking around.


    The adults were making tools or food, and the children were carrying buckets of water from the waterfall back to the village.


    Countless humans were also returning with hunting trips with bodies of dead deer and countless berries in their bags.


    Instantly, the sound of the waterfall hitting rocks and the chattering between the townspeople entered my ear.


    A mundane human village this near to the barrier between the human and demon realm?


    Well, I guess this is a good place, considering that the forest doesn''t have any monsters...


    Returning to my own body, I immediately felt my lifeless body rapidly falling towards the ground.


    Dismissing my wing, I manifested six tentacles, each appearing from my back, and sent them plunging toward the ground at a faster speed than which I was falling.


    As I was a couple of meters away from hitting the ground, the tentacles pierced through the ground, catching me and preventing me from hitting the ground.


    Held up in the air by my tentacles, I stared around for a moment, confirming that I felt a sense of familiarity here.


    Dismissing the tentacles, I descended to the ground and commanded my crow to stay in the vicinity of the waterfall village.

 Chapter 131 - 131:Trapped? [1]

    Walking around the forest, I tried to see if there was anything in particular that was triggering the feeling of familiarity, but there was not.


    Everywhere I gazed, my eyes kept feeling the same feeling, as if recognizing every tree and branch surrounding me.


    Keeping tabs on the waterfall village through the crow''s eyes, I slowly walked around the forest, observing and examining everything.


    "hm?"


    Only a few meters away from where I landed, a familiar waterfall and cliffside entered my sight.


    Switching to the crow''s body, which was at the bottom of a waterfall, I gazed upwards, and with my enhanced eyesight, I saw my lifeless body lying on the ground.


    "...that''s not possible."


    Considering the speed and time I was traveling for, I should have been hundreds of miles away from the water... yet here it was.


    Was this the external variable?


    Leaving the waterfall aside for now, I walked to the right and peered through the dense forest.


    A few meters away from the water, a flipped carriage lay, with holes in the ground right next to it.


    "...? That''s not good, is it?"


    Slowly walking to the carriage, I thoroughly examined it before concluding that it was indeed the carriage I was in not only an hour ago.


    The familiarity with the trees I felt earlier... did I just go in a big circle?


    "...No, I was flying straight ahead in one direction, right?"


    Seeing that nobody else was around, I re-manifested the pitch-black and blood-red wing before appearing ten meters in the air.


    At a slightly slower speed than last time, I flapped my wing, zooming through the sky while occasionally glancing at the ground.


    After a few minutes of traveling in the sky, I descended to the ground and glanced around for a second.


    "...it''s still there."


    The sense of familiarity was still there...


    Walking straight ahead, in the opposite direction of the carriage and waterfall, the sense of familiarity kept growing stronger... until a waterfall entered my sight once again.


    At this point, I had confirmed that I was going in the opposite direction of the waterfall, so I just silently stared at the waterfall in shock.


    "...he jinxed it... just escape, my ass."


    Somehow, I had gone in a complete circle...


    Heading straight, I also spotted the flipped carriage only a few meters away, and beside the carriage lay an exhausted main cast alongside Irene and Ruby.


    "I TOLD YOU GUYS; NEVER LISTEN TO KEVIN."


    "...so you genuinely believe that this shit is my fault."


    "I''m just saying the one day we decide to trust you, some bullshit like this happens. It actually cannot be a coincidence."


    "..."


    Stepping between Liam and Kevin, Zach tapped both of them on the shoulder and said. sea??h th§× n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Look, we''re all tired from running and demotivated from not making any progress, but let''s just take a deep breath."


    Removing Zach''s hand from his shoulder, Liamn calmly replied.


    "Alright.. yeah, arguing isn''t gonna get us anywhere; let''s just rest for a bit and continue trying until something works."


    Nodding his head in approval, Kevin stood up, allowing the group to begin planning their next few steps.


    I guess they figured it out, too.


    No matter which direction you traveled in this forest, your destination was always this spot with the waterfall and flipped carriage...


    Lying down against a nearby tree and staring at the top of the waterfall, I took a moment to regain some of my lost mana.


    I had been in worse scenarios... so I wasn''t as panicked just yet.


    Usually, there was some impending danger that would lead to my death or the end of the world, but in this case, there wasn''t really a big problem.


    Sure, being stranded in this forest was annoying, but was it a world-ending problem?


    Slumping down again the trunk of the tree, I dismissed all my corrupted items except the crow and also began planning.


    There was one direction I hadn''t tried yet... and I doubt the main cast had tried it as well.


    It was also the same direction of the village that my crow had discovered.


    After sitting around in the shade for a couple of minutes, I reluctantly stood up and walked to the edge of the cliff.


    Looking downwards, I saw the waterfall accompanied by a steep drop; however, that wasn''t the real problem.


    The problem was getting back up off the clip once I dropped all the way down...


    There were tons of protruding rocks sticking out of the cliff, so I couldn''t just use my wing and constantly appear ten meters upwards until I reached the top.


    I would have to flap my wing, calculate the route for my ten-meter jump, then flap, and then calculate around twenty times.


    It would take at least three hours for me to get back up, but I could go down in less than a minute.


    "Well... it''s not like I have a choice?"


    Jumping off the cliff, I manifested six tentacles from my back and sent them plunging downwards.


    ...I probably looked like a gigantic flying spider from the waterfall village''s perspective, didn''t I..?


    Free-falling in the air, I used my eyes to examine the area of the forest below the cliff and saw something out of the ordinary.


    There were some tracks of humans as I saw tiny footprints and signs of fights, but that was too expected, considering there was a village.


    Weaving and turning to avoid the protruding rocks as I fell downwards, I turned myself around mid-air so that the tentacles and my back were facing the cliffside.


    Then, right as the bottom of the waterfall fast approached, I sent the tentacles piercing backward, causing them to go right into the cliffside wall.


    Holding me in the air right above the bottom of the waterfall, the tentacles went deeper into the cliffside, creating multiple holes before finally stabilizing me.


    Just like that, the scene of the human with tentacles coming out of his back, floating in the air next to a waterfall could be seen.

 Chapter 132 - 132:Trapped? [2]

    Staring at the pool of water below me, I saw my reflection, causing me to shiver as some flashbacks emerged in my head.


    Regaining my composure, I looked towards the side of the pool of water and saw the same village my crow had been watching earlier.


    Maybe this weird village had some clues...?


    De-manifesting the tentacles, I narrowly avoided the water by using a dash-mid air and landing on the edge of the pool.


    Picking myself off the ground, I walked towards the village, which had a fence surrounding it and only one entrance, a large gate.


    Seeing children run out of the gate with large wooden buckets and approach the pool of water, I considered asking for directions before continuing.


    They probably wouldn''t know much, so it would be better to ask one of the adults.


    ...And it would also be suspicious and weird if some guy randomly showed up in your village in the middle of a forest and started asking your children for directions.


    Passing by the children, who either didn''t see me or ignored me, I neared the village gate and stopped for a second.


    Peering through the gate, I saw that beside the huts, there were also some trees that had been remodeled to create tree-house-like structures.


    Seeing them using fire to cook the dead animals and squish berries using their hands, I could easily tell that they weren''t very... advanced.


    With a stove and knives, they could do all of that in less than a minute!


    Then, again, there was probably a reason they chose to live in the middle of some forest instead of some urban town.


    Awkwardly waiting by the gate, I waited by the gate for an adult to come out, but after a couple of minutes, only kids continued coming back out.


    Peering back through the gate but still not entering, I saw the adults still cooking the animals and slicing the berries.


    "damn... can they hurry up already?"


    As I considered just going through the gate and walking up to one of them, another batch of kids left through the gate with the same wooden buckets in their hands.


    "...how much water do they need???"


    Well... I guess I can just ask one of the children to fetch an adult at this point.


    Watching the children gather the water in their buckets and carefully lug the bucket back to the gate, I leaned against the fence and attempted to put on my friendliest expression.


    As the children approached the gate, I leaned down a bit and waited.


    Seeing one of the children about to walk right past me and into the town, I crouched down to his height and said.


    "Could you please fetch one of the adults inside? I need to talk with one of them as soon as possible."


    "..."


    However, the child completely ignored my words, walking right through the care without even acknowledging my existence.


    Tempted to look at my expression through my reflection in the pool of water, I sighed.


    "Was I really that unfriendly that a kid hates me...?"


    Well, there''s always a next time.


    Making me smile slightly wider, I waited for the next child to approach the gate before again leaning down and asking.


    "Hello! Can you, by any chance, ask one of the elders to come out and help me?"


    "..."


    Completely ignoring me, the child walked straight past and through the gate before setting down his bucket of water.


    ...no, this isn''t my fault!


    They must have good parents who told their children, "Don''t talk to strangers! Stranger, Danger!"


    They must have really good parents to be ignoring me, a stranger, so intently and confidently!


    Finally deciding to enter the village, I stepped forward and in front of the gate, but at that moment, another batch of children appeared.


    Surely, they can''t ignore me if I''m right in front of them, right...?


    Standing in front of them, I was about to ask the same question when I paused mid-sentence.


    The two children who had ignored me from earlier were back with another bucket...?


    Then, before I could say anything, the children simply walked forward, forcing me to step out of their way.


    Like robots, the children walked down to the pool of water, filled up their buckets, and then immediately returned.


    This time, I simply watched them and carefully memorized the faces of all of them for next time.


    Then, a moment later, another batch of children emerged... but they were all the same children as the last batch. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Peering inside the village through the gate after the batch of children left, I noticed that the adults were still cooking their meat and slicing the berries.


    Something was wrong...


    As the batch of children entered the town with their buckets, I stepped right in front of the gate.


    A moment later, the same children reappeared, but this time, I didn''t move out of the way and continued blocking the gate.


    The leader of the children hesitated and looked at me for a moment before stepping to the front and asking.


    "Who are you, and what do you need?"


    "I am an adventurer; I require one of the adults to speak to."


    Staring at me for a second, the leader stepped back and gestured for the rest of the children to follow.


    Still standing in front of the gate, I watched the children walk into a nearby hut with the same empty buckets in their hands.


    But... then a moment, the same children reappeared in front of me with the same empty buckets and no adult.


    The hut door hadn''t opened...had they gone out the backdoor or something?


    And why hadn''t they brought one of the adults like I asked?


    Blocking their way once again, I looked at the group of children with a confused expression and raised my hand.


    Staring at me with the same expression as last time, the children''s leader stepped up and asked.


    "Who are you, and what do you need?"

 Chapter 133 - 133:Trapped? [3]

    Staring at the group of children with a confused expression, I muttered out.


    "w-what?"


    Letting out a groan, the children''s leader looked back at the rest of the children and said.


    "You guys go; I''ll take care of this guy."


    As I remained shellshocked in front of the gate, the children walked past me and towards the pool of water with their buckets.


    Not giving me time to regain my composure, the leader of the children stared at me and asked.


    "Can''t you see you''re blocking our way? What do you want?"


    Taking a couple of deep breaths, I looked at the child and said,


    "I just told you, didn''t I? I need an adult to speak with for some directions...I''m an adventurer who is a bit lost."


    Matching my confused expression, the child replied.


    "What do you mean "just told you?" This is the first time I''ve ever seen you."


    "..."


    " *sigh* If it''s an adult you want, I''ll get one for you... but there''s no need to lie or come up with stupid excuses."


    As the children''s leader turned around and headed for the same hut, the other children returned with their buckets full of water and reentered the village.


    ...what the hell was going on?


    Were these kids playing some kind of trick on me?


    No... he seemed genuine, right?


    "...I take back everything I said about them having good parents...if they can lie this well at such a young age, their parents must be criminals."


    Sighing, I watched the children''s leader enter the same exact hut as last time, hoping that this time an adult would actually come out.


    But...a moment later, even though the hut door did not budge an inch, the children''s leader, alongside the same group of children, reappeared in front of me.


    "Who are you, and what do you ne-"


    Interrupting the children''s leader midsentence, I stepped forward and replied.


    "Look, is this some kind of joke to you? Can you just grab an adult for me... the first time, sure, I''ll admit it was funny, but now it''s getting repetitive."


    Staring at me with a startled expression due to my annoyed tone, the children''s leader confusedly nodded his head before turning and heading to the same exact hut.


    I swear to god, I''m going in there myself if an adult doesn''t come out this time...


    While we waited for the children''s leader to return from the hut, one of the children with the empty buckets spoke out.


    "Sir...what were you talking about this ''joke?'' "


    ...So they''re all in on this goddamn joke, aren''t they...?


    Facepalming, I replied.


    "Look, I''ll give it to you guys; your coordination and acting are unmatched. But you have to know when a joke is over, alright?"


    "..?"


    "..?"


    "..?"


    As the children stared at me in silence with confused expressions, I resisted the urge to punch something.


    "Look like we have a bunch of comedians in this village, don''t we?"


    At my question, yet another child stepped back and worriedly asked.


    "Sir... what is a comedian?"


    Looking at the group of children, who were all wearing concerned and confused expressions, I actually felt like the bad guy.


    They were the ones trying to trick me... I''m not the bad guy!


    Closing my eyes and attempting to calm myself before I did anything drastic, I began thinking of what questions to ask the adult when he came.


    Reopening my eyes, I almost collapsed to the floor as I realized that the group of children had completely disappeared.


    Turning around to face the pool of water, I noticed that they weren''t there either.


    ...Either they''re really good at coordinating and making elaborate tricks, or something is seriously wrong.


    As if confirming questions, when I turned back around to face the gate, the same group of children with their leader at the front was standing there...with no adult in sight.


    Realizing that something was off, I spoke before the children''s leader could say anything and hurriedly asked.


    "Do you remember me?"


    "...? No...who are you, and what do you need?"


    Oh god... I''ve been yelling at a bunch of children for no reason...


    It was a loop.


    The children weren''t constantly getting buckets of water; it was that every time they returned with their water, the loop reset.


    This made it seem as if the children were always gathering water.


    The same went for the adults who were cooking and chopping the berries as the loop ended before they finished, giving off the illusion that they were permanently cooking animals and making berries.


    Turning away from the village gate, I headed back to the gate of water.


    Talking to them would be useless... they would forget everything before I could get some useful information out of them.


    Sitting by the edge of the water pool, I saw the loop reset in real time as the same children came to the pool to gather water every thirty seconds without fail.


    It was a full circle, a loop.


    Just like I always ended up back at the flipped carriage and waterfall, these children always got water, and the adults always cooked and chopped.


    This entire forest was stuck in a loop.


    The only reason the main cast, Ruby, Irene, and I, are able to retain our memories is because we are awakened, so our mental fortitude is increased...


    But... what if we couldn''t?


    What if I unknowingly lived the same life over and over... and over again like these poor children and adults?


    What if I was one of those children, collecting water at every thirty-second interval while still thinking I was living a completely normal life?


    Terrible...it was terrible. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This world truly was cruel...


    Sighing, I watched the children collect their water one last time before getting up and heading back to the cliff.


    I had a long hike ahead of me... and after that I had a long way to get out of this damned loop.


    But...one thing had changed.


    I wasn''t doing it completely for myself...those children deserved to live a normal life, not living in this artificial loop over and over again like a drone.

 Chapter 134 - 134:Trapped? [4]

    The hike back up the cliff was exhausting as arduous as I had to stop, calculating the exact route I needed to take to reach the next rock, then summon my wing, and finally flap it.


    However, at least I had some motivation now.


    Halfway up the cliff, I stared downwards at the village, seeing the same group of kids gathering water in their empty buckets.


    How many times had it been now?


    Over 100 times...


    Since I had begun climbing this cliff to get back up, these poor children had gathered water over a hundred times.


    Recalling how I had loudly yelled and ridiculed the children, I almost lost my grip on the cliffside and plummeted back down toward the village.


    I was by no means a saint or good person for that matter... but still, there were some boundaries that couldn''t be crossed.


    As I continued my difficult journey up the cliff, a sudden thought popped into my head.


    How long had that village been stuck in the loop...?


    Days, months, years, tens of years, and even centuries... no one knew.


    Remembering how the village looked so old and had such little advanced technology, I could only sigh.


    It had to be more than ten years, at least, if the civilization was so little advanced that they still gathered water with buckets and cooked food with fire.


    How long had those townspeople been gathering the same water, cooking the same animal corpse, and slicing the same barriers?


    Were those children and adults... enjoying their life?


    I mean, they had no idea about the loop or repetitive actions, so in their heads, it would be just another normal day.


    Oblivious to how they had been repeating themselves for over ten years, in their minds, the children could actually be happy.


    Wasn''t I doing the same thing..?


    I had been acting oblivious to thousands of deaths and tragedies taking place around me, even though I knew about them, and giving the excuse that they didn''t involve me.


    Well, in the children''s and adults'' cases, it was different; they weren''t acting... they truly had no idea about what was going on.


    But, was me acting oblivious a bad thing...?


    I mean, I didn''t have any negative feelings, sadness, anger, or depression at myself when I ignored these events.


    It just felt normal... like it was regular and completely ok for me to ignore these things.


    And it was completely normal that I cared for my own life above the lives of others; in my head, there was nothing wrong with what I was doing.


    Sure, there were slight moments of guilt, but those feelings quickly disappeared when I imagined my death being caused by my intrusion in one of those tragedies.


    On the other hand, Lily was the complete opposite as she went out of her way to prevent every tragedy she could.


    As soon as she had transmigrated, she went straight into action, saving the town on the outskirts of the human realm from a djinn attack for the prologue event.


    What had I been doing as soon as I transmigrated...?


    Gathering overpowered items, honing my skills, and training in order to ensure my survival.


    To be fair, the two of us were in completely different situations.


    Lily spawned in as an overpowered character who already had tons of abilities, wealth, and items... whereas I was just some extra with nothing to my name.


    Well...it wasn''t like that mattered, though.


    Even if I had been transmigrated into the body of some important character with overpowered abilities and family backing, I would have done the same thing.


    In fact, I would have probably done more.


    I would have gathered more powerful items and abilities, once again ignoring the tragedies occurring around me.


    Our mindsets were different.


    Was one of our mindsets morally incorrect and seen as flawed by society?


    Yes, I wholeheartedly believed that if the people around me discovered or learned about my current mindset, they would ridicule me and look down at me with disgust. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If Lily''s mindset was revealed, she would be celebrated as a hero by society and be given countless awards and presents.


    Even if the evidence shows that my actions gave way to a better end result, whereas Lily''s actions caused the world to end, peoples'' opinions wouldn''t change.


    |But why did society''s opinion of my mindset matter?


    Who were they to decide what I wanted to do with my life?


    I was completely fine with doing things like this.


    That was the only thing that mattered.


    If I didn''t want to do something, I didn''t do it. If I wanted to do something, then I did it.


    That was it... end of story.


    So, what if I was seen as flawed by others?


    Teleporting one up one last time, I took one last glance at the village below before slumping down on the ground.


    Exhausted, I fetched my crow from watching the village and ordered him to grab me some food.


    A couple of minutes later, the crow appeared above my body with a bright red apple in its claws.


    *MEOW*


    "...get one for the cat too."


    After dropping the first apple into my hands, the crow appeared a couple of seconds later with another apple, which I cut before handing it to my cat.


    Enjoying the sweet taste of the apple''s skin, I lay on the ground, watching the sunset, and the sky slowly turns black, indicating the start of the night.


    Heroes?


    Villains?


    There was no such thing.


    There were titles given to people by other people.


    Why did people have the ability and right to give others titles?


    They didn''t.


    Well... there were some heroes in this world.


    But other people didn''t give these titles to these heroes.


    The title of hero was assigned to Liam, Kevin, Lily, Alya, Zach, and now maybe Irene and Ruby by the creator of this world.


    The Author.


    He had the right to give out those titles... because he literally made the characters.


    "I guess that makes my title permanently a third-rate villain then..."


    Shutting my eyelids, I basked in the cold breeze of the night, slowly drifting off to sleep.

 Chapter 135 - 135:A Loop [1]

    Waking up the next day, I felt more motivated than usual as energy coursed through my veins, and my brain was already spinning in circles, trying to find solutions.


    As soon as I woke up, the crow appeared above me before swiftly descending and sitting on the ground beside me.


    The next moment, my black cat jumped out of my hoodie and onto the ground, staring at the grow with its eyes sparkling.


    Those two should get along, right...?


    Both animals'' exteriors were pitch-black, so the temperature was hotter for them, so after a moment, they both dashed a nearby tree.


    The crow, watching the cat lie down in the shade of the tree immediately after waking up, turned its gaze to me, seemingly saying.


    "You make me work all damn day, but this cat just sleeps..? What the hell is this???"


    It was true; for the entire day yesterday, I had kept the crow alive and hard at work, making sure it monitored the waterside village in case of any anomalies.


    The crow didn''t require corruption to keep it alive, but only to manifest it, so I had no problem keeping it alive as long as I wanted.


    However, the strain on my mind from switching between bodies started to grow, so I only checked on the crow at specific intervals.


    Also, joining my animals in the shade, I leaned against the tree and examined my surroundings.


    It was the same as yesterday.


    Usually, the breeze of the night sky should have blown away some leaves, and there should have been some animal tracks from nocturnal animals... but there was nothing.


    The area around me was exactly the same as it was yesterday.


    The position of the leaves, color of the leaves, and amount of leaves remained the same.


    Confirming something, I switched bodies with my crow and controlled it to fly toward the tree where it had gotten my two apples from yesterday.


    Approaching the tree, I saw that the apples were there despite my crow having picked them yesterday.


    "...apples don''t grow that fast."


    I truly was in a loop.


    Well, I already knew that, but it helped to know that the forest would also reset alongside the townsmen.


    "...can I just do anything to this forest, then?"


    Infinite wood, infinite plants, infinite fruits, and most important of all, infinite time!


    What would Raven say in this scenario?


    "hah... it''s been ages since I''ve seen that kid..."


    Would he confused that I hadn''t arrived when I said I would...?


    Or...did the loop also affect the outside world?


    For every day that passed in this loop, did a day pass in the world outside the world? ...or was it longer or shorter?


    Returning to my own body, I picked up the cat, allowing him to cover himself from the sun in my hoodie, and sent the crow to continue monitoring the waterfall town.


    Making my way through the familiar forest, I spotted the flipped carriage alongside the main cast, who were lying on the ground.


    "..damn it, why can''t Liam do some protagonist things for once and get us out of this damn loop!"


    *RUSTLE*


    Hearing the bushes behind me rustle, I immediately turned around.


    A couple of meters behind me stood Ruby, who was also chewing on an apple while staring at me.


    "What was that?"


    Shaking my head, I replied.


    "Nothing."


    Putting the apple down and walking towards it, Ruby responded.


    "I''m pretty sure you said something about a ''loop?'' "


    "Yeah... this whole forest in stuck in one gigantic loop."


    "mhm."


    Seeing her have no reaction to the news of the loop, I scratched my head and asked.


    "You knew?"


    Walking past me and towards the flipped carriage, Ruby replied.


    "Yeah, our group also figured it out yesterday... we''re surprisingly productive when Liam and Kevin aren''t arguing."


    Seeing the shock evidence on my face, Ruby smirked and said.


    "What? You realize you''re not special anymore."


    "...you do know your group of six discovered what I found out as a single person, right?"


    Stopping next to me, Ruby got on her tippy-toes and began patting my shoulder.


    "Keep the excuses coming; whatever helps you cope."


    "...really, that''s how we''re playing?"


    "I''m just saying we''d get much more done if we all worked together instead of you just going off to wherever."


    Shaking my head, I asked.


    "So, how''d you guys find out."


    "Well, we obviously noticed something was wrong when, no matter how far we ran, we also ended back up here."


    Pointing at the carriage, Ruby continued.


    "Since we were all suspicious, none of us dared to sleep tonight. We had flipped over the carriage, intending to sleep in it, but in real-time, we watched it magically flip right back over. Then, after some more tests, Lily told us that we were stuck in some kind of time loop."


    Well, considering there was an incident involving time loops later on in the school year, it wasn''t surprising that Lily had recognized this situation as a loop.


    Grabbing the sleeve of my hoodie but not my hand, Ruby tugged on it, pushing me towards her, and asked.


    "So, what do you think? Pretty genius, right? Are you going to join us now?"


    "You guys got lucky because you stayed up like idiots sleeping, you know? I actually discovered it through exploring."


    Pulling the sleeve of my hoodie harder, Ruby replied.


    "Whatever you say, Ren. C''mon, let''s go!"


    Shaking my head as she pulled me towards the carriage, I took out one of the precious eggs from a nest my crow had discovered earlier in the morning.


    Since the day reset every day, I basically had infinite eggs, so I could spare one.


    "Here, take this."


    "... an egg, really?"


    Shrugging my shoulders, I replied.


    "Well, it''s the best food you''ll find around here."


    "...thanks, I guess."


    Sighing, I glanced at the area around the carriage, ensuring everyone else was asleep, and asked.


    "Do you really want me to cook it for you?" S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "YES! I thought you would never ask!"


    Tugging my sleeve even harder, Ruby dragged me out of the trees and into the clearing where the flipped carriage was.

 Chapter 136 - 136:A Loop [2]

    Walking out of the shade of the trees, I placed my hand over my forehead to block out the sunlight.


    Removing the hand from my forehead, I brushed back my hair before manifesting a pair of pitch-black sunglasses and putting them over my eyes.


    Feeling the sweat accumulate and drip down my body alongside my desire for water increasing, I finally decided to discard my corrupted sweatshirt.


    In times like this... I wish that not everything I made with corruption was black.


    I mean, who wants to wear a gigantic black hoodie in 100-degree weather???


    As my sweatshirt disappeared, revealing the countless corrupted bandages on my arms from my fight in the outer-space-like area, my cat also free-fell in the air.


    Manifesting a backpack with my corruption, I caught the cat mid-air before putting him in the bag, not zipping him up.


    Peeking his head out of the top of the backpack, the pitch-black threw his paw at my back, seemingly attempting to scold me for waking him back.


    Well... I guess I didn''t have it as bad as my crow or cat.


    They must be burning up; after all, they''re entirely pitch-black.


    Ruby, who had been tugging on the sleeve of my sweatshirt, turned around in confusion as the cloth in her hands had disappeared.


    Before she could even speak, I manifested a black cap and placed it over my hair, completely blocking the sun from hitting the rest of my face.


    ...Wasn''t I getting a bit comfortable using corruption?


    Nah, these were all essential things to get me through the day!


    Clad in white pants and a white, both with the Elven realm logo, I inwardly thanked Liana for giving me some clothes.


    Staring at my black hat and sunglasses, which were actually quite elegant as their color was completely black without any blemishes, Ruby asked.


    "Aren''t you getting a bit too comfortable? I mean, you look like you''re going on vacation at the beach."


    Shaking my head, I replied.


    "These are essentials, though. Seems like someone''s getting a bit jealous; correct me if I''m wrong!"


    Turning back around to hide her face, Ruby replied.


    "You are, in fact, wrong; I actually have more important things to worry about, like comfort."


    "I told you they''re essential! "


    Hearing Ruby scoff, I looked at her attire, which included some pants that resembled jeans and a long-sleeve shirt adorned with the Elven realm logo.


    As Ruby sped up towards the carriage, I tried to catch up, but every time I got remotely close to her, she just sped up even more.


    Was she really annoyed?


    Well, to be fair, I was basically showing off my comfort to her... but I was planning to give her a hat if she just asked!


    Activating the usage period of the dash, I created yet another pitch-black hat using the dash and appearing right behind her.


    Before she could speed back up, I placed the black hat on her and side-stepped to her right side.


    Stopping for a moment, Ruby smirked before taking a hair tie out of her pocket.


    After tying her elegant black hair into a ponytail, Ruby brushed her bangs back into the hat and adjusted the hat so that her ponytail flowed out of the little hole in the back.


    Seeing Ruby continue to walk, I asked.


    "Happy, now?"


    Walking back towards the carriage, Ruby shrugged her shoulders and replied.


    "If you had two hats in the first place, why didn''t you just give me one?"


    "...that''s not, wait, you just saw me create it w-"


    Speeding in front of me again, Ruby turned around to face me and winked, her ponytail fluttering as the breeze came in.


    Following her, I glanced around my surroundings, seeing the rest of the main cast fast asleep under the shade of the trees.


    She was calling me unfocused, yet her group was fast asleep this entire time!?


    Well, they did stay up the entire night to confirm the loop, but still, I had to hike up a damn mountain yesterday, and I was awake!


    Walking past the sleeping cast, I met up with Ruby, who was beside the carriage with the egg in her hand.


    Seeing me approach, Ruby shook her head.


    "We don''t have all day, you know."


    "You do understand; I''m the one cooking for you, right?"


    "Good job, you''re doing the bare minimum. Want a trophy?"


    Chuckling at her sarcasm, I took the egg out of her hand and manifested a frying pan with my corruption.


    ...What could possibly go wrong when cooking food with corruption!?


    Staring at the pan that appeared in my hand, Ruby clapped her hands before watching me carefully crack the egg open, allowing the yolk to fall onto the pan.


    The sun was so hot that you quite literally fry an egg, which was both a good and bad thing. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Placing the frying pan on the part of the flipped carriage, exposing the egg fully to the sun, I leaned against the carriage and tried to make sense of our situation.


    A Loop has a start and end condition.


    I had already figured out the start condition was when a new day started, as the forest would reset at that time.


    However, discovering an end condition in this massive forest would be a problem, to say the least.


    It could be anything from stepping on a certain rock or pulling a specific branch...or in other words, it was completely up to luck.


    We could escape in the next minute by accidentally triggering the conditions, or in the worst case, never escape and be stuck in this loop forever...


    As the egg finished cooking, I grabbed a leaf, cleaned off the surface, and put the egg on the leaf before handing it to Ruby.


    Ruby''s words were right...searching a group would be much faster as we would be able to assign certain locations to people and work together.


    However, to work efficiently with the main cast, I would need to expose the full range of powers.


    Three days.


    That''s how much time I was giving myself before I gave up and joined the main cast.

 Chapter 137 - 137:A Loop [3]

    Leaving the corrupted hat with Ruby, I watched her eat the fried egg with a happy expression before departing.


    De-manifesting both my backpack and frying pan, I placed the cat on my shoulder and headed towards the waterfall.


    I didn''t have much corruption to spare today.


    Instead of flying at incredible speeds above the forest like last time, I simply walked through the forest like I was taking a stroll.


    However, it was far from that.


    As I walked around, my eyes scanned every single inch of my surroundings, looking for anything that had changed or an abnormality had occurred.


    My head swiveled in all directions like an owl as I walked through the forest, memorizing every single bit.


    Today, I wasn''t searching for the end condition.


    I was simply memorizing the layout of all the trees, branches, leaves, bushes, and everything else inside the forest.


    Tomorrow, the search would begin.


    In order to recognize an abnormality in the forest, I would first have to know what is normal in the forest.


    That was the goal of today.


    Once I knew what was normal, I could begin seriously searching for abnormal occurrences and hopefully find the end condition through that.


    Stopping after two hours of non-stop walking, I slumped against a nearby tree and began caressing my head.


    My brain was more than overloaded with information about the forest; I wasn''t even 10% done with discovering its full layout.


    This wasn''t sustainable or possible for one person... S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Thankfully, I wasn''t just one person.


    I was a person with the ability to create countless animals with my corruption.


    I didn''t just have one mind; I had as many minds as the amount of animals my corruption could create.


    Manifesting a new crow, I stored all the information on the layout of this part of the forest inside its subconscious before allowing it to roam free.


    As my head released and discarded the information, I got up from the tree with a sigh.


    Although my brain was ready to accept information, it didn''t mean that it wanted to.


    My entire head was burning up, and my head was pounding as I simply stood still.


    Memorizing the layout of this gigantic forest was an insane and arduous task, but it was necessary.


    And there was no one else who could do it besides me, leaving me with the task.


    Manifesting five new crows, I sent them all in different directions, intending for them to memorize the layout of the forest themselves.


    While they were slower than me, I mentally and physically couldn''t spend the entire day walking around the forest.


    As the crows flew up into the sky, shrouding the light-blue sky with darkness, I walked to a nearby tree where a familiar nest sat.


    If I was going to do this, I would need a lot of food to sustain myself, as I would be burning thousands of calories.


    Climbing up the tree, I laid on the tallest branch with my head propped against the trunk and stared around.


    Taking in my surroundings and absorbing my information while feasting on a fried egg was a new experience, to say the least.


    As my ravens slowly filled out their mind with information about the new forests, I allowed them to rest before summoning another batch of ravens.


    Despite the insane amount of corruption I had gained from the outer-space-like space, I was, for the first time, running dangerously low.


    De-manifesting my hat and sunglasses, I leaned further against the tree, using the shade to block out the sun.


    At this point, I was at my maximum: eleven ravens and one single hat.


    *CA-CAW*


    Watching the crows with filled minds and memories land on the branch next to me, I sent off the new batch to different areas of the forest.


    Like statues, the old crows simply stood on a branch lifelessly with theirs closed and hearing blocked off.


    If they opened their eyes, they would receive new memories and information from this area, forcing them to discard their information about the part of the forest they explored.\\


    Well, it was only for today.


    Once I had the entire forest layout in my head and the heads of my crows, I could use my corruption to create an intricate map with every single detail.


    After creating the map, I could discard all the memories from my crows and use the map to identify abnormalities.


    "...this certainly doesn''t feel like a day..."


    Having lost track of time due to my mind being filled with information, I could only stare up at the sky to prevent myself from receiving new information.


    Finally, the sun began to set, plunging the entire world into the darkness of the night, and my new crows returned, their heads packed with information.


    Patting the new crows on their hands as they landed, I jumped down from the tree with my eyes closed.


    Feeling my legs land on the ground, I infused my hands with physical corruption and began to follow my brain''s instructions, molding a map of the area I had explored.


    Finishing up my area of the map, I reopened my eyes, finally able to look at my surroundings without fearing losing memories, and moved onto the crow beside me.


    Tapping the crow on the head, I felt my head flood with the crow''s memories, instantly causing me to shut my eyes in pain.


    With my eyes closed once again, I used the physical corruption to manifest the crow''s explored area.


    Dismissing the crow as its area had been mapped, I moved on to the next one


    Then, I moved on to the new crow.


    Then, the next...


    then, the next...


    then the next.


    "t-the last one."


    Struggling to stand-up straight, I dismissed the last crow as his memories flooded into my head.


    Moving my trembling hands with my eyes closed, I intricately mapped out the last area of the forest, completing the map.


    Clearing my head of everything related to the forest''s layout, I almost cried tears of relief as I stared at the map in front of me.


    "i-it''s perfect."

 Chapter 138 - 138:A Loop [4]

    Looking at the small yet elaborate map lying on the floor behind me, I collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.


    It had hurt and been so painful... yet it was worth it. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Every detail of this gigantic forest had been captured on a single map that was less than a thousandth the size of the forest.


    Of course, the map was only usable to me or others with comparable eyesight to mine, as its scale was around one to a thousand.


    The trees of the forest were barely visible to most awakened, and to mundane humans, the map would just look like a huge blur.


    Since I had memorized the directions on creating the map while making it for the first time, I could de-manifest and create it at any moment I wanted to.


    Lying down on the floor, I peered through the dense branches above me and saw the half-crescent moon shining right down on me.


    I had done it.


    Even though I had spent over half the day simply looking at the sky with my eyes closed to prevent myself from losing information, the sky was more beautiful than ever right now.


    Freedom.


    I had the freedom to actually open my eyes and look at the world around me.


    "...I''m getting out of this damn loop no matter what."


    If I went through all that pain and suffering just to be stuck in this loop forever, I would jump off that cliff myself.


    De-manifesting the map, I basked in the breeze of the night sky before feeling my cat jump off my shoulder and onto my head.


    Standing on my face and blocking my mouth, my cat threw its paw at my hair, seemingly patting me on the head.


    "y-yeah, yeah, I know I''m the greatest to ever do it."


    Closing my eyes, I felt my consciousness slowly drift further and further away until I finally fell asleep.


    Waking up the next day to the sun''s rays shining down on my body, I couldn''t even get up as the toll of yesterday''s work was finally catching up to me.


    Dragging my body over to the shade of a nearby tree, I simply leaned against a log and surveyed my surroundings.


    The hard part was done.


    Everything that happened now was out of my hands.


    I had done everything I could to give myself the greatest chance of identifying the end conditions of this loop.


    Now, all that was left... was getting lucky.


    And I had been pretty unlucky recently, especially with this sudden transfer to this loop.


    Resting in the shade of the tree for a couple more minutes, I finally gathered the energy to get up and eat breakfast.


    As the calories and nutrients from the egg slowly replenished my body, I manifested the map and started to plan what areas I would go through the day.


    Feeding a bit of the egg yolk to the cat, who trying to go back to sleep already, I slowly walked towards my first area of exploration.


    Stopping at the border of the entrance for the first area, I combined my corruption with the blood-red substance to create a black and red wing.


    Making a small bag perfectly fitted for my cat, I put it around my shoulder and placed my now-sleeping cat inside.


    Levitating above the forest, I stood for a moment, appreciating how I could actually see, before sighing.


    It was up to luck now...


    Was that a good or bad thing?


    Only time will tell...


    Next, I manifested the map of the forest and made it float right below my legs, using it as some type of hoverboard.


    Activating the usage period of the dash, I flapped my wings before dashing, looking down at the forest and my map the entire time.


    Limiting myself to the first area, I scanned the entire perimeter by flying by, slowly encircling the area until I reached the middle.


    First Area.


    Nothing.


    "...not a good sign."


    My stats say that my luck is either G- or S+, so I don''t find it immediately; my luck likely isn''t S+.


    Then, that leaves one option left for my luck stat.


    G-.


    But who knows?


    Luck works in mysterious ways!


    At least, that was why I was trying to tell myself not to lose motivation.


    Letting out a sigh, which was at least my hundredth in this loop alone, I moved on to the next area, using the same exact method.


    Starting from the edges and working my way through the area of the forest until I reach the exact center.


    Finishing the second area without any sign of abnormalities, I decided to take a short break by checking up on the main cast.


    If my luck was G-, then my best chance at finding the abnormality was with the main cast, who had higher-than-average luck stats.


    Marking the two areas off my map, I de-manifested my wings, descended to the ground, and moved toward the area where the carriage was located.


    Walking past the waterfall area on my way there, I peered downwards and saw the same children gathering the same water at the same exact location.


    All of a sudden, all my complaints disappeared.


    At least I didn''t have it as bad as them.


    Over ten years of just... gathering water non-stop.


    And the worst part?


    They didn''t even know... they wholeheartedly believed they were living a normal life.


    What were the challenges I had to go through compared to that?


    Nothing.


    Manifesting a black hat, I tipped it downwards to cover my face... as I didn''t know what expression I was wearing.


    And I certainly didn''t want other people to see whatever expression was currently on my face.


    Reeling in my emotions, I arrived at the carriage area and saw both Kevin and Liam scanning the area around the carriage.


    Slipping into the shadows and using my stealth skill, I watched as they carefully touched every tree, branch, and even bush in the forest.


    Lily must have come up with the same strategy as me.


    Manifesting a crow, I sent the raven to spy on the two in case they discovered something abnormal.


    It was very possible that they could discover something but not know it.

 Chapter 139 - 139:Conditions [1]

    Watching Kevin and Liam search their assigned area with amazing teamwork and efficiency, I sighed before turning around.


    Since Liam was the protagonist, it was likely that he would find the end condition due to his higher luck stat, so I ordered the crow to keep watch over him before departing.


    It was six people versus one...while I had the better strategy, they had more coordination and efficiency.


    I couldn''t search the same amount of area their group of six did, but they couldn''t easily recognize the end condition as I could.


    My crows couldn''t even come close to keeping up with the speed of a mundane human, especially not six D-rank humans.


    Effort didn''t matter in this scenario.


    No matter how much effort I put in, considering my luck stat was most like an abysmal G- and my lack of manpower, the odds of me finding it were zero.


    But then, why was I still searching? Why I hadn''t joined up with the main cast, the group was more statistically and logically inclined to find the end condition.


    Why was I being so stubborn about staying alone?


    These people weren''t my enemies.


    I had said it myself; the author determined these people to be heroes.


    They had the same goals as me; they just used different methods.


    But, then, who was my enemy?


    Who were my teammates, my friends, and my acquaintances?


    Entering the next area, I manifested my wings and flew above the trees with my map at my feet.


    I knew the answers to these questions, but I chose to ignore them.


    The likelihood of us finding the end condition would increase if I joined them, right now, yet despite knowing that, I decided to stall for time.


    I knew that finding the end condition alone in three days was close to impossible.


    Activating the usage period of the dash, I flapped my wing before using a dash, reappearing twenty meters ahead in the air.


    "Not there."


    Circling around the perimeter of the area, I looked like a drone, staring downwards at the ground while floating.


    There were reasons I didn''t want to group up.


    Obviously, I would have to display my abilities, but another reason was a lack of familiarity and an excess of animosity between us.


    It was like transferring to a new school and asking yourself to join a completely new friend group.


    I coudln''t just forcefully include myself in the group; they had to actually accept me, and considering my attitude...I would have to show something amazing to join.


    Sighing, mid-dash, I knew that it was no longer a choice.


    Three days was the maximum I had given myself.


    Stopping mid-thought, I halted in the air and looked downwards at the specific tree, noticing that its structure was different as it was missing a couple of leaves.


    It was possible that today''s breeze might have caused some leaves to fly away... but it was possible that this tree was something else. sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Slowly descending downwards, I landed atop the tree, alternating gazing at the map and the tree below me to confirm it.


    "i-it is different."


    Jumping from the top of the tree and onto the ground, I stared at the tree''s trunk before manifesting a corrupted dagger.


    Raising the night-black dagger, I slashed the tree, slightly leaving a mark on its otherwise unblemished brown trunk.


    Then, I simply left.


    Flapping my wings, I once again appeared ten meters above the forest, took out my map, and continued searching the area.


    Finding nothing else different, I then moved on to the next area.


    Then, the next.


    Then, the next.


    As the night descended, plunging the whole world into darkness, my figure became invisible in the sky as my insane speed, combined with my stealth stat, allowed my figure to disappear.


    Seeing the half-crescent moon in the sky above me, I descended to the ground and dismissed my wing.


    As soon as my two feet touched the cold, hard ground, my entire body collapsed out of exhaustion.


    "one... abnormality in twelve hours. Well... it''s better than zero."


    While, unlike yesterday, my work wasn''t mentally taxing, my physical body was still suffering from the sheer amount of corruption and energy I was using.


    You can''t go from using some corruption daily to using a lake of corruption in a single-day...yet I had.


    And I had no one to blame but myself.


    During my search, I spotted countless main cast members in the vicinity and completely ignored them, continuing my solo search.


    How much time had been wasted since my crows or I had searched the same areas?


    That was something I didn''t want to think about.


    Stubbornness was a flaw that, instead of discarding, I embraced and used.


    "i-it''s not like it matters; I''m joining them tomorrow.... unless."


    There was a faint hope shining in my heart that just a single dagger mark would remain on a tree in a forest.


    Barely keeping my eyes open, I stared upwards at the countless stars shining in the night sky.


    Unfortunately, there were no shooting stars this time.


    Closing my eyes, I swapped eyesight with my first crow one last time, seeing the waterfall village, before allowing myself to sleep.


    As the sun rose, shining its rays right in my face and forcing me to wake up, I reluctantly stood up from the ground.


    Today was going to be a hard day.


    Either I would find the end condition and have to solve whatever puzzle or fight whatever monster myself... or I would become a part of what I used to hate the most.


    And I do mean "used to."


    What did I hate the most now?


    Gazing at the floor below me as I made my way to the marked tree, I cleared my face while manifesting my pair of corrupted daggers.


    Tilting my head upward as I approached the trees, I picked an apple before handing it to my cat, who had just woken up.


    *MEOW*


    "yeah, yeah, I know this is second time, this week."

 Chapter 140 - 140:Conditions [2]

    Nearing the tree, I had left a dagger mark on, I noticed some other abnormalities as I glanced between my map, which was floating above my hands, and the area around me.


    The leaves on the forest floor were crumpled and spread out while yesterday, they had been placed perfectly under a tree.


    There were slight indications of activity as some areas of the ground were slightly more elevated than others.


    Manifesting a crow, I sent it flying up ahead of me and towards the tree to scout the area for any other abnormalities.


    I had already discovered there were no animals in the forest...so was it one of the main cast?


    Had the abnormality with the tree yesterday also been caused by the main cast...?


    As my hope slowly faded away, I continued on my way to the tree from yesterday, occasionally switching bodies with my crow for a slight second.


    I had actually gotten quite used to the feeling.


    For the split second I entered the crow''s body, my body would become lifeless and start falling to the floor, but after a while, I had gotten so fast at it that I could return and catch my body before it hit the floor. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The same kind of thing also happened with my one dragon wing as when I first started using it, I was always imbalanced, but after while, I adjusted and adapted to the point where I didn''t even feel off balance.


    It wasn''t practice that made me able to adjust so perfectly.


    Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.


    Through my dozens of battles with opponents such as the corrupted figure, I had gotten the perfect practice and experience, so I was able to adapt easily.


    Simply training against AI dummies, practicing alone in a room, or sparring with others would not yield the results I had achieved.


    A true experience where you and thousands of others'' lives were on the line was the perfect practice in this case.


    Catching myself before I hit the floor as I returned to my body, I discovered that in other areas, the forest was completely fine.


    It was only this subsection that coincidentally contained the abnormal tree that I had marked in it.


    Was this a sign of good fortune?


    I sure as hell wasn''t getting my hopes up, but it was something, at least...


    *CRACKLE*


    Hearing the sound of leaves being crushed in front of me, I immediately activated the grace period of dash before slowing my pace to a stop, hiding myself in the shade of the nearby trees.


    Attempting to see the source, I peered through the dense trees; however, when I saw the seven familiar figures in front of me, I almost sighed out loud.


    Lily, Alya, Zach, Kevin, Liam, Irene, and Ruby were all searching the area right next to my marked tree, now only a couple of seconds away from discovering it.


    My G- luck stat was not only not helping me find the end condition... but it was also hurting me.


    Well, if they found the tree I had marked, they would probably assume it was me as they knew I was also in this forest with them.


    The only problem was how messed up they had in the area.


    Now, I couldn''t tell what was abnormal and what wasn''t... as they had completely changed the area around the tree.


    Leaves were spread all around the floor, flowers were stepped on, and rocks were being moved around.


    What if one of the leaves were in the end condition...?


    I guess we''ll never know... until tomorrow when the forest resets again.


    Keeping a faint bit of hope, I looked at the tree, which hadn''t yet been messed up by the main cast, Ruby, and Irene''s tampering.


    Scaling the tree next to me, I used a dash, instantly appearing on the branch of another tree ten meters away.


    Not making a single sound or any signs, I pounced from branch to branch until, finally, I was only a couple of trees away from the marked one.


    Right below me stood Ruby and Lily, who were seconds away from discovering my marked tree.


    I had two options here.


    Either risk having the area messed up and go for the tree to quickly check it before the main cast arrives... or just expose myself.


    If I didn''t do something now... I would have to wait until tomorrow to check on the tree, wasting a lot of time in the process.


    And those children would have to gather water during that wasted time, caused purely by my stubbornness.


    "...86,400 seconds or one day divided by 30 seconds."


    2880 times.


    That was the amount of times they would have to gather water if I waited until tomorrow to do something.


    Still tired from the creation of the map, I didn''t bother to manifest a hat or sunglasses as I descended the tree.


    Placing my right foot on the tree''s trunk, I slid down the tree like I was on a skateboard, arriving right in front of Ruby and Lily.


    As the two had their backs faced the other way, they didn''t notice me at first, so I patiently waited.


    As the two slowly turned to face me, I didn''t give them any time to react as I waved my right hand with a smile and said.


    "Fancy seeing you two here!"


    Looking at me with the same confused expression, Lily was the first to break the silence as she muttered.


    "y-yeah, it is. how exactly di- Oh... never mind."


    ...she didn''t forget I was here with them too, right?


    Giving Lily a nod, I turned to Ruby, who had a more animated expression as she replied.


    "Finally came to your senses and realized it''s useless working alone?"


    Shaking my head, I said nothing as I walked between them and towards the tree.


    "Just gonna slip by you guys here!"


    Not waiting for their reaction, I slowly walked towards the tree, ensuring that I wasn''t making any chances.


    A dagger mark.


    It was there.


    A deep dagger cut was imprinted in the trunk of the tree.

 Chapter 141 - 141:Conditions [3]

    Seeing the dagger mark on the tree ahead of me, I immediately halted and stared, allowing both Ruby and Lily to catch up to me.


    After looking at me with the same confused expressions, the two of them slowly followed my gaze, spotting the marked tree in the distance.


    Staring at the tree with her mouth wide open, Lily managed to mutter out.


    "P-please t-tell me you didn''t just do that."


    Regaining my composure, the spark of hope inside me ignited into a fire as I replied.


    "Yesterday, I did it yesterday."


    A loop''s end condition is only identifiable by one factor: the loop does not affect how it acts, in this case, how it looks.


    The tree in front of me was not affected by the loop, as despite everything around it being reset, it remained the exact same as yesterday.


    But then the question is sparked. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Shouldn''t I have already triggered the end condition and ended the loop then?


    If I had marked the tree yesterday, and it was indeed the end condition, the loop should have ended right then, and all of us should have escaped the forest.


    Leaving the two shell-shocked figures behind me, I walked up to the tree, tracing the imprint of my dagger on its trunk with my hands.


    The depth, size, and shape of the imprint was an exact match to my dagger.l


    There was no denying it; this tree was the end condition.


    Trying my best to keep the fire of hope intact, I tried everything: punching the tree, kicking it, tapping it, flicking it, banging it, and last of all, just staring at it.


    Yet, nothing happened.


    Leaning against the tree trunk, I momentarily swapped bodies with my crow, making it fly forward, but just like me, the crow ended up back at the flipped carriage no matter how long and far it flew.


    The loop was still intact.


    Returning to my body, I saw Ruby and Lily walking over to the tree with concerned and confused expressions.


    Oh yeah, I must have looked like a psychopath kicking and punching a tree like a child...


    Commanding the crow to continue flying forward, hoping something would change, I turned to the two girls approaching me.


    Staring at the tree behind me, Ruby asked.


    "So... is this the end condition you were talking about, Lily?"


    Moving out of Lily''s sight, I crouched down and manifested my corrupted daggers.


    "If what Ren said is true... then this has to be the end condition."


    Allowing Lily to examine the tree, I started digging at the ground with my daggers, trying to get a view of the tree''s roots.


    Maybe the entire tree was the end condition, but we had to touch a certain part of it to trigger the end condition?


    Placing her hand on the tree, Lily shouted to the other main cast members, who hadn''t yet noticed me.


    "Liam, Kevin, Zach, I think I may have found something. Can you go check if the loop is terminated, and we can leave?"


    Immediately turning around and stopping his search, Kevin excitedly replied.


    "Really?"


    Zach shared the same sentiment as he happily looked over to Lily.


    On the other hand, Liam was scratching his head as he replied to Lily.


    "If this loop really is over and we can leave, how are we supposed to tell you? We''ll be out of the loop..."


    Holding my laughter in, I hid my expression by continuing to dig at the ground below the tree.


    "ah... yeah."


    Seeing Lily''s confusion, Alya emerged from the shade of a nearby tree and replied.


    "How about this; if you three aren''t back within two hours, we''ll assume the loop has ended and leave with you."


    Liam, Kevin, and Zach slowly nodded their heads before waving and departing, not even noticing my crouching figure a few meters away.


    At this point, it wasn''t my stealth stat; they just weren''t paying attention...


    Well, I could tell them that the loop was still alive... or not.


    Weighing my options, I allowed them to leave as more people would just cause more trouble.


    We had already confirmed that this tree was the end condition, so we didn''t need three extra people all searching this small tree.


    It was also possible that my crow, for whatever reason, was just stuck in the loop while humans could leave.


    Seeing the dark brown roots in the ground, I reached my hand, ignoring the dirt, and tightly gripped them.


    Switching bodies with my crow, I once again attempted to see if the loop had terminated, but my crow ended up in the flipped carriage.


    As Liam, Kevin, and Zach''s figures disappeared, Irene emerged from the trees and stood aside from Alya, watching us with a curious gaze.


    Noticing me, Irene was about to ask a question when Alya subsequently silenced her, prompting me to continue searching.


    Moving on from the root of the tree, I ignored Lily, who still had her hand on the trunk, and scaled the tree, sitting on the lowest branch.


    As I began examining each individual leaf and branch, a testament to my desperation, Ruby, Alya, and Irene followed our lead, examining the lower half of the tree.


    " *ahem* What exactly are we doing to this tree...?"


    Responding to Irene''s question while continuing the search, Ruby replied.


    "Apparently, it''s the end condition from our talks earlier."


    Nodding her head in confusion, Irene responded.


    "...Shouldn''t the loop have already ended, then?"


    "That''s why the others aren''t here."


    "So, then, why are we still searching?"


    As Ruby turned to Lily for an answer to Irene''s fair question, Lily pointed at me.


    "He seems to know something that we don''t, and he''s still searching the tree."


    As the four girls shifted their gazes to me with confused expressions, I climbed up onto another branch before sighing.


    Indeed, my behavior had been too suspicious for Lily to not have noticed something at this point.


    Why would Ren leave the main cast instead of clinging to them for help?


    Why had I marked a tree?


    Where had I been for the last three days?

 Chapter 142 - 142:Conditions [4]

    Staying silent for a moment, I continued checking the remaining leaves on the branch I was on before turning around.


    Looking downwards at the four girls, I contemplated my options.


    Considering that this a new situation, as I had no idea what to do with this damn tree, their perspective and insight would be useful.


    Lily was already suspicious of me due to my behavior thus far, so would it even hurt me if I made her more suspicious?


    On the other hand, I could simply take the easy way out and spout some nonsense, as they would soon realize what I had when Liam, Kevin, and Zach returned.


    But then, unlike me with my crow, they would have to wait an hour every time they tested something.


    They would need to send the three boys out to confirm whether the loop ended and then wait for their response.


    The only reason I had allowed the three boys in the first place was because I wanted to confirm my suspicions about the tree in a less crowded environment.


    But now my suspicions were confirmed, as I learned that despite this tree being the end condition, it had not yet terminated the loop.


    ...I had run out of excuses.


    If I don''t tell the main cast about the scenario now... every second from now on will be considered wasted in my head.


    I wasn''t all-knowing or the smartest person in the world; Lily or others could have opinions or insights that could unearth the problem behind this tree and its end condition.


    However, what was stopping them was that they didn''t have the same amount of resources as me.


    Thirty seconds had passed since Lily had spoken her words about me... that was one more time that those children had been tormented by this loop and forced to collect buckets of water.


    Reaching the top of the tree and where the last few branches and leaves stood, I examined them before swapping bodies with my crow.


    The same result; my crow ended back up at the carriage.


    The same flipped carriage is placed in the same area, next to the same waterfall, and beside the same village.


    Nothing had changed.


    Turning my head upwards to the sky, I broke the silence by simply shrugging my shoulders and replying.


    "Thirty minutes from now, your other group will come back to you guys with the story that the loop is still alive. Then you''ll test something; then the exact same scenario will occur... over and over again."


    Still looking at the tree in front of me, I didn''t bother to see their reactions but simply halted my search and allowed my crow to return to me.


    Insanity.


    Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.


    Searching this tree anymore was insanity.


    Perhaps I was wrong when I said finding the end conditions was the hardest part of ending this loop...


    At least then, all I had to do was search the forest for some physical object and make a map.


    I could make a concrete plan and follow it, and no matter how unlucky I was or how much it took, I would eventually uncover the end condition.


    While it was exhausting and difficult, it would only take a couple of weeks to search the entire forest,


    However, triggering the end condition was more... abstract.


    There were no guidelines, boundaries,... or any sort of logic that created the trigger.


    It could be anything.


    From touching a specific part of a tree''s root to flying around the tree hundreds of times and then doing a backflip...it could quite literally be anything.


    Unlike how the end condition had to be contained inside this forest, the trigger had no limits or confines.


    How many things were there in this world again...?


    Ah... this could take years, couldn''t it?


    In the book, all they had to do was touch the end condition, and like magic, the loop just ended...


    After a moment, my pessimistic thoughts were finally interrupted as I heard Lily''s voice respond from below me.


    "Are you suggesting that this tree isn''t the end condition?"


    Holding in my natural response of "What is an end condition?" to avoid suspicion from Lily, I shook my head as I continued staring at the sky, which was slowly plunging into darkness as the sun began its descent.


    "No, this tree is most definitely the end condition... after all, it is the only thing that remained the same in this forest."


    Not expecting any response, I allowed the crow to land on my shoulders before turning my gaze to the forest below me.


    Like me, Lily''s knowledge was based on the book, so my words were a direct contradiction.


    I was saying that despite all of us touching the tree, the end condition, the loop wouldn''t end... directly negating the book.


    As Lily''s mind raced in circles trying to understand my words, Ruby asked.


    "So then... how do we terminate this loop?"


    Jumping off the tree and landing right next to Ruby, I replied.


    "Now, that is a question I can''t answer."


    Even though I inwardly knew it was stupid and useless, I started searching the tree again... starting from the same roots and slowly making my way back up the top of the tree.


    Every second I spent not doing something or at least trying to terminate this loop was wasted.


    I had already died once... every second that I lived now was precious and not to be wasted. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    You might say that I had already wasted plenty of time relaxing and training, but I don''t consider those moments wasteful.


    And that''s all that matters to me.


    Stopping her search of the tree, Lily simply gazed at me, presumably trying to see if I was lying or not, before turning to the other three girls.


    "If what he says is true...then we might be stuck here for months... or even years... or forever."

 Chapter 143 - 143: Conditions [4]

    As audible gasps could be heard from Ruby, Irene, and Alya, I continued my search, checking the trunk of the tree.


    Taking my dagger out, I began carving at the tree, trying to trigger something, before shrugging my shoulders and asking.


    "Any ideas?"


    Turning around, I saw Lily seemingly come up with something, so I moved out of the way and watched her.


    Seeing Lily manifest a gigantic bubble of water, all of us held our breath, watching with interest as the bubble kept expanding and expanding until it encircled the entire tree.


    As we were all awakened, we could all hold our breaths for at least five minutes, so the four of us all allowed the bubble to consume us as well.


    Looking around the rapidly expanding bubble, I was surprised that my clothes weren''t drenched, but besides that, everything else was the same.


    After all... I could see underwater with my eyes.


    For the others, the water probably distorted their surroundings, and they were most likely feeling dizzy.


    Finally, as the water bubbles finished expanding, consuming the marked tree and us, Lily put down her wand.


    *BOOM*


    Instantly, the water bubble exploded, causing a downpour of rain and soaking all of our clothes.


    Ignoring my drenched shirt and pants, I immediately looked at the tree, which was also drenched.


    The leaves were all soaked in water, the brown trunk had slightly darker parts, and water was still dripping through the branches of the tree onto us.


    Sitting down on the ground, which was also covered in water, I switched bodies with my crow.


    My crow, which had been sitting on top of the tree, was also drenched, so after shaking the water off its feathers, I began flying.


    Soaring above the forest, I spotted the flipped carriage before immediately flying straight forward at my fastest possible speed.


    As I flew above the forest, the remaining water droplets dripped down from the crow''s feathers and onto the forest below, making it seem like it was actually raining.


    After a minute, I looked downwards and halted my flying, flapping my wings with just enough force that I was able to float in the air.


    ...and guess what was right below me?


    A flipped carriage... with four boys surrounding it with confused and surprised expressions.


    Returning to my body, I prepared myself for the hard and cold feeling of the ground on my head, but instead, I was unexpectedly met with a warm feeling...


    Instead of immediately opening my eyes like I usually did when I returned to my body, I stayed still and basked in the warm sensation, allowing myself to relax.


    Then... a moment later, I returned to my senses as the burden on my back reappeared.


    Ten seconds had been wasted... one-third of a loop for those children back in the village.


    Forcing myself to finally open my eyes, I was immediately met with the scene of Ruby''s face less than a meter away from mine, our eyes meeting almost immediately.


    Her eyes were sparkling a bright red, resembling a high-quality ruby gemstone, and her expression was contorted with concern as she stared at my face.


    Her cheeks were flushed a bright red, and her elegant black hair was straight from being drenched with water.


    Water dripped from her hair and face onto mine, connecting us despite the small distance between us.


    Lost in the depths of her ruby-colored eyes, my mind went blank as I simply stared at her, not muttering a single word.


    Contrary to her normal and composed appearance, her hair was messy and all over her face, covering parts of her eyes and nose.


    Her eyelashes fluttered as she stared at my face, not yet realizing I was awake, and her hands trembled as she held my head, saving it from the cold, wet ground.


    Above her, the orange sky, illuminated by the setting sun, combined with the water droplets from Lily''s bubble to create a rainbow, forming above Ruby''s head.


    ...this timing couldn''t be any better, could it?


    Wait, what was under my head, then...?


    Turning my head slightly, prompting Ruby to turn her head and notice I was awake, I was immediately met with her drenched blue pants. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Basking in the scenery in front of me alongside the warm feeling under my head, I closed my eyes once again.


    I had time manipulation as an ability, didn''t I?


    This didn''t have to be one of those fleeting moments that I looked back on in a couple of days, did it?


    If it was me... I could make this moment last forever.


    No...I couldn''t.


    Unlike me... some people didn''t have the choice to decide what moments they lived and didn''t.


    There was also a world out there that would need my help, whether they wanted it or not.


    Lifting my head off Ruby''s lap, I met Ruby''s eyes, and before she could say anything, I scratched my and asked.


    "So, what''d I miss?"


    Releasing her hands from my black hair, which was also drenched and all over my face from the rain, Ruby stared at me, simply muttering.


    "...you just collapsed onto the ground...we''re the ones who missed something."


    "That? Oh, that happens sometimes; don''t worry about it.


    Turning to Lily, who had shifted her gaze from the drenched tree to me, I shook my head and continued.


    "Didn''t work."


    "And you''re sure it didn''t?"


    "You can wait another hour and see, so what reason would I have to lie?"


    Alya, who had seen the whole thing coming, made an icicle shield to stop the water from hitting her, asked.


    "...why exactly did you choose to pop a bubble on it?"


    Glancing at me for a second, Lily sighed before pointing to her eyes and replying.


    "The tree seemed to have some sort of magic connected to it...so I tried to replicate the tree''s magic spell, but instead input the magic into a water form instead of a tree."


    While I considered whether I should act surprised or not at the fact that Lily revealed her ability to see and replicate magic spells with her eyes, Ruby got back up and asked.


    "If no else wants to try, I think I have an idea."

 Chapter 144 - 144:Conditions [5]

    As Ruby stood up from the ground, the blush disappeared from her face, and she subsequently brushed her hair off her face.


    Not even glancing at me, Ruby waited for the nods of approval of the other three girls before pulling out her magic wand.


    "Well, go ahead then!"


    Seeing the four girls completely ignore my sarcastic response, I sighed before dusting the dirt off my pants and stepping back.


    Keeping my crow elevated in the air above the forest, I watched with interest as the tip of Ruby''s wand turned a dark red, and bouts of fire began to crackle on the ground below here.


    Interestingly enough, despite the ground not being completely dry from the water''s earlier downfall, Ruby''s fire seemed to ignore the wet ground, as it only grew despite the water being right below it.


    Instead of creating an elemental reaction between fire and water, the fire seemed to coexist with the water as the two substances basically ignored each other.


    Returning my gaze to Ruby, I saw the tip of her wand combust as a small flame formed on it before Ruby pointed the wand at the tree.


    The fire on Ruby''s wand seemed to expand and expand until a small flame, in terms of width, not length, stretched all the way from Ruby''s wand to the tree trunk.


    Then, Ruby stepped back before thrusting her wand forward, immediately causing the large fire to explode outward.


    Barely managing to keep my eyes open despite the flash bang I had just witnessed, I saw the flame expand to form the figure of a phoenix.


    The phoenix made of fire seemed to come to life as its wing flapped, propelling it right at the tree.


    With a size comparable to Lily''s bubble, the tip of the flame that created the phoenix was barely a centimeter away from me before it moved toward the tree.


    Of course, the phoenix made of Ruby''s fire did move particularly fast as there were still some lingering water particles in the air, but that just added to the mystical-like scene.


    Despite not having to slow down, I saw a phoenix made of pure fire move in slow motion toward a tree drenched in water.


    "Hollywood could never do something like this..."


    Feeling my body begin to sweat as a result of the fire, I stepped back and watched as the phoenix consumed the tree, completely removing it from my sight.


    Then the phoenix disappeared, and the fire that made it up spread to the tree, causing the trunk to burst into flames.


    Not just the tree, though... the fire phoenix was so big that several other trees in the vicinity, as well as even the bushes on the ground, caught on fire.


    Under the orange sky, the bright fire complimented it perfectly, spreading further up the tree trunk and up to its branches.


    ...isn''t this going to cause a wildfire?


    Eh, the loop will just reset tomorrow, right?


    But... what if this method of Ruby''s actually terminates the loop... and this wild fire just starts burning down trees for real?


    ...I''m just gonna escape this loop and then think about the repercussions later.


    Then, surprising even me, Ruby stepped forward and threw her wand out of her hand and right at the tree.


    Looking at the wand resting at the base of the burning tree, Irene walked up beside Ruby and asked.


    "What are y-"


    *BOOM* S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But, before Irene could finish her sentence, all the flames stopped spreading... and instead began to restrain itself.


    The trees in the vicinity that were previously on fire were now fine as the fire seemed to retreat.


    After a few seconds, the vicinity that was previously all on fire was now fine except for a single tree that kept burning.


    All the fire had accumulated into one big inferno, forming on the base of the marked tree.


    The fire engulfed the entire tree and, like a skyscraper, seemed to go above the clouds, creating a beacon of light in the orange sky.


    The next moment, the skyscrapers of flames began to descend as Ruby''s wand absorbed the fire, making the inferno shorter and shorter... until it was gone.


    The fire had left faster than it had come.


    One second, our entire vicinity was on fire; the next, it was all gone except for one tree; and finally, it was all gone.


    To say it was amazing would be an understatement.


    Even Irene, a fire magic prodigy, could not believe what she had just seen.


    The ability to control and form fire so perfectly to create a phoenix, and the way she was able to control it, suppressing all the fire with a single wand throw.


    Turning to Ruby, who was walking over to pick up her wand with a smug expression, I smiled and asked.


    "So... did that have a purpose, or were you just trying to show off?"


    Picking up her wand from the base of the tree, Ruby replied.


    "Well, it could have worked, couldn''t it have?"


    Smiling even wider, I redirected my attention to the tree... and it had been through a lot.


    First, it was fine.


    Second, it was slashed with a dagger.


    Third, it was bombarded with water and drenched.


    And finally, fourth, it was attacked by a phoenix made of fire and assaulted by an inferno of flames taller than a skyscraper.


    But, despite all that, the tree remained unfazed besides a couple of burn marks on its previous unblemished brown trunk.


    Despite all the trouble it was giving me... I had to admire its resilience.


    While everyone was focused on the masterpiece Ruby had just performed and how it affected the tree, I took a moment to swap bodies with my crow.


    Flying forward from the flipped carriage, I passed through the sky, which had now descended into darkness unnoticed.


    Looking downwards as I flew, I turned right back around when I noticed the same flipped carriage below me after a couple of seconds.


    Returning to my body, I immediately heard Ruby explaining her logic to Alya, Lily, and Irene.


    Pointing at the tree, Ruby began.


    "You might not be able to see it... but that tree has a desire. That desire is to be destroyed, so I manifested the phoenix in an attempt to destroy it."

 Chapter 145 - 145:Conditions [6]

    As the entire clearing descended into silence, I stood there paralyzed while staring at the tree.


    The tree is... suicidal?


    What the hell does that even mean!?


    Ruby stared at us with a confused expression as if saying, "Why are you guys so surprised...isn''t this normal?"


    Finally breaking the silence, Lily ignored Irene, Alya, and I''s shellshocked figures before pointing at the marked tree and asking.


    "...you''re saying that the tree wants to be destroyed?"


    As Ruby nodded her head at Lily''s question, I was at a loss for words as I couldn''t even fathom the fact that trees could have desires.


    Closing the distance between me and the four girls, I was about to start questioning Ruby when Irene asked.


    "...do all trees have desires, then?"


    ...really?


    So we''re not even interested in escaping the loop anymore; we''ve all just become botanists!


    Wow, thank god, we''re trapped in a forest with thousands of trees all around us! We can study them all and have loads of fun staring at them all day!


    After thinking it over for a second, Ruby replied.


    "Well... trees are technically living things, so yeah, all of them have desires. But that doesn''t mean I can see all of them. Like, I can only see the desire of this tree, not all of the other ones."


    Slowly comprehending her last few words, I immediately forgot my last question and spat out before anyone else could interrupt me.


    "...couldn''t you identify this tree as abnormal from the start then?"


    Had all my hard labor and exhausting days been useless...?


    Couldn''t she have just found the tree easily by just looking at every tree and then finding whatever one had a desire?


    Looking at my depressed figure, Ruby pointed at her eyes and said.


    "I can only see desires if I focus my eyes, so I can only do that for ten minutes at a time. Anyway, I only saw this tree for the first time an hour ago, so I wouldn''t have found it earlier than you."


    After a moment, I straightened up my posture and looked back at the tree while Alya began speaking.


    "Anyway...you said the tree wants to be destroyed, right?"


    As Ruby nodded her head once again, Alya replied.


    "Isn''t the trigger... just destroying the tree, then? I mean, if the end condition wants to be destroyed, shouldn''t we destroy it?"


    While I contemplated her words, Ruby pointed back at the tree and replied.


    "Like I said, that''s what I thought when I cast that fire phoenix... but it survived my fire phoenix, so I''m not sure destroying it is going to be easy."


    Stepping forward, Irene took her wand out of her pocket and said.


    "Let me give it a try."


    Without even waiting for any response from us, Irene walked towards the tree with her wand glowing a fiery red.


    Shaking my head, I stared at Irene''s departing figure and said.


    "Are we really going to be dumbasses and go one by one when we could all just go... at the same time?"


    "..."


    What is this a horror movie?


    Are we all going to look for the monsters one by one just to get picked off until we all die at the end?


    Slowly nodding her head, Alya also took out her sword and pointed it at the tree.


    "Irene, I think attacking at the same time would be a more time-efficient strategy."


    Abruptly stopping, Irene turned around and said.


    "You think I don''t know that?"


    Running at Irene, Ruby broke into laughter and asked.


    "So you just wanted to show off, then?"


    "So, when you do i-"


    Interrupting the two''s bickering, Lily also took out her wand and walked towards Ruby and Irene.


    Manifesting an elegant-black bow made of corruption, I strung it around my shoulders before walking in front of the three girls. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Shortly after, Alya also stepped beside me with her sword, which was now covered in particles of ice, causing me to shiver.


    Behind me, three colors started shining as Irene''s wand shone a light red while Ruby''s was a dark red, and Lily''s was an ocean blue, resembling mana.


    Seeing the three girls behind us ready, Alya raised his ice-covered sword while I manifested an entire quiver of arrows.


    As the four ready girls stared at my unprepared figure, I slowly took three arrows out of my quiver and strung them all at the same time.


    One arrow was at the top, one at the middle, and one finally at the bottom, each having a pitch-black tip in contrast to the bright colors shining around me.


    As I pulled back the bowstring, nocking the three arrows, the area once again descended into silence.


    Wait... who''s gonna tell us when to attack?


    Taking the moment, I smiled before yelling.


    "ATTACK!"


    What a commander I was!


    Leaving the rest of the attacks in the dust, my arrows were the first to move, barrelling towards the tree at a pace invisible to unawakened.


    In the next millisecond, the rest of the spells departed in synchrony, lighting up the night sky as the contrasting dark red and light red of Ruby and Irene fought against the dark blue of Lily and ice blue of Alya.


    It was like a meteor shower...


    Since my arrows didn''t have to be controlled, unlike spells, I looked away from the tree and watched as the four girls controlled their spells to coexist alongside each other without reacting while simultaneously targeting the tree''s trunk.


    The four spells of varying colors created a beam that should have looked like purple... but none of the colors combined, each spell not daring to stray away to touch the other colors.


    Looking away from the beam for a second, I saw each girl holding their wands completely still while staring directly at their individual spells.


    Even if one of them were to mess up, the others would be able to readjust to their spells before the stray spell had time to react with the others.


    Their ability to be so precise when using such a great amount of power was... scary.


    Could I defend against that beam of red and blue...?

 Chapter 146 - 146:The Trigger [1]

    Finally, as the red and blue beams neared the tree, the four girls simultaneously moved their wands, Ruby and Irene moving to the right while Lily and Alya moved to the left.


    Sychrnozing with their owner''s wand movements, the four spells all strayed from their paths, combining with the spells next to each other.


    First, the light blue and light red beams combined create a light purple color that could be mistaken for maroon.


    Next, the dark-blue and dark-red beams mixed together, forming a purple color, that was dangerously close to being black.


    The light-purple beam took the top, while the dark-purple beam flew right below it, making sure not to combine.


    Then, a millisecond before the beams hit the tree, they once again combined, but before the colors could even fully mix, the beam struck the tree.


    My arrows, which had hit the tree long ago, were also struck by the beam, causing them to push further into the tree trunks.


    Since my arrows were also created by corruption, they reacted slightly with the beam, causing a bit of black to mix into the purple.


    The next moment, the night-black sky seemed to transform into the day as all our surroundings were illuminated by a bright light, forcing all of us to close our eyes.


    Having predicted the burst of light, I was the first to reopen my eyes, revealing the night-black sky once again, tainted by a few white stars.


    Shifting my gaze downwards, I didn''t first notice anything about the tree... but as I stared at the ground, I saw a massive dent.


    From my location to the area of the tree, the entire grass and ground were removed, revealing the stone and dirt.


    Shellshocked at the power of our group attack, I dropped my bow onto the ground... but then I suddenly sank even further into the ground.


    The stone below me had been partially broken by our group attack as well, so just the drop of my corrupted bow had broken it!


    Activating dash, I immediately appeared ten meters upwards and to the right, looking downwards at the four girls who had just opened their eyes.


    Following their gazes, I finally looked at the tree... if it could even be called a tree anymore.


    All that was left was a small stump that barely stuck out of the ground.


    The rest of the tree had either been completely destroyed by the beam or been disintegrated by the impact.


    Most of the trunk, the branches, and the leaves... were just gone without a trace, like they had never existed in the first place


    ...if our group attack couldn''t even destroy the whole tree, there was no way I could even come close to destroying it alone.


    As the four girls silently climbed out of the dent in the ground made by our beam, I headed towards the remaining tree stump.


    Avoiding the countless fallen trees on the ground that had fallen from just witnessing the beam and my arrows, I finally arrived at the tree stump.


    The top of it was burned and fully black, but that didn''t matter to me.


    My three corrupted arrows were still there and alive!


    Each of them was now facing downwards, stabbed fully in the tree stump, only their bottoms visible.


    As the four girls caught up to me, I dismissed the tree arrows and sat down on the tree stump.


    Holding my breath, I swapped bodies with my crow, allowing my human body to lie down on the burned tree stump.


    Looking downwards from the sky with my crow, I could easily spot myself and the four girls as there was a huge clearing without any trees and a gigantic dent in the ground.


    After staring at my slumped body for a moment, I began flying forward from the flipped carriage.


    Each time I flapped the crow''s wings and moved forward, my hope and expectations only grew.


    Would this be it?


    Could I finally escape this damned loop? S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But the fire of my hope was soon extinguished as the familiar scene of a flipped carriage accompanied by three exhausted boys appeared.


    All this time, Liam, Kevin, and Zach had been running forward to terminate the loop.


    Sighing, I didn''t immediately return to my body but stared at the carriage below, wondering what the next step was.


    The end condition was destroyed.


    Was it impossible to escape the loop now?


    How could we terminate the loop when there was no end condition anymore?


    I had been so caught up and hopeful that Ruby''s idea would work that I forgot to consider the consequences... if it didn''t work.


    Were we stuck in this loop forever now?


    Would a new end condition spawn in... or was our fate to be stuck in this loop forever like those children gathering water?


    All hope was lost.


    Returning to my body, I grimaced, but the expression was soon taken over by one of pain as I hurled towards the ground.


    "OW!"


    Instead of the burned and hot tree stump under my back, there was now a rough and uneven surface.


    Getting up and rubbing my back, I immediately noticed that I was no longer in the same place, as there were no trees around me.


    Peering through the darkness, I spotted the four girls alongside the rough and ragged rock walls surrounding all of us.


    We were in a cave?


    Wasn''t I just lying on a tree stump...?


    What the hell did I miss?


    Looking upwards, I saw a small hole, and through the hole, I saw the night-black sky accompanied by a half-crescent moon.


    We were underground...


    Looking to my right, I also spotted the burned tree stump.


    ...A secret underground cave under a tree stump of an end condition of a loop?


    Not getting my hopes up yet, I carefully stood up before making my way to the four girls, who had all grouped up.


    Making no noise as I walked through the underground space, I swiftly arrived to the place.


    Walking up right next to Ruby, I interrupted their conversation about who knows what and asked.


    "So, what''d I miss?"

 Chapter 147 - 147:The Trigger [2]

    In the pure darkness of the gigantic underground and the huge empty space, my voice reverberated through the entire cave, causing all the girls to jump back in shock.


    Seeing through the pure darkness with my enhanced eyesight, I was able to see Ruby fall back in shock.


    As she was about to hit the ground, I softly grabbed her shoulders and hoisted her upwards, preventing her from hitting the ground.


    *BAM*


    *BAM*


    *BAM*


    Helping Ruby stand up, I kept my hands on her shoulders until she was finally able to stand up again.


    Moving around her, I saw her eyebrow raise for a moment with a dead-serious expression on her face, and she had a hand on her wand, which was in her pocket.


    Not wanting her to completely destroy the cave with another phoenix spell, I quickly whispered.


    "It''s me, Ren."


    Almost immediately, her expression changed to a slight smile while her eyebrows returned to neutral, but in turn, a faint red, matching her eyes, could be seen on her cheeks. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Did she not recognize my voice?


    Turning around in circles to face me... or where she thought my face was, she was actually looking straight at a wall, her eyes shined a dangerous blood-red.


    Glancing away from the Ruby for a moment, I immediately noticed the other three girls sprawled out around the cave.


    Lying on the cold, hard, and rough floor of the cave were Lily, Alya, and Irene, with expressions that did not look so positive.


    Should I tell them about the loop not ending now... or later?


    Ruby, who couldn''t see through the darkness, threw her hands around for a moment like a lost puppy before finally feeling the fabric of my clothes to the right of her.


    Seeing him swing her arms around in an attempt to slap my sweatshirt, I laughed and whispered into her ear.


    "Two times in a week, really?"


    Hearing my voice again, Ruby immediately found my new location in the darkroom before grabbing the top of my sweatshirt right below my chin.


    "Both those two times were your fault, you know?"


    Allowing her to continue holding onto my sweatshirt, I raised my hands like a caught criminal and said.


    "Oh, how will I ever repent for my sins!?"


    As Ruby pulled me upwards by my sweatshirt and hoisted me up in the air, I saw a smile appear on Ruby''s face in the darkness.


    "Maybe like this!"


    *BAM*


    The next second, I was sent flying downwards to the floor, just like the four girls a moment ago.


    Anticipating the reaction and punishment from Ruby, I raised my hand and slowed time, ready to catch myself with my corrupted tentacles before I hit the ground.


    However, as I gazed up at Ruby''s face, a couple of feet above me, I slowly de-manifested the corrupted tentacles and allowed myself to descend.


    How could I ruin the cute smirk on her face?


    Maybe it was the fact that my hope was at an all-time low due to our destruction of the tree not ending the loop... but the weirdest things brought me solace.


    That smile was one of those few things.


    It was weird; I had never been like this when I first started hanging around Ruby or any girls, for that matter.


    I had always put up mental boundaries stopping myself from getting too close... but now that those boundaries were down, weird things started happening to me.


    From seeing Ruby''s way of trying to save me during the World Tree incident to the recent memories with her and others in this loop, I was starting to change.


    Normally, my mind would only consist of planning and ways to get stronger, but some foreign memories were starting to slip in.


    It was weird... I could dismiss distractions such as this, but these memories came back no matter how much I avoided them.


    After saving the World Tree, I had just given up on trying to avoid them, but at the same time, I hadn''t fully accepted them.


    They were just there...not doing anything or having any purpose, but they were still there.


    Yet, they seemed to emerge at the weirdest moments.


    How could I be feeling happy right now when the only escape plan we had managed to come up with failed?


    Why was there a smile on my face right now, even though I had just learned that escaping this loop now was practically impossible as the end condition was gone?


    Of course, this wasn''t the first time as Raven, Zeng, and I had grown close enough to where I didn''t feel any need to act around them, but at the same time, this feeling was something different than that.


    Rather than a fun and happy feeling like when I joked around with Zeng... it was more of longing.


    A remembrance.


    A desire to see that smile remain on her face.


    Shaking my head as I fell, I closed my eyes and prepared for the impact of the ground.


    The mind really was a strange thing...


    If I couldn''t even understand my mind and feelings sometimes, then who could?


    Dropping to the floor, I held in my yelp as my head hit the rough floor before lying down on the floor for a moment, staring up at the cave roof.


    Looking upwards, I saw the four girls had gathered while Ruby pointed at where she thought my lying body was with a smirk on her face.


    Putting her hands on her head to make bunny ears, Ruby winked at me... but she wasn''t me as she was staring at the ground next to me.


    What an idiot!


    *PFFT*


    Feeling a smile and laugh involuntarily come out of my mouth as I stood back up and joined the girls, I decided not to question it anymore.


    At a hopeless time like this, where the end seemed so far away, maybe a bit of smiling and fun wouldn''t be so bad...

 Chapter 148 - 148:The Trigger [3]

    "Here!"


    As I joined the group, announcing my presence with a much quieter voice than last time, Lily stared at me while dusting off her pants.


    "Well, now that everyone is here, let''s go."


    Also staring at me with a malicious expression, Irene agreed.


    "Yeah, let''s get the hell out of this place and then out of this damn loop. I can''t wait to sleep on a bed..."


    Also chiming in from my left, Ruby replied.


    "Even the school cafeteria would feel like heaven after this experience..."


    From my right, Alya nodded her head before also adding in.


    "Don''t forget, we also have to figure out the cause of this loop... but I can''t disagree; some relaxation after this would be otherworldly."


    Sounding from in front of me, Lily continued.


    "Yeah... it really feels like we''ve been going from stressful experience to experience lately. I mean, first that World Tree incident and now this..."


    ...Do I really have to be the one to say it?


    No, come on...I can''t say it now.


    Even as I continued pondering the right way to tell them the information about the loop not ending, they continued to happily discuss what they''d do.


    "I think I''ll go straight to the sauna and stay there for a couple of days... when we''re out of this thing."


    "The dorm room beds sound amazing..."


    "I''m going straight to a restaurant to eat some proper food..."


    "Oh, can I join you? My stomach is practically dying."


    "Probably..."


    As Ruby half-agreed to Irene''s request to join her for dinner, I seriously contemplated just acting oblivious and letting them figure out the loop wasn''t terminated.


    No... that would take at least an hour, including the time to climb or fly out of this cave and locate the exit.


    Sighing, I decided to soften the mood before immediately dropping the bomb to try and preserve some morale.


    Finding an opening in their discussion, I interjected.


    "Oh, it wasn''t that bad, was it? I mean, we didn''t have our lives on the line or anything...we were just trapped for an indefinite amount of time!" Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Immediately, the whole cave went quiet as everyone shifted their gaze to the direction where my voice came from.


    Hearing the sound of a foot slamming into the ground reverberating through the cave from Irene''s location, I stepped back.


    With an angry tone, Irene exclaimed.


    "Oh, so is not dying the bare minimum now? Oh great, we''re just trapped in a loop for who knows how long without any route of escape... BUT IT''S ALRIGHT BECAUSE WE''RE NOT DYING?"


    After pausing for a moment to catch her breath, Irene immediately continued.


    IS TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR A NORMAL LIFE WHERE WE JUST GO TO SCHOOL LIKE STUDENTS. I mean, some saving the world every once in a while is fine... but BACK TO BACK IS NOT OK!"


    ...do they even know what I''ve had to go through?


    To be fair, none of us had the right to complain, as we all chose to do what we did, knowing the consequences.


    ...But someone had more of a right to complain¡ªit was me!


    I was the one to be dragged into this world... after I died.


    Wait, did I have the right to complain?


    Millions of people die every day, but only I was granted a second life... that was at least what I was assuming.


    As the other girls agreed with Irene hastily, Ruby was the only one to look at me with a suspicious gaze.


    Yeah.... I would never say something like that.


    Seeming to notice Ruby''s gaze on me, Lily interrupted the silence and carefully asked me.


    "And, do you have anything to say?"


    Turning to face away from them, scared to see their expressions, I started.


    "Well... how do I word this..?"


    "..?


    Turning to face me, or what was actually Ruby, Irene replied.


    "Spit it out."


    " *ahem* You see, unfortunately, the loop has not ended yet. Trust me, I''m just as disappointed as you."


    After a moment of silence, Lily reached out her hands, making sure I was still there before in a eerily calm voice replying.


    "Is this something you just learned?"


    "...yeahhh."


    Getting out her tippy toes, Ruby leaned against me before placing her mouth to my ear, allowing me to feel her every breath as she inhaled and exhaled.


    "Choose your next words very carefully."


    ...that was a long inhale and exhale.


    Alya, who had been silent up until now, raised her hand... before immediately lowering it as she realized no one could see and replied.


    "I can confirm that the loop has not ended as well."


    Irene, who was still clinging onto the tiny hope I was lying, almost collapsed to the ground, trembling while Lily regained her composure.


    Ruby took out her hand and cast a fire torch, illuminating the five of us and the area around us, before asking Alya.


    "How are you able to confirm that?"


    ...she didn''t ask me?


    Looking at Lily, Alya held out her hands, which were glowing green, and replied.


    "After destroying the tree, I was able to make contact with the tree''s spirit. Its physical body wasn''t that tree... that is somewhere else.


    Almost immediately, Irene popped right up from the ground and exclaimed.


    "THEN ASK IT HOW WE DESTROY THE TREE!?"


    Calming down Irene, Alya replied in a monotone voice.


    "What do you believe I''ve been doing this whole time?"


    Seeing Alya''s gaze, Ruby raised her wand and increased the size of the fire, lighting up the entire cave.


    Well, it didn''t matter to me, but Alya seemed to care as she cupped her glowing green hands before raising them into the air.


    Lily looked at Alya''s hands, not asking any questions, but her body language and expression were relaxed, as if she knew what Alya was doing.


    As Alya''s hand reached the highest possible hand, Alya uncupped her hands, and almost immediately, thousands of green particles emerged from her hand and flew towards the cave wall.


    She was tracking the tree using its spirit...


    Oh, right, this tree is suicidal, so the spirit is probably helping us!


    All of us stood still, until all the particles disappeared from Alya''s hands, forming a path straight into one of the cave''s walls.

 Chapter 149 - 149:Déjà Vu [1]

    Nothing had to be said as the five of us immediately followed the path until we came to the wall.


    The green particles seemed to go straight through the wall, so it was clear that we had to break down this wall.


    The question was how, though.


    One single mistake could result in the entire cave collapsing, or just hitting the wrong portion would cause the entire cave to break.


    Then, finding the path of green particles would be much harder when they were covered by rock and dust.


    Well...I had some experience with this kind of stuff, didn''t I?


    Not saying anything, I stepped in front of the girls, who had stopped in front of the cave wall, and raised my hand, indicating for them to wait.


    Peering at the wall with my eyes, I analyzed how it supports the cave''s entire structure and found its weak points. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Hm?


    Making sure I was seeing things right, I glanced away from the wall and back.


    ...this part of the wall didn''t support the cave at all.


    We could do anything we wanted to it, and nothing would happen to the rest of the cave.


    This couldn''t be a coincidence, could it?


    Raising my right leg, I manifested a cover of corruption which covered my entire leg in a pitch-black substance.


    As I swung my right leg back in preparation for a kick, I heard some people cry out behind me.


    "IT" ''S COMING DOWN."


    "HE''S GONNA BREAK IT."


    "WHY DID YOU SAY TRUST HIM, RUBY!?"


    Glancing back for a second, I noticed that Irene was already ducking on the floor while covering her head with her hands.


    Thankfully, it seemed the rest of the girls had some trust in me as Lily, Alya, and Ruby remained standing, albeit with their wands ready in case something happened, and watched me with curiosity.


    In a swift motion, I kicked my right leg forward, the outer-layer of corruption directly coming into contact with the wall.


    The corruption layer, combined with my awakened strength, easily demolished the wall, turning it into complete rubble.


    As expected, the cave remained perfectly fine, but behind the wall, a path was revealed that led deeper downwards.


    Haven''t I been in this scenario before?


    Pretending as if nothing happened, Irene stood up before joining up with me and the other three girls.


    Turning to face us, Ruby asked.


    "...Is it really a good idea to just walk down some random path?"


    Didn''t I do that once?


    Calming myself as I stared into the tunnel ahead, I confirmed there was no sense of familiarity with my eyes.


    My eyes remember and see everything... so I couldn''t have been in this tunnel or tunnel in a similar place before.


    Walking past the group and into the tunnel, Lily replied from behind her back.


    "Well, we don''t have a choice, so yeah."


    Nodding our heads, Alya and I followed her deeper into the cave while Irene and Ruby hesitated for a moment before following.


    Seeing the path curve and turn in various directions and abruptly stop before continuing, a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu began to envelop me.


    This path couldn''t have been naturally made... it was too erratic and strange in its movement.


    Since all of us wanted to escape the loop as fast as possible, we walked forward in silence, leaving me time to think.


    Keeping one hand on a corrupted dagger I had just manifested, I began recalling information about the tree.


    I did see something familiar when I replayed an image of the tree before it was destroyed in my head using my eyes.


    In the distance, behind the tree, the Hajin Mountain range stood, my starting point and a very familiar location.


    Realizing we had been walking for quite a bit without being sent back to the carriage, I stopped for a moment, prompting the girls to follow.


    Without saying anything, I leaned against the cave wall before swapping bodies with my crow, which was in the outside world.


    After flying to the location of the destroyed tree with the crow''s body, I began flying toward our current location if we were above the ground.


    Spotting Liam, Kevin, and Zach staring at the destroyed tree, I stopped for a moment, watching them crawl through the hole where the stump used to be and into the underground cave.


    They would catch up to us soon enough, so I continued my flight towards our current location.


    Although I couldn''t see my current location as the ground was blocking my body from the crow, I counted the steps we had taken from the underground step.


    Thus, I flew from the tree stump in the direction of the tunnel using the same exact distance.


    However, just as I was approaching the distance I had calculated, the world around the crow suddenly distorted.


    As soon as the space restabilized, the crow was in the sky... right above a flipped carriage and near a waterfall.


    We had escaped the loop... but somehow, the loop was still active.


    Keeping the crow above the flipped carriage, I returned to my body, immediately seeing all of the girls staring at my slumped body with angry and confused expressions.


    Grabbing my arm, Ruby pulled me up before sarcastically saying.


    "Are you really sleeping at a time like this?"


    Staring at me, Lily asked.


    "So, what did you find out from whatever that was?"


    I guess they had figured out that my fainting three times in a row wasn''t a coincidence.


    Contemplating my answer for a moment, the memories of the waterfall village instantly popped into my head.


    If I told them that we escaped the loop... they would leave immediately, wouldn''t they...?


    Then... what about the still active loop.


    But the loop was still active, and those children were still gathering water relentlessly without even realizing it...


    As the sound of Liam, Kevin, and Zach''s footsteps reverberated through the cave and reached our ears, I shook my head and replied.


    "Nothing."

 Chapter 150 - 150:Déjà Vu [2]

    As the sound of Liam, Kevin, and Zach''s footsteps grew closer, the girls finally heard them, prompting them to stop and look back at where we came from.


    As they stared behind us, I took a moment to glance forward at the path of green particles ahead.


    Peering through the darkness of the cave, I attempted to find the end of the path, but the cave twisted and turned so much that it was impossible.


    Looking upwards, I began analyzing the roof and walls of the cave.


    Not that I wanted to, but escaping in this situation, regardless of whether the loop was over or not, was impossible.


    The walls were shaky, and there were weak spots all over the roof, so any attempt to forcefully break your way upwards would result in the entire tunnel collapsing.


    Looking back behind us, I saw Liam''s figure fast approaching us as, for some unknown reason, he was sprinting.


    Trailing behind him were Zach and Kevin, each sweating and panting from trying to leave the forest all day while Lily tested.


    All three of them had their weapons in their hands and were constantly surveying their surroundings as they ran toward us.


    Well... I guess it would be kind of weird to come to your meeting location just to see the massive destruction caused by our purple beam earlier.


    Honestly, I had seen warzones with less destruction.


    As Liam''s figure became visible to the four girls, prompting them to rush towards him, the thought suddenly came to my head.


    What happens when the loop resets at the end of the day?


    Will the trees and end condition that we destroyed regenerate?


    That would mean that the holes and entrance to this underground space would regenerate, sealing us off from the outside world.


    If so, how would we escape then?


    We''re basically trapped here if we stay longer than the end of the day, aren''t we?


    "...wait, my crow!"


    Although I couldn''t send any more crows to the outside as they would have no way to escape this underground space, I still had one of my crows flying above the carriage.


    The area right under the destroyed tree wasn''t as unstable as this tunnel, so it could probably withstand a crow''s beak.


    If worst comes to worst, I could have him use his beak to make a small opening in the ground and then use my dragon''s wing to fly through it.


    I''d just have to hope that my crow can make a hole in the ground before the day ends and the loop resets.


    Wait, why am I even thinking about escaping? S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Shaking my head, I leaned against the cave wall, carefully not to apply too much pressure, and watched the main cast reunion from a distance.


    For a solid minute, Lily explained everything that had happened to the three boys, prompting them to slowly shift their gazes to me.


    Making sure not to meet their gazes, I turned away and continued trying to peer forward, angling myself so I could see farther into the cave and through the twists and turns.


    Seeing Lily finish her explanation of the recent events, including the destruction of the tree, I picked up my corrupted daggers and headed deeper into the cave alone.


    The only reason I had stayed to watch Lily was to explain to ensure that she knew nothing about us escaping the loop through this tunnel.


    I had also already gathered all the information I needed from the group, as Alya had already created a path straight to the tree and essentially told us that the tree wanted to be destroyed.


    Of course, I wasn''t cocky enough to believe that I could single-handedly defeat the tree after seeing the strength of its decoy body, which we had barely managed to destroy with my power combined with the girls.


    It wasn''t the fact that the boss was strong that stopped me from attempting to kill it alone.


    I had faced much tougher opponents; in fact, the corrupted boss I had fought within the World Tree was probably stronger than this one.


    But... I had information on that corrupted boss.


    Sure, I didn''t know its weakness or anything, as Liam had killed it with divine power, but I knew all of its possible moves, so when the beams started appearing from his hand, I knew how to destroy them.


    On the other hand, this tree... and this loop as a whole was completely unknown and a mystery to me.


    Time and time again, my book knowledge proved useless in this loop.


    The book said that destroying the end condition would end the loop, but that didn''t work here.


    The book also never mentioned anything about our surroundings resetting every twenty-four hours.


    It was almost like this world. It wasn''t even part of the book; it was a different timeline or even world.


    None of the book''s knowledge could be applied here besides some concrete rules that were very vague, like how I knew how to identify the end condition but not just immediately find it.


    Hearing the last bits of their conversation as I left, I hurried my pace.


    While Ruby and Irene split off from the main cast and headed to the side, Alya walked up in front of the exhausted and sweating boys before asking.


    "Come on, let''s go, what are we waiting for?"


    Raising her hands in confusion, Lily stood next to Alya and replied.


    "Alya, the boys are completely exhausted, we can sp-"


    "They can rest once we''re out of this loop. Let''s hurry it up."


    Temporarily surprised at Alya''s outburst, Lily stood still before regaining her composure and calmly replying.


    "Give me at least a minute or two, Alya; speeding through this tunnel isn''t going to solve anything anyway."


    Snorting at Lily''s response, Alya tilted her head with a condescending expression and arrogantly replied.


    "And, standing here doing nothing will solve our problem?"


    Stepping in front of the unusually irritated Alya, Liam asked.


    "I know we''re all stressed, but just like you said earlier to Kevin and I, let''s not f-"


    From behind Liam, Kevin matched Alya''s arrogant tone and added in.


    "You''re a princess, not a hypocrite, so act like it."


    Looking right at the panting Liam and Kevin, Alya cocked her head and said.


    " *tsk* Years could have passed in the real world while we''ve been stuck in this loop, and here we are, resting when we''re at the very end of it all."

 Chapter 151 - 151:Déjà Vu [3]

    Not waiting for a response, Alya stepped away from the group and leaned against a nearby wall while waiting and tapping her foot, causing the sound to reverberate throughout the cave.


    *TAP*


    *TAP*


    *TAP*


    Leaving the main cast behind, I ventured deeper further into the cave, surveying my surroundings carefully as I walked.


    I had to make sure that there were no exit routes to this cave so the main cast would be forced to fight the real body of the tree and finally put an end to the loop.


    If they were just a random path out of here somewhere in this path, their group would most likely take it, leaving me behind alone to fight the tree''s real body.


    Surprisingly, though, as I continued deeper into the cave, the tunnel did not diverge, so there was only one path that could be taken.


    Were my worries for nothing?


    ...did the tree spirit plan this so that we would be forced to kill it?


    "...I''ve never heard of a suicidal spirit before..."


    As I continued walking deeper into the cave, the green particles began to group up and accumulate more.


    Before, I would see a new green particle every five seconds I walked, but now, I was seeing two of them at least every three seconds.


    Were all my worries for nothing?


    Was I already reaching the end of this path?


    Considering whether to risk going further forward and maybe running into the tree''s real body, I sat down for a moment.


    Wasn''t this a little bit weird?


    First, we seemed to escape the boundaries of the loop as we were no longer teleported back to the carriage.


    However, this was completely false, as even though we "escaped" the loop, we were still forced to follow this odd and unnatural path.


    It was a false... a red herring.


    We were just as trapped as we were in the loop in this tunnel.


    Next, after destroying the end condition, we quickly learned that it wasn''t actually the main body and that its real body was somewhere else.


    But...hadn''t Ruby said that the tree was a living thing?


    How would it be a decoy body if it was an actual living thing?


    I had dismissed this earlier as it was possible for the tree to have a skill or trait that allowed it to create clones of itself, explaining the existence of the tree.


    But... now that the inconsistencies and odd things were increasing, I couldn''t just ignore it.


    Once An Accident, Twice A Coincidence, Three Times A Pattern.


    How many odd things have happened since the destruction of the tree?


    There were simply too many to count.


    The random appearance of the tree spirit that somehow communicated with Alya.


    The secret tunnel was clearly human-created as it was too erratic for nature to have formed it.


    Us somehow escaping the boundaries of the loop.


    This path somehow did not diverge at any point.


    This cave seemed to have no exit or way out, as there was only one way forward...straight.


    How hadn''t I noticed all these inconsistencies at the start...?


    Hope.


    After we had destroyed the tree with our purple beam, and I found out that the loop hadn''t ended, my hope had been shattered.


    It has disappeared.


    The same could be said for the girls as when I gave them the news about the loop not ending, their expressions visibly grimaced and saddened.


    We were all at an all-time low since entering the loop.


    ...UNTIL


    Alya''s sudden discovery of the tree spirit basically gives us the path ahead to destroy and end the loop through the green particles.


    Wasn''t this too convenient?


    Right, we were at an all-time low, and the spirit suddenly appeared and gave us hope again.


    Since we were hopeless and had no other idea of what to do, we just trusted and followed the path that the spirit had given to us without any qualms.


    All my hope and faith was now in the spirit and its instruction.


    Anything it says, I would have done... just like how I''m following its path of green particles right now.


    Normally, I would have been suspicious and questionable, especially when seeing a random spirit appear... but here, I had just blindly followed its instructions, believing its words without considering anything else.


    A false sense of safety.


    My emotions had been played... and manipulated.


    I had been played.


    What was at the end of this path?


    I had just blindly assumed it was the real body of the tree... but what if it was something else?


    All of our exit routes were cut off as there was no escaping this tunnel.


    There was only one way: forward.


    A trap...a trap.


    Didn''t this perfectly match the definition of a trap...?


    But, then... who was trapping us?


    Digger further back into my head and eliminating all my blind faith in the spirit, I discovered one glaring inconsistency.


    The tree stump.


    What had happened when I had switched bodies with my crow?


    The tree from earlier was one of the toughest and hardest things I had ever seen in the world.


    My power, combined with the four girls, had barely managed to destroy it.


    Only the trump had remained after our beam.


    But... then, how did that stump suddenly disappear?


    This trunk that had withstood the impact of our powerful beam had just... suddenly vanished without a trace?


    How could that be? S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    What the hell had happened when I switched bodies with my crow...?


    Something was wrong... something had to be wrong.


    Rushing in the opposite direction, I tried to peer through the darkness and find the main cast; however, just like last time I couldn''t.


    There were countless rocks and walls in my way, forcing me to continue running to get a better angle.


    I had all the information in my head... but there was one part missing.


    I was missing one puzzle piece.


    And the holders of that missing piece were the four girls.

 Chapter 152 - 152:Déjà Vu [4]

    Twisting and turning my body through the various turns, I sprinted backward, a sense of stress spreading throughout my entire body.


    I had to figure out what had happened while I was using the crow''s body and how the tree stump had suddenly disappeared.


    Though even without that information, a preliminary explanation was already forming in my head.


    All the inconsistencies and strange things are tied to one thing.


    The sudden appearance of the spirit that was "suicidal" after our purple beam destroyed most of the tree.


    Something was definitely off with that spirit...


    Making no noise, I increased my space to sprint and dashed forward after activating the usage period.


    Manifesting a dragon''s wing right now was dangerous and unnecessary, as if there really was an enemy trying to trap us; I was just showing off one of my powerful traits.


    Also, it would only save me around two minutes of running... and what could possibly happen in two minutes?


    ...maybe I should just use the wing.


    Pushing the idea out of my head, I dashed forward as soon as the cooldown reset before peering through the darkness.


    Slowing my pace to a jog, I sighed and wiped the sweat off my face as the seven figures of the main came into view.


    Like me, the four girls and three boys were blindly following the path of green particles ahead of them.


    They also all had their weapons out and were on standby, ready to defend or attack in case anything showed up.


    Shaking my head, I hid behind a rock and watched intently, waiting for a perfect moment to pop out. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Why would our enemy reveal itself to us?


    We were the ones trapped with no escape and no information.


    Our enemy had all the time in the world.


    The seven main cast members and I were not going anywhere anytime soon.


    Again, that prompted the question... who exactly was our enemy?


    My first thought, of course, was the spirit, the only connected trait between all the inconsistencies and strange things.


    But... how could an intangible thing be our enemy?


    Spirits were different from us... they didn''t possess physical bodies; instead, they had astral forms.


    These astral forms were impossible to damage or hurt, as any physical or magic attacks would just go straight through the body.


    However, that meant that the spirit also couldn''t attack us due to its astral body; just like how we couldn''t touch it, it couldn''t touch us.


    Or could it...?


    If the spirit couldn''t hurt us itself... then it could simply use a physical object or person.


    What exactly was at the end of this green particle path...?


    The most obvious answer again was a person that the spirit had contracted, as the spirit could actually influence that person to attack us.


    However, most spirits, except a couple of important exceptions, which definitely could be this spirit, could only have one contractee.


    Didn''t Alya say at the start that she had contracted with the spirit?


    Contracting with a spirit wasn''t necessarily hard...in reality, it was as simple as making a handshake.


    No documents, forms, or procedures were involved.


    If a spirit voiced that it would like to contact you, all you would have to do is agree, and that was it.


    Just like that, a bond between you and the spirit was immediately formed.


    The process could take less than a minute.


    The spirit granted a portion of its power to you, and in turn, you gave the spirit some of your energy when you used its power, allowing the spirit to survive.


    To maintain its astral body, a spirit had to some contractors as its body required at least some energy to survive.


    Peeking out above the rock, I honed on Alya, who was the only person to have communicated with our perceived enemy, the spirit.


    ...how didn''t I see this earlier?


    Did my loss of hope just suddenly cause my brain to turn off?


    Having spent so much time recently with Alya in the loop, I had subconsciously formed a visual profile of her with my eyes, including her normal expressions, hand movements, and leg movmements.


    Recreating her normal way of walking, including the distance she moved her hands and legs each stride, I coped down in front of me.


    Comparing it to the figure of Alya right in front of me... they were completely different.|


    While the normal Alya moved her right foot and hands at a 49.5-degree angle usually, this Alya was far off with around 67 percent angle.


    Also comparing the breathing patterns of the Alya in my head and the Alya in front of me, they were off as the Alya in front of me breath a faster rate.


    Of course, in a normal circumstance, something like this would be normal as she could have just gotten less sleep or been more stressed, causing her walking motion and breathing pattern to be different.


    But, with all the things going on, and the inconsistent surrounding the spirit, I couldn''t just disregard the fact that she was also acting abnormal.


    It couldn''t be a coincidence that after taking and contracting with the spirit, she was acting abnormal.


    Since Alya was the only one who contracted the spirit, she was the only one able to see and communicate with it.


    Even with my amazing eyesight, I couldn''t just look into the astral dimension where the spirit''s astral body was located, as there were boundaries separating the different realms.


    In other words, she was my one way to actually confirm if the spirit was leading us into a trap.


    Moving forward towards the cover of another rock, I kept my gaze locked on Alya, who continued acting abnormally.


    There was just one problem remaining now...


    While a human couldn''t kill a spirit... it could kill the tethers keeping the spirit''s astral body alive.


    Without any tethers or contractees, a spirit would have no energy to maintain its astral body and, therefore, disappear.


    If the spirit was confirmed to be my enemy and the loop''s end condition...how could I make it disappear?

 Chapter 153 - 153:Déjà Vu [5]

    There was only one answer: destroy all its tethers.


    "...well, let''s not do anything too drastic yet."


    As Lily, Alya, Kevin, Zach, Irene, Ruby, and Liam all passed by my new hiding spot, I tapped my eyes, instantly slowing my perception of time.


    Instantly, all seven of their figures seems to freeze and their pace slowed to basically a stop, their legs moving in slow-motion.


    Communicating and talking with Alya wouldn''t be easy... not because of all the main cast members around her but because of the possibility of the spirit influencing her.


    How could I trust anything she said?


    What if she had already been compromised by the spirit and was leading us right to the end of this path, where the trap stood?


    A contracted spirit can remain by their bond''s side for as long as it wants to and talk to them, making it able to influence their bond''s emotions without them even realizing it.


    At the same time... I couldn''t just kill Alya and destroy the spirit''s only tether, making it disappear and lose its astral body. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Planning for the worst possible scenario, I decided to just assume that the spirit was our enemy and needed to be destroyed, which wasn''t a far-fetched guess at all, considering all the information I had.


    To break a bond formed between a human and a spirit, two parties needed to agree to separate the agreement.


    Convincing the influenced Alya to destroy the bond would be hard but not impossible... if I had the help of the main cast, who were actually Alya''s friends.


    On the other hand, I doubted that the spirit would just agree to terminate its agreement as it would basically be sentencing itself to death, losing its last tether and only support to its astral body.


    But... if the spirit wanted to lead us into this trap, which was at the end of the path, it would want a bond which was strong.


    Since Alya, the spirit''s only contractee, was here, the trap at the end of the path had to be a physical thing, like a treasure chest that opens the floor below it when you touch it.


    In that case, the spirit would want to have the best possible contractee, so that even if the trap doesn''t work, it''s still able to outpower and destroy everyone.


    As the four girls at the back of the group stepped right back my rock in slow motion, I slipped backward, hiding in their shadows,


    Then, like an assassin, I silently stood up, manifested a corrupted mask, and moved to my right, where Alya and Lily stood.


    Raising my hands, I slipped the mask around the bottom portion of Lily''s face, immediately covering her mouth.


    Tightening the mask around her face before she could realize what was happening, I pulled the mask backward and slipped into the shadows.


    With the trailing mask behind me and Lily pulled behind me, I hid behind another rock before pulling Lily under, hiding us from the main cast.


    Lily, who had noticed what was happening, stared at my face with her eyes wide, but my corrupted mask still restricted her from making any noise.


    Ignoring her, I glanced forward, and as if confirming my theory, the usually observant Alya didn''t even seem to notice the disappearance of her best friend, Lily.


    Slowing back down time, I looked back at the wide-eyed Lily, carefully removed the mask covering her mouth, and indicated for her to be quiet.


    As the mask''s grip tightened, Lily raised her hands and furiously threw off the mask off her face before asking.


    "And, what exactly was that!?"


    Pointing ahead at the fleeting figure of Alya, who still hadn''t noticed Lily''s disappearance, I whispered back.


    "Something''s wrong with your friend."


    Still fuming, Lily turned to me before grabbing my ear and whispering right in.


    "You really think I didn''t know that!? She''s a hundred times closer to me than you. If you had noticed it, why wouldn''t I?"


    "...I had to confirm."


    "Oh, so then, instead of practically kidnapping me, maybe try asking me when she''s out of hearing range? Just an idea."


    Raising my hands in defeat, I slowly and carefully explained the details of what I had found out about the spirit, leaving out some parts.


    Of course, I didn''t mention that killing with the spirit right now would require killing her, but Lily could fill in the blanks.


    Taking a minute to comprehend my mass load of information, Lily''s expression transformed from furious to a grimace as the realization slowly set in.


    Not bothering to ask any questions or verify my information, she turned to me and hurriedly asked.


    "You didn''t bring me here and tell me all of that just to tell me you don''t have a plan, did you...?"


    Shaking my head, I explained.


    "I do... but it''ll require some help."


    After glancing over the rock to make sure the main cast, oblivious to Lily''s disappearance, was out of sight, I got up from above the rock and dusted off my pants.


    Turning to Lily, who was below me, I preemptively said.


    "Don''t make any noise."


    But before I could even do anything, Lily''s expression immediately turned a bright red as she stared at me with a weird expression.


    Standing up, Lily carefully and eerily calmly asked.


    "What exactly do you mean by that?"


    "...? just watch."


    Ignoring the bright red Lily, I dove inside my body, finding the lake of corruption spread inside my body.


    Raising both my hands, I allowed the corruption to ooze out of my hands and onto the floor.


    Within seconds, the floor below Lily and I was covered in a dark and stick black substance that further spread across the floor with each second.


    Creating a mental image in my head, I kneeled down to the floor and allowed my brain to move my hands through the corruption below me.


    Like a sculpture maker from the Renaissance, I carefully and intricately used the corruption below me to make a figure.


    This was my Mona Lisa!

 Chapter 154 - 154:Painting a Self-Portrait [1]

    Kneeling from the ground, I slowly used the corruption to mold a pair of legs before standing up and creating the stomach.


    Moving to the right and left, I formed the two arms before standing up fully to recreate the neck and head.


    Slowing down the movement of my hands as I began creating the face, I tried my best to recreate my exact face, using the same nose, eye, and mouth measurements.


    Recalling my occasional visits to museums during school field trips as I tried to make figures made of corruption in front of me as real as possible, I sighed.


    ...I really wasn''t an artist... in the slightest.


    I wasn''t an artist; I never claimed to be an artist... but here I was, making a self-portrait.


    In comparison to the sculptures of Michelangelo, I didn''t even think mine had the honor of being within 100 miles of it.


    Finishing the face, I moved up to the head, creating small noodles of corruption and sticking them together to resemble my hair.


    Thankfully, my hair was jet-black, so I didn''t have to worry about that part standing out... but unlike me, the entire sculpture was painted pitch black.


    So black, in fact, that it could barely even be seen due to the darkness shrouding the cave around us.


    ...how was I going to pull this off?


    Finishing the last few stands of hair, I took a step back and stared at the immobile pitch-black figure, made of corruption, motionless, standing in front of me.


    There was just one problem...sure, it looked like me if you squinted your eyes a bit, but any sane person could easily tell that it wasn''t me.


    From its eyes without pupils to its... lack of clothes, one could easily tell the difference between me and it.


    In front of me stood a figure made of pitch-black corruption with the exact same height, body shape, and face as me.


    The motion figureless was only visible to me as the darkness around shrouded us, but turning behind me, I could see Lily staring at my moving figure with a strange expression.


    To her, it just seemed like I was randomly moving around my hands with no intended goals or purpose.


    Well, no one ever understands famous artists from their time.


    I mean, look at Vincent Van Gogh.


    He was dirt-broke, and no one even wanted to buy his paintings, but now, people would chop off their hands to buy one of his pieces.


    The same can be said about countless other artists... some people are just ahead of their times!


    Now, did I see myself as Van Gogh?


    I would like to think that there were some similarities between the two of us!


    Both of us were misunderstood and unrepresented during our times!


    ..but that was the extent of our similarities.


    Manifesting two daggers, I shrouded them both with a blood-red substance in my body before lifting them up and using them as a torch.


    Illuminating the cave with the blood-red red aura covering the daggers, the sculpture was now visible to people beside me.


    Feeling my blood pressure increase slightly as the sculpture entered Lily''s vision, I added a few last-minute corrections, like fixing its hand placement.


    Is it what it feels like to open your first exhibit?


    Turning back to Lily, who was staring at my sculpture, which from her point of view just suddenly appeared in front of her, with her eyebrows squinted, I asked.


    "...any suggestions?"


    Squinting her eyes even further and raising her eyebrows to the max height, she stayed silent for a moment before muttering out.


    "...is that supposed to you?"


    Well... she can at least tell it''s me, so that''s a good sign, isn''t it?


    Nodding my head, I pointed at the motionless sculpture in front of us before saying.


    "This is how we kill that spirit."


    As soon as those words came out of my mouth, I heard a sigh almost instantly come out of Lily''s mouth, prompting me to curiously ask.


    "Did you really think I''d kill the elven princess?"


    Shrugging her shoulders, Lily walked closer to the sculpture, examining its backside before responding.


    "You never know?"


    Having the stamp of approval from Lily on the initial structure of my self-portrait, it was time to move on to the next part.


    Placing my head on my forehead, I put the daggers down, extinguishing the light in the cave, and asked.


    "...could you wait over there and face the wall for a bit?"


    Peering through the darkness, I tried to see Lily''s expression; however, she was hidden behind the sculpture.


    After a couple of moments of brief silence, Lily emerged from the sculpture and walked towards the wall before muttering.


    "...yeah, do what you need to do."


    "...?"


    Hiding behind the rock from earlier, I once again confirmed that Lily was looking at the cave wall before carefully removing my sweatshirt and shirt.


    Holding the two clothes in my hand, I silently made my way to the sculpture and placed my shirt and sweater on the corrupted figure, covering its pitch-black, corrupted body.


    Looking down at the rest of my clothing, I sighed before taking off my shoes and carefully putting them on the sculpture.


    ...there was just one last step left.


    Turning around, I made sure that Lily was facing the wall before raising my hand to my eyes and slowing my perception of time.


    Was it a wasteful use of mana? Yes.


    Did I care? No.


    First removing my pants, I felt a sense of coldness envelope me instantly as I began to shiver,


    Having removed my socks earlier, the sense of coldness from the cave combined with the cold, hard ground against my floor almost brought me to the floor. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "...it''s too damn cold."


    Lifting the jeans off me fully, I stared at the corrupted figure, who was now looking a bit more realistic as it wasn''t completely pitch-black anymore.


    Not wasting any more time, I placed my pair of jeans on the corrupted figure, covering its lower body and, finally, its legs.

 Chapter 155 - 155:Painting a Self-Portrait [2]

    Looking at the corrupted figure in front of me, I actually thought it seemed human-like if we included the fact that it had no eyes and a pitch-black face.


    Well... this is the best I''m going to get.


    Using my remaining corruption, I manifested a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt before quickly putting them on.


    The corrupted figure and I had essentially switched places.


    Looking at Lily, who was getting ance while staring at the wall, I said she had started tapping her foot.


    "Alright, now, what do you think?"


    As I raised my blood-red daggers, creating a makeshift torch and illuminating the figure to her, Lily didn''t even bother to say anything.


    Instead, upon taking one glance at my now fully clothed corrupted sculpture, she immediately covered her eyes.


    ..?


    She had been fine with it earlier... but not now with the clothes.


    Was my clothing style that bad..?


    However, as I continued pondering while staring at the silent Lily, who was muttering incoherent words while still covering her eyes, I realized something.


    ...am I a rom-com protagonist or something?


    How the hell did I not manage to understand this situation could be completely understood?


    To be fair, when someone''s life, Alya in this scenario, is on the line, I''m not going to be thinking about how my actions are going to be misinterpreted.


    Still...this wasn''t a damn rom-com book!


    This was a fantasy...why was I being so oblivious?


    Sighing, I shook my head as an expression of disappointment appeared on my face due to my severe case of oblivion, and I quickly said to Lily.


    "I have an extra pair of clothes."


    Opening her eyes and glancing at me, she redirected her attention towards the figure before saying.


    "And you didn''t think to mention that first?"


    "I mean, you said, ''Do what you need to do,'' didn''t you?"


    "...you think that gives you a reason to strip down and exchange clothes with your sculpture? I was obviously thinking that you were going make clothes out of whatever that slime substance is."


    "But, that would make it look even less r-"


    Interrupting mid-sentence, Lily walked toward the corrupted figure and said.


    "Alright, that''s enough; we have more important things to do right now."


    Holding in the urge to respond back, I watched as Lily carefully scrutinized the sculpture before turning to me.


    "It''s realistic... creepy realistic. But, the face gives it away."


    Raising my hands, I held in the urge to tell her to do something about it instead of just criticizing me before replying.


    "Well, it''s the best we''re getting."


    Moving the sweatshirt up to cover the sculpture''s pitch-black further, Lily asked.


    "You do know that the one way to break a spirit contract is for both sides to agree, right?"


    As I nodded my head in approval, Lily continued.


    "I do understand your plan here is to make the spirit break its contact with Alya by giving it a contractee who is more powerful...but what exactly does this sculpture have to do with it?" sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Glad that I didn''t have to explain any of the plain to her, I got up and walked in front of Lily, standing right before the motionless and lifeless corrupted figure.


    Humans were animals, too, right?


    As the corrupted figure and I were the same height, due to him being a replica of me, I raised my hand to my height before placing it on the corrupted figure''s forehead.


    Feeling the cold and slimy feeling of the corruption, I resisted the urge to immediately remove my hand and instead pushed my hand further into the corruption.


    My hand slowly went through the slime-like corruption until it finally completely emerged in the corruption.


    From Lily''s standpoint, it looked like I just shoved my hand right into the forehead of the corrupted figure.


    As the slimy sensation enveloped my hands, I moved the last of my corruption out of my chest into my hand that emerged into the corrupted figure''s forehead.


    "...never thought I''d run out of corruption after receiving that lake."


    Making a raven required a small amount of corruption as it was a small and uncomplex animal... however, creating a human clone of myself was a different story.


    It would take up almost 50% of my corruption, even though I basically had a whole lake of corruption flowing inside me.


    As the corruption flowed up of my hand and into the corrupted figure, I made sure to hold my hand steady, not allowing for any disruption.


    If I was disrupted during the process, I would have to restart, and there was also the possibility that I put too much corruption in.


    This sculpture, despite its solid and pitch-black appearance, wasn''t made out of hard substance like stone or concrete.


    It was made out of glass.


    If I input too much corruption into a single part instead of slowly spreading it around the corrupted figure''s body, it could shatter.


    "LILY!"


    "LILY, WHERE DID YOU GO!?"


    "LILY, WE''RE OVER HERE."


    As countless voices entered my ears, I didn''t stress or increase the speed at which I was inputting corruption, painting my composure.


    It was a miracle that the main cast had taken this long to notice Lily''s absence as if they had just noticed a minute earlier, I wouldn''t have been able to make the corrupted figure in time.


    Well... it wasn''t really a miracle.


    I was sure the cause of them not noticing Lily''s disappearance immediately was Alya... or the spirit that influenced Alya.


    The whole group must have been in a rush to reach the end of the path due to the spirit''s influencing Alya, so they probably hadn''t been looking backward, therefore not noticing Lily''s absence.


    As the last bit of corruption left my body and entered the corrupted figure, I sighed and wiped the sweat off my forehead.


    If the mechanics were the same as creating the crow, this should work.


    Just like with the crow, I had inputted the corruption equally in the body, making sure to increase its size or change its shape in the slightest.

 Chapter 156 - 156:A Decoy [1]

    Removing my hands from the corrupted figure''s head, I watched as the hole in its forehead that I had made instantly healed.


    "LILLLY!"


    "IF YOU CAN HEAR US, SAY SOMETHING."


    Almost immediately, I dismissed my two daggers, extinguishing the light from the room and plunging it back into darkness.


    Peering through the darkness of the cave, I spotted Alya leading the main cast towards our direction.


    As the voices of the main cast members grew nearer and nearer, I was about to explain the plan to Lily when another main cast voice caught me off guard.


    "I told you guys there was something up with that bastard, Ren."


    "Liam, have you finally lost it? Do you really think that he could do anything to her?"


    "Kevin, see, you''re doubting me now, but I swear to god, when we find Lily, and she says it''s something to do with Ren, you better get down on your knees and beg for my forgiveness."


    Staring at Lily with a deadpan expression, I sighed as I gestured toward the corrupted replica of me.


    Am I just that predictable..?


    Also, really, what vendetta does Liam has against me?


    Nothing good could come out of the protagonist of the book having a grudge against me...


    Well, he should be pretty happy when Kevin has to get on his knees and apologize, right?


    As Lily turned her confused face to the corrupted figure, a sense of relief washed over me. I felt a strange sense envelop me as I stared at the figure.


    Staring at the corrupted figure, I ignored the strange feeling inside my body and instead thought.


    ''Walk and stand next to the girl.''


    The next moment, the previously lifeless and motionless corrupted figure took a step towards Lily and then another step.


    And just like me, the corrupted figure moved silently through the cave; however, that it didn''t quite have my stealth stat.


    Well, I can''t have everything, can I?


    Being able to create a clone that had the same exact powers and the same strength as me was just a dream... for now, at least.


    Though it would still be unnoticeable to an unawakened, Lily''s improved senses from being a D-rank allowed her to sense the figure''s movement.


    Every time the figure moved, it sensed a small shockwave through the floor, and since I was standing right next to Lily, she knew it wasn''t me.


    The main cast was also too far away for their movement shockwaves to reach us, so it had to be something else.


    Making sure the main cast was a suitable distance away, I summoned one small dagger, allowing only the tip of it to be covered in the blood-red substance.


    Lily, who was staring at me, slowly turned around, staring at the corrupted figure slowly moving towards her.


    Staring at the incoming corrupted figure. Lily subconsciously took a step back before staring at me.


    Making sure that my voice didn''t leak out, I quietly whispered.


    "Well, all you have to do is convince that spirit that this version of me is stronger than Alya."


    Staring in the direction of the voices of the incoming main cast, Lily took a moment before nodding her head. S§×ar?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...she took it better than I thought she would, didn''t she?


    I mean, she had just seen me bring an inanimate object to life... so shouldn''t she at least have some reaction?


    Well, considering our time situation, she was probably just ignoring that and trying to save Alya, but still accepting it without any questions is insane.


    ...this was not going to be easy to explain after we escaped the loop... but I didn''t have to explain it in the first place, so it didn''t matter!


    Slipping away in the darkness, I hid behind a rock and watched as the main cast approached Lily and the corrupted figure.


    I had to be trailing behind them in order to give my corrupted figure the correct orders, so it wouldn''t seem suspicious.


    Switching bodies with the corrupted figure would be a terrible idea right now, as I would basically just leave my body out in the open.


    Even if I hid my body somewhere, the spirit would probably find it eventually, as in the astral realm, everything was hallucinatory.


    In the spirit''s eyes, there weren''t any walls... everything was just transparent.


    It was basically like spirits had my eyesight, but unlike me, they could see through walls and other physical objects.


    Although the spirit couldn''t directly damage me due to it being in the astral realm, it could influence Alya to do something, so I wasn''t willing to risk it.


    As I extinguished the last light, the room, however, wasn''t plunged into darkness.


    Instead, a new light source emerged in the shape of the fire levitating right above Ruby''s hand.


    While I did want to inform Ruby of the current situation, that would just be impossible right now.


    Two people disappearing in the span of ten minutes would be far too suspicious to the spirit and Alya.


    I was also quite curious: would Ruby be able if it was me or not?


    Did the clone have the same desire burning inside me or not?


    I was also sure that Ruby wouldn''t reveal the identity of the corrupted figure even if she discovered it wasn''t me.


    As the cave emerged back into the light, the entire main cast paused upon seeing Lily... and Ren, or what they thought was Ren.


    However, that wasn''t what brought the most shock to them.


    Covering the corrupted figure''s face was Lily''s sweater, and Lily was on her tippy toes, seemingly trying to wipe something off his face.


    "Well... I have to give props for creativity."


    Staring at the scene in front of them in shock and silence, Liam was the first to speak, as he exclaimed.


    "I TOLD YOU, WHAT DID I SAY? KEVIN, TELL ME WHAT I SAID. GET DOWN ON YOUR KNEES, NOW!"


    Kevin, with his mouth open, stared at the scene in front of him, ignoring Liam''s screaming.


    Breaking the silence, Lily stepped forward, leaving her sweater covering the corrupted figure''s face, and said.


    "I found him starving and thirsty lying against one of the cave walls."

 Chapter 157 - 157:A Decoy [2]

    ...I can''t say it wasn''t a bad idea or bad explanation for her being with me, but I still felt offended.


    Really, did I have to be portrayed as a pathetic person who had to cling to Lily for assistance in escaping the cave?


    Sighing, I shook my head and turned towards Ruby, not surprised at her current suspicious and confused expression.


    Well, desire or not, I''d be pretty disappointed if she thought that figure alongside Lily was the real me.


    After another brief moment of silence, Alya waved her hand at Lily before gesturing for her to come forward. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Sending an order for the corrupted figure to follow Lily, I watched with interest as Lily, the corrupted figure, and the rest of the main cast stood in silence.


    After a moment, Kevin looked at the corrupted figure, which still had something covering its face, before shaking his head and saying.


    "You''re really thinking of taking him with us, are you Lily?"


    Stepping in front of the corrupted figure, Lily defended me by replying.


    "We wouldn''t have found this place without him. What good did you guys do running around the forest while he helped us find this place and the exit?"


    The entire group hesitated for a moment, shell-shocked at Lily''s sudden defense for, before Kevin muttered out.


    "...you''re the one who told me to r-"


    Interrupting Kevin mid-sentence was Alya, as she stepped in front of Kevin, staring at the corrupted figure and replying.


    "Enough. Lily''s right, we may not like it, but he could prove to be useful."


    Fainting hearing something from the other side, I turned around and barely managed to hear Liam whisper.


    "Yeah, useful as a fucking bait."


    ...really dude?


    It was ironic as I was in fact currently using them as a bait right now, so I didn''t take his words too personally.


    Reexamining Alya''s expression, I saw her eyes light up with a spark before returning to normal as she took the lead of the group.


    As the other main cast nodded their heads at Alya''s words, Ruby''s nod was somewhat forced and skeptical... at least that was what I thought it was, they departed.


    I still had one question remaining.


    Did Alya know she was being influenced and essentially possessed the spirit or not?


    It was possible that the spirit was communicating to Alya through their contract and telling her that something bad would happen if they didn''t immediately go to the end of the path.


    On the other hand, it was also possible that the spirit was manipulating Alya''s sense of time by telling her that every second that passed in this loop was a day on the outside.


    Whatever the spirit was telling her though, it was clear that he had one goal.


    Reach the end of this path with all of us.


    As the main cast began walking in the direction of the end of the path, I also started moving, using the darkness of the cave to trail behind the main cast by a couple of steps.


    For the time being, Lily did not say anything or attempt to showcase the corrupted figure''s strength to Alya and the spirit, so I simply observed.


    If we rushed and were caught somehow by the spirit, we would lose our chances of escaping.


    The spirit was part of that tree that we had destroyed, and that tree was the end condition, so in other words, this spirit was also an end condition.


    Something we had to kill to get rid of the loop.


    The spirit had all the cards in this scenario; if he wanted to, it could just leave us here and run away, leaving us trapped in the loop forever.


    It had all the leverage.


    Hearing a conversation spark up between the group, I got a bit closer.


    Irene, turning to Lily, Alya, and the corrupted figure who was at the front of the group, asked.


    "So, what''s up with your face? Suddenly, you''re scared to show it. Finally, looked in a mirror and realized something was wrong?"


    ..?


    I understand Liam''s hate a bit, but what the actual hell did I do to deserve that insult from Irene?


    Struggling to keep my mouth closed, I instructed the corrupted figure to simply turn to Lily in response to Irene''s question.


    The corrupted figure could not communicate, so I had to let Lily know that so she could respond on my behalf.


    Noticing the corrupted figure''s expectant gaze, Lily seemed to have an idea as she stopped mid-walk and turned back to face Irene.


    "I-i saw him fighting an A-rank beast back in the cave, and it gave him a bloody scar. I think he''s covering his face to prevent the blood from leaking out."


    Almost wanting to run over and thank Lily, I sighed in relief from behind the rocks.


    At first, I thought that we were going to be caught as since the spirit could see through anything in the cave, it would be alerted if a monster were to appear, so it would know that Lily was lying.


    Fortunately though, Lily had mentioned that it was the underground space that we had first fallen into, not the secret tunnel that we were currently in.


    Working with instead of against other regressors who have a ton of knowledge is kind of nice sometimes!


    Examining the expressions of the main cast, I saw Kevin and Liam give me a weird expression while Ruby''s entire face was slanted while staring at the back of the corrupted figure.


    huh?


    Did she really still think it was me after what Lily said earlier?


    Irene stared at the silent corrupted figure for a moment before shaking her head and staring at Lily, clearly not believing the story.


    On the other hand, Alya''s eyes flashed a cold silver for a moment before returning to normal as she quickened her pace, not questioning Lily''s statement.


    The bait had been set... all that was left was to wait.

 Chapter 158 - 158:A Decoy [3]

    And wait, I did.


    As the group went further into the tunnel and became closer to the end of the path that I had perceived earlier, I followed behind, aware of any movements from Alya.


    At this point, it was pretty easy for me to determine that...


    Alya wasn''t necessarily Alya.


    Now, that may sound like an oxymoron, but it is true.


    Alya isn''t the one in control of her body; whether she knows it or not doesn''t make a difference.


    She was simply a puppet being controlled by the spirit.


    Now, that didn''t necessarily mean that Alya didn''t have control of her body, but it was also possible that the spirit was manipulating her, swaying her actions and emotions through his words.


    From her rush to reach the end of the path to her occasion glances at the corrupted figure of Ren, someone who she wouldn''t pay any attention to earlier, and her unusual manner of walking.


    "can''t have a heroine dying, can I..?"


    Sighing, I continued following, getting a bit closer as I heard a conversation spark off, breaking the awkward silence.


    Trailing at the behind of the group with his sword ready, Kevin angrily asked.


    "Look, princess, I know you said that this path is the way out, but it really doesn''t seem like it anymore."


    As Alya turned around to face Kevin, not slowing her pace a single bit, she was about to reply when Zach suddenly interrupted.


    "Kevin, we''ve always trusted each other to the end, so what good would not trust each other now do? If she''s wrong and you''re right about this not being the way out, then so be it, but we''re a team."


    Nodding from beside Kevin, Liam also chimed in.


    "I mean, what else were we supposed to do this in the tunnel, Kevin? If you have any suggestions about how to get out, let''s hear them!"


    Shaking his head, Kevin ceased his complaining before speeding back up to catch up to Alya''s increasing pace.


    However, just as Kevin sped up to catch up with Alya and the rest of the group, Liam halted, immediately falling behind.


    Thinking for a moment, Liam seemed to be staring at the green particles with his eyes slanted.


    This time, everyone was much more alert due to Lily''s previous disappearance, so within a few seconds, the rest of the main cast had stopped, staring at Liam''s stationary figure.


    *TAP*


    Tapping her foot rapidly, Alya coldly asked.


    "Got something to say?"


    It was quite obvious that Alya, or "Alya," wanted to rush to the end of the cave, but she wasn''t going to outright force everyone.


    Whether it was because the spirit controlling Alya wanted to seem less suspicious or because the real Alya wasn''t a bad person, I did not know.


    Raising his hand and jumping into the air, Liam''s hand passed through one of the many green particles in the air.


    Landing swiftly on the ground, Liam managed to gather his words as he turned to the main cast and pointed at the green particles in the air.


    "Look, don''t get me wrong, I''m not agreeing with Kevin or not trusting Alya, but does anyone not find it suspicious that this path of green particles is the only way out?"


    Walking towards the main cast, Liam continued.


    "I mean, this is a cave, isn''t it? Shouldn''t there be multiple paths diverging, not just one long and twisting one?


    Almost immediately, the temperate of the cave began to drop as, unbeknownst to the others, a small layer of ice formed on the blade of Alya''s sword.


    Shivering, I looked at Alya, whose eyes were sparkling with a dangerous aura, and her stance had changed to one preparing to fight.


    The spirit''s maximum power would be that of Alya''s as Alya was its only contractor, so it definitely couldn''t kill or majorly injure Liam, especially with the rest of the main cast here.


    But... the spirit could disappear and leave us.


    That would be detrimental.


    If the spirit disappeared, we would be trapped in here until it reappeared.


    Our only way of escaping was killing the spirit, as it was the end condition and the only way to terminate the loop.


    Tensing myself up, I stared at Liam before giving an order to my corrupted figure which was standing next to Lily.


    Thankfully, I had prepared for this situation as I knew that the main cast wasn''t stupid and that one of them would most likely figure out the abnormalities in the cave just like Lily and I.


    As Alya''s legs tensed, my corrupted figure opened its mouth, which, though blocked by the face cover, was still noticeable as the cover twitched upwards.


    At the same time, from behind a nearby rock, I placed my hand over my mouth, making it as seem as if something was covering my mouth.


    "mmph, I don''t see any way besides forward, even if mmph is suspicious."


    Remembering his words earlier, I continued in a mocking and sarcastic tone. S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "If you have any suggestions, I''m sure we''d all be glad to hear them."


    Seeing the room''s temperature slowly drop, I turned to Lily, prompting her to continue.


    Even if my point was correct, I was just an outsider in this main cast group, so no matter what I said, my points would be irrelevant and ignored.


    I just needed to build a base for Lily to continue off on.


    Meeting the corrupted figure''s gaze, well, where she thought it was, there was cover blocking the figure''s face, Lily replied.


    "As much as I hate to say it...he''s right. We have no other options, and this is probably the closest we''ve ever been to escaping."


    "...if you all say so."


    "*PFFT*"


    As Kevin chucked, Liam returned to the main cast, his sword already drawn and presumably reading to attack at any moment.


    Well, at least I knew the spirit''s first target when we arrived now!


    But was using the main character as bait really a good idea?


    "Well, when has anything I''ve ever done been a good idea!"

 Chapter 159 - 159:A Dead End [1]

    Thus, our expedition into the cave continued at a much faster pace than usual, showcasing Alya''s desire to reach the end of the path.


    Hm?


    Desire?


    Could Ruby have already read Alya''s desire and noticed something was off?


    The normal Alya''s desire would be to protect her friends and possibly return home, so it would be quite unusual for her desire to suddenly switch.


    Glancing at Ruby as I followed them, I tried to discern if she knew anything, but she was acting normal, her wand drawn and lighting up the cave with a bright fire while she was talking to Irene.


    Returning my gaze to Alya and the corrupted figure, I was surprised to see Alya''s pace actually slow down as if she were waiting for something.


    Looking around, I also realized that we were just at right about the point that I had noticed something suspicious and turned around.


    The path''s end was nearby.


    The green particles in the air were accumulating and showing up more and more often, and the number of twists and turns ahead was decreasing, the path actually going somewhat straight.


    Unfortunately, there were still some obstacles blocking my sight ahead, so I could just peer to the very end of the path.


    As we continued ahead at a slower pace, I glanced at my corrupted figure, which was walking side-by-side with Lily and right behind Alya.


    The only requirement for a spiritual contract was for the contract to be signed between a spirit and a living thing.


    As I saw with my raven earlier, the creations from my corruption were considered living things, so the corrupted figure definitely met the criteria.


    There was just one problem... how was I supposed to know if the contract had been signed with my corrupted figure and Alya''s contract had been terminated?


    We couldn''t just ask Alya as the spirit would realize something was off, making him possibly disappear, leaving us with no chance of escaping the loop.


    Well, I guess that only left me with one way of determining the validity of the contract.


    Since my corrupted figure didn''t have a mind of its owner, if offered a contract by the spirit, it would, by default, accept as it would be unable to reject unless I ordered it not to.


    Who knows?


    Maybe the contract between my corrupted figure and the spirit had already been signed.


    Only the corrupted figure and the spirit would know.


    Even Alya could be completely oblivious to her contract''s dismissal as it was clear that the spirit had some control over her mind by now.


    If that had already happened, this entire plan would have been a bust... as we had already won.


    To kill a spirit, one simply had to kill its tenants.


    In other words, if the contract had already been signed, all I would have to do was dismiss the corrupted figure, dismissing and killing the spirit alongside it.


    Wiping those thoughts out of my head, I noticed the frequency of green particles increasing further.


    It was far too early to dismiss the corrupted figure.


    If the spirit was not yet contracted with it, it would surely sense danger and possibly leave if a person just disappeared in front of it.


    I also had only one chance, as I would have neither the time nor energy to recreate and mold the corrupted figure if I dismissed it.


    "Crazy how I don''t have enough time when I can slow time. I can''t imagine what normal people feel like..."


    There was also the question of what would happen if I simply switched bodies with my corrupted figure.


    But that was not a risk I was willing to take.


    What if the contract was transferred from the corrupted figure to me, making the spirit able to influence me?


    Then, the only end to end this damn loop was for me to die as I would become its tenant and contractee.


    Clearing my head, I crept closer towards the main cast as the accumulation of green particles grew larger and larger.


    In reality, I had no intention of allowing the spirit to reach the end of the path.


    What was at the end of that path?


    I had no interest in knowing.


    Using my last bits of corruption, I manifested two pairs of daggers, a bow with a couple of arrows, and a mask to cover my face.


    If the spirit had not yet contracted my corrupted figure, I was going to make it.


    Killing Alya was off the table, but coming close most definitely wasn''t.


    Fusing the blood-red substance and ocean-blue mana in my body, I manifested one dark purple, on the borderline of being black, wing on my right shoulder.


    Using the wing to levitate in the air, I activated the grace period of dash before waiting for the perfect moment.


    Just as Alya was about to leave the ten-meter range of my dash, I raised my hand to my eye, slowing time.


    Finding a gap in between the group of main cast members, I calculated the perfect angle I needed to dash at.


    Placing my dagger at where Alya''s right hand would be, the hand holding her sword, I removed my hand from my eye before using a dash.


    *WHOOSH*


    Blowing away the green particles above me as I dashed forward, in real-time, I saw the expressions of the main cast members below me transform.


    Liam, who was already on guard from his suspicions, immediately lit up his sword a light blue; however, he was still slow to catch me.


    Liam swung his sword, just barely missing my legs, as I propelled forward with my dagger aligned straight with Alya''s arm. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As Lily hesitantly raised her wand, a smile appeared on my face.


    Bracing myself for the incoming attacks and spells, I stared at the blank-eyed Alya before lowering my daggers.


    Giving an order to the corrupted figure, I further grinned, feeling a sense of relief as I flapped my wing.


    Did the spirit think I was stupid?

 Chapter 160 - 160:A Dead End [2]

    In reality, the spirit could be contracted with anyone at this point.


    It could have been contracted with Ruby, Irene, Alya, Kevin, Zach, Liam, and even Ruby currently.


    There was just one living thing it couldn''t be contracted with besides me.


    The corrupted figure.


    Spirits can see anything, can''t they?


    They should have been easily able to see through my corrupted figure, instantly not recognizing it as a human.


    At that point, the spirit should have definitely realized that something was off.


    From there, the possibilities could be endless.


    The spirit could have recognized that Alya was obviously the most suspicious person, prompting them to switch to another person.


    That person could have been anyone besides my corrupted figure.


    Attacking Alya right now wouldn''t do anything, as there was a possibility that the spirit was contracted with another member of the main cast.


    Then, everyone here was my enemy.


    Appearing ten meters up in the air, I levitated in the air before dismissing my only escape route from this underground space.


    Over two hundred meters above me, a single pitch-black crow that was flying the night sky, blending in completely, suddenly disappeared.


    This time, it didn''t disappear because it was blending in so well with the night sky...it truly disappeared, leaving no trace.


    Instead of a sense of panic overwhelming me as I floated in the air with time-slowed, a sense of relief flooded through my body.


    I was going to win; why would I need an escape route?


    If you have an escape route or backup plan ready, then you''ve already lost, both mentally and physically.


    Feeling the corruption from the crow flood into my body, I didn''t waste a second as I immediately used the new corruption.


    At this point, everyone was right under my levitating figure, their spells and swords already swinging and aiming at me.


    Right where I needed them.


    Sending shockwaves through my body, I allowed the ocean-blue mana to flow out of my body, crystalizing around all of us.


    The mana left my body, slowly accumulating and surrounding all of us until it was done.


    In less than a second, an entire ocean-blue mana cage was surrounding us, preventing anyone from leaving and entering.


    The next second, a small dot of pitch-black color appeared on the blue mana-cage, blemishing it. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The next, there were countless more black dots appearing all over the mana cage until, finally, they had overtaken the mana.


    The red wand of Irene and Ruby, the blue wand of Lily, the blue sword of Liam, the grey sword of Zach, the blue sword of Alya, and the red sword of Kevin all disappeared.


    They were still there... but the pure pitch-blackness of the shadow cage suppressed their colors, not allowing them to be seen.


    The room was pitch black... no one could see what was in front of them or even their own body.


    No one could see their hands or their weapons in front of them.


    Levitating right below the roof of the shadow cage, I stared downwards at the seven main cast members, each of them... still aiming at me.


    The next moment, all the spells and countless sword slashes flew at me, prompting me to flap my wing, appearing on the floor.


    "WHERE IS HE!?"


    "THIS IS ME, YOU IDIOT."


    Leaving the cast members chaos, I strolled through the shadow cage, silently, carefully maneuvering around the main cast members until I finally reached someone.


    In front of me stood a silver-haired girl with ocean-blue eyes, her ice-blue sword being held shakingly in her arms.


    Alya was acting irregularly despite the fact that the spirit should have already negated their contract with her.


    If the spirit simply had manipulated her to forget everything, Alya would be acting normally, yet here she was, trembling right in front of me.


    And even before I implemented the shadow cage, she was still rushing towards the end of the path.


    What the spirit hadn''t manipulated her memories... but instead, used them against her.


    Alya, who had regained all her memories of being manipulated after breaking the contract with the spirit, would have realized that the spirit wouldn''t have just left her be.


    It would have found another target.


    Someone else in the main cast.


    The spirit must have told Alya something along the lines before ending the contract.


    "Take us to the end of the path, or ___ dies."


    Taking off my mask and revealing my face, I reached out, grabbing Alya''s shoulders and stopping her from trembling.


    Not giving her any information, I simply leaned into her ear and whispered.


    "Who is it?"


    Having her body forcefully stopped from trembling, Alya immediately flicked her head, turning to face the sound of my voice.


    Seemingly recognizing the sound of my voice, I felt Alya''s body begin to shake even more, but again, I gripped her shoulders, stopping her from making any sound.


    After a moment, she somehow turned right into me, despite there being no light, and whispered in a quiet voice.


    "h-he said it was Zach."


    ...he chose the least powerful person out of everyone here?


    Patting her on the shoulder, I whispered back.


    "It''s done...just be patient."


    Leaving behind the scared Alya, I flapped my wings once, teleporting right in front of Lily and my corrupted figure.


    Tapping her on the back, I quietly whispered.


    "It''s not Alya...I need you to relax them. Make them feel as if this is just because of the cave."


    Then, without waiting for a response, I flapped my wing, appearing right above Zach, with my corrupted figure silently making his way to Zach as well.


    "...I''m sorry about this, Zach...but don''t blame me if I enjoy it."


    Like a seagull flying into the ocean to scoop up a fish, I flew head-first downwards right at Zach.


    At the same time, Lily''s loud voice could be heard echoing throughout the mana cage.


    "EVERYONE, CALM DOWN, THIS IS NORMAL, IT''S GOING TO GET DARKER AS WE GO FURTHER INTO THE CAVE."


    Stopping a meter before I hit Zach head-on, I waited for his reaction.

 Chapter 161 - 161:A Dead End [3]

    Suspended in the air right above Zach''s head, I watched as he slowly opened his mouth before immediately closing it.


    Her face transformed from confused to one of disgust as he muttered out, believing that nobody else could hear him.


    "Damn liar."


    He can see the shadow cage, which is not surprising but still trippy.


    He was a direct counter to my corruption ability.


    Ordering the corrupted figure to stop a couple of steps away from the corrupted figure, I smirked as I drew in the shadow cage, making it smaller and smaller.


    If the spirit could have escaped the shadow cage, it would have done so by now, yet here it was, standing still and observing the situation.


    It was also possible that he was simply observing, waiting for an enemy to appear, and then making a plan.


    Unfortunately, I had to assume the first theory was correct as my mana was running lower and lower with everyone second.


    The shadow cage would drop in less than two minutes, and when that happens... the spirit would be set free, taking our hopes of terminating the loop with it.


    Well...it''s now or never.


    Not bothering to make it seem as though the corrupted figure was speaking, I shouted out.


    "IT''S KEVIN!"


    I could kill Kevin, yes, but could I trap him and showcase the corrupted figure''s ability at the same time?


    I had to trap the spirit, making it seem as if it would die if it were Kevin''s body, and at the same time, make the corrupted figure''s body appealing to it, making it want to switch bodies.


    Looking around at the main cast members and seeing the surprised expressions on all of them... except Alya, a smile slipped onto my face.


    The tables had turned.


    I used to have to fight 1v20s, but now it was the opposite.


    All of the main cast and I versus one single person.


    Oh, how nice it was to be on the side with a greater amount of people!


    As I plunged my dagger downwards, allowing myself to plunge toward the ground right at Kevin, Lily reaffirmed my words.


    "KEVIN HAS BEEN POSSESSED, WE HAVE TO... K-KILL HIM!"


    Thanking Lily for actually saying "kill," as the spirit needed to believe that it would die if it stayed in Zach''s body, I threw my first attack at the corrupted figure.


    However, I did not expect it to hit.


    The main cast could easily take care of Kevin...my job was to showcase the corrupted figure''s body.


    Flapping my wing, I appeared right beside my corrupted figure with my night-black bow and arrows in hand.


    Feeling a presence behind me, I turned around and saw Ruby cluelessly wandering around with her wand.


    Oh right... they can''t see, can they?


    Without sight, they were just a bunch of useless people who had no chance against the spirit.


    Thankfully, I believed that the spirit couldn''t see in the shadow cage as it had barely managed to dodge my dagger attack by ducking at the last minute.


    But, that also was a double-edged sword as that meant I couldn''t showcase the power of the corrupted figure to it.


    That would mean that the spirit would attempt to take over another main cast member instead of the corrupted figure, making our situation even worse.


    "...can''t I have one good thing!? Why does everything come with side effects...?"


    Leaving the corrupted figure and the retreating Zach behind, I flapped my wing three times, grabbing Ruby, Lily, Irene, and Alya in less than a second.


    To them, it would have looked like they were teleporting as I seamlessly grabbed one before moving on to the other.


    Dropping the four girls next to Kevin and Zach, I hesitated for a moment before whispering to Lily and Alya in a deadly, serious voice.


    "Try to kill him. You have to make it seem real, or else the spirit won''t believe it."


    As Alya was at a loss for words, Lily muttered back.


    "H-how c-can we, h-"


    Sighing, I shook my head.


    "If we don''t do this now, the situation will only get worse. Would you rather Zach possibly die... or we all die instead?"


    Without any hesitation, Alya broke out of her trance and replied.


    "We all die."


    Some people are just fundamentally different, I guess...


    As Lily nodded her head and turned her expectant gaze to me, I asked.


    "Do you trust me?"


    In unison, the two girls replied.


    "No."


    "Nope."


    Sighing, I turned away and replied.


    "Well, you''re going to have to." S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "...?"


    Leaving the main cast behind, I whispered back in a dead serious and cold-hearted voice.


    "I will kill Zach myself if you don''t."


    Some things needed to be done.


    Did I seriously have any intent to kill Zach?


    No.


    But those were the words that Alya and Lily needed to hear.


    And... just like the spirit needed to believe that he would die, they believed that I would genuinely kill Zach if they didn''t listen.


    Not waiting for a response, I flapped my wing, appearing next to my corrupted figure once again with my bow in hand.


    Now, it was time to solve the problem of lighting.


    Dismissing my mask as there was no longer a need, I manifested two daggers.


    Finding the blood-red substance in my body, I embed both my daggers with the substance, causing them to shine a bright red.


    Corruption and my blood-red substance could coexist instead of one trying to overpower the other, just as they fused together to create my wings.


    In the pitch-black room, one figure was illuminated and seen despite the immense darkness: my corrupted figure.


    Looking around, I saw the entire main cast with sullen faces as they gazed at my corrupted figure in the distance.


    I had stepped back to prevent myself from being seen, hiding behind the corrupted figure''s back.


    Putting one of the daggers in the corrupted figure''s hand, I nocked an arrow in my bow before aiming.

 Chapter 162 - 162:A Dead End [4]

    As I pulled the delicate black string of my bow back and placed the bow in front of me, making it seem as if the corrupted figure were using it, I examined Zach''s crumbling figure.


    If he had not been aware of Zach''s lack of power when comparing it to the other main cast members, he would know now.


    Right now the spirit''s hope of winning the fight is the fact that he believes that the other main cast members won''t kill Zach as he is their friend.


    Through the walk to the cave, the spirit must have noticed the closed camaraderie and sentiment shared between the main cast members.


    Therefore, right now, he should believe that the main cast wouldn''t kill Zach no matter what happened.


    Not only that, but it was also clear from the spirit''s lack of energy or just standing still instead of trying to escape that he had no plans of attacking.


    Just like he had used our emotions to manipulate us into following the path at the start, he was once again influencing our emotions, disallowing us from killing Zach and him.


    Unfortunately, this time around, he wasn''t in control of everything from behind the scenes.


    He was on the front stage, in the form of Zach''s body, standing in front of the entire main cast and I.


    And just like an actor, he was attempting to elicit emotions out of us, not excitement or happiness, but sympathy and sorrow at seeing one of your best friends being controlled.


    Truly, he was an astounding actor.


    If I hadn''t been here, there was no doubt in my mind that Lily, Alya, and the rest of the main cast wouldn''t attack, not daring to harm Zach''s body.


    Then, it was simply a game of blackmail.


    The spirit had all the bargaining chips while the main cast was broke and penniless.


    Unfortunately, an extra was going to make an appearance in this performance.


    A true extra, one that neither belonged in this world or performance.


    Releasing the arrow, I aimed right above Zach''s shoulder, calculating the trajectory so that the arrow would barely miss him, just flying by his cheek.


    However, that didn''t mean Zach wouldn''t be hurt.


    The spirit in Zach''s body, who neither had the capabilities nor skill to dodge my arrow, simply stared at the corrupted figure, not noticing me, and watched the arrow fly toward him.


    Instead of making an attempt to dodge to the right or deflect the arrow with a sword, the spirit in Zach''s body simply watched, a shrewd and cunning smiling apparent on his face.


    As the arrow flew right past Zach''s head and above his shoulder, a deep cut appeared on Zach''s face, blemishing his "priceless" face.


    The spirit did not flinch as blood leaked out of the cut on Zach''s face, simply staring at the corrupted figure and the main cast, who had not joined me.


    Everyone was now on stage, illuminated by the blood-red aura surrounding my daggers, which seamlessly co-existed with the darkness of the shadow cage.


    Hiding behind the corrupted figure, I turned to Lily and said.


    "My arrow won''t miss next time."


    Looking at the horrified expressions on Alya and Lily, who were the only two close enough to hear me, I picked up another arrow.


    Seeing no way of reasoning with me, the two simply stared at my bow for a moment before turning right back around.


    Then, in a purposely loud voice, Lily screamed out.


    "WE HAVE NO CHOICE...IT''S EITHER ZACH DIES OR US!"


    Guess someone else here is a natural-born actor.


    The smile on Zach''s face disappeared, being replaced with a cold expression as his teeth gnawed each other before reappearing.


    However, completely wiping the smile of the spirit, the rest of the main cast did not object to Lily''s statement, simply staying silent.


    Looks like we have a whole group of actors over there.... S§×ar?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Well, I''m an extra who wasn''t even cast by the director or author in this scenario, so who am I to judge?


    Pulling the elegant string of my bow once again, I watched with interest as the main cast rushed toward Zach.


    Even with my blood-red aura lighting up this area of the shadow cage, the colors of their attacks still weren''t visible.


    They appeared for a split second before becoming immediately consumed by the darkness of the shadow cage, vanishing without a trace.


    Watching the colorless attacks of Ruby''s fire, Lily''s water, and Alya''s ice charge at the corrupted figure, I released my arrow.


    However, instead of fully pulling back the string, I simply did it halfway, giving Zach more than enough time to dodge.


    But that didn''t mean that the attacks of the others wouldn''t hurt him.


    After sending the arrow off, I immediately dismissed the bow and commanded the corrupted figure to charge forward.


    Holding the dagger covered in a blood-red aura, the corrupted figure charged forward silently.


    Turning to the side, I saw Alya staring at me with an expectant gaze instead of her friend Zach, who was being bombarded by attacks.


    Raising my hand, I copied the salute that I had seen the Elven soldiers do during the attack on the clearing.


    Putting my right hand to my heart, I tapped it with my index finger once before swiftly raising my hand upwards and touching my nose.


    Finally, I tapped my index finger to my nose before throwing my entire right hand upwards, my index finger sticking out.


    Leaving behind the confused Alya, I activated the grace period of dash before immediately dashing to the side.


    Instead of dashing straight behind the corrupted figure, I appeared ten meters to the right, not in the area illuminated by my blood-red dagger.


    As Zach desperately dived to the right, barely avoiding my arrow, countless fire spells, ice attacks, and sword slashes hit him.


    *BANG*


    Being sent flying by the attacks, Zach''s back crashed into the barrier of the shadow cage, sending him right to the ground with an uncontrollably yelp.

 Chapter 163 - 163:A Dead End [5]

    However, no more spells or sword slashes came as Zach swiftly descended to the floor, battered and bruised.


    Well, they didn''t know the script of this performance I was hosting, so I couldn''t blame them.


    They weren''t really acting... just doing improv.


    Not going forward myself, I sent the corrupted figure towards Zach''s injured body, the blood-red daggers still lighting the area around the corrupted figure.


    Despite the fact that no more attacks or spells were going to be thrown, the climax was just starting.


    Everything before was just the exposition and rising action.


    Ordering the corrupted figure to open its mouth, I spoke from behind, shrouding myself in the darkness of the shadow cage to avoid detection of the spirit.


    "Give it up."


    *PEW*


    Lying on the ground, propped up against the barrier of the shadow cage, Zach spat out a handful of blood before turning to face the corrupted figure.


    A shrew smirk appeared on his face; Zach pointed at the countless injuries on his body before cockily asking.


    "Are you really going to allow your friend to die?"


    Pointing the tip of the dagger at Zach''s bruised body, illuminating Zach''s terrible state and condition for the rest of the main cast, the corrupted figure opened his mouth.


    Hiding in the darkness with my dash''s usage period already activated, I spoke.


    "Fortunately, he''s not my friend."


    *CLASH*


    *CLASH*


    As those last few words escaped my mouth, I could hear the sound of weapons dropping to the floor, reverberating throughout the shadow cage.


    Almost instantly, those sounds of swords and wands dropping were replaced by footsteps, once again echoing throughout the cage.


    Lots of footsteps.


    I didn''t even have to turn around to know that there were countless people charging at me.


    Looking behind the corrupted figure, Zach held his smile up high before using the last of his energy to point in the direction of the sound.


    "Looks like his friends won''t let you."


    Commanding the corrupted figure to continue staring at Zach''s bruised body emotionless, I dashed forward.


    Still shrouded in the darkness, I was now side-by-side with the corrupted figure, barely escaping from the area lit up by the daggers.


    *RUMBLE*


    The next second, the entire shadow cage began shrinking.


    Without turning back and ignoring the sound of the footsteps readily approaching me, I snapped my figures.


    In an instant, the entire shadow cage shrunk and shrunk, faster than at which the pace the main cast was sprinting at me.


    Just as the main cast was illuminated by the blood-red daggers of my corrupted figure, the shadow cage finished shrinking.


    The next second, the shadow cage cut off, creating new barriers, encircling only me, the corrupted figure, and Zach.


    Though I could not hear it, by turning around and peering through the darkness, I could see the entire main cast banging on the barrier of the shrunken shadow cage.


    A moment later, the main cast picked up their swords and wands before casting spell after spell...sword slash after sword slash... and shouting some words that I couldn''t quite make due to the shadow cage separating us.


    Not wasting any more time, I turned around and stared at Zach''s injured figure, still oblivious to the shrinking of the shadow cage.


    Controlling the corrupted figure to raise the daggers upwards, illuminating the entire shadow cage except for a small part in the corner where I stood, the corrupted figure watched as Zach''s smile cracked.


    Commanding the corrupted figure to match Zach''s smile and open its mouth, I said from behind.


    "Looks like it''s just me and you now."


    As the shadow cage started shaking and trembling from the spells and sword slashes of the main cast, I sighed.


    They were quite good actors... when they didn''t know they were acting.


    Usually, I would have just blamed Lily and Alya for not trusting me, but this time, I had actually wanted them to not trust my words.


    This all just added to the effect that I seriously wanted to kill Zach; why else would I blockade off the main cast?


    Taking one last glance at the main cast, I sighed.


    "I went from a 20v1 to a 1v20 with seconds...I''m back where I started."


    Seeing the smile on Zach''s face stay unchanged, I also smiled in the shadows before commanding the corrupted figure to raise its daggers.


    Like an executioner, the corrupted figure raised the daggers as high as possible before staring down at Zach''s figure.


    Remembering the behavior profile I had created of the corrupted figure with my eyes, I formed a mental hologram of the corrupted figure in my head.


    Placing my mental image of the corrupted figure side-by-side with the real one, I closely watched as the dagger began its descent, aiming right at Zach''s neck.


    Raising my right hand to my eye, I slowed down my perception time, focusing all my attention on the descent of the dagger below me.


    Right beside the real dagger was the mental image of the dagger and corrupted figure I had created in my mind.


    All I had to do was watch the differences.


    And a difference there was.


    As the dagger was about halfway to reaching Zach''s neck, it slowed for less than a second, allowing the mental image of the dagger I had created to surpass it. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Without skipping a beat, I immediately dismissed the corrupted figure, causing the blood-red dagger to drop to the ground, narrowly missing Zach''s neck.


    Confirming that my actions had been successful, Zach''s expression transformed from a cocky grin to one of confusion as he stared around the room.


    Letting out a sigh, I wiped the sweat that had accumulated on my face.


    Was it really all done?


    Was this loop finally done?


    As the corruption returned to me, I gasped, feeling a pain in my chest.


    Covering my chest with a hand, I turned around, seeing a hole begin to form in my shadow cage, allowing countless spells to fly toward me in slow motion.


    *BANG*

 Chapter 164 - 164:Not a Dead End?

    Using the last of my energy, I created a small shield made of corruption before lowering my other hand and slowing back down time.


    Preparing myself for the impact of the spells hitting my shield, I kneeled down on the ground, also creating a small barrier around me to protect my body from any strays.


    "..."


    "..."


    However, that impact never came.


    Exhausted from simply kneeling down on the ground, I finally collapsed, allowing the shield to disappear and return to my body in the form of corruption.


    Maybe... they had forgiven me?


    Looking upwards at the roof of the cave, I expected to hear a joyous and heartfelt reunion... but there was nothing.


    No sound.


    There weren''t even any footsteps or voices reverberating throughout the large cave.


    Struggling as I attempted to turn around, I tilted my head upwards and stared at the edge of the previous shadow cage where Zach was... or had been.


    As I gazed at Zach''s previous location, I opened my mouth in surprise as Zach''s body was nowhere to be seen.


    In fact... as I slowly turned my head, I quickly realized that there was no one else around me.


    I was alone in the cave.


    Regaining some of my energy, I used a wall to stand up before glancing around once a gain, feeling a sense of similarity.


    I was still in the same cave... the people had just disappeared.


    Maybe I had passed out, and they had just left me to leave the loop?


    Did it have anything to do with the spirit that I had just killed?


    Leaning against the wall, I simply stayed still, surveying my surroundings and allowing my body to recuperate.


    After about five minutes, I finally felt my legs again, which was both a good... and a bad thing, considering how sore they were.


    Limping across the cave, I looked up and down for a moment before dropping to the floor.


    Manifesting a crow with my regained corruption, I sent it in the direction we had entered the tunnel before once again lying down.


    Waiting about five minutes, I prepared my head for a surge of information before promptly switching bodies with the crow.


    Finding myself in the area we had originally been, under the tree stump, I immediately stared upwards.


    However... the roof was blocked off, leaving me no way out.


    If the loop had been terminated, everything that had happened in our last loop would have become a reality, so our destruction of the tree and ground below should have been apparent.


    Yet... staring up at the completely fine and untouched roof, I couldn''t deny it.


    ...Had the loop not ended?


    Immediately reenergized, I de-manifested the crow before jumping upwards and walking forward.


    Spirit or not... there was still only one way forward.


    Manifesting two corrupted daggers, I lifted them up, before shrouding them with the blood-red substance and lighting up the area around me.


    At the same time, I also manifested a wing, allowing me a path of escape in case anything happened.


    Holding my arms both up with a dagger torch in both hands, I carefully walked further and further into the tunnel.


    At this point, I was too tired and exhausted to feel emotions, so I didn''t have any anger at the loop, not ending or feeling stressed, considering my situation.


    I simply walked forward with an emotionless expression, keeping all my available attention on my surroundings.


    This was now the furthest I had ever been in the cave, so everything around me was new.


    Yet... it was still all the same.


    This is not to say that the layout was the same or that my eyes felt a sense of similarity; it was just the same setting around me.


    Rocks all around me and dirt under me.


    However, one thing had changed: the path was now going straight without any twists or turns.


    Eventually, I stopped for a moment before peering into the darkness ahead of me...seeing the end of the path.


    Only a mile away stood a wall.


    This end of this path... led to a wall.


    Just a regular wall made out of rocks.


    Making sure that there were no abnormalities or enemies ahead, I sighed before flapping my wings.


    *FLAP*


    *FLAP*


    Continuing to flap my wings and appear ten meters ahead each time, I eventually reached the end of the path.


    Standing in front of the sold rock wall, I immediately tried to look for any weak spots or hidden tunnels behind... but there was nothing.


    "well, now, what the hell am I supposed to do."


    I had done it all...from testing my body mentally by creating an entire map of the forest to using my body to the maximum physically by fighting the spirit.


    Slamming my hands into the floor furiously, I lost all motivation. S§×ar?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Before... there was always a path forward.


    First, my hope had been to find the end condition.


    Next, it had been following the path of green particles.


    And finally, it had been killing the spirit and triggering the end of the loop.


    But... now there was nothing.


    And there was no one else around me.


    The main cast had just disappeared as if they had been holograms this entire time.


    Once again, slamming my hands against the floor, my blood-red dagger slipped out of my hands and hurtled towards the rocky wall.


    The next second... a fire appeared.


    Out of pure nothingness, I watched as the formerly normal wall of me erupted into flames.


    But... it wasn''t just any fire.


    Lying on the ground, furious and confused, I watched as the fire slowly liquified... until all that was left was a puddle of what seemed like blood.


    Unable to comprehend what was in front of me, I stared in confusion at the puddle of what seemed like blood before me.


    The next second, a bright light enveloped me, forcing me to close my eyes.


    [You and your party have completed the Dream!]


    [Calculating Completion Rate [--*--] ] ---> [Error: Value cannot be calculated]


    [Your rewards will be handed out accordingly!]

 Chapter 165 - 165:Ranking Up [1]

    Reopening my eyes, I realized that I was no longer in the cave... or anywhere for that matter.


    In front of me sat a system menu that I stared at, shellshocked.


    [You and your party have completed the Dream!]


    [Calculating Completion Rate [--*--] ] ---> [Error: Value cannot be calculated]


    [Your rewards will be handed out accordingly!]


    A dream...


    You''re telling me that was all a dream!?


    Around the system menu, I seemed to be in a pitch-black void as everything around me was covered in darkness.


    Still lying down on the floor, I looked upwards at the never-ending abyss of black darkness above me.


    I was too tired to be angry...


    As my surroundings distorted once again and the system menu promptly disappeared, a sudden jolt coursed through my body.


    Closing my eyes due to the pain, I felt my surroundings adjust as I was no longer lying down but somehow sitting down.


    ...it really was all a dream.


    Keeping my eyes closed for a second longer, I contemplated just manifesting a crow and swapping bodies to avoid this current situation.


    A very peculiar word was mentioned in my congratulations for completing the dream.


    "you and YOUR PARTY"


    ...my party?


    Wasn''t I just fighting against them to kill the spirit and Zach, not only a couple of minutes ago?


    One could say the main cast should get down on their knees and thank me for killing the spirit and allowing us to complete the dream.


    However, that one would most definitely be wrong.


    After all, in their eyes, I had just attempted to kill one of their friends, even going as far as to threaten them as well.


    Misunderstanding upon misunderstandings...


    That was my entire life at this point.


    Of course, it was mostly my fault as I had never bothered to clear up these misunderstandings.


    Realizing that I couldn''t muster the energy to use my corruption to manifest a crow, I sighed before listening to the conversations around me.


    I really had no choice here...


    Though, since I was still pretending to be passed out, I could not see who was talking; it was very easy to identify people by just their voices.


    Somewhere to my right, Liam screamed out.


    "ZACH, ZACH, WHERE ARE YOU?"


    As soon I dismissed the corrupted figure, they must have been blinded by the sudden light before receiving the system message like me, so they didn''t end up seeing me kill the spirit and not Zach.


    From beside me, I felt a pair of shoulders slump against mine before a warm and soft voice spoke.


    "hah...I''m right here. Liam, what''s all the c-commotion for."


    Before Liam could reply, Kevin''s voice spoke from my far right as he tried his best to remain nonchalant while responding.


    "Oh, we''re not surprised or anything after watching you come this close to death? I knew your self-awareness was terrible, Zach, but this is simply astounding."


    From in front of me, Lily''s distressed voice immediately replied.


    "Really, is this the time for sarcasm, Kevin?"


    "Oh, so I can''t use sarcasm when we''re in a near-life death situation, AND when we''re just sitting in a carriage? Tell me, when am I su-"


    *CRASH*


    From all the way in front, a deep and elder voice spoke.


    "KEEP IT DOWN BACK THERE!"


    "..."


    "..."


    Time...time... how much time had passed in the real world? S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Around three days had passed in that dream... but since the main cast and I were still inside the carriage, that would have to mean less than half a day had passed here.


    Trying to confirm my theory, I slightly opened my eyes for a brief second before staring out the window.


    The lush-green grass and the leaves of the several trees in the distance swaying in the wind, the orange sky shining over anything, and last of all, a sense of familiarity with my eyes.


    We were indeed still on our trip back to the Celestial Academy.


    Closing my eyes once again, I stayed completely still and continued listening in.


    After a couple more friendly words for their reuniting with Zach, Lily finally asked from across me.


    "Zach...what exactly do you remember?"


    After a moment of silence, Zach replied hesitantly.


    "The last thing I remember is being shown a system menu... and before that, when we found... Ren and Lily together."


    It seemed that the spirit had not manipulated or done anything to Zach''s memories, so he remembered everything correctly except the portions of his memory when the spirit had possessed him.


    Irene, who had been quietly chatting with Ruby until now, asked from my far right and across the carriage.


    "So...I''m guessing we all saw that system menu, then... right?"


    After a moment of silence, where I guessed the others nodded their heads, Irene continued.


    "Does that mean... all of that... those last four days were all just a dream..?"


    Breaking the unbearable silence that descended from Irene''s question, Alya looked behind her, ensuring the carriage driver wasn''t listening, before replying.


    "But...how can that be possible? The last time we entered a dream, all of us had to agree...this time, we were just hurled in..."


    From beside Alya and Irene, Ruby curiously asked.


    "I did my first dream alone, but Zach, Kevin, Lily, and Liam...you four did it together, right? Maybe it had something to do with that?"


    After a moment of silence, Liam replied.


    "Yeah... when the four of us entered our first dream, only one of us had to click the button... then the rest of us were just teleported like magic."


    ..?


    So, I was dragged into this scenario because some idiot here decided they wanted to enter a damn dream at this very moment?


    ...Also, what are these mechanics?


    Is there no consent?


    I can be teleported into a dream just because I''m sitting in the same carriage as the person who clicked the button...?


    What kind of bullshit is this?


    *BANG*


    From my far right, the sound of a fist hitting the wood of the carriage reverberated throughout the area.

 Chapter 166 - 166:Ranking Up [2]

    As the bang reverberated through the carriage, an angry Kevin furiously asked.


    "So, which idiot decided this was a good time to enter a dream, then?"


    "..."


    "..."


    I didn''t know who was more stupid, the person for deciding to enter a dream while we were all exhausted in a damn carriage, or Kevin for asking.


    I mean, are you just going to say that it''s you if he asks?


    No, you''re gone stay silent and lie!


    Maybe that''s just me, though...these guys are the heroes of the world; surely, they''ll be honest and admit their mistake if they were the ones who entered the dream!


    "..."


    Yeah, never mind, this world is doomed.


    Seeing the rest of the group start to point fingers, I continued closing my eyes and enjoyed the last few moments of relaxation.


    Of course, these fingers would end up pointed at me in the very end.


    "...only the person who entered the dream would say something like that."


    "oh really, Liam? What the hell do you think someone would say if it wasn''t them."


    "...not what you said."


    Ignoring the bickering between Kevin and Liam, I was about to pretend to suddenly wake up from the dream.


    However, before I could even open my eyes, Lily''s stern voice echoed throughout the carriage.


    "Does it really matter who entered the dream? We''ll are fine, and we also... just advanced to C-ranks!"


    Oh yeah... I was a C-rank now, wasn''t I?


    Opening a tiny sliver of my eye, I carefully maneuvered my hands so as not to be seen by the main cast.


    Raising my hand, at last, I stared at the new and improved stat menu that was sitting in front of me.


    ===Menu===


    User : Ren Montclair


    [Class: Proficient Assassin: (Level 3: 58%) ]


    -> Stealth : C+


    -> Moderate Dagger Mastery : 53%


    -> Arts: Eclipse Blade [3/5]


    [Stats]


    -> Rating : C-


    -> Strength : D


    -> Agility : C+


    -> Stamina : D+


    -> Magic Power : C


    -> Luck: G-S {Conditional}


    -> Intelligence : C


    -> Charm : C


    [Traits]


    -> Passive: Dragon''s Will [3 / ?]


    ---> Dragon Eyes : Your eyesight is enhanced.


    ---> Dragon''s Transformation : You are able to harness a physical part of a dragon.


    ---> Dragon''s Blood: ???


    [Skills]


    -> [[E] Dash] : Not requiring any mana usage, the skill allows the user to move 10 meters from their current location in any direction with a cooldown period of 7 seconds. The skill does not instantly move the user but temporarily increases the user''s speed until they move 10 meters.


    -> [[C] Sky Flash] : Requiring the usage of mana, the skill allows the user to create a bird-like animal. This bird-like animal will fly through the sky at the user''s discretion until the user decides to "pop" it. When "popped," the bird will blind every person in a five-meter radius for two seconds. The bird can be used twice every hour. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    =======


    Completely ignoring the increase in stats and my useful new skill, I stared at the three question marks next to my new Dragon''s Will ability.


    Was this system playing games with me?


    Why the hell was it giving me an ability... without even telling me what it was!?


    What the hell was I supposed to do with the information!?


    I couldn''t just test everything in the world until I finally learned the ability, so... right now, it was essentially useless.


    "Dragon''s Blood."


    As the word "blood" echoed throughout my head, a faint memory played in my mind.


    Maybe it had something to do with that puddle of blood I saw before I was removed from the dream...?


    Turning my attention to the skills menu, I was surprised to see that the usefulness of my new skill was actually quite nice.


    I could paralyze something with my serpent slash, make them lose their sight with a shadow cage, and now, finally, blind them with my Sky Flash.


    What couldn''t I do at this point?


    Finishing examining my new and improved stats menu, I peered out of the corner of my eye across the room.


    Alya, Ruby, and Irene were eagerly checking their stats menu as they, like me, had forgotten about their dream improving it.


    Ruby had a slight smile on her face, while both Irene and Alya were visibly excited as their smiles were plastered all over their face.


    You''re welcome for that, by the way!


    Closing my eyes once again, I decided that was the perfect time for my performance!


    As I opened my eyes a bit, my mouth slowly opening, I was once again interrupted as Liam finished looking at his stats menu with a smile and asked.


    "So... Lily and Alya, care to explain what happened back there?"


    "..."


    Seeing Alya slightly uncomfortable, Lily replied.


    "From the start... I noticed something was off with Alya. I was only able to confirm it when Ruby pointed out her weird hand gestures to me."


    Staring at Ruby for a moment before looking away, Lily continued.


    "From there, I was able to confirm that Alya was not nervous or anything, but in fact, acting abnormal for no reason. Then, I recalled how Alya had mentioned briefly that she had become contracted with the spirit."


    "That, combined with Alya''s abnormal behavior, easily led me to the conclusion that something external was affecting Alya... and the only external thing was the existence of the spirit."


    Scratching his head, Liam further questioned.


    "But... didn''t you say the spirit was inside Zach at the end?"


    Is that my cue?


    Leaning back in the seat, I silently stretched my hands and slowly opened my eyes, acting as if I had just been awakened.


    " *PFFT* "


    However, as my eyelids popped up, I heard a small chuckle escape the mouth of someone across the room.


    Was I that obvious..?


    Lily, being one of the first to notice that my eyes were open, stopped mid-explanation and stared at me, prompting the rest of the carriage to follow suit.


    But, just as I was about to speak, I felt a sudden pressure on my right shoulder.


    *THUD*


    Slowly shifting my head to the right, I saw Zach''s head resting on my shoulder, his eyelids completely closed, revealing his dark eyebags, and his mouth entirely closed.

 Chapter 167 - 167:Ranking Up [3]

    Forgetting about everyone else staring up, I stared at Zach''s head, which was comfortably resting on my shoulder in confusion.


    Somehow, Zach has none of the scars or wounds I had inflicted on his body during the fight when his body was possessed by the spirit.


    Recalling my fight with the spirit and Zach''s terrible state at the end of the fight, I kept my shoulder steady, allowing his head to sit comfortably.


    How he had fallen asleep after just learning that his body had been possessed during a dream was something I could not fathom.


    Aren''t you supposed to be freaked out or even angry that someone stole your body...?


    Ignoring the pressure on my right shoulder, I looked upward at the main cast while Zach continued dozing off.


    Met with the confused and silent gazes of the three boys and three girls around me, I didn''t know what to say.


    I was never really much of a... explainer or creative thinker.


    I was more the type to memorize a formula and do countless problems until I was able to solve every single type of problem.


    While others would simply use and combine the concepts they had learned to solve word-problems, I would simply memorize the method to doing each type of problem.


    It wasn''t actually learning as I wasn''t putting the concepts to use, rather just memorizing them and writing them down... but the learning part of school doesn''t actually matter. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    All that mattered was obtaining good grades and getting into a good university.


    When you''re going to the best university in your world, no one is going to question your capabilities, no matter how stupid and dumb you act.


    Shifting my gaze to Lily, I looked at her expectantly, prompting her to continue explaining.


    "From there... I met up with Ren, and it seemed that he had noticed something odd as well."


    Pointing at me, Lily continued.


    "Since the spirit might find out about the plan if I told you guys, Ren and I crafted a plan to lure the spirit out."


    Seeing me nod my head at her explanation, Lily finally explained the climax.


    "From what I saw...the spirit had actually taken over Zach instead of Alya, so we had to fight Zach to free him from the spirit''s control."


    Looking down at her lap and avoiding everyone''s gaze, Lily hesitated before muttering out the last few words in a defeated tone."


    "W-we had to make it actually seem as if the spirit thought it was going to die... or else it would simply use Zach''s body as a hostage."


    "T-that''s why Alya and I kept telling you guys to try and kill him and that we''d explain what we meant later.


    "W-we n-never m-meant t-"


    *BANG*


    As Liam stood up from his seat with a bang, everyone''s gazes immediately shifted from me to Liam as he slowly walked towards Lily.


    Shifting her gaze up from her lap, Lily stared at the approaching figure of Liam, and so did everyone else.


    The mood has done a complete 180-degree turn.


    The joyful feeling from everyone looking at their new and improved stats menu had disappeared... replaced with a serious and grave one.


    Seeing Liam standing next to Lily, I sighed, preparing myself for his next words.


    Looking Lily straight in the eye, Liam asked in an unusually serious tone.


    "And what about Zach? Did not you see his state when you returned? It took over five healing scrolls to get him to the conditions he is right now... and even that is far from perfect."


    Staring at a hole in Zach''s shirt, Liam continued.


    "And... that... that''s not even going to last. When the effect of the healing scrolls wears off, he''ll be back to that condition."


    Looking away from Lily, Liam slowly turned to face everyone in the carriage, ensuring he made eye contact with every person, even me.


    "Did you all not see his condition...spitting out blood, shaking and trembling uncontrollably,... and... and he could barely move."


    Putting his head on his forehead, Liam stared directly at Lily before slowly asking in a hurt and conquered tone.


    "Tell me again, Lily... Alya... whoever else was involved, was this part of your damn plan?"


    Feeling Liam''s piercing gaze locked on her, Lily immediately looked down for cover before finally managing to mutter out.


    "N-no, w-we were just trying to escap-"


    *BANG*


    Slamming his hand on the wall right above Lily''s sitting figure, Liam interrupted her before staring directly at her face.


    From behind Liam, Kevin finally emerged as he rushed up from his seat and to the right behind Liam.


    Seeing the severity of the situation, Kevin didn''t dare joke around as in a calm and non-sarcastic tone, he said.


    "Look, Liam... a lot has happened. But now is not the time to fight. We can talk about it later... a better time. Our emotions are all over the place because we''ve just escaped that hell we were in, so none of us are in the right state to have an effective discussion."


    Irene, who remained unphased by Liam''s sudden punch to the wall, continued.


    "Nothing good is going to come from talking right now... you''ll just say something you will regret later. Trust me... I have a lot of regrets."


    On the other side of Lily, Alya remained motionless, simply staring blankly at the floor with a blank expression.


    However, even after all those words, Liam did not remove his hand from the wall above Lily, continuing to stare directly at her.


    "Tell me. Did you know it would come to this or not? Did you at all believe that Zach would end up in this state? Was there even a hint of doubt in your mind?"


    "i-i"


    Seeing Lily squirming helplessly under Liam''s piercing gaze, Kevin grabbed Liam''s shoulder, forcefully pulling him away from her.


    "Not now."


    The next second, Liam''s shoulders shined a bright blue as he shrugged them.


    *BAM*


    Kevin, caught completely off guard by Liam''s use of mana, lost his grip on Liam''s shoulder and flew back, hitting the wall of the carriage.

 Chapter 168 - 168:Ranking Up [4]

    Staying in my seat with Zach slumped on my shoulder, I watched as Kevin staggered to get up, staring daggers at Liam''s back.


    This carriage... is going be destroyed.


    Well, that''s actually an... understatement.


    I wouldn''t be surprised if this entire area was decimated to pieces as a result of the fight was about to take place.


    Liam, ignoring Kevin''s gaze and approaching figure, continued staring directly at Lily before once again asking.


    "Did you know that there was even a slight possibility that this would happen?"


    Watching her frantically search her mind for a response just to end up with nothing, I sighed.


    How could she have known?


    She didn''t come up with any plan... I just told her to do something, and she followed out of desperation without knowing anything about what would happen next.


    Well, she wasn''t exposing me or anything, so I guess that was a decent sign.


    Seeing Kevin grab his bag and take out his sword before preparing to charge at Liam, I finally moved.


    These people had been risking their lives for each other and relying on each other for over three months at this point.


    All of them would risk their life for each other without hesitating for even a moment.


    All of them completely trusted each other.


    If Lily had told Liam that she had no idea that Zach would end up like this right now, then Liam would instantly believe her.


    That would resolve the entire situation.


    Yet, Lily didn''t do that.


    She kept silent... because I presumed she didn''t want to lie.


    If she lied, their entire foundation of trust that had been slowly built up through countless events where they worked together to save others... and even themselves would break.


    Even if no one besides Lily knew it was breaking, it was still broken at the end of that day.


    So, Lily kept silent out of fear that the foundation of trust would crumble and collapse.


    It was interesting how a bond of trust formed amongst them that took countless near-life experiences and days spent together could be broken... by just a single lie.


    It was as if the pyramids in Egypt, the greatest human technological achievement at that time and taking years to create, could crumble just because a single small rock was thrown at them.


    A friendship could take years to make but a single second to break.


    Well, it wasn''t even a lie.


    Yet, I guess Lily still considered it lying.


    After all, she had decided to listen to my plant, so she had probably considered the risk that came with that, one of them probably having to do with the main cast members getting hurt.


    Seeing Kevin about to confront Liam with his sword in hand, I stood up from my seat, slowly allowing Zach''s head to fall on the cushion of my seat. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, no one even noticed me as everyone''s gazes were locked on Kevin, Liam, and Lily.


    Ruby and Irene were simply huddled up in a corner with their wands ready to attack, while Alya wore a dreaded expression while staring ahead.


    Ruby and Irene could be considered outsiders, so they had no obligation to help resolve this issue... not that they could even if they tried.


    As Kevin was about to attack Liam''s defenseless back, I spoke in a loud and emotionless tone, instantly attracting everyone''s attention.


    "She didn''t know. It was my plan from the start."


    Dropping his sword mid-swing, Kevin stared at me while Liam slowly turned around to face me, his eyes burning with anger.


    Lily didn''t budge as her gaze remained locked on the ground while she desperately tried to think of something, and the other three girls simply stared at me as well.


    Still standing beside Lily, Liam''s hand began to shine a bright blue as he stared at me.


    Raising his fight into the air, Liam''s eyes flickered a bright red for a moment before he replied.


    "Repeat that."


    Leaning against the carriage wall, I shrugged my shoulders and cockily replied.


    "You heard me. I did it; your friend over there had no idea."


    Seeing the anger begin to light aflame in Liam''s eyes, I chuckled and continued.


    "It was actually quite funny, you know. She had no idea that one of her precious friends was going to hurt while following my orders like an obedient puppy."


    "She really thought her friends were going be saved without even realizing that she was going to be the reason one of them almost died."


    "Desperation really does a number on the human brain, doesn''t it?"


    "..."


    "..."


    As my final words escaped my mouth, everyone in the carriage remained still, their gaze locked on me.


    Everyone seemed starstruck as their mouths were wide open; even Lily and ALya seemed shocked.


    Yet, one person remained still with their mouth closed, silently staring at me.


    The entire carriage remained silent for a moment; not a single soul dared speak.


    Only a soft chuckle that escaped from my mouth eventually broke the silence.


    Raising my chin up high, I matched Liam''s gaze, looking directly into his eyes with a smile.


    "I mean, even now, she doesn''t know. The smartest student in the school? *HAH* I''ve seen beggars smarter than her."


    ...oh yeah, I hadn''t replied to Raven''s messages in over a week, had I?


    Before anyone could react further, Liam charged toward me, his fist covered in a light-blue divinity and already swinging toward me.


    Standing directly still, I simply used the dash I had prepared earlier, appearing ten meters to the right.


    Stopping his strike mid-slash, Liam continued his relentless attack, charging right at my new location.


    This match-up really was the best for me.


    I knew Liam''s every single attack, ability, behavioral pattern, personality, and trait.


    After all he was the protagonist of a book I had read for over a year...I knew everything about him.


    Causing the carriage to shake further, Liam jumped into the air, closing the distance between us.


    Recognizing his "Sky Plunge," or the second movement of his art, I smiled and raised my hand to my eye, instantly slowing my perception of time.

 Chapter 169 - 169:Ranking Up [5]

    It seemed that Liam hadn''t completely lost his mind from my words as he opted to use one of the weaker attacks in his arsenal.


    He was still trying to keep the carriage somewhat intact while hurting me at the same time.


    Unfortunately, it didn''t matter what attack he used... because I knew all of them.


    "Sky Plunge."


    An attack where Liam imbues his fist with divinity and then jumps in the air before barrelling downwards at the ground.


    However, the real trick about this attack is that Liam is able to change locations right as he is about to reach the ground.


    You could be in the perfect place to dodge his plunge, but in the next second, Liam would disappear and reappear right behind you with his fist hurling at you.


    If it was your first time seeing Liam''s attack, the odds of you dodging it were close to zero.


    Even for me, who knew the exact attack description and effects, it could be quite hard to dodge.


    How could I predict where he would teleport to at the last moment to attack me?


    Well, with my time-slowing ability, why would I even bother to try and predict?


    Seeing Liam begin his descent, his light-blue fist hurling towards me already, I slowed my perception of time and waited.


    Even though my perception of time was slowed, Liam was actually moving quite fast, so I couldn''t be too careless.


    Keeping my eyes on Liam and ignoring the horrified and confused expressions of everyone else in the carriage, I patiently waited.


    As Liam neared me, his figure suddenly disappeared, prompting me to swivel my head a full 360 degrees like an owl


    Finding his new location, which was to the right, I immediately dodged to the right, watching Liam flying right past me


    *BANG*


    As Liam''s fist collided with the carriage floor, the entire carriage shook, throwing the sleeping Zach off his seat.


    Standing back up and looking at the hole in the carriage floor that his fist had caused, Liam looked even more furious as sparks of fire began to dance in his normally passive eyes.


    Cockily and slowly clapping my hands, I said to Liam''s back.


    "Is that all?"


    I needed Liam to get out all his anger right now, or the problem would continue to resurface and cause further problems in the main cast.


    It was also quite entertaining watching him struggle while I seamlessly and easily dodged his attacks.


    To Liam, I would probably seem like some oracle who could see the future and dodge his attacks easily, and he wouldn''t actually be too far off with that assumption.


    Seeing Liam regain his composure and charge back at me, this time with a sword in his hand, I simply stood still.


    "Ravage Rush"


    A much stronger skill, and Liam was already preparing to use it.


    Seeing his grip on his sword, which was placed slightly lower than usual, and the irregular style of running, I could already predict it.


    Usually, Liam would charge right at me to take a one-on-one combat fight, yet right now, he was running at an angle.


    As Liam''s sword approached me, I manifested two corrupted daggers before immediately activating the dragon''s transform.


    As my right hand slowly shifted to that of a dragon, gaining scales, claws, and an abnormal red and green color, I readied the two daggers.


    Finally reaching me after many unnecessary detours, Liam swung his light-blue sword, prompting me to raise my daggers.


    Calculating the trajectory of the sword in my eyes, I raised my daggers before immediately turning my head around, not bothering to watch and see if my daggers actually blocked his sword.


    As the cold steel of Liam''s sword clashed against my daggers, pushing me back, I simply let myself fall back.


    The next second, the pressure exerted on my daggers disappeared.


    Not skipping a beat, I turned around completely, placing the daggers right below my chin.


    Then, the next moment, before I could even see Liam with my eyes, his sword seemed to manifest from the air and immediately slash down on me. S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Ready for the sudden attack, I didn''t hesitate to block it, forming an "X" with my two daggers to block the full force of the sword.


    Again, as the metal of his sword collided with my daggers, I immediately removed my daggers.


    Like clockwork, Liam''s sword emerged from the air on the other side of me, striking right at me.


    *CLASH*


    *CLASH*


    In the carriage, only the sound of my daggers blocking his constant and relentless sword strikes remained.


    Every time my corruption interacted with his divinity, a bright light would appear, blinding everyone besides Liam and me, who already knew to look away.


    *CLASH*


    *CLASH*


    Blocking another slash, I immediately turned around, seeing Liam''s sword appear out of the empty air to my right.


    *CLASH*


    *CLASH*


    Strike after strike.


    Block after block.


    We were at a stalemate.


    At least, that''s what Liam thought.


    As Liam continued slashing at me with his sword, and I kept blocking with my daggers, I was slowly memorizing the pattern of his attacks.


    Unlike his Sky Plunge, where he could choose where he reappeared, the Ravage Rush had a predetermined pattern of moving that Liam could not alter.


    Ah, it takes me back... doesn''t it?


    The countless hours I spent in the training hall, fighting AI dummies and slowly but surely memorizing their attack pattern, were finally coming to fruition.


    Seeing Liam''s slashes remain their high speed and high power even after so long, I smiled.


    After all, his talent was his inability to give up and his persistence.


    In other words, he essentially had infinite energy.


    That''s why, instead of just giving up on the Ravage Rush and choosing another ability, he kept using it.


    He was hoping that I would get tired and miss a block, handing him the win.


    To think, the talent that made him the protagonist of this world was actually slowly leading him to his downfall.


    He was just giving more and more time to memorize the pattern.


    *CLASH*

 Chapter 170 - 170:Ranking Up [6]

    As I blocked the last sword slash, I slowly turned to my right, allowing my two corrupted daggers to disintegrate in my hands.


    Grasping at what seemed like the air with my right arm, which was using Dragon''s Transformation, I stepped forward.


    Almost a second later, Liam''s sword once again appeared from nothingness right below my Dragon''s arm.


    As the glowing light-blue sword lunged right at my defenseless body, I simply stood still, allowing it to near my vulnerable body.


    With every passing moment, the cold steel tip of the light-blue sword got closer and closer to my chest.


    Then, just as the tip of the sword was about to plunge into my chest, the owner of the sword finally appeared.


    The whole point of Liam''s skill Ravage Rush was to make it seem as if Liam was every place around you at every second.


    Above you, below you, to your right, and to your left; the ability made it seem as if Liam was everywhere but nowhere at the same time.


    This effect is displayed by teleporting Liam''s sword first, and only after the sword is nearing its victim will Liam appear and take control of it.


    In other words, the sword can''t do anything to me until its owner, Liam, appears and actually uses it.


    As Liam appeared, immediately grasping the hilt of the light-blue sword, he prepared to plunge the sword forward and right into my chest.


    However, before he could even take full control of his sword, I clenched the area next to my Dragon''s arm, which seemed like air a moment ago.


    There was no air... just a neck.


    With my improved strength, flexibility, and reaction time from the Dragon''s arm, my right hand instantly grasped Liam''s neck. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Staring him directly in the eyes, I simply smirked cockily before gripping his neck even harder.


    "Is that all? For some who wants to save the world, you really are pathetic."


    Stretching my left hand out, I immediately slapped away his flailing arms, which were desperately trying to touch his sword, which was only a meter away from my chest.


    Seeing his expression overcome with dread, I lifted his body up even higher before remarking.


    "You can''t even protect your own friends; how do you expect to do anything else?"


    Not wasting another second, I lifted Liam up by the neck before throwing him across the carriage just as he had done with Kevin.


    *BANG*


    As Liam''s back collided with the wall of the carriage, I reached downward with my Dragon''s arm.


    As I was about to grab the hilt of Liam''s light-blue sword, it suddenly moved.


    Then, before I could react, the light-blue sword, like a magnet repelling itself, hurled away from me.


    Watching the light blue sword soar through the air with an eagle, I sighed as I watched it land in Liam''s hand, which was still on the floor.


    Still on the ground, Liam stabbed the light-blue sword into the floor of the carriage, creating another hole.


    Using the help of the sword, Liam slowly stood up, ignoring the hole in the wall behind him, and glared at me.


    Glancing around the carriage, I ignored the expressions of the others and instead looked for any obstacles that would prevent me from reaching Liam.


    Glancing at the floor below me, I subconsciously said out loud.


    "Was that always there?"


    Right below Liam''s previous location, when he had appeared and I grabbed him by the neck, there was a slight burn mark.


    The fire seemed to have been placed there like a trap, but for some reason, it had been deactivated instead of causing a massive fire.


    Looking upwards, I glanced at Irene and Ruby, the two fire mages in the room; however, they seemed oblivious as they kept switching between looking at me and Liam.


    Shaking my head, I looked at the furious Liam before re-manifesting my two corrupted daggers.


    He was letting his hatred take control of his fighting style.


    In other words, his fighting patterns and use of abilities would be completely different from the book as his behavior is unpredictable right now.


    Letting this go on any longer could result in damage or even a loss for me.


    Getting cocky just because I had some knowledge about him was not a thing I wanted to do.


    He was the protagonist of the book, the one favored by the world and gods, no matter how pitiful he seemed right now.


    Dismissing my Dragon''s arm, I watched the claws and scales disappearing, turning my arm back to normal.


    Using my new skill, I manifested a regular bird, this time green and not black, and allowed it to remain in my hands.


    As Liam prepared to attack once again, instead of attempting to dodge, I simply turned around and faced the windows.


    Releasing the bird, I ordered it to fly out of my hands and right at Liam''s figure.


    As Liam raised his sword, finally noticing the bird, it was too late.


    Still looking at the wall, I "popped" the bird.


    Not skipping a beat, I turned around and saw the entire carriage covering their eyes and essentially blind... except for one person.


    Alya, who had been staring at the floor, finally looked up in confusion before locking her sullen gaze on me.


    Seeing everyone else was blind, I waved before pointing to Liam, who was desperately covering his eyes.


    "Don''t worry, I''m just taking care of his annoying attitude; he''ll be fine."


    As I dashed at Liam''s figure, he finally removed his hand, but it was far too late.


    Just like Liam''s Sky Plunge, my flash was incredibly powerful and useful... at first, but after that, it completely fell off.


    Every time after their first time witnessing the flash, people could look away from the bird, avoiding its blinding ability.


    But for the first time... it was powerful.


    It was just a bird, how could people expect it to suddenly blind them?


    Raising my daggers, I manifested yet another green bird in my hands while still dashing forward.

 Chapter 171 - 171:Aftermath [1]

    Liam, seeing me mid-dash, prepared to swing immediately; however, his stance quickly changed as he saw the green bird in my hands once again.


    Thinking he was smart, Liam immediately turned the side and covered his eyes with his arms, prepared to avoid the "popping" of my green bird.


    Playing along, I said the bird flying forward right at Liam, but instead of looking away like last time, I simply continued running at Liam.


    Who said I had to "pop" the flash?


    Why couldn''t I just let it fly and let it do its own thing!?


    An owner has to give their pets some freedom!


    Controlling the bird, I sent it flying ahead of me and straight at Liam, who was still covering his eyes.


    As the bird passed right by Liam, I stopped in my tracks and manifested a pitch-black bow alongside a couple of arrows in my hands.


    Watching Liam with his eyes still blocked off, I nocked an arrow before aiming right at him.


    He was like a statue, simply sitting there with his eyes closed, waiting to be hit.


    With Liam''s countless abilities and arts, dodging an arrow from my bow, even with my enhanced eyesight involved, would be easy.


    His speed stat was by far the highest, so no matter how fast I shot the arrow, he could outpace it and dodge faster.


    So, I had to make him stationary.


    As Liam slowly removed his arms, thinking he had dodged my flash, it was already too late.


    Releasing the elegant white string of the bow, I sent the arrow flying at Liam''s stationary body.


    However, that wasn''t the true shot.


    Less than a nanosecond later, another arrow went flying, aiming to the right of Liam''s current location.


    This shot was honestly a gamble, but I assumed Liam would dodge to the right as he was right-handed.


    Proving me right, Liam, who had barely enough time to react to my first arrow, immediately dodged to the right.


    However, as Liam dodged to the right, I manifested another bird in my hands, this time a corrupted pitch-black crow.


    *CA-CAW*


    Focused on the crow in my hands instead of the arrow stealthily and silently flying at him, Liam once again looked away and covered his eyes with his arms.


    He was far too predictable.


    As Liam slowly removed his eyes, assuming that the flash was over, the arrow reached him, and without any time to react, he could only watch the pitch-black tip of the arrow reach him.


    Having perfectly calculated the trajectory of the arrow with my eyes, I watched as it, instead of directly hitting Liam, went right through his shirt.


    Grazing the right part of Liam''s chest, the arrow passed right through his shirt and then right out, dragging Liam along with it.


    With his shirt attached to my flying arrow, Liam flew backward at the wall and was the true target of my arrow.


    Finally, reaching the wall, the arrow embedded in the carriage wood instead of passing right through it.


    *BANG*


    A second after the arrow hit the carriage''s wall, Liam also hit the wall back first, slumping down on the ground.


    With the blue flames dancing in his eyes, Liam attempted to stand up, but the arrow attached to the wall and his shirt prevented him.


    Then, before he could try again, four more arrows were flying right at him, courtesy of yours truly. S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Like the arrow before, the four arrows did not hit Liam directly, instead passing right through his shirt and grazing the right part of his chest.


    Within a second, the four arrows hit the wall, attaching themselves to both Liam''s shirt and the wall.


    Slowly walking towards Liam''s slumped body, I watched him attempt to stand up countless times, failing due to the weight of the arrows.


    As I neared him, Liam desperately threw his arms to his chest, attempting to tear the shirt he was wearing.


    *RIIIP*


    Slicing his shirt in half with his sword, Liam again attempted to stand up... just to fail again.


    Standing right in front of Liam with my hand pressed down against his head, I watched him squirm as I increased the pressure of my hand on his head every time he tried to stand up.


    Looking down at his shirtless figure, I smiled and said.


    "Are you done yet?"


    *CLASH*


    Still slumped down against the wall, Liam swung his sword upwards right at my hand, but I easily blocked the sword with my bow.


    Since the bow wasn''t as sturdy as my daggers, part of it disintegrated under the pressure of Liam''s sword, causing me to lose corruption.


    As Liam continued pressing his sword against my bow, I swung my right leg at the sword, knocking it right out of Liam''s hands.


    *CLANG*


    The sword flew back from my kick before promptly hitting the ground right below Ruby and Irene''s seats.


    Ignoring the sword below them, the two girls continued staring at me... but in a weirder way than usual.


    They were looking at my backside instead of Liam and I.


    Making eye contact with Ruby, I saw her trying to discreetly point her wand behind me while mouthing some words that I couldn''t make out.


    Turning my bow backward so that it was facing the wall behind me, I stared right at Liam before shooting an arrow backward without even looking.


    *BANG*


    Taking a short glance behind me, I saw Kevin''s figure pressed against the wall of the carriage with my arrow, which was attached to his shirt and the wall, keeping him from standing up.


    Shaking my head, I smiled and replied.


    "Looks like your friend is down for the count as well."


    Of course, that wasn''t true, as Kevin would probably recover within ten seconds, but seeing the slight sliver of hope remaining in Liam''s eyes disappear was enough for me.


    As I dismissed my bow and manifested my two corrupted daggers, Liam stopped trembling.


    Finally making eye contact with me, Liam spoke in a dead-serious tone.


    "Tell me why, at least... tell me why you were fine with killing Zach."

 Chapter 172 - 172:Aftermath [2]

    Chuckling at his question, I disrupted our eye contact and looked at the window above us, which had cracked from Liam, and my arrows had crashed into the wall.


    Looking at the beautiful scenery of the plain outside, with the moon illuminating a small lake before us, I smiled.


    Shrugging my shoulders, I responded. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Someone had to do it. It was the only way out, and he didn''t even die, did he?"


    Of course, I knew what I was saying was stupid.


    Yeah, he just almost died because of me, so everything is ok and alright! No need to worry or get angry because he''s alive in the end!


    Taking my bait, Liam''s eyes shined an even darker blue, matching the color of the mana inside my body.


    Looking at the two daggers in my hand, Liam questioned further.


    "...you''re terrible. At first, I thought you were just some stupid, obsessed maniac... but this is much worse. Do you just see the people around as pawns who can be disposed of at any time of your choosing?"


    Raising his voice so that the entire carriage could hear our conversation, Liam lashed out, struggling against my head on his head.


    "Do you believe you''re some god that gets to choose who dies and who lives? How can you look at someone like Zach and genuinely believe it''s ok...to sacrifice them? It''s like... you don''t even see others as humans."


    Continuing to look out the window as the carriage moved, I didn''t interrupt Liam and continued listening to him rant on.


    Stopping his struggle, Liam continued in a dark tone.


    "Your sarcastic and joking way of speaking... at first, I thought it was just because you were a dumbass."


    "But... you''re just a psycho. You talk sarcastically because you don''t see the people you''re talking to as real people... just things to pass the time."


    "You can''t talk seriously or discuss earnestly because you don''t seriously see the people around you as humans."


    Looking at my head, which was outside the window, Liam continued.


    "Even now, as I''m speaking to you, you continued staring out the window, ignoring everything I said. A normal person would react in some way, whether it''s getting angry or sad... but you just don''t listen."


    "It''s like... like I''m not even a person in your eyes. Just an object that you can use and take from."


    Sighing as I continued staring out the window, I finally raised my hand, but before I could talk, Liam once again said.


    "See, a normal person would have just told me that I have no right to tell you who you are... but you simply ignored me as if my words are worth dogshit."


    Through a remaining glass piece from the broken window, I could see Kevin slowly getting up with his sword in hand.


    Also seeing the large figures of the buses in the distance, I replied in an emotionless tone, matching Liam''s profile of me.


    "Would you rather have died or been stuck in that loop forever? Deep down in your heart, you must know that if I hadn''t done that, we would still be that in that forest."


    Looking down at Liam and meeting his eyes, I continued.


    "You must be truly delusional if you haven''t realized by now that I''m the reason for our escape. Without me, all seven of you would be wandering around aimlessly with no way of escaping."


    Not flinching at my words, Liam continued staring into my eyes before looking at his sword below Irene and Ruby.


    Letting out a small chuckle, Liam hesitated before replying.


    "You think you''re one to talk about being honest? You seem to know me quite well from the way you recognized all my attacks without even flinching."


    Well, I hadn''t at all tried to hide it, so it wasn''t surprising.


    For me to have predicted his Sky Plunge and how his Ravage Rush ability was used was too much of a coincidence.


    Seeing me not deny his claim of me knowing him well, Liam chuckled again before continuing.


    "Then you know I don''t really give a shit if you were the one to let us escape the loop."


    "For all I care, I could have died in there and been fine, simply knowing that everyone around me was fine."


    Raising his head and meeting my eyes, Liam matched my smile and replied.


    "That would have been a better scenario than seeing my friend almost die...without not even being able to intervene or help... just sitting there and watching."


    Wiping the smile off my face, I took a glance at the remaining glass shards on the window before sighing.


    Standing up and releasing my hand from Liam''s head, I replied in a monotone voice.


    "Look, you can die if you want; I could honestly care less...but don''t drag me in your ridiculous masochistic fantasies."


    Picking up the four arrows from Liam''s shirt and setting him free, I jumped on the windowsill before taking one last glance.


    Irene''s face was twisted as if she was sad to see the fight end, while Ruby wore an expression that I couldn''t decipher.


    Something in the middle of being intrigued and sullen is all I could say.


    Alya and Lily wore grim expressions, and Kevin seemed to be angry as he still charged at me, knowing that his sword slash would never hit.


    Lily seemed to know I wasn''t going to do anything drastic as her wand was resting on her lap.


    Alya held her ice-blue sword in her right hand, but her body was still trembling, so even if she fired at me, her attacks would most likely miss.


    Liam was still shirtless and slumped against the carriage wall with a defeated expression despite knowing he could get up at any moment.


    And finally, Zach was still sleeping, using my seat as a pillow for his head.


    Turning back around, I jumped out of the carriage window... and right onto the roof of the carriage.

 Chapter 173 - 173:Aftermath [3]

    Sitting atop the carriage as it slowly moved across the plain, getting closer and closer to the looming figures of the buses ahead, I closed my eyes.


    Feeling the soft breeze of the wind hit my face; I sighed before lying down and staring upward at the night-black sky above me.


    It had been a while since I had been to the academy.


    Of course, considering what had just happened inside the carriage, that was the least of my worries... is what a normal person would think.


    But, honestly, it was just like Liam said.


    I didn''t care about his opinion of me.


    Sure, in the past, I would have cared what Liam thought about me as he was indeed the protagonist and the hero.


    That was the past, though.


    I had already established myself in this world, gained countless powers, even having the Elven queen as an ally, and gained enough wealth to last me a lifetime with Raven''s business.


    No longer could I be wiped out just by someone else''s word.


    I was strong enough to stand alone without having to worry about being assassinated or killed at any time.


    Sure, there were still a bunch of people who could kill me with one sword strike, and I wouldn''t be cocky enough to believe that my knowledge of the book would help me out when fighting them.


    Unlike the current Liam, they were monsters, so even if I knew their attacks, there would be nothing I could do to dodge or avoid them.


    I still wasn''t strong enough...


    There was someone I needed to reach and kill with my own hands.


    A promise that I had made to myself ages ago... when I was still in the honeymoon phase of transmigration.


    Then maybe... I could relax.


    That''s what she would have wanted for me, right...?


    Looking at the stars shining in the pitch-black sky alongside the half-crescent moon, I raised my hand, attempting to grab at them.


    "Maybe... it''s not too far away anymore...the end."


    Enjoying the soft and cold breeze of the wind brush against my face, I only got up after the carriage abruptly stopped.


    Before the carriage doors could open and the main cast could exit, I jumped off the roof, heading in the direction of the nearby bus.


    As I walked past the carriage, an elderly voice somehow reached my ears despite the soundproofing of the carriage, which was, of course, especially given to us by the Elven Queen.


    "WHAT THE HAPPENED HERE?"


    "..."


    "SO NO ONE WANTS TO TALK!? THE WOOD, THE WALLS, IT''S ALL BROKEN."


    "..."


    "...AND WHY IS HE SHIRTLE-"


    *BANG*


    Interrupting the elderly voice of the carriage driver, the door of the carriage shot open, causing me to speed up.


    Taking a short glance back, I saw the carriage driver, who was easily identifiable as an elf due to his ears, screaming out from behind the emerging main cast.


    "YEAH, THAT''S RIGHT, GET THE HELL OUT!"


    However, as the grim-faced Alya exited the carriage, the elf''s expression and way of speaking quickly changed.


    "Have a safe trip back to the academy, princess, Alya! Make sure to write the kingdom letters of your adventures and school lessons!"


    Holding in a chuckle, I stepped onto the stairs of the bus before quickly heading to the back.


    Only after the familiar figures of Han and Jin entered my sight did I sigh, finally relaxing my face and allowing my body to unwind.


    Back to the academy...huh?


    What new hell awaits me there...?


    Well, I already knew the countless hells and incidents that awaited me at the academy due to my book''s knowledge...but that didn''t mean new ones couldn''t pop up.


    Getting closer to the back of the bus, I saw Han and Jin slumped down on the armrests, so I took a seat on the other side of the aisle without waking them up.


    De-manifesting my daggers, I leaned back against the chair, not yet allowing my eyes to close.


    Looking out the window at Han and Jin''s side, I saw the main cast entering, each wearing an expression that personified sorrow, defeat, or anger.


    Only Zach, who remained oblivious to the whole situation, wore a relaxed expression as he walked from the carriage to the entrance of the bus with the help of Liam''s shoulder.


    Burning bridges... huh? Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Well, I had probably scorched the earth...


    However, that didn''t mean the Earth couldn''t recover.


    Just as how the earth, first a world full of volcanos, lava, and single-celled bacteria, had transformed into the Earth with skyscrapers, countless innovative inventions, and evolved humans, our relationship could transform.


    Of course, this wouldn''t be of my accord.


    Recalling the first event that would occur after my return to school, a slight smile appeared on my face.


    "Might be sooner than they expect..."


    Seeing the main cast take the seats at the front of the bus, I finally closed my eyes, feeling my consciousness slowly drift further and further away.


    *BZZT*


    *BZZT*


    Hearing my smartwatch catch up to the countless messages that I had missed during my trip, I shrugged my shoulders before silencing it.


    Some things never change...


    -*-


    "REN, WAKE UP!"


    "WHEN DID YOU GET HERE!?"


    Stretching my hands upward, I slowly opened my eyes. Immediately, I saw the figures of Han and Jin looking at me, and I looked out the window.


    Right outside the window was a whole bunch of familiar things...


    The Celestial Academy building was as beautiful and opulent as ever, with its towering pillars and large entrance gate embedded with countless gemstones just for the hell of it.


    Shrugging my shoulders, I replied to the two boys.


    "Right after you idiots fell asleep."


    Rubbing my eyes, I slowly got up before following Han and Jin off the bus.


    Exiting the bus and stepping foot onto the bridge outside of the academy, I glanced at the sea of water below.


    ...I had forgotten to get any souvenirs for Raven and Zeng.


    What kind of boss was I!?

 Chapter 174 - 174:Aftermath [4]

    Seeing the rest of the students begin walking across the bridge and towards the looming academy gate, I quickly caught up with Jin and Han.


    Tapping both of them on the shoulders, I asked.


    "Think you could do me a favor?"


    Shaking his head, Jin immediately replied.


    "Oh, after abandoning us for your new famous friends, you suddenly want a favor from us? HELL NO!"


    Nodding his head, Han implicitly agreed before also turning around and ignoring me.


    Wrapping my right arm around Jin''s shoulder and my left arm around Han''s shoulder, I smiled as I slowly took a piece of paper out of my sweatshirt pocket.


    Shaking my arm off his shoulder, Jin was about to speed up and leave me behind before he saw me pulling something out of my pocket.


    Handing him the piece of the paper, I smiled and replied.


    "Don''t tell me you guys actually thought I could be friends with them? They''re just a bunch of goodie-two-shoes."


    Skeptical at my reply, Han immediately responded back.


    "So then why did y-"


    However, before he could finish his sentence, Jin quickly exclaimed as he slowly read the three pieces of paper from my hand.


    "THREE FAST-PASSES TO THE SCHOOL CHRISTMAS WONDERLAND!?"


    Christmas.


    It is one of the few traditions from Earth that the author of this book had bothered to implement in the story.


    It was also the location of the next incident.


    Next week, the entire school would turn into a Christmas wonderland, with candy canes, snowmen, mistletoe, and other Christmas-related decorations plastered everywhere.


    Students were even required to wear a winter-themed uniform with countless red and green ribbons.


    ...some unlucky students would also have to volunteer for the event, dressing up as nutcrackers, countless Christmas elves, and even Santa.


    Every corner of the academy''s island would be decked in decorations, making it impossible for anyone not to know it was Christmas.


    ...I think they spent more money on decorating the academy than paying our teachers and professors.


    What was the reason the school was going all out for this event? S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It also served as a recruiting session for Knight Orders to scout out potential candidates for their teams.


    During this time, leaders of Knight Orders would be allowed free entry into the academy, even being allowed to watch students take classes and spar amongst each other.


    Imagine just being in class and having a bunch of adults who could destroy the entire academy and kill every student at the snap of a finger, just watching you take notes and listen...


    Well, that was my reality now!


    A week from now, the school will be flooded with random adults who would just creepily watch you in an attempt to discern your skills.


    For many students, this event could define their life if a Knight Order leader takes an interest in you; your life could massively change for the better.


    This was also the time when my "father" would officially recruit Liam, giving him full access to the guild''s vast information network, storage of weapons and skills, and finally, his own wealth.


    Looking up at the perfectly blue sky, devoid of any clouds, and the bright sun intensely shining down on everyone, I opened my mouth in awe.


    "...could anyone predict it was going to snow a week from now?"


    Seeing Jin jump up and down in excitement, I quickly shushed him down before saying.


    "Don''t be too loud... don''t you know how hard I worked to get these!"


    As Han looked at the three tickets in shock, Jin practically hugged me while murmuring his thanks over and over again.


    How did I get these exclusive tickets?


    Well, a low-rank like me didn''t even get the mid-tier tickets for the Christmas event, so there was only one way.


    Steal!


    Liam and the rest of the main cast had enough connections to get new tickets if they simply told the academy that they lost their tickets, so it didn''t even matter.


    Anyway, I needed some payment for putting up with them for the entire loop!


    In a much more cheerful and sympathetic voice than earlier, Jin exclaimed.


    "So, you were just using and playing them to get tickets! That''s my boy, Ren!"


    Shaking his head in disbelief after confirming the authenticity of the tickets, Han also added.


    "I a-almost c-can''t believe it. O-only the top 10 ranks of each year get these tickets..."


    Slapping Han on the shoulder, Jin replied.


    "That''s Ren for you!"


    Taking the three tickets back from Jin, I asked.


    "Think I could get a favor now?"


    Not skipping a beat, Jin immediately responded.


    "Of course! But, don''t get too cocky, these tickets are cool and all... but you can''t just abandon us again."


    Nodding my head, I promised Jin and Han that I would hang out with them in the week before explaining.


    "Just tell the guards at the front gate that I''m already inside; I have some things to do outside the academy for a bit."


    Seeing the two boys nod their heads, I waited until everyone had their backs turned... before diving straight off the bridge and into the water!


    *SPLASH*


    Finally escaping the hot rays of the sun, I basked in the cold feeling of the water before diving down even further.


    Using my eyes, I looked right through the water, seeing every fish, piece of seaweed, and rock in the area.


    Taking as much as needed since I didn''t have breath due to the ability I had gained in my first dream, I finally found a couple of blue crystals.


    While these crystals were rare, they did respawn and regenerate at certain locations every couple of months.


    Picking up two dark-blue crystals, I looked around a bit longer before finding two oddly shamed clam shells.


    Taking the clamshells, I pushed off the ground, heading straight for the surface of the water.


    Feeling the sun immediately shine down on my face as it emerged from the water, I covered my eyes before making my way back to the capital city.

 Chapter 175 - 175:Aftermath [5]

    Fully emerging from the water, I walked under the bridge before leaning against a nearby wall and resting in the shade.


    Walking around the capital city in a drenched academy uniform was bound to attract some unnecessary attention, especially with the Knight Order recruiting session starting soon.


    Manifesting a pair of pants and a sweatshirt with corruption, I simply put them on over my academy uniform.


    The corrupted clothes seemed to be waterproof as they completely stopped the water from dripping off my body without even getting wet in the slightest.


    Walking out from under the bridge with my four crystals and odd-shaped clam shells, I made my way through the bustling capital city.


    Arriving at a familiar warehouse, I de-manifested my corrupted clothes before walking up to the entrance.


    *TAP~TAP*


    After knocking the door, I didn''t bother to wait for a response, instead using my key to unlock the door.


    Opening the door, I was surprised to see the entire warehouse shrouded in darkness as all the lights were off and the windows were blocked off with various objects. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Walking into the warehouse, I put down the crystals and clamshells on one of the various tables scattered across the gigantic room.


    Peering through the darkness, I sighed as I saw that the entire room was basically the personification of the term "messy."


    The kitchen area was overflowing with plates, the cushions of the couches were all over the floor, countless food stains lay on all the furniture, and countless mugs of coffee were on every table.


    Well, it wasn''t if I hadn''t expected it.


    Leaving a former beggar, who had just experienced his first taste of real money, and a djinn, who was previously a ruthless villain, home alone for a week was bound to cause some problems.


    Shaking my head, I turned on the lights, revealing two sleeping figures.


    Raven, with his over-grown dark-black hair, was lying on one of the couches, while Zeng was passed out on a table, with his pure white hair almost touching the floor.


    Instead of waking them up, I walked over to my area of the warehouse, which Zeng and Raven had thankfully left untouched and clean.


    Changing into another pair of the academy uniform, which was actually dry, I manifested a corrupted dagger.


    Taking the two odd-shaped clam shells, I began cutting at them and changing their shape, trying to sculpt something.


    Finally, after a minute or two, the clams were the perfect size and shape.


    Sighing, I de-manifested my dagger before heading back into the main area of the warehouse.


    Without any hesitation, I grabbed the TV remote before looking at the TV, which seemed to have been turned on for over a week straight.


    Maxing the volume to the maximum with the remote, I connected the television to my smartwatch.


    Seeing my smartwatch mirrored on the TV screen, I smiled before heading to my saved videos app.


    Long ago, when I visited a nightclub with Jin and Han, I took a short video of the band after seeing Astrid singing.


    There was the slight possibility that she would attempt to get me expelled or suspended to prevent me from finding out about her secret, so I took a short video just in case.


    Well, of course, that possibility was zero now, considering all that had happened between us, but I had just never bothered to delete the video.


    Clicking on the video, I watched it appear on the television screen before sitting down on one of the few clean chairs.


    "What''s your ETA? What''s your ETA?"


    " *Mmm-hmm* what''s your ETA? What''s your ETA?"


    "We can go wherever you like. Baby, say the words, and I''m down."


    "All I need is you on my side."


    Hearing the blasting music that resembled Korean pop from Earth, Raven''s eyes immediately flicked open before closing back.


    Grabbing a nearby cushion, Raven crumpled it up before desperately attempting to cover his ears.


    "We can go wherever you like, now where are you?"


    "What''s your ETA? What''s your ETA?"


    Getting off my chair with a freshly made cup of coffee, I looked down onto the couch where Raven was sleeping.


    Seeing Zeng''s eyes also flash open, I slowly turned the volume down before removing the cushion from Raven''s ears.


    Finally, looking upward, a small smile appeared on Raven''s face as he saw me... and what I was holding in my hand.


    Without any hesitation or greeting me, Raven grabbed the cup of coffee from my hand before rushing it to his face.


    Sighed, I sat on the armrest of the couch before turning to Raven, who was now sitting up.


    "You do know caffeine is a drug, right? So... you''re basically a beggar turned drug addict. Really moving up in the world, aren''t you, Raven?"


    Shaking his head with a smile as he sipped the piping-hot cup of coffee, Raven shook his head and replied.


    "A rich drug addict, get it right!"


    Wiping the bottom of my pants as I stood back up, I sighed before responding.


    "Is it too late to say, ''Don''t let the money get to your head?'' "


    Wiping the remnants of the coffee off his mouth, Raven smiled and replied.


    "Waaaaay too late."


    Putting down the cup of coffee on the table, Raven stared at the television, which was still playing the video of Astrid singing, before asking.


    "Anyway, when''d you get back, boss?"


    Scrolling through the messages that Raven had sent me, I replied.


    "Just now."


    Looking around the dirty and chaotic room, I added.


    "Looks like you guys had a party without me?"


    Pulling up our message logs, which showed the countless messages I hadn''t responded to, Raven immediately replied.


    "If you''re going on vacation, why can''t we!?"


    Shaking my head with a smile, I turned to Zeng, who was sluggishly and slowly walking over to the couch where Raven and I were sitting.


    Seeing my face next to Raven''s figure, Zeng wore a slight grin before saying.


    "Welcome back, boss."

 Chapter 176 - 176:Presents [1]

    Seeing Zeng''s sly smile, I pulled out the clam shells that I had carved earlier with my corrupted daggers.


    Gesturing for Zeng to come over, I stood up and carefully placed each of the carved clams on his horns.


    Each clam perfectly fit his horn, not being too small or too big, and instead of his horns being bright red, they were now the metallic metal of the clam shells.


    With Christmas coming up soon, there was no way Zeng could go outside with his bright-red horns showing, but with the metallic-colored horns, he could pass as... a reminder cosplayer?


    Anyway, it was much better than the bright red horns that stood out to everyone.


    Standing back up, Zeng touched his horns, feeling the odd texture of the clam shells on them instead of the usual rough feeling of his red horns.


    As Zeng rushed to the mirror, I looked back at Raven... who was entranced with Astrid''s singing on the television.


    I had brought her to the warehouse once already, didn''t I?


    Did he not recognize her?


    Drawing Raven''s attention away from the television, I sat down on the couch before asking.


    "You need anything?"


    Shaking his head while raising his cup of coffee, Raven gazed back at the television before replying.


    "...no, this is perfect, the b-"


    Stopping mid-sentence, Raven seemed to have a revelation as he immediately turned to face me.


    "wait... why are you being so nice...? What the hell did you do this time???"


    Waving my hands up and down to calm the anxious Raven, I smiled and replied.


    "Nothing...at least not yet!" S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Slowly meeting my eyes, Raven''s hand trembled, causing some coffee to spill on the floor.


    "...so you''re telling me you know you''re going to do something that''s going to cause me a lot of problems."


    Nodding my head, I replied.


    "Yep."


    Putting down the cup of coffee, Raven got up from the couch and replied.


    "Here''s an idea! If you know it''s going to cause problems... then don''t do it!"


    Getting off the couch as well, I sympathetically tapped Raven on the shoulder and added as I passed by.


    " *sigh* In a perfect world, Raven..."


    "WHAT TH-"


    Ignoring Raven''s outburst, I headed to the warehouse door with a couple of supplies I had gotten from the painting subspace.


    Opening the door, I was surprised to see a familiar figure standing right outside the warehouse, seemingly waiting for me.


    Seeing her long blonde hair and light-red eyes sway in the wind as she leaned on the outside of the warehouse, I hesitated for a moment, realizing she hadn''t noticed me.


    Stepping outside the warehouse, I scratched my head before asking.


    "...is there something you need, student council president?"


    Not at all surprised at my voice, Astrid got off the wall before walking right in front of the door, trying to peek inside the warehouse.


    Attempting to block her entrance, I once again asked.


    "..hello?"


    Finally giving the time of the day, Astrid looked up at me before saying.


    "I thought you''d be here since you didn''t come back with the others at the front gate."


    Confused, I once again asked.


    "so...do you need anything?"


    Nodding her head, Astrid answered.


    "As you know, the student council is responsible for ensuring that the Christmas Wonderland next week is perfect."


    Reaching out her hand, Astrid put a piece of paper in my hands.


    [Staff Pass - Ren]


    "You''ll be needing one of these."


    Looking at the piece of paper in my hands, I hesitated for a moment before sighing.


    "You have something else, don''t you?"


    Maintaining her emotionless expression, Astrid replied.


    "Do you really think I''d come all the way out here just to give you a piece of paper?"


    Stepping out of the way, I allowed her to walk inside before shortly following behind.


    Who cared if she thought the warehouse was dirty!?


    It was her decision to come here, not mine; why should I suffer?


    However, as she took her first step into the warehouse, I suddenly recalled something.


    Grabbing my wrist, I immediately looked at the smartwatch... realizing that the video was still playing.


    ...


    As I disconnected my smartwatch from the television, I heard a loud scream come from inside the warehouse.


    "BOSS, WHY THE HELL DID YOU STOP PLAYING IT!?"


    "..."


    Mustering the courage to look up, I saw Astrid frozen in place, with her gaze locked on the television, which was now blank.


    Ah... this isn''t a good look for me, is it?


    Attempting to reconcile the situation, I stepped into the warehouse before pointing at Raven, who was making yet another cup of coffee.


    "...he''s a really big fan."


    After a moment of silence, Astrid, continuing to stare at the blank television, replied.


    "Give it."


    Realizing I had no choice, I hesitantly took the smartwatch off my wrist before handing it over to Astrid.


    She was the student council president, after all... I had no chance of winning in a one-on-one duel against her.


    Of course, I wouldn''t die or receive any major injuries as I had countless escape routes from this warehouse...but did I really want my entire warehouse to be destroyed just because of a video?


    Scrolling through my smartwatch, Astrid finally moved, taking a seat on one of the stools lying around near the kitchen area.


    Heading to the kitchen, where Raven stood with a cup of coffee, I almost collapsed, seeing Raven looking at me with a grin.


    Staring at Astrid, who was still scrolling through my smartwatch, Raven curiously asked.


    "Boss.. are you guys swapping smartwat-"


    "Shut it."


    Mumbling about how unfair I was, Raven sat across from Astrid with his cup of coffee in hand.


    A couple of seconds later, Zeng also emerged from the closet, proudly brandishing the metallic-colored horns on his hands.


    Seeing Astrid pay no attention to Zeng, I sighed in relief.


    Maybe... passing him off as a reindeer would work!


    Taking a seat on the last stool, I silently took back my smartwatch before once again asking.


    "Now, what is it?"

 Chapter 177 - 177:Presents [2]

    Looking around the messy and disorganized warehouse for a moment, Astrid inhaled for a moment before turning to me.


    Finally changing her expression, an artificial and fake ass smile appeared on her face as her red lips slowly parted.


    "I''ve received some information that the ch-"


    "No."


    "b-"


    "Hell no."


    "..."


    The last time I had gotten involved with Astrid, I had been time-traveled and found a cat, which was resting in my area of the warehouse right now.


    Though I couldn''t say I completely regretted it as I gained the Dragon''s Transformation ability from absorbing the blood-red sword, there was no way I was doing it again.


    Seeing Astrid still looking at me with an expected expression, I sighed before asking.


    "Who exactly are you receiving this information from?"


    One time could have been a coincidence, but for Astrid to receive another piece of information that required my help was weird.


    Why couldn''t she go to the school or to her large family or the countless connections she had made as her student council president term?\\


    Why did it have to be me?


    Shaking her head, Astrid replied.


    "If I knew that, would I really go to you for help?"


    ...so she''s trusting a random piece of information given by some random guy that she doesn''t even know?


    Well, it worked last time, so I can''t really complain...


    Curious as to what the information would be, I asked.


    "Alright... I''ll hear you out, but don''t get your hopes up."


    Placing her two hands on the table, Astrid took out her own smartwatch before projecting the screen of the smartwatch onto the table.


    On the table in front of me lay a three-dimensional replica of the academy, complete with all the correct trees and bushes.


    Well, I could do that too now with corruption!


    Nodding my head and prompting Astrid to continue, I watched as she pinched her figures, zooming in on a specific portion of the academy by making the scale larger.


    Pointing at the academy''s multipurpose room, Astrid asked.


    "You should know about what''s happening here, right?"


    Nodding my head, I replied.


    "The winter ball."


    How could I not know?


    Right now, I was currently receiving countless messages about Jin and Han about that very topic!


    [Jin: SO YOU ALL KNEW ABOUT THIS BALL THE ENTIRE TIME!?]


    [Ren: Hate to break it to you, but I think everybody beside you knew.]


    [Han: I saw posters for it three months ago...]


    [Jin: I''M ALREADY BEHIND. WHAT IF ALL OF THE GIRLS HAVE BEEN ASKED OUT ALREADY!?]


    [Ren: ...don''t think you''re going have to worry about that, not gonna lie.]


    [Jin: And what is that supposed to mean?]


    [Han: Yeah, you''re one to talk after that Lily incident at the start of school, Ren.]


    [Ren: Low blow dude...]


    Putting my smartwatch on Do Not Disturb, I looked back up at the three-dimensional replica of the building where the ball would take place.


    Looking up at me, Astrid asked.


    "Aren''t you curious about why I pointed at the building for the ball?"


    "An area where the entire student population gathers for a night? A villain and djinn''s greatest dream."


    " *PFFT*"


    From beside me, Raven almost fell off his seat while struggling to contain his laughter.


    Ignoring the confused Astrid, Raven screamed out.


    "YOU HEAR THAT, ZENG? IS THAT REALLY YOUR FANTA-"


    Pushing Raven off the chair and interrupting his screaming, I watched him head over to Zeng and sit on the couch next to Zeng before returning my attention to Astrid.


    "Sorry about them."


    "It''s fine; it''s probably my fault for dropping by so abruptly."


    Pulling her stool closer to me, Astrid further zoomed in, revealing the inside of the ball room building.


    It looked like just what I had expected, resembling those high-school dances that my friends had told me and constantly gossiped about... as my mother had never allowed me to go.


    "While they''re out wasting their time, you''re creating a better future for yourself."


    "Only a certain amount of students are allowed each year into the top colleges; do you want to give up this headstart just because of some silly school event?"


    There was a gigantic and currently empty room with a high ceiling with windows and doors all over the place.


    Above the flat and empty floor and just below the ceiling, there was just a short ledge that allowed you to see everything below.


    Turning my head to Astrid, I asked.


    "And why exactly are you showing me this...?"


    Picking up a pencil, Astrid started counting all the entrances into the building out loud, even including the glass roof.


    "one... two... three... four... five."


    "...seventeen...eighteen. nineteen."


    Interrupting her count, I said.


    "Alright, I get your point, but what are we supposed to do about it? Can''t we just leave it up to academy security and the heroes?"


    Rapidly shaking her head, Astrid immediately replied.


    "And you trust them?"


    ...the book''s characters are actually... becoming self-aware of the cliches that the author wrote into the plot!


    Normally, I would have agreed with her point, but this time, I shook my head in disagreement.


    In the main plot of the book, it was the same scenario: a ball with hundreds of students and countless entrances.


    Yet, nothing happened.


    There were no djinns, villains, or problems.


    The reason for this?


    Of course, not the useless and nonsensical academy security. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    An incident would take place during the Winter Wonderland, but before the ball, and in that incident, the djinns would be majorly defeated by Liam and company.


    Thus, the djinns had no resources or energy to attack and invade the ball despite the potential it had for them.


    Responding to Astrid''s confused expression, I said.


    "Ironic how the student council president doesn''t even trust her own school? But, instead, she trusts a random piece of information."


    Not wasting another moment, Astrid stood up from the stool, giving me one last glance before saying.


    "I''ll take that as a no to helping."


    Without waiting for my response, Astrid turned around and swiftly exited the warehouse.

 Chapter 178 - 178:Presents [3]

    As Astrid swiftly departed from the warehouse, I used corruption to manifest crow, ordering it to keep a close eye on Astrid.


    I had learned time and time that the belief that this world would follow the book''s plots exactly would only lead to danger.


    Maybe there was some unknown threat and waiting to attack the school during the ball.


    Opening a window and letting some sunlight shine into the disgusting room, I watched the pitch-black crow fly out into the light-blue sky before returning to the couch.


    Leaving the two boys behind in the warehouse, I followed after Astrid, leaving the warehouse only a few minutes later.


    Enjoying the short stroll, I sighed as the looming figure of the academy front gate came into view.


    Taking one last glance at the body of water below, I crossed the bridge before entering the academy, giving a short nod to the heroes tasked with protecting the gate.


    Still tired despite having slept for almost the entire bus ride, I made my way to my dorm room before collapsing on the bed.


    For the incident during the Winter Wonderland involving the main cast, I didn''t plan to do anything.


    As I said before, I had a slight feeling that I would be requested soon enough.


    Besides that, I had three things on my to-do list.


    Advance to the fourth movement of my shadow arts.


    Considering how much I had been using shadow cages and corrupted in physical form now, I was definitely more than ready to advance.


    At this point, I used corruption at least once every hour, so I wasn''t surprised at how my mastery progressed.


    Normally, a movement would take, on average, three months to a year to perfect... but then again, a normal person doesn''t do what I do.


    Saving the Elven kingdom and advancing to C-rank in the same week?


    Light work.


    The next and by far the easiest task was to keep a close eye on Astrid.


    With my crow following her constantly, I wouldn''t have to worry about this too much as I could just switch bodies with the crow occasionally to check up on her.


    And finally... the hardest and most elusive task.


    Dragon''s Blood.


    The only clue I had was the pool of blood that I had seen at the end of the dream earlier...or was it?


    After I had defeated the spirit through my use of the corrupted figure, everyone in the main cast, including Ruby and Irene, had been teleported out of the dream and received the notification that they had advanced.


    So... why did I still remain?


    Shaking my head, I stared up at the ceiling, allowing my eyes to close, slowly feeling my consciousness slip further and further away.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    *BZZT*


    *BZZT*


    *BZZT*


    With my eyes still closed, I immediately slammed my hand down on my smartwatch, not worrying at all about whether it was broken or not.


    *BZZT*


    *BZZT*


    "TURN OFF DAMN IT."


    Opening my eyes, I covered my ears before finally turning off the annoying alarm that I had set up on my smartwatch.


    Slowly removing the blankets and getting up from my body, I sighed as I moved to the shower.


    Classes...


    huh, it had been a long time.


    After returning to the academy from the Elven realm and resting, I had spent the last two days essentially rotting in my room.


    What did they call it back on earth? Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Procrastinating... or in other words, I was somehow bored with a bunch of shit to do.


    Apart from switching bodies with my crow every once in a while, I had just been lazing around in my room.


    But sadly, today was the end of that.


    Not of my own accord.


    Today was the start of the new week... and that meant classes would begin once again today.


    Getting into the shower, I let the steaming hot water drip down my hair for a couple of minutes before finally getting out.


    Grabbing a towel and scrunching up my hair to dry it, I stared at the calendar on my smartwatch/


    [5 Days until the Christmas Wonderland starts.]


    Plenty of time!


    Putting on the academy uniform, I grabbed my backpack before departing from my room.


    Leisurely making my way down the stairs and toward the building of my class, I took in the views of the academy.


    Around me were at least hundreds of kids, all also making their way to their classes, and countless teachers could also been rushing to get to their classrooms on time.


    To my right was a park where lucky students who didn''t have classes today could be seen lounging around, and to my left were countless buildings, each having their own design.


    The buildings for magic classes had gigantic wands alongside pictures of spells all over their walls, while the buildings for combat had swords, axes, and spears.


    Only second-year and above would take specialized classes, so, unfortunately, I had to walk past those beautiful buildings.


    Looking at the bustling atmosphere full of students and the gigantic and amazing campus around me, a sudden thought occurred.


    Is this what it feels like to be a university student?


    Opening the doors to my building, I walked through the hallway, finally stopping in front of a familiar-lookingdoor.


    Well... they should have had some time to calm down since that, right?


    Sliding open the door, I simply looked at the floor, trying my best to recall the exact pathway to my desk without looking up.


    If I can''t see them, they can''t see me!


    Walking up the stairs to my seat all the way back, I finally looked up and saw both Jin and Han sitting in their respective seats.


    Taking a seat in the middle of them, I put my head down on the table, awaiting the ringing of the bell.


    When you''re transmigrated, you would expect to live life, doing whatever you want and exploring the new world, having fun all the time.


    ..yet here I was, taking a class like some normal university student.

 Chapter 179 - 179:Presents [4]

    Shaking my head, I ceased my complaining.


    Not everyone gets a second chance at life after dying once, so complaining wasn''t the thing to do.


    Anyway, it wasn''t like anyone was forcing me to stay at the skill or anything; I was just doing it all out of my own volition.


    *DING*


    Slowly raising my head as the sound of the bell echoed throughout the classroom, I saw the sliding door slowly open, revealing the familiar figure of Professor Zia.


    She had been treating me rather nicely, considering the fact that I had attempted to hurt her favorite student, Liam, on the first day of school, so I had no qualms about her.


    As the class descended into silence, Professor Zia slowly walked up to the whiteboard before writing in large letters on the chalkboard.


    [Christmas Wonderland]


    Sighing, I looked away from the whiteboard at the massive windows to my side.


    As the words "best behavior," "recruiting," and "pivotal moment in your life" emerged from Professor Zia''s mouth, I zoned out even further.


    Wasn''t this just college applications all over again!?


    Instead of writing essays and putting down our extracurriculars, we had to show off our combat prowess and good behavior.


    Looking next to me, I noticed that both Han and Jin were actually paying attention and... at least trying to take notes on what she said.


    Making sure nobody was watching me, I put my head on the desk and covered both my eyes with my elbow.


    The next second, I was no longer in the classroom but hovering above another building as a crow.


    Flying over to a tree, I perched on one of the branches before shifting my gaze to a nearby building.


    Looking down as the crow, I peered into a nearby window, seeing Astrid sitting by her desk, simply working on documents.


    "...again?"


    For the last three days, all she had done was train, work on documents, eat, and sleep.


    Did she give up on the information because of what I said?


    ...no, Astrid isn''t the type of person who ignores a warning of danger, no matter how false and stupid it may seem.


    Leaving the crow on the tree branch, I returned to my body, instantly having my vision blocked by my elbows.


    Removing my elbows, I was shocked to see that the front of the classroom was empty as Professor Zia had disapeared.


    Turning to Jin and Han, who had already reverted to their old ways and were using their smartwatch, I asked.


    "Where did the professor go?"


    Han, looking away from his smartwatch, replied.


    "Oh, we didn''t want to say anything because you were sleeping, but apparently she''s giving us a free period right now."


    "For real?"


    Responding to my question, Jin scoffed and replied.


    "It''s just one period, though... we have to be back by the end of lunch. At this point, why doesn''t she just give us the whole day off?"


    Nodding my head in approvement, I waved goodbye to the two boys before getting out of my chair.


    Paying attention to gazes I could feel tracking my movement, I walked back down the stairs and exited the classroom.


    Having skipped breakfast in the morning, I walked through the hallways, eventually arriving at the first-year cafeteria.


    Standing in front of the cafeteria, I almost dropped to the floor upon seeing the massive line already formed.


    Interrupting my lampooning, a family sweet and soft voice spoke from behind me.


    "Seems like every class got the period off today."


    "Really, what makes you say that?"


    "Isn''t it too early in the morning for sarcasm?"


    Shaking my head at Ruby''s question, I replied.


    "Sarcasm waits for no one!"


    As more footsteps sounded from behind us, Ruby quickly said.


    "Well, I would stay, but you must know Liam and Kevin hate your guts right now."


    Paying no mind to the smile that, for some reason, was on her face, I replied.


    "Doesn''t matter to me."


    Swiftly turning back around, I stepped into the line for the food.


    However, Ruby also stepped into the line right behind me.


    "Wait... don''t tell me you''re jealous?"


    "Jealous of what? Did you not see beat the shit out of them!?"


    Tapping me on the shoulder, Ruby whispered so that only I could hear.


    "They''re some pretty important and influential people, so if I got on their backside by hanging out with you, my identity could be at risk."


    Genuinely surprised, I whispered back.


    "You''re still a villain?"


    "...honestly, I don''t even know at this point...but yeah, technically, I''m still a squadron leader of the Gemstone Order."


    "Just choose a side and stick with it, then."


    Stepping back out of the line, Ruby curiously asked.


    "So, what side are you then?"


    "Try guessing, it''s a 50/50."


    Smirking even further, Ruby replied.


    "And what do I get if I guess correct?" S~ea??h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Confident that she wouldn''t guess it right, I responded.


    "I''ll do anything you say for a day if you get it correct... but if you lose, you have to try and piss off Liam for me."


    "...that''s what you want?"


    As I nodded my head at Ruby''s question, she waved, revealing a large grin on her face, before heading in the direction of footsteps behind us.


    ...she never guessed?


    After waiting an arduous ten minutes in line, I finally grabbed a tray of eggs before heading outside.


    Finding a nearby bench, I dropped my backpack on the ground before laying the tray of food on my legs.


    Staring at the plate of eggs in front of me, memories of the plate of noodles that Lily had prepared in the Elven realm flashed into my head.


    "...I never did get the recipe out of her, did I?"


    Well... it''s probably too late for that now.


    Weighing the pager that the Elven queen had given me in my hand, I genuinely considered using it to ask for the recipe.


    She did say to ask for help any time, didn''t she?


    "Is this spot taken?"


    "...hm?"

 Chapter 180 - 180:Presents [5]

    Looking up from my lunch tray, I saw a girl about the same height as me standing next to the bench.


    Her golden-blonde hair and matching golden eye color sparkled in the sunlight, making it seem as if she was the reincarnation of the sun itself.


    However, my eyes weren''t drawn to her looks at all... instead, I saw a particular badge that was hanging on her chest.


    A gigantic cube that seemed to be alive as it had four legs and a pair of eyes was displayed on the badge.


    ...was that a Pokemon?


    Nope, it was the badge given to members of the royal family currently presiding over the human empire.


    Charlotte.


    The empire''s famed princess was known for her ability to manipulate light magic, using reflections and sunlight to create various new spells at just the age of sixteen.


    Glancing at my tray full of food, I shook my head before standing up.


    "I''ve just finished, it''s all yours."


    On the outside, Charlotte would have seemed like a kind and amicable person to anyone as she always wore a smile and brightly colored clothes.


    Here she was right now, even daring to sit next to a fallen noble like me, who had been disowned by their own father.


    A member, even being in the vicinity of someone with my reputation, was unthinkable, yet here she was.


    She seemed to have a gentle aura surrounding her as she passively gazed at me, not making any assumptions or insulting comments in her head despite the countless negative rumors surrounding me.


    However, as an avid book reader, I knew it was all an act.


    The real Charlotte was... very different.


    She was definitely not someone I wanted to get involved with right now, especially when I already had so many things on my plate.


    Standing up with my tray, I began walking away, not glancing back at Charlotte to see her reaction.


    Walking around my tray, I finally found a new spot to eat in a somewhat secluded area in the park surrounding the building.


    Hiding from the "sun" in the shade of the trees, I sat down on the bench before picking up my fork once again.


    *CRASH*


    However, just as I picked up another piece of food with my fork, a sudden loud sound sounded in front of me. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Almost falling off the bench from shock, I put down my fork, ensuring none of the food that I had waited ages for spilled, and looked up.


    Peering through the forest with my eyes, I saw a familiar figure slumped against a tree in the distance.


    She seemed to be interacting with the air in front of her as she waved her hands around and opened her mouth, but my eyes couldn''t see anything there.


    Well, if it were anyone else, I would have just thought they were some loser talking to their imaginary friend... but it was an Elven princess.


    Carefully setting down my tray on the bench, I got up and started walking towards the source of the sound.


    Surprisingly, it wasn''t Liam who had the biggest change after my fight with him... but Alya.


    She had probably thought it was all her fault as she was the one who voluntarily contracted with the spirit, starting everything off.


    Of course, that also meant she was the one who got us out of the loop, as she allowed me to kill the spirit, but I doubted she saw it like that.


    All of Zach''s external injuries had healed as he had incurred them with his fight with me in the dream... but from the spirit''s possession, there were some internal issues.


    From what I observed in class, he seemed to have major attitude swings pretty often, and occasionally, his feet would start trembling for no reason.


    The guilt weighing on Alya must be immeasurable as Zach could suffer from this internal problem for the rest of his life... and in Alya''s head, it was all her fault.


    Since nothing like this was ever mentioned in the book, I couldn''t do anything to help Zach but just observe from a distance.


    Looking at Alya from a distance, I started wondering.


    Alya had been possessed by the spirit, but she wasn''t suffering from any side effects like Zach.


    What was the reason?


    Shaking my head, I got even closer to Alya, watching her fully lie down against the tree trunk and emotionlessly staring upward at the sun.


    "...well, I guess that''s another thing added to my list of things to do."


    Recalling Zach''s happy face in the classroom despite the side effects of the spirit''s possession, I sighed.


    Why do bad things always happen to good people?


    If it was some evil villain who was suffering the side effects, I wouldn''t feel a thing of guilt or sympathy.


    I could just ignore it and go on with my day.


    But looking at Zach, who was putting on a false facade and a mask of happiness to stop his friends from worrying, and Alya, who was being crushed under an immense of guilt, my chest began to ache.


    "tsk, I really hate this."


    Why was I feeling this guilt in my chest?


    I had simply done what I was supposed to do...none of the things I had done to Zach mattered, as those wounds had all healed after his dream.


    "Guilt is a weight that will crush you whether you deserve it or not."


    Shaking my head, I emerged from the protection of the trees and walked towards the oblivious Alya.


    Stopping a few steps in front of her, I hesitated, watching her silver hair sway in the breeze, and her eyes remain motionless, locked onto the sky.


    What was I doing?


    Taking on more tasks while I can''t even complete the ones I already have?


    Was this even worth it?


    *WHOOSH*


    As the breeze flew by, brushing Alya''s hair back and revealing her face, she finally looked away from the sun, slowly shifting her gaze downwards.

 Chapter 181 - 181:Feelings [1]

    "...well, it''s a bit late to turn back now."


    Accepting my fate and washing away my doubts, I walked closer to Alya, stopping a step in front of her.


    Noticing me, Alya simply stared for a moment before looking back up at the sun, not having any reaction whatsoever.


    Leaning downward and raising my hand to block her sight of the sun, I quietly said in a serious tone.


    "Are you just going to give up and feel bad for yourself for the rest of the time, sitting under this tree?"


    "..."


    Nothing.


    Alya simply ignored my words, shifting her gaze slightly so that she could see the clear blue sky.


    Shaking my bed, I spoke once again.


    "Self-pity is a sin. Here you are washing away in sadness while Zach is the one who is actually suffering."


    "See how he''s still smiling? He''s the victim, not you. So, why the hell are you acting so sad for?" Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing her eyebrow slightly raise and her finally showing some reaction, I continued.


    "Do you seriously think you have the right to pity yourself? Zach''s the one suffering, not you. You''re just using pity as an excuse to doze off, aren''t you?"


    In order to break Alya out of this emotionless, apathetic, and detached state, I had to make her angry.


    Make her feel something.


    Right now, she was just a piece of grass, flying in the breeze, letting the world take her wherever without caring in the slightest.


    Responding to my provocations, Alya''s face twisted as she turned to look at me right in front of her.


    The next second, the entire forest seemed to get much colder as the grass below me started to freeze.


    "Well, I can''t say I didn''t ask for it."


    Activating the usage period of the dash, I immediately dashed backward, narrowing and avoiding an icicle.


    Getting up from the tree, Alya''s face began to show some emotion as her teeth grinded against each other in anger.


    Pulling a clean steel and silver sword out of the icy cold air, Alya immediately covered it with ice before pointing it at me.


    Without saying a word, Alya thrust her now ice-blue sword forward, sending dozens of icicle spears whirling at me.


    Then, she slammed her sword into the ground, embedding it deep in the forest floor.


    *RUMBLE*


    The next moment, the temperature dropped even more as the ice began to slowly spread from the hole created by Alya''s sword.


    Within two seconds, the entire floor below me was covered with ice.


    Making sure not to slip, I side-stepped to the right before jumping sideways onto a tree.


    Boosting off the tree, I cleaved through the branches above with the two corrupted daggers that I had manifested.


    As the sun shone down through the holes I had created in the branches, the icicle spears hurling at me became significantly weaker, melting in the heat of the sun.


    Using my two daggers, I simply slashed at them once, shattering them into thousands of pieces before they melted under the sun.


    As I successfully avoided Alya''s first barrage of icicles, a scream suddenly and abruptly came from her side.


    "AND WHAT DO YOU KNOW!?"


    Slashing at another incoming ice spear with my daggers, I replied.


    "Does it matter what I know? I know enough to see what you''re doing is wrong."


    Receiving no response from Alya, I sighed before combining the corruption in my body with the blood-red substance.


    The next moment, a large wing, colored night-black and blood-red, formed on my right shoulder.


    Flapping my wing countless times, I weaved in between the icicles, dodging them without even destroying them.


    Dashing forward while simultaneously flapping my wing once, I appeared in front of Alya with my daggers ready.


    Responding in time, Alya slashed her ice-blue sword forward, causing me to dodge to the right.


    And just in time, a wall of ice formed in the spot I was just right in, stretching at least ten meters forward.


    Before I could attack again, Alya once again plunged her ice-blue sword into the ground.


    Flapping my wing, I watched in awe as a platform of ice below Alya appeared, slowly raising her higher and higher into the air.


    As I appeared upward into the air, the platform finally stopped elevating Alya, leaving her right below the branches and blocking her from the sun''s rays.


    Thrusting my daggers forward, I tried to slash down the ice platform, but every hole my dagger made in the platform was instantly replaced with more ice.


    It could regenerate.


    Raising her sword, tens of icicles appeared right above me before hurling downwards at me as if it were hailing.


    Realizing that there was no path out with my wing and my eyes, I simply stood still.


    As the icicles neared me, I slashed my corrupted daggers at the air ten times, creating ten holographic daggers.


    As ten holographic daggers appeared alongside the two real ones in my hands, I smirked before sending the holographic daggers flying at her.


    Not wasting another second, I slashed my corrupted daggers up at the sky, sending countless night-black slashes.


    As the night-black slashes and icicles hit each other, countless elemental reactions occurred, causing bouts of smoke to appear.


    Flapping my wing, I flew through the smoke, avoiding some of the icicles that my night-slashes had failed to hit or destroy.


    Emerging from the smoke, I saw Alya''s face transform into confusion as her sword simply passed through the holographic daggers.


    Using her confusion, I manifested a green bird in my hands before sending it flying right at the elevated platform.


    Looking away from the platform, I "popped" the flash, feeling a beam of light appear behind me.


    Without wasting another second, I flapped my wing countless times, appearing right on the platform and beside Alya.


    Looking at the blind Alya in front of me, I simply kicked her leg, causing her to lose balance and fall off the platform.


    Jumping off the platform right after her, I watched as her eyes recovered from the flash, only to realize she was free-falling downwards.


    [A/N: Top 10 in weekly powerstones for +5 Chapters. We are only 100 powerstones away!]

 Chapter 182 - 182:Feelings [2]

    Falling right behind Alya, I took a moment to repair my corrupted daggers, which had gotten damaged from my blocking of the icicles.


    Releasing more corruption out of my body and seeing the cracks in my daggers disappear, I created another green bird, ready ton end the fight.


    However, as the green bird appeared in my hands, I suddenly felt the temperatures surrounding me instantly decrease.


    It was to the point where I was beginning to lose feeling in my hand as I couldn''t even move it anymore.


    Eventually forcing my head to look downwards, I saw Alya still free-falling towards the ground, just like me.


    Could she have done something? S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Looking even closer, I peered through the air, finding Alya, whose eyes were locked onto the ground right below her.


    And, just as the ground was revealed to my eyes, a large ice spear appeared, and before I could react, it began flying upwards.


    ...was she committing suicide?


    Staying still for the moment, I watched as the ice spear, its tip as sharp as a high-tier sword artifact, flew further and further upward.


    But, it moved up a faster and faster pace...


    Then, as the ice spear reached Alya''s body, I was about to use a dash to stop her from doing whatever it was she was attempting.


    But before I could do anything, the ice spear simply passed through Alya''s body as if she were a hologram.


    The next moment, the large and sharp ice spear was already upon me, closing the distance between Alya and me within less than a second.


    Moving my legs, I attempted to use a dash, yet as I desperately commanded my leg to move in any direction, nothing happened.


    My leg simply remained still, ignoring my commands.


    It was too cold...


    Seeing my legs not move, I attempted to raise my hand to my eyes to slow my perception of my time.. but it was the same.


    My hand stayed in the same place.


    I had lost control over my entire body...


    Unable to do anything, I simply watched as the ice spear barrelled forward at my free-falling body.


    As the tip of the ice spear touched the jacket I had on, my body''s temperature decreased even further.


    My thoughts began to slow, and I couldn''t even form a coherent thought... or even think for that matter.


    My eyes began to close involuntarily, and silence slowly descended upon my ears.


    Finally, the ice spear moved forward a centimeter, stabbing straight through my jacket and embedding itself in my stomach.


    Letting out a small yelp as the ice spear further pierced my chest, I could only watch... or at some points, my eyes would completely close.


    Breaking past the skin layer of my body, the spear began tearing through my muscles and ligaments.


    My free-falling downwards, combined with the spear moving upwards, caused the spear to blitz past any form of protection I had without slowing down a single bit.


    Then, just as my eyesight blurred and eventually became completely dark, a sudden jolt of energy enveloped my body.


    Was it adrenaline!?


    Not wasting the single moment of freedom I had back, I immediately grasped the body of the ice spear with my hands.


    Expect it to be hard to pull out due to how deep it had penetrated my chest, I yanked the spear outwards with all the power I had.


    Yet, to my surprise, the spear came out without a single problem, simply allowing itself to be yanked without any resistance.


    However, a massive amount of blood was covering the ice spear, making it seem as if it were colored blood-red and not ice-blue


    Feeling my body temperature increase and slowly regaining control over my body, I kicked my legs forward as I neared the ground.


    Staring at the ice spear in my right hand, I immediately lost my train of thought as I noticed that it had... melted.


    There was no longer a tip on the ice spear.


    It had completely melted away, leaving just the body.


    Was that why it had been so easy to pull out?


    Landing on the ground with my feet, I immediately peered around my surroundings, trying to find Alya.


    Not finding Alya, I immediately took off my jacket before pressing it into my chest.


    Even if the ice spear was no longer there, the hole it had left was still very visible.


    As my white academy jacket became stained red from all the blood, I winced... in disgust, not pain.


    "...wait, why am I not hurting? Why do I feel normal?"


    Staring at the deep wound in my chest, I once again confirmed it was there before staring at my hands.


    Maybe it was the adrenaline?


    No...it doesn''t last this long.


    Staring at my right hand, I attempted to look for clues on the culprit, the ice spear, yet there was nothing left in my right hand.


    Besides my hand being drenched in water, it was simply normal, not holding or keeping anything.


    ...the ice-spear had already melted?


    This entire area was surrounded by trees and branches, so it couldn''t have been the sun...


    Recalling the blood that covered the ice-blue spear, I removed my jacket and glanced downward at my wound.


    My wound was still there...but I wasn''t feeling any pain.


    Was this the effect of the dragon''s blood ability?


    Not feeling any pain from injuries?


    ...and melting ice somehow?


    Wrapping my jacket around the wound and applying pressure, I carefully walked forward, scared that a rush of pain would just appear from the deep wound in my chest.


    "...wait."


    Stopping dead in my tracks and looking around, I sighed upon not seeing Alya anywhere in the vicinity.


    I had been overconfident, thinking I could just beat her without any problems... but I was majorly proven wrong.


    Well... there was also the fact that I WAS TRYING TO SAVE HER.


    The only reason I hadn''t realized my body slowly losing control was because I was trying to save Alya as I thought she was attempting to end herself with the ice-spear.

 Chapter 183 - 183:Feelings [3]

    "...this is why I hate being the good guy."


    Seeing Alya about to be impaled by the ice spear, I had forgotten about myself and focused on saving her.


    I mean, seeing her gloomy and lifeless expression earlier when she was resting against the tree, it wasn''t that far-fetched.


    Wait, was that part of her plan?


    No... she couldn''t have known I was going to try and save her, right?


    Shaking my head, I continued walking out of the forest, almost completely forgetting about the deep wound in my chest as there was no pain to remind me of it.


    Creating a cover of corruption, I placed it over my wound before throwing my bloody jacket into the forest behind me.


    Lowering my shirt and hiding my cover of corruption that was blocking the wound, I walked out of the forest, acting as if nothing had happened.


    Yet, just as I was about to head back to class, I saw a familiar figure sitting with my tray right next to her.


    Making eye contact with Charlottle, my eyes almost almost closed from the "brightness" emanating from her.


    As she saw me emerge from the forest, a smile emerged on her face as she waved at me, beckoning for me to come closer.


    Glad I had taken off the bloody jacket earlier, I slowly walked towards Charlottle until I was standing right in front of her.


    Scrutinizing me with a smile on her face, Charlotte joyfully asked.


    "Say, I just saw the Elven princess emerge from that same spot with her hair and clothes all over the place. Her hair was all crumped up... not a very suiting look for a princess."


    "..."


    "And I''ve just seen you emerge from that spot with messy hair and clothes all over the place."


    "..."


    "If I didn''t know any better..."


    Forcing a smile onto my face, I interrupted Charlotte mid-sentence and responded.


    "Ah, it must have been a coincidence. I didn''t see the Elven princess anywhere in the forest. I simply went for a quick nap and ended up like this!"


    The perfect alibi!


    I was sleeping, which caused my clothes and hair to be all messed up, and it also matched my lazy and arrogant attitude that rumors believed I had!


    Patting myself on the chest, I inwardly smiled. Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yet, despite my perfect excuse, Charlottle kept her gaze locked on me, her smile only widening as the last words came out of my mouth.


    Placing her hand on her elbow, Charlotte looked up at me, making eye contact, before asking in an overly happy voice.


    "Is that so? I could have sworn that I heard the Elvin princess mutter "Ren," "Damn Ren," "Ren" at least a hundred times."


    "..."


    "Then again, I have had some problems with my ears in the past, so I might have just been hearing things. If what you''re saying is true, then my ears must have been acting up."


    "..."


    Staring at my crumbling expression with a smile, she continued in her exaggerated, jolly tone.


    "I''ll have to make an appointment with the royal doctor immediately! I have to thank you for informing me of this. Without you telling me that you had napped earlier, I would have never realized that my ears were acting up!"


    ...is this what they call guilt-tripping?


    Well... what am I supposed to do now?


    Matching her exact smile, I waited for her to finish before replying in a completely serious tone, devoid of any sarcasm or jokingness.


    "I am honored to have been useful to the princess!''


    Getting down on a single knee, I placed my hand over my heart before looking up at the confused Charlottle and continuing in my overly serious voice.


    "I shall remember this moment for the rest of my life! A lowly noble like me was able to help someone so magnificent as the kingdom''s princess!"


    Seeing her confused expression, I tried my best to hold in my laughter and smile, staying on the ground.


    I bet she didn''t expect me to double it!


    Would a normal person have just admitted their lie and owed up to their mistake earlier?


    Yes.


    Was I a normal person?


    No!


    Seeing her continue to stare at me with a befuddled expression, I awkwardly remained on the ground.


    I couldn''t just get up without her acknowledging me...that would ruin the whole skit I had just acted out!


    Finally breaking the silence, Charlotte shifted her gaze upwards to the sun before saying.


    "You know... you''re a lot different than rumors, aren''t you, Ren?"


    Getting up, I continued with the act, scratching my head and smiling at the princess''s praise.


    That''s right, I''m not a pawn that you can use and manipulate, so stay away!


    Raising my hands, I replied to her question in a confused tone.


    "Am I?"


    *RING~RING*


    Saved by the bell!


    As the bell rang, Charlotte stood up from the bench, giving me one last glance before walking away.


    After ensuring that my corrupted bandage was working, I pulled back down my shirt before walking back to the school building.


    Sliding open the classroom door, I resisted the urge to immediately grab Alya and slam her against the table before heading to my seat in the back of the class.


    I''d get my revenge... soon enough.


    However, even though I was doing my best to ignore Alya after what had just happened, she seemed to not care.


    From the corner of my eyes, I could see her gaze locked onto my every movement as she carefully observed me while wearing a surprised expression.


    What!? Surprised I''m alive, are you!?


    Sitting down in my seat, I greeted Jin and Han, who had stayed in the classroom the entire break.


    Looking up from his smartwatch, Han asked.


    "Anything good in the cafeteria today?"


    "...ask someone else."


    Ignoring Han''s confused expression, I checked the time before putting away my smartwatch.


    As the sliding door opened, revealing the figure of Professor Zia, I leaned back in my seat, trying to think of a way to get everything done.

 Chapter 184 - 184:Feelings [4]

    As Professor Zia walked to the lectern, I was about to lean forward and pick up my pencil to pretend to take notes when a sudden pain coursed through my body.


    Leaning fully back on my chair, I immediately placed my hand on my chest, the area of the pain, removing my feet from the ground.


    With nothing to hold me back, my chair fully tipped over, causing both me and it to swiftly fall to the ground.


    But.. that wasn''t my worry.


    "AH SHIT, WHAT IS THAT."


    Ignoring my descent to the other ground, I clenched the corrupted bandage that was covering my wound with a pained expression.


    *CRASH*


    As the chair and I collided with the ground behind us, causing a loud sound to echo throughout the silent classroom, I lifted up my shirt and forcefully ripped off my corrupted bandage.


    I had used corruption to patch my wounds before, so why was it hurtling like hell right now? Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    As my pain receptors blared, sending shocks of pain throughout my entire body, I glanced downward at my revealed stomach and the wound on it.


    ...the wound was the same as it was last time.


    The exact same.


    Losing my focus as more pain flooded through my entire body, I yelped, once again sending another sound through the empty room.


    "AHHH"


    After placing one hand on my wound to stop further blood from leaking out, I pulled down my shirt and managed to gather enough energy to look up.


    Both Han and Jin were looking at me with surprised faces and through the gaps in the chairs and desks, I could see Professor Zia also looked at me oddly.


    Feeling another surge of pain incoming, I screamed out.


    "I NEED TO USE THE RESTROOM!"


    Staring at me slumped over on the ground, Professor Zia sighed before loudly replying.


    "Next time, use your break-time for things like this... but I''ll allow it this time."


    I thanked Professor Zia internally for being one of the few teachers who actually cared about their students, and I gathered enough energy to raise my hand.


    Taking my raised hand, Jin pulled me up from the floor, and after a couple of seconds, I was able to balance by myself.


    With one hand still under my shirt, blocking the blood from overflowing, I awkwardly walked down the steps, trying my best to act normal.


    However, the other children in the classroom, of course, began to speculate.


    "Did he piss himself!?"


    "Is he faking to get out of class!?"


    "Did he piss himself, so he could skip class!?"


    "...why is there a blood mark on his shirt?"


    "wait... is he on his period!?"


    ...really, that''s the conclusion that the top students and future heroes of the world came to after looking at me!?


    Shaking my head, I tried my best to ignore all the whispers by simply looking down at the floor as I neared the exit.


    Sliding open the door, I didn''t glance back but immediately sprinted towards the bathroom.


    Reaching the bathroom, I immediately pulled up my shirt and took another glance at my wound using the mirror.


    "...it''s the same?"


    The severity and size of the wound were the same as they had been when I exited the forest.


    This, in itself, was, of course, not surprising as there was no way my wound could heal that fast... but why was I feeling the pain now?


    Did my adrenaline wear off!?


    Grabbing some tissues, I removed my hand, which was covered in blood by now, and tried my best to clean it up.


    After putting in some water, I forced myself through the pain to reattach the corrupted bandage I had put on it earlier.


    Exhausted and in pain, I leaned against the sink and raised my hand.


    If there was anything that could explain this phenomenon, it was my system.


    ===Menu===


    User : Ren Montclair


    [Class: Proficient Assassin: (Level 3: 58%) ]


    -> Stealth : C+


    -> Moderate Dagger Mastery : 53%


    -> Arts: Eclipse Blade [3/5]


    [Stats]


    -> Rating : C-


    -> Strength : D


    -> Agility : C+


    -> Stamina : D+


    -> Magic Power : C


    -> Luck: G-S {Conditional}


    -> Intelligence : C


    -> Charm : C


    [Traits]


    -> Passive: Dragon''s Will [3 / ?]


    ---> Dragon Eyes : Your eyesight is enhanced.


    ---> Dragon''s Transformation : You are able to harness a physical part of a dragon. [???]


    ---> Dragon''s Blood: In times of danger, you are able to keep a calm mind despite external wounds.


    [Skills]


    -> [[E] Dash] : Not requiring any mana usage, the skill allows the user to move 10 meters from their current location in any direction with a cooldown period of 7 seconds. The skill does not instantly move the user but temporarily increases the user''s speed until they move 10 meters.


    -> [[C] Sky Flash] : Requiring the usage of mana, the skill allows the user to create a bird-like animal. This bird-like animal will fly through the sky at the user''s discretion until the user decides to "pop" it. When "popped," the bird will blind every person in a five-meter radius for two seconds. The bird can be used twice every hour.


    =======


    Wiping the blood off my hand with water, I stared at my Dragon''s blood ability, which was no longer filled with "???"


    "...so I just have adrenaline, but it lasts longer, now?"


    Staring at the last few "???" by dragon''s blood, I began wiping the water off my hands with some paper towels.


    "It definitely has to be related to how my blood melted the ice spear...but why is it still ??? If I figured it out?"


    Feeling the pain levels decrease, I took one last glance at my system menu before walking out of the bathroom.


    It wasn''t like I wanted to go back to class, but it was just... I had nowhere else to go.


    However, as I emerged from the bathroom, I saw a familiar figure with long silver-white hair leaning against the wall.


    Heading towards the classroom, I said as I walked by her.


    "Come to apologize for that?"


    Not moving from her spot on the wall, Alya hesitated before muttering out.


    "w-why did you try to help me during the fight? N-none of this would have happened if you just dodged."


    Stooping in my tracks, I turned back and said.


    "Do I need a reason?"


    Looking at the looming classroom door a bit further down the hall and imagining what I would hear when I came back, I sighed and walked back to Alya.


    "Ready to do something about Zach, now?"

 Chapter 185 - 185:Feelings [5]

    Surprised at my question, Alya hesitated for a moment before shamelessly muttering out.


    "a-after that, you want to help?"


    Shaking my head and dismissing her worried, I replied.


    "You made the attack non-fatal on purpose; it was simply to immobilize me for a bit."


    Pulling up my shirt and taking off the corrupted bandage, I pointed at the area of my stomach that it had hit.


    If my blood hadn''t melted the ice spear, it simply would have hit a couple of ligaments that would have caused me no permanent pain, and it definitely wouldn''t have come close to killing me.


    In fact, with some healing scrolls, I could have been just fine in a matter of hours.


    Of course, now that my blood had melted the ice spear, stopping it early, I would be fine with a couple of healing scrolls and less than an hour.


    The only reason the pain had been so drastic at first when I was in the classroom was because of my ability.


    All of the pain that I had ignored earlier through my ability had come rushing at me all at the same time, making it feel worse than it actually was.


    Putting back on my corrupted bandage, I continued.


    "I clearly instigated the fight... I should have expected to get hurt."


    Seeing her hesitantly nod her head, admitting that she hadn''t tried to kill me, I smiled before asking one question that had been weighing on me.


    "But... why did you just leave after sending that ice thing at me?"


    Staying silent, Alya awkwardly fidgeted her hands before reaching into her pocket and taking out a couple of magic scrolls. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Revealing her hands to me, I saw at least five healing scrolls sitting in her hands.


    ...so she wanted to win the fight but not hurt me?


    Is that not counterintuitive!?


    Taking the healing scrolls, I applied them to the area of the wound, yelping each time a scroll was used.


    If I had to compare a healing scroll to something from Earth, it would be shots or vaccines.


    They hurt at first when applied when they puncture your skin to push the antibiotics inside your body, and after that, your body gradually begins to heal.


    But, as seen with Zach, healing scrolls had their limits.


    While they could patch external wounds, internal wounds could not be fixed.


    Even with external wounds, they also had their limits.


    Using too many healing scrolls within a certain period of time could lead to countless negative side effects on your body, so one also had to limit their use of the scrolls.


    Feeling the pain steadily began to decrease, I turned to Alya before reaching out my hand.


    "All good?"


    Reaching out her hand, Alya nodded her head and hesitantly shook my hand before awkwardly looking away.


    "And, what do we have here?"


    Shocked at the stern voice echoed from behind us, Alya and I jumped back in shock before slowly shifting our gazes ahead.


    Only a few meters in front of us stood Professor Zia, her glasses slanted as she looked at the two of us with an intrigued expression.


    Immediately removing my hand from Alya''s, I tried to shift the topic and control the conversation by asking her a question.


    It was a simple trick; the person who asks the questions is always in control of the conversation.


    "What happened to the class...?"


    Shaking her head and removing the clear glasses from her eyes, Professor Zia walked forward, closing the distance between us.


    Standing in front of her tall and imposing figure, I immediately rephrased my answer and said.


    "Ah, I just finished using the restroom and happened to meet Alya outside."


    Alya, behind me, also nodded, confirming our alibi.


    Sizing me up with her eyes, Professor Zia stared right into my eyes before saying.


    "If you''re in pain or danger, let me know. As your teacher, it''s my job to maintain your well-being both inside and outside the academy."


    "You don''t just howl in pain like a werewolf under a full moon because you need to use the restroom."


    Not waiting for a response, Professor Zia turned around and reentered her classroom, leaving Alya and me behind.


    Looking down at her shoes, Alya whispered.


    "I-i''m s-"


    Waving my hand, I interrupted her and said.


    "We said we''re all good, right?"


    Walking in front of me, Alya headed into the classroom, leaving me behind in the hallway.


    Leaning against the wall, I caught my breath for a second before switching bodies.


    Leaving my body alone in the hallway, my surroundings immediately shifted as I was once again perched on a tree branch, looking downwards through a window.


    Seeing Astrid still signing documents and writing down school-related things, I sighed.


    Was she even planning to do anything?


    Was I just wasting my time!?


    Switching back to my original body, I caught myself before falling to the floor and walking toward the classroom entrance.


    However, catching something out of the corner of my eye, I stopped and looked out one of the many windows.


    In a nearby set of bushes outside of the window, a dog stood, its white fur sparkling in the sun.


    However, just as I noticed the dog''s presence, it immediately fled, running and hiding behind a tree.


    Seeing the dog reminded me of something else...


    "...wait, did I feed my cat!?"


    Imaging my hungry black cat waiting alone in my dorm room, I sighed before opening the classroom door.


    Maybe there was a reason for all the pain and bad luck I was feeling today...


    Ignoring the gazes on me, I swiftly walked to the back of the classroom, fixing my seat, which was still on the floor, and sitting down.


    Turning to me in unison, the two boys.


    "You alright, Ren..?"


    "There''s no need to fake sick... just say you don''t w-"


    "I''m fine, alright? Just a bit of a stomach ache."


    Seeming to have a realization, Han said.


    "Is that why you didn''t want to talk about the cafeteria food...?"

 Chapter 186 - 186:Help [1]

    *RING~RING*


    As the bell rang once again, signifying the end of the school day, I exhaustedly got up before following Han and Jin to the exit.


    As the sliding door opened, the sound of countless students talking and walking in the hall immediately flooded my ears.


    Sighing, I recalled how silent the entire school had been earlier when exams were upon us.


    "...I missed when there were exams...at least, the school was quiet then."


    From in front of me, Jin immediately remarked.


    "Are you insane!? Do you not remember how hard we had to study just to barely pass in the end?"


    Shrugging my shoulders, I replied.


    "Who''s ''we?'' I did far better than barely pass."


    With a smirk, Jin pointed to a nearby chair before putting his hand on his stomach and saying.


    "Need I remind you of what just happened an hour ago?"


    "...alright, you win."


    -*-


    "I''ll do anything you say for a day if you get it correct... but if you lose, you have to try and piss off Liam for me."


    Confused but interested, Ruby turned to Ren before saying.


    "...that''s what you want?"


    Seeing Ren nod, Ruby turned around and ran towards Irene, who was alongside the rest of the main cast.


    "Where''d you go?"


    Meeting up with Irene, Ruby replied.


    "I wanted to get a headstart on the line... but after seeing the food, I''m fine." S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Chuckling at Ruby''s response, Irene curiously asked.


    "Is it really that bad?"


    As Ruby nodded her head, Kevin spoke up from behind the two of them.


    "Well, thank god, we have Lily and her amazing cooking skills!"


    Turning before they reached the cafeteria, Irene, Ruby, Lily, Kevin, Liam, and the limping Zach all stood in front of the seemingly useless door.


    Taking a key out of his pocket, Liam moved forward to unlock the door while Kevin spoke out in disbelief.


    "I still can''t believe the principal gave you, out of EVERYONE, a personal room to use."


    Not responding to Kevin''s words, Liam opened the door, revealing a large room that had countless couches, windows to the outside, some cooking devices, and even a couple of board games lying around.


    And hanging from the ceiling was a sign that read.


    [The Hero''s Hangout]


    All of them, having been to the room countless times to plan and hang out, moved their respective places.


    Ruby and Irene took their seats on a couch right in front of the windows while Lily moved to the center, where a couple of cabinets were.


    The three boys all took their seats on chairs before placing their backpacks on the table in front.


    As Lily took out a couple of snacks she had prepared earlier from the cabinet, Irene naturally walked over due to the smell.


    "What are those?"


    Warming up the snacks, Lily replied.


    "I call them Tanghulu. When I was young, I would always buy them from the street vend- I mean, my mother made them for me."


    Taking a stick, Lily carefully took some of the freshly picked grapes from the cabinet and put them through the stick.


    Putting the stick of grapes on a plate, Lily took a bowl filled with water before adding a couple of cups of sugar.


    Next, Lily elevated the bowl of sugar and water before casting a fire spell right below it.


    Watching the sugar crystalize, Lily started creating more sticks of fruits.


    Finally, as the bowl was at the right temperature, Lily picked up the stick of grapes and slowly placed it into the fire-hot bowl of sugar and water.


    After ensuring that the fruit was completely coated with sugar, Lily removed the stick and placed it into a bowl filled with water.


    Using an ice spell to ensure the bowl was cold enough, Lily hovered the stick of grapes over the bowl for about a minute.


    Then, Lily placed the finished stick of fruits onto the plate.


    After repeating the process ten times, Lily was left with a plate filled with countless sticks of fruit, ranging from strawberries to grapes to oranges.


    Under the sunlight, the sugar-coated sticks of fruit sparkled, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.


    The sweet aroma of the sugar-coated fruit sticks wafted through the room as Lily moved the plate to the table where the three boys sat.


    "It''s ready!"


    Ruby and Irene moved from the couch to the table, and after placing the plate, Lily also took a seat.


    As each of them reached for a stick of fruit, Liam put his hand forward and opened his smartwatch.


    A moment later, a three-dimensional replica of the school appeared on the table, projected from Liam''s smartwatch.


    Taking a bite from one of the grape sticks, Liam asked.


    "What''s the plan this ti-"


    However, before Liam could finish his sentence, Zach interrupted from beside him.


    "...aren''t we missing someone?"


    Shaking her head, Lily replied.


    "Alya needs some time... to cool down. Don''t worry, I''m checking up and watching her to make sure nothing bad happens."


    Seeing Zach calm down and not respond, Liam continued.


    "According to Lily, in a week''s time, the academy will be infiltrated during the winter fest."


    "From there, the djinns will aim to first create a barrier surrounding the entire school, stopping people from both leaving the school and coming inside."


    "That we will allow to happen."


    Completely distracted by the strawberry stick in front of her, Irene asked.


    "So, get to the point, What are we going to do?"


    Using her hands to zoom in on the courtyard area of the school, Lily answered.


    "First, the djinns will create an artificial drill using some device to cause a fire or another natural disaster."


    "As per protocol, all students will evacuate to the courtyard area, just where the djinns want them to be."


    "From there, the djinns will pop out of the ground, trees... anywhere possible, and try to cause as much chaos as possible."


    Finishing his stick of fruit, Kevin asked.


    "But, then, what''s their main goal? Just to kill and kidnap as many people as possible?"

 Chapter 187 - 187:Help [2]

    Shaking her head at Kevin''s question, Lily replied.


    "No, with all the heroes around because of the Knight Order recruitment sessions and the increased security, the djinns know that their chances of dealing any significant damage to the student population are zero."


    Ruby, eating a stick of bright-red strawberries that complimented her blood-red eyes, then asked,


    "Then, what is it they''re trying to do?"


    Moving out from the courtyard on the replica, Lily zoomed into the building where all administrators, including the principal, worked during the school day.


    "A vault."


    Even though Lily''s words would have seemed absurd to anyone else in the world, as she was just saying that there was a secret vault there, the members of the main cast did not blink an eye and instead continued to listen attentively.


    Continuing on, Lily further zoomed into the building before saying,


    "Their main goal is to draw everyone out to the courtyard. Then, a small group of them will sneak into the building, intending to rob the vault."


    As Liam removed the three-dimensional replica of the school from the table and closed his smartwatch, Kevin asked. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I get that what they''re doing is bad and all... but why are we interfering? It''s not like the last times when people were going to seriously die. Why don''t we just let them take it."


    Gazing around the room and seeing everyone either exhausted or somewhat injured, Lily had to admit that Kevin had a point.


    The state and health of the main condition were probably at an all-time low, so a break during the Christmas event could help heal that.


    However, despite all of that, Lily still replied.


    "In the short run, your point is correct. However, think about it in the long term. Imagine how much more powerful and hard to defeat the djinns would be if they got their hands on whatever is in that vault."


    As Kevin slowly nodded at Lily''s point, Liam questioned.


    "What exactly... is in that vault, Lily?"


    At Liam''s question, everyone''s curious gaze slowly shifted to Lily.


    What could be hidden in a vault that was so important that it was hidden under the administrator''s building?


    A building where the principal, one of the strongest heroes at the moment, and countless other strong individuals resided.


    Yet, when faced with the curious gazes, Lily remained silent, choosing to keep her mouth shut.


    Shrugging her shoulders, Lily hesitated for a moment before replying.


    "I don''t know... but it has to be important if it''s inside the administrator building.


    Standing up from the table, Liam said.


    "Alright, let''s all start thinking of a plan. Tomorrow, we can reconvene and all discuss the ideas we came up with before coming to a final decision on our plan."


    Following in Liam''s steps, the two girls got up from their chairs before heading to the same couch.


    As Irene sat down, putting her legs on the couch and fully relaxing, Ruby walked towards the window.


    Instead of a wall, there was just a very large window.


    Of course, this was a major talking point when the main cast first discovered Liam''s place.


    Who wants to plan and work where everyone can see them from the outside?


    After countless harsh words, everyone finally calmed down after Liam''s explanation.


    According to Liam, the window served as one-sided because the principal had embued it with illusion magic, making it a one-sided window.


    To the people outside looking in through the window from the outside, the room would seem like an empty classroom, but to the people inside the room, they could see everything outside.


    As Ruby approached the window, a dog with pure-white fur suddenly veered off the normal path and headed straight for the one-sided window.


    Lifting her head above the couch, Irene glanced out the window before asking.


    "Is it that dog again?"


    Nodding her head, Ruby tried to stay as composed as possible while she replied.


    "Yeah... it''s back again."


    Since there were hundreds of student-owned pets in the Celestial Academy, normally, a single dog would be unremarkable and unnoticeable.


    However, to the main cast, this dog seemed different.


    Despite the principal imbuing illusion magic into the window to make it one-sided, the dog seemed to be staring at them right through the window... as if it could actually see them.


    Of course, they all trusted and believed in the principal''s ability, so it was quickly dismissed by everyone.


    Making sure nobody was looking, Ruby walked straight in front of the window, placing her hand on the glass.


    At the same time, the white-furred dog raised its right paw to the window.


    As Ruby''s hand and the dog''s paw overlapped through the window, Ruby suddenly placed her hand on her head, almost falling to the ground.


    Like Ren, who gained the ability "Sky Flash" in his recent dream, Ruby had also earned some abilities in her time.


    However... Ruby hadn''t simply earned the ability through a dream.


    This skill was gifted to Ruby when she had first taken control of her squadron by the higher-ups of the Gemstone Order.


    "...you''ll forever be in my debt."


    Recalling the worlds that had been recited to her when she had received the skill book, Ruby shivered.


    Leaving the Gemstone Order wasn''t an easy thing for her...


    At first when Ruby had received the ability and spotted the rank of it, she had been ecstatic, practically thanking the gods.


    There were less than fifty of these skill books in the world, yet she, a lowly D-rank at the time, had managed to receive one!


    Screaming on the inside, Ruby had to pinch herself tens of times to ensure it was real life.


    However, as time passed, the joy slowly turned to confusion.


    How could she, a new member, have received such a rare skill?


    Other members who had been part of the order for countless years hadn''t received a single gift in all their time, yet she received a one-of-one skill book within her first week of joining.


    She had received the ability to split a soul...

 Chapter 188 - 188:Help [3]

    [[S] Soul Split] : Requiring a large amount of the mana, the skill allows the user to transfer part of their soul to ANY living thing in the world. With your soul in another living thing, you can take control of that thing and use it like a puppet, having full control over its memories and actions... S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, in order to imprint your soul on another being, your part of the soul must be stronger than theirs. If the part of your soul you send fails these conditions... that part of your soul will disappear forever.


    This action can be performed an infinite amount of times.]


    Looking down at the dog, which was lifelessly gazing at her, Ruby telepathically commanded.


    "Keep an eye on Ren."


    As the dog ran off and disappeared from the window, Ruby turned around and leaned against the one-sided window.


    Finally, the confusion that Ruby had after receiving the skill turned into fear.


    An unpayable debt.


    Upon seeing the skill''s rank, Ruby immediately activated it, causing the book to disintegrate and turn into her ability.


    That action could not be reversed.


    Ruby now owed an S-rank book... or infinite debt to someone she didn''t even know.


    At first, Ruby had only joined the ranks of the Gemstone Order in order to take revenge... and after that, she would live in peace, having the closure that the right people had died.


    However... that future now seemed impossible to Ruby.


    She felt trapped...


    What would happen if she left the Gemstone Order?


    Would she be pursued by the person who had given her the book, come after her, and keep her until the end of time?


    If someone could give her an S-rank skill book so easily... their power had to be unimaginable.


    She was simply a pawn, waiting to be moved and taken by the Gemstone Order.


    That''s why Ruby felt every second she spent was borrowed.


    Was her life even hers anymore?


    It was ironic...


    The skill she had been given gave her the ability to turn other people and living things into puppets... yet she felt more like a puppet herself after receiving it.


    Just because she had consumed the skill, she now owed a higher-up of the gemstone order a debt that she would not be able to pay off in her lifetime.


    If she could... Ruby would go back and throw away that skill book in an instant.


    It wasn''t even her life anymore.


    The looming fear that one day she would be suddenly called to the Gemstone Order headquarters and forced to follow the commands of whatever Elder was always there for the rest of her life was always there.


    Every day she spent felt amazing and fulfilling... just because she knew that this life could be taken away at any moment.


    Yet, that looming fear always stood tall, casting a dark cloud over her life.


    It felt like she was living on borrowed time.


    That was why Ruby''s desire to live was such a big flame... or at least, that was what Ruby thought as she couldn''t actually see her own desire.


    That was why Ruby was interested in Ren when she first saw the flame of his desire.


    Ruby felt like she saw herself in Ren... except unlike Ruby, Ren wasn''t locked down.


    He was free... without a single burden or fear on his back


    However, instead of envying and hating Ren for having what she didn''t, Ruby observed him from the background.


    Recalling his state after his fight with the teacher during the Attack on the Academy incident, Ruby could only smile.


    Without any care for credit or glory, Ren simply did what he wanted to do.


    Sometimes, he was evil, caring about money and magical artifacts, and sometimes he was good, saving countless lives.


    He did whatever was on his mind, no matter the dangers or consequences that came with it.


    Nothing seemed to matter to him... there were no shackles holding him back.


    Was that what it meant to be truly free?


    Ruby could not answer that question as she was not truly free... so she looked at Ren for the answer.


    Ren was a torch... an inspiration for Ruby in the world of darkness.


    She longed to live like him... but she didn''t know how to.


    Icarus from Greek mythology had flown close to the sun with the pair of wings that his father, Daedalus, had created, and as a result, he had died.


    Ruby, who had been consumed by her desire for revenge and to get stronger, had foolishly consumed a skill book without considering the consequences or implications.


    While Ruby had only lost her freedom instead of her life, she still considered it the same thing.


    How could one live without freedom?


    Was it truly living if you were simply a puppet forced to follow someone else''s orders?


    "...one day where Ren has to listen to all my orders."


    Could Ren teach her the true meaning of freedom during that day?


    Every time Ruby was with Ren, it felt like the shackles binding her to the Gemstone Order simply disintegrated and disappeared.


    It felt like... she was living her life, and that looming fear of being a puppet like her ability disappeared.


    One day of that was something that Ruby couldn''t imagine.


    A day of freedom, where she didn''t have to worry about being imprisoned by that Elder from the Gemstone Order and becoming a puppet.


    "I''m going to win that bet."


    At that moment, the dog with white fur suddenly sped up, running faster than even the students rushing to class behind it.


    As Ruby''s eyes sparkled a fiercer red than usual, Irene spoke up, interrupting Ruby''s thoughts.


    "Up for a board game? We have nothing better to do."


    Sitting down on the couch, Ruby was about to start playing when a sudden sound interrupted them.


    *RING~RING*


    As Irene knocked the board game off the coffee table in anger, Ruby picked up her backpack and headed to class.


    Ruby knew that her observing Ren wouldn''t do anything as it was clear he would put an artificial act.


    That''s why she sent her first puppet... the white dog!


    Pushing back her long-silky black hair, Ruby smiled before sliding and opening the classroom door.

 Chapter 189 - 189:Help [4]

    -*-


    Leaving Han and Jin and going my own separate way, I rushed over to my dorm room with my backpack almost falling off my back.


    Accustomed to the crowd of students in my way, I maneuvered my way through, occasionally hearing an "OW" or "WHO WAS THAT!?" as I passed by.


    Running up the stairs of my dorm building, I looked downward and took my keycard out of my pocket, not paying any attention to my surroundings.


    At this point, I had already memorized the path to my dorm room, so it wasn''t anything new.


    However, as I approached my dorm room and looked up, a familiar figure was resting with her back against my dorm door.\\


    With her long white hair resting against my doorknob, she simply stared downwards at her smartwatch as if she were pressed for time.


    Seeing her, I slowed my pace and quietly walked over to my dorm room.


    But, before I could even catch my breath and say anything, I spotted another familiar figure with blonde hair resting on the wall, facing my dorm door and Alya.


    Astrid was here, too?


    Didn''t I just see her in the student council room with my crow?


    Had she finished signing whatever documents and was now trying to recruit me again?


    Also, how did they both get here faster than me...?


    I thought I had created the optimal route!


    Catching both of their attentions, I asked as I approached.


    "...is there something I can do for you, student council president?"


    As for Alya, I already knew the reason so there was no need for me to inquire.


    Glancing between Alya and me momentarily with a confused expression, Astrid hesitated before replying.


    "By any chance, am I interrupting something?"


    Hm?


    Looking at her expression of confusion shift into a sly smile, I stopped in my tracks and stared at her once again.


    Where was the serious Astrid?


    Staring at her body for a moment, I confirmed that her movements and posture were aligned with the Astrid in my mind before sighing.


    "Don''t you have better things to do?" S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Shaking her head, Astrid replied.


    "I do... but that can wait."


    From the other side of Astrid, Alya stared curiously at Astrid and me but remained silent.


    After taking a moment to look around and examine her surroundings, Astrid leaned in before whispering to the two of us.


    "I think it''d be better if we discussed this somewhere... more private."


    Nodding my head, I gestured for Alya to move away from the door before grabbing my keycard.


    Opening my door for the two girls behind me, I watched as Alya hesitantly stepped foot in before regaining her composure.


    On the other hand, Astrid simply strode into the room as if it were already hers.


    Letting the door slam shut, I walked in and immediately went to the pantry.


    Letting the two girls get comfortable, I quietly took out a piece of steak before placing it on a pan.


    Holding the pan in the air, I manifested a single corrupted dagger before infusing it with the blood-red aura in my body.


    Placing the blood-red tip of the dagger to the bottom of the pan, I watched carefully as the steak began to cook.


    Cutting open part of the steak, I confirmed it was a perfect medium rare before de-manifesting my dagger and putting down the pain.


    Grabbing a pair of tongs, I picked up the cooked steak before placing it into the bowl on the floor.


    Ignoring the two girls in my room, the black cat, perhaps smelling the steak, jumped off the bed and slowly walked toward the bowl.


    Licking the steak for a moment, the black cat closed its eyes and silently stood still for a moment.


    Giving its approval, the cat reopened its eyes and began to chew on the steak that I had already cut into smaller pieces.


    Putting away the pan, I turned to the two girls lounging on a nearby couch and asked.


    "Again, Astrid what is it you need? Haven''t I already given you my answer?"


    Closing her light-red eyes for a moment, Astrid hesitated before replying.


    "Can''t I try again?"


    Recalling how she had swiftly left after hearing my answer earlier on, instead of trying to persuade me, I asked.


    "Why try now? Have you already run into an obstacle?"


    Alya, somewhat interested in the conversation, leaned back on the couch cushion before inquiring.


    "Why would the student council president need your help, Ren?"


    Before I could respond, Astrid looked at Alya and asked.


    "Are you by any chance interested in helping? You are a part of the student council, so think of it as part of your duties."


    Was she ordering or asking Alya to help?


    Staring at Astrid on the couch, I once again re-examined her sitting posture and hand movements, allowing them to overlap with the imaginary figure of Alya I had created using the details my eyes remembered.


    They were in sync.


    But then, why was she acting so odd?


    Maybe desperation leads to changes in behavior.


    Looking at Alya, I shrugged my shoulders and replied.


    "It''s your choice. Just a reminder, though... we have a limited amount of time."


    Turning around and looking at my happy cat, I glanced at the calendar.


    By the end of this week, Zach''s situation should be resolved as Kevin and Alya would be almost a necessity to the incident that would take place next week.


    Although I had no idea how to resolve Zach''s current scenario right now, that didn''t mean I didn''t have any leads or clues.


    One of those leads was actually sitting right in front of me.


    As I turned back around to face the two girls, Alya thought for a moment before replying.


    "I can help... later on. I can''t give you an exact time for now."


    Getting off the couch, Astrid clapped her hands before nodding her head and turning to me.


    "About what we talked about earlier... I think I have an idea, but it would require your help."

 Chapter 190 - 190:Help [5]

    Walking to the window of my dorm room, Astrid turned to face us before pointing at the large courtyard below.


    Since my dorm was facing the forest, you could see the large field used for student evacuations quite clearly as it was an area without any trees.


    Following Astrid''s finger, I saw countless students playing games, eating on a blanket, or taking their pets for a walk.


    ...this is literally a college campus, isn''t it?


    Looking up at Astrid, I asked.


    "So what''s your point?"


    Looking out the window, Astrid said.


    "It would be too obvious if the djinns went into the ballroom to attack students...that would be too expected."


    "Even the academy security should have sent enough heroes to fully block off all ballroom exits."


    "I mean, it''s obvious that with so many entrances into the ballroom, it would be the best place for the djinns to infiltrate."


    "A little too obvious..."


    "The djinns know that the principal and other powerful heroes will be guarding the ballroom, so they would be stupid to attack there."


    ?


    Didn''t she say back in the warehouse that the main reason she was worried about the wall was the amount of entrances into the ballroom?


    Was she just going back on her point completely?


    Ignoring her contradictions, I nodded my head, prompting her to continue with her theory.


    Gazing at the large courtyard in the distance, Astrid continued.


    "That''s why the djinns won''t attack in the ballroom. Instead... they''ll lure everyone out to the courtyard."


    "In such a big space like the courtyard, it''s not the quality of the heroes that matter... but that quantity."


    "If they''re only ten heroes and over a hundred djinns, there''s nothing the heroes can do, no matter how powerful they are."


    "They can''t just nuke everything or randomly attack, as then the students would be hit in the crossfire."


    "With so many djinns and so few heroes, the courtyard will essentially be a playground for the djinns where they can cause chaos with little to zero casualties."


    As Alya began listening intensively, seeming to understand what we were talking about and why the ballroom was involved, I grabbed a cup of water.


    Using the cup of water to cover my expression, I grimaced.


    This scenario was a bit familiar...wasn''t it?


    It was!


    It was the exact same plan that the djinns would use in the incident, which was a few days before the winter ball, to rob the vault.


    As Astrid stared at the two of us, waiting for our reactions, I further frowned.


    What were the odds that she came to the exact plan of the djinns? Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    I mean, how did she go from signing documents all day under the watchful eye of my crow to coming up with this insane theory?


    Had she been thinking of plans while signing the documents?


    What kind of multi-tasking!?


    Pretending to think about her idea, I placed a hand on my head and put down my cup of water.


    Looking downwards, I watched as the black cat finished his bowl of steak before scurrying across the floor and jumping onto my bed.


    Instead of sprawling down on my bed like usual, the black cat walked to the very edge before raising its paw and throwing it forward at another window, which was right by my bed.


    Looking out of the window and the clear blue sky, I recalled something.


    "...my crow!"


    If Astrid had done anything besides signing my documents, the crow would have seen it!


    Although I might have been in the body of the crow at the time, I could still transfer the memories of my crow to me.


    From there, I could go through the crow''s memories to discover how Astrid had come to this conclusion.


    Was it truly out of pure coincidence... or something deeper?


    Slowly nodding my head, I pretended to agree before asking.


    "I''m going to use the restroom; give me a minute. You can give the rundown to Alya meanwhile."


    Opening the bathroom door, I ensured that I was out of sight completely before leaning against the sink.


    Letting my consciousness drift, I accepted the weird feeling of my body, instantly feeling my surroundings shift.


    Closing my eyes, I wasn''t surprised when I found myself no longer in the bathroom but yet again perched on a tree branch, staring downwards.


    However, that emotion quickly transformed.


    Why was my crow still here?


    Didn''t I order it to follow Astrid, no matter what?


    Calming my mind, I looked downwards and almost fell off the branch upon seeing Astrid sitting on her desk, mindlessly signing documents.


    What...was going on?


    I had confirmed that she was Astrid with my eyes...yet with my crow''s eyes right now, I was seeing something else.


    There were two Astrids?


    "...no this one has to be the real one."


    If my crow was following this Astrid, then no matter what I saw, this one had to be the real one.


    But.. then, who was the Astrid currently in my dorm room...?


    How had she perfectly mimicked Astrid''s movements and behavior to a tee?


    Staying my crow''s body for seconds longer, I dived off the tree branch, catching myself as I approached the height of the window,


    Levitating by softly flapping my wings, I looked straight through the window, confirming that the Astrid was real, just in case.


    And her sitting posture, way of signing documents, and signature were all the exact same as the one imprinted on my mind.


    Keeping the crow on the "real" Astrid signing documents, I returned to my body, finding myself already on the floor.


    Rubbing my head, which had banged into the sink, I quickly picked myself from the floor.


    I had only expected to be in the crow''s body for a second or less to transfer memories, so I had just leaned against the sink, thinking I could catch myself.


    Anyway, there are more important matters to deal with right now.


    An intruder was now in my dorm room.

 Chapter 191 - 191:Intruder? [1]

    Leaning against the bathroom door with my ears touching the door, I tried to ascertain if the intruder had done anything in the time I had been in the bathroom.


    However, as I listened, it seemed that Alya and "Astrid" were conversation normally as "Astrid" attempted to explain the situation.


    From through the door, Alya''s voice spoke.


    "So you''re saying that djinns will attack during the winter ball... but there''s no guarantee as to how or where they''ll attack."


    "Yes... that''s why I need as much help as possible. If you could convince Ren...it would be a great help."


    "But... why Ren? Wouldn''t you much rather have the help of a top-ranked student like Liam or Kevin?"


    "You don''t have to protect to act oblivious; I know you''ve seen Ren fight as well."


    "I-i have no idea what you''re talking about."


    "Oh, come on, look at your clothes. There are clear black marks all over, no matter how much you try to help it." Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "..."


    "That''s obviously from that elemental slash attack he does."


    "..."


    "Anyway, it''s not like I don''t doubt Liam or Kevin''s power. I''ve seen that fight and work as part of the student council. They''re most likely on par with Ren''s power or maybe even stronger."


    Hearing the couch cushion crack through the door, I assumed that Alya was recalling the fight in the carriage at Astrid''s words.


    Once again, Astrid''s voice spoke despite Alya''s silence.


    "His planning skills and ability to come up with things on the fly, when needed, is what proves his worth to me."


    "y-yeah, I s-see why you choose Ren."


    Hearing another cushion crack, but from father away, I immediately stepped away from the day as I assumed Astrid stood up.


    Speaking a louder tone than earlier, Astrid''s voice sounded.


    "Is he alright in there...? I mean, you heard that crashing sound earlier, too, right?"


    Rushing away from the door, I hid in the shower, immediately closing the curtains and covering myself.


    This intruder had managed to deceive my eyes... the thing I prided myself most on as I used to believe... that my eyes could see everything.


    They were not someone I could take easily...a plan needed to be made.


    As I manifested two pairs of corrupted daggers, Astrid knocked on the door before saying.


    "Is everything good in there?"


    Internally facepalming in the shower, behind the curtains, I readied my two daggers.


    How could I have not noticed this wasn''t the real Astrid?


    Would the real Astrid, the famed student council president known for her serious persona, really check up on someone in the bathroom...?


    I had relied on my eyes too much...just like I had earlier been dependent on the plot of the book.


    Just because their movements were the same, I had assumed that she was Astrid, despite all the bits of abnormal dialogue I had noticed from her.


    I had made the same mistake twice.


    Clearing away my worries, I stayed silent for a moment before screaming in an awkward tone.


    "uhh... I need some help in here!"


    Where was the optimal place to fight?


    A big and open room where Astrid, who had the power to cast plant and tree spells, could abuse the hell out of it.


    ...or a small room where spells would be essentially useless.


    Calming my emotions, I inwardly muttered as silence descended upon the room inside and outside.


    "It has to be done... no matter my pride."


    After a couple of moments of silence, Astrid finally responded from behind the bathroom door.


    "what...what exactly do you mean!?"


    Trying to keep my tone as calm as possible and devoid of any sarcasm, I seriously replied.


    "It''s exactly what I said. There''s a bit of a... problem in here."


    "..."


    "..."


    As silence once again descended upon the room, I began to make preparations, playing the physical corruption in my hands.


    Manifesting a makeshift arrow trap, I carefully positioned it right above the door before also making a lever.


    Connecting the two together, I stared at the system, which, as soon as the door opened, would send arrows flying downwards at the person entering.


    Finally, Astrid responded.


    "and... what exactly do you want me to do about it...?"


    Staying silent, I pulled out my smartwatch before... immediately realizing that I didn''t have Alya''s number saved anywhere.


    Finding Ruby''s contact, I rapidly messaged.


    [Ren: I need Alya''s #, asap.]


    [Ruby: ***]


    [Ruby: I sent it, but why? Aren''t you at odds with everyone, basically?]


    Reminding myself to check for her reply later, I copied and pasted Alya''s number into my messaging app before opening up a group chat with her.


    [Ren: This is Ren... there is a problem.]


    [Alya: ...I know, I''m right outside the bathroom too. Can you just finish and come out so we can discuss it? This is getting ridiculous.]


    [Ren: I''M BEING SERIOUS]


    [Alya: All right... then.]


    [Ren: I''m going to make Astrid come into the bathroom, then I need you to shut the door right behind her.]


    [Alya: ...you know, those rumors weren''t too far off. What you''re asking me to do is quite literally... yeah.]


    Shaking my head, I quickly typed another response.


    [Ren: That''s not really Astrid... it''s someone disguised as her. I need you to trust me, just this once. If you don''t, we could be in serious trouble.]


    [Alya: Alright... but I would never have been involved if something happened.]


    [Ren: When she opens the bathroom door, close it behind her.]


    Closing my smartwatch, I picked up my two daggers before replying to Astrid.


    "...can you come in; there''s a problem with the sink, I''m trying to figure out."


    Hearing someone practically collapse behind the door, I immediately continued.


    "I am fully clothed; there is nothing sexual about this."


    Maybe should have said that first, huh?


    From the shower and behind the curtains, I manifested a stick of corruption before making it long enough to reach the doorknob.


    After another bit of silence, "Astrid''s" voice finally sounded again.


    "If you say so... but I swear to god if this is some ploy."

 Chapter 192 - 192:Intruder? [2]

    Pretending to sound hurt, I replied.


    "Do you really not trust me after everything?"


    "...alright, open the door."


    Keeping my two daggers ready, I slowly inched the corrupted stick forward, placing it right under the door knob.


    Waiting a moment, I slowly lifted up the corrupted stick while simultaneously moving farther back into the shower.


    With the glass of the shower against my back, I completely lifted up the stick, causing the doorknob to lift as well.


    Trying to give Alya more than enough time to react, I slowly inched up the door with the stick while holding my corrupted daggers in the other hand.


    As the door opened fully, I waited in anticipation, watching Astrid slowly take her first step into the room.


    At the same time, in a forest far away, my pitch-black crow began frantically flying at the window.


    Attempting to catch the attention of the real Astrid, who was currently signing documents, the crow frantically threw its beak at the window as hard as possible.


    After a couple of seconds, the sounds finally reached Astrid''s ears, prompting her to stare up from her papers and at the out-of-place crow banging on her window.


    As Astrid walked up the window, the pitch-black crow stopped banging its beak on the window before moving to the right.


    Like an artist using a paintbrush, the crow precisely used its paintbrush, or beak in this case, to trace the words "Ren" on the window.


    Unfortunately, Astrid didn''t understand the crow the first time, still looking confused, but as the crow began to trace ''Ren" once again, the real Astrid seemed to have an epiphany.


    Seeing Astrid dash out of the student council room, the crow moved from the window, flying in the direction of my dorm building.


    Back in the bathroom, I watched as "Astrid" fully entered the bathroom, staring at the sink and mirror on the opposite side of the shower where I was located.


    *BANG*


    As the bathroom door slammed shut, "Astrid" immediately twisted her head, staring at the closed door.


    "...where are you, Ren?"


    As Astrid shifted her gaze upward, looking around the room for me cluelessly, I further tugged at the corrupted stick, which she hadn''t noticed due to it blending in with the black walls of the bathroom.


    Then, before she could react, the arrow trap I had prepared earlier triggered, sending countless corrupted arrows I had made down at her.


    As the arrow flung down at the oblivious "Astrid," I gripped my two daggers, letting the corrupted stick fall to the ground and disintegrate.


    Flinging away the shower curtains and revealing myself, I immediately boosted off the wall, with the tip of my daggers pointing straight.


    *BANG*


    While I flew through the air at "Astrid," I could hear another bang sound from outside, signifying Astrid''s arrival.


    Thinking that Alya would explain the situation and what I had told her, I slashed my daggers at the helpless "Astrid."


    However, stopping me just as my daggers were about to hit Astrid, the arrows from the roof each arrived at "Astrid" as well.


    That wasn''t what caused me to stop, though...


    From behind the door, the sound of the real Astrid screaming out echoed.


    "W-wait! Stop... it''s me! Just¡ªplease, it''s me!"


    With my daggers a centimeter away from hitting "Astrid," I stopped upon hearing the real Astrid''s screams outside the door.


    ..?


    Were they both fake... why was she stopping me?


    In front of me, the fake Astrid simply stood still, only getting hit by one corrupted arrow while easily catching the others mid-air. S§×arch* The ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Staring at me and my daggers, the fake Astrid simply smirked before sarcastically raising her hands and saying.


    "Nooo, please don''t hurt me! I''m so scared!"


    "...?"


    At that moment, the bathroom door also swung open revealing the real Astrid and Alya, who were waiting right outside.


    Swapping my gazes between the Astrid in front of me with her hands up and the Astrid outside of the door staring at me, I felt a headache coming on.


    "i-i don''t even care anymore...just what the hell is going on...?"


    -*-


    Leaning back on the couch, I alternated my gazes between the two Astrids once again, who were sitting side by side, before asking.


    "So... you''re telling me you can clone yourself!?"


    While the Astrid I had previously thought to be fake stared out the window with a smirk, the real Astrid shook her head before once again explaining.


    "It''s kind of like cloning...I can replicate myself, but each time I do that, I have to give an emotion to that clone."


    Pointing to the fake Astrid with a sly grin, the real Astrid continued.


    "So... she has my... sly and clever side because I didn''t think I would need them."


    Recounting how the real Astrid had just been signing documents for almost three days straight, I began to understand.


    That''s how she had signed and read all those school documents without being bored...


    Continuing, Astrid grabbed the should of the clever and sly Astrid, a clone, before pointing at the hole my one arrow had made.


    "As you can see, we still share the same soul essentially. If she gets hurt, then I also get hurt; if she dies, I also die."


    Nodding my head, I tried to recount if Astrid had any abilities like this in the main story, but nothing came to my mind.


    All she was in the book was some Earth and Plant mage renowned for her power and brains.


    Deciding not to ask about the origins of her power as I doubted she would answer anyway, I sighed before asking.


    "Would it have been too hard for you to just tell me this earlier?"


    My nerves were still shaken... and worst of all, I was beginning to lose trust in my prized possession, my eyes!


    At my words, the clever and sly Astrid gazed at me before chuckling and saying.


    "And what fun would that be?"


    Ignoring the clever and sly Astrid, I looked at the real one before asking.


    "So, she doesn''t just blindly follow your orders, huh?"

 Chapter 193 - 193:Intruder? [3]

    After nodding her head and staring angrily at the clever and sly Astrid for a moment, the real Astrid turned before saying.


    "You can call her Astra when I''m around, so there''s no confusion."


    As I looked around the room, I remembered that Alya was also in the room with us as she had been staying silent the entire time.


    Glancing between Astra and Astrid, I asked.


    "So...again, why... exactly are you two here?"


    Keeping silent, Astrid glared at her clone before sighing and replying.


    "I never told Astra to come to you for help...so I don''t have a clue either."


    As the room descended into silence, Astra finally turned around from the window, staring at Alya and me for a moment.


    Shrugging her shoulders, Astra replied.


    "What? We weren''t getting far by ourselves, so some reinforcements could help!"


    Not giving me any time to respond, Astrid immediately replied.


    "Well, you''ve heard his answer; it''s time to go."


    ?


    When did I answer again!?


    I was going to say no if they asked anyway... but why was Astrid putting words in my mouth?


    As I opened my mouth to respond, Astra, who was by the window again, chuckled before saying.


    "Reverse Phycology? Good one, Astrid!"


    "...we''re going."


    As Astrid and Astra left the dorm room, I sighed before finally turning to Alya, who had not spoken a single word.


    "Let''s just forget about that... and focus on helping Zach."


    Nodding her head, Alya hesitated before replying.


    "Earlier...you said you had a way to help him?"


    Getting up from the couch, I walked to the windowsill, where my cat was resting under the sun, before abruptly picking him up and placing him in my arms.


    Zach''s condition had been caused by a spirit... so, therefore, the way to remedy and cure his condition would also be a spirit.


    Sitting on the couch with the cast resting in my arms, I said.


    "I think... at least, that I have spirit of my own."


    A normal animal couldn''t travel back in time, and it wasn''t unheard of for spirits to have a form in both the astral and physical world, so logically, it was possible that my cat was a spirit.


    In fact, we have already seen an example.


    Although in a weaker state, the spirit in the dream that had passed Zach had manged to influence the physical world by leaving green particles for us to follow.


    And the contract?


    When I took the cat from my younger sister, Audrey, it could have technically been a way for me to form a contract.


    The cat had agreed by stepping into my arms and leaving Audrey, and I had agreed by accepting the cat from my younger sister.


    Also, what happened to my younger sister?


    After seeing her, the coliseum exploded, and I had traveled back in time, so technically, I had never even met her.


    Yet, the cat sitting on my lap right now was proof that I had.


    ...I can worry about that later.


    As Alya slowly got up from her chair, curiously staring at my cat, she hesitantly asked.


    "Are you sure? To me... it seems like a normal animal."


    Shaking my head, I honestly replied.


    "I''m not too sure, but it''s the only lead we have. I don''t see any spirits around with you."


    "That''s because they''re in the Astral R-"


    "Exactly."


    Kneeling on the ground in front of me, Alya carefully examined the cat before placing her hand on it and petting it.


    As Alya''s hand swiped across the silky, black fur of the cat, it let out a soft meow before stretching out its back as if asking for more.


    "...oh, when I pet you, you ignore me, but when she does, it''s different. I see how it is..."


    Looking up from the cat and at me, while still petting, Alya asked.


    "What was that?"


    Glaring at the cat, who was still stretching its mask and basking in pleasure, I replied.


    "nothing too important."


    Nodding her head, Alya got up from the ground and sat beside me on the couch before asking.


    "And... what now?"


    As the cat jumped off my lap and ran back towards my bed, I replied.


    "Well, first, I need you to bring Zach here... then we can talk about the next steps and see if my method works."


    Nodding her head hesitantly, Alya pulled out her smartwatch and started typing while I got up from the couch.


    Since Zach had been possessed in a dream, he wasn''t actually hurt or damaged internally.


    It was more of a psychological problem like depression, anxiety, or any syndrome that could have arisen from dangerous circumstances.


    To solve it?


    I was no therapist or anything near that, as I could admit that I was quite insane myself, but I knew of exposure therapy!


    Staring at my cat, which was lying restlessly on my bed, I sighed.


    "the hard part is getting him to agree."


    Normally, you could communicate with spirits, yet this cat had just been meowing at me for three months straight without saying a single legible word!


    As I sat down on the bed next to the cat, Alya said.


    "He said he''ll be here in a few minutes."


    "That fast?"


    "I kind of overexaggerated my condition a bit..."


    As I attempted to negotiate with my black cat, dangling a piece of steak in front of it, the door suddenly shook.


    Glancing at me with confusion, Alya got from the couch and walked to the door to let Zach in.


    As I continued "negotiating" with the black cat, who was just lying down on his back and ignoring me, the door burst open.


    Before I could even turn around and respond, Zach''s footsteps rapidly advanced through my hallway.


    Then, just as I turned around, Zach dashed towards me while screaming.


    "THIS IS TOO FAR, REN!"


    "..."


    Stepping to the side to dodge Zach, I watched as he jumped and promptly landed on the bed beside my cat.


    Not saying a word, I simply stared at Alya with a deadpan expression.


    sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 194 - 194: Intruder? [4]

    "Was that really the best way to do it..?"


    Turning around to avoid my piercing gaze, Alya shrugged her shoulders before replying.


    "It was the fastest way..."


    Shaking my head, I turned to Zach, who was slowly lifting himself from the bed and asked.


    "What exactly were you t-...on second thought, I''m alright." S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "..?"


    Glancing between Alya, the completely clean room, and I, Zach pondered for a moment before asking.


    "Wait... I th-"


    However, before Zach could finish his sentence, Alya interrupted.


    "You thought wrong."


    Continuing, Alya assumed a deadly serious tone before pointing at me and saying.


    "We think we might have a way to help you.."


    As soon as those words came out from Alya''s mouth, Zach''s amber-brown eyes seemed to light up with hope.


    Yet, a second later, that fire in Zach''s eyes disappeared as he shook his head and replied.


    "I really do appreciate you two trying to help me...but after everything, I''m not too sure I have any hope left."


    Zach must have gone through countless attempts by the main cast to restore himself back to his main conditions, each resulting in failure.


    Imagine having your hope extinguished over and over again... until finally, there''s no more left.


    The worst part?


    Zach couldn''t even show any emotions like defeat or exhaustion.


    The main cast all felt partially responsible for what happened to Zach as they had all failed to notice Zach''s possession by the spirit.


    The guilt they were all feeling, especially Alya, was already immense.


    The only way to alleviate that guilt?


    Zach had to pretend to be fine... every second of the day, concealing his true pain.


    If Zach showed the least bit of sadness, the burden on the main cast would increase tenfold, and Zach knew that.


    That''s why he simply put on a mask of false-happiness, hoping to alleviate the worries of the main cast.


    Even in his current terrible conditions... he was still thinking about the emotions of others.


    A true team player... that was Zach from beginning to start.


    Picking up the cat and placing it on my lap, I replied.


    "I can''t guarantee it''ll work, but it''s at least worth a shot."


    Tired and exhausted, Zach laid down on my bed, staring at the ceiling, before asking.


    "Alright, what do I need to do this time?"


    Lifting the cat from my lap, I placed it right in front of my head, making it look directly into my eyes.


    Holding the cat right in front of me with its whole body dangling in the air, I sighed.


    "Now... how do I make it break its contract with me?"


    As Zach and Alya stared at me in confusion and unease, I tried inwardly... and outwardly commanding the cat to break the contract.


    And, as anyone could tell, nothing happened.


    After around a minute of me making eye contact with the cat non-stop in pure and awkward silence, the cat seemed to finally get sick of it.


    Squirming between my hands, the cat dropped from my hands downwards, landing leg-first on the bed.


    The next second, the cat elegantly walked over to Zach before jumping on his lap.


    ...what the hell is going on?


    Looking around the room, I saw Alya and Zach looking at the cat with expressions of anticipation and excitement.


    ...did those idiots really think this was part of the plan!?!?!?


    Waiting a moment and staring as my black cat settled down in Zach''s lap under his gaze of expectation, I got up from the bed.


    This plan... most definitely had not worked.


    To be honest, I honestly had no idea what I was expecting.


    But could you blame me?


    That cat had traveled back in time with me!


    Purifying someone''s soul and solving their internal issues were nothing compared to that!


    "...purifying?"


    There were purification magic rituals, but they wouldn''t be developed till much later.


    The main use of them was to purify djinns, reverting them back to humanity, alongside curing disease.


    Of course, such a ritual was very complicated.


    And I wasn''t some brainiac or something with photographic memory, so there was no I would be able to find it and use it.


    It was probably somewhere in my memory as it was one of the few illustrations that the author had released alongside the book, but finding it would be impossible.


    Sure, I could draw out its main symbol that was present, but making all the lines at exact distances and other smaller details was not a realistic option.


    If only I had the Dragon''s eyes back in the real world.


    Well, I probably wouldn''t have died in the first place if I had the ability to perceive everything and slow time though...


    With the incident fast approaching, which would need the main cast at max morale alongside Zach in his best condition, waiting over a year for the ritual to be invented wasn''t an option.


    Leaning against a nearby chair, I watched Alya and Zach''s expressions dry up as the cat simply lay down in Zach''s lap, not doing anything beneficial or useful.


    A moment later, the cat jumped off Zach''s lap before slowly walking towards me.


    "Oh? Are you finally deciding to listen to me?


    Alya, from the chair next to me, asked, breaking the silence


    "...is it talking to your cat normal for you?"


    "..? Is this now the time?"


    As the cat approached me, Zach sat up on the bed before leaning against the windowsill and staring outside.


    Ignoring Alya''s gaze, I leaned down to the level of the cat before making eye contact with it once again.


    Ignoring my gaze, the cat simply continued walking until it was eventually right in front of me.


    Standing in front of me, the black cat let out a soft meow before stretching out its back, exposing it fully to me.


    From beside me, Alya asked.


    "I think... it wants to be pet."


    Raising my hand, I moved it along the cat''s back, feeling its soft fur brush against my fingertips.

 Chapter 195 - 195:Intruder? [5]

    Then, just as my hand reached its head, the cat suddenly moved, forcing my hand off it.


    Ignoring my and Alya''s gaze once again, the cat abruptly turned around before making its way back toward the bed.


    Did it do something?


    It had never asked me to be petted before, had it?


    Why now?


    "well...it can''t hurt to watch for now."


    Leaning against the kitchen counter, I intently watched as the cat jumped onto the bed before making its way to Zach''s head.


    Standing right beside Zach''s hand, the cat threw its paw at his head as if petting him.


    Nudging my shoulder from the right, Alya questioned.


    "Is this part of the plan?"


    Keeping my gaze on the black cat, I replied.


    "Who knows at this point?"


    Shaking her head, Alya curtly replied.


    "I know you said that doing anything is worth a shot earlier... but I think I''m starting to disagree."


    Watching as the cat continued throwing its paw around, hitting all the space around Zach''s head, I answered.


    "You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don''t take!"


    "...looks like your cat is taking the shots, not you, though."


    While the cat circled Zach''s head, throwing its paw in various directions and locations, Zach simply closed his eyes.


    I couldn''t even blame him.


    This was probably the most unserious situation I had ever seen.


    We had gone from trying to cure Zach''s serious issue with his soul to just watching a black cat walk around on a bed like it was some sort of special museum exhibit.


    Well... that was how it looked in their eyes, at least.


    Through my eyes, which were far superior due to my Dragon''s Eye, I could see a cat with the power to travel back in time with me walking around Zach''s head while throwing its paw around!


    Finally, after what seemed like an eternity due to the awkward silence, the cat stopped right in front of Zach''s head.


    Letting out a soft meow, the cat threw its paw forward.


    However, this time, the paw actually hit Zach''s face.


    As the cat''s paw landed on the dead center of Zach''s face, his eyes suddenly flickered open in confusion and pain. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Paying no attention to Zach, the cat simply repeated this motion once more in front of the shell-shocked Zach.


    From my side, Alya also seemed befuddled as she replied awestruckly.


    "Is he... getting ordered around by a cat?"


    "It''s not ''a'' cat. It''s MY cat!"


    "...and what is the difference?"


    Smiling and bringing my hands together in preparation for applause, I replied.


    "You''ll see!"


    Either my cat was really obsessed with Zach''s head and face... or the black cat was actually doing something.


    As if confirming my suspicions, all the lights in the dorm room turned off, plunging our surroundings into darkness.


    Paying no mind to the sudden descent of darkness, I peered through with my eyes, seeing the cat, now standing right over Zach''s head.


    A second later, a bright light suddenly emerged from my right side as Alya used a simple and basic fire spell, also known as a torch.


    However, the torch only illuminated the area around us, not managing to fight its way through the darkness of the room.


    Even the windows, that had previously displayed the bright rays of the sun, were covered by the darkness.


    Thus, the entire room was left in the darkness, besides the small area around Alya and I.


    Extending her hand and holding her torch out further into the dorm room, Alya asked.


    "Can you see anything?"


    Watching as the cat slowly shifted its gaze away from Zach and upward at the roof, I replied.


    "I can see everything."


    As Alya made her way through the pure-dark dorm room with her torch lighting up her way as she walked forward, I remained still.


    "...should I tell her that she''s walking towards the kitchen and not the bed?"


    Looking away from Alya and the cat, I specially examined Zach, looking for any facial expression changes.


    Yet... there was nothing.


    It was as if he were frozen in time.


    His eyelids, mouth, and the rest of his body did not budge a single bit.


    Normally, Zach would have been terrified or curious from seeing the lights suddenly turn off, yet here, he remained still, like a stone statue.


    Slowly looking upward from Zach, I met eyes with the black cat, our blood-red eyes looking right at each other despite the darkness of the room.


    "...is it waiting for my confirmation?"


    Nodding my head, the cat broke away from our eye contact, staring at the ceiling above us.


    The next moment, the entire room, previously shrouded in an impenetrable darkness, seemed to light up.


    Hanging from the roof of my dorm room, a familiar symbol lay, hovering right above the position of Zach''s face and the cat.


    "That cat... really is something else, isn''t it?"


    The symbol lying on the roof was familiar to me... because I had just spent the last twenty minutes trying to recall its illustration from the book.


    On the roof above Zach''s face lay a gigantic circle, and in that circle was a human sitting in a chair with her elbow resting on his knee.


    With his hand pressed up against his face, the figure inside the circle seemed to be pondering something.


    The Thinker... or the main symbol of the purification symbol.


    Did it read my memories...?


    Alya, now able to see the bed in the distance due to the glowing red symbol on the roof, dropped her torch on the ground in shock.


    "w-what is that!?"


    Recalling my short-lived minutes as a sculpture in the loop when I had recreated myself using corruption, I smiled and replied.


    "A sculpture."


    Too shocked to be confused at my words, Alya simply watched as the symbol slowly descended from the roof, getting closer to Zach''s face with nearing second.


    Finally, as the symbol met Zach''s face, a bright light appeared, blinding everyone in the room.

 Chapter 196 - 196:Intruder? [6]

    As I opened my eyes, the room was back to its normal state as the lights were on, and the bright sun was once again shining through the windows.


    It all seemed... like a dream or something artificial.


    Yet, as I stared at the proof, lying on the bed beside Zach''s motionless body, I couldn''t deny what had just happened.


    "you know what... Raven can take a pay cut for a bit. I''m sure he''ll be happy if he knows it''s going to the good cause of feeding my cat premium beef every day!"


    Alya, opening her eyes a second later than me, surveyed our surroundings before immediately rushing to the bed where Zach lay.


    Using my skill, dash, I arrived at the bed earlier than her, immediately and carefully lifting up my cat.


    As the cat crawled into my arms, with its eyes still closed, Zach''s eyes finally flickered open.


    Leaving Zach behind, I carefully placed the cat into the bed I had bought before turning around.


    On the bed, Alya was helping Zach get up from the bed, already bombarding him with questions.


    "Do you feel any better, Zach?"


    Rubbing his eyes, Zach stared down at his hands and body for a moment before confusedly saying.


    "I-i can''t see any change... but I don''t know how to describe it. It feels like I''ve gotten better."


    Walking up in front of Zach, I curiously asked.


    "What do you remember from the last minute?"


    Scratching his head, Zach quickly replied.


    "I remember the pain of being hit in the face by a paw... but from there, it''s all jungled up. I went from being in this dorm room... to being back in the academy to being back in my old... house."


    Indeed, the purification ritual sent its user into their soul, so what Zach was seeing were probably his most important and cherished memories.


    Could I see her again in my soul if I got purified...?


    "No... it''d be no use. That wouldn''t be my mother... just one created by my memories."


    A smile appeared on Zach''s previous emotionless face, and Alya reciprocated his happiness before helping him off the bed.


    Walking around the room, Zach''s smile only grew as he seemed to realize that it wasn''t just an illusion... his incurable conditions had been cured... or not yet.


    Seeing the two smile so brightly, I turned to Zach and said.


    "This isn''t the end of it. The ritual takes three days to complete... so you''ll have to come here every day for three days at this time."


    "If you don''t do this, you''ll be reverted to your original states... and then, you''ll truly be in trouble."


    Nodding his head, Zach quickly checked the time using my clock on the wall before taking out his smartwatch.


    Getting off the bed, Alya slowly approached me with a grateful expression.


    "I-i didn''t think it would work this fast... we just discussed today at lunch."


    Shaking my head, I replied.


    "Take it as a lesson. Nothing will come if you just wallow in self-pity and give up instead of doing something about your circumstances."


    Wiping a small drop of water that seemed to be sweat from her face, Alya chuckled.


    "And, you''re some kind of inspirational speaker now? But... I am truly grateful. If you do need anything EVER in the future, please do contact me."


    Nodding my head, I also let a smile creep onto my face as Alya led the recovered Zach out of my dorm room... or at least tried to.


    "THANK YOU, REN!"


    "I''M SORRY FOR EVER THINKING ANYTHING BAD AB-"


    "YOU''RE AMAZING!"


    Zach, refusing to leave, bombarded me with grateful words as Alya attempted to drag him out. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Then, just as Alya got distracted while opening the door, Zach rushed out of her control, sprinting towards me.


    With a wide smile, Zach opened his two arms widely while approaching me.


    Then, with full force, making it feel like a bear hug, Zach wrapped his hands around me.


    Slowly pushing him away, I simply replied.


    "It was the least I could do."


    After a minute of Zach attempting to hug me and thank me, Alya finally managed to get him to leave.


    "Guess... it''s just me and you again."


    Turning to my cat, who was fast asleep on the bed I had bought him, I smiled for a moment.


    Although I didn''t like to rely on the cat due to its mysterious nature... whenever I did rely on it, the outcome was always successful.


    Walking to the kitchen, I opened the cabinet before digging deep inside and finding a premium steak that I had been saving for a special occasion.


    Boiling up the pan with a basic fire spell, cooking the steak to perfection, I looked out the window, admiring the clear-blue sky one last time.


    *BZZT*


    Putting down the pan and plating the steak, I took out my smartwatch as a sudden vibration shocked me.


    [Ruby: You''re a hero; final answer.]


    Maybe I am?


    Maybe I''m not?


    In the end, does it really matter as long as I''m doing what I want to?


    Washing my hands, I promptly replied.


    [Ren: You do know, I would have taken either answer, right?]


    [Ruby: ...what does that mean?]


    [Ren: We both do what we said or in other words, even if you got it correct, you have to mess with Liam for me.]


    [Ruby: That doesn''t seem fair.]


    [Ren: Seems fair to me!]


    [Ruby: I''ll remember this when it''s the day I get to command you around.]


    Smiling, I put down my smartwatch before walking over to my bed and sitting down.


    Earlier, I had planned to watch over the upcoming incident to ensure the main cast was all right... yet Astrid had already beaten me to it.


    Without even knowing it, Astrid had discovered the cause of the breach...not for the ballroom but the Winter Wonderland incident.


    All the work that I had put off and had been worried about for the past week... had just disappeared.


    "hah... who am I kidding? Something''s bound to go wrong."

 Chapter 197 - 197:Emergence [1]

    With Astrid aware of the possibility that the criminals could bring everyone to the courtyard and attack from there, precautions would already be taken.


    Knowing Astrid... or the not-cloned one, she would already be using her connections to gather people in the courtyard.


    And if that didn''t work out, she would it herself, setting countless traps and escape routes in the courtyard in case anything happened.


    With nothing to do anymore... I could actually help out with that.


    Within around three days, and definitely before the Christmas Wonderland incident, the entire courtyard would be rigged with traps and have countless escape routes.


    There was also the chance that Alya coordinated with Astrid to make their planning more efficient.


    While Astrid took care of evacuating and helping the students, the main cast would protect the vault under the faculty building.


    "...the vault, huh?"


    What was in it?


    Although I was curious and most certainly interested in what vault could be worthy of protection by the school principal, someone among the top ranks of heroes, the process would be lengthy.


    Of course, I didn''t have access to the vault as there would be keys required; however, in the book''s plot, it was said that the djinns attacking somehow had obtained a way to bypass these security measures.


    That would mean I have to trick both the main cast and the attacking djinns into getting the key and then somehow arriving at the vault.


    The process was lengthy and would be difficult... but the real question was.


    Was it worth it?


    Well, there was also another solution.


    Shaking my head, I watched from the window as Astrid walked towards the courtyard.


    "...wait, is that her clone, or is it actually her?"


    Sitting down on the couch and leaning backward, I dreamed of the treasures that could be in that vault.


    Looking around my room... I had nothing.


    Every item and weapon I had used was made out of corruption.


    I quite literally had no "real" magic artifacts or weapons in my possession.


    There were the flimsy mana rings on my finger that had been useful to me earlier, but now, with the number of abilities I had that required mana, they didn''t help that much.


    My mana rings were rare and uncommon artifacts that simply boosted my mana capacity as a passive.


    Not to badmouth corruption as it was definitely powerful and more than strong enough... but unlike magical weapons, corruption didn''t come with any abilities.


    For example, Liam''s sword, which was a divine artifact he had obtained before reaching school, as described in the prologue of the book, had countless powers.


    Nullify magic spells, create natural disasters like hurricanes, and like my corruption, his weapon was soul-bound, or he could summon it at any time.


    Of course, not every magical artifact had these overpowered abilities, as Liam had the highest rarity artifact, which was divine.


    I mean, even Zach''s axe, an Epic artifact, had a passive ability that allowed him to gain 0.5 stats of strength temporarily every time his axe successfully hit an opponent.


    And Kevin''s sword has the fearsome ability to quite literally make someone weaker.


    Every time Kevin landed a sword slash, the opponent''s sub-states and rating would drop until, finally, they were a flimsy E-rank.


    This means that, given enough time, Kevin could turn an A-rank hero into an E-rank by just using his magical artifact.


    Though his artifact was classified as Mythic, a rank below divine, his sword artifact was still powerful given enough time.


    Even Lily, Ruby, and Irene, the non-weapon users, had countless magic accessories that slowed the time it took time to cast.


    Their wands were all at least epic artifacts, with Lily having a Mythic Artifact that allowed her to store spells and instantly use them at later times, matching perfectly with the trait that allowed her to replicate spells.


    And here I was... with some low common, uncommon, and rare mana artifacts that were barely of use to me.


    Making up my mind, I instantly stood up from the couch with newfound motivation.


    I was going to commit.. a robbery!


    However, this was like robbing Fort Knox, the U.S.A. reserve that holds over 274 billion dollars in gold bricks, or Area 51, the military base famed for its security and obscurity.


    Allowing the criminals to break in would be impossible as the main cast would surely put a stop to them before I could get anything.


    So, what if the vault had already been opened before the djinns even arrived?


    Looking at my hands, I reconsidered my decision for a moment before taking out my smartphone.


    [Ren: you know... I think the principal could be of help.]


    [Astrid: And, what do you mean by that?]


    [Ren: You are the student council president... she would be inclined to help and believe you if you explained the circumstances.]


    If the main cast, school principal, and Astrid came into contact to stop the Christmas Wonderland incident from happening... this robbery might just be possible, even if it''s a less than one percent chance.


    Stretching out my hands, I reluctantly got up from my bed before heading down the building stairs and outside.


    In a few minutes, a very familiar building popped up.


    The Training Hall...


    It''s been a while... hasn''t it?


    Opening the doors of the hall, I was immediately surrounded by the sounds of countless students panting and breathing heavily while attempting to stand straight.


    Usually, I came in the dead of night when the training hall was nearly empty... but coming in the afternoon was definitely an experience, to say the least.


    Pinching my nose, I walked past the hundreds of strength training equipment at weights, arriving at the familiar area.


    "Ah... I''m right back where I started."


    In front of me stood a set of secluded rooms, each marked with a sign that said something like. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [AI Dummy Training Room #5]


    Rubbing my hands together, I located a vacant room before walking in and shutting the door.


    "Been a while, buddy... I still haven''t forgotten all those times you made me feel pain."


    Not wasting a second, I walked over to the control panel and set the difficulty.


    [Which Difficulty Bot would you like to choose?]


    [User: Stage 1 Dummy]


    [...are you sure Stage 1 is the correct difficulty fo-]


    [User: I''m sure.]

 Chapter 198 - 198:Emergence [2]

    Grabbing a towel, I wiped the sweat that had accumulated on my face from the past three hours of training.


    Staring at the metal dummy laid out across the floor, I smiled before de-manifesting my daggers.


    Grabbing a piece of paper and pencil from my pocket, I wrote "Maintenance Required."


    Slapping the note on the wall, I took one last glance at the AI dummy, which was practically in shambles, before heading to the door.


    "How does it now feel now, damn bot!?"


    Wait... they don''t have security cameras here, do they...?


    Cringing internally as I realized that some security personnel may have just watched me scream countless curse words at an inanimate AI Dummy while harming it to the maximum, I sighed.


    "Revenge feels good at first... but what follows is always a period of self-reflection and emptiness that causes you to think, ''Was it worth it?'' ."


    Thankfully, my journey of revenge was not yet complete, so my body was still filled to the brim with energy.


    Sliding open the door, I embraced the cold breeze that had slipped in through the door before wrapping the towel around my neck.


    As I exited the AI dummy room I was in, I saw an excited student, who had been waiting by the row of AI dummy rooms, immediately ran towards me.


    As he passed by me, I heard this random student exclaim.


    "Finally...I''ve been waiting three hours for a room to open up! I can''t wait to test out my new abilities and power-ups! This is going to be the highlight of my week!"


    "..."


    Yeah...who''s gonna tell him?


    Resisting the urge to smile and break out in the laughter, I just let the student pass by me and entered into the AI dummy room I was just in.


    Quicking my pace as the random student entered the room, I stopped to get a fruit before arriving back at the main area of the training hall.


    As I walked by the countless machines, I was quickly surprised to realize that there were no familiar figures in sight.


    Even Liam, who had been known for training every single day, was nowhere to be seen.


    Had Astrid already coordinated with Alya and the rest of the main cast?


    Well...maybe not the real Astrid, but the cloned one could have, considering how excited it was to team up with Alya earlier.


    The real Astrid is probably off-signing documents or something like that.


    Heading out of the training halls, I closed my eyes for a moment, allowing the cold night breeze to cool me down.


    However, just as I opened my eyes, a soft and sweet voice that reminded me of cakes and candy sounded from in front of me.


    "Oh...what a surprise it is meeting you here, Ren!" S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In contrast to the night-black sky and the waxing crescent moon above, a girl with long, curly blonde hair and matching orange eyes stood in front of me.


    Trying my best to resist the urge to ignore her, I calmly replied.


    "Princess Charlotte! That''s two times in a day I''ve met you...how lucky can I be!?"


    Then, before she could respond, I quickly moved out of the way and starting walked toward my dorm building.


    "I would hate to interrupt your schedule of training, so I wish you the best!"


    Yet, as I attempted to walk another step forward, I felt the back of my shirt being pulled back, holding me in place.


    Slowly turning around, I made eye contact with Charlottle before curtly asking.


    "Do you need something?"


    Shaking her head, Charlottle simply smiled, causing the few students watching our interaction to immediately contract diabetes.


    "Ah, I just needed someone to show me the royal dormitories... my new dorm building for the rest of the year."


    Thinking for a moment, I came to the conclusion that the event had been sped up.


    At the beginning of the second year, the fight for the crown and the next successor of the King of The High Dominion would start.


    Of course, the two contestants, the prince and princess, couldn''t live in the same building, which would cause some major problems, both violent and non-violent.


    And since the prince was supported more than the princess at the time, he got the ability to choose or stay in the building from the king.


    Thus, at the beginning of the second year, Chartlotte was forced out of the building, reserved solely for those from the Royal family, and into the next best building, which was usually reserved for the top ten ranks of each year.


    Regaining my composure and gathering my thoughts, I scratched my head and pretended to reply ashamedly.


    "Unfortunately... I do not live in the royal dorms... due to extenuating circumstances that are out of my control, so I am unable to lead you there."


    Charlotte obviously knew that someone with my backstory and personality wouldn''t be in the royal dormitory, but she still decided to ask me.


    Was she trying to embarrass me or something?


    No...I had probably been one of the few people so far she had told about her departure from the Emperorial dorms, so she would be embarrassed in this situation.


    There was also the situation of the fight for the crown starting now instead of at the end of the second semester.


    But that wasn''t something I could do or change.


    What''s done is done.


    The real challenge is adapting and evolving to not be blown away be these new developments.


    Hesitating for a moment, Charlotte, for some reason, smiled even more before replying.


    "Is that so? I had just asked the student council president for directions... but she told me she, alongside the other first-year occupants of the royal dorm building, was busy."


    Raising her hand, Charlotte pointed at me before saying in a slightly less sweet tone.


    "Instead, she told me that I could talk to you for directions."


    "..."


    Really Astrid?


    After everything that happened during the attack on the dormitory incident!?

 Chapter 199 - 199:Emergence [3]

    Pretending to scratch my head in confusion, I replied.


    "Ah, did the student council president? I wasn''t notified..."


    Shrugging her shoulders, Charlotte gripped my shirt even harder with her hands before asking.


    "Well...do you know the way?"


    Trying to think a way out of this situation, I placed my hands upwards and pointed my figure up, like a lightbulb suddenly lit up above my head, and replied.


    "Ah, now that I think about it, I used to live at the royal dorms before school started!"


    Since Ren''s "father" didn''t want to see his son as he believed him to be a disgrace, he had actually sent Ren off earlier to school. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And since Ren was still a high noble and a representative of the Montclair family at that time, the principal was unable to decline.


    Thus, Ren was placed in the Royal dormitories and had to live there until school started.


    What kind of father sends their son... their own blood at the first chance they get without any goodbyes?


    Instead of trying to change or discipline Ren, his father simply sent him away... essentially giving up on him.


    Ren was only sixteen when he was sent away, yet his father had already thought of him as a lost cause.


    That was just the start of it; by the time Ren was eleven years old, it was clear that the entire Montclair family had given up on him.


    A child.


    Instead, they used all their resources on Ren''s older brother, attempting to shape him into the future leader.


    And, instead of fighting against the family''s decision, Ren''s father accepted it, even playing into it, by ignoring Ren whenever he tried to grasp his attention.


    He was eleven when his family had already given up and abandoned him.


    What did they expect Ren to do?


    How did they expect his future to end up?


    Of course, a ten year with no one around him to talk to is going to end up as a delinquent with no morals.


    I would imagine that after the age of at least thirteen, Ren would have realized that his entire family had abandoned him.


    Imagine that, being a thirteen-year-old with a full future ahead of you


    Yet, you were already considered a failure as everyone that you''ve loved and trusted for the entirety of your life had given up on you.


    Snapping back to reality, I noticed that Charlottle was awkwardly waiting in front of me, so I quickly said.


    "I can show you the way."


    Seeing Charlottle nod her head, I walked forward, leaving behind the couple of students who had been curiously watching the interaction.


    "The worst of the academy... and the purest person in the academy talking? What is this a reality TV show!?"


    "...the nice guys never win..."


    Charlotte and I were indeed an interesting pair...on the surface, but in reality, we were actually quite similar.


    As Charlottle followed me, passing by the sullen and interested students, I quickened my pace, attempting to avoid any further conversation.


    Opposite magnets attract... but similar magnets repel.


    However, Charlottle quickly caught up, walking side by side with me, and asked.


    "You know, if I didn''t know any better, I would think you were an influential figure both inside and outside the academy."


    Shaking my head, I asked.


    "What exactly do you mean by that?"


    "First, in the forest with the Elven princess, and now, somehow, you''ve gained the trust of the student council president, Astrid."


    "..."


    "And now you''re with me, the princess, through a series of coincidences. I wonder, perhaps, are you more than you let o-"


    Interrupting Charlotte mid-sentence, I let out a sigh of relief upon seeing the familiar building of the Royal dormitory in the distance.


    "We''ve arrived!"


    Instead of looking at her new home for the next year, Charlotte instead stopped and looked at me with her eyebrows raised.


    Trying to avoid her question and any more conversation, I walked up to the security guards before gesturing to the figure of Charlottle behind me.


    "She''s here to move in."


    The security guards, of course, familiar with the princess of the human realm, did not hesitate to ask for any evidence.


    Within a heartbeat, the gate around the Royal dorms was open to Charlotte.


    As Charlotte walked past the gate into the dorm, I made sure to follow behind her from a distance.


    Just as I stepped foot into the garden surrounding the dorm, I heard the security guard''s voice sound from behind me.


    " *ahem* sorry, we can only allow inhabits of the dorm inside."


    Pretending to act sullen, I simply nodded my head, hiding the smile on my face, and started to walk back.


    Yet, just as I turned around, another familiar voice sounded from behind me.


    Standing right next to the security guard was Charlottle, who had a smile plastered all over her face.


    "Oh, don''t worry, Ren, it seems the guards have changed their mind! You are allowed in... not just today."


    Approaching me, Charlotte held her hand, revealing a small square-shaped piece of paper that had obviously been torn from a notebook.


    [Permanent Visitor Pass to Royal Dorms]


    As I stared at the paper, Charlottle forced it into my hand before continuing.


    "They''ve made it just for you!"


    "Have they now...?"


    Again, I walked past the gate and security guards while stuffing the piece of paper into my pocket.


    "Like, I''ve ever going to use this..."


    Entering the main building, Charlotte simply walked past all the luxurious decorating and chandeliers like they were nothing.


    Following behind her, I asked.


    "Is there something that requires my presence, here?"


    Nodding her head, Charlotte turned around, yet again with a grin, before saying.


    "Ah, of course, I have to move all my luggage into my new room."


    "..."


    Staring at Charlotte''s empty hands, I stood still for a moment and asked.


    "And... where might your luggage be?"


    Walking to a nearby window, Charlottle pointed at the very relevant faculty building in the distance.


    "The guards have moved it to the faculty building."


    "...and they couldn''t move it here!?"


    Shrugging her shoulders, Charlotte turned around and replied.


    "You see... my brother is quite the petty person."

 Chapter 200 - 200:Emergence [4]

    Walking back to the royal dormitory with countless bags and pouches hanging from my shoulders and hands made me feel like a pack horse, but I persevered.


    After all, for the sake of getting on the good side of the princess, it was necessary.


    Yet, I also showed some defiance, such as a pack horse refusing to move under the force of its owner by trying to slip away at every chance.


    I had to seem reliable, but at the same time, someone who the princess couldn''t easily control.


    She had just been pushed out of the Emperial dorms, a clear power play by her brother, so she would be in the mood for revenge.


    And for that revenge, she would have connections and people to support her... and I wasn''t trying to be one of them.


    But on the off chance that the princess did win the crown over the prince and the plot of the book was wrong once again, I had to seem favorable to her.


    It was like I was walking on a tightrope; if I seemed to be controllable, then the princess would turn me into a puppet and command me to do her bidding.


    But, if I seemed like a terrible and unhelpful person, she would punish me harshly if she became the queen.


    There was one good thing about the whole situation, though, that kept me from just pretending to pass out to avoid doing the work.


    The location of Charlotte''s bags.


    I had already made my decision to see what was inside the vault by messaging Astrid and suggesting she ask the principal.


    Making my last round, I quickly dropped off some bags to Charlotte, who was patiently standing outside the royal dorms, before nodding to the security guards and heading back.


    During the last few rounds, I hadn''t been able to look around as I didn''t have a valid excuse to look past the bags... but now I did.


    Opening the familiar doors of the faculty building, I saw the receptionist let out a sigh upon seeing me again.


    "You again?"


    Pointing to the last few bags by the desk, the receptionist glanced at me before quickly looking away.


    Walking over to the last two bags lying on the ground, I stared at them in silence for a second before looking upward.


    Scratching my head awkwardly, I looked at the receptionist and asked her.


    "The princess said there would be three bags left..."


    Not even looking up from her documents, the receptionist simply gestured her hand before saying.


    "Some of them must have been lost in transportation; you can have a look around."


    Nodding my head, I placed the two bags on my shoulder before walking forward past the receptionist''s desk.


    As I passed by the desk, I heard her mutter.


    "This is why I hate getting caught up in these family disputes."


    Hm?


    Was it already public knowledge that the princess and prince were beginning their fight over the crown?


    Stopping for a moment, I peered back, examining the documents on the desk that the receptionist was looking at.


    [Incident Report #43: Maintenance required on AI Dummy Room #5]


    [Incident Report #44: Cleaning is required in the bathroom in the first-year building (Blood). The investigation over the massive amounts of blood found in the bathroom is pending.]


    [Incident Report #45: Dorm Transfer of Princess (Rank #4) to Royal Dormitories.]


    [Incident Report #46: Early recruitment dispute of Liam (Rank #1) Relegated to principal) ]


    [Incident Report #47: ***** - From Astrid, student council president. (Confidential, hand to the principal.) ]


    Shaking my head, I walked further into the hall, using my eyes to memorize my surroundings, the location of each door, room, air vent, and other possible thing that could be useful.


    Walking by the countless closed doors that contained the offices of all the administrative officers at the school, I slowly stopped as I reached an intersection point of the hall.


    There were two paths, to my right and left, each looking identical.


    Knowing my time here was limited, I chose the right path without thinking and continued walking.


    Finally, seeing a labeled room in the distance, I peered ahead, seeing a small signing hanging on one of the doors.


    [Principal''s Office.]


    What is this elementary school?


    Standing still for a moment, I pretended to kneel down and tie my shoes, which actually didn''t have laces.


    Without any hesitation, I turned right back around and started in the direction I came from.


    An S-rank hero would definitely be able to detect my presence, even through a wall, and then realize I wasn''t supposed to be here!


    Arriving back at the intersection, I decided this was enough reconnaissance for now, so I turned right.


    However, blocking my path ahead and back to the receptionist''s desk was a familiar face holding a clipboard in her hands.


    "...professor Zia?"


    Equally shocked, Professor Zia pushed away her black bangs and readjusted her glasses before replying.


    "Ren...and what might you be doing here?"


    Gesturing to the bags hanging off my shoulders, I quickly replied. sea??h th§× ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Ah, you see... I''m helping the princess with moving her bags."


    Staring at the High Dominion symbol on the bags I was holding for a second, Professor Zia took off her glasses, revealing her amethyst-purple eyes, and asked.


    "Ren, as a teacher, it is my responsibility to ensure your well-being, so be honest with me. Is anything going on?"


    "...what do you mean?"


    "The princesses of BOTH the elven realm, Alya, and the human realm, Charlotte, are suddenly talking to you...? We both know that can''t be a coincidence."


    "..."


    Writing something on her clipboard, Professor Zia continued.


    "Is anything going on... such as blackmail? Even if they''re the princesses, they have no right to take advantage of you in school groun-"


    Rapidly shaking my head and waving my hands, I thought of a way out before immediately replying.


    "No, no, nothing like that? I-i''m just trying to build up my connections for the future!"


    Tilting her head, Professor Zia stared me for a second before asking.


    "And that''s it?"

 Chapter 201 - 201:Emergence [5]

    As I nodded my head, Professor Zia looked around the room for a moment, seemingly realizing where we were.


    Then, slowly turning her sharp gaze to me, her concerned expression disappeared, instead replaced by a stern one.


    "You should leave now...today isn''t a good time for you to be wandering around here."


    "..?"


    Knowing she wouldn''t answer if I asked, I simply nodded my head and awkwardly squeezed by her.


    It probably had something to do with Astrid notifying the principals or the other incident reports lying on the reception desk.


    Arriving at the receptionist''s desk, I simply waved before heading out of the door and back into the cold air of the night.


    As I approached the royal dormitories, walking right by the security guards, I could see Charlottle impatiently tapping her foot up and down as she waited for me.


    ...couldn''t she just wait inside? S§×ar?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing me, Charlottle gestured for me to come closer before asking.


    "Did you go off a side mission? What could have possibly taken you so long?"


    Pointing to one of the bags hanging off my shoulders, I replied.


    "They misplaced one of your bags... so I had to find it."


    "that damned brother of mine... just has to be petty until the end."


    Ignoring her complaint, I handed her the two bags before exhaustedly asking.


    "Is that all...?"


    Charlotte responded, staring at me with an irritated expression.


    "You know, we could have gotten this done a lot quicker if you didn''t try to leave at every chance you got."


    Shrugging my shoulders, I replied.


    "A shooter misses 100% of the shots that they don''t take!"


    "...all of your shots missed and failed because you were caught by me every time."


    Turning around to face the security guards, who were awkwardly watching the two of us from a distance, I said.


    "I''d rather go 1-100000 than 0-10 because that means, at least, I didn''t give up!"


    If you couldn''t tell by now, I was quite the basketball fan back on Earth.


    Waving me off, Charlotte grabbed the two bags and said.


    "Alright, that''s good... for now."


    Immediately turning back around, I furiously replied.


    "FOR NOW!?"


    Opening the doors of the royal dormitory, Charlotte hid her expression while saying.


    "I didn''t get you that unlimited visitor pass for nothing, did I? You''ll report here after school to help with other things."


    "..."


    Then, before I could argue or dispute her command, she entered the royal dorms, letting the door slam shut behind her.


    As I stared at the closed door of the royal dormitory, the thought occurred to me.


    Why don''t I just go help the prince?


    Shaking my head, I completely dismissed the thought before heading towards the gate.


    The prince, unlike Charlotte''s outward appearance, wouldn''t accept, let alone, speak, to someone of my status.


    It was unfortunate really, if his personality was different and he was able to accept me as his helper, I could guarantee his win over Charlotte for the throne.


    Heading past the security guards, who stared at me with disbelief and confusion, I manifested a scarf before tying it around my neck to prevent the cold air from reaching me.


    Three days...in three days, Christmas Wonderland, alongside the official start of recruitment, would begin.


    Then, in around five days, the first incident would begin.


    Time really passes by quickly... huh?


    "...never thought I''d still be in this damn school."


    Staring up at the night-sky filled with stars and the moon as I walked, old memories flooded my mind.


    This place really was... my new home.


    I was no longer some random high-schooler out of the billions of people living on Earth.


    I was someone capable of changing this trajectory of this world, essentially having the power to decide whether it was destroyed or not.


    On Earth, none of my decisions had any effect on the rest of the world.


    One day, I could have just died on Earth... and the world wouldn''t change a single bit.


    The planet would keep spinning; time doesn''t stop for anyone.


    Yet, here, my death could directly alter the world, even destroying it... or saving it.


    A split-second decision made by me could cause a war to start or millions of deaths to occur.


    Arriving back at my dorm building, I opened the doors before quickly heading up the stairs.


    Opening the door, I saw my black cat peacefully resting on my bed despite it having its own bed.


    Staring outside the window while peacefully petting my cat, I allowed myself to slowly drift off to sleep.


    Would I miss this world if I accomplished my goal of returning to Earth...?


    ...


    ...


    ...


    *BEEP~BEEP*


    *BEEP~BEEP*


    Waking up the loud ring of my alarm, I resisted the urge to smash it before rolling out of my bed.


    Shutting off the alarm, I headed to the bathroom and took a quick shower before promptly changing out of my clothes.


    Walking to the kitchen, I cooked a quick meal for my cat, waking it up before heading out of my dorm.


    Checking my smartwatch, I quickly realized that I was going to be late due to the extra time I had taken to cook.


    Shrugging my shoulders, I leisurely walked out of my dorm building, ignoring the frantic students rushing to their classes around me.


    The last two days they had consisted of me just zoning out during classes and planning for the future robbery.


    Zach''s treatment was going better than expected, and with this being the last day of his treatment, he would be fully recovered in time.


    And as for the princess, thankfully, Charlotte hadn''t given me any work... yet she was still trying to piss me off.


    After Zach''s treatment, for the past two days, I would report to the entrance of the royal dormitories.


    And every time, Charlottle would simply nod her head upon seeing me.


    "You''re free to go."


    "...? So you made me come all the way h-"


    "Do you want to work? If so, I have plenty of things you can do."


    Shaking my head, I sighed before leaving the premises of the royal dorm with an irritated expression.

 Chapter 202 - 202:Recruiting [1]

    Heading into class today and seeing all my fellow classmates and professors made me feel kind of melancholy.


    I didn''t necessarily like most of them... or all of them, but seeing their laughs and smiles so apparent in their expression was nice.


    Everyone was simply being themselves without anything covering their true feelings.


    The next time I had class, there would be plenty of strangers, all hoping to recruit the next big shot and up their guild ranking. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    For that reason, every student in the classroom would wear a mask of emotionlessness and determination, hoping to show the recruits how their determination and perseverance.


    There would be no smiles or laughs.


    The classroom would be pure silence, every student paying or attempting to pay attention, and every move a student made would be calculated.


    A student dropping an eraser?


    Normally, someone else would pick it up, but tomorrow, that eraser would be ignored out of fear that the recruiters might see them not paying attention.


    Even Jin and Han, who had been studying how to be good students, would put on a mask to impress the recruiters and prove their worth.


    There were some exceptions.


    The main cast and other top-ranking students in my class wouldn''t have to put on masks.


    Because... they were naturally full of determination and courage, always paying attention in class.


    And they didn''t have to impress anyone.


    Alternatively, it was the recruiters who had to try and impress the top rankers, as almost every recruiter would be fighting for them.


    As I slid open the door to the classroom, everyone immediately looked at me before Professor Zia sighed and said.


    "I won''t punish you for me being late today... but don''t be late tomorrow, alright, Ren?"


    She truly was a nice teacher who cared about their students, no matter how terrible and bad they were.


    Of course, I did hear some scoffs as many of my classmates did not expect me to be recruited at all.


    However, Liam, Kevin, and the rest of the main cast glanced at me with interested expressions.


    What Knight Order would I join?


    Nodding my head, I ignored the countless gazes before heading to the back of the classroom where Jin and Han sat.


    As I pulled out my chair and sat down, Han turned to me and whispered in a serious tone.


    "Professor Zia is right. Don''t be late tomorrow, Ren."


    Glancing at Jin, who was trying his best to pay attention, I whispered back.


    "Don''t you have someone else to worry about more?"


    Shaking his head, Han replied.


    "We live right next to each other... so I''ll make sure he gets up on time. If slamming on his door doesn''t work, I''ll have to resort to more extreme... actions."


    As I let out a laugh at Han''s plans, he seemed to have a revelation before turning to me and asking.


    "If you want, I can also wake you up tomorrow."


    Shaking my head, I replied.


    "Nah, don''t worry about me. Focus on yourself... you know, Han, you gotta get recruited, too, right?"


    Shrugging his shoulders, Han nodded his head before redirecting his attention to Professor Zia, who had begun lecturing.


    Leaning inward with my chair, I rested my head on the desk in front of me as I usually did before covering my arm with my head and taking out my smartwatch.


    Earlier in the year, I had to take notes and make sure to understand every single concept to ensure a good grade on the test.


    That was because of my incident with Liam at the start of the year, alongside all the terrible rumors surrounding me.


    The academy was looking for any chance they could to kick me out, so if I even came close to failing, I would be kicked out and put on the streets.


    However, it had been a while since then.


    The rumors around me had calmed down, albeit I still received glances or glares when I walked down the hallway, and I hadn''t been involved in any serious incidents or any disciplinary trouble.


    In fact... I had even been an exemplary student.


    During my duel before the trip to the Elven realm with the transfer student, I had represented our school proudly by defeating him easily.


    That had also led to me receiving an... interesting letter upon my arrival back to the academy.


    [Student, Ren, you have been selected and will soon be tested to see if you are ready to rank up to D-rank.


    More details and the date of the test will be sent out after the Winder Wonderland event, but the faculty and administrative team applaud you for your recent hard work and effort.


    Please let us know if they are anything we can do to help or improve your conditions during this waiting time.


    If you pass this rank-up test, you will be among the fifty students who are currently D-rank.]


    Closing the mail app on my smartwatch, I glanced at the main cast, who were a couple of seats in front of me.


    Thankfully, I wasn''t the only one in this situation.


    Soon, the main cast would probably receive the selection notification for ranking up to C-rank, and like me, they would be put an awkward situation as they were already a rank C hero.


    With all that being said, there was no need for me to waste my time paying attention or studying.


    I was no longer a liability to the school... but a useful asset.


    As for exams, near-passing grades weren''t hard to achieve, considering notes were posted on the online school forum.


    Since I couldn''t plan for my soon-to-be robbery and didn''t need to take notes, school was a break for me.


    *RING~RING*


    As the bell rang, signaling the start of our lunch break, I stretched my arms before getting up from my chair.


    As I walked behind Han and Jin to the classroom exit, Professor Zia suddenly stepped forward, blocking by path.


    Giving me a pitiful glance, Han and Jin exited the classroom, leaving the two of us alone.

 Chapter 203 - 203:Recruiting [2]

    Tapping her foot up and down, Professor Zia stared at me in silence, making me feel even more awkward.


    Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Professor Zia asked.


    "You know what I''m about to say, right?"


    Professor Zia''s whole job was to help her students get recruited, become heroes, and, most of all, not end up jobless on the streets.


    The number source of djinns across all cities in the human realm is, of course, failed heroes who have either lost everything or given up on life.


    Slowly nodding my head, I took a moment to brace myself before saying.


    "Actually... I have no intention of joining any Knight Orders."


    "..."


    "..."


    As Professor Zia stared at me with shock evidence on her face, I stared out the door, hoping that anything could save me.


    It was like telling your high school teacher that you weren''t planning on going to college!


    Not bothering to hide the anger and surprise in her voice, Professor Zia put down her papers and textbooks before asking.


    "Then, why exactly are you at this school? Why did you choose to come to a school renowned for its incredible recruitment percentage just to not join a Knight Order....?"


    Well, it wasn''t like I had a choice in the matter, but I couldn''t just tell Professor Zia that the safety of the entire world relied on me staying at school and fixing any mishaps with knowledge of the future.


    Opening my mouth, I was about to spout out another excuse when a sudden voice interrupted me.


    "That''s because he''s already in a Knight Order. To be more specific, my Knight Order!"


    Turning to the open doorway, where a familiar figure with golden-blonde eyes and matching eyes stood, I took back my previous wish almost immediately.


    "..."


    Turning away, Professor Zia also stared at Charlotte, who was confidently standing in the doorway.


    After a moment of silence, Professor Zia shook her head before turning her head and asking.


    "...is this true?"


    Glancing at Charlotte, I saw her furiously nodding her head up and down with a smile that could captivate almost anyone.


    Well... it''s not like I''m actually going to join her new Knight Order or anything.


    I can just use it as a cover to avoid recruiters in the classroom, and that means I won''t have to act to impress anyone!


    If I wasn''t in a Knight Order, it would be suspicious and weird if I just avoided all the recruiters without even trying to be interested... but now I had a reason.


    Nodding my head, I watched as Professor Zia''s expression quickly transformed from confusion and anger to somewhat relaxed.


    Is she always this nice towards all her students?


    I mean, her reputation wouldn''t suffer or anything if I turned out as a villain as she was already a renowned teacher, yet she still cared.


    Recalling my high-school teachers, who would do the bare minimum, barely ever showing up to office hours and answering questions, I sighed.


    Picking back up her documents, Professor Zia walked over to her desk before sitting down and waving me off.


    Hesitating for a moment, I slung my backpack around my shoulders before heading to the exit door of the classroom.


    Just outside, Charlotte was leaning against a wall, hearing golden hair sparkling and fluttering under the sun''s rays, which were shining in from an open window above her.


    ...is she just the sun at this point?


    What are the odds that there is an open window right above her, and that window happens to be where the sun seems to be shining the most!?


    ...just named character things, I guess.


    Seeing me exit the classroom, instead of walking over to me, Charlotte simply gestured to me from the wall.


    Sighing, I walked up to her before asking.


    "And, what was all of that about?"


    Shaking her head, Charlottle got off the wall before replying.


    "Saw you were in quite a tricky situation, so I, of course, came to your aid as a good person!"


    ...wasn''t she the one winning in this situation?


    She just got me to "join" her Knight Order for free, which would probably give me a couple thousand gold from a recruiter.


    Seeing her smirk and proud expression, I held in my laughter before sarcastically saying.


    "What would I do without you!?"


    Charlotte simply nodded her head at my sarcasm before walking further down the hallway.


    ...did she know I was being sarcastic or not!?


    What does that head nod mean?


    She doesn''t seriously believe I was being serious when I said that, right!?


    As I caught up to her, the two of us walked through the empty school hallways and into the school cafeteria.


    As the loud sounds of students chattering and eating flooded my ears, Charlotte took a quick glance at the cafeteria... before simply walking away.


    Staring at the trays of the passing by students, I hesitated before asking.


    "...I''m hungry th-"


    "What was that, Ren?"


    "It''s for the sake of the vault robbery, Ren!"


    "Just listen to her for three days, and then you don''t ever have to talk to her again."


    Closing my eyes and ignoring the smell of the food in front of me, I walked past the cafeteria, following Charlotte as she went deeper into the hallway.


    By the time I caught up to Charlotte again, she was standing still, waiting in front of a closed door, which seemed to lead into a classroom. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After giving me an irritated glance, Charlotte turned to me and said.


    "You know, I was invited to join some secret organization within the school."


    "Hmm?"


    "Apparently, they work in the shadows, helping to protect the school and the students."


    "...sounds pretty...wei- cool, I mean!"


    Considering Charlotte had a bad ending in the book as she lost the crown race to the prince, it wasn''t surprising that, like Irene, Lily was trying to help.


    However, why did Lily wait so long?


    Seeing Charlottle pensively stand in front of the door, I curiously asked.


    "And....did you join?"

 Chapter 204 - 204:Recruiting [3]

    Surprisingly, Charlotte, without skipping a beat, immediately shook her head before moving on from the door.


    Walking to her side, I attempted to pry further and curiously asked.


    "And why not?"


    Looking forward and further into the hallway, Charlotte sternly replied.


    "Why should I? It was an invite that I recently got, and I turned it down after thinking about it. That''s all there is to it."


    As Charlotte increased her pace, knowing I was about to ask more questions, I immediately replied before she was out of earshot.


    "Doesn''t that sort of group perfectly suit you? I mean, saving the school...and you''re the princess. Those two kinda go together, don''t they?"


    Chuckling at my response, Charlottle tilted her head and asked.


    "What? Are you jealous? Did you want to be invited to this little, secret organization?"


    Stopping mid-stride, I stared at her with a deadpan expression, causing her to burst out into laughter.


    Seeing me serious, Charlotte stopped laughing for a moment before earnestly replying to my question.


    "Didn''t I just tell you? I already have a group... my knight order, so I can''t be associated with two groups at the same time."


    As we neared the end of the hallway, the dim and brown colors of the hallway walls faded away, instead being replaced by massive windows.


    Instead of walls, there were just windows that started from the ground and reached all the way up to the ceiling.


    Blinding the light, I covered my eyes for a moment before asking.


    "You''re serious about the Knight Order?"


    In the original book, nothing about Charlotte creating a Knight Order had been mentioned, so I had initially assumed she was joking.


    Yet, it seemed she was serious... yet another deviation in the plot.


    Well, then again, I was the cause of this one, albeit unknowingly, so I would just have to adapt.


    Also, there was another thing I would have to adapt to.


    If Lily didn''t know that I somehow possessed knowledge of the future by now, it would be a miracle.


    Whether she knew if I was a transmigrator from Earth like her or not was still a mystery... but I think it should be quite obvious to her I''m not the original "Ren."


    That would mean that the main cast alongside Lily would probably have counter-plants and contingencies already setup in case I ever intervened again.


    Though...some of the people in the main cast did owe me quite a bit, so it wouldn''t be life-threatening dangerous.


    Shaking my head, I stared at Charlotte, who had stopped to gaze out the windows and at the beautiful garden outside.


    What if she was a part of the main cast already...?


    What if she had accepted Lily''s invitation and had just lied to me?


    What if this is one of Lily''s contingency plans?


    Lily could have told the student council president, Astrid, to recommend Charlottle to me...making our meeting outside the gym where it all started a coincendence.


    Was Charlotte a spy?


    Perhaps, noticing my piercing gaze locked onto her, Charlotte turned around to face me before saying in a serious tone.


    "Look, I don''t know what relationship you have with that secret group. But, listen, you''re a part of my group now. I already denied them... for this little group, so don''t even think of leaving."


    "That also goes both ways, as you are a part of my faction... or ''Knight Order,'' I won''t think of leaving you for that secret group. Understand?"


    Regaining some of my confidence, I slowly nodded at Charlotte''s question while staring out the window.


    Why was Charlotte putting so much trust in me?


    Why was I putting trust in her?


    *RING~RING*


    Snapping back to reality as the sound of the bell echoed through the hallway, I hesitated before deciding to change the topic.


    Staring outside the window, I asked. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "...what exactly was the point of you walking with me?"


    Turning around and preparing to head to her class, Charlotte replied.


    "Team bonding is pretty important, you know?"


    With those last words, Charlotte departed, leaving me alone in the area surrounded by windows.


    Taking a moment to enjoy the silence before the students came crowding into the hallway from the cafeteria, I kneeled down and examined the flowers outside through the window.


    "Hm?"


    Seeming to be trying to hide inside a bed of flowers was a little black-dog.


    Unable to touch or pet the dog through the window, I stared as it awkwardly attempted to scurry further into the bushes and out of sight.


    "Thank god... I only have one pet."


    Turning away from the window, I headed back to the classroom, making my way through the crowds of students.


    The rest of us passed by quite quickly, considering there were no interruptions as everyone was on their best behavior.


    *RING~RING*


    As the bell rang, signaling the end of the class, I got from my chair before, waved goodbye to Jin and Han, and headed back to my dorm room.


    Today was Zach''s last day of treatment.


    Walking up the stairs, I was once again shell-shocked to see both Alya and Zach already waiting outside my door with expectant expressions.


    "...how do you guys get here so fast...?"


    In unison, the two main cast members replied.


    "...we have movement skills, don''t you?"


    Furiously shaking my head as I unlocked the door, I replied.


    "I do... BUT WHY ARE YOU USING THEM IN SCHOOL!?"


    Imagine me just dashing through the hall and flapping my dragon wing, traveling so fast that no one could even see me.


    Sure, it would be cool and an efficient way to save time, but the second I stopped, I would look weird and out of place... with a dragon''s wing literally attached to my back.


    Closing my eyes, I opened the door and held it open for Zach and Alya before allowing it to slam behind them.


    Ignoring my question, the two of them headed into the room before promptly settling on my couch and bed.

 Chapter 205 - 205:Recruiting [4]

    Seeing Zach enter the room, my cat let out a grumpy sound before arrogantly getting up from its bed and jumping on mine.


    After the first day, my cat simply took control, so Alya and I didn''t even need to go through the process anymore.


    Well, I was needed for the first step of the process, but besides that, my black cat could conduct it himself without any problems.


    As Zach hesitantly walked towards the bed, where my cat was already sitting, I headed to the kitchen. S§×arch* The NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After the process, my black cat would be extremely hungry and fatigued, sleeping more than usual, which I genuinely thought was impossible, so I needed to be ready.


    As I picked a piece of chicken from the fridge, Alya took a seat on the couch before asking.


    "So...this is the last day? And, then, he''ll be back to normal...?"


    Shrugging my shoulders, I replied.


    "I think so, but who knows? Don''t you know that law? ''Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.'' "


    Shaking her head, Alya replied.


    "I''ve never heard that before...?"


    "*tsk* this shameless author, using the rule without even defining it in the book."


    Hearing my mumbling, Alya questioned.


    "What was that?"


    I replied, beginning to cook the steak over a small flame of fire I had created using the blood-red substance in my body.


    "Nothing at all."


    As we finished our conversation, I heard the bed creak as Zach finally gathered the courage to sit down on the bed.


    Eventually, looking up from the ground, Zach turned to me and said.


    "...I think I''m ready."


    Ignoring him, I simply gestured to the cat as I had done the previous days and replied.


    "You''ll need some rest after this."


    Jumping off the bed, the cat slowly walked towards me, making sure to articulate its every moment like it was a model on a runway.


    Shaking my head, I watched as the cat finally reached my shoes before slowly raising its paw to my leg.


    After a couple of seconds of holding its paw to my leg, the black cat sat back down for a second before turning around.


    Then, just as before, the cat walked over to the bed before jumping on and landing right next to Zach, who was trembling.


    Sitting down on a chair next to Alya, I watched with interest as my cat simply sat there and stared at Zach.


    Sighing, I screamed out.


    "Zach, LAY DOWN!"


    Finally taking the hint, Zach glanced at us one last time, his amber-brown sparkling with hope, before lying down on the bed.


    And, just like last time, the cat placed its paw right over Zach''s head, causing the lights in the room to turn off.


    Turning to me in the darkness, Alya asked.


    "...is the lights turning off part of whatever treatment method this is?"


    Peering through the darkness of the room, I pointed at my cat which was beginning to form the symbol.


    ''Nah, I think he just wants to look cool."


    "...it''s cat, how do y-"


    "Look, your friend is getting cured right now, is this what you want to think about!?"


    As the two of them glanced back at Zach''s lying figure on the bed, the familiar symbol began to form on the ceiling.


    A moment or two after its completion, the symbol slowly began to descend from the ceiling until it finally became interested in Zach''s face.


    *BZZT*


    Ignoring the vibration coming from my smartwatch, I watched Zach as the lights eventually turned out and the symbol disappeared.


    Then, like nothing even happened, my cat jumped off the bed before groggly walking to its food bowl.


    As my cat devoured the bits of chicken I made, Zach slowly got up from the bed, holding onto a nearby wall to stand.


    Breaking the silence, I got up from the chair and clapped my hands.


    "All good?"


    Despite the exhaustion he was probably feeling from the ritual, Zach, with his hand holding him up straight, managed to let out a smile.


    "Yeah...I think I''m going to be alright."


    Depleted of most of his energy, Zach mustered just enough energy to lean downwards, bowing down right in front of me.


    "T-thank you."


    Stopping him before he could mutter another word, Alya turned to me, a smile also apparent on her face, and said.


    "Thank you for everything...I''ll repay you... somehow... eventually."


    As the two walked out of my dorm room, Zach limping and smiles beaming off both their faces, I sat down on the bed.


    Picking up my smartwatch from my desk, I scrolled on the internet for a bit, trying to distract myself.


    Tomorrow... was going to be interesting.


    Of course, though, I still had today to go.


    Checking my smartwatch, I finally opened the messages app and saw a message from a familiar sending waiting for me.


    [Charlotte: Where are you?]


    [Charlotte: You do know punctuality is a requirement for this Knight Order, right?]


    [Charlotte: ...alright then. I''ll wait inside; message me when you''re here.]


    "...why does that last message sound so ominous?"


    After spending a couple more minutes simply lying on my bed and looking out of the window, I finally mustered up the energy to get up.


    Today would be another day when I could get some intel about the location around the faculty building.


    The royal dormitory was already close to the faculty building, so I could scout the outside, and Charlotte occasionally would tell me to get things that her brother had "forgotten" to give her from her old room.


    A visual image of the hallways, vents, and window locations was already starting to form in my head.


    Seeing the documents on the receptionist''s desk also helped me keep up with the news around the academy.


    Leaving my dorm building, I brought a jacket with me as the sky above no longer held a clear sky with a sun.


    It was instead overcast with a dull, gray color, with wispy, thin clouds spread all throughout.


    "...snow huh? It''s been a while..."

 Chapter 206 - 206:Recruiting [5]

    Walking toward security guards, who were already familiar with me by now, I waved my paper pass before heading inside.


    Opening the familiar doors of the royal dormitory, I took a quick glance inside, ensuring that nobody was around.


    Peering through a crack in the door, I sighed upon seeing the common room and hallway were empty.


    Taking out my smartphone, I sent a quick message to Charlotte.


    [Ren: I''m outside.]


    *BZZT~BZZT*


    Not even giving me time to look away from my smartphone, Charlotte immediately replied.


    [Charlotte: And, what exactly are you waiting for? The snow? Come in.] Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...little does she know.


    Opening the doors fully, I entered the luxurious hallways before taking off my jacket and wrapping around my waste.


    A moment later, I heard a slight noise echo from further down the hallway while a familiar soft and calm voice spoke.


    "You''re late."


    Shrugging my shoulders, I replied.


    "Am I?"


    Shaking her head as she walked past me, Charlottle muttered.


    "Don''t act stupid; you know I can see the ''silenced'' and ''read'' notifications on your smartwatch."


    Walking through the lavish hallway, I looked upwards, admiring the diamond chandeliers hanging from the ceilings.


    Meanwhile, Charlotte paid no attention to expensive decorations, continuing to lead down the wall.


    After another minute, Charlotte and I actually arrived at a place that was familiar to me.


    Along the walls of the hallways were countless paintings, each already familiar to me from my first time in the dormitory with Ruby.


    Finally, Charlotte stopped in front of a seemingly normal painting before turning to me.


    Then, she promptly removed a key from her pocket for before raising her hand to the painting.


    Without a second of hesitation, she trusted the key forward right at the painting.


    But, instead of going through the canvas and tearing the painting, the key simply passed through the painting as if it were holographic.


    Seeing Charlotte standing normally as if her hand was not literally inside a painting, I blurted out.


    "A subspace...?"


    Smirking at my awestruck face, Charlotte nodded her head before gesturing to me.


    A second later, Charlotte jumped through the painting, her figure disappearing from my sight as she went further and further into the painting.


    In the next moment, Charlotte was nowhere to be seen, leaving behind the painting only.


    Scratching my head, I imagined Charlotte angrily waiting for me before hesitantly stepping forward.


    Jumping into the painting, I subcouscisley braced myself for impact as I had no idea what was on the other side of the painting.


    However, just as I passed through the painting, I reopened my eyes, finding myself standing upright.


    Awkwardly removing my hands, which had covered my head in fear of the impact, I glanced at the room.


    ...it was underwhelming, to say the least.


    The room was relatively small compared to my gigantic warehouse... and just like my warehouse when I first got it, it was empty.


    There was no furniture, tables... or objects for that matter.


    Besides a couple of boxes filled to the brim that sat next to the wall, the room was completely empty.


    The walls weren''t even painted, and you could see scratches and holes all around the room.


    Shaking my head, I asked.


    "...is this room really...?"


    Opening up one of the boxes, Charlottle explained.


    "The principal was able to give me this room... because at least someone saw how unfair this situation was."


    Gesturing for me to come over, she continued.


    "But that was all. The principal insisted on remaining neutral in the battle between my brother and I, so she said this all she could give me to even out the playing fields."


    Picking up one of the boxes, I grumpily asked, despite already knowing the answer.


    "And who will be doing the cleaning?"


    "*PFFT* Us two!"


    "...is this really a Knight Order!?"


    The next two hours consisted of Charlotte and I setting up the extra room that had been given to Charlotte by the principal without the prince''s knowledge.


    Picking up another box and setting up a desk, I questioned.


    "You have plenty of servants and people who would help; why are we the ones doing the hard labor?"


    Arranging the various materials and shutting the drawers, Charlotte shook her head and replied.


    "You never know who you can trust."


    "..."


    "I can''t just keep all my paperwork and items in my room... I''m sure my brother has already taken precautions by bribing the servants and maids."


    As I continued talking with Charlotte about how she had obtained the secret room, I also learned that the room wasn''t actually a subspace.


    The principal, renowned for illusion magic, had just embedded one of her spells into the painting.


    The painting was actually an illusion and just an entrance to this secret room.


    So, unlike my actual subspace, this room couldn''t be removed as you moved the entrance painting; the magic would fade away, revealing this room to everyone.


    Wiping the sweat off my face, I finished setting u the last couple of placards before turning to Charlotte.


    Seeing her clean and set up things like a servant or assistant, I almost couldn''t believe she was a princess.


    In the book, she was portrayed as a robot, with her sole goal being to win the fight against her brother at the cost of anything, even sacrificing others.


    Yet, seeing her like a normal person, my feelings started to change.


    "And, what are you looking at?"


    Shaking my head, I replied.


    "We''re done."


    Although the room was still a bit rugged, it was starting to come into shape as there were couches and tables all over, even a small kitchen area in the corner.


    Sitting down on one of the couches, Charlotte said.


    "Alright, we''re done for today; you can go... I have to finish some things."


    Nodding my head, I headed up the stairs, arriving back at the entrance.


    Peeking my head out of the painting, making it seem like I was just a floating head in the air, I ensured that no one was around before jumping out.

 Chapter 207 - 207:Visitors [1]

    Not wasting a second, I exited the Royal Dormitory before arriving back at my dorm.


    Although today consisted of just physical labor, I gathered plenty of information about the principal from Charlotte''s stories.


    Know your enemy better than yourself.


    That was a line I took to heart... and one that I could actually use, considering I had read and followed the adventures of the very characters I was fighting for over two years.


    Slumping into bed, I glanced at the windowsill where my cat was sleeping before closing my eyes.


    Tomorrow was the first day of official recruitment, and my days of relaxation would come to an end.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Awoken by the sun''s rays beaming down on my face and the sound of chirping birds from outside the window, I sighed.


    It was false!


    Today was the first day of snow, yet the sun was still shining as brightly as ever, and clouds were not even visible in the light blue sky.


    Not only that, but light blue skies and bright suns usually represent a good day, but I was sure this was going to be the opposite!


    Shaking my head, I walked over to the kitchen before preparing a quick meal for my cat, which was still asleep in its bed.


    Washing my hands, I headed to the bathroom to shower and get ready.


    Putting my academy uniform on and tightening the collar around my neck, I glanced at the clock out of the corner of my eye.


    Thankfully, I was on time and had some spare time.


    Though I wasn''t planning on getting recruited, the people in our classrooms would be powerful people with tons of connections, so arriving late and making them have a bad first impression of me would be stupid.


    I straightened my hair in the mirror and applied a product similar to chapstick from Earth. I checked the email application on my smartwatch.


    [Dear Students, this is the first official day of recruitment, so please behave in the best way. Not only are you representing the academy, but you are also representing yourself today.


    You are a marketer trying to sell your product, yourself in this case, to the countless recruiters around the academy.


    With that in mind, here are some basic instructions and rules that will be followed for the next week.


    1. If you are recruited and accept the offer, place a pin on your academy uniform so you can signify to other recruiters that you are taken and their time is not wasted on you.


    2. Weather expectations. As everyone knows, we are officially entering the season of snow... despite the unusually sunny skies right now, so please wear extra clothing to avoid being cold.


    3. Once recruited, you have three days to accept the offer. If you don''t accept or don''t reply within three days, it will be considered a rejection of the offer.


    4. On your school smartwatch, an app has been installed that gives you information about all the guilds that recruiters are coming from. Please use this make an informed decision should you be recruited.


    5. Consider the recruiters around you as teachers. Do not disturb them if it is not necessary, but you may ask questions. It is up to the recruiter whether they would like to answer you or not.


    6. Finally, the courtyard will be under maintenance for the next few days, so do not come near to the surrounding area unless you would like to be punished.]


    Shaking my head, I grabbed a piece of toast before heading out the door and down the stairs of my dorm building.


    Maintenance?


    That was the best excuse they could give to prevent people from going to the courtyard?


    Surely, just saying you had to water the grass for the next couple of days would be more logical and believable.


    Taking a bite of the toast covered with butter, I winced upon seeing countless unfamiliar adults walking around the academy with clipboards.


    The visitors have arrived...


    The student around me, usually rushing and running to get to their classes on time, were walking with their shoulders pushed upwards and chin up, overly showing their jawlines off.


    Also, looking around, I realized that I was the only one with food in my mouth...


    Cramming the piece of toast into my mouth, I wiped the crumbs off my hands before following in their example. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    But... after only a moment, I gave up, lowered my shoulders, and adjusted my posture for the worse.


    Walking like a pretentious prick was harder than I thought...


    Arriving at the first-year building, I opened the door, immediately seeing the hallways practically empty except for a couple of scrambling students.


    "...was five minutes early to class too late...?"


    Enjoying the silence, I walked through the halls, nodding my head at each recruiter who passed by.


    However, most of them simply ignored me or were too busy writing on their clipboard to reciprocate my nod.


    Unfazed, I arrived at my classroom and took a glance inside through the open door.


    Inhaling as my gaze swept across the fully crowded classroom that resembled those college lectures with a one-teacher to over two hundred students ratio, I stepped back for a moment.


    All of the top-ranking students, including Liam, Lily, Irene, Ruby, Kevin, Alya, and even Zach, were in this classroom, so I shouldn''t have been surprised.


    Yet, as I stared at the sheer amount of recruiters crammed into the small classroom, my mouth opened in shock.


    "ALL OF THIS FOR SOME HIGH-SCHOOLERS!?"


    Besides the ton of recruiters crammed against the classroom walls, all of the desks... beside mine were filled.


    Even Professor Zia was there early as she stared at my empty seat with an expression that I couldn''t even decipher.


    Putting my head down, I walked into the classroom, already expecting everyone to stare at me.


    However, as I looked up, I noticed that instead of staring at me, the last person to arrive, my classmates were looking at the whiteboard behind Professor Zia.

 Chapter 208 - 208:Visitors [2]

    Not wanting to stop mid-stride and turn around to look at the whiteboard, I quickly made my way to the seat between Jin and Han.


    Before looking at the whiteboard, I took one last glance at the crowd of recruiters who were eagerly staring at us.


    It was clear that there was a hierarchy among the recruiters as the ones with stronger Knight Orders had small desks set up for them so they didn''t have to stand.


    Finally finishing my sweep of the recruiters, I sighed upon realizing that there were no familiar figures.


    Maybe... he had sent an agent.


    Finally looking upward, I stared at the big white words, written in chalk, plastered all over the whiteboard.


    [Technique Demonstration]


    [For this entire day, up until school officially ends, you and your classmates will be participating in a skills demonstration.


    This skill demonstration will take place in a magic space created by the school administrators.


    In this magic space, students will participate in a battle royale where they fight against their classmates to earn the top ranking.


    Before entering a magic space, all of your weapons and armor will be confiscated, leaving you with only your skills.


    Similar to a battle royale, loot chests, which include various weapons and artifacts, will spawn around the magic space.


    Upon eliminating one of your classmates, you will receive all of their items and artifacts alongside an increase in your final rating.


    Do not consider your health when fighting, as you will be automatically eliminated and removed from the magic space once you are injured to the point where you can no longer fight.


    Students may also voluntarily exit the magic space and forfeit if they would like to.


    If you have any more questions, please ask your assigned teacher before the demonstration starts.


    This demonstration will include over four hundred students, as all of the first-year will be participating.


    As mentioned before, your rating can be increased.... or decreased, and this rating will determine your final placement.


    For example, a student with seven eliminations, who was the tenth student out, may receive a higher placement than a student with zero eliminations, who was the hundredth student out.


    HOWEVER, this rule does not apply to the top ten rankings.


    Once there are ten students remaining, ratings are dismissed, and your placements are completely determined by how many students were out before you.


    Again, this is a ''demonstration'', and therefore, your results will not impact your grade or anything school-related.]


    Shaking my head as the last few words on the whiteboard, I shifted my gaze towards my anxious classmates.


    Won''t affect anything, my ass.


    This demonstration could make or break your entire life.


    Secure a top ten spot in the battle royal and receive a contract from a Knight Order that could quite literally change your life.


    Get out first or second and be in last place; your reputation would be tarnished, and your hopes of getting into a high-ranking Knight Order would disappear.


    It was like taking the SAT or ACT... but ten times worse.


    Looking down at Professor Zia, who was awkwardly standing by her lecture, I almost smiled.


    Her expression practically said, "Don''t blame! I had nothing to do with this demonstration. I actually advocated against it!"


    Of course, having read the book, I knew this was going to happen, so I wasn''t surprised like everyone else.


    *RING~RING*


    As the bell rang, Professor Zia finally spoke, breaking the awkward atmosphere surrounding the classroom.


    "I hope all of you have read and understood the rules listed above."


    "..." Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I''ll take that as a yes...Before we get into any questions, be aware that the entirety of this ''demonstration'' will be broadcast to the recruiters."


    Covering her face and expression with her hand, Professor Zia paused before continuing.


    "Recruiters are also able to... help students in ways. Each recruiter will be assigned an equal amount of points, no matter the power of their Knight Order."


    "These points can then be used to gift students that the recruiter selects food, weapons... and the location of other students."


    Raising her head, Professor Zia glanced at the silent classroom once again before awkwardly asking.


    "Are there any questions?"


    The classroom remained silent; people who actually had questions were too scared to speak up due to the crushing atmosphere, and others were completely blinded by nerves.


    Right as Professor Zia was about to turn around, a hand suddenly raised from the center of the class, drawing both the recruiter''s and student''s attention.


    Glancing at the raised hand, Professor Zia quickly asked.


    "What is your question, Lily."


    Already knowing the question, I covered my face, not willing to show any changes in my expression.


    "You said that this is a solo event... but our alliances able to be made."


    Power of teamwork!!!


    After taking a moment to think, Professor Zia replied.


    "Yes... the academy cannot stop alliances from being made among students."


    After that, the mood around of the classroom got better as people weren''t on as much edge as earlier.


    Following Lily''s question, Professor Zia glanced at the recruiters before gesturing to them.


    Within seconds, the crowd of recruiters exited the classroom, leaving just Professor Zia and us students.


    Professor Zia said, putting down her piece of chalk.


    "Do not move from here for five minutes. After that, you''ll be automatically transferred into the magic space."


    With those last words, Professor Zia turned around and exited the classroom, sliding the door shut behind her.


    After a couple of moments of initial silence, some discussions began, all of course relating to the battle royale.


    Turning to Jin and Han, I contemplated asking them to team up so I could help them increase their placement.


    Well... that was even if I stayed that long.


    Checking my smartwatch, I saw a quick message pop up.


    [Charlotte: I know you''re wondering, so I''ll tell you. I''ll be participating, not as a student, but as a Knight Order recruiter. My brother will also be doing the same.]


    Was there even a point to me participating in this ''demonstration?''

 Chapter 209 - 209:Visitors [3]

    Of course, the prince and princess couldn''t be recruited as they were a part of the imperial family, so it would be useless for them to compete.


    Looking up from my smartwatch, I saw Jin and Han being oddly reserved and quiet about the whole situation instead of confused and stressed.


    Further into the classroom, I could that besides us three and the main cast, who Lily had likely told about the event, everyone else was stressed and shivering.


    Turning to Jin and Han, I curiously questioned.


    "Are you two not nervous?"


    Speaking from my right, Jin immediately replied in a proud voice.


    "The instructions and board said it won''t be worth anything or contribute to our grade, right? Why should I care then!?"


    ...do I tell him?


    This was like when your teacher gave you an exam and said that your grade doesn''t matter as it is for "practice" and "personal reference."


    Then, then the next day, that very same teacher would walk in pissed with the graded papers, asking why everyone did so horribly and asking us if we thought she was a terrible teacher.


    Before I could make up my mind, Han awkwardly laughed before saying.


    "Enough with the joking, Jin. Honestly, I''m not stressed or anything because what is that going to do to help me? I''ve... just accepted these circumstances like a leaf being blown away in the wind."


    Shaking my head, I chuckled, breaking the silent atmosphere within the classroom, and replied.


    "That poetry elective has done numbers on you, Han." sea??h th§× NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Also laughing, Jin quickly added.


    "Don''t forget, he''s also talking ''philosophy.'' Who cares what a bunch of old guys who were alive thousands of years ago think?"


    Pausing for a moment, Jin smiled before saying.


    "They''re dead, and we aren''t. Clearly, we''re doing something right and they''re doing something wrong!"


    ...it would be a good point if... yeah, never mind.


    Ignoring our jokes, Han looked at the board for a second before turning back to us and asking.


    "So... we''re forming an alliance, right?"


    Surprised, Jin asked.


    "Is that even a question?"


    As the words came out of Jin''s mouth, Han tried to discreetly look at me out of the corner of his eyes.


    Folding under the pressure of Jin and Han''s stares, I waved my hands up and down before replying.


    "Of course, we''re forming an alliance... there''s just one problem."


    Pointing to the area of writing at the edge of the board, I said.


    "...all of us are going to be spawned into the magical space at different locations... so how exactly are we going to meet up?"


    After thinking for a moment, Han seemed to have a light-bulb moment and rapidly turned around and said.


    "I got it! We don''t know anything about the location and setting of the magical space... but there has to be a center. Let''s just all meet there and form an alliance from the center!"


    Shaking my head, I indicated that Han and Jin should be quiet for a moment before pointing at the group of students right in front of us.


    "Yeah, Alice is right; let''s just meet at the center."


    "Every magical space has a center, and it''ll be easy to get there, so we can all just meet up there."


    Sighing, Han leaned back in his chair while Jin continued to think.


    Shifting my gaze upwards, I glanced at the clock, seeing that there were still around three minutes before we were transported.


    And just as the three-minute mark passed by, I finally noticed it happening.


    On the right side of the room, around fifteen students, more coming with every passing second, had gathered.


    The teacher said alliances could be made... but they didn''t say how large these alliances could be.


    Thankfully, as a seemingly weak and feeble student, I wasn''t the target of the alliance.


    It was simple.


    The weaker students knew that the strong students, in this case, the main cast, would team up.


    Thus, if they faced them one by one, of course, their chances of losing were a hundred percent.


    So... it was simple, around thirty of the students, in this class one, would form an alliance with the main goal of defeating the main cast.


    Of course, these students didn''t think far enough to decide what would happen if they could actually take down Ruby, Liam, Kevin, Lily, Alya, Zach, and Irene.


    But, it was pretty obvious; they would all turn on each other to secure the most eliminations and highest placement possible.


    One might think that this alliance would obviously not work and the main cast would easily pound them as there was no trust amongst each other.


    Everyone in the alliance only cared about securing the highest placement possible and getting recruited.


    Unlike them, the main cast all trusted each other and had amazing teamwork due to the countless traumatic experiences they had been through together.


    Yet, it wasn''t as it seemed.


    There were over four hundred students in the grade.


    There were thirty students in this class of forty who were planning to join the alliance of the main cast.


    That''s 75% and if we apply that to the four hundred students, that''s over three hundred students that would likely be in this one alliance.


    And for this battle royale scenario, big alliances were perfect.


    They could monopolize the supply drops using their large numbers to slow the main cast down while others gathered crates.


    What they failed to comprehend... is how this would look to recruiters.


    Who cares if you placed ninth place when you just teamed up with over three hundred students to defeat a small group of ten students!?


    Not only that, but these ten students they were teaming up against were the exact students who the recruiters desperately wanted!


    Shaking my head, I turned to Han and Jin before asked.


    "You''re not planning on joining whatever that group is, right?"


    As Han nodded his head furiously, Jin said.


    "How am I going to stand out when I''m teamed with them!"


    The next second, Han and I''s expression immediately changed.


    "...are you saying that you''re going to stand out more with us because we''re w-"

 Chapter 210 - 210:Visitors [4]

    As I heard the alliance became formalized, with the meeting spot of the magic space''s center, I glanced at the main cast.


    Even with all the gazes directed at them, each jealous or fueled by negative emotions, the four girls and three boys remained calm.


    They just talked amongst each other, pretending as if no one else in the classroom existed.


    Turning my head to Han and Jin, I scratched my head before making a decision.


    If Lily was going to use her future knowledge to help her friends, why couldn''t I just it to help Han and Jin?


    Those shameless people were already probably discussing the setting of the mana space and how they were going to use it to their advantage!


    Gesturing at the two boys to come closer to me, I leaned forward, making sure nobody was watching us, before whispering in their ears.


    "When you spawn into the magic space... you''ll see a massive tower on the east side of the map. Let''s all meet there, alright?"


    Leaning forward, Han skeptically asked.


    "How exactly do you know that will be true?"


    "Just trust me, alright? Even if I''m wrong, nothing will change."


    As Han and Jin nodded their heads, I leaned back in my chair, making sure not to draw any further suspicion.


    Telling Han and Jin more about the magic space now would be useless as, contrary to their calm and composed appearances, I could tell they were nervous.


    I mean, the desk was quite literally going up and down from all their fidgeting.


    Anyway, unlike the main cast, we weren''t going for a win or anything, just a high ranking so Han and Jin could get recruited.


    Our time was going to be much easier... maybe a bit fun if time permitted.


    Looking as the clock reached the one-minute mark, I sighed before forming a tiny piece of physical corruption in my hands.


    Would the magic space be able to take this away from me?


    The next second, the black piece of corruption disappeared, instead placed by a blood-red ruby gemstone I had manifested using the Dragon-red substance or Dragon''s Inferno as I had nicknamed it.


    I was sure the magic space wouldn''t be able to take this away due to its special nature.


    Surprisingly, this battle royale in the book had no interference from djinns or any evil organizations... but I knew not to trust the book.


    *TIC*


    *TOC*


    *TIC


    As the clock counted down the last few seconds, I closed my eyes, preparing for the instant change of surroundings that would occur.


    As my vision turned black, I felt my surroundings shift as various abnormal sounds flooded my ears and the sunlight beamed down on my face.


    Not wasting a second, I opened my eyes, immediately staring down at my hand.


    Testing all of my powers, I smiled as I saw a piece of physical corruption and a ruby gemstone form in my hands.


    Dispersing the two items, I glanced upward at the sky, peering all the way up until my vision hit the barrier of the magic space.


    In the air, I could see countless drones flying around, each equipped with a security camera and various other equipment.


    "...guess no Dragon''s wind today."


    Considering the fact that many djinns would probably watch the recordings in some shape or form, revealing the full extent of my powers would be stupid.


    One of my biggest strengths was my unique and weird powers that nobody could expect from just looking at me.


    If the djinns, who I would eventually have to fight, formed a profile of me using this information I handed to them for no reason, then that strength would be taken away.


    Glancing to the east side, I peered through the forest that I had spawned in before easily spotting a massive and looming tower.


    Activating dash''s usage period, I sprinted forward, using the dash ability every time my cool-down reset.


    Within a few minutes, I had reached the end of the forest, dashing forward into the fields of grass that awaited me ahead.


    This magic space consisted of almost every environment you could think of: forests, deserts, beaches, oceans, plains, mountains, and even volcanos.


    They had done this so that no elemental mage, like a fire mage, had an advantage during the entire space.


    Sometimes... they care about the students... sometimes, they don''t, I really don''t get this school.


    Wiping a beat of sweat that had formed on my forehead, I peered ahead, noticing Jin already waiting at the base of the tower.


    Not reveling in my bad luck at being spawned so far from the tower, I continued sprinting forward, noticing many people as I passed.


    Yet, none of them initiated a conversation or attempt to attack, instead ignoring me and sprinting towards the center of the magic space.


    During the five minutes before all of us had been transferred into the magic space, we still had our technological devices.


    Someone had probably spread information about the alliance against the main cast through various first-year group chats and forums.


    "...it''s not so bad being the common enemy anymore!"


    It''s ironic how the heroes are always seen as enemies...


    First me, and now the main cast.


    Finally arriving at the base of the large tower, resembling a watch tower from the medieval ages, I said to Jin.


    "W-when did you get here?"


    Shrugging his shoulders, Jin smirked and replied.


    "At the very start! I quite literally spawned it right next it."


    Holding back my fist, I sighed and asked.


    "Any news of Han?"


    "Nope, but is it still early? He''s probably on his way." sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Nodding my head, I leaned against the tower, hiding my face from the beaming sunlight ahead.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    "It has to have been at least thirty minutes, now... where is that guy!?"


    Shaking my head, I sarcastically replied to Jin.


    "Not everyone is as lucky as you... have patience."


    However, as another fifteen minutes passed, my wariness also started to grow.


    Peering through the area around us, I sighed upon seeing Han nowhere in sight.

 Chapter 211 - 211:Battle Royale [1]

    Voicing my concerns, Jin hesitantly asked.


    "Could he have run into some trouble on the way here...?"


    Nodding my head, I answered.


    "We''ll wait ten minutes more... and then move."


    Nodding his head, Jin responded.


    "Yeah... looking for him in this huge area is close to impossible... so we should start soon!"


    Sighing, I shook my head and continued glancing around, hoping for any sign of a fight or human tracks.


    The only reason I had stayed in this tournament in the first place was to ensure both Jin and Han got a high enough placement to be recruited.


    *BOOM*


    *SUPPLY DROP INCOMING*


    As the words echoed throughout the entire stadium from a gigantic speaker hanging from the top of the magic space, Jin and I''s gaze shifted upward at the sky.


    Peering through the entire sky, I found a small balloon slowly descending from the top of the stadium.


    The main cast wouldn''t go for the first supply drop as they knew it would be crowded with enemies.


    Rather, they would save their energy and go for the supply drop spots that were farther away from the center of the magic space. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And they knew as time went on, the alliance of over three hundred students would be weakened further and further as arguments would start.


    Many students also betrayed the alliance, eliminating their fellow classmates in hopes of getting a higher rating.


    All in all, the main cast didn''t have to worry about the alliance as time would take them out itself... is what they would think.


    Recalling the message that had popped up on my smartwatch just before we were being transported, a slight smile formed on my face.


    [Charlotte: Change of plans...Bertus is planning to compete in the battle royale. I think... he''s just trying to go for first place to increase his fame and start gathering followers.]


    [Ren: Does that mean you''ll be competing?]


    [Charlotte: ...don''t be stupid, I''ll surely lose]


    [Ren: Aren''t you and the prince similarly matched? What''s the difference.]


    [Charlotte: Oh, the difference is quite small! He''s just become the leader of an alliance with over half the school in it! Don''t worry, I can surely win against that!]


    For whatever reason, it seemed that the plot had once again deviated from the book, as instead of recruiting his fellow classmates to his Knight Order, Bertus was actually competing.


    Shaking my head, I peered upward into the sky again, confirming that there were no drones around me.


    As expected, none of the recruiters wanted to watch Jin and me stand around while doing nothing, so there were no drones.


    Manifesting a slick, black bow, I grasped at the string below, pulled it back, and manifested an arrow.


    Nocking the arrow, I aimed right at the balloon that was holding the supply box that contained the artifacts in the air.


    Next, while the arrow was still pressed against the string of my bow, I manifested an object that resembled a boomerange from Earth.


    Confirming the trajectory of the slowly descending supply drop with my air, I released my arrow, spiraling towards the supply drop.


    Creating a beautiful arc as it flew, the night-black arrow seemed like a piece of bacteria, invading the pure-blue sky above with darkness.


    In less than five seconds, the glossy black arrow had already traveled all the distance necessary, piercing the balloon of supply drop.


    With nothing to hold it back from free-falling toward the ground, the supply box suddenly accelerated downward at the ground.


    At the same time, I threw the boomerang-shaped object forward, matching its trajectory to the same as the arrow I just shot.


    However, I slightly lowered its end point before throwing it.


    As the supply drop plummeted downward, its top cracked open under the pressure of the air, causing artifacts and various items to flow out.


    Taking a bit longer, the arrow, the boomerang, finally reached its endpoint or the exact area where the items were flowing out of the supply drop.


    Catching a couple of items that spilled out of the supply drop on its top, the boomerang suddenly made an abrupt turn.


    With countless items on it from the supply drop, the boomerang began flying back at me, dropping a couple of items in the forest below as it passed.


    Opening my hand wide, I allowed the boomerang-shaped object to land in my hands before turning it down, causing the remaining items to fall onto the ground.


    "Well... something is better than nothing."


    As I stared at the countless objects scattered on the ground, Jin walked over to me in confusion.


    Shifting his gaze downwards, Jin scratched his head for a moment before asking.


    "...where did these come from?"


    Recalling a certain rule from earlier, I didn''t hesitate to reply.


    "Ah... one of the recruiters gave us a gift! We must be really entertaining and recruitable right now!"


    "...but we''re just standing still. I mean, we''ll still take it!"


    Shrugging his shoulders, Jin leaned down and began looking through the items.


    While Jin scrummaged through items, I leaned downwards, picking up small circular items that Jin had missed.


    A compass.


    Not wasting a second, I immediately set the target of the compass object, scrolling through the entire directory of first years until I finally found Han.


    As I confirmed the target, I watched the compass disintegrate apart before eventually disappearing.


    The next moment, a map of the entire magic space appeared in my hands with an X marked on the northern part of it.


    A compass would be too overpowered in a battle royale event, so instead, they just gave you the current location of any person one time.


    Seeing Jin pick up a few potions alongside a cool, iron sword, I gestured to him and said.


    "Alright, let''s go find Han."


    "You sure, you don''t want anything?"


    Smiling, I pointed to a drone that had just arrived on my location and was currently floating above us.


    "I think a certain princess has me covered on that part."

 Chapter 212 - 212:Battle Royale [2]

    Turning away from the drone hovering a bit above us, I watched Jin pick up the last few items before departing from the tower.


    Glancing at the map that displays Han''s location from the time I used the compass, I sighed.


    Clearly, he had run into some trouble on the way here, but as I could see earlier, the normal students weren''t causing any trouble.


    All of them simply went to the center of the magic space to meet up with the alliance without bothering to do anything else.


    I''m a hater or a doubter of Han''s power... but if he ran into some trouble, he would probably already have been eliminated.


    Yet, as I could see from the map, Han was still in the game.


    That left just one possibility.


    The main cast had gotten to Han before I did.


    They woudln''t eliminate him as he wasn''t a threat to them, and they also were some of the few people not heading the center.


    With Jin by my side, I gestured to the map before saying.


    "Han''s over here."


    Nodding his head, Jin sped up his pace after glancing at the map, prompting me to speed up as well.


    Jin and the old "Ren" had probably participated in battle royales together in what would be called middle school on Earth, so he probably knew what a compass item was.


    Crossing through the forest, I dashed forward, following after Jin, who had a movement skill that allowed me to double jump.


    He could quite literally jump on the air and boost himself forward without losing any balance.


    Hm?


    Staring upward, I noticed that the drone, which I assumed belonged to my Knight Order or Charlotte, was still following us.


    Doesn''t she have other people she needs to follow and recruit?


    Pausing for a moment, I glanced at the forest ahead and peered through the branches, seeing a desert.


    To arrive at Han''s current location, we would need to cross a lot of obstacles present in the desert and forest ahead.... unless.


    Waiting a moment, I screamed out to Jin, who was ahead of me since I had stopped.


    "WAIT A MOMENT!"


    Pausing, Jin turned back before staring at me with a confused expression.


    Gesturing for him to come toward me, I pointed at the drone that was hovering right above the forest.


    Seeing the drone, Jin crossed his hands before responding. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "yeah, yeah, congrats, Ren, you''re popular with the recruiters."


    Shaking my head, I replied.


    "no, no, not that."


    Watching the drone simply levitate above us, I smiled before gesturing for Jin to follow me.


    Climbing a nearby tree trunk, I stood on one of the branches, and before the drone could react, I jumped forward.


    Stopping myself from free-falling, I gripped onto the bottom of the drone, causing it to slightly lose its balance.


    The next second, Jin followed. As he was about to free-fall through the air, I grasped his hand, adding further pressure to the drone.


    Looking at the camera that was at the front of the drone, holding us up from following, I smiled and said.


    "One taxi ride to here!"


    Barely staying in the air, the drone simply stared at the map for a solid minute before finally looking away.


    Keeping my hopes alive, the drone slowly floated away before quickly gaining pace, dragging Jin and me along with it.


    Looking downward at the forest as we flew over, I said to Jin.


    "See, now, isn''t this much better."


    Loosening his grip on my hand, Jin seemed to not notice my words as he stared down at the forest in awe.


    Ah, this is his first time flying, isn''t it?


    I was like that once...


    Shaking my head, I watched as the scenery below quickly transformed from forest to desert, and the drone began to gain pace.


    Although we weren''t traveling much faster than simply running, it was still much nicer and more energy-efficient!


    As the air blew back my hair, I alternated gazes between my map and the scenery below me, confirming we were in the correct location.


    Looking up at the drone, I said.


    "Look around here for a bit."


    Obeying my instructions, the drone lowered its height, hovering right above the swamp-like environment we were currently in.


    Gripping the rails below the drone even harder, I pulled Jin up to my height before saying.


    "Hold onto this."


    As Jin let go out of my hand and gripped the rails, I pulled myself upward before catching my balance on top of the drone.


    Standing on top of the drone, I peered downward through the entire swamp-like area, looking for any sign of Han.


    Fortunately, I didn''t just find a sign of Han... but I found him.


    "That''s not the main cast..."


    With three people, seemingly normal students, facing him, Han was helpless as he was tied against a tree, unable to move.


    Not wasting a single second, I grabbed Jin''s hand before combining the Dragon''s Inferno with the corruption inside my body.


    A second later, a large wing sprouted from my right shoulder, in complete contrast to the vibrant colors around us.


    Flapping my pitch-black and blood-red wing, I didn''t wait for Jin''s reaction, immediately disappearing from the top of the drone and ten meters forward.


    *FLAP*


    *FLAP*


    Reaching Han, I floated above the three students for a second before immediately flapping my wing.


    Disappearing from the air, I appeared on the ground, with Jin on the ground next to me.


    Manifesting two corrupted daggers, I silently walked up to two of the students.


    *SLASH*


    *SLASH*


    The next moment, the bodies of the two students disintegrated into thousands of pieces before disappearing.


    Dashing forward, I watched the last student''s face transform from happy to horror before also taking him out.


    *SLASH*


    Jin, regaining his standing on the ground, stared at the disappearing student''s bodies in silence.


    Meanwhile, I walked over the tree and cut the ropes binding Han to the tree before helping him up.

 Chapter 213 - 213:Battle Royale [3]

    A moment later, countless items and various artifacts began appearing in the locations where the three students used to be.


    Ignoring the items, I immediately de-manifested both my wings before bending downwards.


    Now that I was officially on the elimination leaderboard for the battle royale, more drones would start to appear.


    I wasn''t against revealing my power and abilities, but I wasn''t going to do it if it wasn''t necessary or a requirement.


    Wiping the dust off my hands, I helped Han to his feet before turning back to the awestruck Jin.


    Shrugging my shoulders, I replied.


    "I picked up a couple of tricks, you know?"


    Standing up and readjusting his pants, Han chuckled before responding to Jin.


    "Did you know? Well, I''m not complaining after that!"


    After bowing in thanks, Han went over to Jin and began rationing out the items that we had picked up from the supply drop earlier.


    Seeing them finishing distributing the items, I walked over and curiously asked Han.


    "So...what happened to you?"


    Avoiding Jin and me''s curious gaze, Han looked at the ground before ashamedly admitting.


    "I found a chest... but before I could loot it, five students popped up. I was too distracted by the items to notice them, so they easily beat me."


    Thinking for a moment, I questioned.


    "How come they didn''t just eliminate you and instead kept you alive?"


    Looking up from the ground, a slight smile began to take form on Han''s face as he eagerly replied.


    "I told them I knew where another chest was, so they didn''t kill me. I just told them a random location, and they sent two students to go look for it while the three you took out stayed with me."


    Tapping Han on the shoulder, I praised.


    "Good thinking!"


    As Han''s expression quickly lightened and he no longer felt ashamed, the three of us departed, not allowing the other two students to see us.


    While it was true that a lot of students were in the alliance led by the prince, Bertus, just as I had seen, some students did not join.


    The main cast weren''t the only ones roaming the forest with us... there were some stray students around.


    For the next hour, the three of us simply walked through the forest while keeping an attentive watch on our surroundings.


    Occasionally, I would use my eyes to peer around the entire forest, finding a couple of chests in the process.


    Then, instead of heading directly to the chests, I would pretend to get lost or make some random turn because "I heard something."


    Then, like magic, the chest I had found be lying right in front of out path ahead.


    As one last chest appeared in the distance, right below a nearby tree, Jin stared at me for a moment before happily exclaiming.


    "...HOW LUCKY ARE WE!?"


    Han, on the other hand, gazed at me for a couple of seconds before turning away without questioning our "luck."


    Usually, Jin would be happy to see another chest, but at this point, all of our arms were filled with items, so we didn''t even have space for more.


    We were probably the most geared students right now.


    Grumpily opening the chest, the three of us began searching through the items, trying to find a more useful one than we already had.


    A half-Health potion or double-mana potion."


    In unison, Han and I replied.


    "Double-mana potion." S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Thus, as the two of us stood up from the final chest, Han was equipped with his usual crossbow while having a quiver filled with arrows tied to his back.


    Each arrow in the quiver was special, its tip colored with different colors like green or purple, representing a poison arrow or an immobilization arrow.


    As the official marksman of our group, Han also had a green cloak that allowed him to blend in with our surroundings.


    Although Han wasn''t necessarily the best with the bows and other long-ranged reasons, his movement ability, Gravity Flux, essentially forced him to.


    Just as it sounds, Han''s ability allowed him to manipulate gravity for a short period of time, making his weight absolutely zero.


    Although the ability was extremely powerful, it was hard on Han at first; if he used it, he would immediately start flying upwards as there was nothing holding him to the ground anymore.


    Letting out a chuckle, I recalled the time when Jin and I had to fish Han out of a tree because he accidentally activated the ability.


    However, as Han got used to the ability, it actually became quite powerful as it allowed Han to walk on walls and ceilings and fly if he could control it.


    While this ability would be useless for close-combat fighters like me and my dagger, the ability allowed Han to easily avoid spells or hide in places that no one would ever check while firing a relentless barrage of arrows.


    On the other hand, Jin was equipped with slick and silver odachi, which was currently held in a scabbard that was hanging around his waist.


    The long and thin sword resembled a katana; however, unlike a katana, the odachi''s blade length was far longer.


    This was both a strength and a weakness, as the odachi allowed for stronger strikes than a katana because of its increased blade length.


    However, the katana''s shorter blade length made it faster and much more manageable to use.


    This meant that despite Jin having a sword, I was the close-combat dealer of our group because of my daggers.


    My daggers were small and curved, so I could swing them countless more times in a single second than Jin could swing his odachi.


    The odachi wouldn''t be able to keep up the relentless barrage of swings that a broadsword could do.


    The swings of odachi required time; however, that also meant that each swing carried an immense amount of power with it.


    So, instead, Jin played more of a flex role as he was able to play both long range due to his increased blade length and short range with the odachi occasioanlly.

 Chapter 214 - 214:Battle Royale [4]

    Jin''s movement ability was more versatile than Hans''s as it was useful for any sort of weapon user, even magic users.


    Portal blink allowed Jin to create small portals that he could only travel through and that could take him to any location within a thirty-meter range. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    This ability was still far worse than teleportation, as creating the portal required time and effort.


    However, unlike teleportation, the portal created from the ability stayed alive until it was used.


    And... Jin could create multiple portals at the same time.


    He could quite literally have over five portals just standing there, waiting for him and only him to use them.


    This meant Jin could plan out his teleportation before even using them by creating multiple portals ahead of time in a certain place.


    Imagine a field filled with countless magic portals, each leading to a place that Jin designated them to and only for his use.


    While it was true that enemies could destroy these portals before Jin used them, that would also divert their attention away from Jin, giving him an opportunity to attack.


    Glancing away from my teammates, who were walking slightly behind me, I continued walking forward before a thought glimpsed my mind.


    Was it a coincidence?


    Spatial, Time, and Gravity.


    All three of us had abilities of domains that were the pillars of our universe, the only things holding our world together.


    Well, we didn''t have full control over the domains as our abilities could only be used for a certain amount of time and required mana.


    Shaking my head, I walked out of the forest and back into the plain, seeing the medieval-looking tower in the distance.


    Then, just as Han and Jin stepped out of the forest, a sudden loud voice echoed from the center of the magic space.


    *ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS*


    *ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS*


    *THE MAGIC CIRCLE WILL SLOWLY BEGIN CLOSING IN.*


    *PLEASE HEAD TOWARD THE CENTER OF THE CIRCLE*


    *FROM NOW ON, IF ANY PART OF YOU TOUCHES THE BOUNDARIES OF THE MAGIC SPACE, WHICH ARE CLOSING IN, YOU WILL SLOWLY BEGIN LOSING HEALTH*


    *ONCE YOUR HEALTH REACHES ZERO, YOU WILL BE ELIMINATED*


    *SHUDDER*


    As the last few words echoed throughout the gigantic stadium, a sudden metal grinding sound echoed throughout the stadium, indicating that the borders would start closing in.


    Thankfully, having known about this, I chose the tower, which was pretty close to the center, but we would have to move eventually.


    Arriving at the medieval tower, I noticed that another drone had joined in, as there were no two of them following me.


    Ignoring them, I leaned against the tower, hiding from the beaming sun that was beginning its descent.


    Eventually, Han and Jin arrived before anxiously looking around, making sure the barriers were far away.


    Shaking my head, I took out a piece of paper before throwing it to the two of them.


    Catching the map mid-air, Han opened it up and stared at it for a moment confusedly.


    Catching a glimpse of the map, Jin suddenly spoke up.


    "Is that the map we used to find Han!?"


    Nodding my head, I replied.


    "Indeed, but now look closely."


    As the two began intensely searching the map, I sighed before continuing.


    "The edges of the map."


    On the corners of the map, a sharp purple color was beginning to spread further and further toward the center with every second.


    Thinking and staring at the map, Han suddenly had a revelation, as he had said.


    "Are those the boundaries...?"


    Nodding my head, I replied.


    "Yep, with this map, we can see how far the border is from us at any time by just finding our location on the map."


    Seeing that the tower''s location was far away from the purple color on the map, the three of us sighed before joining me in the shade.


    After a couple of moments, an awkward silence took over as the three of us rested in the shade, enjoying the wind breeze, while the two drones stared at us.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Outside of the magic arena, in a room where a bunch of recruiters were, Charlotte, staring at the screen displayed by her drone, stood up angrily.


    "IS THAT EVEN A GODDAMN BATTLE ROYALE ANYMORE!? WHAT THE HELL AM I WATCHING!?"


    Sharing his same sentiment, other recruiters beside her exclaimed.


    "I''VE SEEN PG-13 MOVIES MORE VIOLENT THAN THIS."


    "IS THIS A VACATION OR A WARZONE!?"


    "I DID NOT TRAVEL TEN DAYS TO SEE A BUNCH OF STUDENTS DOING A HELLUVA OF LOT OF ANYTHING!"


    Further back into the same room, a group of older-looking people, each wearing a badge that read "Celestial Academy," sighed simultaneously.


    One of them, turning to the only person sitting in a chair amongst them, said.


    "Should we do something?"


    Expressing the same sentiment, another school executive leaned downward and said to the sitting woman.


    "Headmaster Seraphina... over half of the students have joined a big alliance and are just walking around while taking control of the center."


    "...the rest of the students are either resting... or walking around aimlessly with no goal."


    Shaking her head, the Seraphina tipped her glasses before smiling and saying.


    "Just wait... you''ll miss it all if you start complaining now."


    Ignoring the impatient and restless executives, Seraphina pushed back her elegant ocean-blue hair before staring at a certain screen.


    On the screen lay the top-ranked students: Liam, Kevin, Lily, Irene, Zach, Alya, and Ruby.


    Each of them was holding their signature weapon while seeming to just be walking around with no goal in mind.


    However, the location of these top-ranked students was very peculiar, considering their power level.


    Right behind them, the barrier of the magic circle could be seen slowly closing in, but the main cast showed no rush.


    Smiling, Seraphina continued watching the screen with interest.


    It wasn''t just Seraphina that was watching the screen with the main cast; however, some other notable figures had their gazes locked on it.


    One recruiter, with blood-red eyes and jet-black hair, seeming to be slightly older than a graduate of Celestial academy, watched it fiercely.


    "Liam, huh... let''s just see if father was lying or not."

 Chapter 215 - 215:Battle Royale [5]

    In the arena, right next to the incoming barriers about to overtake them, Kevin turned to Lily and Alya, who were leading the group.


    "Seriously, what are we doing!? If we don''t pick up the pace, the boundaries will overtake us, and we''ll be eliminated."


    Shaking his head, Liam sighed before saying.


    "Kevin, for the hundredth time, we''re just trying to stay alive. We already got looted up, and all have weapons, so there''s no need for us to explore."


    Pointing at the barriers, slowly creeping nearer and nearer to them, Liam continued.


    "As long as we stay by these barriers, we can''t be attacked."


    Thinking for a moment, Ruby questioned Lily''s plan.


    "What if we get trapped and encircled? With their alliance numbers, over half the school, they could just block us off. Then we wouldn''t be able to escape the barrier and be forced to fight for our lives."


    Dismissing Ruby''s worries with the wave of a hand, Lily said.


    "Keep in mind that this alliance consists of over four hundred students who have never interacted before this. They could never carry out a complex plan like that, and even if they did, it''s not like we couldn''t fight out way through."


    Besides Lily, Alya slowly nodded her head, showing some hesitancy about Lily''s plan but agreeing with it overall.


    Seeing Kevin and Ruby done questioning, Liam sped up the front and pulled Lily aside for a moment.


    Making sure nobody else was listening, Liam whispered in Lily''s ears.


    "What about... him? What if he shows up...?"


    Recalling his defeat back in the carriage, Liam was already filled with rage, but he knew better than to let his emotions get the better of him.


    However, Liam wasn''t just filled with rage... but rather a sense of curiosity and sadness.


    How had Ren known about all his moves and skills?


    There were trillions of aspects and abilities in the world, yet Ren had somehow managed to know every single Liam used without even thinking.


    For example, during Liam''s sky plunge, Ren had already dodged the attack far before he had even come close to the ground.


    It was as if... Ren had known his abilities and aspects from the start of the battle... maybe even before that.


    Not only that, it felt like Ren had trained himself specifically to dodge his attacks, as he was able to dodge Liam''s barrage of sword attacks without blinking an eye.


    Did he have a trait or ability or even skill that allowed him to see the abilities of others?


    That was the most obvious answer by far... however, there was a little seed of doubt in Liam''s mind that was beginning to grow.


    ...was there a spy inside the main cast?


    They were the only ones who had seen Liam''s full capabilities and attacks as he had sparred against them and fought with them countless times.


    Was someone... feeding information about his abilities and attacks to Ren?


    Although Liam didn''t want to believe it... he couldn''t stop the thought from growing in his mind.


    Liam hadn''t dared express this thought, especially with the state their group was in now after Kevin''s injury and Alya''s subsequent abadonement.


    But now that things were coming back for the better, with them even receiving the help of the principal along with the student council president for their next mission, the idea had to be entertained.


    Glancing backward at Alya, Ruby, Kevin, Irene, and Zach, Liam felt ashamed to the core.


    It was shameful that he was suspicious of the very same people who had risked their lives to help him and fight with him.


    Their bond was not one that could be broken. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    At least, that was what Liam thought before Zach''s injury and Alya''s temporary leave from the main cast.


    Now... he had realized just how fragile their relationship was.


    A relationship that had built through countless near-death experiences and months could be destroyed... in a matter of seconds.


    How... cruel and unfair was that?


    Liam had always taken their relationship for granted, thinking that these people would always be at his side... yet now, he realized just how precious they were to her.


    That was why every time he felt the suspicious rise in his chest when he looked at them, he wanted to puke.


    He had to let out his suspicions somewhere... anywhere.


    Tell anybody... just so it would disappear.


    Just so things could go back to normal.


    Turning to Lily, Liam let out a sigh before leaning down and putting his mouth to her ear.


    Lily was the first person Liam had met at the academy... the second person in the entire world to treat him like a human.


    All his life, he had been treated as inferior and had been called insults because of his background.


    And just when the first person to have helped him left, Lily appeared in the form of a helping hand.


    She wouldn''t betray him... she couldn''t in a million years.


    They were now in a battle royale.


    A team battle royale.


    Liam needed to fully trust his teammates, and he knew that.


    One single second of hesitation could lead to his or the other members of the main cast being eliminated.


    With these feelings flowing through his head, Liam wasn''t confident that he could follow his teammates as usual.


    "it''s now... or never."


    Looking at Lily''s purple and blue hair fly backward due to the calm breeze, Liam whispered.


    "Hey...don''t you think it''s weird that Ren... beat me."


    Realizing how cocky he sounded, Liam paused for a moment before continuing.


    "I mean... how he already knew all of my moves. And when I asked him about it... he didn''t even deny it; instead, he simply accepted it with his silence and shifted the topic."


    Surprisingly, Lily didn''t show any surprise at Liam''s question; instead, she sighed as if she had expected the question to be asked long ago.


    Did she know something?


    No... she couldn''t have.

 Chapter 216 - 216:Battle Royale [6]

    As countless chaotic thoughts flooded Liam''s head, sending him into a frenzy, Lily finally responded, her voice soothing Liam''s head and quelling his internal chaos.


    "Thought you would never ask?"


    Shaking her head with a smile, Lily paused for a moment mid-stride, causing Liam to now be ahead of her.


    Lily had already spent countless hours contemplating how she would answer this question.


    Of course, she naturally wanted to tell the truth... but would the truth deal more damage than lying?


    How was she supposed to tell everyone here that she wasn''t "Lily."


    She and, most likely, Ren wasn''t from this world.


    They were outsiders.


    And most devastatingly of all, how was she supposed to tell everyone here that they were just a bunch of characters?


    Of course, Lily didn''t seem them as mere characters, but as humans who were equal to her... but how would they see it?


    How would they react upon knowing that their entire life was already determined by some author?


    How they react upon realizing that their creator or "god" was just some musty forty-year-old living alone in some apartment, writing for money and solely money.


    A mental breakdown combined with other negative reactions would most likely occur.


    How were you supposed to react after finding out that your entire world and entire life were just a book?


    Lily was going to tell the truth to them... eventually, just not now.


    She knew she was being selfish... but sometimes being selfish is ok, right?


    At least, that was how she justified her actions in her head.


    Sometimes, self-delusion is a powerful weapon... but don''t forget that it''s also a double-edged sword.


    Turning to Liam, Lily replied.


    "Him and I... are very similar."


    Not waiting a single second, Liam immediately replied.


    "How so...?"


    In his mind, Lily and Ren were the two most opposite and polar beings in the world.


    One was a ruthless and aggressive freak who would do anything to achieve his goals, even at the cost of other lives.


    And the other?


    Someone who cared more about the lives of others than her life.


    Lily would be the first one to step into danger.


    In fact, in Liam''s mind, none of this would have been possible without Lily.


    The main cast... all the people behind them right now would have just been a bunch of acquaintances to Liam if not for Lily.


    Zach, Kevin, Ruby, Irene, and Alya, the people Liam valued the most right now, would have just been... a bunch of strangers.


    Lily had used her knowledge to save others... when she could have just ignored it.


    Instead of succumbing to a human''s traditional behavior and solely caring about her survival, Lily risked her own life countless times to prevent tragedies.


    In conclusion, Lily was the most selfless and kind person Liam knew... while Ren was... malicious, not quite evil, but if he had to sum it into one word, it would be malicious.


    Catching up to Liam, Lily said.


    "In the way... we both possess knowledge of the future."


    At that moment, Liam paused.


    Lily had knowledge of the future... sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Although he had expected something like that... hearing her admit so blatantly sent a jolt through his body.


    Then, as Liam began to comprehend the sentence, another jolt passed through his body.


    Ren...Ren had the same knowledge as Lily.


    Looking at Lily, Liam could see that this wasn''t something Lily had known all along but rather something she had discovered recently.


    Still... he had to ask.


    "When did you find out about... him."


    Showing no reluctance or resistance to answer Liam''s questions, Lily continued walking and responded.


    "Recently... after the carriage incident, my suspicion grew. Then, eventually, I pieced it all together."


    "Is your knowledge... the same as his."


    "Yes, the exact same."


    Stopping himself from asking Lily where the two of them had obtained this knowledge of the future, Liam sighed and looked up at the light blue sky above.


    Ren... he was a worse person than Liam thought.


    Instead of being like Lily, he had simply ignored the knowledge.


    Wait...


    Stopping again, Liam locked eyes with Lily.


    "t-the cruise ship... the unknown figure. You said he has the same knowledge as you... was that him back then that fought against us."


    Showing no uncertainty, Lily nodded her head, also having come to the same conclusion.


    No... he was far worse.


    He hadn''t just ignored the knowledge... he had used it to his advantage.


    Ren... he had deliberately tried to stop them.


    Although Liam couldn''t discern what his true intentions were... he was sure of one thing.


    Ren had been stopping them, preventing them, and hindering them at every turn and situation.


    That was all he needed to know.


    Ren clearly knew Lily also possessed knowledge of the future, as he had seen their plan on the cruise ship unfold, which should be a clear indication that Lily knew the future.


    If he had good intentions, he would have... perhaps teamed up with them or helped Lily.


    But... he had done the opposite, stopping them.


    It was clear his intentions were bad or maybe even... evil.


    Staring up at the light-blue sky, Liam asked himself.


    "Why are... people like him given advantages? Why does... he have knowledge of the future?"


    From beside him, Lily brought Liam back to reality.


    "All that matters is that we know now. We adapt and persevere."


    Calming his nerves, Liam glanced back at the main cast, and thankfully, there was no feeling of repulsion or suspicion anymore.


    However, as an image of a boy with jet-black hair and blood-red eyes appeared in Liam''s mind, an unquantifiable size of hatred formed.


    So much so that just thinking of him caused Liam to shake in anger.


    They had been trying their best, risking their damn lives, and working together to stop people from dying.


    All for what?


    For someone else with knowledge of the future to appear and stop them?


    All their efforts...were canceled out.


    The cruise ship... how many more servants on board could have survived?


    Alya''s kidnapping... the traumatic experience that still terrifies her to this day. Was Ren a part of that, too?


    The Elven Tree...how many more militants and soldiers of the Elven army could have been saved?

 Chapter 217 - 217:Closing In [1]

    "Alright, let''s get a move on, guys."


    Getting up from the ground, I leaned against the tower and glanced at the map that was in Han''s hands.


    Thankfully, besides a couple of people I saw while peering through the forest who had just passed by us, there was no one in the vicinity.


    However, that would soon change.


    The magic space had already been reduced by fifty percent of its original size, so the alliance would begin their hunt now.


    Assuming they had a brain, they would most likely attempt to create a wall or blockade of humans that stopped the main cast from progressing toward the center.


    This would make the main cast slowly lose health to the closing boundaries as they would be unable to move forward.


    However, since we were technically not a part of the alliance, Han, Jin, and I were also in danger of being trapped in the very same way.


    Staring upward, I stifled a chuckle as the two drones from earlier had finally disappeared.


    I''d have to ask Charlotte later if she was entertained watching me rest in the shade for over an hour.


    Staring up at the sky, I saw that the color had changed from a light blue to an orange as the sun began to set.


    Time in the magic space flowed by much slower than in the outside world, so I wasn''t losing any time to plan.


    Signaling for Han and Jin to get up, I grouped up with them before pointing at the map and saying.


    "We have to find a place to hide until the top ten."


    Although I knew of the tower from the book, I had forgotten basically every other important place, so I now had to rely on the map like a normal person.


    As the three of us scanned each inch of the map meticulously, Jin suddenly looked away from the map at the ground, confusing all three of us.


    Han, worried at the incoming barriers, angrily looked at Jin and said.


    "Take this seriously, man. Our futures are on the on the line."


    Ignoring Han''s words, Jin leaned down before placing a hand on the ground, crushing the grass under.


    Finally responding, Jin simply looked up at us and said.


    "What if we don''t hide on the map?"


    Ignoring Han''s irritated expression, I curiously looked down at Jin and asked.


    "What exactly do you mean by that?"


    Grabbing his scabbard, Jin gracefully removed his odachi before holding it high in the air, allowing the sun to reflect off its cold, clean metal surface.


    Blinded by the sunlight reflecting off the odachi, I covered my eyes before carefully watching Jin''s next movements.


    In a swift and graceful motion, Jin flipped his odachi so that its tip was facing the ground.


    Then, the next moment, Jin plunged the odachi into the ground so that only the hilt was visible, while the rest of the sword was embedded in the ground.


    Han and I, curious, watched as Jin removed the sword before repeating the same actions over and over again like a miner searching for gold.


    Finally stopping, Jin removed his odachi one last time before shaking all the dirt off it, returning it to its earlier and cleaner condition.


    Staring at the countless holes formed in the ground, Jin leaned down and examined each of them carefully before standing back up.


    Then, gesturing at the holes in the ground, Jin put his odachi back in his scabbard before cheerfully exclaiming.


    "What if we hide underground? I just checked, there''s nothing stopping us from doing it!"


    ...really?


    Temporarily stunned, I leaned downwards and confirmed that there was, indeed, nothing stopping us from heading underground.


    ...was the a loophole in the plot of the story?


    Had the author really made no restrictions against this?


    Looking at Han, I saw him shrug his shoulders before hesitantly replying.


    "...he might just be onto something with this one."


    Thus, for the next thirty minutes, the three of them used their power magical artifacts that were coveted by everyone in the world for their combat power... to stab at the dirt.


    Realizing that we wouldn''t make a big enough hole to fit us before the border closed in on this at this point, I manifested three shovels with corruption.


    Shrugging my shoulders, I handed the shovels to Han and Jin, who thankfully accepted them without any questions or complaints.


    Finally, after about twenty more minutes, there was a large hole in the ground, big enough to fit all three of us.


    The creator of this plan, Jin, was the first to jump into the hole, and upon seeing him unharmed or not losing health, the rest of us followed.


    Landing on the cold, dirt floor, I looked around and touched the walls, confirming everything was stable.


    After that, I turned back to Jin.


    "Well, guys... it''s time to go tunneling!"


    "...but making this hole already took sooooo long!"


    "Do we have too...?


    Hearing a groan come from Jin and Han, I immediately said. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Yo Jin, this was your idea. Why the hell are you complaining!?"


    As Jin continued to sigh and began digging toward the center of the magic space, using the map and corrupted shovel, Han asked.


    "...why don''t we just make the hole closer to the center and start tunneling from there? We''ll save a lot of time."


    Pointing at the tower above, which was still visible through the hole we made in the ground, I replied.


    "Trust me...this tunnel will be useful in the future."


    Accepting my vague explanation, Han picked up my corrupted shovel before heading to Jin and helping create the tunnel toward the center of the magic space.


    On the other hand, I grabbed my own shovel and began filling in the hole in the ground, making the tunnel no longer visible from the surface.


    As the sunlight slowly disappeared from my filling in the hole, Han grabbed an arrow from his quiver and placed it on the wall.

 Chapter 218 - 218:Closing In [2]

    As the sunlight slowly disappeared from my filling in the hole, Han grabbed an arrow from his quiver and placed it on the wall.


    The next second, the tip of Han''s arrow exploded, creating a small fire on it that allowed the arrow to serve as a torch.


    Air wasn''t a problem in this cave as there were multiple cracks that we made in the surface, allowing small bits of sunlight to pour in.


    However, the holes in the ground were discreet and too small to be noticed by anyone... at least we hoped they were.


    It wasn''t like we could plant a tree down here for oxygen... could we?


    Wait, could we?


    Brushing off the stupid thought, I finished filling in the hole before heading over to Jin and Han who were making progress on the tunnel towards the center.


    Checking the map, I made sure that our pace of digging forward was faster than the pace at which the borders closed in.


    Thankfully, our pace was fast enough...for now, so we didn''t have to worry about that as long as we kept digging.


    Shoveling at the wall ahead with the corrupted shovel, I sighed.


    Was this even a battle royale anymore?


    First, we camped outside a tower for an hour, made a quick detour to rescue Han, and now we were just shoveling.


    Stopping for a moment, I stared at the two boys ahead of me, realizing how stupid we were.


    This wasn''t Earth... why the hell were we using shovels!?


    We were in a world of magic... why the hell were we limiting ourselves to some physical objects that could be found anywhere on Earth!?


    Turning around, I made sure that there were no drones in the tunnels, and thankfully, none had gotten through when we made the initial hole.


    De-manifesting the corrupted shovels, I watched Jin and Han confusedly stare at their hands, wondering why their shovel had just disintegrated in front of them.


    Wrapping my arms around their shoulders, I said.


    "Hey...hear me out on this..."


    ...


    ...


    ...


    *BANG*


    *BOOM*


    *BANG*


    *BOOM*


    "Why... didn''t we just do this in the first place...?"


    "I''m not going to lie... I didn''t see the vision at first... but I... believe you."


    Looking at the tunnel, which used to stretch only two feet and could barely hold all of us inside, completely transformed, I smiled.


    Leaning against the wall, I responded to the gazes of admiration from Jin and Han by saying.


    "Think outside the box!"


    In reality, I had just recalled something that my chemistry teacher had taught me back in school about explosions.


    First, I used my corruption to manifest a makeshift storage area that had walls around it, preventing things from leaking out.


    Then, Jin infused his odachi with the water element before striking it into the corrupted storage area, causing a flood of water.


    Once the water was fully spread out across the pool, with none of it leaking out, I used the Dragon''s Inferno, or blood-red substance in my body, to cast a fire spell.


    The fire, combined with the water, created a massive amount of vapor, covering the whole cave and blocking our sight.


    Despite all of that, Han took out an arrow, which had embued with Earth magic when he had found it in the chest, and nocked in his crossbow.


    Not wasting a second, Han released the arrow forward, creating a hole in the wall of vapor that had formed.


    Then, just as the arrow was about to go inside of the water and fire, it suddenly disappeared.


    Instead, a wall appeared, covering the pool of water from Jin''s odachi and fire from my Dragon''s inferno. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Then, as the vapor slowly faded way, no more vapor came out as the pool of fire and water was fully blocked off.


    Then, as the vapor wasn''t able to escape, pressure began to slowly increase and increase until the pool finally burst out, causing an explosion.


    *BOOM*


    *BOOM*


    In less than a second, the area of our small tunnel had more than ten times its size!


    Looking away from Jin and Han, I glanced at the map, seeing the pace at which the boundaries were closing was starting to increase.


    Due to the massive explosion, our tunnel had gotten closer to the center, but there was still a way to go.


    Thus, for the next hour, the three of alternated between mining forward, reinforcing the tunnel so there wouldn''t be cave-in, and resting.


    As I manifested corrupted pillars that stretched from the floor of the tunnel to the roof, Han used his sharpshooter ability, "Tempest Barrage," to shoot countless arrows from his crossbow at the same time.


    These arrows were so sharp and piercing that they would not only fly straight through the rocky walls but keep going for another couple of meters.


    After enough holes in the wall were created by Han''s arrows, Jin would use his odachi''s ability, "Void Cleaver."


    This would cause his silver odachi to be outlined by a dark black, and with each strike Jin dealt with, the odachi would cleave, dealing damage to everything around it without actually physically hitting it.


    The wall, already weakened by Han''s arrows, would fall from the Jin''s slashes, which hit the wall not only at the point of intersection but all around it due to "Void Cleave."


    Subsequently, I would finally manifest yet another corrupted pillar, keeping the cave from collapsing in on itself.


    You might be wondering why I would use corruption to keep the cave from collapsing when it was so important to me.


    However, by using corruption, I could de-manifest the pillars at any moment, making the cave collapse forcefully.


    As we reached the center of the circle, according to the map, we finally rested.


    Dropping his odachi on the floor, Jin slumped against the wall before looking upward at the ceiling.


    "So...everybody else is up there right now?"


    Nodding my head, I replied.


    "We''re not the main targets... so our disappearance won''t be noticed in the slightest."

 Chapter 219 - 219:Closing In [3]

    Putting his crossbow on the ground, Han stared up at the ceiling before asking.


    "I get your plan...hide until they all fight it all out. Then, in the end, we just pop out and take the top ten placement for ourselves."


    Pausing for a moment, Han pointed at the cave, which was completely empty beside us, and said.


    "Isn''t it counterintuitive though...? If we''re down here, then the recruiters can''t even see us! I mean, the drones won''t even be able to find us down here."


    Shaking my head, I replied.


    "Were they going to watch us in the first place?"


    Seeing pure silence from Han, I was about to get up when a barrage of noises suddenly echoed through the tunnel.


    *STEP*


    *STEP*


    *STEP*


    As silence washed over the cave, I gestured for the surprised Han and Jin to be quiet before pointing upward.


    Pointing at the ceiling, I smiled and said.


    "Looks like they''re finally on the move."


    The real battle royale was just about to begin.


    Of course...we wouldn''t be watching it down in this cave, though.


    Sitting back down, I leaned against the wall opposite to Jin before saying.


    "Well... get comfortable. We''re going to be here for a while."


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Back in the spectator room, several recruiters could be seen physically standing up and crowding around a single screen.


    Seeing this, the school administrators broadcasted the video everyone was watching onto the main screen, which resembled a jumbotron you see at a sports game back on Earth.


    The most important recruiters already had the center seats, so they were sitting down while the others desperately tried to get closer to the screen.


    The principal, amused by the recruiter''s sudden change in behavior, commented.


    "Didn''t I tell you already? Time solves everything."


    The school executive behind her, with a hand on a badge that said "Celestial Academy," sighed before nodding.


    On the screen lay over a hundred students, all of which were running through the forest at a certain location.


    As the tons of students rushed towards the barrier that was closing in, instead of away like sane people, loud shouts came from within the crowd of recruiters surrounding the jumbotron.


    "THEY FOUND A COMPASS!"


    "FINALLY, SOME FIGHTING!"


    "HOW WILL THE TOP RANKERS DEFEND AGAINST THIS!?"


    "CAN WE GET THE GOOD PART!?"


    Among all the shouting, a boy resembling a recent graduate of Celestial Academy turned his gaze away from the television.


    Pushing back his long black hair bangs, the boy slumped down against the chair before staring at the recruiter next to him. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Noticing the blood-red eyes locked on him, the other recruiters sighed before in a calm and emotionless tone.


    "Kaneki, is there something you need?"


    Chuckling at the seriousness of his tone, Kaneki, once again, pushed back his bangs... somewhat dramatically this time, before replying.


    "You really do never change, don''t you? Lighten up a bit, Kazuki."


    Looking away from Kaneki and back at the jumbotron, which was displaying the rushing students, Kazuki replied.


    "I heard your father has his eyes on a certain student. Shouldn''t you be paying attention and observing?"


    Chuckling, Kaneki further slumped down in his chair, his legs laid out on the ground, and responded in a joking tone.


    "Oh? And isn''t your brother, Kevin, also participating? I don''t see you observing carefully and watching."


    Seeing no response from Kazuki, who had his gaze now locked on the jumbotron, Kaneki covered his eyes and sighed.


    "I know what Father said one day... but this is driving me insane. The top-ranked student of the Celestial Academy graduating class... and successor of a top-ranked order doing this?"


    "Why couldn''t he just have some recruiters do this boring work like every other ranked guild?"


    Glancing at Kazuki, Kaneki reworded his thought.


    "Besides... the top-ranked guild in the entire world."


    Today was more of a preliminary day for recruiters just to weed out the terrible students, so it wasn''t like Kaneki could recruit someone if he wanted to.


    As Kaneki sat up straight and started watching the jumbotron, he heard a sudden whisper come from the side where Kazuki sat.


    "Isn''t your brother participating too?"


    Propping his head on his elbow, Kaneki smiled and replied.


    "You and him did get along pretty well back then, didn''t you?"


    Considering Ren and Kaneki''s father were important figures and former heroes, many parties and banquets were hosted at their houses.


    And Kevin''s family, being the owners of the top-ranking knight order in the entire world, were, of course, invited.


    Seeming to recall some vague memories, Kazuki glanced at the screen and responded in a soft tone.


    "We did...he was quite the interesting one. I haven''t seen him since that day... though."


    Shrugging his shoulders, Kaneki replied.


    "It really is a tragedy what happened to him, but I can''t say I''m particularly sad."


    Kaneki and Ren were never too close, as Kaneki was always dragged off to training sessions and private tutoring.


    As the successor of the family, Kaneki was always busy studying and training to meet the higher expectations placed on him, so he barely ever saw Ren.


    By the time Kaneki finished all his studies, Ren had already been dismissed and disowned by the family.


    However, the younger Kaneki might have felt some grief seeing his brother treated so poorly, but the new Kaneki was different.


    Shaped by the lessons of his father and taught to be cruel and unforgiving for the sake of being his successor, Kaneki simply went on with his life with a shrug after hearing the news.


    Not upset at Kaneki''s disregard for his brother, Kazuki simply sighed and picked up a plate of food from a waitress who was passing by.


    Before returning his gaze to the jumbotron, Kazuki asked one last question.


    "Oh... and when is your father coming by?"


    ...


    ...


    ...


    "GO"


    "THE MAP SAYS WE''RE ALMOST THERE."


    "KEEP RUNNING."


    "THIS IS FOR EVERY NORMAL STUDENT WHO WASN''T LUCKY ENOUGH TO GET SOME OVERPOWERED ABILITY!"


    "PREPARE FOR BATTLE!"

 Chapter 220 - 220:Closing In [4]

    Emerging from the forest were over a hundred students, some equipped with weapons that were broken or shabby and others simply just using their fists.


    Dressed in their academy uniform and running under the setting sky, the students seemed to be an actual army.


    And their commander?


    None.


    The group of students seemed to be without any order or direction as loud, contradicting screams could be heard, and there was no leader at the front.


    Rather, all the students were...rushing to the back instead of the front.


    "Hey dude... let''s go to the back."


    "Yeah, let them weaken the top-ranked students, then we can sweep in and get the kill."


    "FREE ELO!"


    Thus, the speed at which the students rapidly decreased as the students at the front kept running backward while the students at the back refused to run faster.


    Finally... the group of students came to a halt.


    As loud screams echoed throughout the magic space and things started spiraling out of control as students began to argue about who should be in the front, a loud voice emerged.


    Silencing every other voice, a student, wearing what seemed to be an artifact that resembled a crow on his head, spoke in a tone filled with determination and courage.


    "We''re here...forget about yourselves. Remember, what we''re here for is not to win... but to make sure that the top-ranked students win."


    "TO BE RECOGNIZED, EVEN THOUGH WE MAY BE WEAKER, WE ARE STRONGER AS A TEAM!"


    "TO SHOW WE ARE IMPORTANT TOO!"


    "WE ARE NOT PAWNS TO BE DISCARED JUST BECAUSE OF OUR LOWER STRENGTH...WE ARE PEOPLE TOO!"


    Seeming not to recognize the irony of the prince of the empire saying such things, the students erupted into cheers.


    "WE CAN DO THIS!"


    "ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS BEAT THE TOP RANKERS!"


    "I LOVE YOU ALL!"


    "I''D SACRIFICE MYSELF FOR THIS CAUSE!"


    Bertus, climbing up onto a tree on the outskirts of the forest, stared forward at the vast group of students on the plain just in front of him.


    Illuminating by the orange color of the sky, Bertus seemed almost... divine, and adding onto that, he also purposely made every move he made dramatic, showing his confidence.


    Slowly removing a map from his pocket, Bertus glanced at it before pointing a medieval-looking tower in the distance.


    Looking down at the group of hundred students below him, Bertus yelled out.


    "THEY WILL ARRIVE SOON. IT''S NOW OR NEVER."


    Glancing at the other sides of the forest, Bertus ensured that the other students in the alliance had arrived.


    Around the outskirts of the forest that surrounded the plain where the tower was, countless students could be seen hiding in bushes, out of sight from almost everybody.


    Of course, Bertus was standing on the tree, so he was in an elevated position and could easily see them due to the large number of them hiding.


    Seeing some students begin to tremble as time slowly passes, Bertus doesn''t show any signs of losing confidence and instead exclaims.


    "WHO WILL WIN!?"


    As Bertus''s voice echoed throughout the plains, the students slowly shifted their gazes upward once again.


    "WHO WILL WIN!?"


    Hearing his voice the second time, the students didn''t hesitate to follow their selected leader.


    "WE WILL WIN!"


    "WHO WILL WIN!?"


    "WE WILL WIN!"


    Ending the chant, Bertus clasped his hands together before gracefully jumping off the tree and entering the crowd of students gathered on the plain.


    Making his way through the crowd, Bertus eventually arrived at the front, the place where nobody dared to go out of fear that they would be eliminated first and used as bait.


    Showing his full confidence, Bertus showed no hesitation as he walked forward, leaving the crowd of students behind him.


    Following after him like a pack of wolves followed their leader, the group of students carefully advanced, getting closer and closer to the tower with every second.


    Discarding the map, Bertus snapped his fingers once.


    The next second, a small sword, resembling a rapier but with a longer blade and hilt, appeared in his hand.


    A soul-bound weapon.


    Even the laws and rules of the magic space couldn''t stop soul-bound weapons from reaching their master.


    A weapon that could only be used by one person and was bound to their soul and only theirs.


    And upon death?


    The weapon wouldn''t find a new master.


    It would self-destruct.


    If its master died, the weapon would die along with it.


    There were no transfers of ownership.


    It was a soul-bound weapon till the end.


    They were impossible to craft and make... only available from loot from monsters that were nearly impossible to kill. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Weighing the exquisite sword in his hand, Bertus recalled the day when his father had gifted both him and his sister their own soul-bound weapons.


    From the moment he touched the sword for the first time, Bertus felt an overwhelming sense of pride.


    Unlike other weapons, soul-bound weapons increased their strength over time.


    Depending on your type of soul-bond weapon, you will receive a milestone, such as killing demonic beasts with the sword, and once you complete that milestone, your sword will be automatically upgraded.


    What is the reason why soul-bound weapons are so valued and desired?


    There is no limit to their milestones.


    Soul-bound weapons have no power ceiling.


    They can be upgraded an infinite amount of times as long as you keep reaching the sword''s milestones.


    Stopping a couple of meters away from the tower, Bertus smiled before raising his sword, allowing the blue tassel attached to its hilt to sway in the wind.


    Win or lose this battle... Bertus had already accomplished his goal.


    The entire student body was on his side.


    Even now, they were looking at him from behind with gazes of admiration and reverence.


    Seeing the purple color of the closing boundaries slowly approaching them from a distance, Bertus gestured to the students behind him.


    "It''s time."


    Within a couple of seconds, seven figures could be seen, each walking toward the crowd of students with no fear.

 Chapter 221 - 221:Closing In [5]

    With his sword resting in his scabbard, which was dangling from his waist and almost touching the ground, Liam raised his hand.


    Taking a step forward, Liam distanced himself from the rest of the main cast before turning around to face them.


    Lily may have been the strategist and plan maker with her extensive knowledge... but on the battlefield, Liam was the undisputed leader.


    Even Kevin had learned to accept it... although he did still occasionally challenge LIam for a spar to claim the spot of leader.


    Slowly unsheathing his sword, LIam weighed the broadsword he had obtained from an early chest in his hands.


    In contrast to the weapons held by Zach, Kevin, and Alya, Liam''s was by far the worst as the metal had already started to rust.


    The hilt''s material was rough, causing bumps to appear on Liam''s hands as he tightened his grip around the sword.


    On the other hand, Kevin''s broadsword seemed to be almost brand new, and it even had a basic ability known as a firewall.


    Every minute, Kevin could swing his sword, creating a wall of flames that separated him from his opponents.


    Zach''s battle axe also had an ability known as "rage," where Kevin''s strength stat would increase by two sub-ranks for a minute when he used it.


    Alya''s rapier had a similar ability to Zach, but instead of increasing her strength, the rapier would increase Alya''s speed by two-substations for a minute.


    Combined with the fact that the weight of a rapier was significantly less than a broadsword and battle axe, Alya was by far the fastest in the group, living up to her mother''s title as the fastest being in the entire world.


    Even the wands held by Ruby, Lily, and Irene had some special abilities, such as reduced mana consumption or increased output of certain elemental spells.


    In comparison, Liam''s sword was just a plain, regular old iron sword with no abilities or special quirks.


    That was because it did not matter what sword Liam used.


    The true power was vested not in the sword, a vessel of power, but in Liam himself.


    Raising his sword upward, Liam allowed it to shine as the orange sky seemed to beam down on it and only it.


    The next second, Liam''s sword was no longer visible.


    Then, before anyone could react, Liam''s sword burst into flames before they eventually descended.


    The rusty, old iron sword Liam''s had quite literally transformed.


    All that could be seen was the bumpy hilt of the sword, and above that, a divine blue color formed around the blade, preventing the rusty sword from being seen.


    While everyone else had been massively nerfed, losing the main weapons that they centered their battle style around, Liam had almost been buffed.


    Staring at the descending sun above, Liam started to rush as he pointed his sword forward before breaking out into a sprint.


    Using his movement ability, gliding steps, Liam appeared to run on the air, increasing his pace even further.


    Behind him, Kevin, Alya, and Zach swiftly followed, barely keeping up with Liam, while the wand users stayed a bit farther back.


    As a looming tower came into sight, Lily screamed out from behind the pack.


    "THEY SHOULD BE HERE."


    After capturing a student who was attempting to run to the center to meet up with the alliance, Lily discovered a major change from the book.


    There was now a leader of the alliance.


    The prince, Bertus, had opted to compete in the battle royale instead of bowing out like in the book.


    In other words, the main cast couldn''t simply walk around, waiting for the alliance to fall apart as arguments ensued.


    With a leader, the alliance was now an entity capable of rivaling the main cast if they used their large numbers to their advantage and worked as a team.


    Staring at a map in her hands that she obtained from using her compass to track Bertus, Liam screamed out.


    "FIRE!"


    In unison, three beams of light appeared from behind Liam, from the wands of each of the girls.


    The first beam, colored an ocean blue, shot forward faster than the pace at which was Liam was moving


    *BANG* S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The top of the water beam was a light orange due to the sky above while the bottom remained a dark-blue, creating an interesting mix of colors.


    The two colors, in harmony, charged forward, advancing nearer and nearer to the looming tower in the distance


    Like a bullet going through a person, the ocean blue pierced the massive tower, creating a massive hole.


    Acting like it was nothing, the beam continued forward and forward, not allowing anything to slow its pace.


    In contrast, two red beams, one light-red and one dark-red, appeared from the sides of the ocean-blue beam.


    However, these beams did not pierce the tower.


    Just as the two beams were about to hit the tower, Ruby and Irene suddenly jumped to the right, causing the beams to curve around the tower.


    In between the ocean-blue beam was light-red beam was Liam with his light-blue sword, and between the ocean-blue beam and dark-red beam on the other side was Zach, Alya, and Kevin.


    Fully trusting in his teamate''s control over the beams, Liam charged forward, ignoring the fact that if the any of the beams slightly moved, he would be eliminate from loss of health.


    As the Liam, Alya, Kevin, and Zach reached the tower, the beams disappeared, revealing the horde of students on other side.


    Their formation was a mess from the beams, and utter chaos was ensuing due to the massive amount of eliminations caused by the magic beams.


    Wasting no time, Liam gestured for his teammates to move forward while he stayed back at the tower.


    Finally, after a couple of seconds, Liam spotted his target.


    Hidden amongst the horde of students was a particularly student with a crown sitting on his golden-blonde hair.


    Noticing Liam''s penetrating gaze, the student turned around, making eye contact with his light-blue eyes.

 Chapter 222 - 222:All-Out-War [1]

    On Earth, instead of taking down whole countries when at war, the strategy was always to simply take down the leader.


    Destroying whole armies and millions of people because of the war was unjustifiable as many citizens and innocents would be involved, and it would take too long of a time to find everyone.


    Thus, countries simply opted to take the leaders.


    Instead of engaging in full-scale wars with entire countries harboring enemies, countries aimed to take out the leader most of the time.


    This entire group of students was like a chicken, and Bertus, the leader of the alliance, was the head.


    Sure, a chicken can survive for around a minute after its head is cut off.... but what happens after that?


    It dies.


    Liam knew this better than anyone else.


    Growing up in the slums, Liam saw countless leaders killed and replaced during his time... yet the other members of gangs were left unharmed.


    They blindly followed their leader.


    And what happened when there was no leader?


    The scramble for a new leader would come, causing massive internal wars and disputes.


    Continuing to make eye contact with the prince and leader of the alliance, Bertus and Liam smiled, simply waiting for his movement ability to cool down and reset.


    In front of him, he could Alya manifesting countless icicles while simaltenously attacking with her small and short rapier.


    Zach seemed to wear a guilty face and was opening his mouth to say "sorry..." every time he swung his axe.


    Finally, Kevin seemed to be in his natural habitat as a dark-red aura surrounded him as he eliminated student after student.


    Just when the students finally got over their nerves and decided to group up and fight against Kevin, a flame wall would appear, instantly destroying their formation.


    There was actually no reason for the main cast to participate in this battle royale.


    They could be placed last and still be bombarded by recruiters.


    That''s why the other students believed it to be so unfair and that the main cast was a bunch of selfish bastards.


    In reality, what the students failed to realize is that if the main cast did what they wanted them to do and eliminated themselves... none of the important recruiters would be watching anymore.


    By staying in the battle royale, the main cast was actually giving the group of students more exposure as more recruiters would be inclined to watch!


    However, there was another reason why the main cast was participating in the battle royale instead of leaving.


    Having the vouch of the student council president, Astrid, wasn''t enough to garner the full trust and participation of the principal.


    And it just so happened that the principal was hosting a battle royale, which she needed to make entertaining in order to please the school executives.


    Thus, a deal was made.


    If any member of the main cast placed first in the battle royale, the principal would agree to help.


    It was quite ironic.


    The whole point of the main cast''s mission was to protect the school''s vault, yet the principal of that very same school was asking for payment from the main cast.


    But, in a way, it wasn''t.


    That was because of a very important reward that the principal of the school was giving alongside her participation, which she was planning on doing anyway.


    They would get one choice of item from the principal''s vault.


    In other words, it was a very roundabout way for the principal to reward the main cast for their efforts, and she also got some benefits at the same time.


    What items could be important was that they had to be personally guarded by the top academy in the human realm and the principal?


    To be fair to the principal, she already believed that the main cast would place first without a doubt, so it wasn''t an unfair deal.


    Raising his light-blue sword, Liam charged forward, running on the air and increasing his elevation with every step.


    Bertus pulled out his sword before moving to an area where fewer of the students were crowded, preventing student casualties from their fight.


    Sure, Bertus had accomplished his goal and earned the admiration of the students... but as the prince, he also hated losing.


    Arriving at his required elevation in the air, Liam used his Sky Plunge attack, barreling downward at Bertus with his sword ahead of him and facing downward as well.


    Jumping to the side, Bertus narrowly avoided his attack, quickly adjusting his grip on the sword.


    *BANG*


    Expecting the dodge, Liam paused his plunge mid-way, activating his movement ability to reposition himself right above Bertus.


    Then, falling head-first, Liam plunged his sword downwards, right at Bertus''s head.


    *BANG*


    Barely managing to parry the attack, Bertus held his sword slanted right above his sword, narrowly preventing the tip of Liam''s sword from piercing his head.


    Disengaging, Liam jumped backward, using his movement ability to gracefully fall to the ground.


    Bertus, dusting himself off, ignored Liam and instead placed one hand in his pocket before removing something.


    Then, a moment later, Bertus threw the ball-shaped object from his pocket into the air.


    *CRASH*


    *DRIP~DROP*


    *CRASH*


    *DRIP~DROP*


    The next second, the clear orange sky was nowhere to be seen, instead replaced by countless grey clouds. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Bullets of water streamed down from the sky, accompanied by lightning strikes that targeted everyone on the plain indiscriminately.


    "...a weather ball."


    Having heard of the item before from Lily, Liam curiously stared at Bertus, wondering why he had chosen rain out of all things.


    Raising his sword to the sky, Bertus grinned.


    "You know... the center always has the best loot."


    Bertus, whose specialty was known to be electric magic, suddenly swung his sword forward.


    From the tip of Bertus''s sword emerged a beam of pure yellow electricity, amplified by the downpour of water.


    Not waiting any longer, Liam charged forward, making sure not to lose his footing in the mud that formed below him.

 Chapter 223 - 223:All-Out-War [2]

    However, just as Liam reached Bertus, the electricity suddenly surged backward into Bertus before covering his entire figure.


    Then, a surge of electricity erupted from Bertus''s body, throwing Liam backward and leaving countless burn marks on his body.


    Landing on his feet, Liam stared at Bertus, whose entire body was surrounded by a yellow color that seemed to sparkle.


    "...infinite elemental reactions."


    The rain and electricity made by Bertus constantly made elemental reactions at every moment... so if Liam even got close, he would be overwhelmed and be thrown back.


    Electricity was unlike fire and other elements.


    A fire spell would require a water spell or another similar spell to react; however, electricity was different.


    Electricity was already in its pure form, just like fire''s pure form was lava, so it was able to react with... nature itself.


    Therefore, the electricity coursing out of Bertus''s body was able to react to the natural rain above despite it not being a spell.


    That also meant that Liam could not use elemental reactions as his spells couldn''t use the natural rain, as they required another spell to react.


    The constant outpour of water from the sky combined with the constant output of electricity from Bertus seemed... unstoppable.


    As long as Bertus had mana, electricity would keep surging out and causing infinite elemental reactions with the rain.


    The ground under Bertus seemed to quake and shake as the electricity surrounding Bertus''s feet combined with the water droplets, creating multiple elemental reactions.


    It was to the point where Bertus''s physical body couldn''t even see; only the current of electricity surrounding his body could be seen.


    Even that was impossible to look at since every time the electricity made an elemental reaction with rain, a bright light would appear, blinding whoever was looking at Bertus.


    Covering his eyes and looking away from Bertus, Liam smiled.


    Bertus''s strategy should have completely countered Liam, as with the elemental reactions, Liam was unable to get close to Bertus.


    And as Liam was a sword user, his primary form of attack was close-combat.


    As Bertus made a rapid dash towards Liam, electric sparks flew off his body, and bright lights blinding everyone in the vicinity appeared from the elemental reactions. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Looking away from Bertus to prevent being blinded, Liam sighed before muttering.


    "well... I guess I have to thank that bastard."


    Fortunately, Liam was already prepared for a situation like this... not because of Bertus but because of a very particular green parrot using person.


    As Bertus''s blitzing electric figure got closer and closer, Liam took a deep breath in before exhaling.


    At that moment, the light-blue hue surrounding Liam''s sword started moving, covering the hilt of his sword before flooding onto his hand.


    The light-blue hue flowed through Liam''s body before finally reaching his face.


    Just as Bertus approached Liam, the hue suddenly shifted one last time upward, creating a mask that perfectly covered Liam''s eyes.


    Turning back around, Liam met Bertus directly, not bothered at all by the constant bright lights flashing from the elemental reactions.


    Bertus, swinging his sword forward at Liam, allowed the electricity to flow off his sword, making it seem bigger than it actually was.


    Liam, looking at the incoming sword slash, raised his own light-blue sword to parry the attack.


    However, instead of aiming for the base of Bertus''s electric sword, Liam aimed for the tip of the electric sword.


    Liam did this as if he blocked the tip or the weakest part of the sword, he would be able to pull his sword away faster and disengage, preventing himself from being harmed by the electrical explosions occurring around Bertus.


    Smiling upon seeing the movement of Liam''s sword, Bertus watched as Liam''s sword simply passed straight through the electricity.


    Not feeling the pressure of his sword hitting another, Liam immediately felt something was wrong... but it was too late.


    As Liam''s sword passed the electric sword, Bertus immediately lowered his sword before thrusting it forward at Liam.


    Liam was able to block the physical sword, but the same could not be said about the electricity.


    At the very tip of Bertus''s electric sword, a water drop fell, causing one single elemental reaction.


    *BOOM*


    Flying backward, Liam landed on the ground, rolling around in the mud with a hole in his shirt, revealing a black wound on his stomach.


    Seeing Liam on the ground, Bertus did not hesitate.


    Weren''t princes and royal families supposed to have pride?


    Why was he attacking when Liam was clearly defenseless on the ground?


    There was no pride in battle.


    It was kill or be killed.


    Bertus knew that he was only winning right now because of the gear he obtained from the center and this was his battleground.


    However, once Liam adjusted... things could be very different.


    *SPLISH~SPLASH*


    *SPLISH~SPLASH*


    Lying down in the mud, feeling the raindrops hit his face with every fleeting second, Liam dropped his sword.


    "...haven''t I already been here once..?"


    Recalling the memory of the carriage battle as he had been utterly defeated, Liam tried to lift himself up.


    "Liam, your greatest power is your perseverance!"


    "Liam, you never give up; that''s why you''re strong!"


    "Even after a loss, you won''t be disheartened; you''ll just train harder!"


    Shaking his head, a creepy grin appeared on Liam''s face.


    Working Harder?


    Perseverance?


    Not Giving Up?


    Who cares about those things.


    All this time, Liam had been fine with losing fights.


    His mindset was that if he lost, it would be a good thing.


    It meant that he had a reason to train and work harder to surpass that person.


    No...he was just a loser.


    That''s all it was.


    At some point, subconsciously, he had been alright, maybe even happy, with losing.


    Whether it was losing at sparring with stronger opponents like his teachers or not getting the top grade on an exam, Liam had never cared.


    For him, it was just another reason to work harder and become stronger.


    A loser''s mindset.

 Chapter 224 - 224:All-Out-War [3]

    Accepting loss before even starting.


    A loser''s mindset.


    Maybe it was during his first real loss with Ren that he realized... or maybe even earlier.


    Looking up at the incoming Bertus and his electric sword, Liam realized something.


    He didn''t want to lose.


    He never wanted to lose again.


    "Losing makes you stronger!"


    No, it doesn''t.


    The words are right... but the mindset that comes with those words is wrong.


    Sure, if you lose, you''re bound to get stronger as you''ll realize what you did wrong and improve on those things.


    But by saying those words, you''re already accepting the fact that losing is a possibility.


    If you''ve done that, you''ve already lost.


    In this hopeless situation, with his clothes tattered and all muddy, facing inevitable defeat by an electric sword, Liam said one thing.


    "I guess I''ll win."


    It was easy to say that... but it was hard to carry it out.


    Not caring for the state of his clothes anymore, Liam immediately rolled to the right, using the mud to gather momentum.


    Just as Liam rolled, Bertus''s lightning sword struck Liam''s previous spot, missing Liam barely and stabbing him into the mud.


    Using the moment to stand up, Liam glanced at Bertus''s sword... which was starting to lose some of its electric power.


    Not wasting more time, Bertus struggled for a second before yanking his sword out of the mud and pointing it at Liam.


    However, as Liam gazed at the electric sword, now partially covered by mud, he noticed something interesting.


    Mud is an insulator.


    Electric currents cannot pass through mud, which is a barrier to electricity.


    And proving that logic, the spots of Bertus''s electricity covered by mud were visible instead of being covered by the electric current like every other part of the sword.


    Not having his sword as he had dropped it earlier, Liam alternated gazes between his two dirty hands and the mud below.


    At the same time, Bertus charged at Liam with his sword, causing bright lights to appear as she and blind nearby students.


    Still having his light-blue mask on, Liam paid no attention to the flashing lights and instead leaned down.


    In the face of Bertus''s daunting charge, Liam threw his hands at the mud, covering them completely with the disgusting substance.


    Not paying any attention to the electricity sword, Liam pretended to slip, falling back-first onto the mud below.


    However, instead of simply getting back up and dodging the incoming attack, Liam rolled around in the mud like a pre-schooler.


    As his white clothes and academy uniform gradually turned brown as a result of the mud, Liam finally looked up.


    Right in front of him stood the fearless Bertus, his electric sword already swinging straight down at Liam''s head.


    Instead of rolling away like last time, Liam simply raised his hand, acting as if it were a sword and attempting to use it to parry the electric sword.


    As the electric sword neared Liam''s completely muddy hand, Liam suddenly moved his hand forward.


    Passing right through the electricity current surrounding the sword like it was nothing, Liam grasped Bertus''s physical sword.


    Feeling the metal of the sword hit his hand, Liam flinched, feeling a stinging sensation as blood began to flow out.


    However, his goal had been achieved.


    With his muddy hand on the sword, Liam did not hesitate a moment before using all his awakened strength to yank the sword.


    Bertus, surprised by the sudden change of events, could not do anything as his sword slowly fell out of his grasp.


    After all, Bertus was a D-rank, while Liam was a C-rank, so their basic and non-boosted strength couldn''t compare.


    As the sword fell to the muddly floor, the electric current surrounding it disappeared, leaving the normal metal blade on the muddy floor.


    If it could even be called that... considering it was completely brown and blended in with the mud.


    Ignoring the stinging sensation, Liam jumped upwards before tackling the motionless Bertus, who was still surrounded by an electric current, and dragged him to the floor.


    As Bertus became increasingly muddy, both from Liam''s clothes and the floor below him, the electric current surrounding him also disappeared, revealing his physical body.


    Thus, the scene of the two students, one the top-ranked out of all the first-years and the other the prince of the entire empire, completely covered in mud and on the floor, was revealed.


    As the two furiously fought for control, wrestling and rolling around on the dirty mud ground, Liam finally gained the advantage with his greater power from his higher rank.


    Sitting on top of Bertus''s body, Liam gasped for air while Bertus did the same, panting and exhausted.


    Dragging over his sword, which was nearby, Liam made sure Bertus remained completely still.


    Gripping the hilt of his sword, which was also covered by mud and colored brown, Liam managed to gasp out.


    "Winning is pretty fun, you know. I don''t think I''ll ever lose again."


    Looking at Liam like a madman, Bertus pointed at a nearby drone, which had captured their entire muddy brawl.


    "Was it worth it? Seriously?"


    Their entire bodies were covered in mud, and their hair, clothes, and faces were colored brown.


    Feeling a bit of mud enter his mouth, Bertus hissed before giving up on escaping and staring at Liam.


    Bertus could already imagine the headlines.


    "PRINCE FIGHTS IN MUD WITH FELLOW CLASSMATE!"


    "PRINCE COVERED IN MUD DURING SCHOOL!"


    All the admiration he had gained during the battle royale could be gone, depending on how his classmates perceived it!


    Paying no attention to the drone, Liam stabbed the sword downwards, piercing right through Bertus''s heart.


    The next second, Liam was no longer on Bertus''s body but instead back on the muddy ground.


    Groaning, Liam removed the light-blue mask from his eyes before standing back up. sea??h th§× Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Beside his eyes and the small area around them, the rest of him was covered by mud, making Liam practically unrecognizable.


    Looking around the battlefield, Liam realized that besides a few stragglers, it was completely empty.

 Chapter 225 - 225:All-Out-War [4]

    As mud dripped from every part of his body, Liam slowly moved through the battlegrounds before finally finding someone recognizable.


    Right in front of him, Liam could see Kevin with his red broadsword, eliminating the last few students.


    His iron sword, covered by a dark red hue, stood in contrast to the ocean-blue falling raindrops, making him visible to everyone on the battlefield.


    Yet, no matter how many students grouped and tried to fight, Kevin''s sword slashes inevitably took them down.


    Even without any spells or magic, Kevin''s pure skill with the broadsword allowed him to weave in between the various attacks and spells thrown at him while simultaneously counterattacking.


    It was a masterclass.


    Kevin did not have a single stat like Alya''s speed that was above the rest; all his stats were practically the same.


    However, what set Kevin apart from the rest was his sword art.


    Crimson Fang.


    Standing still, allowing much rain to drench his muddy body, Liam watched in awe as Kevin activated his latest move from his sword art.


    Red Reaver.


    The red hue surrounding Kevin''s sword expanded and grew massively.


    Just like how Bertus''s electric sword earlier, Kevin''s physical sword was no longer visible.


    The red hue grew and grew further and further away from the tip of his sword with every student Kevin elimanted before it finally reached its max.


    The red hue, now stretching far above Kevin''s sword, made it seem like Kevin was not holding a sword anymore but a really longer spear.


    Then, as the last few students recklessly approached Kevin, he swung the massive sword down, the red hue following.


    *CRASH*


    Instead of hitting the students, Kevin''s sword swung into the muddy ground.


    Just as the sword hit the ground, the red hue surrounding it burst out, surging to the ground.


    The muddy ground was now shining a bright red as the red hue flooded out of Kevin''s sword, which was embedded in the mud, and towards the students.


    Seeing this, the students attempted to dodge, but like an assassin, the red hue followed them with no mercy.


    As the ground under the group of students started glowing a dark red, Kevin yanked his sword out of the mud.


    Then, with his sword pointing at the students, Kevin muttered.


    "Cleave."


    *BANG*


    The next second, the red hue exploded from the ground under the students, surrounding them.


    And before the students could react or dodge, the red hue had already enveloped their bodies.


    Swirling around the students'' bodies, the red hue immobilized them while also stealing their health with every passing moment.


    In just a few seconds, the group of close to fifteen students had all been eliminated.


    As Kevin eliminated the final students, solely using his pure swordsmanship and no abilities, he suddenly turned around and saw Liam''s muddy figure behind him.


    Without skipping a beat, Kevin snarled before gripping his red broadsword and sprinting towards Liam.


    "YOU THINK SNEAKING UP ON ME WILL WORK!?"


    "..."


    Too exhausted by the fight with Bertus earlier to dodge or fight back, Liam could only wave his hands up and down before screaming.


    "ITS ME, LIAM. IT''S ME. STOP, PLEASE KEVIN!"


    Stopping a few meters away from Liam''s muddy figure, Kevin pointed his sword forward with a confused expression.


    "...you''re who...?"


    Raising his hands up to show he had no weapons, Liam stammered out.


    "It''s me, Liam. Alright?"


    "...what happened?"


    Shaking his head, Liam walked up to Kevin and grabbed one of the potions he was holding.


    Drinking the health potion, Liam replied.


    "I won, alright?"


    "...but your clothes, your face, yo-"


    "Come here."


    "NO, STOP. NO!"


    Kevin, also exhausted from the countless fights, could only watch as Liam leaned down and used his hand to make a snowball made of mud.


    Raising his hand with the muddy snowball, Liam was about to launch it at Kevin when an angry voice rang out from behind him.


    However, before Liam could reach the confused Kevin, a voice rang out from behind them.


    "...And what the hell is going on over here!?"


    Kevin, seeing Liam stop for a second mid-throw because of the voice, immediately ducked downwards.


    Then, as the muddy snowball was released from Liam''s hand, Kevin was able to narrowly dodge, watching the snowball fly right above him.


    Seeing Kevin duck, Liam immediately looked ahead and saw another figure right behind Kevin''s ducking figure.


    "WATCH OUT!"


    But it was too late.


    Alya, who had been walking over to Kevin, was oblivious as a muddy snowball came flying at her, pelting her right in the face. sea??h th§× novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just as the muddy snowball pelted Alya in the face, Lily appeared next to Irene and Ruby before saying,


    "I think that''s... everyone here."


    As the three girls approached Kevin and Liam, Lily alternated gazes between Liam, Kevin, and the disgusted Alya for a moment.


    Sighing, Lily took out her wand before gesturing for Alya to come over.


    "Here. Alya, I''ll get it off."


    "..."


    Pointing to Liam, Lily said the silent and disgruntled Elven princess.


    "Can you stand next to him?"


    After Alya and Liam were standing side by side, Lily took out her wand and cast another water beam aimed at both of them.


    As the water washed over the two of them, everyone else looked away in disgust... except Kevin.


    "MAKE SURE THE DRONE IS GETTING THIS SHIT!"


    Alya, having only her face muddied, stepped away after a moment while Liam simply stood there, allowing the water to hit every point of his body.


    Gritting his teeth, Liam stared at Kevin, who was frantically trying to make sure every drone in the area was looking at him.


    "That...he''ll pay."


    As Liam got the last bit of mud off him with the water and Lily put her wand down, a sudden loud voice sounded from the top of the stadium.


    *TEN STUDENTS REMAINING*


    *THERE ARE TEN STUDENTS REMAINING*


    Curiously, Ruby asked in the awkward silence.


    "So...now what?"


    Patting her friend on the back, Irene said.


    "Well... only one of us can and needs to win."

 Chapter 226 - 226:Finale [1]

    In the end, there could only be one winner.


    Usually, this would be the time in the movie when everyone would begin to turn on each other.


    Since there were seven of them, and only one could be the winner, something had to be done.


    And in most cases, this would be where a betrayal or internal fighting would take place.


    However, as the members of the main cast glanced at each other, there were no signs of distrust or betrayal.


    Only... confusion.


    Liam, trying to regain some of his former dignity, was simply staring off into the distance dramatically, trying to show he did not care in the slightest.


    On the other hand, Kevin finally managed to stop laughing and stared at Alya, trying to think of a way to apologize.


    After all, it was his fault that the snowball had hit Alya.


    If he had taken the hit instead of dodging it, she would have been completely fine.


    Ruby, pleasantly surprised at the fact that no one was considering betraying each other for the win, curiously looked around.


    Alya was simply staring at her drenched clothes with an indecipherable expression, her rapier resting in her sheath.


    Zach was rummaging through the items that they had gathered while looting the chest, trying to find a tissue or towel to dry both Liam and Alya.


    And finally, Irene was playing with her wand, spinning it like a pencil, without a care in the world.


    As silence descended after Irene''s remark, Lily fidgeted for a couple of seconds before finally asking.


    "...well, does anyone want to win?"


    "..."


    In all reality, it didn''t matter to any of them who won, as all of them had a hundred percent chance of being recruited.


    As long as one of them wins, fulfilling the principal''s deal, they will be fine.


    What they didn''t know was that the principal was already satisfied and ready to give them the item, no matter if they won or lost.


    After witnessing the fights that took place a couple of minutes ago, especially between Liam and Bertus, she had been pleasantly entertained.


    And if she, a top-ranker was entertained, it was easy to say that the rest of the recruiters and school administrative were.


    Liam couldn''t lie; he did feel an urge to raise his hand and win the battle royale.


    But would this really count as a win?


    This was more like... charity.


    And Liam didn''t need any free handouts!


    Seeing no one was raising her hand at her question, Lily sighed before asking once again.


    "Does anyone... want to nominate another person to be the winner?"


    "..."


    Ruby and Irene alternated glances while Lily stared at Liam, and Kevin just stared at Alya, who had regained her composure and was now paying attention.


    And finally... Zach seemed like a bobbly head as he desperately tried to glance at every member of the main cast, showing that he wanted to... nominate all of them!


    Having already predicted something like this, Lily sighed before asking once again, breaking the awkward atmosphere.


    "Why don''t we let luck decide?"


    Pretending to act nonchalant, Liam stared at the tower, which had a gigantic hole in it, before asking in an emotionless tone.


    "And how do you suggest we do that?"


    Trying his best to hold in his laughter at Liam''s act, Kevin snorted before also curiously turning to Lily.


    Thinking for a moment, Lily stared at the seven of her teammates before replying.


    "Why don''t we... we play... rock paper scissors!" Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "..."


    Ignoring the confused expressions of her teammates, Lily urged them to huddle up around her.


    Once everyone was paying attention, Lily formed a scissor, rock, and paper with her hand one after one before explaining.


    "Scissors beats paper. Paper beats rock, and finally, rock beats scissors?"


    Making a fist with one of her hands and laying out a hand with the other, Lily moved her fist down, hitting the paper before saying.


    "Do this motion three times; then you make with your hands the choice of rock, paper, or scissors that you want."


    Being the smartest students in the academy, the main cast easily understood the instructions of the game within a couple of minutes.


    Finally, all seven of them turned to face each other before making the same fist with one hand and laid out hand with the other as Lily.


    "3"


    "2"


    "1"


    "ROCK!"


    "PAPER!"


    ...


    In the first round, Ruby lost as she was the only person to form scissors out of everyone.


    Stepping out of the huddle without any complaints, Ruby watched the second and third rounds take place.


    During the second round, both Kevin and Irene were taken out as they were the only ones to form paper, while everyone formed scissors.


    And, finally, during the third round, Alya and Lily were taken out as they both formed rock while Liam and Kevin made paper.


    Thus, in the last round, Kevin and Liam stood face-to-face, staring at each other with fierce expressions.


    Sighing, Liam said.


    "You do know... this is a game of luck, and the results really don''t c-"


    "I''ll win anyway."


    Shaking his head, Liam smiled.


    He cared just about the outcome of the game as Kevin, despite his last words.


    Liam was simply trying to lower Kevin''s confidence, but seeing that it didn''t work, he changed into his true self.


    "Nah, I''d win."


    "3"


    "2"


    "1"


    "ROCK"


    "PAPER"


    Shifting his gaze from Kevin''s hand to his face, Liam smiled and shrugged his shoulders.


    "What''d I say? I told you that I would win."


    Then, acting as if it didn''t matter to him in the slightest, Liam simply walked out, leaving the furious Kevin behind.


    However, stopping Liam from walking away, Lily sighed and said.


    "We still have to figure out how to do this."


    From the sidelines, Ruby seemed to recall something as the words, "THERE ARE TEN STUDENTS REMAINING" echoed through her head.


    Smiling, Ruby shrugged her shoulders and asked.


    "Should all of us just eliminate ourselves besides Liam?"


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Back down in the tunnel, below the surface of the magic space, Han and Jin asked.


    "REN, WHY ARE WE GOING BACK TO THE TOWER!? WE''RE GOING TOWARD THE CLOSING BARRIERS NOT AWAY!"

 Chapter 227 - 227:Finale [2]

    Raising my hand, I gestured for the two boys to be quiet before stopping right at the beginning of the tunnel.


    Right above me, I could see the initial hole we had created right under the tower to enter the tunnel.


    After all the sound of footsteps had disappeared, I knew that there would be no more students left at the center.


    So, Han, Jin, and I ran backward, following the sound of the footsteps to the area where the battle would take place.


    The three of us needed to swoop in when everyone was weak so that we were able to claim a top-ten place. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, a sudden announcement from the center of the magic space surprised me, throwing off my entire plan.


    *ATTENTION*


    *ATTENTION*


    *THERE ARE NOW TEN STUDENTS REMAINING*


    *ATTENTION*


    *THERE ARE NOW TEN STUDENTS REMAINING*


    ...the seven of them had taken out the entire four hundred students themselves, without any of the main cast being eliminated?


    Even I expected that there would be some casualties, with maybe even Zach being eliminated... but in the end, they had managed to defeat the entirety of Bertus''s army.


    Initially, I had planned to go above ground with Han and Jin and take care of any stragglers that were remaining.


    The kills would bring some further recognition to Han and Jin, and we wouldn''t seem like a bunch of spawn campers hiding underground.


    Yet... it was far too late for that now.


    We had accomplished our main goal... so I wasn''t angry at the change in events.


    Rather, I was surprised at the main cast''s powers.


    I didn''t even think I could come close to singlehandedly wiping out over four hundred students.


    Maybe a hundred, but after that, my mana would probably start to run low, and I would get overwhelmed.


    Guess... the power of teamwork is real!?


    Well, it wasn''t a fair comparison as they had seven people while I was solo, but still, those seven defeating over four hundred students was still quite the accomplishment.


    As the sound of the announcement echoed throughout, even reaching us in the underground tunnel, Han and Jin jumped up and down in happiness.


    "WE DID ITTTTTT!"


    "WE DID ITTTTT, I CAN''T BELIEVE IT! QUEUE THE INSPIRATIONAL MUSIC!"


    Looking at Han and Jin, I shrugged my shoulders and asked.


    "What now?"


    In unison, the two looked at me with confused expressions before raising their hands.


    Jin, facepalm, simply just stared at me while Han finally replied.


    "Ren...WE WIN NOW!"


    "..."


    Ah... they don''t know.


    They don''t know that the other seven people besides us are all the main cast and are all teamed up together.


    They don''t know that we''re absolutely and literally fucked if they so much as see us.


    Looking at the determined and excited expressions, I couldn''t bear to tell them the truth... so I simply kept quiet.


    At the same time, countless footsteps started echoing from the ground above us, signifying the main cast was there.


    Han and Jin, also hearing the footsteps, were about to try to burst through the ground to get some eliminations.


    Stopping them before they could unsheath their sword and pull out their crossbow, I raised my hand and pointed upward.


    Thankfully... I didn''t have to tell them.


    The voices above would.


    As the sound of the footsteps slowly came to a halt, I put my head to the top of the tunnel, attempting to hear every part of their conversation.


    After a couple of seconds of useless chatter... and what sounded like rain? I honestly couldn''t tell if there was still a fight going on because of the cluster of noises.


    Finally, one clear voice emerged from the chaotic sounds around me... a familiar one.


    "well...does anyone want to win?"


    ...


    Leaning down, I glanced at Han and Jin, who looked like their entire world had just been shattered.


    Imagine your enemies already discussing who would win when you''re still in...they basically thought of us as nothing!


    And the worst part... you can''t even refute it!


    They were bound to defeat the three of us.


    Maybe if Han, Jin, and I had fought together for a long time, learning how to adjust to each other''s special movement abilities, we could have had a chance.


    But, the main cast had months of experience fighting together and learning how to perfectly integrate all of their ability in a cohesive team fighting style.


    If Han, Jin, and I fought... it would look like a complete mess.


    To be honest, I don''t think the three of us had ever fought together...


    And, since Han and Jin didn''t know the full scope of my abilities, our playstyle would be limited even if we had the experience.


    As silence sounded from Lily''s question, I sighed.


    That idiot, Zach.


    Why had he not volunteered?


    It was a free win...


    What the hell had I spent all that time healing him for!?


    Who cares if it''s a charity win!?


    It''s still a win, regardless!


    Shaking my head, I sighed and watched as Han and Jin crumbled into pieces while our opponents played rock-paper-scissors to decide the winner, acting as if we didn''t exist.


    Seeing Liam decide as the final winner, I put my head down and leaned against the wall, turning to face Han and Jin.


    "Well... as you can see, we have two options no-"


    However, before I could even finish my sentence, Jin''s furious voice sounded from across the cave.


    "We''re beating those dumbasses, no matter what. Alright?"


    His anger was reasonable, but it also caused him to make.. an irrational decision.


    Since I had no qualms with continuing to fight, I stared at Han, who also nodded his head, full of anger.


    Glancing between the furious expressions of my teammates and my hands, I wondered.


    Why don''t I feel mad?


    Han and Jin weren''t the weird ones... I was.


    Our opponents had just acted as if we didn''t exist, pretended like we were air.


    Maybe... I still view this world as a game... a novel.

 Chapter 228 - 228:Finale [3]

    Shaking my head, I quickly dismissed the thought.


    After all I had been through... the pain, the joy, the sadness, and the desperation, I knew this was my new life.


    From risking my life to simply enjoying my life as a student at a magical academy... this was my new world.


    That was a fact I couldn''t deny.


    Going back to Earth...


    I couldn''t deny the fact that the thought always sat in the back of my head, ready to be used at any time.


    However, for now, it bound to stay there, a hidden thought and ideal stuck in the backlog of my brain.


    Of course, the scenario where I would have to make a choice between going back to Earth and staying in this world had popped into my head.


    How could it not?


    If I returned to earth, the fact was I would have left this world in exchange.


    The me at the start of the transmigration, I would have easily said yes, as I couldn''t give less of a shit about the people in this world... or the world itself, for that matter.


    But... now, what would be the answer?


    If I had been told, then I could return to Earth right now, but I have to make a decision in a minute... what would my answer be?


    Sighing, I shook my head.


    "I''ll have an answer when the time comes..."


    To be fair, if someone was given the option of staying in the regular, basic, and old world of Earth and staying in this cool new world filled with magic and other various things, the answer would be easy for a majority of people.


    Leave for the world of magic, where you could quite literally become a wizard, swordsman, and hero.


    You could gain magic powers... leaving behind the autonomous world of Earth.


    Let me phrase it like this...


    Would you rather work a 9-5 on Earth... or gain magic powers in a new and interesting world and become a hero?


    Even millionaires, those with comfortable lives, would probably choose to transmigrate into a world of magic.


    Infinite oppurtinites.


    The answer should be quite easy... but I couldn''t help but hesitate.


    In my defense, I had a valid reason.


    I had spent over sixteen years of my live on Earth, creating memories and building relationships... yet here, I had spent only six months.


    But in those six months I had spent in this world, more things had happened than in the entire sixteen years I had spent on Earth.


    I had never risked my life on Earth.


    I had never skipped class on Earth...


    Messing around with Raven and Zeng, making the autonomous school days fun with Jin and Han, and even having those text-message chats with Ruby every so often.


    I had never... had this much fun on Earth.


    On Earth... realistically, my existence didn''t mean a thing.


    If I died, the planet would keep spinning, and in the grand scheme of things, not a single thing would change or be affected.


    Yet here... I had a purpose, a reason to live.


    I had the power and knowledge to make an impact on this world.


    If I had to give an answer right now...


    It would be this world without a doubt.


    But... who knows, things can change in the blink of an eye.


    Looking at Han and Jin, filled with emotion and ambition to win this battle royale, I smiled.


    "Alright... let''s win."


    Not wasting any more time, I signaled for the three of us to follow me.


    The conversation between them right now would probably be useless information, and the barrier was closing in, so we had to go.


    Heading deeper into the tunnel, the three of us navigated our way back to the center of the magic space through the rocky terrain.


    Glancing at the map, I sighed before handing it to Jin.


    Putting my hand in my pocket, I pulled out the last compass I had gained from looting before sitting down. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Sitting down criss-cross, I stared at Han and Jin before once again asking.


    "This will be a three versus seven... are you sure you want to w-"


    "YES."


    Nodding my head with satisfaction, I let a grin creep onto my face.


    When I first transmigrated, these boys did not care about a single thing, even studies, and often skipped class.


    Yet now, they were different.


    They were motivated, and not just because of the pressure of their parents.


    The three of us had changed each other.


    Manifesting a corrupted stick, I glanced at the map in Jin''s hand before beginning to carve on the wall.


    Ignoring the confused gazes of my teammates, I quickly made an exact map of the entire magic space on the wall with my stick.


    I even marked the different terrains, such as forests, rivers, volcanos, and mountains.


    Acting like my math teacher, I stood back and used my stick to gesture to various places on the map.


    Pointing to the dead center of the map first, I made a small circle before explaining.


    "We will stay in this tunnel until the barrier closes into this circle."


    Seeming to realize something, Han raised his hand like a student... before quickly lowering it upon seeing Jin break into laughter.


    " *PFFT* Are you going to call him Professor Ren next?"


    Han asked, not paying any mind to Jin''s remark.


    "What if we don''t fight them at all...we can just stay in this tunnel. The barriers will close in... and technically eliminate all of us at the same time, right? Then it would be a tie!"


    Shaking my head, I replied, having already thought of this strategy.


    Unfortunately, being in the barrier did not eliminate you immediately; instead, it slowly decreased your health.


    "Think about it...they must have over a hundred healing potions. They eliminated over four hundred students, so they got all their loot."


    That''s why we couldn''t just camp here in the tunnel until the barriers closed in, covering the entire map.

 Chapter 229 - 229:Finale [4]

    Nodding his head in agreement, Han returned his attention to my drawing of the map.


    On the other hand, Jin simply stared at my map awestruck before slowly asking.


    "Ren... are you an artist or something?"


    In reality, when I copied things down with my eye, I wasn''t actually drawing; rather, I was tracing.


    After memorizing the image of the map in my mind, I simply used my eyes to project it onto the wall and then traced it using my corrupted stick.


    Still... I like to think of myself as an artist...although I was basically a plagiarizer.


    As I nodded my head in response to Jin''s questions, a moment of silence ensued before Jin questioned.


    "Ren...are you a hidden genius or something? Like one of those one-in-a-million prodigies...? Seriously, I think you can become one of those magical artis-"


    "IS THIS THE TIME!?"


    Seeing Jin go silent, I shook my head and replied.


    "To win, we have to be focused; are you sure y-"


    "for the fiftieth time, Ren. I, Jin Senair, want to win. Alright?"


    Nodding my head, I pointed the corrupted stick at the ceiling before saying.


    "That''s why we have to pop out of here at the perfect time."


    "We have to make them think we''re doing Han''s useless strategy, so they let their guard down."


    Tapping my corrupted stick against the ground, I thought for a moment before also adding.


    "I may need to call in a favor... or two as well."


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Back in a room above the magic space, countless recruiters were standing up with their mouths open and staring at a gigantic television screen.


    Even the two alumni of Celestial Academy were sitting upright in their chairs while staring at the jumbotron screen right above them.


    Kaneki was leaning forward, his blood-red fiercely locked on Liam''s figure on the screen, his legs shaking in excitement.


    On the other hand, Kazuki was slightly less relaxed, leaning back in his chair as he passively watched the fight take place.


    Even the principal, Seraphina, and her fellow school administrative had their attentive gazes locked on the screen. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    There was not a single person in the entire recruiter room, consisting of more than a hundred people, not looking at the jumbotron screen.


    The other fifty screens in the room displayed the scenes of Kevin, Alya, Lily, Ruby, Irene, and Zach fighting...yet no one was looking.


    All those screens were simply playing... with no viewers.


    If someone walked into the recruiter room right now, they would think that everyone on another screen besides the jumbotron was a prop.


    On the jumbotron screen, the image of Liam''s muddy figure sitting on top of Bertus''s muddy figure could be seen.


    As absolute silence took over the room, Liam''s figure on the screen slowly picked up a sword before stabbing it downwards in a swift and clean motion.


    The next second, Bertus''s body was no longer on the screen, leaving Liam''s muddy figure and sword alone.


    Pictured on the screen was the movie-like scene of Liam kneeling down an a heap of mud with a fierce expression.


    Dropping his sword on the screen, Liam lifted his head up, staring at the sky as the rain finally began to subside.


    "..."


    *CLAP*


    *CLAP*


    "ABSOLUTE CINEMA!"


    "I WAS WRONG...SO WRONG; FORGIVE ME!"


    "I-I CAN''T... WILL I EVER EXPERIENCE A FIGHT LIKE THIS AGAIN!?"


    "M-MY EYES WERE BLESSED TODAY!"


    "I-I DON''T WHAT TO SAY!"


    In a single second, the silence disappeared, replaced by countless people applauding and cheering.


    Some recruiters could even be seen teary-eyed despite knowing that they couldn''t recruit Bertus or Liam in their wildest dreams.


    That was just how good the fight was...


    Smirking, Kaneki leaned back in his seat, before taking out a small notebook and start jotting down some notes.


    Contrastingly, Kazuki started glancing at the other screens, taking note of the screen displaying Kevin''s fight for a second.


    Kevin could be seen overwhelming over ten students alone, displaying his impressive swordsmanship while also demonstrating his battle IQ.


    Yet... Kazuki seemed to be the only one watching as everyone else was jumping up and down while celebrating the feast that had just been served to their eyes.


    In fact, the sound of clapping and celebrating was so loud that almost everyone missed the loud announcement.


    *THERE ARE TEN STUDENTS REMAINING*


    *ATTENTION*


    *THERE ARE TEN STUDENTS REMAINING*


    Ignoring Kaneki, who was adamantly taking notes with a smile, Kazuki immediately glanced at every television in the vicinity.


    "ten people...?"


    Despite the announcement clearly saying ten people were remaining, Kazuki could only see seven on the screens.


    There were over a hundred drones in the magic space... it would be impossible for them to miss three students.


    At the start, it may have been possible, but now that the magic space was less than 75% of its original area, it should be impossible for the over a hundred drones to not know where three students were.


    Unless... those three students had deliberately hidden themself away from the drones.


    Glancing back, Kazuki attempted to see if the school administrative were panicking or nervous as the announcement may have been a mistype or glitch.


    But...nope, they were acting completely normal.


    As the sounds of clapping and cheering disappeared, everyone but Kazuki curiously stared at the television.


    There were seven people left, and there could only be one winner.


    Everyone in the room was curious and interested.


    Would a betrayal take place?


    Would they fight to the death?


    How would they decide the winner amongst themselves?


    Yet, their curiosity soon disappeared as they realized that the group of students was going to play a luck-based game to decide.


    However, the recruiters weren''t disappointed as they still managed to witness the amazing and thrilling fight between Bertus and Liam.


    Kaneki, finished with his notes, glanced at Kazuki with a confused expression.


    "What''s up with you? Even I have to admit, that fight was brilliant. Both of them displayed incredible mastery over their respective weapons and skills."


    Shaking his head, Kazuki replied.


    "Don''t you find it odd?"


    Shrugging his shoulders, Kaneki asked.


    "What''s odd?"


    "That there''s ten students remaining, yet we can only see seven."

 Chapter 230 - 230:Finale [5]

    Stopping for a second, Kankei vaguely recalled the announcement that he had just heard a few seconds prior.


    "Hmm?"


    Confirming Kazuki''s words, Kaneki glanced at every single screen beside the jumbotron one, indeed finding that there were no other students.


    As Kaneki was about to turn around to check exactly what Kazuki had done with the school administration, a second later, Kazuki stopped him and said,


    "It''s not a glitch."


    While Kazuki seemed interested in the missing three students... even more so than he was in the battle from earlier, Kaneki simply shrugged his shoulders.


    "So what? The three missing students are probably just a bunch of campers hiding in some vague place."


    "...still, shouldn''t the drones be able to see them?"


    Shaking his head, Kaneki sighed.


    "I swear, you always get worked up over the weirdest things, Kazuki. Even when you were student council president, you always ignored the bigger issues for smaller ones."


    Not able to refuse Kaneki''s claim, Kazuki leaned back in his chair.


    However, that didn''t mean he calmed down in the slightest.


    Every few seconds, Kazuki would glance at the over thirty screens in the room, trying to find a glimpse of the three missing students.


    Seeing his friend act like an owl, swirling his head to look at every second, Kaneki tapped his chair before getting up.


    Kaneki pointed to the principal and the school administrative group behind them.


    "Look, if you''re so interested, let''s just go ask the principal. She''ll know what''s going on, alright?"


    Still sitting down, Kazuki paused for a moment and replied in a fuming tone.


    "What makes you think she''d tell us? Don''t you remember our days in the student council!? We had to casework without even knowing what the damn case was!"


    Grinning at the sudden throwback to their school days, Kaneki responded.


    "Look, it''s different now. We''re not just some students she can blow off. We''re representing the top knight orders in the real as recruiters."


    Following Kaneki''s lead, Kazuki stood up for a second before heading towards the school administrative section.


    Passing by the security with a nod, Kazuki and Kaneki approached the principal''s desk, drawing the attention of the school administrators.


    Seeing her view of the jumbotron was blocked, Seraphina glanced upwards, seeing the face of two of her former students.


    Smiling, Seraphina asked.


    "Oh? What do we have here...my former student council president and vice president? I must say, I was very disappointed when the two of us didn''t come visit during the school festival this year."


    Matching the principal''s smile, Kaneki replied.


    "Ah, my father and younger sister went, as I was busy... with other things. I did hear that it went splendidly from the two of them, though."


    After examining the expressions of the school administrative one last time, Kazuki answered.


    "Unfortunately, I was unable to make it as well."


    Looking at Kazuki, Seraphina replied.


    "You should have come...your brother, Kevin, is a real talent, you know? Maybe on par with you."


    Pausing momentarily, Seraphina glanced at Kaneki before immediately returning her gaze to the two of them.


    "What seems to be the problem, my dear students?"


    Seeing Kaneki gesture to him, Kazuki sighed before replying.


    "I was wondering...where are the last three students? I can''t seem to see them on any of the screens available."


    "Hmm?"


    Trusting Kazuki''s judgment, Seraphina didn''t glance at the screens for confirmation and instead looked behind her at the school administrative.


    One of the school administrators, in a pure-black suit, stepped forward and answered.


    " *ahem* It seems... our drones aren''t able to locate the three students who are not on the screen. Our drones are currently searching."


    Pausing for a moment, Seraphina, now interested in the subject, replied. S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Let me know the identity of these students."


    Since they could check for all the students eliminated, it would be quite easy for one of the school administrators to just check which students hadn''t, using the database.


    Nodding their heads, the administrators scurried to the back, leaving Seraphina and her former students alone.


    Left in the awkward silence, Kaneki asked, trying to stall for time until the administrators came back.


    "How is the student council doing nowadays?"


    Smiling, Seraphina replied.


    "Oh, you may know the student council president, Astrid."


    Recalling the name, Kazuki paused and replied.


    "Ah, the first year we invited?"


    As Seraphina nodded her head, she pointed at the seven students on the screen before replying.


    "I believe Kevin, Liam, Lily, and Alya are also on the council."


    As Kaneki nodded his head, Kazuki seemed to pause for a moment, counting in his bead, before eagerly asking.


    "And... who''s the last member?"


    "..."


    "..."


    "...ah, it may have slipped my mind. I do believe it''s a boy from the same class as them, though."


    As the three finished their conversation, the school administrators reappeared, holding three files with them.


    Taking the files from the administrators, Seraphina quickly glossed over each of them, her face growing more and more interested with every passing document.


    Unable to see from behind the desk, Kazuki and Kaneki attempted to lean over the desk and see the files; however, they simply couldn''t.


    Grinning, Seraphina handed the three documents back to the administrators before shifting her gaze to the two waiting boys.


    "Are you sure you two would like to know? It might ruin the great surprise later!"


    In unison, the two boys replied.


    "YES!"


    "hmm... I''ll give two names. I believe it''s ''Jin'' and ''Han.'' "


    Not knowing any of the two names in the slightest, Kaneki glanced at Kazuki, but he also did not know either of the names from anywhere.


    Sighing, Kaneki shook his head and asked.


    "Did we waste all this time for a bunch of randoms?


    Disappointed, Kaneki left the two behind and headed back to his seat, returning his attention to the jumbotron.


    On the other hand, Kazuki patiently waited before once again asking.


    "And the last student remaining?"


    Shaking her head and seeming to think for a moment, Seraphina replied.


    "Ah... I can''t quite remember. I do believe he is a boy from the same class as those two... though."

 Chapter 231 - 231:A Dream [1]

    Realizing that he wasn''t going to get any more information from the principal, Kazuki waved before heading back to his seat.


    Yet, as he stared at the jumbotron, his mind began racing with the possible scenarios.


    For those three students to have escaped both the main cast and the visions of the drones... they couldn''t just be normal.


    Maybe they could be professional hiders or campers... but they weren''t normal, to say the least.


    Also...those three students had to have heard the top ten announcements.


    No doubt, it should have been the three student''s goal to reach the top ten.


    So... why hadn''t they eliminated themselves yet?


    If they had achieved their goal and were happy with the current situation, there would be no reason for them to stay.


    If they had hidden in the first place, they would most definitely know that they had no chance of fighting and beating other students.


    The fact that they were still participating meant one thing...


    They were planning to win or, at least, die, trying.


    It was also possible that they were trying to be eliminated in a "noble" way to impress recruiters... but they had also hidden, showing they had no nobility inside them.


    Shaking his head, Kazuki began intently watching as the border slowly closed, making the magic space smaller and smaller with every fleeting second.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    At this point, the hype surrounding the recruiters in the main cast had transformed into pure boredom as they stared at the magic area, which was now less than 7% of its original area due to the closing boundaries.


    The magic space consisted of a small forest surrounded by an area that was completely flat and plain.


    Exactly where the very center of the map was a large statue that could be seen, depicting the founder of the celestial academy, who was not the same person as the current principal.


    The statue stretched far above the trees nearby with a cloaking hanging from his shoulders that cast a long shadow all the way from the plain center to the surrounding forest.


    In the wand''s right hand was a wand that was glowing a light yellow.


    While this wand may have seemed like a useless decoration, it actually helped the main cast keep a lookout as the small orb on top of the wand, colored a light yellow, illuminated the center area.


    On one screen, the seven members of the main cast could be seen simply walking around the statue with their weapons out and ready for use.


    Since the center of the magic had already been looted and used by the alliance at the start, it seems almost barren.


    Countless chests were left open with various useless items left inside, and there were occasional footsteps indicating human activity.


    However, since the student alliance of over four hundred students had been here recently, the footsteps were still fairly new.


    This meant that the main cast could not distinguish the new footstep marks from the old ones, leaving them anxious every time they passed by a set of footsteps.


    And the other televisions?


    Either empty, displaying the battlefield from the year, which was now closed off by the boundaries, or simply showing the same view as the jumbotron.


    While some people still believed that the main cast were still deciding who the winner would be... some of the more popular knight order recruiters were coming to a similar conclusion as Kazuki.


    "Where are the last three students...?"


    "Can they just end this already!? We know who the winner is."


    Thus, every so often, a recruiter would walk up to the principal and ask the same questions as Kazuki and Kaneki did earlier. Sear?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The constant disruption of people getting up and walking to the principal, combined with the fact that basically nothing was going on in the battle royale, started to anger Kaneki.


    Staring at the large screen, Kaneki angrily said.


    "Can we just end this already? Is this school dragging it or something? I know they need funding... but they can''t be this desperate."


    Kazuki, now considering the possibility that the missing three students were just a bunch of dumbasses and not some genius who were biding their time, sighed as well.


    "Let''s just wait, alright? It''s not like we have anything better to do."


    "Speak for yourself."


    "...? Don''t you want to see if your favorite prospect wins?"


    Shaking his head, Kaneki replied.


    "It doesn''t make a difference at this point...after my father sees the recording from earlier, I''m sure he''ll attempt to recruit Liam."


    Turning away from each other, the two shifted their gazes, tapping their hands on the wood of their chair as they passively stared at the jumbotron screen.


    However, on a screen at the very edge of the recruiter''s room, a peculiar scene suddenly occurred.


    Yet, because every recruiter gathered in front of the center jumbotron because of the fight earlier, there were no audience members.


    On the peculiar screen, the ground... could be seen rising?


    However... this wasn''t just any patch of ground.


    The small area of ground right under the gigantic statue seemed to be rising.


    This also lifted the statue up, yet as the statue was already so tall, no one could tell its height was actually change.


    And for less than a frame, a small head with black hair could be seen peaking out of the ground, with his head touching the bottom of the statue.


    But the next frame, the small hole was covered up by a patch if dirt, hiding the head from the drone.


    Oblivious to this change, Seraphina glanced back at the school administrators, but they shrugged their shoulders, signifying they had no new intel on the location of the three missing students.


    Then, the barrier finally closed, blocking off the surrounding forest.


    The magic space, once as big as the island Celestial Academy was on... was now as large as a classroom.


    *RUMBLE*


    At that moment, the entire ground suddenly shook, making it seems like an earthquake was occuring.

 Chapter 232 - 232:A Dream [2]

    Feeling the ground shake below him, Liam immediately tightened his grip on the sword before stepping backward until his back was the hard stone of the statue.


    By doing this, he was eliminating the possibility of being attacked from behind and from the right and left sides unless the attacker had an angle on him.


    As the rest of the main cast followed suit, making their backs touch the statue, Liam looked upwards.


    The sky was pitch-black, as there were no stars or moon in this magic space to light it up.


    Looking up at the glowing yellow orb, the only thing preventing the magic space from plunging into darkness, Liam yelled.


    "LILY, EVERYTHING ALRIGHT UP THERE."


    A moment later, a sound from the yellow orb echoed down the statue.


    "YES!"


    Though it was in no way confirmed that Ren, their biggest weakness due to him also ahving knowledge of the future like Lily, was part of the last three students, the main cast had decided to assume it was.


    Thus, Lily, having some knowledge of Ren''s abilities through their various encounters, was camping the light-yellow orb.


    From his display during the fight with the spirit who had passed Zach, Lily assumed that Ren had some power or boost in power when fighting in darkness.


    Lily, oblivious to the slight and slow raises in the height of the statue, looked downwards, scanning the classroom-sized magic space for any students.


    However, things soon became obvious for the recruiters watching on the jumbotron back in the room.


    "hey...is the tower tilting?"


    "...was it always like that?"


    "Is this the leaning tower of fireballs?"


    Lily, obviously realizing that the tower was starting to tilt to the right, immediately yelled.


    "T-THE TOWER IS FALLING! THE TOWER IS FALLING!"


    Swiftly turning back around, Liam stood there shocked for a moment, watching as the tower slowly tipped over, like a tree being chopped down from the stump.


    Lily, losing her balance as the statue began to fall to the right, got propelled on the shoulder.


    Knowing that if the statue fell, the magic space would lose its only light source and be plunged into darkness as the light-yellow shining orb would break, Lily clung onto the statue''s shoulder with everything she had. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Down below, Liam and the other main cast members immediately regained their composure before coordinating a plan.


    Alya, having done something like this before in the Elven Kingdom since trees often fell over and caused a huge damage risk, yelled out.


    "I CAN STOP ITS FALL WITH MY ICE MAGIC! KEVIN AND LIAM USE YOUR SWORDS TO KEEP IT FROM FALLING UNTIL I''M DONE!"


    Heeding Alya''s instructions without any hesitation, Liam and Kevin sprinted towards the right, where the statue was about to fall.


    Right now, there was an imbalance in forces as more force was being exerted on the left side of the statue, causing it to fall.


    All Liam and Kevin had to do was temporarily stall the falling of the statue, giving Alya enough time to freeze its base and restabilize it by exerting equal force on the right side.


    This would create an equilibrium in forces, causing the statue to remain at a standstill.


    However, this did mean that the statue would be permanently slanted instead of upright after Alya froze its base.


    If they wanted to make it upright again, Liam and Kevin would have to exert more force on the right side than the left, making it lean left.


    But, this was highly risky as if they exerted too much force on the right, the statue would just fully fall to the left before Alya could freeze it.


    Coming to the same conclusion, Kevin and Liam nodded at each other before pulling out their swords.


    Each of the two used various sword arts and techniques they had gained from progressing in sword art mastery.


    Liam, using his "gigantamax" skill, which he gained from progressing in mastery, instantly made his sword quadruple its original size.


    This allowed his sword to reach all the way up the falling statue''s side and exert force on it to stop it from falling.


    On the other hand, Kevin used his sword art mastery progression skill, "Piercing Sword."


    The tip of Kevin''s sword immediately soared forward, becoming sharper and sharper as it expanded further away from Kevin.


    Eventually, the tip of Kevin''s sword touched the statue''s side and began to exert more pressure on it.


    However, as Kevin''s sword tip began to exert pressure on the statue, the boys quickly realized something was off.


    The statue was no longer falling to the right... but it was falling to the left.


    They had exerted too much pressure.


    On the statue, Lily flung to the left, falling back onto the glowing yellow orb and feeling a huge amount of pain.


    Realizing their mistake, the boys immediately lost their grip on their swords, exerting less pressure on the statue.


    Yet... this again caused the statue to flip to the right and immediately start falling.


    And once again, Lily was propelled right, hitting the ear of the statue stomach-first, barely managing to cling on.


    As the boys tried to find the equilibrium of the statue that stopped it from falling, Alya dashed towards the base of the statue.


    Despite not being told anything, Kevin followed suit, running after Alya.


    Ruby and Irene, seeing Zach, headed over to Kevin and Liam, helping them find the equilibrium and casting stamina buff spells.


    While being flung from side to side as Kevin and Liam attempted to find the equilibrium of forces, Lily was still keen.


    Whenever she had the chance, she would look at the magic space, attempting to find any signs of Ren or any other student.


    Yet... there was nothing.


    Reaching the base of the statue first, Alya was about to pull out her wand, but suddenly, the ground began to shake.


    *RUMBLE*


    However, this time, it wasn''t all of the ground in the magic space that was shaking.


    *RUMBLE*


    Only the ground right under Alya and in the proximity was shaking, looking like it was about to give in.


    *RUMBLE*

 Chapter 233 - 233:A Dream [3]

    "ak, w-what is this!?"


    Losing her footing, Alya tried to move closer to the base and pull out her sword; however, she couldn''t focus enough to use her sword.


    Glancing around, Alya tried to discern if she was the one being affected by this strange phenomenon.


    "I-is anyone else feeling this!?"


    Yet, as she glanced around and saw Zach running normally, without any signs of the ground shaking below him, she immediately realized something was off.


    *RUMBLE*


    Then, right as Zach was about to reach her, the ground finally collapsed, causing Alya to free-fall downwards. Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Thankfully, realizing something was off, Alya already managed to pull her sword out, but that didn''t stop Zach from worrying.


    "w-what, ALYA!?"


    "WHE-WHAT HAPPENED!?"


    As Alya fell deeper, Zach''s screams slowly faded away, and darkness slowly overwhelmed the light.


    Knowing that the fate of the statue, whether it fell or not, depended on her, Alya immediately plunged her ice sword into the ground as she landed.


    Not bothering to look around or find the culprit of the ground collapsing, Alya looked downwards at her sword, which was embedded into the ground.


    Feeling the temperature in the underground area grow colder, Alya immediately began manifesting an ice pillar, slowly lifting herself up.


    Though she knew that the ground collapsing was unnatural and there was likely an enemy nearby, Alya did not wish to engage in a fight.


    She knew that Kevin and Liam wouldn''t be able to hold on much longer, so she had to get to the surface and stop the statue from falling with her ice magic.


    However, as Alya slowly rose up into the air, closer and closer to the surface, a very familiar voice echoed throughout the underground area.


    "Can I call in... a favor, my dear princess?"


    Stopping dead in her tracks and halting the ice pillar from rising, Alya stared downward at the source of the voice.


    Despite knowing that Ren was most likely part of the three other students due to his display of strength during the carriage battle between him, Kevin, and Liam, Alya still stood shell-shocked upon hearing his voice.


    Unable to form a coherent word due to the shock, Alya simply stared down in silence at the emerging figure below her.


    "..."


    A few seconds later, the same voice echoed again in a slightly awkward tone.


    "You did say any time, didn''t you..? Or am I mistaken?"


    Realizing that time was ticking, and the statue would soon begin to fall, Alya regained her composure and replied.


    "...I-i, y-yeah, I did say that."


    Leaving the cave''s darkness, Ren walked towards the ice pillar.


    The light-yellow orb of the statue illuminated his figure through the hole in the ground that was created when the floor under Alya collapsed.


    With two pitch-black daggers in his hand, Ren tapped the ice pillar with one of them before muttering.


    "Brings back memories... huh, not nice ones."


    Starting to rise herself and the ice pillar up again, Alya stared downwards at Ren in disbelief.


    "Are you... trying to guilt trip me!?"


    With a smile, Ren looked up, making eye contact with Alya, and responded.


    "...is it working?"


    Continuing to raise herself closer to the surface, Alya ignored Ren''s question, simply waving it off before curiously questioning.


    "Am I to assume this floor... and statue was all your work, then?"


    Shrugging his shoulders, Ren began tapping at the ice pillar before replying.


    "So...about that favor!"


    " *PFFT* "


    Unable to keep her laughter in at the shamelessness of the figure below her, Alya burst into laughter while staring at Ren.


    Sighing, Ren shook his head and interrupted Alya''s fit of laughter.


    "...I guess that''s a no."


    Since she couldn''t increase the speed at which the ice pillar rose and there were still twenty seconds before she returned to surface height, Alya continued laughing before asking.


    "I can hear you out if that makes you feel any better."


    Thinking for a moment, Ren tapped his foot up and down before looking up at Alya once again.


    "Will you go to the winter ball with me?"


    "..."


    "..."


    As Alya immediately lost her focus due to Ren''s words, the ice pillar stopped rising, causing more time to be wasted.


    Standing on the ice pillar and glancing at Ren down below, Alya began to recall how he had acted in the past.


    The Ren she had seen over the past few weeks would never say something like that!


    Then, at that moment, it clicked for her.


    At this moment, Ren and she were enemies!


    She had been fooled because, during her times with Zach and Ren, she had been so used to being on Ren''s side, not the opposite!


    With her face red, Alya realized her mistake and desperately began trying to calm her mind.


    But, the precious seconds had already been wasted.


    A couple of seconds later, the ice pillar began rising again... but when Alya looked down, Ren was simply standing there.


    Then, the next moment... Ren quite literally disintegrated before her.


    It looked as if he had just melted right in front of her.


    Pieces of his body had just deformed before completely disappearing, leaving the area where he was a moment ago empty.


    Dismissing Ren''s creepy skill, Alya stared upward with her ice-sword ready, thinking about how she had just been fooled.


    "...that dam-"


    "What was that, Alya?"


    Looking up at Zach''s confused face, Alya simply waved her hands up and down before replying.


    "nothing... just nothing. A little...trick."


    Waving off Zach, Alya immediately pointed out her sword before sprinting around the base of the statue, covering the base with a layer of ice every time she circled around it.


    Liam, Lily, Irene, Ruby, and Kevin, who had been oblivious to Alya''s fall, sighed in relief as they saw the ice beginning to form.


    *WHOOSH*


    *WHOOSH*


    Yet, Lily''s relief was short-lasted.


    Sitting atop the shoulder of the statue, Lily''s face quickly transformed as she saw three crossbow arrows heading straight for the right side of the statue.

 Chapter 234 - 234:A Dream [4]

    Not wasting a second, Lily leaped off the ear of the statue and back onto the shoulder, barely managing to balance.


    After finding her footing, Lily immediately pulled out her wand before using one of the spells she had copied from a teacher.


    Almost immediately, a gigantic shield made of pure blue water appeared, covering the statue''s right side.


    As the arrows hit the water shield, they were immediately repelled away, now heading in the opposite direction.


    Not letting her guard down, Lily spotted two more arrows, which had their tips colored a peculiar green.


    Seeing them heading towards the left side of the statue, Lily reinforced the shield by embueing more mana.


    Then she moved her wand to the left, dragging the water shield to the left side of the statue as well.


    Further away from the statue, through a very slight and unnoticeable hole in the ground, Han aimed his crossbow out.


    Seeing his arrows blocked once again, Han rapidly closed the hole before falling back down into the underground.


    Looking at the massive area of space, Han sighed for a moment, appreciating their hard work, before sprinting to the area right under the statue.


    They had cleared out the entire underground, making it no longer a tunnel but an entire cavern close to the size of a classroom in the Celestial Academy.


    Shivering as he passed by the gigantic ice pillar, which was now just randomly in the middle of their cave, Han spotted Jin.


    Seeing him, Han immediately yelled out.


    "YOUR TURN."


    Nodding his head, Jin walked over to the area, which was filled with countless portals that were waiting to be used by Jin.


    Spotting the over five portals just sitting, Jin thought for a moment.


    "...ah, which one was I supposed to use first?"


    Examining each portal, Jin attempted to identify which one had been created first by their mana flow.


    Each portal had a golden arc on the exterior, and inside the arc, it was pure-purple, so he wasn''t able to see where the portal would take him.


    Finding the correct magic portal, Jin unsheathed his long and sharp katana, pointing it forward.


    Taking one last glance at the massive cavern they had created, Jin grinned before jumping head-first into the portal. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The next second, the portal disappeared, leaving Han alone in the cave.


    Illuminated by the light-yellow orb of the statue''s wand, Jin stood right next to the statue''s base.


    Then, without a second of hesitation, Jin began hacking at the layers of ice around the statue''s base with his katana.


    Finishing another circle around the statue''s base, Alya quickly spotted Jin, who was hacking at the layers of ice she had labored desperately to create.


    Seeing Alya nearby, Jin stopped hacking and began running around the base of the statue, hacking with his katana with the ice as he passed by.


    Following his lead, Alya chased after him, but her efforts to add more ice were canceled out by Jin''s hacking, which weakened the base.


    "...what is that."


    Pausing midchase, Alya saw a portal with a golden arc and purple outside form to the right of the base.


    However, realizing that the statue was continuing to be weakened by Jin, she ignored it and sprinted after him, still adding layers of ice as she ran around the base.


    Lily, noticing the arrows had halted, frantically looked around the classroom-sized magic space, trying to find the culprit.


    However, instead of finding the culprit... she found something much worse.


    In the far right corner of the magic space, with his back to the closing barrier, stood a familiar figure.


    Holding a dagger in each of his hands, the figure made eye contact with Lily... before waving his daggers at her as if he were a teammate and not an enemy.


    Not fooled, Lily opened her mouth to let Liam and the others know... but as she glanced around another time, she noticed something else.


    "...what...?"


    Another "Ren" was standing in the far left corner of the magic space, waving his two pitch-black daggers as well.


    ...they weren''t waving at her; they were waving at himself!?


    Regaining her composure, Lily yelled out.


    "INCOMING FROM THE RIGHT AND LEFT."


    Ignoring Lily''s callout, Liam and Kevin stayed still and continued to keep the tower in place, having already found the equilibrium.


    On the other hand, Ruby and Irene nodded at each other before splitting up, Ruby heading to the right while Irene went to the left.


    Seeing the "Rens," the two of them paused for a moment before slowly pulling out their wands, the tip sparkling a fiery red.


    Ruby, staring at the figure of "Ren" in front of her, sighed before saying.


    "You know... you really do seem like a villain right now."


    Ren was dressed in a pitch-black outfit, with two night-black daggers dangling from each of his hands.


    Smiling, Ren replied.


    "I knew you''d choose this side."


    Leaning to the right, Ruby matched his smile and questioned.


    "Why is that?"


    Mirroring Ruby and leaning to the right, Ren answered.


    "And how do you know that this is the actual me?"


    Shaking her head, Ruby replied.


    "Didn''t I already tell you? Being sarcastic and lying isn''t for you."


    Knowing she had probably found out his clone trick from their time in the dream, Ren sighed and replied.


    "You do know, you''re supposed to choose the other side."


    Walking over to Ren with her wand still lit up in her hand, Ruby tilted her head to the right and asked.


    "Am I?"


    On the other side, Irene, calm and composed, stood upright with her wand aimed right at Ren.


    As sparks began to generate on the tip of her wand and the temperature began to increase around her, Irene replied.


    "Once a dumbass, always a dumbass."


    Cocking his head to the right, ignoring the fact that Irene was casting a spell, "Ren" smiled and replied.


    "I guess I am?"


    Surprised by his lack of dodging or moving for that matter, Irene sighed and said.


    "Have you accepted your fate?"

 Chapter 235 - 235:A Dream [5]

    As the fire began to form on the tip of Irene''s wand, growing with every fleeting second, "Ren" simply stood still while staring at Irene.


    At this point, Irene already had the spell ready and could fire it off at "Ren" at any time... yet she didn''t.


    Currently, "Ren" wasn''t a threat... he was just standing there, doing nothing.


    He had even dropped both of his daggers to the ground, showing that he was not a threat.


    Seeing "Ren" stay silent without any intentions of answering her question, Irene sighed before raising her once again.


    "This was just a big waste of time."


    And just as Irene was about to shoot the fire phoenix spell at "Ren," his voice suddenly stopped her.


    "Was it?"


    "...?"


    Silently staring at the grin on "Ren''s" face, Irene sighed once again before letting the fire phoenix soar out of her wand.


    The next second, a phoenix made of pure fire appeared before rapidly flying at "Ren," who still hadn''t moved.


    Faced with the scorching hot phoenix, Ren didn''t seem to move, at least that''s how it seemed to Irene. S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And, back in the recruiter''s room, outrage was starting to grow as the phoenix soared towards the unmoving "Ren."


    "IF HE WAS GOING TO DO THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE, WHY DIDN''T HE JUST ELIMATE HIMSELF!?"


    "WE WAITED AN EXTRA THIRTY MINUTES FOR THIS SHIT!?"


    "ARE YOU KIDDING ME? HE JUST WASTED ALL OF OUR TIME TO DO THIS!"


    When the arrows shotten from Han''s crossbow appeared, and the statue began to fall, the excitement amongst the recruiters was at an all-time high.


    They had assumed there was going to be a big, thought-out plan as the three students had been missing for the entire battle royale.


    Surely, they could have come with something in the three hours they were hidden from the sight of the drones.


    Yet... as they stared at the statue, which was beginning to stabilize as Kevin and Liam found the equilibrium, and "Ren," who was basically forfeiting and allowing himself to be hit by Irene''s phoenix spell, that excitement rapidly transformed.


    They had gotten their hopes up for nothing.


    "SO, WHAT THE HELL WERE THEY DOING ALL THIS TIME!?"


    "DID THEY TAKE A NAP OR SOMETHING!?"


    "THE BATTLE ROYALE SHOULD HAVE ENDED AFTER THE BERTUS AND LIAM FIGHT!"


    However, the recruiters were oblivious to one thing.


    They were two Rens.


    On the jumbotron, only the "Ren" facing Irene was visible, so they had no idea that another Ren was currently with Ruby.


    In fact, no one, not even the principal, noticed there were two Rens.


    Only Lily, Ruby, Irene, and Ren himself knew that there were currently two of him on the battlefield.


    Ren hadn''t been doing nothing while Han and Jin began clearing out the secret tunnel, transforming it into a large and wide cave that encapsulated everything under the statue.


    He had been looking for a blind spot.


    There were currently only five drones in the magic space, as the other ninety-five had been removed.


    The magic space was only size of a classroom, so having a hundred drones would cause the drones to constantly bump into each as there wasn''t enough space in the air.


    Ren, noticing this, immediately looked for the drone''s blind spot.


    However, this wasn''t done so that Ren could conceal his powers.


    It was so... he could call in a favor.


    With Ruby in a complete blind spot where no one except Lily, who was too far away to hear anything, could see them, Ren chuckled.


    "So...are you in?"


    Standing in front of Ren, with her wand still up and shining so that Lily could see it, Ruby sighed and replied.


    "You know... you really gain nothing from doing this, right?"


    Shaking his head, Ren hesitated before replying.


    "Do I have to gain something? Can''t I just do something because I want to do it?"


    Smiling, Ruby glanced at Ren''s face.


    True freedom... a beam of light.


    That was what Ren was to Ruby.


    They were opposites... at least, the old Ruby was the opposite of Ren.


    One followed their commander''s words out of pure fear and showed complete obedience, while the other did whatever he wanted, no matter the consequences or obstacles in the way.


    Someone who was truly free from all constraints.


    There was nothing stopping him from doing what he wanted, even if it meant outsmarting the six smartest students in the academy.


    The other, a drone, obeying all their orders without a single complaint.


    Maybe... that was why they got along so well at the start.


    They do say opposites attract.


    Raising her hand and lifting one finger up, Ruby responded.


    "One condition."


    Not waiting a moment, Ren eagerly replied.


    "What is it?"


    "Let me join this as well.


    "...?"


    Confused, Ren stared at Ruby for a second before asking.


    "...but your team...the main cast? You''d be going against them... why w-"


    Shrugging her shoulders and turning around, Ruby replied.


    "As a hero and villain... and rumored creep once said, ''Can''t I just do something because I want to do it?'' "


    "...really had to add the last title on, did you? The school rumors just got over that one."


    As Ren chuckled, staying in the blind spot, Ruby fired her spell.... at the ground, causing a bout of fire to burn the grass in the area.


    Seeing Ren nod, Ruby turned around before reentering the vision of the drones with a smirk on her face.


    Back on the jumbotron screen, Kazuki and Kaneki stared at the screen, which displayed Ren, who was standing completely still despite being about to be hit by a phoenix spell that would definitely eliminate him.


    Feeling the glances on him from the other recruiters, Kaneki sighed before saying.


    "See, what I mean? It''s not even the fact that he''s weak that angers me. It''s just his eccentricity. There was absolutely no need for him to do all of this."


    Ignoring Kaneki, Kazuki watched Ren''s figure closely before replying.


    "What if there''s a secret plan behind all of this that leads him to win, despite all odds?"

 Chapter 236 - 236:Winnable [1]

    Shaking his head, Kaneki sighed before responding.


    "I wouldn''t even care. I swear, even if he had a plan behind all of this, there was still no need for him to do all of this. There definitely was a less eccentric and infuriating way that he ignored for no reason whatsoever."


    "..."


    Seeing Kazuki silent, Kaneki continued.


    "I mean, he has to know he''s pissing off all the recruiters by doing this, right?"


    Knowing the Kaneki was most likely right, Kazuki nodded his head before returning his attention to the jumbotron.


    Then, as the beak of the fire phoenix touched "Ren," the room went silent, waiting to hear the voice that would announce his elimination.


    Yet... that voice never came.


    On one of the smaller screens, Alya caught up to Jin, who was still rapidly hacking at the ice layers on the statue''s base.


    But as Alya thrust her rapier forward, Jin jumped in the portal, disappearing without any trace. The portal vanished when he entered.


    Ren, staring and seeing that Jin had vanished, stretches his hands outwards.


    "Well, it''s time to get some eliminations."


    From a distance, Ren timed it perfectly so that he dismissed his corrupted figure right as the fire phoenix was about to hit it.


    Unfortunately, Ren did lose some corruption in the process, and part of the phoenix melted the corruption; however, it was worth it in his mind.


    Feeling some of his corruption return to his body as he dismissed that figure, Ren manifested a pitch-black bow and a couple of arrows.


    Nocking an arrow in his bow, Ren aimed directly at Liam and Kevin, who were about to let go of their weapons as the statue was beginning to stabilize due to Alya''s icing the base.


    Seeing this, Lily didn''t hesitate and yelled out from atop the statue.


    "KEVIN, LIAM... REN''S ARROWS INCOMING."


    Pausing for a moment, Lily attempted to find Ruby, who had been in charge of taking care of the right Ren, but she was nowhere to be found.


    Had she been eliminated...?


    Unfortunatlely, Lily was unable to check the amount of people left in the battle royale, so she just had to make assumptions.


    Only after five people were left would another announcement be made.


    Ruby had been eliminated... at least, that''s what Lily believed, considering Ren was standing there while Ruby was nowhere to be seen.


    Spotting the bunch of fire right under Ren and his bow, Lily sighed, confirming her theory.


    That was Ruby''s spell... S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Considering the skill Ren had displayed during the carriage battle, it wasn''t surprising that he had managed to defeat Ruby.


    But what was confusing to Lily... was how he did so silently without anyone noticing.


    If Ruby had called for help just once, she would have been saved by Lily''s spells or someone else...yet Lily did not hear a peep from the right side.


    Shaking her head, Lily blamed her own incompetence as she had failed to counteract Ren once again.


    Internally promising to avenge Ruby, Lily created a water shield before placing it right in front of Liam and Kevin.


    Looking at the statue and the orb of glowing yellow light, which Lily was on, Ren sighed before pointing to a nearby drone.


    They were all isolated, just like he had planned.


    Alya was freezing the statue, Zach was trying to figure out the situation underground, Liam was to the right of the statue, and Kevin was to the left.


    Finally, Irene was simply staring at the wall, confused as to where Ren had went and how he had dodged her spell.


    "I guess I''ll put on a show."


    In the next second, two gigantic corrupted pillars, each exactly the size of Ren''s shoe, plunged out of the ground.


    Like stilts, the pillars sprung Ren up into the air until, finally, his face was at the exact height of the top of the statue.


    Matching his long legs, two corrupted arms, matching Ren''s arms as well, appeared from Ren''s chest and plunged outward.


    After being completed, these arms were the exact length of the statue.


    And in those gigantic arms appeared a pitch-black broadsword, which reached all the way from Ren''s hands to the ceiling of the magic space.


    "..."


    Utter silence.


    In the recruiter room, not a single word could be heard.


    After no announcement of elimination, which could only be heard by them and not the participants, and seeing Ren appear on the other side of the magic space, initially, recruiters were shellshocked.


    Cloning?


    Was that even an ability?


    Sure, it had been heard of... but for a student, first-year let alone, to pull it off and trick the smartest and strongest students in the first year was amazing.


    However, that marvel soon transformed... into even more marvel.


    On the jumbotron, Ren now seemed like a giant as he was as tall as the statue, with his sword poking at the tip of the magic space.


    He was quite literally the height of one of the academy''s buildings...


    Staring at the pitch-black giant on their screen, no one dared to speak, scared that they would miss what happened next.


    They, alongside the main cast, were so focused on the giant Ren''s actions that they failed to notice five soaring crossbow arrows.


    The arrows had a normal tip... but attached to them was a familiar potion.


    Landed around Ren''s corrupted shoes, the arrows created a rectangle that perfectly encapsulated Ren.


    Then, in a slow and... very unclean and unpolished motion, Ren swung his gigantic broadsword downwards.


    Lily, realizing that it was impossible for her to protect the statue anymore, leaped off, landing next to Alya at the base.


    Liam and Kevin... immediately took their opportunity.


    The bigger the target... the easier it is to hit.


    And Ren, right now, was one really big target.


    *SWOOSH*


    As Ren''s massive broadsword severed the statue in half, causing the orb of light to fall to the ground, Liam and Kevin began relentlessly attacking Ren''s corrupted legs.


    However... as they began attacking, they started feeling more and more sleepy.

 Chapter 237 - 237:Winnable[2]

    Cut in half, one part of the statue fell to the left while the other fell to the right.


    Irene, seeing this and realizing that the right part of the statue was about to land on her, immediately used her movement ability, "Flame Jump."


    Looking at the bout fire created by Ruby, which was behind Ren, Irene blinked before immediately feeling her surroundings shift.


    The next second, she was on the opposite side of the space and right behind the gigantic Ren, who was surrounded by Liam and Kevin.


    However, as Irene stood there simply watching, her eyelids began to droop... and she slowly began to lose energy, her legs sinking deeper and deeper into the ground.


    The same could be said for Kevin and Liam; however, the adrenaline was keeping them from completely falling asleep.


    Dismissing his corrupted legs and arms, Ren returned to his original size, narrowly avoiding a duo attack from Kevin and Liam.


    Even though his legs were made of corruption, Ren had lost... a considerable amount of health as the attacks still affected him.


    The corrupted legs were a part of Ren''s body for that period of time, so if someone hit them, it would count as hitting his body.


    Therefore, he was still losing health when Liam and Kevin attacked his corrupted legs and not his actual body.


    The loss of health was still significantly reduced, though, as his physical body wasn''t hurt.


    However, his physical body had still been attacked relentlessly as the duo performed multiple ariel attacks to specifically target the part of Ren''s body that wasn''t pitch-black.


    It seems they had noticed that the corruption was acting as a protective barrier for Ren.


    Not that he planned or calculated this... but Ren was so low on health that one single sword slash from Liam could take him out.


    Staring at the familiar potion bottles, which were currently emitting a gas, Ren smiled before putting his hand in his pocket.


    "Brings back memories... doesn''t it?"


    Ignoring the incoming Kevin and Liam, Ren pulled a simple bottle of water out of his pocket before opening it.


    Then, in a swift motion, Ren flipped the bottle upside down on his head, allowing the water to drip down his hair.


    Only after the bottle was empty did Ren dodge.


    Since their movements were slowed from the sleeping gas, Ren was able to dodge both Liam and Kevin with a simple use of dash.


    Seeing both Liam and Kevin limp from a lack of energy, Ren chuckled before manifesting two pitch-black daggers in his hands.


    "It was a good time...I guess."


    Unbeknownst to even Ren, Irene collapsed from exhaustion a couple of meters behind him, lying blankly on the burned grass below her.


    On the other hand, Han and Jin had popped out of the ground and were now facing Zach, Alya, and Lily.


    This was obviously an unfair fight in terms of pure power... however, Han and Jin had their own advantage.


    *RUMBLE*


    The next second, the ground under Jin, Han, Lily, Alya, and Zach collapsed, sending all of them freefalling into the underground space below.


    Back on the surface, Ren gripped his daggers before sprinting towards Kevin, who was nearer to him. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In a swift and clean motion, Ren''s corrupted dagger seamlessly passed through Kevin''s stomach with no recoil in the slightest.


    Even before Kevin''s body disappeared and disintegrated, Ren was already charging at the defenseless Liam.


    Back in the recruiter''s room, the elimination announcement finally sounded... just not with who they had thought.


    *Student Kevin eliminated*


    * Student Kevin eliminated*


    *There are nine students remaining.*


    Despite the loud and noisy announcement, no one, including Seraphina, took their eyes off the jumbotron.


    On the screen, Ren dashed towards Liam... who seemed to be waiting.


    Connecting the dots between the potions on the arrows, Kevin''s death, and Liam''s exhaustion, a recruiter exclaimed, breaking the awkward silence.


    "A SLEEPING GAS...HOW DID THEY GET ONE OF THOSE!?"


    Turning to the school administrator behind her, Seraphina eagerly questioned.


    "Are potions of sleeping gas in the loot pool for chests...?"


    Seeing the administrator shake her head, Seraphina sighed and replied.


    "I thought so..."


    However, a second later, another recruiter coughed before speaking.


    "*ahem* They were considered a ''special'' item... so a couple of them were put into supply drops."


    Considering the initial size of the magic space, a sleeping gas would be essentially useless as it only affects people within a short radius of it.


    Still, if you could limit the opponentm''s movement, the sleeping gas was still powerful. So they added to the loot pool.


    But... now that the magic space was so small, a sleeping gas was lethal.


    Keep in mind that since this was in a magic space and a holographic world, none of the items here were considered real... so the school wasn''t breaking any legal rules.


    Shaking her head, Seraphina returned her attention to the screen...only to see a surprise waiting for her.


    Liam... was resisting the sleeping gas.


    On the screen, a light-blue hue was surrounding his figure, keeping the sleeping gas from reaching him.


    Ren, noticing this far too late, had his daggers downward and a relaxed posture, so Liam was easily able to catch him off guard.


    In contrast to his limping figure a second ago, Liam burst forward, his broadsword also surrounded by a light-blue hue.


    Back on the battlefield, Ren, completely caught off guard by Liam''s resistance to the sleeping gas, activated the usage period of the dash.


    But by that time, Liam was already upon, a deathly grin apparent on his face.


    Raising his hand to his eye, Ren slowed his perception of time... and switched points of views?


    In the underground space, Ren, leaving his physical body completely undefended, was now in possession of his corrupted figure.


    With his perception of time still slowed, "Ren" simply stepped to the right, seeing a variety of contraptions that were just waiting to be used.


    Smiling, "Ren" stared at a familiar figure with long, silky black hair and blood-red eyes.


    "Ready?"

 Chapter 238 - 238:Winnable [3]

    Ruby, not even turning around to face "Ren," pulled out her wand before pointing it upwards like she was about to shoot a firework.


    Although Ren''s plan had been thrown off due to Liam''s swift recovery from the sleeping gas, that didn''t mean his plan wouldn''t work.


    It just meant... that he, personally, wouldn''t be there to witness it.


    And... he would need some luck.


    Well, technically, it wasn''t him who needed the luck, but rather Jin and Han.


    They were the ones who needed to win, after all.


    Returning to his body, Ren allowed his corrupted figure to dissipate once again, feeling a large amount of corruption rapidly returning to him.


    Raising his hand to his eyes once again, Ren''s perception of time returned to normal just in time for him to witness Liam''s sword.


    Ren calculated that, in less than a second, Liam''s sword would swiftly pierce through his body, completely eliminating him.


    He could dodge... but Liam would just move his sword and predict Ren''s dodge.


    Even Dash would be useless here, considering the fact that it required time to use because Ren needed to activate its usage period first.


    His elimination was guaranteed no matter what slowing time or overpowered ability he used.


    Flimsily raising his dagger, Ren watched as the tip of the dagger shined a golden hue as Ren lazily mouthed.


    "Serpent Slash."


    Liam, who was at more than half health, wasn''t worried about taking a hit from Ren as he knew he could survive it.


    A loss of health was a small price to pay for the elimination of Ren, in his opinion.


    Thus, ignoring the fact that Ren raised his daggers, Liam sprinted forward, plunging his sword right at Ren''s chest.


    Staring at the sword heading right for his chest, Ren sighed before... stepping forward.


    Instead of letting the sword come to him, Ren stepped forward, right into the sword.


    However, as the sword pierced through Ren''s skin, he flimsily raised his daggers before thrusting them forward at Liam.


    As his health bar sank to zero, Ren felt the tip of his daggers touch Liam''s skin and tear through his clothes.


    Relaxing, Ren closed his eyes, waiting to be transported out of the magic space and back to the classroom.


    *BOOM* S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Just as Ren felt his surroundings shift, a sudden noise and explosion interrupted his moment of silence, ringing through the entire magic space.


    "Well... it''s up to luck now."


    Back in the recruiter''s room, a couple of recruiters shed tears upon seeing Ren''s dramatic death.


    "WHAT A NOBLE MAN!"


    "ACCEPTING DEATH... SO GRACEFULLY. *SNIFF* "


    "YOU TRIED YOUR BEST... REN!"


    "IT WAS A 3 VERSUS 7... DON''T WORRY; YOU WON IN MY EYES, REN!"


    "SO INSPIRATIONAL, MAN!"


    "WHAT''S HIS STUDENT NUMBER... I NEED TO RECRU-"


    Interrupting the yells, a loud feminine voice echoed throughout the halls, silencing everyone else.


    "THAT''S MY RECRUIT FOR YOU! KNEW IT SINCE THE DAY I FIRST SAW HIM!"


    However, Kaneki was pissed as ever... not because of his brother''s skill or loud yells echoed throughout the recruiter''s room... but Ren''s personality.


    Practically standing on his chair, Kaneki turned to Kazuki while frantically pointing at the screen.


    "YOU SEE THAT? YOU SEE THAT!?"


    With a slight smile on his face, Kazuki sighed and turned to Kaneki.


    "What is it now...?"


    Throwing his hands up in his hair, Kaneki stood up and walked to the jumbotron screen.


    "HE''S FARMING SYMPATHY. WHAT IS THIS BULLSHIT!? IS THIS A PITY PARTY? HE LOST, WHY ARE HAPPY FOR HIM!?"


    Ignoring Kaneki''s angry rambling, Kazuki chuckled, recalling how Ren had gone out of his way to fake an injury to attract attention from the adults back at one of their noble parties.


    *STUDENT REN HAS BEEN ELIMINATED*


    *STUDENT REN HAS BEEN ELIMINATED*


    *THERE ARE EIGHT STUDENTS REMAINING!*


    However, overshadowing Ren''s announcement of elimination, something else suddenly occurred on the jumbotron screen.


    *BOOM*


    Kaneki, already standing right next to the jumbotron, watched in awe as the ground suddenly imploded...?


    A flash of red shone through the cracks in the floor... before instantly disappearing.


    Then, in the next second, the ground burst upwards, like lava erupting from an active volcano.


    In quick succession, multiple screens all around the room immediately went pitch-black as their connection had been cut off.


    The rocks and ground had flown upwards from the explosion, hitting multiple drones and instantly breaking them.


    Thankfully, the drone connected to the jumbotron was more protected and durable, so it resisted the onslaught of rocks and dirt.


    However, what appeared after the onslaught was over left everyone shocked.


    Now that the ground was gone, the underground space was visible to all of the recruiters.


    Staring at the gigantic space under the ground in awe, Seraphina sighed before turning to the school administrator behind her.


    "Please... get a better way of capturing footage for next year."


    "...understood."


    As awe at the gigantic underground space faded away, the recruiters began to see Han, who was diving and running through secret tunnels he had made in advance.


    After shooting an arrow with his crossbow, Han would run into one of the countless holes in the wall... before returning to the opposite side of the underground space.


    Jin was doing the same, but instead of secret tunnels, he had countless portals setup all around the underground space.


    That''s how Jin and Han were able to hang on for so long during their fight against Alya, Zach, and Lily for so long.


    However... their facade was falling.


    Jin, being hit by one of Lily''s water spells, and Han, hit by an ice spell and Zach''s battleaxe, were slowly losing health and energy.


    Panting, Jin stopped for a second and turned to Han.


    "Isn''t Ren supposed to be here by now.-"


    *BOOM*


    Ruby, sitting down on the ground, with her wand sparkling a bright red, stared at the countless explosives below her.


    According to Ren''s instructions, she had stolen all the explosive-related items that the main cast had brought along after their fight with the student alliance earlier.


    "Good luck to me... I guess."

 Chapter 239 - 239:Winnable [4]

    Letting a grin creep onto her face, Ruby allowed the tip of her wand to burst into flames.


    Then, instead of simply casting the spell, Ruby threw her wand with the burning tip at the explosives as if using a match to start a fire.


    *RUMBLE*


    *RUMBLE*


    *RUMBLE*


    As the explosives began to ignite, the entire magic space, both above and underground, began to quake and shudder.


    Han and Jin, thinking this was probably one part of Ren''s crazy schemes, accepted their fates and... sat down?


    The two boys simply sat down criss-cross before staring upward at the sky through the massive hole in the ground created by their fight with Alya, Lily, and Zach.


    Leaning backward, Jin stared at Han before eventually saying.


    "You know... when I said I wanted to win, I didn''t think there was a chance of it actually happening."


    Sighing, Han leaned back as well, allowing his sore muscles to relax.


    "Don''t you ever learn? Anything is possible with that idiot..."


    Shaking his head, Jin chuckled before replying.


    "Still...wasn''t it fun to fight and plan together? We should get into fights like this more often!"


    "..."


    Ignoring Jin''s comment, Han simply shook his head, grinning while staring at the pitch-black sky above.


    Lily, staring at the two boys sitting on the ground and feeling the constant tremors, also sighed before looking up.


    Alya, perhaps also realizing that escape was impossible, did the same... while Zach sat down crisscrossed on the floor as well.


    Back on the surface, Liam, feeling the ground quaking and shuddering below him, immediately suspected something was off.


    Although he couldn''t see what was exactly happening below the ground, he knew that Lily, Alya, and Zach were engaged in a fight down there.


    Catching his breath for a second, Liam was about to head underground, and the floor below him suddenly quaked.


    Not just a normal quake... the ground quite literally split up into two, creating a gigantic chasm in the middle of the magic space.


    The chasm, stretching from one boundary of the magic to the other, opened up, allowing Liam to see what was happening below.


    Seeing Lily staring upwards, Liam was about to ask how things were going when Lily started frantically waving at him.


    Pointing into the distance, Lily rapidly gestured to move before yelling.


    "GET OUT OF HERE! IT''S GOING TO EXPLODE!"


    Liam, not wasting a second, attempted to move... but when he commanded his leg to move forward... it stayed still.


    "...huh?"


    After a moment, Liam realized that his body... was completely paralyzed.


    No matter how he tried or told his brain, his body didn''t budge a single inch.


    Was it his nerves?


    No...he had been in plenty of near-death situations before... but his body had never frozen up like this before.


    What was the difference between here and before then...?


    Ren.


    *BOOM*


    *BOOM*


    As the ground shook more violently and the chasm burst into a cacophony of sounds that pierced Liam''s ear, Liam began more frantic.


    Shivering at the explosions... that vaguely seemed like fireworks that were now flying out of the chasm, Liam once again commanded his body to move.


    However... it actually moved?


    Not expecting anything to happen as it had been a second since he last tried, Liam awkwardly took a step.


    But... before he could take another step, a gigantic firework had flown right out of the chasm and was now right before him.


    "Ren, that son of a b-"


    Back in the recruiter''s room, the entire room was filled with excitement as they watched the fireworks show take place from the best perspective.


    Since the drone was above the chasm, it caught every single firework that flew out of the chasm.


    Almost all of them didn''t even hit anyone... but nonetheless, the massive fires and explosions that happened when they hit the ground sent waves of excitement through the recruiters who were watching.


    Kazuki and Kaneki were eagerly staring at the bottom of the chasm, seeing who would survive out of Han, Jin, Lily, Alya, and Zach.


    However...surprising all of them, the first elimination was someone else.


    *STUDENT RUBY (Scarlett) HAS BEEN ELIMINATED*


    *STUDENT RUBY (Scarlett) HAS BEEN ELIMINATED*


    *THERE ARE SEVEN STUDENTS REMAINING!*


    Having not seen this Ruby character on screen for over ten minutes, the recruiters had practically all forgotten about her.


    Paying no attention to Ruby''s elimination announcement, everyone eagerly watched the bottom of the chasm.


    Fireworks were blasting and bouncing off the walls of chasms randomly, and each time a firework hit the ground, it exploded, causing a bout of fire and smoke to appear.


    And despite all of this... two figures continued sitting, while leaning back and ignoring the chaos unfolding around them.


    Jin, scratching his hair, sighed as a firework whizzed right by him.


    "Shouldn''t we do something, Han?"


    Han laid back on the ground with his eyes closed, covering his ears before emotionlessly replying.


    "With the amount of fireworks around us, attempting to dodge would only be useless.


    "So... we''re just sitting down and waiting for them to eventually hit us?"


    "I guess s-"


    "AH"


    On the opposite of the cavern, Lily and Alya, who had been grouped up together, were suddenly hit by a firework.


    In the next second, two fireworks hit Han and Jin, causing their health to drop rapidly.


    And finally... Zach was left unharmed.


    Leaning against the wall, Zach stared, his eyes full of pity, as his teammates were about to lose all of their health.


    Remembering that they had decided Liam would be the winner, Zach smiled before... eliminating himself.


    Above ground, Liam, spreading his arms, simply stared at the firework with his mouth open.


    A couple of seconds later, Liam was nowhere to be seen as the firework one-tapped him since Ren''s dagger strike earlier had also taken Liam''s health while paralyzing him. S~ea??h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Only a couple of seconds later, the underground was also empty, as fireworks aimlessly bounced around the wall.. but there were no humans to be hit.

 Chapter 240 - 240:Winnable [5]

    As the fireworks show ended, the recruiters eagerly listened to the elimination reports while still staring at the screen.


    *STUDENT ZACH HAS BEEN ELIMINATED*


    *THERE ARE SIX STUDENTS REMAINING!*


    *STUDENT LIAM HAS BEEN ELIMINATED*


    *THERE ARE FIVE STUDENTS REMAINING*


    *STUDENT ALYA HAS BEEN ELIMINATED*


    *THERE ARE FOUR STUDENTS REMAINING*


    *STUDENT LILY HAS BEEN ELIMINATED*


    *THERE ARE THREE STUDENTS REMAINING*


    *STUDENT HAN HAS BEEN ELIMINATED*


    *THERE ARE TWO STUDENTS REMAINING*


    *STUDENT JIN HAS BEEN ELIMINATED*


    *THERE IS ONE STUDENT REMAINING*


    *THE BATTLE ROYALE HAS ENDED*


    *THE WINNER IS.... STUDENT IRENE!*


    *CONGRATULATIONS IRENE!*


    In less than ten seconds, over five elimination callouts had been announced, displaying the sheer destruction caused by the fireworks.


    "A MASTER CLASS!"


    "I WAS WRONG...SO WRONG!"


    "PERFECTION... ABSOLUTE CINEMA!"


    As the recruiter''s room broke into a round of applause, Kaneki sighed before returning to his seat and staring at Kazuki.


    "Want to go grab a bite?"


    Thinking for a moment, Kazuki smiled before responding.


    "The school cafeteria sounds pretty good right now..."


    Principal Seraphina, not wasting another second, got up from her desk as the winner was announced.


    Leaving the school administrators behind, Seraphina rapidly exited the coliseum, where the recruiter''s room was located.


    Pushing back her hair and adjusting her glasses as the sun shined down on her, Seraphina stared at the courtyard, which was currently under "construction."


    She had some work to do...


    ...


    ...


    ...


    As the last bang echoed through my head, I sighed upon realizing that my surroundings had finally shifted.


    Opening my eyes, I was immediately blinded by the sunlight streaming in through the windows.


    Adjusting from the pitch-black sky of the magic space to the sunlight took a moment, but as I opened my eyes, I realized that I was back in the classroom.


    On the whiteboard, I could see the footage that the recruiters were probably seeing right now as a project-like device was hanging from the ceiling.


    Seeing fireworks burst from the bottom of the chasm and upwards at Liam, I smiled, confirming that Ruby had followed through and detonated the explosives she had brought.


    Leaning back in my chair, I stared around the classroom... which was practically empty, except for a few students, who were eagerly watching the feed with no idea that I was right next to them.


    Hearing my chair crack, the students immediately started staring me, their expressions full of disbelief as they probably recalled my fight with Liam and Kevin just a moment ago on the projection.


    Shaking my head, I contemplated whether I should stay and watch how Jin and Han did like a good friend or just head to the cafeteria like everyone else in my class.


    They had a 2 in 7 chance of winning, so the odds weren''t bad.


    Honestly, after being screwed over by Liam and realizing that he basically had immunity to the sleeping gas, I had just sped up my plan.


    Initially, I was planning to defeat Liam, then manifest my corrupted wing to pick Han and Jin up from the underground space.


    From there, Ruby would detonate the explosives, eliminating Alya, Lily, and Zach, who were all stuck in the underground space.


    Then, the victory would be ours.


    Shaking my head, I muttered and clenched my fist


    "If only Liam wasn''t the protagonist...the game would have been ours!"


    "What was that?"


    "..."


    Slowly shifting my head to the right, I saw Ruby sitting in her chair in the middle of the classroom while staring at me.


    Chuckling, I ignored her question and asked.


    "You must be quite unlucky, huh? Being the first one out is insane."


    Shaking her head, Ruby got up from her seat and headed up the stairs to me.


    "Am I really unlucky?"


    "Well... you were the closest to the fireworks, so your odds of being eliminated were far higher."


    "Ha ha ha."


    After fake laughing for a second, Ruby immediately deadpanned before yanking my chair out from under me.


    Landing on the cold floor, I sighed and looked up at Ruby, who now had a smile on her face..


    "What was that f-"


    However, before I could finish my sentence, Ruby turned around and began heading down the steps.


    "What are you waiting for? The food''s going to get cold if we wait longer!"


    Getting up from the floor, I took one last glance at the projector and began running after Ruby.


    [Winner: Irene. Runner Up: Jin.[


    "...unlucky, I guess."


    Shaking my head, I exited the classroom and caught up to Ruby, who was walking towards the cafeteria.


    Walking side by side with Ruby, I asked.


    "You know you fulfilled your part of the bet... pissing off Liam. I''m sure he''ll be furious when he realizes that I got him elimanted while already being eliminated myself."


    Pausing for a moment mid-stride, Ruby asked.


    "Don''t forget... I also saved your clone... or whatever the hell that thing is!"


    Shaking my head, I entered the cafeteria before replying.


    "I guess I owe you two favors now."


    The line was relatively short as the student alliance had already eaten and left the building, so the two of us swiftly grabbed our food.


    The school day was technically over once you were eliminated, so most first-years were in their dorm rooms or in the training hall.


    Looking at the dimly lit cafeteria, I turned to Ruby and whispered.


    "I knew a better spot."


    "What If I told you knew that I knew a better spot than your spot." Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "..."


    After a quick game of rock-paper-scissors, which I proposed to Ruby, I grabbed my tray and followed Ruby as she led me to her spot.


    Heading outside of the first-year building, I followed Ruby as we walked by countless benches and other eating spots.


    However, instead of stopping, Ruby continued forward, heading straight for the forest that surrounded the campus.


    Stopping for a second, I questioned.


    "Where exactly is this spot?"


    Seeing me halt, Ruby ignored my question and grinned before grabbing my shoulder and dragging me forward into the forest ahead.


    "You don''t trust me?"


    "...I do."

 Chapter 241 - 241:A Wonderland [1]

    As the two of us entered the forest, I caught up to Ruby, walking side-by-side with her while admiring the scenery of nature around us.


    The leaves, previously a lush and vibrant green, were now dry... with some trees actually devoid of any leaves.


    Winter was starting...


    Looking up at the sky, which now had multiple grey clouds, indicating a change in weather, I sighed, manifesting a corrupted sweatshirt.


    Turning to Ruby, I said.


    "It might know while we eat all the way out here, you know?"


    Raising her hand to the sky, Ruby hesitated before replying.


    "I''ve never.... actually seen snow before."


    "..?"


    Was winter and snowing a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence in this world, or was Ruby just different?


    Not wanting to drag the mood down by questioning as to why, I simply replied.


    "Well, today might be your lucky day!"


    Pausing for a moment, Ruby smiled before slowing down and waiting for me to pass by her.


    Then, without even telling me anything, Ruby tapped my back before saying.


    "Do you remember this?"


    Nodding my head, I immediately responded.


    "I already told you, didn''t I? I don''t forget any place."


    Sympathetically patting her on the shoulder, I added.


    "This is where we ate the candy basket after coming back from the training camp and cruise ship."


    Shaking her head, Ruby resumed walking and sarcastically responded.


    "It''s because of the candy, isn''t it?"


    As the two of us finally arrived atop the hill where we had come months earlier to share the basket of candy we had gotten from protecting the museum from djinns; I set down my tray.


    Realizing that the ground was well, I stopped Ruby from sitting down and manifested a makeshift blanket using corruption.


    After laying the big blanket of corruption down over the cold and hard floor, I sat down before grabbing my tray.


    Hesitating for a moment, Ruby poked at the corruption before finally sitting down.


    Picking up her fork, Ruby continued touching the corruption before curiously asking.


    "Can you make anything with whatever this is?"


    Nodding my head, I replied.


    "Yeah, basically i-"


    Stopping me mid-sentence, Ruby pointed outward at the lake surrounding the academy.


    "OH, LOOK, IT''S FROZEN!"


    Following Ruby''s finger, I spotted the body of water surrounding of the academy, noticing that the lake''s surface was almost completely frozen.


    Shaking my head, I half-sarcastically and half-not sarcastically muttered.


    "Where am I going to go swimming now!?"


    " *PFFT* "


    As the two of us while discussing various topics ranging from our recent plan in the battle royal to our exam grades, the food quickly disappeared from our plates.


    Staring at my empty tray with a shocked expression, I said.


    "Wow... I think this is the first time I''ve eaten a full school lunch from the cafeteria."


    Ruby, who was accustomed to Lily''s cooking by now, was also surprised by the fact that she was able to eat a whole tray of the cafeteria''s notoriously bad food. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Leaving the forest after a whole hour of talking and relaxing after the battle royale, Ruby and I went our separate ways.


    Ruby went to some post-event meetings for the main cast, where they would discuss what happened and strategies for the Winder Wonderland event.


    On the other hand...I simply went back to my dorm room.


    Well, it wasn''t like I was unshamed or happy... rather confused.


    At first, I thought that revealing my powers would be detrimental and cause me to be targeted by djinns every second of the day.


    But now that I had just come out and showed off my powers, I felt the same.


    Sure, some djinns probably knew of my name by now... but who cares?


    If they were scared and hiding in the shadows, I could probably beat them already.


    It felt kind of liberating... not having to act like some weak idiot anymore.


    Passing by students on my way to the dorm building, I was also happy to see that I was receiving no stares.


    Perhaps it was because the second-years and above hadn''t heard of what happened yet, but I was going to enjoy it while it lasted.


    Heading up the stairs, I wasn''t even surprised to see a familiar figure with blonde hair standing outside my dorm room.


    Walking past her and inserting the key to unlock my room, I asked.


    "Is there something you need, Charlotte?"


    Pushing past me and entering my dorm room, Charlotte immediately sat down on the couch, prompting me to follow.


    As the door slammed shut, Charlotte immediately started speaking.


    "First... I must thank you for overshadowing my brother. After your fight with Liam and Kevin... and the statue, I doubt anyone will remember Bertus and Liam."


    Nodding my head, I simply shrugged my shoulders, as it wasn''t like I had intentionally done it to stop Bertus from gaining attention.


    Pausing for a moment, Charlotte stared around the room before saying.


    "You know, I knew you were strong and special... but not to the extent where you could take on the top-ranking first-years."


    "Well, you know now."


    Getting off the couch, I began cooking a steak for my cat while Charlotte began asking various questions.


    "I''m guessing Liam and you have a bad relationship."


    "Yep."


    "The thing you did was boost your height and wingspan... how tall can you be?"


    "No idea, it was my first time. I kind of just came up with the idea on the spot."


    As I sliced the steak and put it into my cat''s bowl, Charlotte hesitated for a moment before finally asking.


    "Those boys... Han and Jin. Are they worth recruiting?"


    Making a thumbs-up symbol, I tried to reply in the most unbiased way possible.


    "I mean, you saw them go toe-to-toe with Alya, Lily, and Kevin. In my opinion, they would definitely be a good pickup for the knight order!"


    Clearly realizing I was biased, Charlotte smiled before getting off the couch and heading towards the door.


    "I''ll let you rest."


    Nodding my head, I asked from the kitchen.


    "Let me know who you plan to recruit!"

 Chapter 242 - 242:A Wonderland [2]

    Waking up the next day, I did my typical routine of showering and changing into the academy uniform.


    However, since winter started, and as of yesterday night, it had started snowing, so we had new academy puffer jackets.


    Putting on the black puffer jacket, I also added in hand warmer, which was just a small stone embued with fire magic that I had bought from some vendor, and headed out of the door.


    There were two days until the Winter Wonderland incident, where I planned to steal and enter the principal''s vault.


    Warming up my hands, I walked through the crowd of students who were all also trying to get to their classrooms on time.


    It seemed news around campus had spread a bit as I was receiving a couple of glances, but since it was so crowded, most of the others didn''t even recognize me.


    Opening the door to the first-year building, I rushed through the hallways, which were surprisingly empty.


    Arriving at the classroom, I franticaly checked my smartwatch, ensuring I was still one time... albeit by a minute, before sliding open the door.


    However, as I opened the door, I saw that the entire classroom was empty except for Professor Zia, who was writing something on the whiteboard.


    Hearing the door open, Professor Zia turned around and saw me before sighing and asking.


    "You do know there''s a late start today, right, Ren?"


    "...yeah, it''s just that I was so excited to get to class and learn that I couldn''t wait until the late start!"


    "..."


    From the whiteboard, Profesor Zia gestured for me to come in, so I entered, allowing the sliding door to slam shut behind me.


    After walking over to her desk, Professor Zia approached me with what looked like a ribbon.


    Opening her hand, Professor Zia revealed a ribbon that said.


    [Battle Royale Rank #9]


    Accepting the ribbon, I stuffed it into my pocket before dropping my bag.


    Planning to leave my bag and head to the cafeteria to grab an early breakfast, I turned around; however, Professor Zia''s voice called out from behind me.


    "Conveniently, there is another matter that involves you, Ren."


    Confused, I turned around and saw Professor Zia standing in front of me with, this time, a paper in her hand.


    [Your transfer into the Royal Dormitories has been improved by the Principal. From this day forward, you will be living in your assigned room at the Royal Dormitories.]


    "..."


    Alternating glances between the piece of paper and Professor Zia''s stern face, I muttered.


    "...I didn''t send a transfer req-"


    "I know."


    "...alright, then."


    Not unhappy at the fact that I was getting a better room, I slowly took the piece of paper from Professor Zia''s hand... before also cramming it into my pocket.


    Maybe... revealing my power did have some upsides?


    But why would I get upgraded to the royal dormitories... a special place for the top ten rankers of the first years, second years, and their years...?


    ...don''t tell me rankings are changing this soon.


    After staring at me silently for a couple of seconds, Professor Zia finally spoke once again.


    "Ren, I''m not sure as to why you''ve been hiding your skill for the past months of school... and I won''t ask why. But, I hope in the future, you put your utmost into the academy and beyond."


    Seeing another paper appear in Professor Zia''s hand, I didn''t dare to turn around, and instead, in an emotionless tone, I asked.


    "...is there anything else."


    Handing me another piece of paper, Professor Zia patiently stared at me, waiting for me to fully read it.


    [Class Rep: You have been selected to be the Class Representative for your class for the remaining portion of the year. Please report to your teacher''s classroom early once a week to discuss and plan events for your class.]


    "..."


    "..."


    Still hoping for the best and ignoring all sense of reason, I fake-smiled and asked.


    "Was I voted class representative by my fellow classmates?"


    "The class representative is chosen by the teacher."


    "...you do know what this will do to me, right?"


    "The others declined, stating they already had enough extra circular activities."


    "I also have many extracurricular activities!"


    "I''ve looked at your transcript."


    "Does it say ''saving the world'' on there?" Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "no..."


    "Then, it''s wrong! My days are already filled to br-"


    "..."


    "I''m on the student council, I can''t also be cla-"


    "I''ve talked to the student council president, Astrid. She says it should be fine, considering the last time you showed up to the student council room was two weeks ago."


    "..."


    "Keep the paper safe, alright?"


    Then, without another word, Professor Zia turned around, leaving me alone with the paper.


    Realizing that fighting this wasn''t going to do anything, I crammed the paper into my pocket before rapidly exiting the room, scared that more papers were going to pop up.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    *RING~RING*


    *RING~RING*


    As the sound of the bell rang, I entered the classroom once again, drawing the stares of all my classmates.


    Well... it''s not like this was the first time.


    Ignoring them, I casually walked to my seat before sitting down in between Han and Jin, who I actually hadn''t spoken to since the battle royale.


    Staring at me, Han grabbed my shoulder while Jin grabbed my arm.


    "We''re celebrating tonight... no excuses."


    Shrugging them off, I replied.


    "Yeah, I''m in."


    For the rest of class, recruiters would occasionally pop in, but it was nowhere close to the magnitude of recruiters yesterday.


    At max, there were only three recruiters in the classroom at a time.


    Since Charlotte had "claimed" me, most of them were there for the main cast and some other students who had shined, so I didn''t care.


    Jin and Han were also getting some glances as they had placed second and third place... however, that didn''t seem to phase them.


    Had Charlotte already recruited them?


    Nevermind...


    On the surface, the two boys looked calm, but looking under the desk, I could see their legs rapidly tapping up and down.


    Sighing, I shook my head and returned my attention to the window.


    Seeing a black dog outside the window, I waved... but like always, it simply hid once it realized I had noticed it.

 Chapter 243 - 243:Wonderland [3]

    As the dog hid behind a nearby set of bushes, I sighed before glancing around the classroom.


    Since it was still recruiting season, my classmates were on their best behavior, not daring to glance away from the whiteboard.


    Han and Jin, understandably exhausted by yesterday''s fight, were just faking-taking notes and scribbling.


    Mock exams were just around the corner, right after the school''s Winter Wonderland, so I also started paying attention.


    Glancing at the whiteboard, I saw Professor Robinson, our history teacher, going over the last part of the war between the human and demon realms.


    Sighing, I shook my head upon seeing the whiteboard filled with a bunch of useless knowledge that wouldn''t ever apply to real life.


    To be fair, basing off an entire history class on a world and lore created by some broke thirty-year-old author was bound to be a failure.


    Twelve years of schooling could not fit inside the book despite its massive chapter count, so I assumed most of the knowledge taught here was just filler content generated by this world.


    Finishing with whatever he was writing, Professor Robinson glanced at the three recruiters at the edge of the room before returning his attention to us.


    Sighing, I shook my head, already knowing what was going to happen.


    This wasn''t mentioned in the book, but anyone with common sense could see that the Professor was trying to impress the recruiters.


    Even if they weren''t students, Professors still wanted to be on the good side of recruiters as all of them represented influential factions around the world.


    The academy paid well...but Knight Orders paid way more.


    Adjusting his round-shaped glasses, Professor Robinson examined us, scanning the entire classroom.


    Then in an unusually sweet tone, varying from his usual stern way of speaking, Professor Robinson smiled and asked.


    "Would anyone like to volunteer to assist with a demonstration?"


    "..."


    Glancing around the classroom, I could see many students pondering the idea, trying to discern of participating would help gain credit with the recruitors.


    Leaning back in my chair, I attempted to hide behind Han and Jin.


    Professor Robinson was already known for his over-the-top and extra way of teaching, so I didn''t dare to imagine what would happen if he actually had to impress someone now.


    After thinking for a moment and seeing the classroom in silence, Professor Robinson sighed and said.


    "If no one wants to volunteer, I''ll randomly select two students."


    Leaning back in my chair, I ignored his words and continued staring out the window.


    Professor Robinson wanted to impress the recruiters, so he wouldn''t pick someone with a low exam score like me.


    Rather, he would pick the students with the highest grades and the most amount of renown to show off his teaching skills to the recruiter.


    Also, if a well-known student was selected, the recruiter would be more inclined to pay attention to his development as it would probably be more interesting.


    To no one''s surprise, no hands went up even after his declaration, so Professor Robinson glanced around the room for a moment, pausing as his eyes passed by the center of the classroom.


    After a moment, Professor Robinson cleared her throat before kindly asking.


    "Ruby, would you like to participate in the demonstration? Liam, and would you like to as well?"


    As a sigh of relief washed over the classroom, thanking that they had not been chose, Ruby and Liam nodded their heads.


    While it wasn''t like they had much of a choice.


    If they refused to participate in Professor Robinson''s demonstration right now, in front of the recruiters, this class would probably be hell for them until the end of the school year.


    Professor Robinson would surely make their lives difficult for the rest of the year if they stood him up right now.


    Walking to the stage, Liam and Ruby patiently waited with their backs against the board as Professor Robison gathered materials from his desk. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    After a second, Professor Robinson emerged with a peculiar-looking device in his hands that resembled a... volcano.


    Didn''t I make something like that for my sixth-grade science fair...?


    And now, I''m a high schooler staring at the very same thing I made when I was six years younger.


    I''ve come full circle...


    Intrigued at whatever the hell Professor Robinson was going to do, I watched as he put the volcano on a table, which was visible to everyone in the classroom, before walking to the whiteboard.


    Gracefully grabbing a piece of chalk, Professor Robinson silently began scribbling away on the board.


    [The Battle of the Hajin Mountain Range.]


    Hm?


    ...did I just foreshadow myself?


    "I''ve come full circle."


    ...what the hell...?


    The place where I first started and gained the power that would change the trajectory of my life was now... standing in front of me in the form of some shitty paper mache project.


    Staring at the dim and uncolorful volcano sculpture at the front of the classroom, a sense of anger rose.


    I almost died there...and they''re treating it like that!?


    My sixth-grade self made a better volcano and mountain than that! ...albeit with my parent''s help.


    It should be a hallmark of human history!


    Resisting the urge to shoot an arrow right through the shitty volcano, I silently waited as Professor Robinson began to speak.


    "Today, we will be doing a demonstration of how the humans took back the Hajin mountain range from the demons."


    Walking to the table, Professor Robinson pointed at various locations before continuing.


    "Not only was the mountain range a big piece of land, but it was also a very important strategic location in the war."


    "In fact... it was so important that it would be an over-exaggeration to say that the tides of the war totally shifted after the humans recaptured the territory."


    Mentioning the elephant in the room, Professor Robinson pointed at the volcano before adding.


    "At the time of war, the mountain range contained a volcano, but over time, it has become dormant and covered up, so it is no longer visible."

 Chapter 244 - 244:Wonderland [4]

    "...that''s probably why I didn''t see a volcano."


    Then, again, I was on the desperate lookout for the Dragon''s Eye... which ironically came to me through the secret tunnel, so all my searching was practically useless.


    And then... because I wasn''t able to access my system menu due to not meeting the bare threshold of stats required, I didn''t even realize I had obtained it.


    So, then, instead of calling it a day because I had obtained the dragon''s eye, I continued searching the caves... leading me to a near-death experience.


    Recalling my near-death experience with the Mountain Tyant, deep into the caves of the Hajin mountain range, I shuddered.


    Yeah...I''ll go back there... soon, just not now.


    But... that little bastard tyrant should enjoy the time it has left.


    Returning my attention to Professor Robinson, I sighed as he basically went over how the humans had conquered the Hajin Mountain range despite the demons already possessing it.


    In the book, it was simply said that the humans were able to take control of the mountains due to the demons being weakened.


    The demons were weakened as they had lost over a hundred of their soldiers while trying to forcefully recruit a dragon that lived deep within the Hajin mountain range.


    This was, of course, unknown to everyone but Lily and me, as the existence of dragons is currently a secret from the public.


    Very few people, including myself, Lily, most likely the Elven queen, and the seven heroes, know about their existence.


    Everyone else just believes that dragons are fake and only in fairytales.


    Curiously, I lifted my head and tried to see what filler this teacher would say to explain how the humans conquered.


    "The mage of the heroes'' party manipulated the lava inside the volcano, causing it to forcefully erupt."


    "Now, this is traditionally and scientifically impossible considering that the lava inside the volcano is not made of mana, but actually volcano gas that is naturally occurring... but the mage of the heroes'' party pulled it off somehow."


    Pointing at the tip of the volcano, Professor Robinson continued.


    "The demons believed the volcano to be dormant, so their entire army was thrown into chaos when lava and various molten rocks began spewing out of it."


    "Using this as a distraction, the heroes took their armies and rushed in, defeating the demons, who were scattered all over the place."


    Shaking my head, I glanced at Ruby, who was awkwardly standing behind the teacher with a confused expression.


    To be fair, this could have actually happened, but a simple volcanic eruption definitely wouldn''t be enough to weaken an army of straight demons.


    The heroes had most likely fabricated the story instead of revealing the existence of the dragons to the public. Sear?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    I would have done in their situation... but then again, I don''t call myself a hero nor have I ever claimed to be one.


    Finishing up his story, Professor Robinson finally turned around to face both Ruby and Liam.


    Pointing at Ruby, Professor Robinson said.


    "Ruby, you''ll be the demonic army... and Liam, you can be the heroes alongside their army."


    Confused, the two stared at Professor Robinson before asking in unison.


    "And...how exactly are we supposed to do that?"


    Smiling, Professor Robinson made sure that the three recruiters were watching before gesturing for the two students to come forward.


    Also intrigued, I carefully examined the Professor''s every movement, trying to discern what he would do next.


    However... even with my one-of-a-kind eyesight and knowledge that surpasses everyone besides one person in this world, I couldn''t have predicted or even come close to knowing what Professor Robinson did next.


    As Ruby and Liam stood in front of Professor Robison, the teacher pulled his wand before aiming it at them.


    Then, as a silver glint appeared at the tip of his wand, he said to Liam and Ruby.


    "Remember your roles, please."


    The next second, both Ruby and Liam shrunk to the size of miniature, not visible to anyone in the room besides me due to my enhanced eyesight.


    Confused at their sudden disappearance, everyone besides me crowded towards the front of the classroom.


    Lily even gestured for the main cast to get ready to fight, seeing her two friends suddenly disappear.


    However, before Lily could even pull outer her wand, a sudden yell interrupted her.


    "IS THIS THEM!?"


    A student, catching a glimpse of something really small on the ground, excitedly exclaimed.


    "THAT''S LIAM AND RUBY...ON THE FLOOR! I SWEAR IT IS!"


    In unison, everyone squinted their eyes while scanning the floor where the boy had pointed.


    Grinning, Professor Robinson swiftly nodded his head before picking up the two miniature-sized students with the palm of his hand.


    Then, he very carefully placed Ruby atop the volcano and Liam down in the forest that was located at the base of the volcano.


    Then, just as Ruby and Liam adjusted to their new size, Professor Robinson dumped some material that I couldn''t recognize into the volcano.


    Gesturing for us to come forward, Professor Robinal told the whole class.


    "Come now! Let''s watch this historically accurate enaction of the battle of the Hajin Mountain Range!"


    Following the crowd of students, I made my way to the front, where the table holding the volcano sculpture was located.


    Using my enhanced eyesight, I quickly located Ruby, who was staring down into the volcano as the lava began to bubble and rapidly rise.


    Using my hand, I pressed down on the table, making sure that it was stable and wouldn''t fall over from all the students pushing against each other.


    Then, as I redirected my attention back to the sculpture, I saw small bits of makeshift lava fly out of the volcano and land to the right and left of Ruby.


    Liam, seeing this, rushed out of the forest with a miniature sword that had been conveniently placed in the forest.


    Running up the volcano, Liam avoided the flying rocks and lava spewing down the edge of it.

 Chapter 245 - 245:Wonderland [5]

    Parrying the incoming rocks with his sword, the miniature Liam relentlessly charged towards the top of the volcano.


    On the other hand, Ruby just sat there, pretending to be distracted by the volcano''s sudden eruption. S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    ...they are some shit at acting.


    To be fair, it''s not like they expected to be suddenly shrunk to the size of a smurf and forced to act out a historical event.


    Liam, now approaching the top of the volcano, spotted Ruby and increased his pace.


    "GO HERO!"


    "YEAH BEAT THAT DEMON''S ASS!"


    Looking at the crowd of students in front of me, I almost couldn''t believe it.


    Less than ten minutes ago, they were acting like model students to please the recruiters in the class.


    And now?


    They were acting like a student section at a college football game!


    The recruiters, however, did not seem to care as the students yelled out and cheered as they interestedly watched the sculpture with Liam and Ruby inside.


    Professor Robinson, noticing everyone''s reactions, wore a smile on his face as he leaned down.


    "Look closely now...this is where the humans defeat the demon and reclaim the Hajin Mountain Range!"


    Liam, now only meters away from Ruby, dashed forward... and Ruby, playing her part to a tee, just stood still while pretending to act shocked at the volcano''s eruption.


    And just as Liam''s shitty fake and plastic miniature sword was going to touch Ruby... I increased the pressure I was putting on the table with my hands.


    *RUMBLE*


    The table, leaning to the right from having too much pressure exerted on it, immediately flung Liam and Ruby to the right.


    Luckily, Ruby flew over the volcano''s opening, tumbling down the volcano and landing at its base... but Liam was not so lucky.


    Smiling as Liam flew in the air, I muttered.


    "STRIKE!"


    Liam got flung to the right, and coincidentally, the volcano''s opening was to the right of him.


    Not fully used to his body, Liam couldn''t adjust his trajectory by moving his legs... so he hopelessly watched as his body entered the opening of the volcano.


    *SPLASH*


    The next second, Liam plunged into the fake lava within the volcano, causing a massive splash to appear.


    The recruiters, seeing this, immediately began taking down notes on the clipboard.


    What notes they were taking... I was unsure.


    But, from the way their pens furiously danced across the paper without wasting a single second, it had to be important, right?


    Professor Robinson, his grin now transformed into one of horror, stood shell-shocked for a moment before regaining his composure.


    Using his hand as a fishing rod, Professor Robinson submerged his hand in the lava and desperately moved it around.


    Liam didn''t need to breathe underwater or under any substance; his divine blue hue allowed him to create a small subspace with air anywhere.


    Imaging Liam, standing drenched in a small pocket of air that he had created with his blue hue, I desperately resisted the urge to break into laughter.


    Finally finding Liam, Professor Robinson clenched his hands before removing his palm from the fake lava, revealing Liam''s miniature figure, who has now colored red from the fake lava.


    With his other hand, the professor scooped up Ruby before placing her next to the drenched Liam.


    Taking out his wand, Professor Robinson fumbled with it for a second before casting a spell on both Ruby and Liam.


    The next second, Liam and Ruby were back to human size, standing on the table where the sculpture was.


    Looking up, I grinned upon seeing Liam''s entire uniform covered a tomato red with substances dripping from his body.


    I guess.. that''s enough payback for now.


    He had completely disrupted my plans by resisting the sleeping gas, and he made Han and Jin lose the battle royale, making them only get second instead of first.


    Of course, I had to get my revenge on him!


    Professor Robinson hesitated for a moment and awkwardly said to Liam.


    "you''re free to use the restroom..."


    Then, after a moment of alternating gazing between us and the sculpture, Professor Robinson sighed before announcing.


    "Class is dismissed early. Please make sure to do the homework before the next class starts."


    "That is all today; you folks may leave."


    Clenching my fist in excitement, I caught up to Han and Jin, who were already out the door when the professor said, "Dismissed early."


    I had just scored us a free period!


    As I was about to say something to the two boys, I felt a sudden tap on my shoulder, causing me to slow down.


    Turning around, I was unsurprised to see Ruby staring at me with an amused expression.


    Grabbing my right hand''s wrist, Ruby sighed and said.


    "That''s a pretty clumsy hand you have. One wrong move and I could have been just like Liam..."


    Shaking my head, I said.


    "Don''t worry, it was all calculated!"


    Chuckling, Ruby glanced around for a second before asking.


    "The others are getting a new uniform from our headquarters for Liam, so I''m free. You got any plans?"


    Thinking for a moment, I weighed my options.


    The first option is to plan for the insane crime that I would have to pull off tomorrow.


    Not only would I have to distract the main cast... and the principal, I would have to sneak into the principal''s vault and steal, which had never been done before.


    It was like robbing Fort Knox, but instead of military soldiers defending, there was a top-ranker who was capable of destroying my entire bloodline and existence in less than a second...


    But they do say that the harder it is, the more rewarding the reward is!


    Imagining the treasures stored in the vault was all the motivation I needed to keep going.


    Needless to say, I needed to plan to make sure everything went right.


    And, magically, I had been granted a free period the day before the robbery!


    Was this the world''s way of telling me that I should plan?


    On the other hand... I could walk with Ruby instead of planning.


    Closing my eyes, I glanced at Ruby one last time before making the obvious decision.

 Chapter 246 - 246:Snow Day [1]

    Both!


    The obvious answer and my choice were both!


    Shrugging my shoulders to Ruby''s question, I replied.


    "I''m free, are you?"


    Silent, staring at me for a second, Ruby sighed before saying.


    "You know, you don''t have a very good poker face." S~ea??h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "..? I don''t?"


    I had actually thought that I was rather good at concealing my emotions and true intentions.


    Especially after all the scenarios I''ve been through where lying and hiding yourself is necessary!


    Shouldn''t I be an expert at making a poker face at this point?


    "...ah."


    Recalling how Ruby had managed to discern my dangerous thoughts and emotions when I had seen my father for the first time during the training camp, I sighed.


    No one else in the room, even my father himself, had managed to notice anything wrong with my smile or way of acting.


    To other people, I was just an overly happy student walking around.


    Yet...when no one else had, Ruby had somehow noticed that something was off with me.


    And, now, she was doing it again.


    Maybe... she was immune to my poker face for some reason or another.


    Seeing my silence as an admission of guilt, Ruby let go of my wrist before asking.


    "What is it you need?"


    Glancing around for a moment, I made sure the corridor was clear of any students, especially the main cast members.


    Confirming that there were no other students, I leaned against the wall and stared at Ruby for a second.


    ...should I?


    I could just straight-up ask what Lily and the main cast''s exact plan is to prevent the djinns from robbing the principal''s vault.


    That information would help me majorly in my plan as I wouldn''t have to guess their locations and actions.


    Also, I highly believed that they probably had a counterplan for me.


    Even though I had shown no signs or hints of participating in this event, I knew that the main cast had still prepared some backup plan in case I interfered.


    If Ruby had told me that plan, then I would have been able to outmaneuver the main cast and avoid being caught or captured by them.


    It was such an easy thing to do...just ask Ruby to tell me the plan.


    Not only would this speed up my process of planning, but it could potentially save me from getting caught and attacked by the main cast.


    Yet... as I stared at her fidgeting figure, I couldn''t open my mouth.


    I had already put her in an awkward situation... when I had called in my favor to get her to betray the main cast and help me during the battle royale.


    And now, here I was, doing the same thing.


    I was asking her to betray the friends she made thus far just to benefit myself.


    Sighing, I shook my head.


    I couldn''t do it.


    I couldn''t bring myself to ask her for the plan, no matter how much it would help me execute the robbery.


    Noticing my silence, Ruby leaned to the right before staring up at me.


    Shaking my head, I replied to her question.


    "It''s not-"


    Letting a smile creep onto her face, Ruby interrupted me mid-sentence and curiously asked.


    "It''s not about that djinn robbery coming up tomorrow, is it?"


    "...is my poker face that bad?"


    Chuckling, Ruby leaned on the wall beside me before saying.


    "If you want to know, Lily, Kevin, Alya, Liam, Zach, Irene, and I are planning to head t-"


    Raising my hand, I stopped Ruby mid-sentence and said.


    "It''s no fun if I already know what the enemies are going to do, is it?"


    Shocked for a second, Ruby turned around and faced me before smiling and sarcastically replying.


    "Are you calling me an enemy!?"


    Breaking into laughter, I followed Ruby as the two of us headed to the library building, which was only a minute''s walk from the first-year building.


    Heading into the library after Ruby, I recalled the hour I had spent here upon returning to the academy.


    Back then, I was paranoid that people were going to find me out as not being the real Ren, so I frantically tried to learn everything about this world to fit in perfectly.


    Looking back on it, it didn''t really matter... because the people around me didn''t care if I was the real Ren or not.


    They hated me regardless.


    Finding a seat, the two of us sat side-by-side before pulling out the homework that had just been assigned by Professor Robinson.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    "I just want to check my answers with yours!"


    "Oh yeah, why don''t you hand me your sheet, and I''ll check for you."


    "...it''s more efficient i-"


    Standing up from her chair, Ruby stared at me with a confused expression.


    "How did you even manage to pass the first exam."


    Sighing, I pressed on with the worksheet in front of me.


    During this short-lived homework session, I learned something very important.


    Initially, I believed that Ruby had used her djinn connections to get herself a high score on the exams without even trying.


    Oh...but It was wrong... so very wrong.


    She was a... genius.


    And... I was a student who was over ten-years behind everyone else!


    Being from another world sucks, man...!


    Stuffing the half-finished worksheet in my backpack, I got up before following Ruby out of the library.


    Seeing the clouds shrivel up, indicating that it was about to know, I recalled something from yesterday.


    Turning to Ruby, I curiously asked.


    "Oh, yeah, did you see snow for the first time last night?"


    Shaking her head, Ruby dimly responded.


    "I only saw it from my window... I didn''t go outside."


    "...so you just watched it snow instead of going outside? Why, though?"


    Staying silent, Ruby simply pointed at the sky before halting just as we were about exit the cover of the library building.


    As snowflakes began to descend from the sky and the temperature decreased, Ruby tugged on my jacket sleeve, forcing me out of the cover of the library and into the snow.

 Chapter 247 - 247:Snow Day [2]

    Feeling the snow hitting my clothes with every second, I turned to Ruby... who was still under the cover of the library building.


    Mocking her, I sarcastically asked. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Are you really that scared of the snow?"


    Staying silent, Ruby continued staring up at the sky before eventually responding.


    "No...I think it''s the other way around."


    "...the snow is scared of you."


    Nodding her head, Ruby finally stepped out of the library''s covering and into the snow, which immediately disintegrated.


    The snow that accumulated on the ground immediately melted as she stepped forward on it.


    The snowflakes falling from the sky didn''t even reach her body, as whenever they got close, they simply disintegrated.


    Not a single particle of snow hit her despite the fact that she was standing out in the open under the clouds.


    "..."


    "..."


    Trying to find a way to ease the awkward atmosphere, I pointed my thumbs up and said,


    "I mean, it''s a cool ability. It''s like being waterproof... but in this case, snowproof!"


    Shaking her head, Ruby looked down at the ground before replying in an energetic tone.


    "It''s fine... you don''t have to sym-"


    Interrupting Ruby mid-sentence, I bent down and made a quick snowball with the snow on the ground.


    Not wasting a second, I hurled the snowball at Ruby.


    Sighing, Ruby stood still and stared at the incoming snowball with an expression full of sorrow.


    "Didn''t I just show and tell you... snow can''t touch m-"


    *SPLAT*


    *SPLAT*


    "..."


    "...what was that, Ruby?"


    Staring downwards at her clothes, which were somehow stained with snow, Ruby stood shell-shocked, unable to open her mouth.


    Slowly moving her hand, Ruby touched the remaining particles of snow on here jacket... and when she saw they didn''t melt upon touching her, a smile unknowingly appeared on her face.


    Adjusting her gaze, Ruby looked at me with a mixture of confusion and excitement.


    "h-how did y-"


    Manifesting a piece of physical corruption in my hand, I made another snowball before stuffing the inside of it with corruption.


    Ruby couldn''t melt corruption... no one could!


    So, by stuffing the corruption into the middle of the snowball, I was embedding every particle of snow inside the ball with corruption.


    Therefore, they wouldn''t meet when Ruby came close or touched them, as my embedded corruption particles would combine with the snow particles and protect them.


    Shrugging my shoulders, I smiled and hurled another snowball at the frozen Ruby.


    This time, prepared, Ruby caught the snowball before it broke apart and scattered all over the place.


    Holding the corrupted snowball in her hand, Ruby stared me with a menacing expression.


    "You know... you just ruined my academy uniform with snow."


    "...it''ll dry off, won''t it?"


    "That''s not the point."


    Stepping forward, Ruby ignored the constant falling snow particles that disintegrated as soon as they got near to her and raised her hand.


    "You''re the first and only target of my first snowball."


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Panting, I sat down on a bench, staring at my clothes that were drenched with water as the snow that was previously on them had melted.


    Our fight was interesting...It was like a dodgeball match combined with a game of tag, completely deviating from a normal snowball fight.


    To make things fair, I had initially given Ruby over ten corrupted snowballs to start off with... and myself ten as well.


    However, Ruby seemed to have realized something.


    If a corrupted snowball hit something, then all the particles inside the snowball would explode outwards and spread about.


    And these particles were all infused with corruption.


    These corrupted particles then met other normal snow particles... and corrupted them, turning them into corrupted particles.


    And since those new particles were corrupted, Ruby could touch and use them without having them melt and disintegrate.


    In other words, Ruby found a way to create infinite corrupted snowballs without even using me in the slightest.


    This was a good thing... as I didn''t have to limit myself to ten snowballs anymore, but it was also a bad thing.


    Ruby... was dangerously good at this.


    So much so... that I started to think that she was lying about never experiencing snow.


    But that thought quickly faded as I recalled how the snow had melted by just coming within the vicinity of Ruby.


    Hearing the popping sound that occurred every time Ruby melted a particle of snow nearing me, I rapidly gathered a couple more snowballs.


    Panting, I made my last stand, staying still and fighting instead of running away once again.


    Ruby, now approaching me slowly from a distance with an arsenal of corrupted snowballs, simply stared.


    "You know... I may be wrong because this my first time throwing snowballs, but you''re supposed to dodge them... aren''t you?"


    Standing up, I hid a snowball behind my back with one of my arms before saying.


    "Really now?"


    "...you''re not slick, you know. That hand behind your back is practically screaming that you''re up to something."


    Sighing, I didn''t waste a second, throwing the snowball as Ruby finished her last few words.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Feeling the cold snow push against my jacket, as I lay back down on the cold-hair floor, I stared upward at the sky.


    There were no branches blocking my sight, so I didn''t even have to use extra energy to peer.


    No longer was I in the library... or anywhere close for that matter but in the middle of the forest surrounding the academy.


    As snowflakes descended the sky, landing on my face, I sighed before turning to my side.


    Beside me, another figure lay... though no snow was coming near to her.


    The ground below her was devoid of any snow, the complete opposite of the ground below me, which was covered in snow.


    Chuckling, I propped myself upward before saying.


    "I think I won that!"


    Raising her rand, Ruby attempted to touch a snowflake... but it disintegrated before even reaching her finger tips.


    "Whatever you say."


    Ignoring her sarcasm, I quickly manifested a corrupted snowball and threw it above us.


    Falling apart in the sky, countless corrupted snow particles descended amongst the normal snow flakes landing on Ruby and I.

 Chapter 248 - 248:Snow Day [3]

    As the yellow moon shined through the heavy clouds of snow, illuminating the spot where we were lying down, small corrupted snow particles fell on both of us.


    Also propping herself up, Ruby leaned against a nearby tree trunk, causing the snow covering it to immediately melt and disappear.


    Ignoring the melting snow behind, Ruby glanced at me before questioning.


    "Can every snow day be like this one...?"


    Staying silent, I imagined the same thing while staring upwards at the almost pitch-black sky, where stars somehow shined through the dark clouds.


    What if every day could be like this?


    Frolicking around in the snow, enjoying time, and resting under the moon after all of it.


    Maybe, someday, I will be able to live that life


    Unfortunately... both of us seemed to be very far from that day.


    Of course, I had already decided to save this world... and I didn''t plan on going back on my words.


    And, Ruby, stemming from a villainous organization... and now being part of the very hero part that defeated that organization, had some things she had to sort out, to say the least.


    All in all... times like this couldn''t last and repeat forever for Ruby and me.


    That''s why I had to cherish the times when it did happen.


    Staring at Ruby, I nodded my head with a grin and replied.


    "Why not?"


    These small moments... despite lasting for less than a couple of hours, would be held in my heart for years at a minimum.


    Thinking back to my time on Earth, a sense of sorrow overwhelmed me.


    I had already learned my lesson...


    My time on Earth had been limited and short due to my early death at the prime age of sixteen years old.


    And, despite living on Earth for those sixteen years of living, I couldn''t recall a single memory that was better than the one I was living through right now.


    My mom was right... setting yourself up for a good future is vital at a young age.


    Your entire life is essentially determined by what colleges you go to, and that''s controlled by your grades and extracurriculars in high school.


    My mom''s personal motto was,


    "Work hard now, enjoy later!"


    Yet, in my case on Earth, I had worked hard without even enjoying its benefits.


    My time had been wasted... and that could be seen clearly through my lack of good memories from my time on Earth.


    I wouldn''t make the same mistake again in this world.


    Instead of going back to my dorm room immediately after class to work my ass off to figure out some plan to rob the principal''s vault, I had come here with Ruby.


    And because of that, I created a beautiful memory on a cold winter day... with some snowballs mixed in.


    Even if I was found out tomorrow during the robbery... I think I would have still chosen to come here instead of planning for ten hours straight in my dorm room.


    Why couldn''t I work hard... and enjoy life at the same time?


    To be fair, I was a special case.


    I doubted the other academy students had the same privilege as me.


    They had to work hard to get recruited and fulfill their dreams of becoming a hero so that they could survive in this chaotic world.


    Studying and training was something they had to do every day.


    It wasn''t an option for them.


    They needed to be noticed and accepted into positions within Knight Orders.


    And me?


    I could drop out of school right now and be living in the middle of nowhere in some luxurious mansion with everything I could ever want in life. S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    A glass of wine in my right hand, a small black cat in my left, and a full five-course meat on the table in front of me.


    Anything in this world could be mine with the click of a finger.


    That is... except fulfillment.


    Would I be fulfilled if I simply lazed around for the rest of this life because I had the resources to sustain that lifestyle?


    No, I would not.


    That''s why I made the choice I did, putting my all into protecting this world.


    To be fair to me, I had worked hard in my previous life... so maybe I was deserving of this privilege where I could do anything I wanted to.


    Maybe the other students simply hadn''t worked hard in their past life like me!


    Ruby, smiling, brushed back her hair, which was no longer jet-black but a mix of white and black as my corrupted snow particles had hit her hair.


    The same could be said for my hair... but much worse.


    Since all snow, and not just corrupted particles, could hit my hair... it was completely white right now, with barely any signs of my original jet-black hair.


    Ready to leave... and depart from this beautiful memory, I tried to stand up, but a voice interrupted me.


    "A little longer?"


    Staring at Ruby''s open mouth and disappointed expression, I couldn''t bear to walk away.


    Nodding my head, I laid back down, feeling the cold snow brush against my jacket, and replied.


    "A little longer."


    ...


    ...


    ...


    "AHH, MY EYES!"


    Waking up the next morning, I opened my eyes as usual, expecting to see the ceiling of my dorm room.


    Instead, the sun''s rays immediately and directly blinded my eyes as soon as I opened them.


    "..."


    Shrieking back, I covered my eyes with my hands before slowly adjusting to the unknown sunlight above me.


    Looking around my surroundings, I quickly realized that I wasn''t in my dorm room... but in the middle of a forest.


    Baren trees without any leaves surrounded me, and I was currently lying on a bunch of dirt with crushed grass.


    There was no snow anymore... as somehow, the sky was now a clear blue.


    As the memories of yesterday flooded into my head, I subconsciously turned to my left, seeing a familiar figure lying down beside me.

 Chapter 249 - 249:Snow Day [4]

    Unlike me, who was drenched as all the snow that had accumulated on me yesterday had melted under the sun''s rays, Ruby was completely dry... and still sound asleep.


    Brushing my hand through my wet, jet-black hair and pushing it off my forehead, I looked at Ruby, who had her clothes crumpled and her hair tangled.


    ...how did I fall asleep like this!?


    Leaning against a nearby tree trunk, I took in the beautiful scenery of the sun illuminating the barren forest around me.


    It was a weekend, so there was no school today.


    The school would be hosting some events to boost school spirit later on the day, and unfortunately, all the students in the entire school were required to attend.


    Over eight hundred students at the best magic academy in the realm coming together in a single building... what could go wrong?


    As a sudden breeze washed over our area, Ruby''s eyelids flicked for a moment, but it seemed she still hadn''t woken up yet. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Standing up, I stretched my back, which was in pain from me sleeping on the uneven and dirty ground the entire night.


    After finding some shade from the sun, I peered around with my eyes, making sure nothing had changed with my eyes.


    Confirming that no one had been in the vicinity or near at all, I walked over to Ruby''s sleeping body.


    Taking off my corrupted jacket, which had practically saved me from freezing to death when I had slept, I laid it over her, completely covering her face.


    Then, a moment later, I leaned downwards and softly tapped her on the shoulder.


    "Wake up, it''s time, and the sun''s out."


    Showing that she was at least partially awake, Ruby rolled over, throwing the jacket off her face before whispering.


    "A little longer?"


    Chuckling, I said.


    "It''s been more than a little longer."


    Pushing the jacket over her face, I whispered into her eye.


    ''Look, open your eyes!"


    Although I couldn''t see through the corrupted jacket that was covering her face, I assumed she now had her eyes open as she confidently said.


    "Oh, good, it''s still night!"


    "Prepare yourself."


    Slowly removing the jacket from her face and unveiling her eyes to the sun, I watched her expression transform.


    First, there was the initial shock upon seeing the sun appear her eyebrows were raised as she stared at the light-blue sky that was completely different from the pitch-black sky last night.


    Then came denial as she glanced back and forth at the sun and ground before eventually asking.


    "...w-what time is it!?"


    Sitting down next to her, I replied.


    "I thought you said a little longer?"


    Ignoring my sarcasm, Ruby frantically rummaged through her stuff before finding her smartwatch.


    Then, after checking the time, she alternated glances between the sun and me.


    And, finally, acceptance.


    Standing up and dusting the dirt off her clothes, Ruby sighed and stared at me for a second.


    "I''m sure I''ve kept you longer and disrupted whatever plan you have for the thing today...I''m s-"


    Interrupting her mid-sentence, I shook my head before quickly responding.


    "I should be thanking you for dragging me out when I would have just been crammed in my dorm room."


    Getting noticeably happier, Ruby grinned before waving.


    "Well, I guess I''ll see you on the battlefield!"


    Leaving the forest, Ruby headed in the direction of the royal dormitories... and I followed.


    Today was a moving day!


    Thankfully, the academy was gracious enough to get people to move all my stuff, so I didn''t have to worry about lugging luggage from building to building.


    It was odd, though.


    How did Charlotte, the literal princess of the empire, not get movers for her transfer... but I did...?


    Well, I can''t complain!


    I did have to stop by my dorm room for a quick second to pick up my cat, though.


    I doubt that an anti-social and permanently sleeping cat would be happy when a bunch of movers suddenly burst through the door.


    And...I didn''t want to know what happened when my cat wasn''t happy.


    A cat that can time travel and... perform its own rituals?


    Who knows what else it can do!?


    Needless to say, getting on the bad side of my cat was not a good idea in the slightest.


    Walking up the stairs of the dorm room, I ignored the odd gazes I was receiving due to my dirty clothes and reached my floor.


    Feeling a sense of nostalgia as I inserted the key and cracked open the door of my room, I smiled.


    This had been my home for the past months.


    The place I came to when I had to make decisions, relax, sleep, and eat.


    Normally, I would never grow so attached to a room, but I guess I couldn''t help it this time.


    It seemed my cat shared the same opinion as it rested in the middle of my bed, with the sunlight streaming down on its glossy black fur.


    Sitting on the bed next to my cat, I enjoyed the serenity and silence for a second before carefully scooping up my cat.


    Either not caring or still awake, my cat allowed itself to be placed in my hoodie.


    Giving one last glance at my room, I sighed before heading out.


    My clothes and personal belongings would be transferred soon, but my room at the royal dormitory was already ready, according to my papers.


    Leaving my room, I walked down the hallway, noticing another figure approaching me from the stairs.


    "Hm? Why is he familiar?"


    Feeling a sense of family in my eyes, I paused for a second and allowed him to pass by me.


    Ah... the broken training room guy!


    The person to who I had given the broken AI dummy bot room.


    Walking past me and towards my new room, the familiar figure exclaimed.


    "I can''t believe I got a dorm room upgrade! Ahh... training and working really does pay off!"


    Chuckling, I walked down the stairs with my cat silently resting in my hoodie.

 Chapter 250 - 250:Snow Day [5]

    Leaving the academy building, I felt multiple glances immediately lock onto me as some students even stopped and stared as if saying, "That''s the guy who 1v3d the top first-year students?"


    Shaking my head, I ignored their glances and continued walking as none of them had the confidence to actually talk to me.


    Making my way through the familiar path, I once again saw the group of security personnel waiting outside the guard of the royal dormitory.


    After reciprocating nods from the security guards, I walked onto the premises of the Royal Dormitory, immediately distracted by the abundance of snow.


    Well...not real snow.


    Considering the sun was still shining down right now, it would be almost impossible for natural and real snow to be here.


    Thus, the academy made fake snow that was immune to the sun''s bright rays and used it for decoration.


    On the trees next to the gates, snow was covering most of the branches, and even the grass nearby was colored white.


    After pacing back and forth in the courtyard of the Royal Dormitroy for a moment, I finally decided to head in.


    I didn''t. I was on the best terms with Liam or Kevin... or my next-door neighbors in the slightest.


    Silently opening the door of the dormitory, I slipped pass the common room unsighted before turning right and heading to the male portion of the dormitory.


    Walking past countless rooms with who knows what inside, I finally arrived at the residential area as I began seeing placards beside each door.


    [Liam]


    [Kevin]


    [Zach]


    [Ren] S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Heading to the very end of the hallway, I braced myself before opening the door.


    The room in front of me... was more than triple the size of my old room.


    In the middle of the room lay a gigantic king-sized bed that was in no way comparable to my old twin-sized one.


    The paint job was done perfectly with no blemishes, and all of the appliances, like the stove, were the newest and highest quality editions.


    Not only that, but the room seemed to have a loft as there was a set of stairs that led upwards in the corner of the room.


    Waking up the cat with a soft tug, I watched as it gracefully jumped from my hoodie to the ground, perfectly landing on its feet.


    Ignoring all the lavish and expensive decorations... the black cat simply headed straight for the bed.


    Then, without sparing a glance at anything else, the cat jumped on the bed before settling down in the exact center.


    Alternating gazes between my now-sleeping cat and the lavish room, I sighed.


    "A nap does sound good right now..."


    Unfortunately, due to my antics yesterday, I didn''t have time to spare at this point."


    Also, ignoring the lavish decorations, I headed for a desk near the center of the room, which was bathed in sunlight through the tall windows.


    Picking up a pencil, I rapidly sketched the entire plan of the school''s administrative building and courtyard.


    Staring at the piece of paper in front of me, I began to replay scenarios in my head over and over again, hoping to find the one with the highest possibility of success.


    But... unfortunately, no matter how much I thought about it and planned, something was always bound to go wrong.


    Recalling Lily''s personality from the times we had spent together, I tried to put myself in her shoes.


    What would I do?


    I have the principal, the student council president, the protagonist of the story, and the main cast at my disposal.


    How would I use these materials to first eliminate the djinns without any student casualties, and two, protect the vault from the other djinns?


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Tapping my pen against my desk, I sighed and leaned back in my chair.


    If only this damned vault wasn''t located in the administrative building.


    The layout of the building was, of course, designed perfectly to prevent intruders from sneaking in.


    This meant that there were very few routes I could use to get in and out... and all of those routes would most likely be guarded.


    Of course, the paths being guarded didn''t mean they were useless as I could simply fight my way through... but that would waste time and draw attention.


    Brushing my hair back, I got up from my chair before grabbing a bottle of water.


    The school-wide assembly would start in about an hour, and after that, things would start happening one after another.


    The school assembly would go on for about an hour, give or take, until the emergency alarm would go off.


    As per procedure, all the students would evacuate the field to take cover from whatever emergency.


    From there, things could go a lot of ways depending on what decision and plan Lily makes.


    *DING*


    *DING*


    Snapping me out of my thoughts, I heard the sound of a doorbell ring.


    "...is that mine?"


    Leaving the kitchen with my bottle of water, I headed to the door and peered through the hole, surprised to see a familiar figure waiting outside.


    Well...I wasn''t really surprised; it was kind of in his personality to do things like this.


    Opening the door, I saw Zach waiting outside with a basket of fruits and other various baked goods.


    Seeing me, Zach was about to say something... but instead, he paused.


    Then, a moment later, Zach said in a clearly forced, excited voice.


    "Welcome to our dorm, Ren! As the first-year residential advisor of the Royal Dorms, I hope you find your time here comfortable and enjoyable!"


    Nodding my head, I thanked Zach before grabbing the gift basket and heading back into my room.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    "YOU''RE SAYING WE HAVE TO SPEAK AT THE ASSEMBLY!?"


    Kaneki, furious at the fact he was still at the school, stared at Principal Seraphina in utter shock and anger.


    Kazuki, seeming to not care in the slightest, simply nodded his head.


    "We''re already here, so we might as well."


    Putting out a magical artifact, Kaneki responded.


    "WHAT IF I''M NOT H-"

 Chapter 251 - 251:Mission Impossible [1]

    Smiling, Professor Seraphina pointed at the walls of her office where they were currently.


    "Unfortunately, I have already set up a magic nullifier barrier here, so that won''t work."


    Originally, Seraphina had planned to allow her two former students and student council members to leave as they wanted.


    Although there were her former students, Seraphina knew that they were still important and influential figures, so she couldn''t cross any lines or go too far.


    However, after hearing about the attempted robbery of her vault from the main cast members, there was no way she could just let them go!


    She was going to make use of her former students!


    Unlike her, who excelled in attack on everything and splash damage attacks, the two powerful boys in front of her were best at close combat and one versus one.


    That meant that, unlike her, they could take out the djinns attacking in the courtyard without harming any students in the process.


    Also... she was quite curious about one thing.


    Ren, or Kaneki''s brother, had put up quite an impressive show during the battle royale.


    For that, he was rewarded with a dorm upgrade and moved into the grand Royale Dormitories.


    However, that was not the only reason for Ren''s move.


    Principal Seraphina also wanted to keep a close eye on him.


    Students like him, who had been turned away by their own families and shamed, were the most likely to turn to the evil side.


    Thankfully, Seraphina had already confirmed that Ren had not yet gone to the evil side, as the flow of mana inside his body was identical to a human''s.


    And she wanted to keep it that way.


    She truly cared about all of her students, even if they had an... interesting and doubtful past like Ren''s.


    Staring at Kaneki''s furious and angry face, Seraphina smiled before muttering.


    "What would happen if these two happened to meet again...?"


    Sighing, Kazuki said.


    "Well... I guess we have no choice, Kaneki. It''ll be nice for us to contribute to the school; after all, the whole reason we''re today is because of this s-"


    "LIKE HELL, WE HAVE NO CHOICE!? JUST SAY N-"


    Interrupting Kaneki''s rambling mid-sentence, Kazuki turned to Seraphina and nodded his head before saying.


    "Both of us are willing to participate in the school-wide assembly and give a speech!"


    Then, before Kaneki could disagree any further, Kazuki left the room, dragging Kaneki by his collar out of the room with him.


    Left alone in her office, Serapha sighed before stretching her hands and staring out of the window.


    The djinns and devils were on the rise...


    Only a couple of years ago, no djinn or devil would have dared to step foot into the Celestial Academy.


    Yet... now, countless djinns were even amongst their school''s administrators and even trying to infiltrate the academy.


    In one certain incident, they almost succeeded in kidnapping the Elven Princess Alya despite the Academy''s security.


    Unfrotatunely, though, Seraphina was not able to help out in any way as she was often away from the school, taking care of matters that were far more important.


    It wasn''t just in the academy that djinns were on up...it was all around the world.


    And... as a top ranker, Seraphina had obligations that she had to fulfill, and she had to obey orders from the High Dominion.


    She wanted to stay at the Celestial Academy all day and protect it... however, the High Dominion wanted her to be guarding the boundaries of the human realm.


    To be fair, the government was right as Seraphina had killed over a hundred djinns who were trying to secretly occupy the realm... but alas,


    Of course, as a top ranker of the entire world, Seraphina could easily identify these djinn school administrators and take them out.


    However, that wouldn''t solve the problem.


    Those djinns would just develop new technology to circumvent Seraphina''s djinn identification method and then get in.


    However, amidst all of these developments, Seraphina had gained one good thing.


    Her creation of the Celestial Academy djinn extermination team.


    A group of students, the main cast, who were strong enough and smart enough to defeat djinns in case of an incident!


    Sighing, Seraphina shook her head.


    What was she thinking, giving such an important role to a bunch of teenagers?


    Staring out the window and the courtyard, Seraphina solemnly pledged.


    "I will stay and defend at the Celestial Academy like a good principal every day... starting now."


    If the High Dominion wanted her to leave to defend the borders, she would kindly decline and tell them to ask someone else.


    Checking her smartwatch, Professor Seraphina immediately got up upon realizing that the assembly would start in less than an hour.


    Leaving the administrative building, Seraphina headed towards the center of the island, where the massive multi-purpose building stood.


    Since she didn''t walk around the academy often, some students were staring at her, but Serapha didn''t mind.


    In fact, she would even prefer it if, instead of staring, the students simply walked up and attempted to interact with her.


    Opening the double doors into the building, Seraphina stared at the auditorium-like building that was filled with empty.


    Raising her wand to the roof, Seraphina smiled before softly saying.


    "Activate."


    *BOOM*


    *BOOM*


    The next second, bleaches emerged from the wall, slowly moving further and further outward.


    In less than a second, three bleachers on the back, right, and left of the auditorium were standing, towering over Seraphina''s small figure.


    Pacing around the auditorium, Seraphina attempted to discern the fastest possible way for all eight hundred students to exit the gym once the djinns pulled the emergency alarm.


    She needed to eliminate the djinns in the courtyard as soon as possible, so she could focus all of her attention on the vault robbers. Sear?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Finding something, Seraphina smiled before brushing back her blue-hair and walking up the stairs to the stage.


    The auditorium had three bleachers all against their respective walls, and in the middle of the bleachers and right before the stage was a gigantic open space.

 Chapter 252 - 252:Mission Impossible [2]

    *BANG*


    *BANG*


    *BANG* S~ea??h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Hearing the sound of doors opening and banging shut, I remained in my room, simply staring at the countless pieces of paper on my desk.


    There were about thirty minutes left until the assembly started, but some of my fellow royal dormitory students were leaving early to get good students.


    It was first-come-first-serve seating, so there was probably a line already formed at the multi-purpose building by now.


    Besides getting a good view of all the events, the people at the front were more likely to be chosen as participants for their grade level.


    In the assembly, there would be a variety of teamwork events where the first-years, second-years, and third-years would all compete.


    To choose the volunteers from each grade level, teachers would simply roam around and choose a random person from the grade-level bleacher to participate.


    For winning the competition, your entire grade would receive points, and the participants would also receive an individual prize, such as a front-of-the-line lunch pass for the cafeteria.


    At the end of the assembly, all the points would be tallied up, and the grade with the most points would receive... a day off!


    While the other years would have to go to school like a normal day, the grade who won would get to stay home and relax.


    Needless to say, students were hyped up and wanted to win.


    It was so bad that in our second year, when some random student participated and lost the event he was in, he was shunned for a whole week.


    Sighing, I leaned back in my chair and shook my head.


    Usually, I would dismiss the idea of me being chosen to participate as before; I was just some random delinquent.


    But now... I had a reputation attached to my name, and my fame would only increase when the other first-years realized I moved into the Royal Dorms.


    Also... a certain teacher seemed to be out to get me.


    "Class Rep!? Seriously, what is this bullshit?"


    I wouldn''t lose if I was chosen.


    That was the easy answer I decided on.


    The assembly would end more than mid-way through due to the emergency alarm pulled by the djinns, so the grade with the most points by then would receive the day off.


    So, winning and losing in the events still mattered quite a bit.


    Getting up from my chair, I made a quick meal for my cat and poured it into his bowl.


    Simply watching the time on my smartwatch count down, I sat down on my bed before beginning to gather some materials.


    Manifesting a heavy that was far too big for me, I began cramming the pockets with various materials I would need.


    There would still be time for me to stop by my dormitory after the emergency alarm was pulled and the robbery started... but then, the security guards would spot me.


    Looking in the mirror, I realized how suspicious I looked with this big hoodie, despite the sun shining bright as ever outside.


    I really needed a storage magical artifact... corruption wasn''t cutting it anymore.


    Adding some touches to make myself look less suspicious, I took one last glance at my dorm before walking to the door.


    Putting my ear on the door, I made sure it was completely silent before slowly and silently opening the door.


    Exiting my dorm, I walked through the lavish royal hallways, staring at fancy lamps and pieces of artwork as I passed.


    Reaching the common room, I sighed in relief as I realized it was silent.


    Usually, I wouldn''t be scared or nervous about meeting the main cast, but today was different.


    Today, they knew I was most likely their enemy, and I knew they were my enemy.


    It was like Batman meeting the Joker at some random coffee shop.


    The two of them obviously couldn''t start fighting and attacking each other in public with so many people around...so what could they do besides just glare at each other?


    Slipping through the golden couches, I was about to exit when a familiar voice called out from behind me.


    "Ren?"


    Before I could respond, rapid footsteps approached me before eventually stopping right behind me.


    As I felt my collar being gripped by someone, a sudden soft voice pierced my ears.


    "Ren, don''t tell me you''re using that permanent Royal Dormitory pass I gave you for bad things?"


    Shaking my head, I pulled out my student ID, which had been changed to display [Royal Dormitory Resident] instead of [Regular Dormitory Resident.]


    Staring at my ID for a moment, Charlotte let go of my collar and opened the door leading outside.


    "Well, congratulations, I can''t say I didn''t expect it after your performance."


    Heading outside, Charlotte stopped for a second, blocking my path, and turned around.


    With a grin, Charlotte said.


    "Don''t let it go to your head. You''re still a part of my Knight Order, you know."


    "I know, I know."


    After nodding my head, I left the Royal Dorms, following Charlotte as the two of us headed toward the center of the island.


    As we entered the area where the normal dormitories were located, crowds were already forming, and students were everywhere.


    Not wanting to push my way through the crowd, I was about to scale the building to my right when Charlotte''s voice sounded from in front of me.


    "Not planning to leave your boss stranded, are you?"


    Smiling, I quickly replied.


    "Of course not... Boss!"


    "Good."


    Walking back towards me, Charlotte pointed at the sky.


    "Because we already have a ride waiting for us!"


    Following Charlotte''s finger, I gazed up at the sky, immediately noticing a helicopter-like transportation device hovering in the air.


    "...all of this for a five to ten-minute walk?"


    "I can leave you behind if you''d like."


    Rapidly shaking my head, I watched in utter joy as a ladder slowly approached us from the air.


    Within a minute, the two of us had climbed the ladder and were now sitting side-by-side in the helicopter.

 Chapter 253 - 253:Mission Impossible [3]

    Sitting in the helicopter, floating in the sky far above the students, I stared out at the vast island below me.


    From here... the school genuinely seemed like a paradise.


    Everything looked so lush and green, and the bustling crowds added to the cool and nice atmosphere.


    But I knew better.


    Never judge a book by its cover!


    Gesturing to the pilot of the helicopter, who resembled one of the security guards who protected the royal dormitories, Charlotte turned to me.


    "Done admiring the view yet?"


    Shaking my head, I leaned out of the helicopter, watching the sparkling blue ocean glitter under the sun''s rays.


    Just yesterday... it had been frozen.


    What the hell kind of climate change was this!?


    As the helicopter began to move, I sighed before leaning back in my chair and placing my hand in one of the many pockets inside my massive, corrupted sweatshirt.


    Feeling a soft and spiky texture on the palm of my hands, I glanced towards it.


    Inside my pocket lay a very peculiar yellow fruit that hadn''t seen the light of day for a long time now.


    After obtaining it during the World Tree incident and my fight with the corrupted figure, I was immediately pulled into a dream.


    Then, after that experience, I had almost completely forgotten about the yellow mango-shaped fruit despite its usefulness.


    Well, I wasn''t complaining... at least I had it now!


    It would be quite useful for this upcoming incident... if I used it correctly.


    Letting go of the fruit and feeling it drop back into my pocket, I stood up in the helicopter, feeling the window rush onto my face as the helicopter slowly moved toward the center of the island.


    Placing my hand on the bar inside the helicopter, barely managing not to fall out of the helicopter, I leaned outward.


    The wind rushing into my face, combined with the sun''s rays and beautiful view of the island below, made for an unforgettable experience.


    Hearing a scoff behind me, I turned around just to see Charlotte smiling while staring at me.


    "Are you a dog or something? Putting your head out the window just to feel the wind?"


    Shaking my head, I sarcastically replied.


    "No, but I would say I''m a cat!"


    Sitting back down, I reluctantly looked away from the island below and at Charlotte, who seemed to be waiting for me.


    Leaning back on the rough cushion, I sighed before asking.


    "You didn''t give me this amazing helicopter ride for free, did you?"


    Stretching her hands out, Charlotte grinned before also turning to face me.


    "You know... I noticed something quite peculiar has been going on in the academy. I was wondering if you happened to know something?"


    Shrugging my shoulders, I maintained a nonchalant demeanor before questioning.


    If both Charlotte and Ruby could easily discern my lies... I didn''t know what I would do at this point.


    Just give up on lying? And always tell the truth from now on.


    "Peculiar behavior? What do you mean by that?"


    After silently staring at my face for a couple of seconds, Charlotte explained.


    "I''ve received some interesting news regarding the recruiters. Apparently, the principal has asked two of them to stay for this assembly."


    "Isn''t that normal? Shouldn''t the principal want recruiters to be at the assembly to give the students a better chance of standing out and garnering attention?" sea??h th§× nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "That would be true if not for the fact that these recruiters are not coming to recruit but to participate in the assembly."


    Saving me from responding, a voice called out from the front of the helicopter.


    " *ahem* Princess, we have arrived."


    Looking down from the helicopter, I saw the center of the gigantic building right below us, with students crowding in from all sides.


    Dismissing the previous topic, Charlotte gestured to me, so I quickly grabbed the ladder before dropping it out of the helicopter.


    *BANG*


    As the bottom of the ladder collided with the metal top of the building, a loud clang sound echoed, causing some gazes to look up.


    Looking at Charlotte''s disappointed and angry face, I softly replied.


    "...my bad."


    WIthin a few seconds, over a hundred of the students crowding in were now staring at our helicopter with their fingers pointing upwards.


    "... is that a helicopter?"


    "what the hell is a helicopter doing on this island."


    "Could they really not make the ten-minute walk here without a dam helicopter!?"


    "Whose helicopter is it...?"


    "Wait, who''s inside of it."


    Since the helicopter had lowered a bit, the sound of the students chatting amongst themselves still reached Charlotte and I''s hears.


    Staring at me, Charlotte coldly said.


    "Well, it''s your problem, so solve it yourself."


    Then, without waiting for me, Charlotte emerged from the helicopter, her golden blonde hair fluttering with the wind.


    Looking up, the students saw Charlotte, who was right below the sun, carefully descending the ladder.


    "...is that an angel!?"


    "no...is that the princess?"


    As excited cheers emerged from the crowd due to their princesses''s appearance, I sighed in helicopter.


    Getting caught in a personal helicopter with the princess?


    Well, why don''t I just throw my plans of secrecy away!?


    If it had been any other day, I would have been fine with being seen with the princess, but today, I needed to remain a mystery.


    Leaving the helicopter right after Charlotte would cause everyone to watch my news moves, even when I was inside the assembly.


    How was I supposed to sneak out when everyone''s gazes were locked on me!?


    Before I could even think of a way out, a voice once again sounded from the front of the helicopter.


    "If you''d like, Sir, I can... give you a parachute, and we can rise a bit higher."


    "...that would be perfect; thank you so much!"


    As the helicopter began to rise further and further up, people eventually stopped watching it, assuming that everyone had departed and Charlotte was only the passenger.


    After a few seconds, the helicopter was now at the height of the clouds, almost completely invisible from everyone below.

 Chapter 254 - 254:Mission Impossible [4]

    Picking up the parachute from the pilot''s hands, I sighed before staring at the multi-purpose building, which was still below us.


    Peering through the clouds and downwards, I found a decently hidden spot before putting on my parachute.


    Waving to the pilot, who was still at the front of the helicopter, I said.


    "I''ll be on my way now!"


    Without wasting another second, I fastened the parachute onto my back before leaping out of the helicopter.


    Feeling the air rush onto my face and pull back my air, I sighed before admitting.


    "I get why dogs put their head out of the window now..."


    It truly was an exhilarating feeling.


    Parachuting was something I would never dare to do or even come close to Earth, yet here I was, enjoying it and acting like it was nothing.


    To be fair, in comparison to the other things I''ve done in the past, it was indeed nothing.


    As the roof of the multipurpose building and the island fast approached, I enjoyed the last few moments of free fall before tugging at the string on my parachute.


    Slowly, my descent began slow to a stop to as a long and vibrant-colored parachute popped out of the backpack behind me.


    Gliding downwards, I aimed for a back area of the multipurpose building where no students were located.


    Landing on the roof of the multipurpose building, I threw off the backpack and parachute, leaving them atop the roof.


    Then, I swiftly jumped off the roof and silently landed on the ground, with no students seeing me.


    Sighing, I rushed to the front, where a crowd of students still stood, attempting to enter.


    Taking out my smartwatch, I quickly checked my messages before pushing my way through the crowd.


    [Jin: Meet at the left side of the bleachers?]


    [Han: Let''s go the middle, we''ll get a better view.]


    [Jin: I just got in, all the center seats are taken.]


    [Han: ... already left side, it is.]


    [Jin: You got that, Ren?]


    [Ren: On my way, give me like five minutes.]


    [Han: Don''t blame us if there are no seats left.] Sear?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [Jin: Don''t worry, you can sit on Han''s shoulders!]


    [Ren: Am I some sort of child to you, Jin?]


    [Han: Why my shoulders???]


    Putting down my smartwatch, I finally entered the multipurpose buildings.


    Around me were three massive bleachers, each on the side of the building, with them being marked "First," "Second," or "Third."


    Finding the bleacher marked "First," I pushed my way through more students before finally arriving at the massive first-year bleacher.


    Despite the assembly being almost ten minutes away from starting, more than three-fourths of the seats were already filled.


    Using my enhanced eyesight, I peered towards the left of the bleacher, finding Han and Jin sitting at the very top row.


    Walking up the stairs, I arrived at the top row before passing by some other students and arriving at my friend''s seats.


    Looking up from his smartwatch, Jin chuckled before saying.


    "You know, I really thought you wouldn''t make it."


    "And why is that?"


    "You''re too po *PFFT* popular for us now!"


    Sitting next to Jin, I sighed before sarcastically replying.


    "I was already popular in the academy... just for the wrong reasons."


    Chiming in from the other side of Jin, Han responded.


    "OH YEAH THE PROFESION C-"


    "That''s enough, Han."


    As the three of us discussed our school life after the battle royale, students seemed to be infinitely blood through the entrance.


    Within five minutes of my arrival, the first-year bleacher was already filled to the brim... and there were still people looking for seats.


    Crammed between Jin and some random student, I sighed before wishing I had got a reserved seat.


    Peering at a place right before the bleachers, I saw a couple of chairs lined up with some familiar figures sitting down.


    Charlotte, Bertus, Kevin, Zach, Liam, Alya, Lily, Ruby, Irene, and a couple of other top-ranked first-years were sitting down at the front of the bleachers.


    Shaking my head, I turned on my smartwatch before asking Jin and Han.


    "Up for a game of Mystic Brawl?"


    Seeing them nod their heads, I was about to click on the application, but a loud voice interrupted me.


    "Please at least try to pay attention to this. You are still... a student council member, technically."


    Hm?


    Raising my head to the source of the sound, I saw Astrid, dressed in a normal academy uniform, sitting right next to me.


    "...are you fake one or r-"


    "Real."


    "Then, why are you here!? This is for first-years."


    "The principal and first-years said it was my job to keep an eye on you..."


    "..."


    "..."


    Turning to Jin and Han, who had their smartwatches out and were ready to place, I signaled that I needed a second.


    Then, turning to my other side and facing Astrid, I sighed before asking.


    "I take it... they don''t know I''m the one who recommended you."


    Nodding her head, Astrid sighed before leaning back against the wall.


    Although I was able to discern it was Astrid due to my enhanced eyesight, the other students weren''t able to.


    She tied her hair differently and wore the normal academy uniform instead of the student council jacket.


    And there were over four hundred students, alone, sitting on this bleacher, so even if she was dressed normally, the odds of someone noticing her were low.


    Looking at me, Astrid asked.


    "How did you know?"


    "Know what?"


    "My plan; you acted so shocked when you saw it. Like, you had already seen it before. And by pure coincidence, an attack like that is going to happen in less than two hours from now."


    Having no explanation, I resorted to sarcasm and said.


    "Because I''m the one orchestrating it all!"


    Proppering her legs up, Astrid seriously said.


    "Look, you know I have a certain amount of trust in you since I appointed you to the student council."


    Making direct eye contact with me, Astrid continued.


    "As long as you don''t break that trust, I''ll continue to trust you, all right?"

 Chapter 255 - 255:Mission Impossible [5]

    Nodding my head, I paused before saying.


    "I can assure you that I have no intentions of harming any students or faculty members or the island as a whole."


    After silently gazing at me for a moment, Astrid sighed before nodding her head and standing up.


    Turning to me, she rapidly said.


    "If anyone asks, I was watching over you, alright?"


    "Why the hell would they ask me, the target, if you were looking over m-"


    But, before I could finish my sentence, Astrid had already disappeared and was not near the bottom of the first-year bleachers.


    Sighing, I turned back over to Jin and Han, who had already started a game without me.


    "Get me in next!"


    Looking at their smartwatches, Jin and Han nodded in unison before desperately mashing the screen of their smartwatch.


    Recalling my conversation with Charlotte earlier in the helicopter, I gazed at the stage at the front of the multipurpose building.


    The recruiters were participating in this assembly and not recruiting...?


    What did that mean?


    What did the term "participating" entail or mean!?


    Right before the stage and in the empty area between all the bleachers, I saw some faculty members already setting up for the first event.


    With my future knowledge of the book, I already knew that the first event would be a teamwork game. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Two students would be selected from each year, and they would work together to try and get as far as they could on a balance beam.


    One of the faculty advisors would cast a binding spell that prevented the two from unblinking their arms to ensure no cheating happened.


    As students gazed with curiosity at the balance beam that was being set up, I sighed before adjusting my gaze downward.


    Seeing Jin''s screen flash with a recognizable orange color, I immediately exclaimed.


    "DID YOU START ANOTHER GAME WITHOUT ME!?"


    " *PFFT* n-no, i-it''s the same game."


    Seeing Jin and I gaze at each other, Han sighed before seriously saying.


    "We just finished, so get on."


    Pulling out my smartwatch once again, I was about to open the game application when a sudden loud voice surprised me.


    A male figure with a suit on had emerged from backstage and was now standing in front of a microphone.


    Using the microphone, which was embued with sound magic, the male figure pointed at the curtains at the back of the stage before excitedly announcing.


    "And I introduce you to the only AND ONLY PRINCIPAL OF CELESTIAL ACADEMY!"


    Ignoring the announcement, I clicked on the game application... only to be meant with an error message.


    [You do not have Wifi or any internet connection. Please check with your school administrator if you believe this to be a mistake!]


    "..."


    Glancing at Han and Jin''s smartwatches, I realized that it wasn''t just me who had lost connection.


    The school had turned off all smartwatches to force us to pay attention to the stupid assembly!


    Sighing, the three of us put away our smartwatches before Jin angrily exclaimed.


    "What is this a prison!? A dictatorship!? Where is our basic right to Wifi!?"


    Struggling to hold in my laughter, I watched as Han tried to talk reasonably with Jin.


    "...are you saying that access to wifi is an inherent right that every human should have...?"


    "Yes."


    "...but what about inherent rights like owning property, having liberty, the freedom to vote, eat, and drink? Do you really internet connection is up there...?"


    "Well, when you phrase it like that..."


    Silencing the two''s conversation, the curtains slowly opened, revealing a tall figure with dark blue hair on stage.


    After waiting a moment for the curtains to finally open, Principal Seraphina elegantly and slowly walked to the center of the stage.


    Not even glancing at the microphone, Principal Seraphina announced in a loud tone that echoed throughout the entire multipurpose building.


    "Without further a do... LET THE GAMES BEGIN!"


    *CLAP*


    *CLAP*


    As almost every student in the building broke into applause, clapping sounds silenced every other sound.


    Finally, after a few seconds, the sound of clapping disappeared as the hype died down.


    Seeing this, Principal Seraphina walked toward the edge of the stage before pointing ahead and saying.


    "Teachers, pick two students from your grade to compete!"


    Ignoring the other years and their bleachers, I peered ahead and saw a group of first-years gathered a distance away from the teachers.


    The teachers, ignoring the excited and desperate gazes of their students, huddled up and started to discuss.


    Then, after a few seconds, a familiar figure emerged from the huddle.


    Professor Robinson.


    Sighing, I shook my head and watched as he slowly approached the bleachers of the first-years.


    He was out for revenge.


    He wanted the people who embarrassed him in front of the recruiters and made his demonstration go terribly.


    Stopping in front of the line of chairs right before the bleachers, Professor Robinsons simply ignored the crowd of students in the bleachers.


    Staring at the line of students sitting down in the chairs, Professor Robinson pointed at two familiar figures.


    Liam and Ruby.


    Confirming that they were indeed chosen, Ruby and Liam hesitantly stood up before walking to the center of the multipurpose building.


    Behind them, the bleachers erupted into cheers, hopeful that their volunteers would win against the other years.


    The other year''s volunteers were already present in the middle as the second year had a boy with short brown hair and another boy with short black hair.


    And the third year had chosen two girls, one with short jet-black hair and another with long white hair.


    Aren''t those two opposites?


    Seeing the six students gathered at the center, Principal Seraphina pointed at the balance beam before saying.


    "Whichever pair that crosses the largest distance on the balance beam will receive ten points!"


    As the principal finished her instructions, a teacher emerged from the crowd, walking towards the six students.


    As each pair of six students were bonded together, their arms linked, each crowd began yelling cheers.


    "GO FIRST-YEARS!"


    "SECOND-YEARS ON TOP FOR LIFE!"


    "WE"RE TOO OLD TO BE LOSING THESE FIRST AND SECOND YEARS!"

 Chapter 256 - 256:Assembly [1]

    As the teacher finished bonding everyone together, the pairs gathered at the start of the balance beams.


    Jin and Han, besides me, were already over having their smartwatches''s internet taken away as they excitedly watched the balance beam.


    Following their gaze, I saw they were watching Ruby and Liam, who, with their arms linked, seemed to be discussing a plan. Sear?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The two of them were back-to-back as each of their arms were linked behind their backs, making them unable to be used.


    Even though they were facing opposite directions, they still seemed to be discussing a plan as their mouths opened every so often.


    Staring at the two of them, a slight feeling of discomfort emerged in my body... before immediately preceding, as if it had never existed.


    Not ignoring the prickling feeling that had emerged for less than a second, I thought out loud.


    "Am I annoyed...?"


    Confirming the feeling, I continued gazing at Liam and Ruby as they discussed.


    Realizing that the feeling was still there, I placed my hand on my body, confirming that nothing was off.


    Why was I being... jealous?


    Ruby was simply hanging out with the main cast because she had to do so in order to not seem suspicious to both the school and her villain supervisors, who wanted information.


    Even though I doubted that Ruby was actually feeding information, the Gemstone Order was probably already happy with having an agent already so deeply embedded in the Celestial Academy.


    There was also the possibility that Ruby had left the Gemstone order for the main cast.


    Both possibilities explained why Ruby was with the main cast.


    And from my observation, I could tell that Ruby enjoyed spending time with Irene, a member of the main cast.


    Lily, who had recruited Ruby to the main cast, simply wanted to reform her as she knew Ruby would become a villain, like Irene, with her future knowledge from the book.


    The one thing Lily didn''t know was that Ruby had already become a villain far before entering the academy.


    It was a contractual relationship between her and the main cast; that was all.


    In the past, I had been fine with it, even encouraging it.


    Ruby, having joined the Gemstone Order at a young age, had probably lived a not-so-good life as she had to resort to becoming a villain so early on.


    However, with the main cast, she could rectify that and live a good life where she was treated as a hero and had all the things she wanted, including friends and freedom.


    But then, what was my relationship with Ruby?


    A friendly one, perhaps... or maybe something more positive... or more negative.


    Sighing, I kept my gaze on the two as they discussed, not allowing the prickling feeling to bother me.


    As my eyes glowed with a fiery red intensity, I immediately realized that I was staring too hard.


    However, before I could look away, Ruby, perhaps sensing a gaze on her, twisted around.


    Liam, who was tied to her, also got pulled around and yelped in pain; however, Ruby continued looking around.


    As I was turning away, Ruby seemed to pause his twisting and look in my direction.


    Was she looking at me?


    Sighing, I fully turned around and ignored her gaze.


    If Ruby found me, Liam would find me, too, and that would disrupt my entire plan.


    Taking out my smartwatch, I was about to send a text to ensure that, just in case she was looking for me, she knew I wasn''t ignoring her because I wanted to.


    However, as I clicked on the messages application, a familiar error screen popped up.


    [You do not have Wifi or any internet connection. Please check with your school administrator if you believe this to be a mistake!]


    Putting down my smartwatch slowly, I watched as the second-years went first.


    After making it up the stairs, the two stood on the thin metal tube, with their backs touching each other.


    The two of them carefully side-step forward in unison, slowly gaining distance.


    However, one of the students sidestepped too far forward, causing both of them to lose balance.


    The next second, both students plummeted to the floor.


    Next up were Ruby and Liam, who employed the exact same strategy as the second-years.


    However, unlike them, Ruby and Liam were in sync, easily passing the point where the second-years fell.


    As the two of them neared the middle of the balance beam, the first-year bleachers started screaming louder than ever.


    "GET TO THE END!"


    "YOU TWO CAN DO THIS!"


    "DO IT FOR US...WE FORGIVE YOU FOR THE BATTLE ROYALE!"


    On the other hand, Professor Robinson... and admittedly, I, stood silent and still just watching the two of them.


    I was never much of a screamer or one to make a scene.


    Then, a second later, Ruby extended her foot too far right, causing Liam to be pulled backward.


    *BANG*


    Just like their predecessors, the two of them plunged to the floor where the teacher was waiting with his spell, ready to untangle their arms.


    Slightly less interested now, I watched as the two third-year girls with opposing appearances stepped onto the balance beam.


    Instead of being back-to-back and slowly sidestepping forward like the previous pairs, the two girls were actually facing each other.


    Surprising everyone even more, the two girls didn''t even bother to plan their steps and immediately started moving.


    They seemed to be in sync as they easily passed the point of the second-years... and in a few seconds, the point of the first-years, Ruby and Liam.


    Speeding their pace to the jog, the girls seemed to be in complete unity as they jogged at the same pace with the same balance all the way across the balance beam.


    Jumping off the balance beam, the girls simply bowed before turning to the teacher and having their arms disentangled.


    As the scoreboard updated, giving the third-years ten points, the bleacher of the third-years erupted into cheers.


    "WE DID IT!!!"


    "I''m gonna be honest... I didn''t see it at first... but I was GRAVELY MISTAKEN!"

 Chapter 257 - 257:Assembly [2]

    While the cheers of the third-years continued echoing throughout the building, Liam and Ruby rapidly returned to their seats.


    Although, you would expect the first-years to be mad Liam and Ruby hadn''t won the event and had cost them points, no one said anything.


    After the war, during the battle royale... they seemed to learn their lesson.


    On the other hand, the second-year students returned to their seats under the shameful gazes and disapproving nods of their classmates.


    As the cheering came to a close and all the students returned, the principal stepped forward onto the stage once again.


    Staring at the area where the balance beam was, Principal Seraphina snapped her figures, causing a huge bout of fog to appear.


    The fog colored a light grey, encapsulated the entire center of the multipurpose building, preventing anyone from seeing the balance beam.


    A second later, the fog disappeared.


    No longer was there a balance beam... but three gigantic podiums stood, each facing the stage.


    Smiling, Seraphina paced around the stage for a couple of seconds before finally announcing.


    "Anyone up for a game of trivia?"


    "ME!"


    "PLEASE ME!"


    "CHOOSE ME, I''LL 100% WIN!"


    Ignoring the cheers of the desperate students who wanted to volunteer and win individual prizes, Seraphina continued.


    "The winners of the balance beam have received an award of...A FREE VACATION. That''s right; on the academy''s money, the two girls will get an all-expenses paid free vacation!"


    Pausing for a moment, Seraphina allowed the students to gasp in shock before stepping forward.


    Then, an overexaggerated voice, Seraphina said.


    "FOR THIS EVENT, THE INDIVIDUAL WHO WINS WILL RECEIVE... A....TOP OF THE LINE PRIVATE AND PERSONAL CHEF FOR ONE WEEK!"


    "...are they trying to tempt me...?"


    Sighing, I shook my head.


    I couldn''t compete...right?


    Who cared about a personal chef?


    I was going to rob the principal''s vault, where magical artifacts beyond comprehension were probably held!


    Why do I risk it all just to win some stupid personal chef that I don''t even need!? Right?


    Though I tried to push the thought of competing down, it kept emerging and replaying in my head.


    Inhaling, I watched closely as another teacher, who had long black hair and blue eyes, approached the bleachers.


    Pausing for a moment in front of the bleachers, the blue-eyed teacher seemed to think for a moment before raising her hand.


    Then, in a swift motion, she flicked her hands upward and pointed at the center of the bleachers.


    "Dak, you''re up. Win for us... or suffer the consequences. Just remember, I''m your teacher, so you''re representing me when you get up there."


    As the unknown student gulped and got up from his seat, I leaned back in my chair.


    It was trivia anyway; I wouldn''t have been able to win...yeah, so it doesn''t matter!


    Gaining some confidence from the cheers of the first-years behind him, the unknown student confidently sauntered down the stairs.


    Approaching the end of the bleacher stairs, the unknown student raised his hands before cockily turning around.


    Waving his hands up and down, the unknown student smiled upon hearing countless more cheers.


    Still facing the students, the unknown student, for whatever reason, stepped backward.


    *BANG*


    A second later, he overstepped his back foot and landed back-first on the hard floor of the multipurpose building.


    "..."


    Almost instantly, the cheering displayed was replaced with a deathly silence.


    "..."


    Staring at her student lying down on the floor, the black-haired and blue-eyed teacher simply sighed as if she had somewhat expected this outcome.


    Waving her hands up and down, the teacher looked at the bleacher of first-year students before yelling.


    "Anyone else wants to give it a try?"


    This had to be a second chance!


    This world''s creator had granted me on... I couldn''t pass up on it now! S~ea??h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Without any hesitation whatsoever, I reached over to Jin and grabbed Han.


    Then, using my C-rank strength, which far surpassed the other students, I lifted Han up, making him visible even though we were at the back of the bleachers.


    Then, with Han above me, I yelled out.


    "ME! ME! ME!"


    "ME!"


    "..."


    Noticing the student practically floating in the air, the blue-eyed teacher sighed before saying.


    "Alright, you in the back, you''re up."


    Looking back at her student, who was still slumped on the ground, the teacher sighed before continuing.


    "I''ll take this one to the nurse..."


    Jin, who had been staring at me with a smile upon seeing me lift Han up, exclaimed.


    "I know you can win if you try your hardest, H-"


    Han, now sitting back down, angrily glared at Jin and me.


    "Don''t bullshit me, you two probably had this planned from the start, didn''t you!?"


    In unison, both JIn and I shook our heads.


    After pausing for a moment, Han continued and angrily exclaimed.


    "I''M NOT GOING UP T-"


    Interrupting Han mid-sentence, I pointed downward at basically every student in the first year.


    All of them were staring at Han with expectant, jealous, and curious gazes.


    Smiling, I patted Han on the shoulder and said.


    "You sure?"


    "Are you fu-"


    Stopping Han mid-sentence, I forced a decently sized piece of physical corruption into his palm.


    "You know, I wouldn''t set you up for failure, right? Just trust me, alright?"


    Pausing for a moment, I added.


    "If you really don''t want to go, I''ll go for you right now. I''m sure they won''t care if I go instead of you."


    Sighing, Han shook his head.


    "No...I still owe you for the battle royale placement rank."


    Looking down at the physical piece of corruption in his hands, Han questioned.


    "...and what exactly am I supposed to do with this?"


    "Whenever it''s your turn to answer, look at it. The answer will displayed on it. Oh, and make sure to cover it so people can''t see."


    Playing with the physical piece of corruption, which resembled black play dough from Earth, Han sighed before reluctantly stepping forward.


    "If I lose, so help me god, Ren... you are so damn screwed."

 Chapter 258 - 258:Assembly [3]

    Folding under the pressure of the first-year gazes, Han walked down the bleachers stairs, making sure not to lose his step.


    Shifting my gaze away from Han, I curiously turned to face Jin.


    Seeing him meet my gaze, I curiously asked.


    "Why''d you go along with it? I mean, I didn''t tell I was going to get Han selected, did I?"


    Placing his finger under his chin, Jin seemed to think for a moment before remarking.


    "Well, I know you''re somehow going to find a way to win, so I''m not worried about Han... and a private chef for a week sounds amazing!"


    Stopping for a moment mid-thought, Jin scanned my body for a moment before asking.


    "And why... did you choose Han to go up and not me, Ren?"


    "...b-because, i-it would be too easy for us to win if you went up!"


    Shaking his head, Jin smirked before leaning back in his seat and watching Han.


    Standing a distance from the first-year bleachers, Han placed his hands on the lecture right before him.


    To his right and left were two students from the third and second years.


    The second-year student was a female with golden-blonde hair that was tied up in ponytails and amber-brown eyes.


    The third-year student was a boy with jet-black hair and matching jet-black eyes.


    The upperclassman did not seem nervous at us compared to Han, who kept glancing at the palm of his hand.


    Rubbing my hands together, I scooted over so that I was right next to Jin.


    Placing my mouth to his ear, I quietly whispered.


    "You search for the questions on your smartwatch. I type them and send them to Han. All right?"


    After taking a moment to comprehend my words, Jin hesitated before whispering back.


    "...how am I supposed to search things up if there''s no internet, though?"


    Having thought of this problem already, I sighed before pulling out my personal smartwatch, which was a different color from my school''s.


    I thought that there was a possibility that the djinns could have used some method to black communication between school devices, so I had brought an extra smartwatch just in case.


    Handing it to Jin, I replied.


    "Use this one."


    Taking the smartwatch, Jin played around with it for a second before confirming that it indeed had an internet connection.


    As Jin continued messing around with the smartwatch and becoming familiar with it, Seraphina realized that all the representatives had been chosen.


    Staring at the three students, each in front of a lecture, in front of her, Seraphina announced.


    "Please wait a moment."


    At that moment, a teacher from each year stepped forward before pointing their wands at the first, second, and third-year bleachers.


    A second later, a massive bubble appeared, encapsulating the bleachers and the few students sitting in the chairs right before it.


    This happened with every other bleacher unit; finally, there were three big bubbles covering each bleacher in the building.


    Seeing the students'' confusion, Seraphina continued announcing.


    "From now on, you will be able to hear me... but I won''t be able to hear you. This bubble blocks any noise from you guys reaching the representatives."


    Staying silent for a moment, Seraphina stared around before pointing to a book that had appeared in her hands.


    "I will start the questions now... so representatives, be ready!"


    "After I ask a question, if you believe that you know the answer, tap the red button on your lecture."


    "The first student to tap the red button AFTER I''VE FINISHED ASKING THE QUESTION will answer the question and will receive a point if they get it correct."


    "If this first student gets the wrong answer, another representative will have the opportunity to steal this question, and the student with the incorrect answer will lose a point."


    Opening the book to some random page, Seraphina continued.


    "Does everyone understand?"


    "Yep."


    "Yes."


    "Indeed."


    Hearing the three students confirm that they were ready and understood the instructions, Seraphina began.


    "In what year was Celestial Academy established?"


    Staring at Jin, I watched as he frantically typed.


    A moment later, Jin whispered to me.


    "SEVETEEN YEARS AGO."


    Not skipping a single second, I changed the form of the physical corruption in Han''s hand, so that it formed a seventee.


    *BOOM*


    Hearing the first buzzer go up, Principal Seraphina raised her hand before pointing at the source of the noise.


    "Second-year representative, what is your answer?"


    Without any hesitation, the blonde girl eagerly said.


    "Seventeen years ago!"


    After confirming that the answer was correct, Seraphina announced.


    "Correct, that''s one point for the second-years!"


    Turning to Jin beside me, I said.


    "We have to be faster."


    Nodding his head, Jin stared at me with one of the most serious expressions I had ever seen on him before solemnly replying.


    "I understand."


    ...were the two of us really taking this more seriously than the battle royale!?


    I mean, we had just napped around for some time in the battle royale, and now, here we were, hyping ourselves up for some trivia game!


    *BOOM*


    "First-year representative... again, what is your answer?"


    "The Celestial Academy''s mascot is the bald eagle!"


    "Correct... that''s four straight points for the first-years. One more point... and he''ll win it all. The second-years have one point... and the third-years are in last place with 0."


    Although Han couldn''t hear it, the first-year bleachers erupted in cheers at his correct answer.


    "ONE MORE, YOU GOT THIS!"


    "I''M GLAD THE OTHER GUY GOT INJURED... BECAUSE WE GOT YOU INSTEAD!"


    "HAVE MY KIDS!"


    "...?"


    Ignoring the last cheer... which came from a man''s mouth, I sighed before turning to Jin.


    Jin''s palms were sweating, and his hands were trembling as his gaze was locked onto the smartwatch.


    Nodding my head in approval, I said.


    "One more, Jin.."


    Perhaps too focused on the screen of the smartwatch, Jin stayed silent and ignored my question.


    Patting him on the shoulder, I replied.


    "Imagine it... just imagine the five-star food we''ll get every week from the private chef."


    "Can you smell it, Jin? SMELL IT! IT SMELLS LIKE VICTORY!"


    sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 259 - 259:Assembly [4]

    Finally moving in response to my loud voice, Jin simply turned to me and gave me a thumbs up before returning his faithful gaze to the smartwatch before him.


    Although he couldn''t see it, I also gave him a thumbs-up before prepping my hands.


    Changing the form of corruption on Jin''s hands was just like drawing.


    I positioned my right hand as I was holding a pencil, and my left hand was flat as if it were a canvas waiting to be written on.


    Raising the imaginary pencil in my right hand, I closed my eyes for a second before locking my gaze onto the canvas, or my flat left hand, below me.


    After a bit of hesitation to build up hype, Principal Seraphina flipped to another page of the book that she was holding before opening her mouth.


    "What was the original name of the body of water that is currently surrounding the academy''s island? Please note, I am asking for the original name... not the current name."


    Raising my hand, I heard the sound of Jin''s fingers bashing against the screen of the smartwatch.


    ...is my smartwatch screen going to be fine after all this!? What if it gets cracked!?


    Clearing my head of stupid thoughts, I immediately plunged my finger downwards towards my left hand as Jin spoke.


    "HALF-MOON BAY!"


    As the corruption in Han''s hand began to take shape, I rapidly drew out the letters "Half-Moon Bay" onto the palm of my left hand.


    There was a bit of delay between my drawing and the corruption as the corruption moved slower than my hand.


    Finishing my drawing of the letter, I flicked my head upwards and peered to the center of the stage, locking my gaze on Han.


    In unison, Han silently raised the palm of his hand with the corruption, glanced at it, and then immediately lowered it.


    His hand was partially hidden from the lecture in front of him, so unless you were right in front of him, you wouldn''t have been able to see him subtly raising his hand.


    Of course, my amazing eyesight bypassed that restriction.


    Silently thanking my eyes, I watched with anticipation as Han slammed his hand down on the buzzer in front of him


    *BOOM*


    Hearing the buzzer, Principal Seraphina didn''t even bother to glance at the other students, who were silent and ashamed.


    Sighing and looking at that book, Seraphina asked.


    "First-year representative... for the game-winner point. What is your answer?"


    Han, now having full trust in our answers as we had helped him over three times by now, confidently raised his hand.


    "Half-Moon bay is my final and only answer."


    Without even waiting to see if the answer was confirmed by Principal Seraphina, Han turned around to face the first-year bleachers.


    Looking at his fellow classmates, who were silent to him due to the gigantic bubble around all the bleachers, Han raised his hands.


    At the same time, Seraphina slammed shut the book before announcing.


    "That is correct...congratulations, first-years! For winning the trivia event, you have won ten points! First-years are now officially on the leaderboard!"


    In unison, the bubble surrounding all the bleachers popped, allowing the screams and cheers of the first-year students to be set free.


    Everyone on the bleachers stood up and raised their hands, imitating Han, while cheering louder than both the second and third-year combined.


    "EASY WIN!"


    "WHO SAID WE''RE FUCKED!?"


    "SORRY, SECOND-YEARS, CAN''T YOU HEAR YOU FROM ALL THE DOWN AT THE BOTTOM!"


    "I JUST WON 10 GOLD FROM A BET...YOU SAVED ME, HAN!"


    Han, paying no mind to the cheers, nonchalantly walked straight back to the bleachers without uttering a single word.


    As Han stepped foot onto the bleacher, the crowd of students at the front extended their hands in front of him.


    Staring at the hands, Han walked up the stairs while high-fiving every single person as he passed.


    Reaching the last row, Han put down his hand before silently sitting next to Jin and me.


    Staring at Han''s emotionless face, I couldn''t help but blurt out.


    "And, who the fuck do you think you are?"


    Who the hell was this!?


    Where was my smart and always concerned Han?


    We already had the confident and cocky one in the group, Jin!


    I don''t know if my mind can handle having two Jins in the same group...


    Jin, breaking into laughter at my statement, also stared at the bold-faced Han with an expression of disbelief.


    "What, Han? You got a bit of fame, and now you''ve decided to become Ren for a day?"


    "...?"


    Staring at Han after hearing Jin''s words, the thought suddenly entered my head.


    ...is this what I look like?


    "...god damn, I am such an asshole."


    Feeling a pat on my shoulder, I turned to face Jin, who grinned and replied. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "At least you''re self-aware!"


    Han, no longer able to keep up the fake image of boldness, burst into laughter at Jin''s words.


    Desperately trying to cover his mouth and keep his expression neutral, Han stuttered out.


    "Ahhhh, just another day in the life."


    In unison, both Jin and I questioned.


    "...are you done now, Han?"


    Leaning back, Han returned to his normal expression, with his eyebrows raised, and nodded his head.


    As Principal Seraphina left the stage to prepare for the next event, Jin energetically said.


    "Aren''t we forgetting something..? WE''RE GETTING A FREE PRIVATE CHEF FOR A WEEK! NO MORE OF THAT SHITTY AND COLD CAFETERIA FOOD!"


    Nodding my head in approval of Jin''s sentiment, I looked at Han.


    Then, in an unbelievable turn of events, Han looked confused.


    With an emotionless tone, Han shrugged his shoulder and asked.


    "Who''s ''we?'' "


    "..."


    "..."


    Feeling the pressure of our two gazes, Han folded and returned to his original face before laughing and muttering.


    "haha... guys, I''m just kidding!"


    Looking at the opposing bleachers, I saw the second-years were somewhat panicking while the third-years keenly observed the center of the multipurpose building.


    Ah, did I forget to mention something?


    The year with the lowest amount of points at the end of the assembly is forced to spend a week cleaning the school''s facilities.

 Chapter 260 - 260:Assembly [5]

    The indivudiual rewards like the all-expense paid vacation and private chef that the three of us were receive weren''t cheap.


    The school needed some way to get back a portion of the money they had spent on this massive event.


    So...they gave the cleaning staff and janitors a week-paid break after the Winter Wonderland event was over.


    During this week, the year with the lowest amount of points would be forced to clean the school.


    These tasks included mopping the floor, cleaning walls, picking up trash, rearranging chairs... and even cleaning the bathrooms.


    After school, every single student in the year would be forced to clean for over three hours a day.


    Needless to say, no year wanted to do it.


    And staring at the scoreboard, which displayed the first and third years tied for first with ten points and the second years at zero, I could see tensions were growing.


    Shaking my head, I patted my two friends on the back before standing up.


    Everyone in front of us on the bleachers was already standing up to see the stage more clearly, so it wasn''t abnormal.


    There was one more event until the emergency alarm was pulled, so I needed to sort some things out.


    Looking down at my two confused friends, who were still sitting, I said.


    "Can you take care of my friend for a second?"


    Staring at each other in unison with annoyed expressions, Han sighed before asking.


    "Are you really planning on leaving your clone here with us and just taking off?"


    During the battle royale, I had introduced and acquainted Jin and Han with the corrupted figure as it was necessary for the plan to succeed.


    Shaking my head at the two''s annoyed gazes, I explained once again.


    "No, it''s the opposite, actually."


    Lily had known about my corrupted figure from the start, as in our dream, I had used it to fight Zach, who at that time was possessed by the spirit.


    And, by now, she had probably noticed that I had used it during our fight in the battle royale.


    She had seen me above ground on the surface, fighting Kevin and Jin, and Alya had seen me in the underground space.


    Leaning down and hiding in front of the standing figures in the row in front of me, I manifested a small physical piece of corruption in my pocket.


    After a second, I placed that small piece of corruption on the ground before sitting back down.


    Then, I manifested two more pieces of physical corruption before turning to Jin and Han.


    After gesturing for the two of them to open their arms, I placed the piece of physical corruption into their hands.


    "Could you place it in your pocket?"


    Seeing them reluctantly place the piece of corruption in their pockets, I said.


    "Well, it''s quite simple from here. When I say "GO!" take the thing out of your pocket and throw it on the ground."


    Manifesting a detailed clone of me with the exact same structure required a lot of corruption and energy.


    But... manifesting a couple of undetailed figures that barely resembled me did not.


    And with this many people around, the two would basically be the same to anyone''s eye besides mine.


    Jin, nodding his head, raised his hand before saying.


    "One condition."


    "And that is?"


    "Tell us what it''s for."


    Leaning back and resting my hands, I simply shrugged my shoulders and replied.


    "Today just feels like one of those days, you know!"


    Han, with a suspicious and confused expression on his face, slowly asked.


    "You still haven''t answered the question, Ren."


    Looking upwards at the sky-high ceiling of the multipurpose building, I calmly replied.


    "Han, you know, if you don''t take risks, you can''t create a future."


    From beside me, Jin immediately responded.


    "That still not an answer, Ren."


    Extending both of my arms in opposite directions, I wrapped my hands around the shoulders of both Jin and Han.


    Pulling them closer to me, I quietly whispered into both of their ears.


    "You know, Principal Serpahina has been pissing me off recently...so it''s about time for some revenge."


    "..."


    "..."


    "...you''re talking about Principal Seraphina, the world-class magical and top-ranked hero in the entire world, right Ren? That''s the person who you''re planning to get revenge on, right?"


    Bringing their ears to my mouth, I slowly nodded my head before replying to Han''s troubled expression. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Someone has to stand up for what''s right, Han! And...if no one else will, I will!"


    Jin, honestly thinking this was a joke, played along and asked.


    "What exactly did Principal Serpahina do... to incur your might wrath, Ren?"


    "...she forgot my name."


    Recalling a moment from long ago, when I had just returned to the Celestial Academy from my suspension, a prickling feeling appeared in my chest.


    When I was turning in my apology letter, Principal Seraphina was there.


    And, instead of saying "hi" or "hello," she walked right past me!


    In all reality, I wasn''t mad or anything, but I needed a reason to convince Han and Jin... and that was the only realistic one I could come up with.


    What else could I say?


    She killed my dog, so I wanted to get revenge on her.


    Han, knowing from the piece of corruption that I had given them that I wasn''t being sarcastic, sighed.


    "There are over eight hundred students in the school, Ren; why would she r-"


    Shaking my head, I patted Han on the shoulder before swiftly replying.


    "Han...this is why you''re hardstuck gold in Mystic Brawl."


    "...AND WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING WE''RE TALKING ABOUT!?"


    Looking down at the piece of corruption I had left on the floor, I grinned and replied.


    "Honestly, I just wanted to bring it up; I can''t lie. You''ve been getting way too cocky since that whole trivia thing win."


    "..."


    "...IT HASN''T EVEN BEEN FIVE MINUTES SINCE I WON!?"


    Jin, seeing my vision like a true friend, chimed in from the other side.


    "See, here you go again, bringing it up. Like we know you won, alright, Han?"

 Chapter 261 - 261:Clones [1]

    Chuckling at Han''s furious expression, Jin and I leaned back while closing our eyes.


    Han, realizing our joke, regained his composure and sighed before joining us.


    Hearing some commotion arise and more students starting to stand up, I attempted to lean forward to see the stage.


    However, my arms were linked around the shoulders of Jin and Han, and they were leaning back.


    Unable to push myself upward, I leaned against the wall of the multipurpose building with Han and Jin beside me.


    With my eyes still closed, I attempted to discern what the students nearby were saying.


    "NO WAY, IS THAT A _*__"


    "IT IS A ___*__"


    "WHAT THE FUCK...HOW DID THEY GET A D__*"


    ...?


    According to my memory... which I admit is pretty blurry at this point, the next event for this assembly was supposed to be an agility game.


    The principal and faculty teachers were going to set up an obstacle course in the middle of the multipurpose building, and students would compete to see who got the fastest score.


    But why did it have such a big reaction?


    It was just a normal obstacle course, wasn''t it?


    Without even opening my eyes to look, I could tell that something was wrong.


    The event must have been replaced.


    "...ah."


    The principal knew about the emergency alarm and the djinn attack, didn''t she?


    Having an obstacle course while the emergency alarm went off would be terrible.


    The students inside the obstacle course wouldn''t be able to escape and be forced to stay in the multipurpose building until they eventually did.


    In contrast, the principal probably wanted to clear out the multipurpose building as soon as possible to find and kill the djinns before they could attack any students.


    Removing my arm from Han and Jin''s shoulders, I leaned forward, opened my eyes, and peered toward the area right below the stage.


    "...holy shit."


    Even I couldn''t hold back my surprise when I saw a massive and mystical creature simply standing there.


    "...is that a damn griffin!?"


    Staring at the figure with a lion-like body... but two massive wings emerged from both sides of it, I sighed out loud.


    The fur at the top half of the griffin was a pure-white, except for its golden beak, while the rest of its body was colored a dark brown.


    The griffin was a very rare creature, even in this world where magical beasts were seen quite often, with there only being about a hundred in existence.


    And that number was rapidly decreasing.


    They were either obtained by randomly finding them in the wildness... or receiving them as a reward for completing a dream


    However, killing magical beasts like the griffin gave special magical items that could be used to craft very powerful items, so griffins were often killed instead of used.


    But...this wasn''t just any griffin, was it?


    No, it was Liam''s griffin.


    The griffin that Liam would tame later on in the story and keep with him until the very end when he fought the final villain.


    A griffin is so powerful that people used to shake in fear just from seeing it fly in the sky.


    Also...there was another reason why the griffin was so powerful and useful to Liam.


    It had a special ability called "Purity Checker."


    Yes...this griffin could, similar to Ruby, look into the souls or bodies of people with its eyes and determine if they had good intentions or bad intentions.


    That meant Liam, unlike many others, could identify undercover villains and djinns with his griffin.


    This allowed him to cleanse out the Celestial Academy of all its criminals with the help of Seraphina in his third year.


    Usually, I would be fine with this as I, of course, had amazing and good moral intentions.


    I wanted to save the world... how much more morally good could I get!?


    The problem, then?


    The griffin doesn''t see your entire purity and morality... it just sees it at this moment.


    And what was I planning to do at this moment?


    Break and enter into the principal vault in an attempt to steal some stupidly powerful magical artifact that could help me.


    ...that''s not very morally good, is it?


    Some people might say that Griffin''s ability wouldn''t work, as pretty much every student in this room has a morally bad thing they want to do right now.


    Like wanting to win the event to get individual rewards... or other bad things that aren''t even related to the assembly.


    But, the griffin has the ability to distinguish between their severity and whether they are actually planning to carry it out.


    Most people here have selfish things they want to do, but either restraints are in the way, or they don''t have the courage or confidence to do it.


    On the other hand, I am genuinely carrying it out, so the griffin would most likely notice me and see my bad morals.


    Ducking downwards, I hid behind the standing figures of the people in the row in front of me.


    There were at least eight hundred people in this room, so the odds that the griffin randomly decided to examine my soul were low.


    Unless...someone commanded it to.


    That person, whether it was Liam or the principal, could figure out I was up to something bad and preemptively stop me.


    Han and Jin, also leaning forward, just glanced at the massive griffin in the middle of the room before also turning away.


    It seemed that they also knew about its ability to examine souls.


    Seeing them hide next to me, I curiously asked.


    "And why are you guys hiding from it?"


    In unison, the two replied.


    "And why exactly are you hiding, Ren?"


    Shaking my head, I sighed and pulled them back to their seats.


    "It won''t notice you unless you''re actually planning to do whatever bad thing you''re thinking about."


    Escaping my grasp, the two immediately ducked down again before replying. 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 WE ARE PLANNING TO DO IT!"

 Chapter 262 - 262:Clones [2]

    Chuckling at the seriousness of their words, I sighed before also hiding with them.


    It was normal for them to be paranoid.


    Imagine a creature that can essentially read your mind and see if you have good or bad intentions just appears.


    However, this ability of the griffins was different from Ruby, who could actually see a soul''s size and see its specific desire at all times, rather than just one moment.


    The griffin could see the morality of an intention, which is solely what you''re planning to do at this moment and nothing else.


    Whereas Ruby read and saw your soul as a whole, reading the desire of your whole life and how badly you want it or the size of its flame.


    "wait... why am I even thinking about Ruby right now?"


    Clearing my face and thoughts, I stared down at the griffin, trying to form a new plan.


    The griffin had keen eyesight as a magical beast... maybe even similar to mine.


    Right now, I was hidden by people, and like me, the griffin couldn''t see through physical objects, so I was fine.


    But, when the emergency alarm went off, and the crowd rushed out, the griffin would be able to identify me.


    So, sending clones of me out wouldn''t work.


    I had to confuse and distract the griffin...


    "wait...what if I?"


    Finding something, I ignored the principal walking up to the stage and retrieved all my physical pieces of corruption.


    "Give the black thing back."


    "... right."


    After retrieving my physical pieces of corruption from Jin, Han, and the floor, I stared at them before reshaping them.


    As the shape of the corruption changed and the weight altered in my hands, I smiled.


    They weren''t clones of me anymore.


    Keeping the physical pieces of corruption with me, I kept my head down to avoid the griffin''s gaze and intently listened.


    Within a few moments, the principal''s voice echoed throughout the multipurpose building.


    "For this next event... as you can see, we have a very special guest with us!"


    After a short pause, Seraphina continued.


    "In this event, you will have to hang on to this griffin''s body for as long as possible without it shaking you off!"


    So, like those carnival games where you get on the mechanical bull and have to stay on it while it tries to throw you off...


    As Seraphina''s last words echoed, the entire crowd of first-years in front of us jumped up and down in excitement.


    They didn''t even want to win the individual reward...they just wanted to touch and ride a griffin.


    As the cheers got louder, I eventually gathered the courage to peek my head for a moment before immediately ducking back down.


    Within that short second, I spotted a very familiar figure walking over to the bleachers, who was obviously coming to choose the first-year participant.


    "Professor Zia... I swear to fucking god if you choose me."


    I had put up with her bullshit choice of making me class representative... but this was too damn far.


    Surely, she wouldn''t choose me.


    Surely.


    Jin and Han, hearing my anger and furious muttering, also peered their heads up for a moment before hiding again.


    Patting me on the back, Jin said.


    "...Ren, there''s no way Professor Zia hates you this much."


    Nodding my head, I sighed before basically lying down on the floor of the bleachers to hide myself.


    Professor Zia knows of my incident with Liam at the start of the year, so she should think I''m a person with immoral intentions.


    That means she won''t choose me, right?


    Right?


    However, despite Professor Zia having to be near the bleachers now with the pace she was walking with, when I glanced upward, nothing was said.


    Eventually, the students in front of us began to whisper.


    "Why hasn''t she chosen anyone!?"


    "...IS SHE LOOKING FOR SOMEONE OR SOMETHING!?"


    "HEY, NO TEACHER BIAST ALLOWED...CHOOSE RANDOMLY!"


    "CHOOSE ME! CHOOSE ME! PLEASE CHOOSE ME!"


    Yes... choose him, PLEASE!


    Not daring to peek my head for a single moment, I stared at Jin and Han. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Professor Zia knew I would be with the two of them, and it was just a matter of time until they found Jin and Han as they kept peaking their heads up.


    Giving a quick wave, I was about to start crawling away when a sudden voice sounded from ahead of me.


    " *ahem* The principal has told me to pick a specific student... but it seems like he is not an attendance, which is not very surprising to me."


    "..."


    "Instead, I will be choosing someone at random."


    "...oh Lily, you''re the first person I saw. Will you please go up instead?"


    Letting out a sight of relief, I vowed to personally thank Professor Zia the next time I saw her in class.


    Also... really, Principal Seraphina?


    She really told the teachers to choose me specifically for this event!?


    I mean, it wouldn''t be far-fetched to the teachers considering the fame I was gaining for winning the battle royale, but still, she was targeting me!


    Disapprovingly shaking my head, I remained hiding with Jin and Han, just patiently waiting for the alarm to go off.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Back at the front of the bleachers, the main cast stared at Lily with confused expressions.


    Ren was definitely here in the room...Liam had literally seen him enter when he was secretly guarding the doors!


    Identifying Ren as someone with bad intentions through the use of the griffin would take a huge weight off their back as they wouldn''t have to guess anymore if Ren was participating or not.


    Lily, staring at Professor Zia in front of her, sighed.


    She couldn''t decline and just say Ren was actually somewhere here.


    Only the teachers were supposed to know that Ren was the student to be picked for this event.


    So, Lily would be revealing the fact that the principal and the main cast were partnered.


    Nodding her head, Lily reluctantly got up before heading towards the griffin that was right below the stage.

 Chapter 263 - 263:Clones [3]

    There was another reason why the griffin was this next event.


    While Ren was a huge threat to their plan and needed to be taken care of, taking out a griffin for the sole purpose of identifying him was way too much.


    Instead, they brought out the griffin just in case the worst happened.


    In the end, the principal and main cast valued the lives of the students over the principal''s vault.


    So, if they had to choose between saving the students and the vault, the vault would be robbed while the students were fine.


    In case that scenario happened, the principal decided to bring one of the most valuable things from her vault.


    The griffin.


    Although the main cast didn''t get to see the inside of the vault, knowing the griffin was there, and not even the most valuable thing in the vault, made them even more curious about what else was inside the infamous vault.


    Walking towards the vicinity of the griffin, Lily spotted two other students approaching as well. S~ea??h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    From her right, a second-year boy approached with blonde hair that was parted in the middle to reveal his forehead and matching yellow eyes.


    To her left, a third-year girl was walking with jet-black hair, which was tied into one long ponytail, and dark red eyes.


    "...she''s oddly similar to someone else I know, isn''t she!?"


    Shaking her head and dismissing the coincidence as something random, Lily stood before the griffin.


    Although it was invisible to everyone else, Lily could feel the magic barrier in front of her due to the massive amounts of mana particles gathered together.


    Twisting her head, Lily stared at Principal Seraphina.


    And... Principal Seraphina stared right back at Lily with a confused expression.


    In response to the principal''s gaze, Lily simply shrugged her shoulders before pointing at Professor Zia, who was still examining the bleachers for some reason.


    After shaking her head for a moment, Principal Seraphina gave Lily a thumbs up, basically saying, "Well... the show must go on!"


    Looking away from the principal, Lily stared at the majestic griffin in front of her.


    It was like... a combination of an eagle and a lion from Earth.


    An eagle, known for its tenacity and fearlessness, combined with a lion, an animal celebrated for its noble and bold appearance.


    Surprisingly, the griffin, the product of the two animals, actually lived up to or maybe exceeded the lion and eagle''s reputation.


    The second-year and third-year also carefully observed the griffin, looking for the best mounts to mount it.


    Lily, shaking her head, took a quick glance at the chairs where the main cast was sitting.


    Near the end or in the middle of the event, the emergency alarm would go off.


    So, Lily had to be ready to hop off the griffin and run towards the exit.


    Currently, Astrid, or the student council president, was supposed to be in charge of following Ren.


    However, considering that Professor Zia hadn''t even found him in the bleachers, it was likely that Astrid was lost as well.


    Or maybe, by some miracle, Astrid had managed to locate him.


    The main cast and Lily''s job was to eliminate any possible threats that could throw off their plan.


    Principal Seraphina and the unknowingly recruited Kaneki and Kazuki were to take care of the more serious threats like the djinns, who would actually kill and harm students.


    While Seraphina and the two alumni of Celestial Academy took care of protecting the students, the main cast would venture underground to temporarily guard the vault.


    And, once the safety of the students was ensured, which should be quite fast considering the recent construction of the courtyard that had been specifically done to stop djinns, Seraphina would help protect the vault as well.


    Dismissing her thoughts, Lily stared at the bigger problem that lay in front of her.


    After Ren''s fight against both Kevin and Liam simultaneously during the battle royale, the reputation of the main cast takes a plunge.


    The once group of students, who were thought to be unbeatable and all-powerful, had almost lost to a former creep.


    Needless to say, their prestige had taken a steep downfall.


    While no one dared say it to their faces, they would have to be deaf to not hear the rumors and gossip circulating around the academy.


    And this opportunity to reclaim the main cast''s honors had just been handed to her in the form of winning this event.


    As the mana particles dispersed, dispelling the magical barrier surrounding the griffin, Principal Seraphina''s voice sounded.


    "Contestants, you have thirty seconds to choose your place on the griffin. After that... the last one standing... or clinging to the griffin will be victorious."


    As the last words left her mouth, Principal Seraphina pointed her wand at the griffin before muttering.


    "Sit."


    "Lie down!"


    And like a good dog, the griffin obediently followed the principal''s directions, sitting and then finally lying down on the floor of the multipurpose building.


    "Your time starts now!"


    After a couple of moments of hesitation upon seeing the mythical beast... just lying down on the floor with his back to the ceiling, Lily finally moved.


    Being the first to move and regain her composure, Lily looked for the best spot immediately.


    "The wings...no. The tummy? No... The back...?"


    As Lily began contemplating her options, the black-haired ponytail girl walked towards the griffin.


    Then, without any hesitation, the dark-red eyes girled and sat on the part of the griffin where the body and wings met.


    Within a few moments, Lily also chose her spot, walking over to the head of the griffin, where its golden beak stood.


    Climbing on top of the lying griffin, Lily finally reached her desired place or the right ear of the griffin.


    And finally, the second-year boy decided that the tail of the griffin was the best place.


    Seeing the three contestants all on the griffin, Princiapl Seraphina announced that they had chosen their respective spots.


    "The game will begin...in 3!"


    "2"

 Chapter 264 - 264:Clones [4]

    In unison, Principal Seraphina once again took out her wand before pointing it at the griffin.


    "SHAKE!"


    Almost immediately, the griffin seemed to wake up as its gigantic eyes flicked open.


    Not knowing... or perhaps not caring about the three humans on it, the griffin stood up without any sudden movements.


    Then, like a dog drenched in the water, the griffin began furiously shaking itself without any sign of stopping.


    As the griffin shook left and right, the blonde student at the tail of the griffin desperately clung to its fur.


    However, the tail, being the smallest part of the griffin, easily threw the blonde-haired and yellow-eyed student off.


    Fortunately, the student managed to snatch and cling to the fur at the bottom of the griffin''s tail at the last second.


    With his legs dangling, the student desperately grasped the fur of the griffin.


    On the other hand, the black-haired ponytail student... was quite comfortable.


    When the griffin furiously shook to the right, the student got thrown against the back of the griffin.


    And, when it shook left, the student simply hit the bottom of the griffin''s wing.


    Since the student was between the bottom of the griffin''s wing and the body of it, it was almost impossible for her to fall off in the left and right direction.


    She could still fall front and backward; however, her tight grasp on the fur of the griffin prevented that.


    Finally, Lily used a similar strategy, banging between the ear of the griffin and its head.


    "YOU GOT THIS...FOR THE THIRD-YEARS RENA!"


    "CALEB, DO THIS FOR THE SECOND-YEARS."


    "LILY, WE BELIEVE IN YOU!"


    "I''M SO CONFIDENT THAT I''LL GET A BUZZ CUT IF THE THIRD-YEARS SOMEHOW LOSE!"


    "I''LL SHAVE MY HEAD OFF IF THE SECOND-YEARS LOSE!"


    "... I-i''ll get a normal haircut if the first-years lose..! Yeah! Yeah, let''s go first years!"


    *BAM*


    As a couple of seconds passed by, though, seeming like millions of years to the participants who desperately hung onto the griffin, an eventual bang sound echoed through the auditorium.


    The second-year boy''s descent from the eagle had been so fast that no one had actually realized it until he fell against the hard floor of the multipurpose building.


    For the next ten seconds, the griffin continuedly rapidly shaking its bodies, while the two girls desperately clung on.


    The red-eyed third-year seemed to be in a better situation than Lily, as her expression remained calm and persistent.


    On the other hand, expressions of pain and discomfort leaked onto Lily''s face as her body continuously banged back and forth between the inner ear of the griffin and its head.


    Seeing the situation reach an impasse as neither student refused to let go, Seraphina sighed before pointing her wand at the griffin.


    Principal Seraphina had purposely started off harshly by commanding the griffin to start shaking rapidly so that this event would end as fast as possible.


    At any moment now, the emergency alarm could go off, and Lily, alongside the third-year, would be dizzy, stunned, and stuck on the griffin while the others evacuated.


    As Seraphina''s wand rose, the griffin suddenly stopped and halted its shaking, giving the two girls a moment to recover.


    Then, no more than a second later, Principal Seraphina said while pointing her wand at the griffin.


    "Flip."


    Before the two girls could even comprehend Seraphina''s words, as their brains were stunned, the griffin suddenly moved.


    Then, in a graceful motion, the griffin jumped up in the air... before slowly flipping, its head getting closer to the ceiling with every passing second.


    At the apex of the eagle''s flip, where its beak was at the highest point possible, the two girls now flipped completely and lost their balance.


    Both girls, at the exact same time, lost their grip on the eagle and plummeted towards the floor.


    Lily, having chosen the ear as her spot, was slightly above the third-year girl as they simultaneously began their descent.


    *BANG*


    *BANG*


    As the sound of the students crashing into the floor echoed throughout the multipurpose building, Principal Serpahina immediately announced.


    "LILY... AND THE FIRST-YEARS, CONGRATULATIONS ON F-"


    *EMERECENY. THIS IS NOT A DRILL!*


    *EMERGENCY. THIS IS NOT A DRILL!*


    *ALL STUDENTS EVACUATED TO THE COURTYARD*


    *PLEASE HEAD TO YOUR DESIGNATED CLASS SPOTS*


    *YOUR CLASS REPRESENTATIVE AND CLASSROOM TEACHER WILL TAKE ATTENDANCE*


    Interrupting the principal speeches, the alarms on every wall in the building began to blare with announcements.


    "Are you fucking serious?" S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The entire building remained silent... except for one little mutter that sounded as the last announcement from the alarm played.


    Confused, almost every student in the room gazed at the principal.


    Were they supposed to follow the alarm''s directions... or the principals!?


    Thankfully, the students did not have to choose a side, as not even a moment later, the principal announced.


    "YOU HEARD THE ANNOUNCEMENTS...TO THE COURTYARD."


    A second later, all hell broke loss.


    These were noble and smart students.


    They did not want to die.


    For the principal to have confirmed the alarm, something dangerous had to be going on.


    ...and they wanted to be no way near it.


    Students began jumping off the bleacher, rudely ignoring the stairs, and rushing towards the exit.


    Thankfully, it wasn''t an all-stampede as students did not dare push each other around but calmly and silently rushed out of the building without using any physical force.


    Lily, regaining her composure, rushed over to the chairs where the main cast sat despite the alarm blaring.


    Meeting up with Lily, Liam quickly gathered the rest before announcing.


    "As the principal said... we are simply here to take care of the small details without getting hurt. The djinns are for the principal, Kaneki, and Kevin''s br-"


    "So, you can call Kaneki by his name...but you have to say ''Kevin''s brother,'' do you!?"


    Lily, letting out a sigh while the others chuckled, interrupted.


    "Oh, come on, do we have to go through this routine every single time?"


    Kevin, raising his hands in protest, immediately replied.


    "YOU ACT LIKE THIS IS MY FAULT!?"


    Ignoring Kevin''s sudden interference, Liam continued.


    "First, we ascertain Ren''s intentions and whereabouts. Then, it''s onto the vault where we take care of any small fries."


    As the main cast nodded in approval to Liam''s words, a sudden voice sounded from behind them.


    "He''s all yours!"


    Turning around, the main cast did not see a person standing behind them... but an entire griffin.


    "..."


    The griffin had its gaze locked on the multi-purpose building exit closest to the first-years as his face flicked around so fast that it actually seemed like it wasn''t moving its head at all.


    Just as Liam was about to tell everyone to exit and leave the griffin be, he felt a sudden tap on his shoulder.


    "...hm?"


    Thinking it might have been someone bumping into him accidentally, Liam simply ignored it and opened his mouth again.


    However, before he could speak, it happened again.


    Furiously, Liam turned around, looking to see who possibly could have bumped into him twice.


    "..."


    Yet, he was met with himself.


    Quite literally.


    A person with his face, his exact height, and the air was standing right in front of him.


    The main cast, also seeing Liam''s replica, was at a loss for words.


    Though it was easy to identify between the fake and the real, as the fake''s facial features were far less defined and more pixelated, the main cast was still on edge.


    Before Liam or the main cast could even say anything, the replica opened its mouth.


    "I am your father, Liam."


    "..."


    "..."


    Forgetting about everything else, Liam simply stared in absolute shock and confusion.


    However, Lily, recognizing the movie references, immediately deduced the culprit.


    Speaking directly to the clone, Lily said.


    "I guess we can see this as an admission of guilt... Ren."


    The next second, the clone simply ignored them and casually walked over to the exit, entering the crowds of students trying to exit.


    Ruby, seeing the soulless replica, smiled before pulling out her smartwatch.


    The others, regaining their composures, immediately used a prepared exit, slipping past the crowds of students and immediately exiting the building.


    Feeling the sun''s rays beam down on him, Liam led the group, running towards the courtyard, which had conveniently finished construction just today.


    Kevin, running side-by-side with Alya, genuinely asked.


    "...are we just going to ignore that?"


    Alya, her silver hair falling backward as she ran, simply shrugged her shoulders.


    Liam, seeing the grass in the distance, was about to scream out when he abruptly stopped.


    "..."


    Standing in front of the near-perfect replica of himself yet again, all Liam could mutter out was.


    "How did you get ahead of us..."


    The clone, ignoring Liam''s question, simply replied.


    "Wow, it feels weird being an asshole. I don''t know how you do it 24/7...my sincerest apologies go out to you."


    Calming himself down and reminding himself of the face behind the replica, Liam simply pushed it out of the way before continuing on.

 Chapter 265 - 265:Clones [5]

    Smirking, Kevin ran past the clone and followed Liam while the other girls simply ignored it.


    Except Ruby, who was at the very back of the group.


    Stopping for a second, Ruby helped the clone up before staring at it for a couple of seconds.


    "You haven''t made a replica of me ever... have you?"


    "..."


    Almost immediately, the clone of Liam began furiously shaking its head, oddly resembling the griffin from earlier.


    Chuckling at the clone''s antics, Ruby gave it one last wave before pointing to its smartphone.


    "Contact me if you need anything! But there will be a price...paid in snowballs!"


    Then, Ruby turned around and dashed towards Irene, who hadn''t noticed her absence yet.


    As Ruby''s figure disappeared and moved closer to the courtyard, the clone simply stared at its hands for a second, seemingly pondering something.


    Then, the next second, the clone furiously started shaking its head again as if trying to forcibly remove a thought from its head.


    Within a couple of seconds, the clone simply disintegrated, leaving no trace of it behind for the other students to see.


    Back on the field, the main cast rushed towards their assigned spot, where somehow Professor Zia already stood, despite being way behind them.


    Dismissing it, the three boys and four girls stopped in front of Professor Zia, waiting to check in.


    They had to check in and then immediately leave for the vault.


    The djinn infiltrators would only start their heist on the vault when the djinns outside began attacking, so they still had time before anything happened.


    Professor Zia, after staring at them for a moment, checked some things off on her clipboard before slowly shifting her head to Liam.


    "*ahem* Liam... you have already been checked off."


    "..."


    While Liam furiously ran towards the group of his classmates behind Professor Zia, Lily simply raised her hand before saying.


    "...he came here, then came back to get us."


    The group of students who had already been checked in with Professor Zia stood in a circle... which was odd considering the fact that they were at each others throats just a day before during the battle royale.


    Liam, carefully maneuvering his way through the other groups of students, arrived at the circle.


    "...that bastard has to be here! He''s probably trying to make a fool out of me to the rest of the class with that damned clone!"


    Using his height, Liam peered over the circle of students, expecting to find an exact replica of himself in the middle.


    However, to his shock and disappointment, there was nothing.


    The students simply circled up and talked like normal.


    Seeing Liam, one of the students hesitated before curiously asking.


    "Liam, do you need something?"


    Shaking his head, Liam continued to examine the circle of students, making sure that no spot was unchecked.


    "No...it''s nothing."


    *FLAP*


    *FLAP*


    Interrupting Liam''s search and drawing the attention of all of the students, a loud sound emerged from above them.


    In unison, Liam and the circle of checked-in students looked upwards in shock.


    Right above Liam, a gigantic griffin floated, easily flapping its wings to stay afloat in the air.


    "Oh, right...she said it was mine for the day."


    Recalling a conversation between Lily and the principal about the griffin, Liam suddenly came up with an idea.


    Ren''s cloning of Liam had been enough alone to reveal to the main cast that he was planning something.


    But, it wouldn''t be enough evidence to convince the academy security.


    Who would believe them if they said Ren had the power to create replicas and clones of random people?


    And that he, for no reason whatsoever, made a clone of Liam...just to piss him the hell off!


    Seriously, why did he choose to clone Liam when there were six other options!?


    Although the principal trusted the main cast, she would still need sufficient evidence before allowing them to detain Ren prior to the heist.


    Again, that was the whole reason why the griffin was brought out, as it would serve as evidence.


    The clone of Liam had to be here...and as discussed earlier by Lily and the principal, clones did not fool the griffin.


    All Liam had to do was look for himself, and then the griffin would identify Ren''s intentions as evil, giving them evidence to detain and pre-emptively stop him.


    "huh?"


    Feeling a tap on his back, Liam turned around slowly...


    Could it be Ren...the replica of himself?


    Had this idiot come to him? S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "... never mind."


    Seeing Lily and the rest of the main cast behind him, Lily sighed before pointing upward at the griffin.


    "Well, we have two choices. Look for Ren and his clone of me with the griffin, or just head to the vault right now."


    Seeing the main cast begin to ponder, Lily reminded.


    "Remember...once we enter the vault area, we cannot leave it until the entire heist and djinn attack is over."


    Irene, taking less than a second to reply, confidently replied.


    "Let''s just head to the vault. We already know he has something planned; who cares if we capture him now or later."


    Nodding his head in approval, Kevin said.


    "We made specific counters for his abilities... if we manage to lose to him in the cave, then I think we should just give up and try something else. Maybe... sewing? Or, even scie-"


    Still pointing upwards at the sky, Liam then asked.


    "Well, what do we do with the griffin?"


    "Why don''t we just ride it off into the sunset like a bunch of true main characters!"


    "..."


    Slowly turning around upon hearing the different voice behind him, Liam cleaned his fist.


    Before Liam could even say anything, Zach interrupted.


    "Hm...that sounds like a plan! After we save the vault and stop the attack, though, of course."


    Ignoring Zach, Liam stared at the shitty replica of himself with an eerily calm expression.


    "You''re down in the vault already, aren''t you? That''s why you keep sending these clones as distractions."

 Chapter 266 - 266:The Vault [1]

    Faced with Liam''s calm expression and words, the clone of Liam remained perfectly still, showing no reaction.


    Leaning forward, the replica of Liam smiled before placing his mouth to Liam''s ear.


    In a voice so quiet that no recording device or anybody else could hear, the replica whispered.


    "What if I''m already in the vault?"


    Pushing the replica of himself away, Liam emotionlessly replied.


    "Then, you''d already be captured."


    Wanting to get rid of the replica in front of him, Liam showed no discretion as he pointed up at the griffin.


    "Over here!"


    However, to Liam''s surprise, the replica of himself did not move and stayed completely still.


    "Would it be so hard for you to believe that my intentions are pure!?"


    "Yes."


    "Guess you''re right!"


    Holding him the peace sign with his right hand, the replica of Liam disintegrated just before the griffin was about to examine him.


    One might argue that Ren could have just thought of a good gesture at that moment to bypass the griffin''s purity test, but that would mean that Ren would have to carry it out.


    And, that good gesture that he had to carry out would have to be bigger and more important than his intention to rob the vault.


    Turning back to face the main cast, Liam waited for their answer to his previous question.


    Alya, seeing Liam now facing them again, didn''t bother to ask about what just happened and instead immediately replied. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "I don''t see why the griffin can''t come. He won''t be able to come with us into the deeper areas of the tunnel, but he can serve as a guard."


    Nodding their heads, the rest of the main cast approved of Alya''s idea.


    Then, just as they were about to depart and call out to the griffin, Professor Zia''s voice finally sounded.


    "There you are, Ren."


    "..."


    Completely forgetting about heading to the vault, Liam''s gaze locks on the figure standing by Professor Zia.


    "Didn''t you hear the announcement? The class representative is supposed to help, not show up ten minutes late."


    Scratching his head, Ren said in a joking tone.


    "Well, I''m here now!"


    With her fists trembling, Professor Zia resisted the urge to do something violent... before handing the clipboard to Ren.


    Glancing at the clipboard, Ren quickly realized that it was just a list of event students in his class.


    Seeing Ren read the document, Professor Zia said.


    "A couple of students from the class are still missing. I''ll go looking for them; you remain here and check off any students who arrive late."


    Not giving Ren a chance to reply, Professor Zia began walking before halting for a second.


    "Put an X next to their names, so I know who was late."


    Glancing between the clipboard and Professor Zia''s departing figure, Ren hesitated before raising his hand.


    "...there''s an X next to my n-"


    "It''s a different X."


    "..."


    Within a couple more seconds, Professor Zia had disappeared into the crowd of the students around them.


    Behind Ren, Liam, at a loss for words, finally managed to regain his composure before asking the main cast.


    "Another clone?"


    Ruby, still staring at Ren and ignoring Liam, rubbed her eyes for a moment before confirming the presence of the soul.


    Kevin, glancing back and forth between Ren and Liam, eagerly responded.


    "Well, we know an easy way to test that theory."


    Lily immediately shook her head before interrupting.


    "The djinns are bound to attack the courtyard soon; we''d be doing more harm than help by creating a fight here."


    Pausing for a moment, Lily gestured for everyone to be quiet before pointing at the griffin.


    However, Ruby, ignoring Lily''s instructions, let out a small sound, hoping it would reach someone.


    While the griffin moved forward and closer to Ren from Liam''s instructions, Ruby kept glancing behind her.


    Yet, Ren remained completely still with the clipboard in hand.


    Whether by chance or not, Ren suddenly stretched his hands and lifted his clipboard up, covering his head from the sky above.


    As the griffin''s gazes inched closer and closer to Ren''s figure, Ruby kept emitting louder and louder sounds.


    Hearing one of the sounds, Irene concernedly asked.


    "Are you feeling ill, Ruby? What are those sounds."


    Shaking her head, Ruby simply pointed at her throw before replying.


    "Hic-ups."


    Tapping Ruby on the shoulder sympathetically, Irene continued curiously watching the griffin.


    At that moment, Ruby heard a faint whisper enter her ears from behind.


    "Close your eyes."


    As Ruby closed her eyes, she managed to catch a glimpse of a green bird soaring through the sky right above them.


    *POP*


    Then, as a large popping sound echoed from above them, disrupting the griffin and blinding the main cast, Ren immediately moved.


    On the way, he tapped a familiar figure''s shoulder before whispering directly into her ear.


    "My clones could never dream of imitating or even coming close to copying your beauty in their wildest dreams."


    Without another sound, Ren dashed forward, hiding himself among the countless crowds of students.


    Liam, being the first to regain his eyesight, looked up at the griffin, hoping it had discerned Ren''s intentions in the time given.


    Yet, the griffin had nothing to show.


    Seeing the rest of the main cast regain their eyesight, Liam did not hesitate before announcing.


    "To the vault."


    While the main cast ran on land, carefully slipping through the gaps in the crowd of students, the griffin followed ahead.


    In the corner of the courtyard, a small area was still marked with the sign. "Construction in Progress."


    That... was not where the main cast and giffin were headed.


    Instead, they headed for the opposite corner, where the grass was a bit elevated.


    On the other hand, Ren''s figure could be seen jumping over the fence and ignoring the sign that read "Construction In Progress."


    Irene, seeing Ruby''s skin a bright red all over, became more concerned before eventually asking mid-run.


    "Are you sure you don''t have a fever or anything...?"

 Chapter 267 - 267:The Vault [2]

    At the same time, on the opposite side of the field, two confused figures could be seen standing next to the principal''s fierce figure.


    Kaneki, with a deadpan expression, stared directly at Kazuki without saying a single word.


    Though...his silence spoke volumes.


    Unable to avoid Kaneki''s deadpan stare, Kazuki let out a sigh before saying.


    "What is it, Kaneki?"


    In a combined furious and sarcastic tone, Kaneki copied Kazuki''s tone before replying.


    " ''Oh, it''ll just be a couple of minutes, Kaneki. Come on, we''re already here. We might as well!'' "


    "..."


    Hearing a perfect replica of his voice, Kazuki was at a loss for words.


    Beside him, Principal Seraphina chuckled before muttering.


    "Some things never change..."


    Kaneki, putting one hand down in his pocket, was about to take out his smartwatch to call for pick-up when Principal Seraphina stopped him.


    Raising her hand, Seraphina stared at the two boys before smiling and saying.


    "Kaneki, it just happens I have the perfect way for you to take out that anger you''re feeling right now."


    "...?"


    "..?"


    After hesitating for a moment, as if she was trying to build up suspense, Seraphina pointed to the surrounding forests.


    "It just so happens... that we have a couple of extra visitors today."


    While Kaneki got even more furious, clenching his fist and shaking with anger, Kazuki stared at his smiling principal for a second.


    Having been the student council president and on the student council itself for all three years of his schooling earlier, Kazuki had grown close to the principal.


    So close that he could sometimes tell what she was thinking or feeling just by staring at her face.


    He was no therapist...but she did not seem shocked or worried in the slightest.


    And considering the fact that the emergency alarm had just gone off during the school''s most important event...Kazuki could easily realize something was off.


    Kazuki knew that she was a good principal...but then, he didn''t know why she wasn''t worried or concerned.


    An emergency alarm could mean anything... from fires to invaders to even air attacks.


    Yet...this great principal and ranker in front of him was simply standing still instead of trying to investigate the cause of the alarm.


    Shaking his head, Kazuki stared at his principal before asking.


    "Do you... by any chance know something about this emergency alarm that we just heard?"


    Principal Seraphina, making eye contact with Kazuki, grinned before curiously replying.


    "And what makes you think that?"


    Kazuki, about to dissect her expression to seriously explain why he thought something was off, opened his mouth.


    Yet, before any words could escape Kazuki''s mouth, he suddenly felt someone tightly gripping his shoulder.


    Kaneki, grabbing Kazuki by the shoulder, pulled him back before stepping up to the principal and saying.


    "Oh, there just so happens to be an emergency alarm when the two of us here... and you''re not even doing anything about it."


    "oh no, I''m hard at work right now..!"


    In reality, her words were true.


    Simply, her presence was preventing the djinns from attacking.


    The djinns weren''t stupid enough to all flood out of the forest when a top ranker in the entire realm was casually sitting here.


    Instead...they were waiting.


    Waiting for Seraphina to be distracted or leave to go investigate the cause of the emergency alarm.


    Seraphina, however, was also in quite a precarious position.


    She couldn''t go after the djinns right now, as they would simply grab one single student before she could do anything and use him as a hostage.


    Seeing Principal Seraphina''s sarcastic remark, Kaneki''s facial expression tightened before he eventually asked.


    "Just tell us what you want us to do, alright? We''ll do it; is that enough for you?"


    Seraphina, sensing some movement in the trees around here, still kept her gaze locked on her two former students before replying.


    "Oh, if you''re volunteering, I''ll gladly take your help!"


    Immediately after those words came out of her mouth, Principal Seraphina dropped the sarcastic and joking tone.


    Her facial expression immediately transformed as she looked dead serious, with her eyes shining an amethyst purple.


    Pulling the two boys, Principal Seraphina explained.


    "When I leave, the students here will be attacked."


    Discreetly pointing at the surrounding forest, Seraphina continued.


    "They will flood out of the forest, all from different directions. What I need you two to do is stop that."


    Hesitating for a moment, Principal Seraphina pointed at the area of the courtyard, which had a sign next to it that read, "Construction In Progress."


    "Make them all come out there. Use the hole over there as a funnel for them."


    Seeing Serpahina''s dead serious expression, Kaneki and Kazuki also both dropped their attitudes before gazing at the hole.


    After taking a moment to comprehend everything, Kazuki rapidly asked, fearing the djinns would attack at any moment.


    "If we create a field that only allows them to attack from that area...won''t it be too suspicious? I mean, they''ll realize it''s a trap and that we know, right?"


    Nodding his head in affirmation, Kaneki stopped for a moment before speaking.


    "We have to entice them...make it seem like that area is the best spot for attacking."


    Patting the two boys on the back, Principal Seraphina smiled before replying.


    "The djinns are getting restless...I can only act as a deterrent for them for so long before they start to not care and attack regardless."


    Nodding their heads, the two boys replied in unison.


    "We''ll take care of them."


    Principal Seraphina smiled at the two boys before leaving them with their last instructions.


    "Once they''ll all funnel and grouped together... I''ll be there to deal them all a killing blow."


    Having already predicted something like that due to Principal Seraphina''s fame as a splash-damage attacker, the two began planning.


    Taking one last glance at the courtyard filled with students, Principal Seraphina noticed that the tunnel to the vault from the courtyard had been opened.


    Previously, there was a special elevated area in the courtyard, but now it was nowhere to be seen.


    "Oh good, they''re already down there."


    Taking her last step of the courtyard, Seraphina began speed-walking towards the administrative building.


    Just because she couldn''t help in the courtyard right now didn''t mean she couldn''t be useful somewhere else.


    Who knows?


    Maybe some djinns had already sneaked into the vicinity and were scouting out the area around the vault.


    *BOOM*


    As Seraphina opened the glass doors of the administrative building, a booming sound echoed from behind her. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Checking the cameras on her smartwatch, Seraphina checked that no one was hurt before continuing on inside.


    Walking past the empty reception desk, Seraphina quickly made her way to the office, where a secret tunnel to her vault was located.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Back in the courtyard, Kazuki and Kaneki had already begun.


    Unbeknownst to them, all the teachers in the courtyard had been told by the principal that the two boys were currently in charge while she investigated.


    Tapping his foot up and down while examining the border between the forest and courtyard, Kaneki muttered.


    "She set us up... again!"


    With all the evidence laid out, Kazuki couldn''t even make a case to deny it.


    "Maybe...this will count towards your required community service hours?"


    Ceasing their joke and muttering, the two boys quickly got to the work.


    Kazuki headed towards the construction area to begin creating the funnel while Kaneki began luring them in.


    To lure them towards the construction area, where the gigantic hole in the ground was, Kaneki decided to bait them.


    Hearing all the side-conversations between students as they discussed the cause of the emergency alarm, Kaneki sighed before loudly yelling.


    "EVERYONE, QUIET!"


    "..."


    Staring at the source of the noise, the students all looked at Kaneki with confusion.


    After a short second of silence, all the students practically ignored Kaneki and began talking once again.


    To be fair, Kaneki only looked and was three years older than them, so they couldn''t fathom the idea that he was currently their leader.


    After turning to the teachers for help, Kaneki smiled as silence descended upon the massive ground of students.


    Getting over 700 students to shut up was a much harder task than expected...


    With all the students'' gazes on him, Kaneki proudly pointed at the area of construction before confidently announcing me.


    "Teachers, please move your students to that area and line up with them. Make a nice and well-rounded rectangle."


    Right now, there were countless students gathered around the massive courtyard.


    But... within the next few seconds, the half of the courtyard opposite the construction became clear and devoid of any students.


    Seeing the teachers and students all huddled up, Kaneki was about to speak... when he saw, out of the corner of his eye, a single teacher away from the construction area.


    Although it wouldn''t change anything, as there was already more than enough bait near the construction area, Kaneki still gestured for her to move.


    Professor Zia, sensing the student''s gaze on him, quickly replied.


    "It seems... I''m missing a couple of students from my class."

 Chapter 268 - 268:The Vault [3]

    Shaking his head, Kaneki replied.


    "You can look for them now, I''ll make sure your class is watched by another teacher."


    Nodding her head, Professor Seraphina slowly walked off the field, glancing at the forest nearby with every step.


    Seeing almost every student gathered in one area, their backs to the fence with the construction sign, Kaneki glanced at Kazuki.


    Seeing him nod his head, Kaneki smiled before taking a step forward.


    After watching the fight from the battle royale, Kaneki was ready to do some fighting himself.


    He couldn''t let his own blood outshine him, could he?


    Raising his hand, Kaneki swiped at the air in front of him.


    In the next moment, a sleek and clean pitch-black katana appeared in his hands.


    The katana, in contrast to the shining sun above them, seemed to swallow up all the light around it.


    It wasn''t just any katana... it was an S-rank magical artifact.


    Convincing his father to purchase and trade for the katana had been a rough and tiring endeavor, but Kaneki, with one hundred percent certainty, could say it was worth it.


    Nicknamed "The Devourer of Light," the katana was one of the less than fifty S-ranked sword artifacts in the world.


    Lightly gripping the katana in his hand as he walked towards the group of students, Kaneki slashed at the air in front of him as a test.


    *SWOOSH*


    As his katana gracefully moved through the air, it seemed to cut through the sun''s rays that reflected downward on the grass.


    Finishing his test swing, Kaneki stared at the area of air in front of him.


    It was pitch-black.


    The small area of pitch blackness in front of Kaneki stood out amongst the clear and white air all around him, seeming almost like a cloud of fog.


    Yet, it wasn''t.


    It was regular old air...there was just no light to make it transparent.


    Weighing the katana in his hand, Kaneke almost felt like he wasn''t actually holding anything, as it seemed almost resistant to the properties of gravity.


    Looking back at Kazuki, who was behind the fence and standing next to the hole, Kaneki saw that he was holding up five fingers with his hand.


    That five fingers turned to four the next second.


    "...a countdown."


    Gripping the katana, Kaneki sighed before activating his transportation ability.


    "Reality Phase," or the ability to phase through any physical inanimate and animate objects, even humans, for a short period of time. S~ea??h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    During this period, Kaneki becomes invisible to the human eye, but he can still damaged and hurt by spells and attacks.


    Like a ghost, Kaneki sped up before phasing through the hundreds of students gathered in the courtyard.


    Seamlessly passing by all the students, Kaneki''s ability was deactivated just as he reached the fence surrounding the hole.


    At that point, Kazuki only had one finger up, with his other hand gripping an ocean-blue spear.


    As Kazuki slowly lowered his last figure, Kaneki suddenly came up with a plan.


    A plan to get revenge.


    Imagine if news spread that the principal sat back and did nothing while two alumni courageously defended the academy from djinns.


    The principal said to wait for her to take out the djinns, but Kaneki had plans to do anything of the sort.


    At that moment, the whole forest suddenly seemed to shudder, as the trees began to shake frantically as if they were unstable.


    Kazuki, lowering his last finger, simply stood still as countless figures emerged from the forest, revealing themselves to the students.


    However, they didn''t just stand there and wait.


    Instead, the djinns, one by one, emerged from the forest before making a mad dash across the courtyard toward the students, who were facing away from them.


    However... there was just one thing in their way.


    A giant hole and the fence that surrounded it.


    Snickering as tens of djinns began running at the two of them, Kaneki muttered.


    "You know, if they hadn''t become djinns, I really think they could have become famous track stars!"


    Flipping his spear, Kazuki pointed the tip at the incoming horde of djinns before smiling and replying.


    "I''m planning on meeting an old friend today. Could we hurry this up and skip the jokes?"


    Shaking his head, Kaneki jumped over the fence before also readying his katana.


    "Kazuki...you uncultured fiend! What''s the point of fighting if you can''t say witty one-liners while fighting!"


    Behind them and the fence, the hundreds of students began to turn around, noticing the countless djinns swarming towards them.


    Raising his hand, Kaneki made his final announcement as temporary leader of the school.


    "Teachers, take care of your students. We''ll take care of them."


    Without any more words, Kaneki slung his katana over his shoulders, letting the tip of the katana hang behind him before dashing forward.


    Why would he wait for the crowd to reach him?


    Jumping over the gigantic hole, Kaneki swung his katana mid-air, decapitating the first djinn as he landed.


    As the area around the katana''s slash turned black, Kaneki immediately met five more djinns head-on.


    Dodging an axe swing by ducking, Kaneki lowered his katana while doing a full 360 as he was crouching.


    Instantly, the five djinns surrounding Kaneki dropped to their floor as Kaneki effortlessly cut their longs.


    As five more spots of darkness popped up, Kaneki glanced at his katana, which was now covered by the horrid blood of djinns.


    Seeing Kaneki slay six of them within less than five seconds, the crowds of djinns began to slow to a halt.


    Pointing his katana downwards, Kaneki leaned against the hilt of his sword before shaking his head and saying.


    "It''s a bit too late for that...you get what you get, and you don''t throw a fit!"


    Feeling his cooldown reset, Kaneki immediately activated Reality Phase before rushing forward.


    Phasing through the horde of djinns, Kaneki smiled as he reappeared behind the horde of more than a hundred djinns.


    With Kaneki behind them... the only way the djinns could go was forward.

 Chapter 269 - 269:The Vault [4]

    Pointing his katana at the horde of djinns, who had their back to him, Kaneki smiled.


    However, all the way on the opposite of the djinn hoarder, Kaneki heard Kazuki''s voice echoing out.


    "HURRY UP, WILL YOU!? STOP TRYING TO ACT MYSTERIOUS."


    "..."


    As the djinns at the back slowly turned around and realized that someone was behind them, it was already too late.


    Catching five djinns off guard, Kaneki swung his katana once, rapidly ending their lives.


    Then, without skipping a beat, Kaneki robotically moved on to the next five djinns.


    Like a killing machine, Kaneki would simply dodge for a second before striking, fatally wounding at least one djinn each time he swung his katana.


    As the back lines of the horde decreased, Kaneki danced around, flawlessly dodging attacks while simultaneously killing the front of the horde, and began to panic.


    Coming to a decision a couple of seconds later, the djinns resumed their charge, sprinting toward Kaneki and the gigantic hole.


    Standing completely still, Kaneki watched from behind the hole as countless djinns ran forward.


    Noticing the hole, the first djinn of the horde attempted to jump over..


    However...he never landed.


    Seeing the djinn jump, Kaneki stabbed his spear forward, impaling the djinn right in the air right above the hole.


    Not wasting a single moment, Kaneki threw the djinn''s body into the hole before watching as four more djinns attempted to jump over the hole.


    Repositioning himself to the side of the hole, Kaneki angled his spear so perfectly as he swung it forward that it impaled all four djinns mid-air.


    Shaking the bodies of the four djinns off his spear, Kaneki did the same thing for every single hole-crossed, flawlessly impaling them before they could even land on the other side of the hole.


    Within a few seconds, the nearly hundred djinns are decreased to less than thirty.


    With Kaneki''s constant massacre from behind and Kazuki''s perfect impaling as if he were fishing, that number decreased to zero in less than a minute.


    Staring at the ground in front of him, which was littered with blood and countless motionless djinn bodies, Kazuki sighed before putting down his katana.


    However, before sheathing the katana, Kaneki walked over to each dark spot that had been formed from his katana''s slashes.


    The dark portions of the air disappeared before flowing into Kaneki''s katana as he walked near them.


    While Kaneki cleared the area of any dark spots, Kazuki made sure there were no more djinns before turning around.


    The courtyard, once filled with students, was now empty as the teachers had probably evacuated them towards a safer space.


    After waiting a few moments, Kazuki sighed before sitting down.


    "Seraphina was never going to come, was sh-"


    "What was that, my dear student council president?"


    "..."


    Surprised by the sudden voice, Kazuki looked up at the source, noticing a familiar figure levitating in the air above him.


    As Kazuki stared at Principal Seraphina in shock, Kaneki finished clearing all the dark spots and walked over.


    Examining the courtyard, which was quite odd... as one small part of it was painted blood-red and filled with bodies while the rest of it was completely normal, Seraphina said.


    "There''s still a couple more if you two would like t-"


    "Nope."


    Interrupting Seraphina''s mid-sentence, Kaneki sheathed his katana before hopping the fence and walking away from the courtyard.


    Raising his hand as he walked away, Kaneki said.


    "I''m getting lunch at the cafeteria now that it''s empty."


    Watching Kaneki''s fleeting figure, Kazuki leaned back before saying.


    "If you really do need our help, we''ll be there... but I doubt there''s anything that could challenge you, principal."


    Giving Kazuki a nod, Seraphina quickly said.


    "Why don''t you go on and enjoy a meal as well, Kazuki? You two have been a great help."


    Without waiting for Kazuki''s response, Seraphina immediately disappeared before repeating above the administrative building.


    Descending to the ground, Seraphina swung open the doors before making her way down the secret set of stairs hidden in her office.


    Back in the courtyard, Kazuki simply sat down next to the massive hole, staring at the sky.


    "I think I''ll pass on lunch today."


    ...


    ...


    ...


    "...you know the wealthy report never said anything about it raining FUCKING BODIES, MAN!"


    Hidden in the corner of the hole and surrounded by countless bodies, Ren resisted the urge to puke and pass out from the terrible smell combined with the gruesome sight.


    "If only this enhanced eyesight had an off button..."


    Closing his eyes, Ren hesitated before turning back around.


    He hadn''t been just sitting in this massive hole the entire time... but digging.


    Having already found the perfectly efficient digging method from the battle royale, Ren had already made a massive tunnel that started at the hole.


    Walking away from the hole, Ren ventured deeper into his tunnel until he finally met the end.


    Instead of their being dirt, the end of the tunnel was a massive metal wall that stretched horizontally, preventing Ren from just tunneling around it.


    Staring at the metal wall, Ren sighed.


    "Yeah, so the academy neglects its outside boundaries, which allowed a hundred djinns inside just today, BUT BUILD A FUCKING METAL WALL UNDERGROUND?"


    "MAKE IT MAKE SENSE PLEASE!"


    Calming himself down, Ren tried to think of a way to break the metal wall while being discreet.


    *MEOW*


    Hearing his cat purr from behind him, Ren''s facial expression tightened


    When he went back to his dorm, his cat refused to allow him to leave until Ren finally brought the cat in his hoodie.


    The cat, awakened by Ren''s screaming, jumped out of his hoodie.


    Walking to the walls of the tunnel, which were dirt, the cat pawed at the unstable wall for a couple of seconds.


    A small hole quickly formed in the wall from the cat''s claws, and as it moved away, water suddenly began spouting out of the hole.


    "..."


    Staring at the water flooding out of the tiny hole, Ren came to a realization. Sear?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "...oh wait, we''re on an island, aren''t we!?"

 Chapter 270 - 270:The Vault [5]

    The vault was hidden away at the lowest part of the island, so it wouldn''t be visible when people did underground scans of the island.


    Faced with the wall of metal that blocked his way forward, there was only one thing Ren could do.


    Dig straight down!


    Having come prepared for the occasion, unlike during the battle royale, Ren set down a couple of sticks of dynamite on the floor.


    Then Ren made countless holes in the ground below, laying down sticks of dynamite in each of the holes.


    "...that should be more than enough firepower, shouldn''t it?"


    Stepping back from the dynamite, Ren manifested a dagger before allowing it to shine a blood-red.


    Falling father back into the tunnel, Ren made sure he was far out of the blast range before readying his blood-red shining dagger.


    Raising the dagger above his shoulder, Ren acted like he was shooting a bow as he calculated the perfect trajectory for the dagger so that he hit the dynamite.


    "You know...at this very moment, I think I might just be happy I got transmigrated into this world instead of having to go to college."


    Going to lectures and taking midterms?


    Hard pass!


    Destroying shit with bunches of dynamite in a world filled with magic.


    "HELL YEAH!"


    Recalling those American movies where the main characters would set off explosions and then walk away, with the explosion visible in the distance as they walked away in slow-motion, Ren smiled.


    A high-school student turned magic-school student turned actor!


    Reeling back his hand, Ren released the dagger from his hands, allowing it to fly forward gracefully.


    Spinning around in the air, the dagger began its descent, aiming right at the sticks of dynamite closest to the metal wall.


    Turning around, partially to recreate the scene... and partially out of fear, Ren covered his ears before sprinting away.


    At the same time, the dagger perfectly landed on the sticks of dynamite, the blood-red tip of the tag embedding itself in one of the sticks.


    *BOOM*


    *BOOM*


    *BOOM*


    *BOOM*


    *BOOM*


    In quick succession, the first stick of dynamite activated, causing all the ones around it to detonate and finally causing the sticks below the grind to explode.


    The entire tunnel ground shook, throwing Ren off balance and forcing him to cling to the wall to balance.


    Simaltenousy, above the ground, the explosion shook the ground where Kanzuki was sitting, instantly waking him up from his daydream.


    Feeling the ground shake, Kazuki quickly stood up confusedly before glancing around.


    "Principal Seraphina...?"


    Hearing no response from the principal, Kazuki cautiously walked over to the tunnel before looking downwards.


    Almost immediately, though, he covered his eyes and looked away upon seeing the mountain of corpses below.


    Not completely dismissing the earthquake, Kazuki simply stood by the hole with his spear ready.


    Right below Kazuki, Ren slowly uncovered his ears as the sound of rocks tumbling around and dynamite blowing up came to a pause.


    Turning around, Ren covered his mouth with his hand upon seeing the damage.


    "...I might have miscalculated... by a tiny bit."


    Walking towards where the floor used to be, Ren saw a massive crater.


    The crater completely separated Ren from the metal wall, which was somehow not dented or damaged in the slightest.


    Well, that was to be expected.


    In the end, no matter how loud or strong they were, dynamite were a regular-human good while the metal wall was embued with magic, a divine energy.


    However, Ren could not care less about the undamaged metal wall.


    Looking down at the crater, Ren didn''t see any ground...there was just water.


    At the very bottom of the crater, instead of the floor, the water below the island was visible.


    Staring at the ocean-blue water at the bottom of the crater, Ren peered downwards, making sure the seafloor was deep enough.


    And sure enough... Ren was looking at the ocean.


    Picking up his last dynamite stick, Ren walked to the very edge of the hole.


    Like a rose, Ren placed the dynamite stick in his mouth, holding it there with his teeth.


    With a stick of dynamite now in his open mouth, Ren manifested yet another blood-red dagger.


    Shedding his sweatshirt and shirt, Ren took one last glance at the cave... before assuming a diving posture?


    Ren, with his two legs stretched out ahead of him, kneeled down on the ground while his head looked straight down into the water.


    In a graceful motion, Ren used his two back feet to propel himself in the air.


    Then, mid-air, Ren flipped, with his two hands facing the dark blue ocean water.


    With his legs up to the ceiling of the cave, Ren rapidly descended deeper and deeper until his hands finally hit the ocean water.


    Seamlessly, Ren passed through the water, diving all the down to the ocean floor.


    Clenching his teeth, Ren also managed to keep the dynamite stick from slipping out of his mouth.


    Flipping around once again, Ren stood on the ocean floor, staring up at the massive body of the land above him. sea??h th§× N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The ocean was pitch black as the island prevented the sun from reaching it; however, that was no problem for Ren with his enhanced eyesight, which was also enhanced by his perk, "Sea God''s Believer."


    Basking in the sensation of the water for a second, Ren quickly glanced around before raising his blood-red dagger.


    Then, propelling himself off the ocean blue, Ren slowly ascended upwards until his dagger was touching the bottom of the island.


    Pushing his dagger up further, Ren made a hole in the bottom of the island eventually.


    Removing the dynamite stick from his mouth, Ren used his other hand to push the dynamite up, embedding it in the island.


    The stick of dynamite was put in a hole in the island that Ren had made, so no water was touching it.


    Then, flipping around in the water once again, Ren turned around so that his feet touched the island, and his face stared right down at the ocean floor.

 Chapter 271 - 271:Underwater [1]

    Then, in a fluid and graceful motion, Ren struck his dagger upwards, activating the stick of dynamite.


    Propelling himself off the bottom of the island, Ren surged downwards to the ocean floor.


    At the same time, the dynamite exploded, causing a bout of damaged rock to fall into the ocean.


    As the rock descended into the ocean, causing a massive splash, Ren slowly ascended again.


    Seeing a big hole in the bottom of the island created by the dynamite explosion, Ren emerged from the water.


    Peeking his head up through the hole, Ren slowly raised himself upward with his hand.


    Thankfully, the floor wasn''t covered with any steel, so Ren could manifest a corrupted shovel and start digging his way upward.


    Right now, the principal should be defending the incoming djinns attempting to rob, so the vault was completely free to take.


    Ren had to make a slight alteration to his plans upon seeing the two variables, in the form of recruiters, emerge.


    Instead of attacking at the first possible moment to catch everyone off guard, Ren had decided to emerge at the last possible moment.


    Making a big enough hole in the island, Ren raised his legs out of the water before lying down.


    Staring up at the massive amount of stone separating him from the vault, Ren sighed.


    Picking up his shovel, Ren slowly... but surely dug upwards.


    At this point, using explosions or any other powers to speed up the process would be impossible.


    The first explosion worked as the metal wall prevented the sound from reaching the vault area.


    And the sound of the last explosion had been dampened by the water, but if Ren used any explosions now, they would surely be noticed.


    Manifesting a corrupted pickaxe, Ren placed it in his other hand before switching tools.s


    For the dirt, he would use the shovel, and for the stone, he would use the pickaxe!


    ...


    ...


    ...


    A bit above Ren, the main cast stood in front of a large obsidian wall with confused expressions.


    It seemed Principal Seraphina had added some new layers of protection since they had last been here.


    Liam, walking towards the main cast, raised his sword before saying.


    "There are no intruders... yet."


    Lily, thinking for a moment, shrugged her shoulders before lowering her wand.


    The rest of the main cast also put their weapons down upon hearing Liam''s announcement.


    And a few meters away from the main cast, a large griffin stood.


    The griffin, it''s head not even reaching the ceiling of the underground space actually had a lot of extra space, despite its large size.


    However... Its entrance into the tunnel was far from noble or confident.


    Liam and Kevin quite literally had to push the griffin''s back so that it would fit down the hole and into the underground space.


    *TAP*


    *TAP


    Hearing the sound of footsteps echo throughout the space, Liam immediately raised his sword.


    Regrouping with Liam, the rest of the main cast raised their weapons while the magic users began preparing spells.


    However, as the source of these footsteps came into sight, an audible sigh left the students''s mouths.


    Principal Seraphina, now dressed in sleek silver armor that looked more like casual clothes than battle armor, waved before asking.


    "Any trouble yet?"


    Putting his sword down, Liam calmly replied.


    "Not so far..."


    "Well, don''t count on it lasting."


    Walking to the entrance of the vault, Principal Seraphina placed her hand on the obsidian, feeling the smooth and glassy surface.


    After a moment, she turned around to face the main cast before saying.


    "Well, you all are dismissed for the day! Thanks for your hard work... your efforts will not go unpunished!"


    "..."


    Confused and bewildered, the main cast stood there, silently staring at the principal.


    Hard work?


    They had done nothing!


    The main cast had gone from fighting dark elves and protecting the Elden tree... to doing this?


    Surprised by the change of pace and lack of action, Liam muttered after a few seconds.


    "T-this is it?"


    Sighing, Seraphina nodded her head.


    Leaning downward, Seraphina made eye contact with each of the main cast members before finally replying.


    "You all have already done enough for the school in my absence. It''s time I stepped in and actually did my job."


    "All of you must be used to risking your lives to help and protect. It must be normal to you all."


    "But, trust me... that''s far from normal. You seven are a bunch of students too... who deserve to enjoy your young years."


    "Once this is all said and done, let''s have a nice Christmas dinner!"


    "..."


    Seraphina, sensing some action around the underground space, handed the main cast a wooden stick.


    Alya, graciously grabbing the wooden stick, stared at it for a moment before confusedly staring at Seraphina.


    Responding to the student''s confused gaze, Seraphina laughed and said.


    "A friend of mine gave it to me. It''s a one-time use device that teleports you all back up to the surface."


    Huddling up, Alya placed the wooden stick in the middle of them before asking.


    "Should we really go...?"


    Ruby, nodding her head, checked her smartwatch, only to see it out of service before replying.


    "We''re only be a burden to her if we stay..."


    As the main cast nodded in approval, Alya was about to break the wooden stick with her hands when the walls suddenly started shaking.


    Before the main cast could react, dozens of holes appeared in the walls, revealing countless figures with masks who were all hiding in the walls.


    Right next to the main cast, a masked figure suddenly rushed forward through the hole and seized the wooden stick.


    Propelling himself upward, the masked figure grabbed the stick before jumping over the main cast. S§×arch* The Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Then, as countless other figures emerged from the wall, the masked figure ignored the main cast and stared at the principal, who had begun to fight.


    Tilting his mask, the masked figure attacked some sort of device to the stick.


    Then, a second later, the masked figure hurled the stick right at the principal.

 Chapter 272 - 272:Underwater [2]

    The broken stick, glowing a dark purple, seemed to ignite as it flew towards Principal Seraphina.


    Distracted by the crowd of djinns in front of her, Seraphina didn''t pay any heed to the quickly approaching stick.


    Then, just as the stick got close enough, it seemed to grow class.


    A dark purple substance sprouted out of the wood before grabbing onto Principal Seraphina.


    Then Principal Serphina disappeared, disintegrating into countless purple particles.


    Seraphina noticed something was off as her surroundings were blurry, and she immediately went down.


    A second later, Seraphina''s surroundings suddenly stabilized, revealing the beautiful scenery of the capital city.


    And right in front of her was a luxurious hotel, even better than the costly and amazing royal dormitories.


    Regaining her composure, Seraphina stared at the hotel before confusedly muttering.


    "This was supposed to be my reward for those students..."


    Then, it clicked.


    "If I''m here... then they''re back down in the cave..."


    Realizing that she had been transported by the teleportation stick instead of the student, Seraphina immediately broke into a sprint.


    Pure-white wings sprouted from her right and left shoulders, making her seem like some sort of angel.


    Flying over the countless skyscrapers and buildings in the capital, Seraphina let out a sigh as she approached the bridge and the body of water below.


    Dismissing her wings, Seraphina descended onto the bridge before running as fast as she could.


    However, as she got nearer to the Academy, it quickly became apparent that something was wrong.


    "t-that''s too much mana."


    There was far too much mana gathered around the academy...enough to form a magic boundary.


    Stopping in her tracks, Seraphina quickly cast a fireball spell and sent it flying towards the academy.


    And just as she expected, the fireball suddenly disappeared right as he approached the academy''s gates.


    "They set up a magical wall to stop me from getting back in..."


    They had been prepared... much more prepared and organized than the students had informed her.


    No...it was her fault.


    The students had given her a warning, and despite that, she had somehow failed.


    Why had she expected everything to go just as the student had told her?


    She hadn''t even considered the fact that the djinns could use another strategy to directly counter her.


    Shaking her head, Seraphina immediately grabbed her smartwatch and opened the messages application.


    Finding a group chat with the users [TokyoGhoul] and [ShadowKazuki], Seraphina began rapidly typing.


    If this barrier had been made to prevent her from entering, then she doubted that Kazuki and Kaneki could destroy it.


    And even if they could, the boundary would likely be under close surveillance by the group of djinns.


    By the time Kaneki and Kazuki had finished off the guarding djinns and disabled the magic boundary, the students down below would already be dead.


    Not using any sarcasm, Principal Seraphina rapidly began typing.


    [Need help asap. I''m trapped outside; I need you two.]


    [Go to the school administrative building and enter my office. You can enter my office by pressing a secret level approximately two meters away from the doorknob.]


    [From there, head to my desk, and the pathway down should already be opened.]


    [Students are currently trapped down there, and I am unable to help due to a magic barrier that is preventing me from entering.]


    [Please let me know when you see this message.]


    With her hands trembling, Seraphina anxiously awaited a message back before continuing her run toward the magic boundary.


    Feeling an invisible force preventing her from moving any farther forward, Seraphina took out her want before casting a barrage of spells.


    A tsunami, capable of devouring half of the island, emerged alongside countless pure-white swords manifested above Seraphina''s head


    Pointing her wand at the magic barrier, Seraphina sent the tsunami forward, also causing the pure-white swords to fly toward the barrier.


    As expected, the tsunami was stopped by the magical barrier, and instead of devouring the island, it consumed the magical boundary.


    The tsunami flowed over the barrier, blocking the sun from reaching the academy and turning it dark for a moment.


    On the other hand, the pure-white swords faired a bit better as they didn''t immediately break upon impact with the magical boundary.


    However, they simply banged into the barrier before turning lifeless and dropping to the floor of the bridge.


    Rubbing her hands together, Seraphina pulled a familiar book out of her pocket before opening it.


    Scrolling through the various pages, Seraphina finally stopped on one, which displayed the image of a sea serpent.


    Below the picture of a serpent slithering in the depths of the ocean, a small caption was written.


    [Leviathan: The God of the Sea / Last seen: Never / Believers: Church of the Sea / Rank: ???]


    Knowing that she couldn''t maintain the illustration for long, Seraphina pulled out her emergency reserves. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In her hands, a couple of mana potions appeared, each filled with a dark purple substance.


    "It''s a been a while since I''ve run out of mana..."


    Placing the open book on the floor, displaying the image of Leviathan in the sea, Seraphina took out her wand before pointing it downward at the book.


    Opening her mouth, Seraphina''s wand began to shine a bright blue as she began to chant.


    "I summon thee, Leviation. Conqueror of the Seas, I request thy help. I hope thy accept my request to save."


    *


    At the same time, below the main cast and the principal''s vault, where a battle was taking place, Ren suddenly ceased his diggings.


    Feeling a shaking sensation in his hoodie, Ren sighed before slowly removing his cat.


    "Oh god, what is it now!?"


    First, this bratty cat forced Ren to take it with him, complicating his robbery of the vault further, and now it was interrupting his digging!


    Had it forgotten who the master was and who the pet was!?


    At this point, the tunnel upward had become big enough, so Ren placed the cat on the ground, hoping to allow it to roam around would calm it down.


    However, the cat, oddly, instead of running around and enjoying its freedom simply walked to the wall of the cave.

 Chapter 273 - 273:Underwater [3]

    Then, the cat placed its paw on the cave, also locking its gaze on the wall.


    Paying no mind to his cat''s insane antics, Ren picked up his corrupted shovel and continued digging.


    Hearing the sound of swords clashing above, Ren sped up his pace, realizing that the fight between the principal and djinns might have already started.


    On the other hand, the cat glanced back at Ren.


    Noticing that Ren wasn''t looking at it, the cat quickly took a deep breath before sitting back down.


    Unbeknownst to Ren, the cat''s entire body started shining a bright blue.


    Without any hesitation, the cat placed its shining light-blue paw on the wall.


    Then, after a couple of seconds of keeping its paw there, the cat''s body finally returned to normal as the blue hue surrounding it disappeared.


    Yawning as if it had just done something normal, the cat walked over to Ren before throwing its paw at his leg.


    "..."


    Staring at his caw, which was angrily scratching his leg, Ren sighed before dropping his shovel.


    "CHOOSE ONE, EITHER SLEEP OR DON''T!"


    Sighing, Ren picked the cat up before placing it in his hoddie.


    And the cat had no complaints, simply lying down and recuperating in the hoodie of its master.


    *


    Back on the surface, Seraphina opened his mouth in shock upon seeing her wand begin to shine an even brighter blue.


    Normally, gods or mythical beasts didn''t accept requests from normal people unless they were part of their supporting church; for some reason... it seemed the God of the Sea had noticed her.


    Whether that was a good or bad thing was still unknown to Seraphina.


    Stopping her hand from shaking, Seraphina unscrewed the mana potions before placing one of them in her mouth.


    After gulping down every single one of her emergency mana potions, Seraphina closed his eyes before lowering her wand.


    At that moment, the drawing of Leviathan in the book suddenly began shining a similar light blue.


    Then, a line formed from the tip of Seraphina''s wand to the drawing of Leviathan.


    The light blue between the drawing and the wand grew stronger and stronger as more light blue was added, making the bond thicker.


    Barely managing to keep her composure, Seraphina continued with her eyes closed, taking deep breaths in and out every second.


    Then, a second later, the bond suddenly disappeared.


    As the bond between the two objects broke, Seraphina suddenly felt a giant breeze flying against her.


    Even with her S-ranked strength, Seraphina was still pushed back by the freeze, flying backward until she finally landed.


    However, there was no expression of pain on her face.


    Simply a smile.


    It had worked.


    Looking up, Seraphina noticed the bright sun was nowhere to be seen.


    Instead, a bunch of grey clouds suddenly appeared, completely covering the sky.


    *DRIP*


    *DROP*


    *DRIP


    *DROP*


    As raindrops began to descend from the sky, Seraphina got up before raising her wand.


    Attempting to cast a fireball, Seraphina focused on the tip of her wand... however, nothing had happened.


    She had truly run out of mana, and considering she had one of the highest mana capacities in the entire world, that was a major feat.


    But where had all that mana gone?


    As the rain increased, causing the previously dry Serpahina to become drenched within a matter of seconds, the surface of the body of the water below the bridge suddenly started rippling.


    *BZZT*


    Ignoring the notification from her smartwatch, Seraphina walked to the edge of the bridge before peering downwards at the body of the water below.


    The water below wasn''t blue at all... it was black.


    It was as if something gigantic was casting a shadow on the entire body of water.


    *


    Kazuki, checking the dozen unread messages on the smartwatch, immediately stood up when he saw Serpahina''s urgent message.


    Not bothering to remind Kaneki as he should have also received the message, Kazuki reluctantly left the hole behind.


    Rushing toward the administrative building, Kazuki sprinted and jumped over various obstacles.


    As he approached the administrative building, he suddenly felt a raindrop hit his hair.


    "Wasn''t the sun shining so brightly a couple of seconds ago?"


    Staring up at the sky, Kazuki confusedly realized that it looked like a massive rainstorm was incoming as the entire sky was plagued by grey clouds.


    Why the hell couldn''t this damn season, winter, choose one weather? S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    First, snow, clear skies, and sun shining, and now, finally, raining?


    Just choose one and stick to it like summer when it''s always clear skies!


    Ignoring the sudden change in weather as the protection of the students below was more important, Kazuki entered the administrative building.


    Pulling out his smartwatch, Kazuki typed a quick message to Seraphina and Kaneki before rushing by the security desk.


    Finding Serpaihna''s office hidden away in the corner of one of the corridors, Kazuki followed the instructions, successfully opening the door on his first try.


    Seeing a pair of stairs in the corner of her office, Kaneki allowed the door to shut behind him before running down the stairs.


    As he went deeper and deeper below, the sounds of metal clashing and screams became louder and louder.


    Preparing himself for another battle, Kaneki grabbed his spear before increasing his pace to the maximum.


    Reaching the bottom, Kaneki moved through a small little tunnel before eventually spotting a single djinn.


    Not giving it a second to react, Kaneki threw his spear forward, instantly impaling the djinn and attaching it to the wall behind.


    Raising his hand, Kaneki continued running forward as the spear reappeared in his right hand, leaving the dead djinn behind.


    Reaching the main area where the vault was located, Kazuki hesitated upon seeing around twenty djinns all gathered together.


    What down here was so important that it required 20 B-level djinns?


    Dismissing his curiosity, Kaneki looked around for a second before eventually spotting the main cast, who were engaged in a battle with some djinns.


    Despite being significantly overwhelmed number-wise, the first-year students seemed to be actually holding their ground.

 Chapter 274 - 274:Underwater [4]

    Zach was at the front of the group, wielding his gigantic battle axe against the group of djinns gathered in front of him.


    Though the djinns had the clear number advantage, that didn''t mean they were able to surround the main cast.


    With the obsidian wall of the vault behind them, Alya had realized and decided to use it to their advantage.


    With her ice sword, Alya manifested ice pillars that stretched all the way from the ground to the ceiling of the underground space.


    The pillars covered the left and right sides of the main cast, meaning the djinns could only attack from the front. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The main case that created a funnel for the djinns.


    After Zach made first contact with the djinns, temporarily stunning them with the power of his battle axe, Liam and Kevin made their moves.


    Like a wolf hunting for its prey, Kevin would pounce forward with his sword, which was covered in a dark red hue.


    His dark red hue would slice at the djinns'' stomach, forcing them to turn away from Zach and face him.


    While his attacks were nowhere near fatal, they still stunned the djinns and forced them to look away from Zach.


    However, just as the djinns stopped attacking Zach and went for their attacker, Kevin immediately retreated back behind Zach.


    On the other hand, Liam was like a lion, openly using his light-blue covered sword without showing any sign of moving forward and coming back.


    Liam simply stayed still, forcing the djinns to come to him.


    His light-blue sword cleaved through the hordes of djinns flooding toward them, making the room shine a light blue.


    These djinns, overwhelmed by their desire to get inside the vault, didn''t take a step back and make a new plan.


    Instead, they continued flooding into the tunnel just as the main cast had planned.


    Behind the physical weapon users, the magic casters of Alya, Ruby, Irene, and Lily stood with their wands shining.


    Their goal was to support Zach, who was at the forefront of their plan.


    In other words, if Zach fell, everyone would fall as the djinns would flood into them.


    Ruby and Irene, the fire element users, synchronized their spells so that they could save both mana and time.


    Ruby would only attack once Irene''s flame spell had worn out and vice versa.


    This meant that, in order to reach Zach, the djinns had to step throughs fire and lava, weakening them even further.


    On the other hand, Alya used all her energy to maintain the ice barriers surrounding them.


    Some djinns were beginning to attack and scratch at the ice pillars, so Alya had to be constantly on guard to repair them before any holes were made.


    If Alya''s ice walls were broken, their entire strategy would fall apart as the djinns would swarm them from all sides.


    Right now, they were just being attacked from one direction, so it would be relatively manageable if they all worked together. However, if they were contested from all directions, their downfall would be inevitable.


    Finally, Lily worked on slowing the pace of djinns.


    Shooting beams of water over the heads of Zach, Liam, and Kevin, Lily aimed them right before the wall of fire made by Irene.


    The pools of water not only slowed the pace at which djinns flooded through as they slipped and fell, but Lily had also added a special effect.


    That wasn''t just any water under them.


    It was acid water.


    Although its appearance on the outside was normal, if you took one step on it, you would be in for a world of pain.


    The djinns felt like they were walking on flaming hot charcoal.


    The djinns were first forced to walk on acid water, slowing their pace and harming their feet.


    Next, they had to walk through a wall of fire, which would shred all of their clothing and put burn marks on their entire body.


    And then, if they even managed to get this far, they would be immediately faced with a gigantic battle axe that was bigger than them.


    Finally, they would also have to simultaneously deal with two sword attacks, one who attacked and ran while the other constantly fought.


    Needless to say, the journey to the vault for the djinns was a painful one.


    However, it was not an impossible one.


    Looking at the strategy of the first years, Kazuki immediately recognized the problem that would lead to their downfall.


    Surprisingly, it had nothing to do with energy or mana problems.


    On that part, they were actually doing quite well as they saved mana by synchronizing spells and conserved energy by switching out physical attackers.


    The problem had to do with the size of the vault''s obsidian door entrance.


    The main cast was only blocking a small portion of the obsidian wall that led into the vault.


    Sooner or later, the djinns would realize that.


    Then, instead of going through a world of pain and fighting through the main cast, they would simply go up.


    By making a hole in the upper portion of the wall, which was not protected in the slightest, the djinns could easily bypass the main cast.


    And the first-years couldn''t even do anything about it as if they moved from their already fragile situation, chaos would ensue.


    Putting his hand on his forehead, Kazuki silently hoped that the principal would return soon before heading ahead.


    Instead of sneaking at the djinns as he was completely behind them, Kazuki simply ignored them.


    Thanking the water caster of the first-years for creating the small body of water, Kazuki took one last step forward.


    The next moment, his figure disappeared from his previous spot.


    And within the next second, his head and only his head were visible...on the opposite side of the djinns.


    It was a bizarre sight, to say the least.


    Kazuki''s head peeked up through the pool of acid water that Lily had created, making it seem as if there were just a decapitated head lying around in the water.

 Chapter 275 - 275:Underwater [5]

    The next second, it wasn''t just Kazuki''s head that was peeking above the pool of acid water... but also the tip of his spear.


    Preparing himself, Kazuki waited until there was a pause where the pool of acid water was relatively clear of any djinns.


    Then, he propelled himself upward and instantly emerged from the pool of acid water.


    His entire head, followed by the rest of his head, emerged from below the pool of acid water.


    But it didn''t stop there as Kazuki flew upwards, until his head touched the roof of the underground space.


    Feeling himself start to decent, Kazuki immediately flipped around his spear before stabbing into the nearest ice pillar that Alya created.


    With one hand on his spear that was attached to Alya''s ice pillar, Kazuki simply hang in the hair.


    Zach, who was too focused on paralyzing djinns with his battle axe, didn''t even notice anything was wrong.


    The same could be said for Liam, who was too focused on fending off the horde of the djinns fighting him.


    The spell casters of the group were also oblivious to the whole situation as their sight of the acid water was blocked by the physical attackers.


    However, Kevin, who had time to relax and look around as he retreated, noticed the strange phenomenon.


    At first, when he noticed the head simply floating above the pool of acid, Kevin just dismissed it as a decapitated head.


    However, as he kept attacking and dodging, he realized that the head actually looked somewhat familiar.


    "...that hair...what? No...it can''t be."


    Taking a risk, Kevin went further out than usual to attack the djinns, trying to get a better look at the floating head.


    However, the wall of fire Irene made in front of him made it hard to see anything.


    Retreating with his failed attempt to see the skull better, Kevin glanced behind him at Ruby and Irene.


    At that moment, Irene''s wand was beginning to flicker, so Ruby quickly stepped forward, ready to take her place.


    Realizing that the wall of fire would fall for a second as Ruby took over, burning the djinns while Irene recuperated mana, Kevin suddenly smiled.


    He would finally get a better look at the floating head!


    As the wall of flames began to flicker and descended to the ground, Kevin took a moment to preemptively step forward.


    Once again, going further out than usual, Kevin glanced at the head...but it was no longer a head.


    Slowly but surely, the head was moving upwards, and below the floating head, a shoulder could be seen peaking out of a pool of acid water.


    "...what the fuck!?"


    It was physically impossible for an entire body to be stored below the pool of water, so Kevin stood there in shock.


    "KEVIN, GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!"


    Regaining his composure while listening to Liam''s screen, Kevin plunged his sword one last time before retreating back to his position.


    Instead of there being a wall of flames, there was now a massive river of lava in the ground.


    The lava was just high enough so that djinns couldn''t jump over; however, some djinns still attempted.


    As they attempted their jump over the river of lava, the bottom of their foot would touch of the lava.


    Halting their jump mid-air out of pain, the djinn falls into the river of lava, being consumed by the fiery depths.


    Forgetting the head and pushing out of his head, Kevin resumed his normal attack pattern.


    On the other side, Liam deflected one sword slash before ducking to avoid another.


    Not wasting a second, Liam immediately counterattacks, stabbing his light-blue sword right into the chest of another djinn.


    Then, Liam suddenly swung his sword left and right with the body of the previous djinn still on the sword.


    One djinn, propelled to the left by Liam''s swing, was immediately met by Zach''s gigantic battle axe. S§×ar?h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And the other simply slammed right into the cave wall.


    However, instead of getting back up and rejoining the swarm of djinns trying to get past the main cast, the djinn simply stopped.


    Slowly, it gazes more and more up until it finally reaches the top of the obsidian door.


    Alternating glances between the heavily protected bottom portion of the obsidian door and the completely unprotected top portion, the djinn smiled.


    Raising his claws, the djinn pointed towards the unprotected top portion of the door before screaming.


    "UP! UP! UP! UP! UP AND IN!"


    Some of the djinns, either ignoring the djinn''s scream or not hearing it due to the fight, continued swarming ahead.


    However, the djinns at the black slowly shifted their gaze upwards, following the finger of the screaming djinn.


    Seeing this, the screaming djinn turned around before beginning to scale the cave wall.


    Following his lead, countless other djinns began leaving the swarm and instead heading to the walls.


    Eventually, they were around ten djinns all rapidly scaling the walls of the underground space.


    The front-line physical attacks, to focus on the swarm of djinns attacking them, remained oblivious.


    However, Irene, who was currently on rest to regain mana while Ruby manifested the river of lava, noticed after a couple of seconds.


    Not wasting a moment, Irene suddenly yelled.


    "LILY, THEY''RE GOING UP. THEY''RE TRYING TO BREAK THROUGH THE TOP OF THE DOOR!"


    The screaming djinn, reaching the ceiling of the underground space, immediately jumped onto the obsidian wall.


    Embedding its longer fingernails into the original wall, the djinn hung for a second before using one of its hands to pull out a sword.


    Seeing this, Lily halted her spell-casting for a second and stared at the djinn.


    Without a moment of hesitation, the djinn grabbed a small device that had a red switch on top of it before slowly placing the device nearer and nearer to the obsidian door.


    At that same time, the djinns, no longer impeded by Lily''s pool of acid, started increasing their pace as more of them swarmed Zach.


    Lily, desperately thinking of a plan, opened her mouth; before she could speak, a sudden noise interrupted her.


    *BANG*


    The corpse of the djinn, who was just attached the obisian door, was now lifelessly laying on the ground.

 Chapter 276 - 276:Protect or Rob? [1]

    Before Lily could even react to the lifeless djinn''s body, a sudden voice sounded from above her.


    Looking upward, Lily spotted a figure hanging mid-air with his spear from Alya''s wall of ice.


    Making eye contact with Lily, Kazuki waved before saying.


    "The principal sent me to help. Don''t worry about those climbing ones; I''ll take care of all of them."


    Not quite believing Kazuki, Lily stared at him with a suspicious expression, the tip of her wand shining a bright blue.


    Seeing this, Kazuki sighed before pulling out the visitor pass he had received from the principal to enter the assembly.


    "Look at this!"


    Yet, Lily remained suspicious as she knew that the ranks of the school were corrupted and filled with undercover criminals.


    Without Lily''s help, the swarm of the djinns began to slowly overwhelm Zach, forcing him to take a step back.


    Seeing this, Kazuki sighed before realizing he had no other choice.


    Looking right below him and beside Zach, Kazuki screamed.


    "KEVIN... TELL HER I''M YOUR BROTHER, PLEASE."


    "..."


    Hearing the familiar voice sound from above him, Kevin instantly halted for a second and slowly looked up.


    Sure enough, right above Kevin, there was his brother hanging from a spear that was embedded in one of Alya''s ice pillars.


    Although Kevin had a lot of choice words for his brother''s sudden appearance, he forced himself to stay silent.


    Hearing the severity in his brother''s voice, Kevin immediately turned around and saw the suspicious Lily.


    Turning back around to face a djinn that managed to get by Zach, Kevin yelled.


    "LILY, THAT IS MY BROTHER."


    Putting her wand down, Lily fully trusted Kevin''s words as she nodded her head before reforming the pool of acid water.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Back outside the magic barrier that was surrounding the academy, Seraphina immediately noticed something was off.


    As the bridge started shaking uncontrollably, despite having been fine for at least twenty years now, Seraphina took off.


    Casting a temporary levitation buff with the mana she had just regenerated, Seraphina floated in the air before retreating back to the other side of the bridge.


    Landing on the capital city side of the bridge, Seraphina stood with her wand out, staring at the academy island.


    All of a sudden, the downpour of rain started to increase, drenching all the people in the streets of the capital city.


    *CRACK*


    As lightning began to strike all over the city, specifically targeting the crumbling bridge, Seraphina stepped back.


    Right now, she was just a normal civilian.


    Without her mana, she was powerless and completely defenseless against the powers of nature.


    Taking cover from the encore of rain, Seraphina walked toward a nearby underhang that stretched all the way to the bridge.


    However, while she was franticaly walking toward the underhang, a sudden noise interrupted her.


    *ROAR!!!*


    As the loud sound of what seemed like a beast speaking echoed through the entire capital city, Seraphina turned back.


    She had succeeded.


    According to the imagination spell, Seraphina would be able to use an image or picture to create an exact beast with the same powers.


    And the more mana you put into the spell, the stronger the best you could summon.


    Since Seraphina drained her massive storage into the spell, the massive water serpent, Leviathan, appeared as a result.


    There was just one problem, though...


    Although Seraphina could summon the beast, she had no control or power over it, so Leviathan could do whatever it wanted.


    If it wanted to, the massive water serpent could wipe out the entire capital city, alongside the millions of people living inside.


    However, Seraphina was aware of this spell''s limitation and had chosen to summon Leviathan instead of any other mythical being for a reason.


    Leviathan... hated magic barriers.


    Thousands of years ago, when humans had just evolved to the point where they could begin writing, the ocean was a dangerous place.


    With no humans powerful enough to slay the water beasts, the oceans were left unchecked, making them the most dangerous place on Earth.


    Inside the ocean, countless fierce competitors fought each other in order to gain control; however, after many years, only two competitors remained.


    The massive water serpent, feared for its dangerous speed despite its large size, held control over the Atlantic ocean.


    As for the Pacific Ocean, the gigantic octopus-like creature called the Kraken ruled over that area.


    The two mystical beings could not bear to see another controller over the seas, so they broke out in a fight, which was said to have lasted for days.


    One of the strategies that the Krkaen frequently used to gain an advantage was the creation of magic barriers.


    With his insane mana manipulation abilities, the Kraken would constantly trap the gigantic Serpent inside mana cages.


    And since the Serpent was so big, it was almost impossible for it to avoid being trapped inside.


    Thus, the water serpent''s hate for magic boundaries was created.


    Returning back to the present, Seraphina resumed his sprint towards the cover from the rain.


    Behind her, deep within the ocean under the bridge, a gigantic shadow was cast, making the entire ocean seem like a pure black abyss.


    The normal, plentiful ocean was dry and devoid of any sea creatures, and fish and seals alike were gone.


    However, there was one beast remaining in the abyss of the darkness.


    Lying on the ocean floor, a gigantic serpent that seemed to stretch for miles could be seen.


    Its eyes were closed, and it was completely stationary, but the sheer pressure it emulated cleared the body of the water out.


    Coincidentally, Ren''s cat was simply lying down while watching his matter continue digging further and further upward.


    As Ren''s cat opened his eyes, the eyes of the serpent suddenly opened, revealing its golden-colored pupils.


    The cat, sniffing at the ground, suddenly opened its eyes wide as if he had just seen its arch-enemy.


    Getting off the cold cave floor, Ren''s cat walked forward for a couple of seconds before playfully throwing its paw in the air.


    Seeing this, Ren shook his head before slapping himself.


    "Whoever said that a pet learns from their owners needs to be caught and jailed."


    Staring at his schizophrenic cat, which simply pawed at the air, Ren sighed before continuing to dig.


    *CRASH*


    Throwing Ren to the right, the island suddenly shook as if something had just banged into it.


    Back on the ocean floor, the serpent began slithering forward at an incredible pace, crossing the entire distance from the capital city to the academy island within a single second.


    Then, without any hesitation, the serpent lunged upwards, removing itself from the ocean floor.


    Flying upward, the sea serpent''s head emerged from the water, while the other part of its ginormous body remained on the ocean floor to keep him stable.


    Letting out an ear-piercing scream, the serpent glided towards the academy island with its mouth wide open.


    Propelling itself off the ocean floor, the sea serpent suddenly flew even higher as its entire body emerged from the water.


    Seraphina, being one of the few to see this sight, saw a gigantic blue lizard simply floating in the air above the water.


    "...what th-"


    Some of the civilians, not caring about being drenched by the onslaught of the rain, stopped and stared at the spectacle.


    It was not every day that you saw a serpent that was almost half the length of the capital city simply floating in the air.


    Then, again, the civilians saw a lot as they lived in the capital city.


    A couple of civilians simply glanced at the Serpent before immediately moving on as if it were nothing special while muttering.


    "Damn it... why did I decide to live in this city?"


    Levitating in the air, the top portion of the serpent''s body stayed the same; however, its bottom portion was... interesting.


    Like a helicopter, the sea serpent''s tail was rapidly rotating around its body, so fast that after-images of it were left.


    After charging its helicopter tail up for a couple of seconds, the serpent suddenly threw itself tail-first at the academy island.


    The serpent''s tail, mid-rotate, slashed right into the magic barrier surrounding the academy island.


    The portion of the magic barrier hit by the serpent''s tail immediately crumbled while the rest of the barrier followed suit.


    Back in the cave, Ren''s cat suddenly collapsed to the floor before rolling around so that its tummy was facing the ceiling.


    Acting as if it had done something amazing, the cat turned to face Ren while meowing and purring.


    Looking at his proud cat, Ren snorted before muttering.


    "I''M NOT PETTING YOU! I''m THE ONE ACTUALLY WORKING AND MINING!"


    *CLACK*


    As Ren''s pickaxe swung upwards one final time, he realized that there was nothing left to dig above.


    He had arrived.


    Like a hedgehog, Ren peeked his head through the hole in the ground, instantly spotting countless djinns.


    Afraid of being caught, Ren immediately ducked back down before de-manifesting his corrupted pick axe.


    Picking up his cat, Ren ignored its pleas to be pet before placing it back in his hoodie.


    Sear?h the N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

 Chapter 277 - 277:Protect or Rob? [2]

    Back on the outside, as the magic border shattered into a thousand pieces before disintegrating into nothingness, the serpent descended.


    *SPLASH


    Falling into the water, the serpent created a splash that sent water flying all the way towards the academy island and capital city the entire time.


    As a flood of water drenched the buildings of the academy, windows shattered open due to the sheer pressure of the water.


    Thankfully, all the students were now inside, so none of them were hit by the barrage of water.


    Back in the capital city, Seraphina had called for backup while the serpent was destroying the magic boundary.


    As the gigantic splash neared the capital city, dozes of mages, each equipped with a cloak and a wand, stepped forward.


    Casting in unison, the tip of all the mages''s wands started sparkling a grey as the water got closer and closer.


    A moment later, a gigantic shield appeared right in front of the incoming barrage of water.


    As the barrage of water collided with the massive shield, the formation of the mages started to falter as many were pushed back.


    However, the formation of mages held their shield steady, not being moved by the incredible amount of water.


    As the water collided with the shield, it immediately got reflected back, falling back into the giant ocean.


    As the last bit of water reflected off the shield and back into the ocean, the formation of mages collapsed.


    Every single one of them, being at least B-rank or higher, had used all of the mana on the shield...yet it only barely managed to defend a BYPRODUCT, not even the main attack of an S-rank beast.


    Shivering, the mages fell to the ground, energiless.. but happy.


    They had just saved countless buildings from collapsing and an equal amount of lives.


    Seraphina, stepping forward, raised his hand, but no water droplets came.


    It had stopped raining.


    Ensuring that the beast was not going to wreak any more havoc, Seraphina slowly neared the ocean before glancing downwards.


    And sure enough, the ocean was back to its original dark blue colors instead of being pitch-black.


    Even with all her mana, she could only summon the mythical god of the sea for ten seconds at most.


    Raising her smartwatch, Seraphina called the medic team before walking forward toward the academy...only to realize she couldn''t.


    The massive bridge that stretched all the way from the capital city, the island the academy was located on, was... no more.


    Gigantic pieces of rubble floated through the ocean below, and besides a few small remnants of the bridge, there was nothing.


    The bridge, which had taken years to build and that had been standing for over ten years at this point, was gone...


    "Well... I guess you get what you ask for."


    Summoning a mythic beast when it was pissed without expecting any destruction would have been stupid.


    Unable to cast a flying spell to head over the academy due to her lack of mana, Seraphina sighed while staring at the bridge.


    Maybe...she could have done it a different way.


    Thankfully, though, she had already called some other mages about the situation in the academy.


    Confirming her thought, countless other mages, wearing dark blue cloaks, could be seen flying in the air towards the distant island.


    Shaking her head, Seraphina muttered.


    "...the royal family isn''t going to be happy...because these repairs are NOT coming out of my pocket."


    Though Seraphina knew she wouldn''t lose her job, she had a feeling that the royal family was going to overwork her for the next few months because of all the destruction.


    Smiling, Seraphina stared up at the sky as the dark grey clouds began to disperse, revealing the shining sun.


    Before the attack had even happened, Seraphina had cast an area-affecting weakening spell on all non-human creatures, so with Kaneki and Kazuki''s assistance, the students would one hundred percent be safe.


    Although...Kazuki isn''t fully human either, isn''t he?


    "...wait, will he be weakened by the spell!?"


    ...


    ...


    ...


    As Ren began to gather his materials and fill up the hole below him to cover any traces, the cat inside his hoodie suddenly popped down.


    Turning around, Ren shook his hoodie for a second before realizing that his cat had fallen asleep.


    In full honesty, Ren had expected the principal to allow the djinns in the vault, then entrap them there and take them easily.


    However, it seemed like the principal didn''t even want the djinns to get a glance inside the vault as she opted to defend it from the outside.


    *TAP*


    *TAP*


    *TAP*


    Hearing the sound of footsteps echo from behind the group of djinns, Ren immediately moved further away from the hole that he made.


    Placing his head on the roof, Ren attempted to discern the voice of the person above. sea??h th§× N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Was it a djinn who was simply late to the party?


    Or, could it possibly be some reinforcements that the principal had sent?


    "Damned prick. ''OH, JUST DO THIS, AND YOU''LL BE DONE. GO ENJOY A NICE MEAL IN THE CAFETERIA!'' Yeah, my ass."


    Walking right past Ren''s hole, Kaneki snorted before entering the underground space, immediately spotting the crowd of djinns and Kazuki, who was hanging from his spear, which was attached to the ice.


    Kazuki, staying quiet, simply waved at Kaneki while simultaneously fending off a couple of djinns who were trying to climb up to the roof.


    Unsheathing his katana silently, Kazuki slowly approached the back of the group before activating his transportation ability.


    Phasing through the bodies of the djinns and many rocks that were in the way, Kaneki looked for the weak spot in the formation.


    Or should he say... weak spots?


    Since the djinns were so focused on attacking and getting into the vault, their backline was almost completely unprotected.


    Well, of course, Kaneki was only one person, so he couldn''t exploit it to the fullest, but it would give a break to the main cast and Kazuki, who had been constantly fighting.

 Chapter 278 - 288:Protect or Rob? [3]

    Stopping behind a djinn, Kaneki''s ability deactivated as he immediately plunged his katana forward, impaling the djinn in front of him.


    Shaking the body off his sword, Kaneki swiftly turned to the right before raising his katana above his head and slashing it downwards with the maximum force.


    As areas of darkness appeared above the bodies of the djinns, Kaneki continued his onslaught.


    Yet... no djinns turned back to fight him.


    Kaneki could have killed at least ten djinns this time, yet he had only decided to kill two.


    Rather than revealing his presence and taking as many of the distracted djinns out as possible, Kaneki was blending in and slowly killing them.


    This plan allowed him to conserve both energy and mana while breaking apart the formation of the djinns without them even knowing.


    However... Kaneki had forgotten to account for one thing.


    And so had everyone else in the room, including Ren.


    The djinns'' numbers were dwindling rapidly as the main cast''s fight, combined with both Kazuki and Kaneki''s efforts, were killing at least a djinn per minute.


    This could be seen easily as the room, almost nearly filled with djinns earlier, was now empty except for the front area of the room.


    However, the horde of djinns showed no signs of stopping.


    Djinns cared about their lives even more than their desires.


    After all, most djinns had only changed from humans so they could survive in the world and gain powers.


    In contrast to that behavior, however, the djinns continued relentlessly fighting without any care for life.


    They weren''t that stupid.


    The dead corpses and bodies of their teammates were on the ground, making it impossible for anyone to see them.


    These djinns saw their teammates and fellow djinns being massacred, yet they still charged forward despite knowing their fate would be the same.


    It was as if...these djinns had no regard for their own lives.


    Peeking his head out of the hole, Ren confusedly observed the fight between the djinns, the main cast, and the two recruiters.


    Something was... definitely wrong.


    Very, very wrong.


    Stopping himself from comparing the scenario to the one in the book, Ren took a step back before trying to come to a conclusion from a completely unbiased perspective.


    Seeing the djinns rushing forward despite seeing their teammates die right in front of them, Ren''s head started to ache.


    The djinns had no regard for their lives.


    Yet, their inherent trait as a djinn was that they valued their lives more than anything else, even their desires.


    How could these two concrete facts co-exist?


    Were the djinns brainwashed?


    No, the demon who signed the contract with the djinn would never allow that to happen to their djinn.


    Unless...it was the demon who did the brainwashing?


    It was possible but highly unlikely. Read new adventures at m_v-l''e|m,p| y- r


    Demons relied on their contracts with djinns to gain power, so brainwashing them into dying was essentially them giving up their own power for no reason.


    Then, what else?


    Grabbing his head, Ren decided to ignore the djinn''s behavior and move on.


    After all, he was practically on their side as he was also attempting to rob the vault.


    Having expected visitors and reinforcements, Ren wasn''t too surprised at the appearance of the sudden recruiters, who were also present during the assembly.


    However, their power did throw Ren off a bit.


    He couldn''t recognize the figures based on their appearance, and he didn''t even know their names, but they did seem powerful...way more powerful than Ren, at the very least.


    Although Ren had a feeling he had seen them somewhere, this was not the time to delve into the past "Ren''s" memories to recognize them.


    Maybe another time, though.


    Staring at the obsidian wall, which was preventing him from the inside of the vault, Ren reached into his pocket. S~ea??h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Corruption or Obsidian?


    Which material was more powerful?


    Having tested this question already, as he knew the vault''s entrance was a wall of obsidian, Ren already knew the answer.


    Pulling two corrupted daggers out of his pocket, Ren also manifested a mask, purposely making it different from the previous designs he had used.


    Placing his hands on the floor of the underground space, Ren lifted himself up until his entire body was in the space.


    Using his passive stealth skill, Ren quickly hid in the dark portion of the cave before taking a glance around.


    The main cast and recruiters had a pretty good setup going.


    The top portion of the door was defended by a recruiter who was using a spear, while the bottom was held by the main cast.


    And, staring at the rapidly diminishing horde of the djinns, Ren realized that it was just a matter of time before all of them died.


    Focusing on his eyes, his ears, his mouth, and eventually his entire head, Ren grinned before muttering.


    "I haven''t used this ability for anything but flying in a long time..."


    In a matter of seconds, Ren''s head was no longer his head; instead, a pointed head that resembled that of a dragon appeared atop Ren''s body.


    With two twisting horns and a long snout, Ren looked like some half-human, half-dragon creature.


    "Hmm?"


    Reaching his hands out, Ren stared for a second, feeling something was off.


    "Why do I feel... weaker."


    Although it was hard to discern for others, with Ren''s eyes, he could realize that his reflexes and speed weren''t slower than usual.


    "Maybe the djinns set up some invisible stun spell, and I walked through it?"


    Dismissing his slowed reflexes and speed, Ren, with his dragon head, slipped into the horde of djinns.


    He actually... fits in quite well with them.


    With his dragon head, Ren looked as weird as they did, although his body was unharmed, while all of the djinns had scars.


    Finding himself in the middle of the horde, Ren jumped for a second in mid-air before opening his mouth.


    As the blood-red substance and ocean-blue mana flowed toward Ren''s mouth and combined, a small purple orb appeared above Ren''s tongue.


    As the orb began to grow more and more, eventually reaching the ceiling of Ren''s mouth, the room began to shine a dark purple.

 Chapter 279 - 279:Protect Or Rob [4]

    Reaching the maximum size that Ren''s mouth would allow, the purple orb started glittering before slowly moving forward.


    Kazuki, the only one noticing the giant purple color as he was above everyone else, looked in confusion.


    However, before he could say anything or react to the strange anomaly, dozens of new djinns immediately overwhelmed him, hanging from the ice pillars below him.


    As the purple orb left Ren''s mouth, he swiftly closed it before landing on the ground and blending in among the group of djinns.


    Flying above the crowd of djinns, the purple orb headed straight for the top portion of the obsidian door, right where Kazuki was hanging from.


    Kevin, glancing upwards to see his brother every couple of seconds, was the first to notice this as he spotted a gigantic purple orb getting closer and closer to them.


    Pointing to Orb, Kevin was genuinely at a loss for words as he yelled.


    "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?"


    Hearing Kevin''s yellow, everyone stopped fighting for a moment to glance upwards at the nearing purple orb.


    "..."


    Alya, immediately on guard, calculated the trajectory of the orb before confirming that it wouldn''t hit them and that they wouldn''t be in its estimated blast radius.


    Calming everyone done, Alya replied.


    "The orb isn''t aiming at us..."


    Pausing for a second, Alya raised her hand and pointed...not at the top portion of the obsidian door but at the roof.


    Liam, mid-clash with a djinn, asked in confusion.


    "Why the roof, though?"


    Shrugging her shoulders, Irene cast a wall of flames before replying.


    "Maybe they really hate roofs, I don''t know?"


    Ruby, now on her break as Irene had taken over maintaining the fire shield, sighed before asking.


    "Irene, do you even think before you speak, or is this straight improv?"


    Smiling, Irene replied.


    "I try."


    Lily, however, remained uncharacteristically silent as she stared at the purple orb that rose higher and higher with every passing second.


    "...no, that can''t be...purple orb. My favorite author can''t be a plagiarizer...can he?"


    Snapping Lily of her trance, Kevin yelled up to his brother.


    "YOU MIGHT WANNA GET DOWN."


    Knocking a djinn off the wall, Kazuki snorted before replying.


    "REALLY!? I COULDN''T TELL!"


    "WELL, YOU''RE STILL UP THERE SO I DO-"


    Interrupting Kevin mid-sentence, Kazuki, leaving his spear embedded in the ice pillar made by Alya, jumped down.


    Landing on the ground right behind Kevin, Kazuki immediately pointed into the crowd before announcing. Your adventure continues at m v|l-e''m,p| y- r


    "We have another reinforcement hidden amongst the crowd of djinns."


    Liam, ducking to avoid a slash from a djinn''s sword, nodded before replying.


    "I was wondering why they were slowing down..."


    Kevin retreated after taking out a djinn''s knee in a sneak attack and chuckled before replying.


    "Stop trying to act smart, Liam. You didn''t notice shit, and you know it."


    In unison, the entirety of the main cast, alongside Kazuki, turned to stare at Kevin.


    Not even turning around to respond to their stares, Kevin angrily muttered.


    "Oh, let me guess."


    Then, Kevin said in his most feminine voice, in a really poor imitation of Lily''s voice.


    "This is not the time to be making jokes, Kevin!!!"


    Surprised by Kevin''s outburst, the main cast silently fought against the horde of djinns for a second.


    "PFFT"


    Unable to keep her laughter from leaking out, Alya, with her hands desperately trying to cover her mouth, chuckled, breaking the silence.


    Lily, turning straight around like a predator that had just found its target, stared at Lily with a blank and emotionless expression.


    Waving her hands up and down, Alya quickly justified her chuckle.


    "I-it was *PFFT* so b-bad that it was good."


    Taking down another djinn''s kneecaps and sending them limping toward Zach''s battleaxe, Kevin yelled out.


    "WHAT!? YOU THINK YOU CAN DO BETTER, PRINCESS!?"


    Kazuki stared at the group of students in front of him, who were snickering while attempting not to laugh, and sighed.


    They were just children, yet here they were, fighting hand-in-hand with him against a group of djinns, who could very well kick them if they made a single mistake.


    Recalling his childhood days when he could do the same, Kazuki couldn''t help but inwardly smile.


    It also made him somewhat sad and depressed that these young students were so used to violence and fighting that they could laugh, but alas, he was the same.


    If not, worse.


    Recalling his fights during his academy days with Kaneki and the other sudden tcounicl members by his side, Kaneki let out a reminiscent gaze.


    At some point, the two of them had made it into a competition.


    "Whoever gets the least amount of djinn eliminations has to sleep on the floor tonight!"


    Of course, this competition and betting on djinn eliminations had quickly been shut down by their seniors.


    But...not for the reason you think. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    They didn''t shut it down because they believed it to be dangerous for them to bet, as they would be inclined to go for as many kills as possible despite the danger.


    It was shut down...because of kill-stealing.


    "DAMN IT, KAZUKI, STOP STEALING MY DAMN KILLS, YOU FRAUD!"


    Shrugging his shoulders, the young Kazuki grinned before saying.


    "ONLY THE LAST HIT MATTERS, NOTHING ELSE!"


    Furious, the young Kaneki pointed his sword at the grinning Kazuki before yelling.


    "YOU DAMN CHERRYPICKER! ALL YOU DO IS WAIT FOR THEM TO GET WEAK FROM MY HITS, THEN COME IN!"


    Smiling, Kazuki stole yet another kill from the fuming Kaneki before replying.


    "Don''t blame the player... blame the game!"


    By the end of the fight, their efficiency in killing djinns had actually gone down.


    Needless to say, the seniors weren''t too happy about that.


    That night... both of them slept on the floor.


    Back then, during Kazuki''s school days, the world was a much more dangerous and precarious place.


    The student council often went out as a group on expeditions to take down dangerous djinn organizations.


    Yet, as he gazed at the fearless group of students in front of him, Kazuki couldn''t help but think.


    "Did they have it worse than me?"

 Chapter 280 - 280:Protect or Rob [5]

    Not letting his small internal grin appear on the outside, Kazuki sighed before sternly commanding.


    "Do we have any free-hands that could go check on the purple orb!?"


    As Kazuki spouted those words, the purple orb, seeming to move in slow motion, finally reached its destination.


    *RUMBLE*


    *CRASH*


    *RUMBLE*


    Crashing right into the ceiling of the underground space, the purple orb caused an onslaught of rocks and dust.


    Already prepared, Kazuki pointed at his spear, which was still embedded in Alya''s ice pillar above.


    The next second, the spear suddenly started shining as a net emerged from its tip.


    Falling downwards, the net perfectly covered the main cast and Kazuki, preventing any rocks from hitting them.


    As rocks crashed into the net, the spear did not budge, keeping the net protecting the main cast steady and stable.


    The same could not be said for the djinns, who took the rockslides and ensuing dust head-on without any protection.


    Though since the djinns'' bodies were durable, none of them died, but their pace was slowed, and formation was destroyed.


    As for Kaneki, who didn''t even realize the existence of the purple orb, he was able to activate Reality Phase just in time.


    Phasing through the incoming rocks, Kaneki easily avoided being hit while also finding another weak spot in the djinns'' crumbled formation.


    And finally, the cause of the incident, Ren, was... nowhere to be seen.


    That is unless you were looking right up at the hole that was created by the massive purple orb.


    Using all the dust, Ren rapidly scaled the walls before using his daggers to climb up into the hole.


    One by one, like a rock climber, Ren stabbed his right dagger, lifted himself up, then stabbed his left dagger more up than the previous one and lifted himself up even more.


    Kazuki, completely ignoring the continued barrage of rocks, stared at the main cast for a second before pausing on Ruby.


    "You don''t seem busy, right?"


    Doubtful of whether the net would hold up under the pressure of rocks, Ruby carefully nodded before pointing to Irene and saying.


    "Yes, I''m currently on a break to recover, mana, you could say."


    "good."


    Nodding his head, Kazuki pointed at the ceiling before continuing.


    "Find out what up there is so important that someone decided to create a damn orb of pure purpleness to destroy it." Sear?h the Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "As for the origin of this maniac, Kaneki is probably already investigating."


    Unbeknownst to Kazuki, his oblivious friend didn''t even know there was a purple orb in the first place.


    Nodding her head, Ruby watched as the rest of the main cast reassumed their formation, with Kazuki beginning to climb back up the ice pillar.


    As the onslaught of rocks disappeared, leaving massive clouds of dust in its wake, the net suddenly retracted.


    Within a second, the massive net was completely changed to its original size, back on the tip of Kazuki''s spear.


    Standing in the crater on the ceiling, Ren watched as the djinns resumed their rush before scratching his head.


    Something was seriously off.


    "These guys seriously give no fucks..."


    After witnessing an onslaught of rocks that was completely unpredictable, you would think that they would take a step back to plan.


    But no, these djinns just continued rushing to their death, watching their teammates die right in front of them.


    Ignoring the inconsistency with the djinns, Ren sighed before glancing around the crater.


    For some reason, the principal was nowhere to be seen in this underground space.


    Originally, Ren had assumed that she had just been hiding while secretly buffing the main cast, but now he could see that she had actually just never been here.


    But, then, that begged the question.


    Why...were the main cast so powerful?


    These djinns were all B-ranks, in contrast to the C-rank main cast, so they should at least be struggling.


    Yet, the main cast had barely any wounds on them, and they seemed full of energy despite facing a constant horde of djinns.


    The only plausible exp.anation Ren had come up with was that the principal was using some S-rank skill to buff them, but that was now out of the cards.


    Shaking his head, Ren once again put aside the inconsistencies before taking out his two corrupted daggers.


    The crater actually wasn''t just some elaborate distraction that Ren had made.


    Looking down at everyone in the room, who all had their opens open and visible, Ren smiled.


    The perfect flash.


    Manifesting a green bird in his hands, Ren was about to throw it forward when suddenly, he felt a presence approaching him.


    Holding his breath, Ren took out his daggers and slowly approached the edge of the crater.


    At that moment, a hand suddenly surged upwards, grabbing ahold of the crater and slowly pulling itself back.


    Staying the same distance away, Ren watched as the hand slowly pulled the rest of the figure''s body up until, finally, the figure''s entire body was visible.


    "..."


    "..."


    Staring at the djinn in front of him, Ren was genuinely at a loss for words.


    "HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET UP HERE!?"


    Staring at Ren with a confused expression, the djinn slowly raised its hand before pointing at Ren.


    "y-you''re not one of us?"


    "..."


    Clutching his heart, Ren barely managed to stand up straight


    He had been called a bastard, a pervert, a cheater, and a fraud...but being called a djinn was WAY TOO FAR!


    Realizing that the mask and tattered clothes he was wearing made him resemble a djinn, Ren regained some of his dignity before staring back at the djinn.


    What exactly was he supposed to say?


    Raising his hand, Ren imitated the djinn pointed his figure at him.


    "...I am."


    "You are?"


    "I am."


    "Prove it."


    "...you prove you''re a djinn."


    "...no, you prove."


    "Let''s just say we''re both djinns and be done with it, alright?"


    "deal."


    "..."


    "..."


    As an awkward moment of silence took over them, Ren sighed before pointing at the underground space below.


    "I heard there is free money down there."


    "...I don''t want money."

 Chapter 281 - 281:Protect Or Rob? [6]

    Tilting his head to the side confusedly, Ren stared at the djinn in silence for a couple of seconds before curiously asking.


    "What is it you want, then?"


    Avoiding eye contact with Ren, the djinn looked down at the floor for some time until he finally opened his mouth.


    "I-i want to be a human again."


    "..."


    Ren, even more confused than ever, stared at the djinn''s ashamed figure, which was crumbling to the floor.


    Contracts between demons and djinns can''t be signed forcefully, so the djinn had to have chosen to become one out of his own voalition


    Yet...it seems he regrets that choice.


    Unfortunately, in this world, there are no do-overs or restarts.


    Unless... you''re Ren, who basically got a do-ever after he died on Earth and transmigrated to this world.


    Realizing something, Ren completely forgot about the djinn in front of him before staring up at the ceiling.


    Ren knew how he got here.


    How could he not know?


    He had been mercilessly run over by some drunk fifty-year-old in the car...truly an unforgettable experience.


    Then, the next second, he woke up in the body of Ren, who was about to be expelled from the academy for attacking Liam on the first day of classes.


    But what about Lily?


    Had she, similar to Ren, also died in a tragic accident and been transmigrated to this world?


    Or were her circumstances different?


    "Well... I don''t think I''m close enough to her to just flat-out ask, ''How did you die in your past life!? Or did you even die?'' "


    Dismissing all his useless thoughts for now, Ren sighed before looking at the djinn in front of him with concern.


    According to Ren''s knowledge, which was gained from reading the book, there were no djinn-reversing rituals or potions in this world.


    Once you became a djinn, you could never go back.


    Though Ren felt some pity for the djinn in front of me, pity wouldn''t do anything.


    Pointing down into the underground space where the main cast, Kazuki and Kaneki, were still fighting, Ren looked down at the ground.


    He knew he was sending the djinn to his death.


    Down there, the djinn would surely die at the hands of the humans down there, and there was no escaping that.


    Barely opening his mouth, Ren managed to mutter out to the djinn.


    "T-there''s free djinn to human transformation machines down there..."


    Raising his head up, the djinn stared at Ren, his eyes sparkling, before frantically asking.


    "Really...is that true? Please tell me it''s true."


    Ren felt sympathy for the djinn; he really did... but at the same time, the djinn had brought upon himself.


    Even after becoming a djinn, the figure willingly joined an evil organization despite knowing the pain and damage they caused to other people. Sear?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    He had a choice to become someone like Zeng, yet he didn''t.


    Instead of trying to blend in with humans and make the best of his situation, the djinn joined an evil criminal organization.


    And Ren could tell, based on the look in the djinn''s eyes as he stared downward, that the djinn had killed before.


    Staring at the djinn, Ren nodded his head carefully before muttering out.


    "Perhaps...he''ll be transmigrated to another world and given a second chance just like when he dies."


    As the djinn eagerly jumped from the crater of the ceiling, landing and rejoining the crowd of djinns surrounding the main cast, Ren stepped forward.


    He had to get something out of this whole situation now.


    There was no way he just sent someone off to their death. Just to get nothing.


    Raising his hand, Ren stared at the ceiling before quietly saying.


    "This is for you, my djinn friend."


    Walking to the edge of the crater in the ceiling, Ren crouched down before manifesting a corrupted bow.


    Staring at the top portion of the obsidian door, which was guarded by a watchful recruiter with a spear, Ren slid a corrupted arrow into the strings of the bow.


    Aiming at the exact top left of the obsidian door, Ren waited until the recruiter was mid-fight with a djinn before drawing back his bow.


    Letting the smooth string go, Ren watched as the corrupted arrow glided by through the air, heading straight at its target.


    Distracted by the djinns surrounding him, Kazuki only realized the existence of the arrow as it passed him, as a breeze rushed into his face.


    However, it seemed like the recruiter had come prepared, as without a second of hesitation, he cocked back his hand.


    Then, in the next second, his hand surged forward, releasing his ice-blue spear right at the pitch-black arrow.


    Surprised, Ren blankly stared at the now disarmed recruiter, who was still being surrounded by djinns.


    Staring at the spear, Ren calculated its projected trajectory with his eyes before it to the path of his arrow.


    Realizing that the spear was going to intercept the arrow before it hit the door, Ren turned around and raised his hand.


    As Ren''s hand was raised, the corrupted arrow suddenly disintegrated before disappearing a second later.


    Feeling the corruption return to his boy, Ren paced around, trying to come up with a new plan on the spot.


    Back down below, Kazuki used his legs to kick down the incoming djinns as he was left without his spear.


    Glancing to his right, Kazuki attempted to discern whether his spear had knocked the arrow the yet.


    However, upon seeing no sign of the arrow anywhere, Kazuki rapidly looked around, trying to find where it had gone.


    Raising his hand, Kazuki recalled his spear while headbutting a djinn that had managed to get close enough.


    Suddenly, Kazuki''s spear switched directions as it stopped flying at the obsidian wall and turned around.


    Flying right at Kazuki''s hand, the spear somehow impaled a djinn mid-air on its way there.


    Seeming to have a light-bulb moment, Ren halted mid-pace before suddenly turning around.


    Smiling, Ren focused on the corruption in his body before allowing it to flow outwards through his hand.


    As Ren''s hand began to shine a pitch-black and more corruption began acculumate, Ren suddenly waved his his hand.


    Following Ren''s internal instruction, the corrupt surged away from Ren''s hand and onto his shoulder.


    Slowly covering Ren''s entire body, the corrupt worked its way down from Ren''s shoulder until finally, the entirety of Ren''s body except his head was covered.


    Since he had a corrupted mask on his head already, there was no need to protect that portion.


    Covered in the pitch-black substance, Ren''s body couldn''t be seen, making it seem as if Ren were a zombie.


    Breathing in and out, Ren calmed himself down for a second before stepping back.


    Slowly placing his left forward, Ren broke out into a mad sprint as he rushed towards the hole in the crater.


    Then, without any hesitation, Ren jumped down into the underground space, his entire body covered in corruption.


    Forcing himself forward, Ren landed on an ice pillar that was opposite Kazuki before rushing forward.


    Aiming himself right at the obsidian wall, Ren ignored the ice-blue spearheading right at his body.


    Like a bull charging forward, Ren did not stop, trying his best to slip as he jumped from ice pillar to ice pillar.


    Reaching the last ice pillar, Ren halted for a second, watching an ice-blue spear whizz right in front of him.


    Looking to the right, Ren watched as the ice spear, as if it had a mind of its own, turned around and began heading right at Ren once again.


    "Are you a damn guided missle or something!?"


    As the spear surged towards him once again, Ren took a moment to manifest two corrupted daggers.


    Getting one leg, Ren leaned to the right, barely managing to lose his balance and slip off the icy pillar.


    Once again, the spare whizzed right by Ren, narrowly avoiding him; however, the wind generated by the spear''s rush pushed Ren back even further off the ice pillar.


    With one foot dangling mid-air and the other foot barely on the slippery ice surface of the pillar, Ren smiled.


    Throwing his dangling foot forward, Ren propped himself off the ice pillar and jumped forward, heading straight for the obsidian door.


    Raising his two corrupted daggers, Ren pointed their tips at the door as he got closer and closer to it with every second.


    As Ren''s daggers seamlessly sank through the bulky obsidian layer of the door, Ren sighed in relief.


    Hanging mid-air while gripping onto his two daggers, which were embedded in the obsidian door, Ren immediately threw himself.


    Since his entire body was covered in corruption, Ren didn''t feel any pain as his corruption-covered legs rapidly kicked against the obsidian door.


    As dents began to appear on the obsidian door as a result of its constant collisions with corruption, Ren suddenly turned around.


    This time... there wasn''t just a spear rushing toward him.


    There was a spear... and a human writing the spear like some sort of horse heading right at him!

 Chapter 282 - 282:Break In [1]

    Riding atop his spear like a witch flying on its broomstick, Kazuki headed straight at Ren, showing no fear at the incoming obsidian wall.


    Ren, unable to remove his daggers from the wall in time, dodged the attack and tried to kick his legs forward.


    As the spear on Kazuki approached Ren, six pitch-black tentacles suddenly emerged from Ren''s back, creating a protective shield around him.


    Noticing the tentacles protecting Ren, Kazuki stood up atop his spear before taking out two clean hunting knives.


    Propelling a tentacle forward, Ren attempted to make Kazuki lose his balance and fall; however, the spear simply circumvented the incoming pitch-black tentacle before heading straight at Ren.


    Taking a deep breath, Ren sent three of their tentacles back to protect himself from Kazuki before propelling the other forward.


    The three tentacles going forward immediately embedded themself in the obsidian wall before shaking rapidly to make a hole in the previously perfect wall.


    Weaving around the tentacles, Kazuki attempted to cut one of them in half with his hunter knife, but...it was the knife that broke, not the tentacle.


    Now, realizing the severity of the situation, Kazuki shifted his trajectory to the right so he was no longer aiming at Ren but a few meters to the left of him.


    Ren''s tentacles, not able to reach that far as Ren didn''t have enough corruption to maintain them, could only flair while Kazuki flew just out of their reach.


    Like Ren''s corrupted daggers, the tip of Kazuki''s spear seemingly embedded itself in the obsidian wall, proving its superiority over the material.


    Seeing this out of the corner of his eye, Ren immediately sent the tentacles to his left side to prevent Kazuki from coming any closer.


    Glancing downward, Kazuki was surprised that the horde of djinns was now down to less than ten as Kaneki took care of the few remaining loners.


    Seeing this, Kazuki immediately called out to the main cast, who had no one to fight against anymore, below.


    "SHOOT UP! STRAIGHT UP!"


    Hearing Kazuki''s urgent voice, the heads of the main cast immediately flicked upward towards Kazuki.


    However, Ren''s pitch-black cover around his entire body alongside his perfectly made corrupted mask made him blend in with the obsidian wall.


    That, combined with Ren''s stealth stat, made it almost impossible for the main cast to see Ren from such a far distance below.


    Looking at Kazuki with confused expressions, the main cast paused for a moment before heeding his instructions.


    However, none of them were standing exactly below Ren''s current positions, so their spells just flew up and into the ceiling.


    As a water orb, an ice lance, a fire tornado, a sword of pure-blue divinity, a sword surrounded by a red hue, and last but not least, a battle axe headed straight up to the ceiling, Kazuki sighed.


    When he said shoot up, he didn''t mean...shoot randomly up at the ceiling!


    Staring at the swordsman below, who had even thrown their weapons up the ceiling, Kazuki sighed.


    Regaining his composure, Kazuki pointed ahead to where the masked figure was before yelling.


    "RIGHT H-"


    But, before Kazuki could finish his sentence, a sudden bright flame blinded him before heading straight at him.


    Pulling his spear out of the obsidian wall, Kazuki allowed him to free-fall for a second before immediately stabbing his spear back into the wall.


    A second later, the bright flame, in the shape of a ball, hit the exact spot where Kazuki used to be, but as the ball of flames made contact with the obsidian, it immediately perished.


    As the ball of flames disappeared, Kazuki hesitated for a moment, anticipating another attack, yet nothing came.


    Glancing upward at the masked figure, Kazuki assumed he was the cause of the attack before looking back down.


    Pointing at the corrupted figure, Kazuki yelled.


    "HERE."


    Ren, despite knowing a barrage of mana spells and weapons would soon him, remained still, simply stabbing at the obsidian wall with his daggers and his three tentacles.


    Seeing no need for defense anymore, Ren raised his other three tentacles before also commanding them to break the wall.


    Feeling the temperature decrease around him as a water and ice spell came at him, Ren threw one last dagger strike at the wall.


    *RUMBLE*


    Realizing the wall was weak enough, Ren threw his right foot at the obsidian wall, causing it to tilt and become unstable.


    Demanifesting his tentacles, corrupted dagger, and corrupted body, Ren allowed him to free-fall to the ground.


    *RUMBLE*


    Keeping his corrupted mask on, Ren narrowly dodged an ice lance before, ironically enough, landing right on one of Alya''s ice pillars.


    Kazuki, realizing the wall was going to collapse on itself, immediately removed his spear, afraid of dealing with any further damage.


    Falling the round, Kazuki missed his intended landing spot of a nearby ice pillar, so he simply allowed himself to descend all the to the ground.


    At the same time, Kaneki finished up the last of the djinns, leaving a field of dark-black spots above every djinn''s body.


    Feeling the ground shake and the wall collapse, Kaneki sprinted towards the main cast with his katana out.


    Landing cleanly on the floor, Kazuki glanced around at the main cast, which now included Ruby, as she unsuspiciously stood next to Irene.


    In contrast to everyone else, who was silent and staring at the collapsing obsidian wall, Ruby managed to mutter out.


    "a fire snowball...I''ll have to use that next time."


    Hesitating for a moment, Kazuki looked to the right, immediately noticing Kaneki''s sprinting figure.


    Within a few seconds, Kaneki had arrived in the clear around the ice pillar where everyone else stood.


    *RUMBLE*


    As the obsidian floor began to lean inwards, Kazuki glanced at his smartwatch, waiting for the message, before finally saying.


    "The wall is down, but that doesn''t mean the vault is robbed... just yet."


    Nodding his head, Kaneki concurred with the statement before turning to the main cast.


    "You all can leave now; I''ve cleared out all the djinns. There should be nothing stopping you from exiting now,"


    "..."


    "...?"


    As the atmosphere quickly loosened, the main cast stared at each other in silence before Liam eventually stepped up.


    Showing no fear in front of Kaneki''s piercing gaze, Liam shook his head before calmly replying.


    "Shouldn''t you two be the ones leaving? After all, we were here first."


    "..."


    As Kaneki''s expression turned to one of pure anger and Kazuki sighed, Liam paused before continuing in an eerily calm voice.


    "Don''t worry, we''re willing to compromise. You two can stay with us here... if you''d like to."


    Turning around, Kaneki seriously stared at Kazuki for a moment before solemnly saying.


    "You heard them. They don''t need our help, so I''m out of here. They said it, not us, so the principal can''t blame us if they all die."


    As Kaneki began to walk towards the exit, Kazuki reached out his hand before tightly gripping Kaneki''s shoulder.


    Leaning forward, Kazuki quietly whispered directly into Kaneki''s ear.


    "It''s like looking into a mirror, isn''t it?"


    "Shut it."


    "You do know we can''t leave them, right."


    "And why not? They seem so confident. Let them fend off the robbers all by themselves like the ''grown-ups'' they are."


    Smiling upon realizing Kazuki had just fallen for his trap, Kazuki leaned forward even further before replying.


    "Then, they''ll get all the glory and fame for protecting the vault... while we''ll be left with nothing. Imagine all that djinn killing a minute ago was for nothing..."


    Pausing upon seeing Kaneki''s eyebrows raise, Kazuki got even closer and continued.


    "And worst of all... that brat will get all the credit while you''re left with n-"


    "That''s enough. They''ll die to the robbers, so now fame of glory will bestowed."


    Gripping Kaneki''s shoulder even tighter, Kazuki grinned and replied.


    "And, who do you think will be blamed for that? If they die down her protecting the vault, we''ll be the ones at fault. The news will paint us as a bunch of cowards who abandoned some first-years to save our own asses."


    "But, they''re the ones who told us to l-"


    "Does that matter? In the eyes of the media, we''ll be blamed for their deaths, named as abandoners, and socially killed."


    "..."


    Realizing the logic behind Kazuki''s words, Kaneki swiped the hand off his shoulder before reluctantly turning around.


    Seeing this, Kazuki rejoined the main cast before pointing to the approaching Kaneki and saying.


    "I guess we''ll be taking your compromise!"


    *RUMBLE* Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Interrupting the group''s reunion, the obsidian wall leaned even farther inward, causing the ground to shake even more.


    However, nobody worried about the ground shaking, as there was now an entrance to the vault visible.


    At the top of the leaning obsidian door, a small hole could be seen, leading straight into the vault.


    Without any words being spoken or any gestures being made, everyone knew what to do.


    Casting a temporarily floating spell on everyone, Alya allowed everyone to levitate up to the base of the obsidian door.

 Chapter 283 - 283:Break In [2]

    Levitating up, the nine students landed atop the base of the obsidian door, which was ramping upwards.


    Not skipping a beat, Liam and the other members of the main cast, alongside Kazuki, activated their movement abilities to move forward at unbelievable speeds.


    Unfortunately, that left just one person standing confused and furious at the boss of the door.


    If Kaneki used his Reality Phase movement abilities, he would phase right through the obsidian door and on the dirt below the door.


    Sighing, Kaneki stared at the eight other running figures before breaking into a regular and mundane human-like sprint.


    Blending perfectly with the pitch-black obsidian wall, Ren de-manifested all his corrupted objects before leaning downwards.


    To fit inside the small hole separating him from the vault, he had to lie down on the top portion of the obsidian hole and slide through.


    Feeling the cold and hard material pressed against his chest, which was exposed as his clothes tattered during the purple-orb explosion, Ren sighed,


    Pushing himself forward was a daunting task, considering the wall was upward-sloping, but Ren somehow managed.


    Like a snake, Ren slithered on the floor, ducking his head down so that his chin touched the obsidian wall as he approached the floor.


    Behind him, Lily was the first to reach the top of the obsidian wall as her movement ability was best suited for short sprints like these, unlike the others whose abilities thrived during marathon-like fights.


    Also, seeing the hole in the obsidian door, Lily hesitated to lie down on the obsidian floor.


    Simply standing still on the top portion of the obsidian wall, Lily looked around for a second, making sure nobody was close enough to hear before saying.


    "If you''re here, say something."


    "...?"


    Confused, Ren ignored LIly''s schizophrenic talk and continued slithering forward.


    Just to make sure, Ren turned around for a second and glanced around, and even with his enhanced eyesight, he could see no one there besides Lily.


    Was she perhaps talking to him?


    Seeing absolute silence from her question, Lily let out an audible sigh before walking close to the opening.


    Getting eerily close to Ren, Lily attempted to block the gap between Ren and the vault before opening her mouth once again.


    "Whatever it is you''re looking for, it''s not there."


    Catching Ren off guard by her words, Lily took the moment to step ahead and lean down, blocking the gap with her body.


    Ignoring the silence, Lily continued.


    "There are no weapons or items in here. Just a cell. One single cell."


    Glancing around, Ren confirmed that the other main cast members and recruiters weren''t in the hearing distance before replying in a harsh tone.


    "And how would you know that?"


    Pointing behind her and through the gap into the door, inside the vault, Lily ignored Ren''s tone before replying in an equally harsh tone.


    "Because I''ve been in there."


    Approaching Lily, Ren stood up and manifested a single corrupted dagger.


    Holding the dagger so that it was facing the ceiling, Ren embued the blood-red substance into it, causing the dagger''s tip to burn a dark red.


    Raising the dagger above his head, Ren illuminated the area around him, including him, before waiting for Lily''s reaction.


    However, upon seeing Ren''s figure pop out suddenly before her, Lily showed no reaction, simply standing with her arms crossed.


    Seeing this, Ren hesitated a moment before replying.


    "Why should I believe you?"


    As the other figures began rapidly approaching the two, the blood-red dagger illuminating Ren came into sight.


    Liam, being at the front of the rushing main cast, pointed at the illuminated figure right next to Lily before screaming.


    "SHE''S STALLING THE ROBBER FOR US; WE HAVE TO GO!"


    Nodding their heads, the rest of the main cast and Kazuki increased their pace to a maximum, not conserving any energy.


    Behind them, Kaneki could be seen panting for air as he tried his best to keep up with the main cast above him.


    "huh?"


    Looking above him, Kaneki spotted Kazuki, who was only a few meters away from him, with his hand stretched out.


    Staring at Kazuki''s stretched-out hand, Kazuki alternated gazes between the disappearing figures of the main cast and Kazuki.


    Seeing Kaneki''s confused figure, Kazuki smiled before reaching out his hand even further and asking.


    "What are you waiting for? Grab on, will you? We don''t have all day."


    Not waiting for Kaneki, Kazuki took out his spear before placing it between his legs and mounting it, just like he had done last time.


    After hesitating for a moment, Kaneki suddenly realized Kazuki''s idea, causing an audible groan to emerge from his mouth.


    "You do know what happened last time we did this?"


    Nodding his head, Kazuki continued staring forward before replying.


    "How could I forget? I had to clean your throwup off my spears for at least a month after. Although...the terrible smell of the spear after it did increase the offensive power of the spear."


    "..."


    Grasping Kazuki''s hand, Kaneki also mounted the spear, staying a safe distance away from Kazuki''s back.


    Seeing Kaneki mount the spear, Kazuki began to make the spear levitate before turning back and saying.


    "Don''t you dare throw up on me?"


    Pointing at the distance between their bodies on the spear, Kazuki furiously replied.


    "LET''S GO ALREADY!"


    As Kazuki began laughing, the spear suddenly burst forward with an incredible amount of speed, almost catching up to the main cast within a few seconds.


    Back next to the gap entrance to the vault, Ren leaned his head to the side and asked.


    "If what you''re saying is true, then what is in that single cell? This seems like an awful amount of security for one cell." S~ea??h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Looking behind Ren at the approaching spear-rides and main cast, Lily took out her wand.


    Seeing this, Ren tensed; however, he tried his best not to let it show, as if saying that Lily wasn''t even a threat to him.


    Slowly raising her wand, Lily replied.


    "See for yourself."

 Chapter 284 - 284:Break In [3]

    Manifesting another pair of daggers, Ren glanced around for a moment, not surprised upon seeing the approaching main cast.


    The most obvious reason why Lily could be here was to stall him, so he was already prepared.


    Manifesting six tentacles, Ren allowed them to emerge from his back before embedding themselves in the part of the obsidian door that was right behind him.


    Making the tentacles pierce deeper and deeper into the obsidian door, Ren leaned down and prepared to propel himself toward the gap.


    Calculating the exact angle, velocity, and distance that he needed to go, Ren stood for a moment before confirming that he had everything correct.


    Angling himself toward the upper left corner of the gap, Ren de-manifested the corrupted dagger, causing the light within the underground to vanish.


    Behind him, Alya, noticing the disappearance of the light, yelled.


    "IT''S STARTED."


    Heeding Alya''s words, everyone in the group pulled out their weapons except Kazuki, who was riding on his weapons.


    Unsheathing his katana, Kaneki desperately covered his mouth while attempting to stand up on the spear.


    Taking out her wand, Irene immediately caused a flying torch that followed her around to light up the space once again.


    On the other hand, Liam and Kevin raced forward ahead of the rest of the groups with their swords already swinging.


    Alya, a bit behind the two boys, took out her rapier before covering it in a layer of ice, instantly causing the temperature to decrease.


    Finally, Kevin, with his battle axe already out, followed behind the Kazuki and Kaneki, who were preparing to end their ride on the spear.


    On the other hand, Lily, upon seeing Ren ready to burst through the gap forcefully, simply stood still.


    As Ren pushed himself forward, Kazuki and Kaneki finally jumped off their spears before joining Liam and Kevin in their dash ahead.


    As Liam, at the very front of the group, approached Ren and Lily, a slight sound echoed throughout the underground space.


    *DRIP*


    *DROP


    *DRIP*


    *DROP*


    The sound of hundreds of water droplets falling onto the cold obsidian floor caused Liam to halt in confusion.


    Then, a small bubble suddenly emerged right behind Ren.


    In less than a second, before anyone could react, that water bubble grew and grew until it finally covered the top portion of the obsidian door.


    Inside the water bubble, Lily and Ren could be seen standing across from each other.


    Ren, already in the air, noticed the water bubble but didn''t do anything as he immediately added it into his calculations and noticed it wouldn''t affect his path through the gap and into the vault.


    Flying through the air, Ren stared with a confused expression at Lily.


    The water bubble didn''t just block his entrance; on the contrary, it helped him.


    It prevented the main cast and the two recruiters from reaching him, giving him more time to get through the gap and into the vault.


    Then, Ren noticed something odd.


    Lily had completely stepped out of the way, and she was no longer blocking his way into the vault.


    If Ren had wanted to, he could have just landed, crouched down, and walked through the gap and into the vault with no problems.


    Staring at Ren''s fleeting figure with a blank expression, Lily simply watched as he neared the hole.


    At that moment, Lily raised her wand, and the transparent water bubble that surrounded both her and Ren suddenly turned black.


    Liam, who had halted in front of the water bubble, jumped back as the water bubble turned pitch-black, preventing him from seeing the robber and Lily.


    Behind him, the main cast, Kazuki and Kaneki, finally caught up and stared at the pitch-black water bubble in front of them.


    Alya, breaking the silence, approached the water bubble before turning to Liam and asking.


    "What is this? Does she have some sort of plan? Did she tell you anything? Why did she block us out like this?"


    Liam, pausing for a moment, recalled how Lily had completely ignored him before turning the water bubble opaque.


    Was she some sort of secret signal that she had sent him?


    A secret code, perhaps?


    But, no, as Liam recalled the scene, nothing came to his mind. S§×ar?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Slowly shaking his head, Liam replied.


    "I don''t think so...I might have m-"


    "Who cares?"


    Interrupting Liam mid-sentence, Kaneki stepped forward, having recovered from his spear ride earlier, with his katana ready.


    Staring at the rest of the main cast, Kaneki continued.


    "The robber is in that water bubble, right? No matter what your friend seems to be planning, the robber is trapped and can''t escape. Let''s just go capture him, alright? We can worry about this ''teamwork and friendship'' shit later."


    Leaving the rest of the main cast in silence, Kaneki stepped forward with his katana, and then, before anyone could react, Kaneki thrusted his katana forward into the pitch-black water bubble.


    As ripples began to appear and the water bubble fell apart, Kaneki immediately backtracked before yelling.


    "COME BACK IF YOU DON''T WANT TO BE WET."


    Regaining their composure, the rest of the main cast and Kazuki followed suit, sprinting down the obsidian door to prevent being drenched with water.


    Everyone stood with their weapons ready except Liam, who seemed to be shaken or rather confused.


    Recalling how Lily had not even bothered to look at him before turning the bubble a pitch-black, Liam sighed.


    Regaining his composure, he picked up his sword, staring at the collapsing water bubble.


    Even though he knew Lily wasn''t going to do anything evil, he still felt hurt and somewhat betrayed.


    She had made plans behind his and everyone else''s back.


    Lily''s face wasn''t one of surprise or confusion; it was calm and tranquil.


    She had expected...or even planned for this moment for a long time.


    But, unfortunately, that wasn''t anything new to him.


    Pushing the thoughts of Lily out of his head, Liam focused on the only thing that mattered now.


    Protecting the vault and catching the culprit.

 Chapter 285 - 285: Break In [4]

    As the water bubble finally gave in, collapsing upon itself from the hole made by Kazuki''s katana, everyone looked on in anticipation.


    *POP*


    As a mini rainstorm occurred in the underground space, drenching everything in the vicinity of the water bubble, Kazuki stepped forward with his spear ready.


    *DRIP*


    *DROP*


    *DRIP*


    *DROP*


    Liam, being the first one to move, rushed forward, trying his best to keep his balance despite the wet obsidian floor.


    Behind him were Kevin and Kazuki, who ran side-by-side with their weapons ready and eyes peeled for the intruder.


    Finally, Kaneki and the rest of the main cast followed behind them, except for the magic-users, who stayed a bit farther away.


    As the pitch-black water bubble disappeared, the top portion of the obsidian door where the intruder and Lily were standing previously came into view.


    Yet, no one was there.


    Kaneki, who wasn''t looking forward, just blindly ran forward, but when he finally looked up, he noticed that no one was there.


    And maybe, worst of all, the gap in the obsidian door that led into the vault was blocked off by a pitch-black substance that was somehow darker than the obsidian material surrounding it.


    Putting down her wand, Ruby confusedly stared at the plugged-up hole that led into the vault.


    How was he going to get out..?


    Echoing the same sentiment, Irene and Alya ran forward, dropping their wands, towards the hole.


    Ignoring the frozen figures of Liam, Kevin, and Kazuki, Alya ran to the very top of the obsidian hole where the wall used to be.


    Leaning down, Alya tried to clean the gap and reopen the hole with her hand... however, the material blocking the hole was sharp... to the touch.


    As Alya placed her finger on the material to move it, a sudden cut appeared on her fingertip, and blood started rushing out.


    Regaining his composure, Kazuki headed to the top, where Alya and Kazuki''s confused figures stood.


    Staring at the vault, Kazuki asked in a grim tone.


    "So... the two of them... they''re inside the vault, aren''t they."


    Gesturing for Alya to move out of the way, Kaneki leaned down and began to examine the substance blocking the gap before nodding his head.


    "Sure, seems like it."


    Taking out his katana once again, Kazuki immediately attempted to pierce through the pitch-black material.


    However, the tip of Kazuki''s katana couldn''t even pierce through the material.


    The katana simply bounced off the material, not even able to make a dent or single mark in it.


    Shaking his head, Kaneki stood up and dropped his katana before turning to Kazuki.


    "This intruder...it seems we''ve underestimated him."


    As Kazuki stared at Kaneki with a confused expression, the rest of the main cast, including Liam and Kevin, approached them.


    Gesturing to Kazuki, Kaneki waited until everyone was next to the gap before explaining.


    "The djinns, earlier. I don''t think our intruder in there with your friend is associated with them. Rather, they were a distraction he used to get by us."


    "After all, all the djinns down there are dead and massacred while he''s in the vault alive and, most likely, thriving. That entire vault is all his. I find it hard to believe that he would just let his teammates die like that."


    Recalling something, Kazuki hesitated for a moment before saying.


    "That purple orb attack from earlier that exploded the ceiling...that must have been him, then."


    Nodding his head, Kaneki replied.


    "I didn''t see the attack exactly, but I saw the surprise evident in the expressions of the djinns I was fighting. They had no idea that was going to happen."


    Staying silent, the main cast simply listened, not asking questions or making any interjections.


    Seeing this, Kaneki continued.


    "This material of his, whatever it is, is managing to block off a near S-rank artifact. From that alone, we can assume that our intruder is at least an A-rank villain."


    Pausing for a moment, Kaneki pointed at himself and Kazuki before saying.


    "If you''re wondering, both Kazuki and I are recently advanced A-ranks. The two of us completed our last dream together around three weeks ago."


    Pointing at the filled-in hole, Kaneki continued.


    "Anyways, let''s get the real problem at hand."


    "He''s down there in the vault, and we''re up here. That may seem like a bad thing right now, considering that we can''t hurt or do anything to him while he is probably robbing the vault and having the time of his life.


    "However, that also means that in order for him to leave the vault with all his treasures, he has to get through us."


    Ruby, finally breaking the silence of the main cast, hesitated for a moment before asking.


    "What if there''s another exit from the vault...?"


    Thinking for a moment, Kazuki pointed at the entrance to the underground space before saying.


    "If there was another exit, that means there would have to be another entrance to the vault. And since he chose to come down here and go through the trouble of getting through us, I doubt he found another entrance into the vault."


    As the main cast nodded their heads, Kazuki stepped forward with his spear before saying.


    "Of course, there is just one problem."


    Before Kazuki could even finish his sentence, Liam spoke from behind.


    "A hostage. The intruder has a hostage."


    Immediately, a grim silence enveloped the whole group as everyone wordlessly stared at each other.


    Kevin, stepping forward, ignored everyone else before boldly saying.


    "If it gets to that, the life of Lily is much more important than whatever treasure is in there."


    Nodding his head, Kazuki agreed with Kevin''s statement. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Of course, the value of any human life far outweighs that of a magical artifact or item. But...let''s not get too caught up, now."


    Not missing the implication of Kazuki''s last few words, Alya stood back up and said.


    "What do you mean by that?"


    Kaneki, speaking for Kazuki, took a deep breath before replying.


    "IF we can get both the items and your friend back... it will be the optimal situation."


    Liam, walking next to Kevin, immediately said in a cold tone.


    "No shit."

 Chapter 286 - 286:Break In [5]

    Mid-air, Ren continued his dive into the gap, ignoring the peculiarities with both Lily and the appearance of the water bubble.


    Worst comes to worst, he could stop time with his ability and find a solution; however, if he didn''t get through that gap right now, he might never be able to enter the vault again. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Sliding head-first through the gap, Ren immediately manifested a pile of physical corruption in his hands before turning around.


    Cocking back his hand with the physical corruption, Ren aimed at the gap, intending to completely close it off.


    As Ren''s feet slid through the gaps and his entire body was now in the vault, Ren rushed his hand forward, ready to release the ball of physical corruption he made to block off the gap.


    However, before Ren could even let the corruption fly out of his hand, he suddenly saw something filling the gap.


    Coming right after Ren, Lily was ducking and down, attempting to pass through the gap into the vault as well.


    "What happens if my corruption hits another person...?"


    Raising his right hand to his eye, Ren paused time for a split second, attempting to discern if he could block off the hole before Lily got through.


    Unfortunately, after calculating for a moment, Ren came to the conclusion that it would be impossible for him to block Lily from entering despite his time-slowing ability.


    Lowering his hand from his eye, Ren allowed time to speed back to normal as he patiently waited for Lily to finish getting through the gap.


    Then, as Lily''s feet finally entered the vault and her entire body was inside, Ren let the ball of physical corruption fly out of his hand.


    In a perfect arc, the ball of physical corruption flew upwards before descending exactly where the gap was located.


    Then, upon impact with the obsidian material of the door, the corruption immediately spread out, covering every single inch of the gap and preventing anyone else from entering.


    Not yet looking around the vault, Ren glanced at Lily, who was only a few steps away from him.


    The obvious thing to do here was to take her hostage and use her to escape from the main cast and the two recruiters.


    Yet, Ren... was starting to have second thoughts about that idea.


    Lily had stopped Liam from reaching Ren initially, and then she had also created a massive water bubble that surrounded them two, giving Ren the perfect amount of time to escape into the vault.


    And now, she had even entered the vault right after him.


    It was hard for Ren to believe that Lily had done all this by accident.


    So, then, what was Lily''s goal?


    Was she finally turning to the dark side like Ren?


    Had she finally given up on that naive wish of hers to save as many people as possible, no matter the impact it may have on the rest of the world?


    Did something make her realize that, maybe, what she was doing right now with the main cast wasn''t the right way to go about saving the world?


    "If only..."


    Putting the breaks on his wishful thinking, Ren manifested a dagger before staring at Lily, who also had her wand out.


    *DRIP*


    *DROP*


    Breaking the silence inside the vault, the sound of water droplets from Lily''s clothing hitting the floor echoed through the massive space.


    In fact, it wasn''t just her clothes; Lily''s hair was completely drenched, losing its normal texture and becoming completely straight.


    Showing no reaction to the water covering her body, Lily sighed before turning around and staring at the now-filled gap.


    Hesitating for a moment, Ren manifested a corrupted sweatshirt before throwing it over to her.


    Right now, as far as Ren could see, they weren''t completely enemies.


    Actually, if Ren only considered the last few minutes, they would actually be considered allies, as Lily had helped Ren get into the vault.


    There was also the bond of origin that the two of them shared; however, Ren didn''t pay too much mind to that part.


    Liam would be really pissed if Lily came back from the vault with a cold...and Ren had no intentions of testing Liam''s power as the protagonist.


    What if he saw Lily coughing and suddenly got an insane power-up that allowed him to completely destroy Ren within a second!?


    Laughing at his own thoughts, Ren threw the sweatshirt at Lily, allowing it to land flat on her wet hair.


    Ren had already pissed off Liam more than humanly possible, so it honestly didn''t matter what he did to him anymore.


    As Lily turned around, the sweatshirt suddenly fell even further, completely blocking Lily''s vision.


    "...why am I blind!? What kind of ability is this!? MAKE M-"


    Chuckling, Ren coughed before replying.


    "on your head."


    Silently, Lily raised her hand to her hair, feeling the cold and hard surface of the corrupted sweater.


    Yanking the sweat off her head, Lily stared at it for a moment before not putting it on but using it to wipe her regular clothes.


    As Lily dried her clothes with the corrupted sweater, Ren stood still and glanced around, taking in and memorizing everything.


    "It seems like the principal is a minimalist..."


    In all honesty, Ren had expected one of the vaults where it was filled to the brim with gold coins and magical artifacts just lying around randomly.


    "Oh, is that a stat-boosting potion lying around? Don''t mind if I do! Oh, a perfect emerald gemstone; I can''t wait to make a magical artifact with this!"


    One where you could quite literally swim in the pool of gold coins and treasures!


    Unfortunately, Ren''s cartoon vision of the vault is broken when he realizes that it is quite the opposite.


    There were shelves all over the place, with labels marking them and various tools lying on them.


    Everything was so well... organized.


    But that also meant that the massive space was almost completely empty besides the few shelves lined up against the wall.

 Chapter 287 - 287:Break In [6]

    Staring at empty space ahead, Ren simply waited for Lily to finish wiping all of her clothes.


    It wasn''t like he was in a rush for time...after all, he, of all people, should never run out of time.


    While Ren did fear the principal''s potential presence and her being an obstacle to his escape, a plan was already in motion to counteract that.


    Taking out his smartwatch, Ren scrolled for a second in messages before immediately typing.


    [Ren: Did you two find the tunnel I made at the very bottom of the island?]


    [Raven: Yep, Zeng found your hole, which goes straight upward, after a couple of minutes of swimming around.]


    [Ren: And what did you do during that time?]


    [Raven: Oh, me? I''ve just been standing on the raft and watching Zeng swim around like a mermaid. It''s actually quite calming; thanks for asking, boss! How is your day going?] S§×arch* The N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [Ren: Nothing too big; I''m just chilling in one of the most valuable and secured spots in the entire world. You know, just the regular.]


    [Raven: And you didn''t invite me?]


    Lily, who had finished wiping her clothes, turned to give Ren back his sweatshirt but halted upon seeing him laughing like a toddler.


    "..."


    Was there some kind of joke she was missing?


    As far as Lily could see, Ren had just risked his life to get into this vault, yet here he was, not robbing it but...laughing at his smartwatch.


    Recalling how her mother had always told her that the new generation was too obsessed with technology, Lily nodded her head and made a clicking sound with her mouth.


    "The attention span of this new generation is unbelievable. They can''t sit still for even a second without their precious telephones!"


    Regaining his composure, Lily showed no caution as she simply walked up to Ren with his sweatshirt in her hand.


    Ren, hearing her footsteps, curiously looked up from his smartwatch.


    Instead of taking the sweatshirt back, Ren simply de-manifested it, watching Lily''s expression change as the sweater disintegrated into nothingness in her hands.


    Finally breaking the awkward silence between the two, Ren pointed at the tens of shelves lined up against the wall before saying.


    "I believe you said earlier that there was nothing here besides a single cell."


    Nodding her head confidently, Lily stayed silent and simply walked forward, leaving Ren behind.


    Approaching one of the shelves, Lily grabbed a hammer-shaped item before throwing it to Ren.


    Catching the hammer-shaped artifact in his hands, Ren stared at his for a moment before boldly declaring.


    "A hammer!"


    Weighing the object in his hand, Ren quickly realized that despite its abnormal appearance...it possessed no mana in it.


    Staring at the hammer-shaped object in his hands, Ren''s expression rapidly changed as he furiously muttered.


    "It''s not a magical artifact?"


    Interrupting Ren, Lily replied from a distance.


    "No, it definitely is a magical artifact."


    Recalling Lily''s inherent ability to perceive mana particles as a magician, Ren curiously questioned.


    "So you''re telling me this thing had mana particles that I can''t detect?"


    Although it wasn''t impossible, Ren highly doubted it as he had grown quite used to detecting mana due to his constant use of it in his abilities.


    Even inside his body, Ren could perfectly control the ocean-blue mana so that it interacted with the blood-red substance when necessary to create a blood-red and ocean-blue wing.


    His expertise in mana control and detecting mana was at least B-rank at this point, maybe even higher.


    However, instead of answering Ren''s question, Lily simply turned around and began walking further into the massive vault.


    "Put the hammer back and follow me, will you?"


    Following Lily''s instructions, Ren approached the shelve before beginning to place the hammer on the rack.


    But, mid-action, Ren stopped for a moment before saying.


    "...and why should I listen to you?"


    "Wow, you really are a distrustful person."


    "Oh, blame me for not trusting someone who has basically been my archenemy up until now!"


    "Aww, you consider me to be your #1 enemy? I hate to break it to you, but you''re not exactly my #1. I''d be willing to give you my #2 spot, though, if you asked nicely."


    "..."


    Letting his curiosity get the best of him, Ren put down the hammer before following Lily, who was heading towards another shelf.


    Stopping at the shelf, Lily picked up a bucket-shaped object before once again throwing it over to Ren.


    Catching it, Ren examined the bucket once again, closely looking for any mana particles that surrounded it.


    Yet, only after a couple of seconds, Ren put down the bucket before grimly saying.


    "Not a magical artifact."


    Not even looking at Ren, Lily continued moving toward another shelf before saying.


    "Onto the next, then!"


    Repeating the same notion once again, Ren put down the bucket-shaped object before receiving a saw-shaped object from Lily.


    And once again, Ren could not detect a single mana particle within the saw-shaped object.


    As Lily motioned to him and began to move toward the next shelf, Ren sighed before admitting.


    "None of the items here are magical artifacts, are they?"


    Shaking his head, Lily retrieved the saw-shaped object from Ren before once again relying.


    "No, they are all magical artifacts, I''m sure."


    Furious at the fact that his vault robbery may have all been for nothing, Ren harshly replied.


    "THEN, WHERE IS THE MANA!?"


    Smiling, Lily ignored Ren''s yellow before suddenly adjusting her path ahead and saying.


    "I''ve been waiting for you to ask that you know. If I simply told you from the start, you''d never believe me. I had to use this roundabout strategy just so that you will come to the conclusion yourself and believe me."


    Following Lily, Ren watched as she approached the back wall of the vault.


    Turning around, Lily motioned for Ren to come even closer before asking in a calm voice.


    "Do you feel it?"


    Confusedly, Ren stepped ahead, standing side-by-side with Lily, before placing his hand to the back-wall of the vault.

 Chapter 288 - 288:The Vaults Secret [1]

    As Ren''s hand made contact with the back wall of the vault, Ren suddenly felt an immense energy surround him.


    Feeling the energy enter his body, Ren immediately controlled the pitch-black substance in his body to make a barrier to prevent the unknown substance from moving forward.


    Limited to Ren''s hand, the unknown substance rapidly swirled around, causing Ren''s right hand to start shaking rapidly.


    However, as Ren gazed at his trembling hand, he suddenly noticed something.,


    "I-it''s shining blue?"


    Indeed, his entire right hand was shining an ocean blue.


    Immediately, Ren sighed before de-manifesting the barrier and allowing the mana to enter his body and flow around.


    Within a few seconds, all the mana that Ren had used to sneak into the vault and more was recovered.


    Normally, this process of recovering maximum mana would take up to three days, but Ren had just done it in a minute.


    Unfortunately, Ren couldn''t gain any more mana as his mana capacity stat was already maxed out for his rank.


    Taking his hand off the wall, Ren stayed silent for a second before turning to Lily and saying,


    "The mana...it''s all here. The mana from all those items from earlier...it''s over here."


    Not showing any surprise at Ren''s revelation, Lily simply nodded her head in agreement before saying.


    "All the mana from all the objects on the shelves in this room are here."


    Confused, Ren shook his head, glancing around at the countless shelves in the room.


    There were at least twenty items on each shelve in the room, and there were around twenty-five shelves in the room.


    Unable to fathom the amount of mana gathered here, Ren shook his head before cautiously asking.


    "But what would need so much mana."


    Smiling upon hearing Ren ask the question she had wanted to answer from the very start, Lily eagerly replied.


    "A seal. All this mana is required for one single seal."


    Tilting his head to the right, Ren confusedly repeated.


    "A Seal...?"


    Pointing at the wall, Lily hesitated before saying.


    "Did you just turn your ears off when I speak? I already told you that this entire room is a prison cell, didn''t I?"


    Nodding his head, Ren answered.


    "Yeah, basically."


    Ignoring Ren''s jab, Lily put her hand down before stepping back from the wall, which Ren now knew was actually a magic seal.


    Pointing at the plugged-up gap that led to the outside of the vault, Lily sighed before asking.


    "Is that enough for you? There''s nothing here worth of value that you can take."


    Staying by the wall and carefully examining it, Ren replied.


    "You do know what I''m going to ask you, right?"


    "What my favorite color is?"


    "..."


    "..."


    Regaining her composure, Lily stood side-by-side with Ren before looking at the wall and saying.


    "A mythical beast. That''s all I know."


    "..."


    Intrigued, Ren continued studying the wall while also placing one of his hands in his hoodie where his cat was sleeping.


    Maybe he could finally figure out the true identity of his time-traveling cat!?


    Was it a mythical beast as well?


    Mythical beasts, or S-rank creatures, hadn''t been spotted for over a hundred years now, although their impacts had been visible.


    Over half of the water ecosystem had been wiped out during the fight between the two kings of the sea, Leviathan and Kraken. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The effect of that fight, despite having happened hundreds of years ago, on the sea could still be seen today as the ocean was vastly underpopulated by fish and other water animals.


    "You''re probably thinking that something this important should have been mentioned in the book, aren''t you?"


    Indeed, you don''t just come across a mythical beast, especially when one hasn''t been spotted in hundreds of years.


    Even if this was THE principal''s vault, a mythical beast still far surpassed Ren''s expectations.


    Not just because of the pure rarity of the beast but also because of the safety concerns that would be caused.


    This Mythical Beast could wipe out the entire capital city and the academy within a single minute if it wanted to.


    And the principal, or for that matter anyone else in the world currently, couldn''t even stop it.


    In history, only one mythical beast had been slain, and not by a human, but by another mystical beast.


    That was what separated the brawl between the fight of the giant serpent, Leviathan, and the purple squid, Kraken, from others in history.


    For there to be a mystical beast in this vault, that would have to have meant that someone in this world had managed to defeat it.


    Not only that, but the person had also managed to, instead of killing it and being the first human to slay a beast, lock it up in a cell.


    Looking around at the countless shelves filled with items, Ren just couldn''t believe that this seal would be strong enough to contain mythical beats.


    Seemingly reading Ren''s thoughts, Lily said.


    "Based on what I''ve learned, it''s been severely weakened... however, it seems it cannot be killed by anyone yet."


    Nodding his head, Ren sighed at the failure of his mission before turning back.


    Although he didn''t completely believe what Lily was telling him, the risks were far too high.


    If Lily was telling the truth and Ren broke the seal to look for magical artifacts, the entire world, alongside him, would be exposed to a mystical beast.


    Walking away was the only option here.


    Seeing this, a smile appeared on Lily''s face as she followed Ren towards the gap in the wall.


    Stopping for a moment, Ren decided to throw a question.


    "Just curious, how does one come across this knowledge?"


    Lily''s familiar connections and noble background couldn''t entirely explain how she knew about this vault.


    She had known every single detail about the vault before even entering, from the tools being used for a magical seal to the sealing of the mystical beast.


    If people knew that there was a mystical beast sealed below the academy and still alive, chaos would ensue.

 Chapter 289 - 289:The Vaults Secret [2]

    Pausing for a moment, Lily stood completely still before looking at Ren and replying.


    "No idea, it just appeared on my desk today."


    Not expecting to get a real answer in the first place, Ren simply nodded his head upon hearing Lily''s obvious sarcastic words.


    After all, their allicin could be short-lived, as once they both exited the vault, they would be placed on opposing sides once again.


    Their ideals were fundamentally different.


    Lily wanted to save as many people as possible without any care for the constant death flags and plot changes she would be making.


    Ren wanted to save the world as a whole, and for him, there was only one way. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In the book, there is a happy ending, and the world is saved.


    So, in Ren''s eyes, as long as the book is relatively followed, the world has a 100% chance of being saved.


    Of course, he was fine with minor plot changes, some even caused by him, but the relative chain of events should remain the same.


    However, as shown by his acceptance of Irene as a hero when she was a villain in the book, Ren didn''t care too much about the characters but rather more about the proceedings of the events and incidents.


    On the other hand, Lily''s method didn''t even guarantee the saving of the world, so how could Ren trust it?


    Looking at Lily, Ren decided to do something that he had completely forgotten about since the first few weeks of his transmigration.


    He had always said that talking it over with Lily would be impossible, but perhaps they could come to some sort of compromise.


    But this was before Lily knew of his transmigration into this world as well, so there were some risks.


    If their talks failed, Lily would basically gotten the information that Ren was also from Earth, while Ren would have gained nothing.


    Now, though, things were different as Ren had nothing to lose by trying to negotiate or talk to Lily.


    After all, if he had learned one thing from this entire robbery, it was that he and Lily weren''t so different.


    Leaning against one of the nearby shelves, Ren looked at Lily with a serious expression before asking.


    "Do you know why we''re even ''enemies'' in the first place? You know I''m not just some psychopath who gets joy out of seeing people die and ruining your plans, right?"


    Nodding her head, Lily took a seat on one of the racks on a nearby shelf before answering in an equally serious voice.


    "Well, I would consider you a villain as you keep trying to ruin our plans. Whether it was on the cruise ship or even right now, you''ve always been on the opposite side of us."


    Nodding his head, Ren agreed, confirming that what Lily said was true, before replying.


    "Even thought about why?"


    Pointing upwards at the ceiling of the vault, Lily seemed to think for a moment before saying in an anxious tone.


    "Earth? You want to go back there, don''t you?"


    "How would I fighting against you and your posse take me back to Earth, though?"


    Shrugging her shoulders, Lily looked at Ren before responding in a curious tone.


    "To that, I don''t know. But does the reason even matter in the end? Time and time again, you''ve shown yourself as an opposing force to us."


    Manifesting a book with his corruption, Ren began flipping through the empty pages for a moment.


    Seeing this, Lily confusedly stared at him, prompting Ren to turn the book over and reveal its title, which said, "Welcome to the Magic Academy!"


    Confusedly, Lily stared at Ren, wondering why he had made a copy of the book their current world was based on.


    Ignoring Lily''s confused expression, Ren continued flipping through the empty pages, slowing down as he approached the last few pages of the book.


    Reaching the very last page of the book, Ren stopped for a second before carefully flipping it over and handing it to Lily.


    Taking the book from Ren, Lily immediately looked at it; however, her curiosity turned into confusion as she saw that the entire book, including the last page, was empty and without any words.


    Seeing this, Ren asked.


    "Whatever MAJOR events happen in the book are guaranteed to occur in this world, right? We can both agree on that since we''ve seen it time and time again, right?"


    Nodding her head, Lily looked up at Ren for a second before saying.


    "Major events, yes, but minor events are subject to change."


    Nodding his head in approval, Ren once again confirmed.


    "The things that go on in the major events are subject to change, but the major event itself isn''t."


    "For example, the invasion of the Elven tree was guaranteed to happen, but the way it was fixed was different from the book. You agree, right?"


    Thinking over the words for a few seconds, Lily agreed.


    "The events will always happen itself, but how the event is resolved or what happens as a result of the event are not the same."


    "The cruise ship incident was going to happen no matter what, but what happened before, during, and after it is subject to change."


    Seeing Lily on the same page as him, Ren stayed silent for a moment, thinking about how to word his next few sentences.


    If he was too harsh or cruel, Lily''s ideals could fall apart, and things could escalate, but if he was too vague and kind, Lily wouldn''t grasp what he was saying.


    But, before Ren could speak, Lily suddenly said.


    "However, that won''t always be true in the future. The changes we make right now could change future primary events."


    "For example, Irene''s future attack in the academy is a big event; however, it won''t happen anymore."


    "What you''re saying has been true in the past, but it likely won''t be true in the future."


    Raising his hand, Ren said.


    "That is...if we make too many changes to the plot. As you said, Irene''s future attack on the school won''t happen, but that is only because you made a change to the plot with Irene."


    "Other future events should happen regularly if changes are not made, right?"


    Mulling it over, Lily replied in a half-questioning and half-confident tone.


    "Possibly..."

 Chapter 290 - 290:The Vaults Secret [3]

    Breaking the silence, Ren hesitated for a moment before pointing the open book on Lily''s lap and asking.


    "What happened on the last page of the book."


    Thinking for a moment, Lily stared at the blank page of the book I had given her before finally saying.


    "Like any other fantasy novel, there was a happily ever after where the world was saved, and the heroes were fine."


    Nodding my head, I began drawing together all the answers she had given me so far to make a new question.


    "So that means, if we make minimal changes to the plot that allows the main and major events to stay intact, the book will be guaranteed to have a happy ending where the world is saved, right?"


    Looking away from the book, Lily made eye contact with me before stretching her hands upwards and saying.


    "Ah, so that''s your strategy, isn''t it? That''s what you''ve made yourself believe."


    Shaking my head, I replied.


    "From your previous answers to my questions, you''ve said it as well, just in a more indirect and roundabout way."


    Cocking her head, Lily replied.


    "Nothing is guaranteed, even your happy ending from the book you''re hoping for. Even if you follow the book to the tee, there''s no real guarantee that things will turn out how the book ends."''


    "This world is based on this book; how do we know there''s not some random divergence point somewhere? What if this world suddenly stops following the plot of the book for some reason? Then what?"


    Sighing, Ren shook his head, not having an answer to Lily''s question.


    From what he had seen so far, the plot of the book would turn into what happens in this world.


    But what would happen if all of a sudden, that just stopped happening, and the world stopped following the plot of the book?


    Breaking Ren out of his silence, Lily got up before walking towards Ren and saying.


    "Even if there is no divergence point, and from start to end, this world follows the plot of the book, the happy ending is not guaranteed."


    Grasping Ren''s internal problem, Lily continued.


    "You''re too concerned with the long-run outcome of this world, and because of that, you fail to realize what happens around you.


    "Nothing is ever guaranteed. You''ve just convinced yourself based on your biased perspective on the world, and the book that this happens to end that occurs in the book will happen here if you follow the book''s plot."


    Understanding that refuting Lily''s verbal criticism would be impossible, Ren decides to attack Lily''s strategy.


    "And is your strategy of saving everyone you come across with no regrets better? At least, my plan is based on some evidence, even if that evidence is somewhat faulty. You''re just doing things on a whim without any regard for the outcome.


    "Sure, I''m too obsessed with the long run, but you''re too focused on the short run. You fail to consider what impact your actions will have on the outcome of this world. You just do whatever you want, saving people and killing enemies without any thought."


    Strolling over to Ren, Lily stood right in front of him before looking up into his eyes.


    "On Earth, was a happy ending ever guaranteed? At any moment, our world could have been destroyed by some unknown force like aliens or some other creature in outer space."


    "But did that stop you? When you were living your life on Earth, did you focus on how your actions would impact whether the world survived or not?"


    Taking Lily''s words seriously, Ren recalled how he had spent his last life solely studying and doing work, only caring about his future rather than the future of the world.


    Continuing, Lily took advantage of Ren''s silence to add in.


    "Earth was our world then, and this is our world now. I''m not saying live exactly as you would have on Earth, but realize that, just like Earth, this world is random and full of possibilities." S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Even if you think you know more than anyone else because of your knowledge of the book, you are just as clueless as everyone else in the world in the end."


    "This world is random, no matter how fixed it may seem. This a real world with real people and real things."


    "That means people here will not act exactly as they did in the book as their emotions are random and only controlled by themselves, not the book."


    "And because of that, this world isn''t fixed...because the people, or characters in the book, can change them."


    "Therefore, your happy ending at the end of the book is only guaranteed if the people in this world act exactly as they did in the book, which simply will not happen."


    "They were made by the book, but they don''t have to act according to the book. They are people with minds of their own and will sometimes act abnormally, throwing the plot of the book off."


    Letting Lily''s words take place inside his brain, Ren let out a sigh before asking.


    "So your plan then is to live one step at a time? Solve one problem at a time... finish one and then do another new one."


    Nodding her head, Lily''s eyes sparked as she replied.


    "Just like how I acted on Earth, I do what I want. I do what my heart tells me to do, and that''s it."


    "This world isn''t a book in my mind anymore; this is a real place with real people, who are not robots made by an author but real people who have their own minds and brains."


    Nodding his head, Ren realized why their ideologies and ways of doing their things were so different.


    Their lives on Earth, as Ren could tell from Lily''s words, differed greatly.


    Perhaps one day...he would figure out how Lily lived on Earth.


    As for now, he had more important things on his mind that he needed to sort out.


    He wouldn''t be solely swayed by Lily''s words, but he would take them in and decided for himself if what he was doing was truly right, or if something needed to change.

 Chapter 291 - 291:The Vaults Secret [4]

    Returning back to reality, Ren found a curious and excited Lily waiting in front of him, impatiently waiting for his reply.


    Clearing his mind, Ren responded to Lily''s excited expression with a monotone voice.


    "I''ll think about it."


    She had won this debate, and it wasn''t hard for Ren to see that.


    But she hadn''t won over his mind just yet.


    Seeing Lily''s expression turn into one of agitation, Ren pointed at the filled-in gap that led to the outside before asking.


    "Shall we go?"


    There was nothing left to be done in this room.


    Ren had no intentions of releasing a mystical beast capable of killing millions of people into the world.


    And, if he wanted to take a magical artifact from one of the shelves, he would have to weaken the seal that was trapping the mystical beast.


    Accepting his loss, Ren turned to Lily, who was nodding while walking towards the gap.


    Scratching his head, Ren halted mid-walk before saying to Lily, who was ahead of him.


    "Any chance you can put in a good word for me? I''m pretty sure this exit is guarded to the brim, and if I even step foot outside, my head will go flying off."


    Turning back to face Ren, Lily said in the most monotone voice she could manage.


    "I''ll think about it."


    "...really? My life is on the line here, you know?"


    Walking backward toward the hole while still facing me, Lily tilted her head before replying.


    "You asked for it, though. You drilled through the obsidian door and completely knocked it over, not even mentioning that giant hole you made in the ceiling."


    Avoiding Lily''s gaze, Ren sarcastically replied.


    "Oh, what did you want me to do? Just walk up to you and ask for the vault key, and then be on my way?"


    "I mean, that would have work-"


    "Oh yeah, I was just supposed to know that you were going to take me on a personalized tour of the vault and actually help me."


    Shaking her head with a smile, Lily turned back to face the gap before saying.


    "Don''t try to act so nervous and scared. You must have some sort of escape plan. How would you escape with the magical artifacts if they were actually here?"


    Taking out his smartwatch, Ren nodded at Lily''s words before opening up the messages application.


    [Ren: You two done yet?]


    [Raven: Boss, you better some brought back some damn good treasure. I did not SPEND MORE THAN THREE HOURS IN THE CAVE WITH ZENG, JUST TUNNELING FOR YOU TO SHOW UP HANDED. I BETTER SEE THE MOST POWERFUL AND VICIOUS MAGICAL ARTIFACTS ON YOU!]


    Looking up from his smartwatch, Ren glanced at Lily before saying.


    "You''re sure there are no magical artifacts here I can take, right?"


    Pointing at the shelves of random objects behind, Lily shrugged her shoulders and sarcastically replied.


    "I mean, you can take them, but the seal holding the mystical beast will weaken. If you''re willing to take that risk and allow it to escape, then don''t let me stop you!"


    Sighing, Ren turned back to face his smartwatch before awkwardly typing.


    [Ren: YOU WON''T BELIEVE WHAT I GOT!!! THIS VAULT DEFINITELY LIVED UP TO ITS NAME!]


    [Raven: You only type in all caps when you''re lying or being sarcastic.]


    [Ren: Can''t I be excited? I mean, I would snap you a photo, but I''m kinda in a rush, you know, a bunch of people just waiting for me to exit so they can kill me.]


    [Raven: You can spend a second taking a picture.]


    [Ren: Where''s the tunnel Raven? The coordinates.]


    [Raven: Where''s the picture, boss? The insane magical artifact you have.]


    As Lily approached the gap and turned around to face Ren, waiting for him to dismiss the material blocking their way out, Ren rapidly typed.


    [Ren: Raven, my life is on the line; don''t do this right now.]


    [Raven: Here''s a puzzle with the coordinates. Multiply the number of days in a year by the number of countries, then add the total number of sides on a hexagon and octagon combined; the position of "E" in the alphab-] S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [Ren: Raven, don''t bullshit me right now.]


    [Raven: 25.5¡ã N, 14.1¡ã E]


    [Ren: Oh yeah, that really fucking helps. If only I knew how to calculate coordinates when I''m UNDERGROUND IN A VAULT!]


    [Raven: Right above me, there''s a massive crater in the ceiling.]


    [Ren: Do you see the hole in the ground from my original tunnel?]


    [Raven: It''s a couple of meters south from me.]


    Using my enhanced eyesight, Ren had already memorized the exact layout of the underground space outside the vault.


    Visualizing the underground space in his head, Ren used Raven''s details to calculate exactly where the new hole was.


    Then, Ren plotted a line between where the gap in the obsidian wall was and the entrance to Raven''s tunnel.


    After calculating the slope of that line to find the average speed, Ren finally rubbed his head and let out a sigh.


    Walking up to Lily, Ren said in an eerily calm voice.


    "I''ll have to go first."


    Patting Ren on the shoulder, Lily replied.


    "I''ll try to get everyone to go easy on you if you''re caught!"


    "Thanks a ton!"


    Leaving Lily with his parting sarcastic words, Ren scaled the wall until finally he reached the filled-in hole.


    Placing his hand on the physical corruption that filled in the hole, Ren took one last glance at Lily.


    Feeling the blood-red substance gathered in the chest, Ren carefully maneuvered until it finally made contact with the ocean-blue liquid mana.


    Since he had just replenished his mana, it would be more efficient for him to use an ocean-blue and blood-red wing instead of a pitch-black and blood-red wing.


    Ren hadn''t used the two different types of wings enough to discern if there were any differences in them besides the color, but he had always preferred to use the pitch-black and blood-red wing as he always had more corruption inside his body than mana.

 Chapter 292 - 292:The Vaults Secret [5]

    Feeling a sharp pain throughout his entire body, Ren turned around, seeing an ocean-blue and blood-red wing hanging from his right shoulder.


    Below him, Lily stared in amazement at the blue wing, wondering what Ren''s escape plan would be.


    Raising his hand, Ren confirmed the speed he would need to travel to reach Raven''s tunnel before angling himself accordingly.


    Slowing his perception of time, Ren took one last deep breath before recalling the corruption was blocking the gap.


    As the corruption disappeared, Ren took a single peek through into the underground space, memorizing every last detail.


    Then, with his perception of time still slowed, Ren immediately resummoned the physical corruption, blocking off the gap once again.


    Pausing, Ren recalled the image he had taken with his eyes of the underground space.


    It was... nothing.


    The gap was small and facing the ceiling, so Ren couldn''t even spot any people or any details that might help him locate them.


    Returning his perception of time to normal, Ren took one last glance at Lily, who was waiting below with a curious expression.


    Shaking his head, Ren manifested a shin layer of physical corruption before surrounding his entire body with it.


    Putting back on his mask, Ren raised his wing before recalling the physical corruption blocking off the gap one last time.


    *SWOOSH*


    *SWOOSH*


    Flapping his wing once, Ren disappeared from the vault, traveling at an unprecedented speed through the gap before reappearing mid-air in the underground space.


    Angling himself downwards, Ren flapped his wing three times in succession, disappearing from the air and appearing on the ground around 27 meters away.


    However, as he landed on the ground, Ren immediately noticed two figures, one in front and one in behind.


    Behind him lay a figure who was simply standing still with a spear in their hand, and in front of Ren was a rapidly approaching figure with a katana.


    Flapping his wing once, Ren appeared ten meters upward in the air before using his remaining mana to create a green bird.


    Throwing the bird upwards into the air, Ren waited until it touched the ceiling before allowing it to pop.


    Lily would tell the main cast and everyone else that Ren was the robber of the vault anyway, so it didn''t matter if Ren used his skills.


    Of course, there would be no evidence besides Lily''s words, so there wouldn''t be any massive consequences for Ren.


    And the vault wasn''t even robbed in the first place as nothing was even taken.


    However, this set it in stone that the main cast would know Ren''s part in the robbery as Liam would definitely be able to identify the robber as Ren from the green bird.


    As the bird flashed, temporarily blinding everyone, Ren flew right over the figure with the katana, landing on a nearby wall.


    Spotting his original tunnel hole, Ren glanced to the right, seeing a small head peeking out of another hole a couple of meters away.


    However, before Ren could react, a familiar figure appeared at the entrance to the underground space.


    Astrid, turning to look behind her at the entrance, screamed out.


    "Reinforcements are arriving."


    As Astrid''s voice echoed through the cave, Ren flapped his wing once again, appearing right above the hole that Raven had created.


    "Not so fast."


    However, blocking Ren from the hole, a spear flew right at Ren; this time, no figure was riding atop the spear.


    Having experienced the strength of the spear magical artifact firsthand, Ren didn''t dare to try and deflect it.


    Instead, he simply flapped his wing once again, taking detour away from the entrance to Raven''s tunnel..


    Back at the vault, Lily calmly exited the vault through the gap with her wand in hand.


    As she exited, two figures suddenly dropped down from the ceiling, landing on Lily''s right and left.


    Staring at the curious Liam and scared Alya, Lily shrugged her shoulders and said.


    "Some things can be solved peacefully."


    Liam, completely ignoring the fight between Kazuki, Kaneki, and Ren, immediately questioned.


    "Then why couldn''t you have told us?"


    Shaking her head, Lily easily responded.


    "If you knew, it never would have happened."


    If Liam knew that Lily was planning to have a secret and alone meeting with Ren in the vault, he would insist on coming.


    However, if Liam came along with them, the entire meeting would be ruined.


    Lily and Ren had talked about the book countless times and their lives on Earth, so no other being besides the two of them could have been in that vault for it to have happened.


    Interrupting the two''s conversation, Kevin walked forward, staring at Lily for a second, before turning away and saying.


    "Lily''s fine, so we can talk about this later, Liam."


    Pointing at the floating figure with an ocean-blue and blood-red wing, Kevin continued.


    "Let''s catch the robber."


    Appearing behind Lily, Ruby surprised Lily with a tap on the shoulder.


    "So who is he, the robber, and what happened?"


    Grabbing Ruby by the shoulder before Lily could respond, Irene appeared before saying.


    "Didn''t you hear? We''ll talk about all that later; if you didn''t know, we''re actually in the middle of a fight right now."


    Being dragged away by Irene, Ruby had no choice but to pull out her wand and follow Kevin, who was already running to help his brother in the fight.


    Ren, trying his best to avoid eye contact with Raven''s tunnel to prevent his two attackers from hiding out at his destination, floated in mid-air, waiting for the perfect moment.


    "Everybody''s here, oh wow!"


    Interrupting Ren''s train of thought, a sudden and unknown voice echoed throughout the underground space, drawing everyone''s attention.


    As Kazuki accusingly looked upward at Ren, he quickly shook his head and raised his head.


    "Not me."


    Looking for the source of the voice, Ren glanced upwards and examined the ceiling; however, there were no speakers visible.


    Was there someone else in the cave with them? S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Was it one of the reinforcements that Astrid had acllaed for?


    "Different characters, travelers, and game changers...all in one space!"

 Chapter 293 - 293:The Vaults Secret [6]

    "..."


    As those words echoed throughout the underground space once again, Ren once again franticaly searched for a person or sound-making device, but nothing was present.


    Interrupting the silence and drawing everyone''s attention, a sudden sound echoed throughout the underground space


    *BANG*


    Astrid, waiting right below the entrance, glanced up to see if the other reinforcements had arrived yet.


    But... as she glanced up, she realized that the entrance was completely blocked off.


    There was a huge metal slab preventing the reinforcements from entering and stopping Astrid and the others from leaving.


    Staring downward at his two enemies, Kazuki and Kaneki, Ren noticed that both of them were still staring at him. S§×arch* The N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Before Ren could even say something, the katana-using opponent said in a smug voice.


    "Nice try at trying to distract us. Getting desperate, are we?"


    "..."


    Listening to the katana-using figure''s words, Ren sighed and stayed silent.


    No matter what he said, they wouldn''t believe him, and rightfully so, he was their enemy and had attempted to rob the vault.


    However, Ren did throw a hopeful glance at Lily.


    There was a problem, and a big one at that.


    Another person was in the cave, simply hiding and speaking to them from afar.


    If this person had the ability to avoid Ren''s enhanced eyesight while speaking so confidently, they could be a true danger.


    Snapping back to reality, Ren spotted another figure joining the fight as Kevin, with his sword, sprinted towards Ren.


    "MAKE A FORMATION!"


    Within a couple of seconds, the katana-using person, spear-using person, and Kevin had created a formation to combat Ren''s winged transportation.


    There were no djinns for Ren to blend in, and there were no dark places for him to hide as the main cast had taken precautions.


    Irene had placed countless magical torches all around the underground space, lighting up the usually dark area.


    Only a straight-on fight or a one versus three awaited him.


    Taking a glance at the hole that led to Raven''s tunnel, which was around twenty meters away from it, Ren closed his eyes.


    Thankfully, Lily seemed to be stalling the other members of the main cast, so, for right now, it was only a one versus three instead of a one versus nine.


    And, Astrid...was standing still?


    "Maybe she''s still waiting for her reinforcements?"


    Ignoring the stationary Astrid, Ren manifested two corrupted daggers alongside a bow and a quiver full of arrows.


    Flapping his wing ten times, Ren zig and zagged throughout the formation of the three, narrowly missing his sword slashes and flying spears.


    Leaving behind speed mirages as he flew around, Ren halted as he approached Kevin, equipping his two daggers.


    Swinging his daggers twice, Ren sent two night-black sword slashes at Kevin before flapping his wing once again.


    However, Kazuki seemed to have known that Kevin was the weak link in the formation as, within seconds, he was there with backup, while Kaneki stepped forward and took over Kazuki''s spot.


    However, Ren wasn''t planning to escape the formation.


    Taking out his smartwatch as he flew, Ren rapidly typed.


    [Ren: As soon as your head pops out, I''m going. Wait a second, then immediately cover the hole]


    Flapping his wing a couple of times, Ren avoided a couple of attacks while simultaneously sending dagger slashes and arrows at them.


    Hovering exactly ten meters above the ground, Ren moved around, maintaining his exact distance from the ground while using his enhanced eyesight to monitor every change on the ground.


    But, before any change occurred, Ren suddenly felt an ominous presence approaching him.


    Looking at the source, Ren saw the katana-using figure standing with his sword raised.


    However, countless layers of pitch-black surrounded the katana, and it seemed to be slowly absorbing them.


    The spear-using figure and Kevin, on the other hand, ignored him and continued sending attacks at Ren, forcing him to stay on his feet.


    Taking a deep breath, Ren held his breath as he saw part of the floor below him beginning to weaken.


    Raising his hand, Ren ignored the katana-using figure who seemed to be absorbing more and more of the pitch-black clouds.


    Feeling his perception of time slow, Ren patiently watched as a hole in the ground slowly formed, revealing Raven down below with a pickaxe slung around his shoulder.


    Not wasting a second, Ren angled himself right at the hole''s entrance before flapping his wing once.


    As he sped through the air, the katana-using figure suddenly began swinging his sword in slow motion.


    But it was too late; before whatever attack the katana-using figure could hit Ren, he had already entered through the hole in the ground.


    As Ren appeared in the hole, he immediately felt himself being pushed towards the wall as there was not enough space for both Raven and him.


    On the other hand, Raven seemed unbothered as he counted to one on his figure before swiftly grabbing a pile of dirt with his shovel and filling in the hole.


    Grabbing Raven''s pickaxe, Ren dug to the right, hoping to find more space; however, he was immediately met with the face of a familiar figure.


    "Zeng?"


    "...Boss?"


    Interrupting the two, Raven''s casual and emotionless voice sounded from behind.


    "So...where''s all that loot, boss?"


    "Raven, why do you ask questions that you know are going to disappoint you when you find the answer?"


    "Ren, why did you ask us to risk our lives and spend our days hard at labor just so you can come back here with jackshit?"


    Letting out a sigh, Ren gestured for Zeng to move forward so they could finally escape.


    Above the ground, Ren could already hear the sound of weapons stabbing into the ground and walls as the figures above searched for him.


    The speed of his wing, combined with his slowed perception of time, made him so fast that they hadn''t noticed him going underground, but then again, there weren''t many places Ren could escape to in this underground area.


    "OW!"


    Snapping back to reality, Ren bumped face-first into Zeng''s back as he suddenly stopped moving.


    And then behind Ren, Raven bumped face-first into Ren''s back, letting out grunt upon impact.

 Chapter 294 - 294:No Escape [1]

    "Why did you stop, Zeng?" S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Rubbing his nose, which had bumped straight into Zeng''s back, Ren inwardly cursed before staring at Zeng.


    After staying silent for a moment, Zeng simply pointed forward before awkwardly replying.


    "I don''t know...it''s like I can''t go any further than here."


    Confused, Ren manifested a dagger before infusing it with the blood-red substance, illuminating the underground tunnel.


    As Ren gestured for Zeng to demonstrate, he promptly stretched his hand out, but Zeng''s hand couldn''t reach all the way forward, as if there was an invisible wall blocking the way forward.


    Proving his point, Zeng raised his foot and attempted to move forward; however, his foot was stopped mid-air from moving any farther.


    Looking at the peculiar situation where Zeng couldn''t move forward, Ren couldn''t help but mutter.


    "Discrimination?"


    Had the principal set up a barrier around the academy to prevent any djinns from exiting?


    Considering the fact that the principal knew about the vault robbery in advance, it was possible she would do something like this so that no djinns escaped.


    Was she discriminating against djinns specifically?


    As Zeng turned around with a disappointed expression, and Raven looked confusedly at him, Ren said.


    "Let me try."


    Nodding his head, Zeng moved towards the walls, allowing Ren to squeeze right by him and be at the front of our line.


    Looking at the exact area where Zeng''s foot was forced to halt mid-air, Ren raised his foot and attempted to stop forward at full speed.


    "*OW*"


    However, as Ren stepped forward, his knee suddenly burst into pain, as if it had just bumped into a brick wall.


    Clutching his knee, Ren stretched his hand forward, confirming that there was, indeed, some invisible wall blocking them from moving forward.


    As a sudden wall stopped Ren''s hand from moving any further forward, he sighed before turning to Raven.


    "We''re digging down."


    If they couldn''t get out one way, they would have to find another way out.


    At least...that was the plan.


    Manifesting three corrupted shovels, Ren handed them to both Zeng and Raven before also beginning to dig down himself.


    He couldn''t use any over-the-top abilities or dynamite like last time to dig as the main cast above ground could still be searching for him.


    So, it was back to the basics.


    Watching Zeng and Raven begin to dig downwards, Ren recalled how he had done the same exact thing with Jin and Han in the battle royale not even a week ago.


    Shaking his head, Ren picked up his own shovel before digging downward himself.


    Until...another invisible wall appeared.


    Zeng started first and was the most efficient in digging downwards, so he encountered the wall first.


    Picking up his shovel like normal, Zeng slammed it downwards, trying to embed it in the ground; however, instead...he was only met with plain.


    As the tip of Zeng''s corrupted shovel made contact with the ground below...the corruption bent.


    Yes, the corruption that Ren treasured for its resilience against almost every material, including the obsidian on the door protecting the vault, broke.


    Dropping his shovel, Ren stared at the broken, corrupted shovel in Zeng''s hands for a couple of seconds, rubbing his eyes countless times to make sure it was real.


    Following in Zeng''s footsteps, only a couple of seconds later, a shriek could be heard as the tip of Raven''s corrupted shovel made contact with the invisible wall.


    "...my corruption."


    After repairing the corrupted shovels of Zeng and Raven, Ren sent the two in opposite directions, hoping to find a way out from this invisible wall.


    However, after ten minutes, both of them reported back with alarming news,


    "It''s also blocked off this way."


    "Blocked off over here as well."


    De-manifesting everyone''s corrupted shovels, Ren sighed before staring up at the ceiling.


    Had the principal taken precautions to prevent anyone from escaping through the underground?


    No...Raven and Zang had managed to dig their way up without encountering the invisible wall, so that couldn''t be the case.


    The manifestation of the invisible wall had to have been more recent, between when Zeng and Raven finished their tunnel and when Ren arrived in the tunnel.


    What suspicious things had happened during that time frame?


    "the voice."


    Recalling the strange and unknown voice that had sounded twice earlier, Ren realized that it definitely had something to do with the invisible walls.


    It didn''t want them to escape.


    Above the ground, the main cast and two recruiters were spread out all across the cave, staying completely silent.


    Each other, with their ears ready, held weapons facing downward that were ready to fire if the smallest sound appeared.


    After a couple of moments, Kazuki shook his head before saying, breaking the silence.


    "The robber has to have been gone by now...he must have had some plan setup."


    Nodding his head, Kaneki seemed oddly happy, even though they had just lost, as he walked over to the main cast.


    "Don''t worry... we''ll find the robber eventually."


    Pointing at his katana, which was still covered by a bunch of pitch-black clouds, Kaneki added.


    "He''ll make sure of it."


    Putting aside Kaneki''s odd words, Kazuki glanced at Lily before asking.


    "Did anything happen...while you and the robber were in the vault."


    Shaking her head, Lily pointed at her uninjured body before saying.


    "He was just planning on using me as a hostage...so he didn''t do anything."


    Although Lily wanted to tell the truth and talk about how Ren was involved, she wanted to wait...wait for his response.


    Even if there was no evidence, Lily would be putting a target on Ren''s back for the rest of his life if she exposed his identity.


    Robbing the principal''s vault would put Ren in trouble not only with the principal but also with the academy and all its powerful alumni.


    Once she exposed Ren''s identity as the robber, there was no going back...everyone would know about it.


    That''s why she decided, for now, she was just going to tell the main cast, who she trusted, not to say anything to anyone, and not the recruiters.


    Nodding his head at Lily''s answer, Kazuki sighed before asking.


    "How...much did he take from the vault...approximately."


    It was time for damage control.


    As all eyes shifted towards her, Lily thought for a moment before finally answering.


    "There was nothing to take."


    Of course, everyone looked at Lily for specifications, but she just shook her head and replied,


    "Nothing was taken from the vault at all...I''m one hundred percent sure about it."


    Hearing this, Kauzki''s expression immediately changed as he realized that, technically, he might not have failed his task of protecting the vault.


    However, Kaneki didn''t care about the task as his curiosity overwhelmed him.


    "What do you mean by that? What was in the vau-"


    Stopping Kaneki mid-sentence, Liam stepped forward with his hand raised and said.


    "You can ask Principal Seraphina all of those questions, not Lily."


    Recalling something, Alya hesitated before saying.


    "Speaking of the Principal...was that voice earlier her?"


    Shrugging his shoulder, Kaneki replied.


    "Didn''t sound like her...and I doubt she would ever speak like that.


    As everybody recalled the unknown voice that had sounded earlier, silence emerged in the underground space.


    Nodding his head, Kazuki sighed before announcing.


    "So, nobody knows who the owner of the voice is."


    Immediately drawing his weapon, Kevin stepped forward and asked.


    "Does that mean there''s another person in this space, here with us."


    Immediately, everyone turned around and began glancing around the underground space, looking for any clues.


    And they did find someone...just not who they were looking for.


    Right by the entrance to the underground space stood Astrid with her wand in hand.


    Seeing them make eye contact with her, Astrid nodded her head before approaching them.


    Not allowing them to speak first, she immediately pointed at the entrance to the underground space before saying.


    "The reinforcements are blocked off...there''s some metal slab preventing anyone from leaving or entering."


    "It appeared right after I jumped down into the space, so I was left there alone."


    As the flames lighting the cave began to flick, Irene immediately questioned.


    "Does that mean...we can''t leave this space."


    Nodding, Astrid answered.


    "Yes, for now, there is no way out unless we make one ourselves."


    "If worse comes to worse, we can just use our powers to make our way upward and then leave this place."


    As Irene calmed down, Kaneki roughly bit his lip, causing blood to leak out and stain his face.


    Wiping his mouth, Kaneki glanced at the blocked entrance to the underground space before saying.


    "If that were true, then the reinforcements would have arrived by now. They definitely have the power to make a tunnel down here, yet they haven''t."


    "Something is preventing them from making tunnel downward, and therefore, we are also being prevented from going upward."


    "Or, in other words, we are completely trapped in this space."

 Chapter 295 - 295:No Escape [2]

    Immediately, Kankei turned to Astrid and asked.


    "When did it happen!? When exactly did the metal slab blocking off your entrance appear."


    Pausing for a moment, Astrid thought before replying.


    "Right after I came down...or when that voice spoke."


    Rubbing his head and scratching his hair, Kazuki muttered.


    "That voice...it was the robber, right? He was the one."


    Everyone nodded their heads in unison, but two figures remained outwardly stressed and anxiously glanced around.


    Lily and Ruby.


    Both of them knew the true identity of the robbers, so they knew...that voice couldn''t have been Ren.


    Lily, calmly considering that the voice could have been a part of Ren''s distraction to escape the vault, looked around for any signs of Ren.


    This was an enormous problem.


    If that voice truly was someone else who was not associated with Ren, that meant there was another figure in this underground space.


    And...the entrance to the vault was completely open and unprotected.


    The vault containing a mystical beast capable of destroying the entire capital city and academy was open for taking.


    Not wasting another second, Lily ran up the obsidian door, immediately casting an artificial waterfall to cover up the entrance to the vault.


    But...was she too late?


    Seeing Lily sprint up the obsidian door without warning, the main cast immediately followed while the two recruiters confusedly stayed behind.


    Standing atop the obsidian door and next to her artificial waterfall, which was covering the gap into the vault, LIly said.


    "The vault is still open! If there''s an intruder, we have to be alert."


    Hearing this, the two recruiters immediately came to their senses as they realized they had completely forgotten about the vault''s open entrance.


    Soon, the main cast and Lily were all standing beside the gap with their weapons drawn.


    Breaking the awkward silence, Lily pointed through her waterfall and into the vault before saying.


    "We should go in. It''ll be easier to protect the vault from there."


    There was also the chance that the owner of the unknown voice was already inside the vault.


    Raising his hand awkwardly, Zach asked.


    "I mean...are we allowed to? Last time, the principal said we shouldn''t go in."


    Shaking her head, Lily replied.


    "That voice...if it isn''t the intruder, that means there''s another person inside here with us. And this door has been left unprotected for over a minute before we came back."


    "It''s possible that there''s already someone else inside the vault..."


    Confused, Kaenki waved his katana around and replied.


    "I thought you said there''s nothing to take in the vault. I mean, the last robber didn''t take anything."


    Sighing, Liam shook his head and stared at Kaneki.


    All the anger that had accumulated as a result of Lily betraying the main cast and not giving them a full story, combined with the fact that the vault''s robber hadn''t managed to get away, suddenly burst out.


    "Man, if there''s nothing to take...then what the actual hell are we doing here!? OF COURSE, THERE''S SOMETHING THERE, OR ELSE WE WOULDN''T RISK OUR LIVES. YOU THINK WE FOUGHT A WHOLE HORDE OF DJINNS TO PROTECT NOTHING!?"


    "..."


    "..."


    Within seconds, the entire underground was plunged into an awkward silence as Liam glared at Kaneki.


    Waving his hands up and down, Kaneki paid no attention to the awkward atmosphere and replied in the most cheerful and happy voice known to mankind.


    "Geez, ever heard of sarcasm?"


    "YOU SON OF B-"


    "LIAM STOP!"


    "LIAM, DON''T LET HIM BAIT YOU!"


    Kevin and Zach, both stepping up, each restrained one of Liam''s hands, desperately holding him back from reaching Kaneki.


    Meanwhile, Kaneki was almost on the floor dying of laughter, with Kazuki shaking his head and staring at him.


    Irene was desperately covering her mouth, and beside her, Ruby and Alya simply stood in awe of the whole scene.


    It wasn''t that often that you saw the first-ranked student in the entire academy and a famous hero almost getting into a fight. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    On the other hand, Lily stood in the corner, next to the gap, with an expression grimmer than death itself.


    There was a chance that a mystic beast was going to be robbed and set free today, but her entire group was fighting amongst each other or dying laughing.


    Leaning down and looking through the waterfall that she made, Lily muttered.


    "Maybe...Ren was right."


    However, she failed to notice that Alya was right beside her, leaning down and looking through the artificial waterfall.


    "What was that, Lily?"


    "Nothing..."


    Ignoring the mention of a very familiar name, Alya sighed before asking.


    "Are we going inside the vault or not? I understand that the principal might not want us to see the inside, but you''re right; there is a possibility that an intruder is inside."


    Nodding her head, Lily dismissed the artificial waterfall, and then, without any hesitation, she crouch-ran through the gap.


    Jumping off the gap and landing inside the vault, Lily disappeared from the main cast''s sight within seconds.


    Following right behind her were Alya and Irene, who more cautiously walked through the gap before slowly climbing down.


    As the argument between the boys calmed down, they finally all turned around, noticing that almost all of the girls had disappeared.


    Looking at the open gap, they quickly regained their composure before also equipping their weapons and crouching.


    Unable to fix his massive battle axe through the gap, Zach almost shed a tear as he left if lying on the obsidian door outside.


    Finally, the two recruiters, Liam, Kevin, and Zach, all followed, with Liam at the very front and Kaneki at the very back.


    That left just one person.


    Ruby, staying silent and in front of the gap, secretly took out her smartwatch before rapidly sending a text message.


    [Ruby: Hey, that voice. Was that part of one of your schemes? The random voice that spoke like a minute ago.]


    [Ren: It wasn''t...]


    [Ren: Don''t do anything yet. I''m coming up.]


    [Ren: Wait, DO NOT GO IN.]


    [Ren: I''ll be right there.]

 Chapter 296 - 296:No Escape [3]

    Wiping the sweat off his face, Ren stared out at his smartwatch with Ravern and Zeng right beside him.


    There was someone else inside the vault...there had to be.


    The entrance to the vault that Ren had made had been left completely open during his fight with the two recruiters.


    Normally, Ren wouldn''t care...but if the wrong person got inside the vault, the entire academy could be destroyed within a matter of seconds.


    If a mystic beast got free, not even the principal would be able to stop it fully.


    She would need to call at least two other top-rankers to put down the beast, and even with that, there would be massive amounts of destruction.


    Peeking his head above the ground, Ren watched as Liam, Kevin, Zach, and the two recruiters entered the vault.


    And right beside the entrance was a familiar figure with jet-black hair and blood-red eyes, who was awkwardly glancing around the underground space.


    If the owner of the unknown voice had already freed the mystical beast, going into the vault would guarantee your death.


    So, Ren wasn''t going to enter until he was certain that the beast hadn''t yet been freed.


    As Ren climbed up from the tunnel before helping both Zeng and Raven, one thing really started to bother him.


    Why had the owner of the voice spoken?


    If he hadn''t spoken, no one in the underground space would have noticed him.


    He would have been able to slip right into the vault and do whatever the hell he wanted without anyone knowing in the slightest.


    Yet...he had decided to speak, notifying everyone in the room of his presence.


    Something was clearly off.


    If this voice''s owner had wanted to rob the vault, he would have done it silently,


    The owner of the unknown voice wasn''t after what was in the vault...he was after something else.


    Perhaps, the life or lives of people in this room.


    But, even with that knowledge, Ren couldn''t do anything.


    If the beast hadn''t yet been freed, he would have to enter the vault and protect it to prevent the mystical beast from killing everyone in the academy, alongside himself.


    However, that would mean that Ren would be doing exactly what the owner of the mysterious voice wanted.


    Ren couldn''t leave the underground space and escape to somewhere far away to save his life.


    He couldn''t just stand still as the unknown voice would obviously go to the vault and release the mystical beast.


    Ren only had one choice...and it was no coincidence.


    Clearly, the owner of this voice had forced Ren into this decision...yet Ren had to comply; there was no other choice.


    Standing on the dirt with Raven and Zeng, Ren speed-walked towards the obsidian door before climbing it.


    With his two partners by his side, Ren ran to the top of the obsidian vault, waving his hands as he approached a familiar figure.


    Letting out a "tsk" sound as Ren approached, Ruby pointed at the gap before asking.


    "Before anything happens, I need to know what down there is so important."


    Surprised that the usual trusting Lily hadn''t told her yet, Ren glanced at his two partners behind, making sure they were out of hearing distance, before replying.


    "The vault is not a vault...but a wall. A wall defending a button that has the ability to kill over a million people."


    "...could you be even less ambiguous if you tried?"


    Shrugging his shoulders, Ren smiled and replied.


    "You get the gist."


    Before Ruby could respond, Raven and Zeng finally arrived, immediately looking at Ruby with confusion.


    Pointing at the two boys by Ren''s side, Ruby curiously asked.


    "So, you''re not a lone worker?"


    "Did I give off that impression?"


    Replying from behind Ren, Raven emotionlessly said.


    "Yes."


    Alternating glances between the two boys, Ruby peered into their hearts before muttering.


    "Money and... self-improvement?"


    What a trio they were.


    The desire to survive, get money, and improve oneself.


    Looking through the gap in the obsidian wall, Raven deadpanned before looking at Ren and sarcastically imitating him.


    " ''It''ll be a quick in and out mission, I swear! You won''t have to fight or do anything besides dig'' "


    On the other hand, Zeng peered through the gap with interest, seemingly attracted to something in the vault.


    Leaving the two boys behind, Ren crouched downwards and stared through the vault, attempting to confirm whether or not the beast was free or not.


    Eventually realizing that the vault was untouched and clean, Ren sighed and looked up at Ruby.


    "Well, I honestly have no idea what to do now."


    He needed to go into the vault.


    Ren needed to help protect it from the possible intruder, or the mystical beast would be set free.


    Yet...if he entered the vault with the main cast, the two recruiters he fought earlier, and Astrid, things would get violent fast.


    He couldn''t enter with his mask or create another one as they would know he was a robber, and obviously, he couldn''t go as Ren.


    Crouching down beside Ren, Ruby also stared through the gap for a couple of seconds before asking.


    "You want to go inside so you can protect the doomsday button inside, but you can''t go inside because all of them are in there, right?"


    As Ren nodded his head, Ruby let out an agitated sigh and complained.


    "You know, one second, you''re robbing a vault, and the other, you''re protecting the world from a button. You really are a hero villain."


    Recalling his answer to Ruby''s question from the bet, Ren smiled and glanced at her.


    However, behind them, Raven interrupted with a depressed voice.


    "I hate to interrupt, but what is this about a button???"


    In unison, both Ruby and Ren replied


    "It''s a free-money button."


    "...oh really?"


    Unable to comprehend why his boss was attempting to enter the same vault he had just escaped from, Raven also crouched down.


    Breaking the silence, Ruby suddenly muttered. S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "Well...I do have an idea."

 Chapter 297 - 297:No Escape [4]

    Slightly afraid to ask, Ren sighed before saying.


    "And, what is that idea?"


    Putting a single finger over her lips to gesture for Ren to be quiet, Ruby grinned, catching Ren completely off guard.


    "Did Lily teach you that?"


    However, instead of answering Ren''s question, Ruby stayed silent and once again placed her finger over her lips.


    " *PFFT* "


    Hearing someone break into laughter behind him, Ren immediately turned around and glared at the chuckling Raven.


    Waving his hands up and down at the fuming Ren, Raven desperately tried to cover his mouth before saying.


    "N-nothing. I-i just thought of something really funny."


    Before Ren could come up with a fancy retort, Zeng suddenly stepped forward and in front of Raven.


    Staring at the crouching Ren and Ruby with a deadpan expression, Zeng asked.


    "Boss... is that your boss? Do I have to follow the orders she gives me as well?"


    "..."


    "*PFFT*"


    "*PFFT*"


    Ignoring Ren, who was visibly shaking at this point, and the laughing fits of both Ruby and Raven, Zeng continued in the most serious voice possible.


    "She told you to be quiet...and you listened, so I just thought..."


    Tapping Zeng on the shoulder, Raven fully covered his mouth as he spoke.


    "Z-zeng, that''s enough."


    Using every ounce of self-control in his body, Ren slowly turned to Ruby, who was struggling to hold her laughter in, and a wide grin spread across her face.


    A mystical beast capable of destroying cities and killing millions of people could be on the loose right now, but Ren''s teammates are laughing at him and cracking jokes.


    Every second counted.


    If there was already a fight going on down in the vault, and Ren arrived late, the mystical beast could be free.


    Yet...here, his trusted teammates and friends were laughing.


    Slowly opening his mouth, Ren articulated every single syllable as a calmly said.


    "So Ruby...what''s that plan of yours to get me in."


    Regaining her composure, Ruby hesitated for a moment before pointing downwards.


    Following Ruby''s gaze, Ren immediately spotted the dozens of djinns'' bodies all sprawled out across the ground.


    Seeing Ren notice the djinn bodies, Ruby said.


    "Their clothes..." S~ea??h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Some of the djinns just wore straight black clothes to help them blend in with the darkness of the underground space.


    However, some djinns, in particular, were wearing different types of clothing.


    A very familiar type of clothing.


    Fun fact: The uniforms for academy students, academy professors, and academy executives were all very similar, so if you weren''t paying attention to the person''s age, you could mistake them for each other.


    Dawning the uniform of academy executives, the djinns lay most near the entrance to the underground space.


    Not wasting a second, Ren nodded his head before sprinting down the obsidian door and jumping onto the floor of the underground space.


    However, on the way, Ren also grabbed the collars of both Raven and Zeng, dragging them along with him.


    Within a couple of seconds, Ren stood in front of djinn bodies, who all dawned the school executive uniform, with Zeng and Raven behind him.


    A small number of djinns even had the academy executive uniform on, and among those, some had their clothes stained with blood.


    So, finding a couple of suitable corpses took Ren a minute, even with his enhanced eyesight.


    Within a couple of seconds, the three boys had each found a suitable body.


    "Raven, Zeng, for the next couple of minutes...we are the good guys now, not the bad guys, alright?"


    Scratching his head innocently, Zeng responded.


    "Weren''t we always the good guys, though, boss?"


    "..."


    As Ren was at a loss for words due to Zen''s naivety, Raven walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder before saying.


    "Zeng...The only reason this company was founded was because your boss blackmailed me. If I didn''t agree to help him, I would be a corpse lying around in the black market.


    "The only reason you joined the company is because you had two options when Ren found you. Either join or die."


    "Do you see a pattern here?"


    Sighing, Ren ignored the two''s talk before pointing to the fully clothed corpses on the ground.


    "And right now, we are about to loot clothes off the bodies of dead people."


    Raven, trying to think of the reason why we needed the uniforms, shook his head before asking.


    "Boss, are we going to infiltrate that group from earlier with these uniforms?"


    On the other hand, Zeng, without any hesitation, began undressing and unclothing the djinn''s body.


    Using his physical corruption, Ren nodded his head to Rvaen''s questions while simultaneously creating a large wall of corruption that surrounded the three of them.


    Thus, all of them, looking in opposite directions, put on the academy executives'' uniforms.


    A couple of seconds later, the wall of corruption came down, revealing the three boys in their dirt-stained uniforms.


    Grabbing the three of them by their collars once again, Ren sprinted towards the top of the obsidian door.


    Seeing the three of them dressed up, Ruby cocked her head before saying.


    "Appearance is one thing...but you also need to act the part."


    Nodding his head, Ren turned to Raven and Zeng behind him before explaining.


    "We are reinforcements sent by Principal Seraphina to assist the students and recruiters in protecting the vault."


    Recalling the usual smug and arrogant nature of academy executives, Ren continued.


    "Act as if you are superior to the students inside, even if they are much more powerful than us. Don''t show any signs of weakness."


    Pointing at the now-blocked entrance into the underground space, Ren said.


    "The first question we will be asked is how we got in here. Do not stutter or falter when you hear this question."


    "Simply answer calmly and say that we all have movement abilities that allow us to bypass the iron slab that is blocking the entrance."


    "Also, mention that our other comrades are trying to get around the slab and will be with us shortly."

 Chapter 298 - 298:No Escape [5]

    Seeing Raven immediately raise his hand, Ren gestured for him to put down his hand before saying.


    "If they ask us for a demonstration or evidence, leave it to me. Simply stand still and do nothing; I will take care of the evidence portion."


    "Keep calm, and I REPEAT. DO NOT BE SURPRISED WHEN YOU SUDDENLY SHIFT LOCATIONS!"


    Seeing Raven still have his hand up, Ren sighed before asking.


    "What is it, Raven?"


    "Boss...there''s a button in there that we need to protect, or we will all die, right?"


    Realizing that there was no point in hiding it, Ren nodded his head, prompting Raven to continue.


    "Say...if a fight breaks out. What exactly do I do? Zeng can probably pull out his sword and get away with it...but I''d just be a walking kill for whoever is trying to press the button."


    Ren fully understood that Zeng and Raven would be essentially useless in the vault if a fight were to break out, which was likely.


    However, there were a couple of reasons why Ren still decided to bring them in.


    First of all, it would be really suspicious if just one person showed up inside the vault as reinforcements, so the main cast might not believe Ren if he showed up alone.


    With Raven and Zeng by his side, though, he would be more trustworthy in the vision of the main cast and recruiters.


    And, if it were just one person, Ren would probably be kicked out of the vault and be told to guard the exit because one person wouldn''t make enough of a difference if a fight were to break out.


    But, if there were three people, the main cast would be more likely to accept their help as three people could shift the tides of the battle, depending on their ability.


    And finally, it was much safer for them to be in the vault with Ren than be trapped in the underground space.


    With them by his side, Ren would be able to make sure they were safe.


    Also, reinforcements would break through the metal slab eventually and come through, so Raven and Zeng would be caught in the underground space, even in their tunnels.


    Crouching downwards, Ren gestured for the two boys to follow him and pointed at the gap.


    "Follow my lead from here."


    Seeing Ruby in front of him, Ren tapped her on the shoulder before whispering into her ear.


    "You''re not thinking of vouching for us, are you?"


    "..?"


    Surprised, Ruby turned around and stared at Ren for a couple of seconds.


    "I was going to...is that a bad thing? Lily and others would be much more willing to trust you, making your plan much easier."


    Shaking his head vehemently, Ren immediately replied.


    "What happens if they find out we''re frauds? Your trustworthiness and rank in the group will drop drastically, and considering the severity of this situation where millions of lives are at stake, you could possibly be kicked out."


    "..? Didn''t I already tell you? I''m not that attached to them, I''ll h-"


    Ruby''s friendships with other humans could be counted on two hands, so Ren didn''t want to risk decreasing that number.


    "We''ll find a way, alright?"


    Seeing Ruby still not convinced, Ren continued.


    "Think of it this way: If your trustworthiness in the group drops or you''re kicked out, then you won''t be able to help me out in the future when I actually need it. It''s an investment!"


    Nodding her head with a smile, Ruby suddenly halted before pointing at the two boys behind Ren.


    "You never introduced me to your friends, did you?"


    As they crouched and walked through the gap and into the vault, Ren pointed at Zeng and Raven before saying.


    "Zeng is the one in the back. He''s pretty naive and innocent, which is really confusing... considering his violent background. I recruited him from an evil merchant company, and now, he''s working with us.


    "And Raven is the one with a grimace...he''s a bit of an interesting kid..."


    Making sure Raven was out of hearing distance, Ren paused before whispering.


    "But he is dependable and hard-working despite his ugly attitude. Despite his complaints, he always gets everything done on time. You''ll get used to him in no time."


    Nodding her head, Ruby looked ahead before saying.


    "It''s like...you have a whole different life in and outside of the academy. Different types of people and everything."


    For the first time, Ren actually... regretted keeping secrets.


    Ruby had been clear with him from the start, exposing her identity as a boss of the gemstone order.


    And, when Ren asked why she had transferred to the academy, she gave him the true answer without a single thought.


    Even now, she was following Ren''s plans and even offering to risk her place in the main cast despite knowing that he was lying and being sarcastic about the doomsday button.


    Yet...here he was, shamelessly keeping everything a secret when she had been so open.


    Gripping the golden fruit in his pocket, Ren hesitated before walking a little closer.


    What was he supposed to reveal?


    What were the limits?


    Should he go all out and tell her that Lily and him are from another world?


    Or just keep it lowkey and tell her what was actually happening right now with the mystical beast?


    What would she want to know about him? S§×ar?h the ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seemingly reading Ren''s mind, Ruby turned around with a dampened smile and said.


    "When this whole vault situation is over...you owe me."


    Without waiting for Ren''s response, Ruby sped up and emerged from the gap before promptly jumping into the vault and following the main cast ahead.


    Gesturing for the boys behind him to stop, Ren peeked out of the gap and into the vault.


    Thankfully, it seemed that there was no battle yet...as everything was according to Ren''s memory of it from earlier.


    Leaving the cover of the gap, Ren waited for Raven and Zeng before the three of them promptly climbed downwards into the vault.

 Chapter 299 - 299:No Escape [6]

    As the three quickly descended downwards into the vault, Ren suddenly felt a pair of eyes locked onto his back.


    Readying himself, Ren grimaced before pulling up his dirty school executive shirt, covering his face in dirt and dry blood.


    And if that wasn''t enough, Ren also manifested physical pieces of corruption and spread them across his face to imitate scars.


    Finally, to cover his most identifiable trait: his blood-red eyes.


    Thankfully, all Ren needed was a pair of prescription glasses that blocked his eye color from being seen.


    Putting on the glasses, Ren pretended to stroke his imaginary beard like a true wizard before landing on the floor of the vault.


    A couple of seconds later, both Zeng and Raven were standing beside him, each of them with their attitudes changed and posture correct.


    Leading the group, Ren turned around and began walking toward the center of the vault, immediately making eye contact with the recruiter, who was holding a spear.


    Not faltering, Ren maintained eye contact until, finally, the recruiter asked.


    "And, who are you three?"


    Of course, the spear-using recruiter had seen their uniform, so he knew that they were supposed to be executives.


    Yet, for some unknown reason, perhaps establishing dominance, he had still asked the obvious question.


    It was like going to a pizza shop and asking if they sold pizza.


    Of course they did!


    Shaking his head, Ren showed no irritation at the question and instead emotionlessly replied.


    "The principal sent us to protect the vault...however, upon arrival, we noticed that there was already a breach in the vault."


    "The top portion of the obsidian door was open and led directly into the vault, so of course, we came to investigate."


    "And here we are, now."


    Not allowing the spear-using recruiter to ask another question, Ren immediately questioned.


    "And who might you be? As far as we know, nobody is supposed to be in this vault...no matter status or fame."


    Not trying to hide the fact that he had his hand on one of his weapons, Ren smiled and looked directly at the spear-using recruiter.


    Twirling around the pitch-blue spear in his hand, the recruiter hesitated before saying.


    "We were also assigned to protect the vault; however, like you, we also noticed a breach and came to investigate."


    Pretending to look around at the vault with an awestruck expression, Ren pointed at the main cast, who was a couple of feet away, and asked.


    "Those students are with you?"


    Nodding his head, Zeng silently examined the three "reinforcements" from the principal before asking.


    "Where are the rest of you? I doubt the prince would only send three people to protect this vault."


    Having already expected the question, Ren nodded his head before immediately replying.


    "The three of us here possess special movement abilities that allowed us to bypass the steel slab that was blocking the entrance."


    "The others should be here within a couple of minutes, I would assume."


    Interrupting the two conversations, the main cast, Astrid and Kaneki, suddenly walked over with a confused expression while pointing at Ren, Raven, and Zeng.


    Seeing their expressions, Zeng turned around and said.


    "They say they''re part of the reinforcement that the principal sent to protect the vault.


    As Zeng looked at Astrid with a questioning expression, Ren took the moment and immediately turned around.


    Ren had to show that they were equals and that the recruiters and students couldn''t just order them around.


    Not at all minding the gazes of the students and recruiters, Ren walked towards the shelves nearby and protected to explore the vault.


    Following closely behind him, Raven and Zeng also looked at the shelves and room with a curious expression, not daring to touch anything.


    As the three of them were aimlessly wandering the vault, Kaneki kept a hand on his katana while keeping his gaze locked on them.


    On the other hand, Lily stepped forward without a care for the reinforcements and said.


    "I''ve examined the vault''s seal, and there''s nothing off right now. But keep your guard up; he''s managed to sneak into the vault without us noticing... so he could have a way to bypass the magic seal as well."


    Since Lily had explained that the vault was actually a defense system with a seal to protect something unknown, the main cast and recruiters nodded their heads in relief.


    *RUMBLE*


    "Looks like everyone is here! But...I''m afraid there''s not enough socializing. Perhaps I should do something...to spice it up."


    Unable to hold in his words at the sudden voice, Ren muttered.


    "Is this guy a game show host or just fucking delusional!?"


    This wasn''t some school summer camp where the teachers had to force the students to interact with each other!


    It was the future most powerful people in the world in a vault that contained a beast capable of destroying the academy and capital city. S~ea??h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Creating an image of an insane person in his head and assigning it to the voice, Ren glanced at the main cast.


    They...had completely forgotten about Ren and company.


    Instead, all of them were huddled up while secretly talking.


    Gesturing to Raven and Zeng, Ren walked up behind them before waiting for an opening and saying.


    "Looking at your expressions, I assume you''ve heard that voice before. Do you have any information that you could share?"


    "The owner of this voice must be an intruder in the vault, so we must take him out at all costs!"


    Kevin, visibly angry at the interruption, glared at Ren before responding.


    "Screw off, will you? We don''t n-"


    Before Kevin could finish his harsh words, Alya immediately stepped forward and, in a kind voice, interrupted.


    " *ahem* Excuse my friend...we are just currently discussing. Once we are done, we''ll share our findings and plan. If you could please just wait a moment."


    Nodding his head, Ren took a glance at the wall with the seal and Lily, confirming nothing was wrong.


    Walking away from the main cast with his two teammates, Ren grimaced as he heard the words "bait" and "dogshit" pop up multiple times.

 Chapter 300 - 300:The Seal [1]

    "Serious, can they at least wait until I''m out of hearing range to start shit-talking me!?"


    Grinding his teeth against each other, Ren sighed and glanced at Raven and Zeng in front of him.


    Touching the sword in his sheath, Zeng confusedly looked around before asking.


    "Boss...you''re sure that a doomsday button is here of all places...?"


    Nodding his head in agreement, Raven continued.


    "We rushed and sprinted to put on clothes and get in here, but now we''re just standing around and doing a whole lot of nothing."


    Unable to refute their argument, Ren sighed and glanced around. S§×arch* The novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Everybody was in the vault...right?


    That was what the owner of that unknown voice earlier wanted, wasn''t it?


    So, then, why wasn''t he doing anything!?


    Shaking his read, Ren attempted to discern if there was another intention that the unknown voice had.


    "maybe he''s just a deranged maniac?"


    Looking down at Raven and Zeng, Ren cleared his throat before asking.


    "You two heard that voice from earlier, right?"


    As the two nodded their heads, Ren questioned.


    "What do you make of it?"


    Shrugging his shoulders, Raven glanced around before saying.


    "Seems pretty stupid to me. If that voice guy wanted to rob the vault and get that doomsday button, why did he reveal himself to everyone? He could have just slipped in without anyone noticing."


    Holding back the words, "Great minds think alike," Ren glanced at Zeng, who seemed to be contemplating.


    After a moment of thought, Zeng looked up from the ground and said.


    "Could it be a distraction? I mean, everybody in this room, including the people over there and us, are talking about it."


    "Maybe there''s some more important thing that we''re just ignoring because of the voice."


    It was true...everyone was focused on the owner of the voice and protecting the vault.


    Scratching his head, Ren asked Zeng.


    "A distraction for what though?"


    Seeing Zeng shrug his shoulders, Ren turned back around to see if the main cast and two recruiters were finished discussing.


    All of them were still huddled up and talking except Lily, who was waiting by the seal.


    While the seal was important as it was the only thing holding back the mystical beast inside the vault, protecting it was useless.


    Instead, protection needed to be given to the shelves and various magic artifacts that gave power to the seal.


    After a couple of seconds, the huddle between them finally dispersed as Alya and Astrid headed over to Lily while the others walked toward Ren, Raven, and Zeng.


    Readying himself, Ren gestured for the two boys to resume their acting and patiently waited, letting the main cast and recruiters come to him.


    "PUT THE HAMMER DOWN RAVEN!"


    Smiling, Raven put down the magical artifact he was playing with while Zeng stopped leaning downwards and stood up straight.


    At the front of the group were Liam, Kevin, and the other two recruiters, with Zach, Irene and Ruby at the back


    Glancing upwards, Ren expected the unknown voice to suddenly sound again as everyone was talking again, but the room stayed silent.


    Nodding his head, Ren wore a gracious smile as he beckoned the main cast in front of him to speak.


    In a clearly less friendly voice and expression, Kaneki stepped forward and said.


    "I''m sure, as implied by that unknown voice earlier, there is an unknown presence in this vault that needs to be exterminated."


    Nodding, Ren smiled and replied.


    "Indeed, that is the conclusion that the three of us have come to as well. However, we are yet to create a plan to do so."


    Glancing at Zeng with an odd expression, Kaneki hesitated before replying.


    "Alright...since we''ve already come up with a plan, I believe it would be beneficial for the two of us to work together instead of using different plans and complicating things in an already confusing situation.


    Once again, nodding his read, Ren raised a single finger before saying.


    "Would you giveme a moment to discuss this with my partners?"


    Seeing Kaneki nod his head, Ren gestured for the two boys to come closer before pulling them into a huddle.


    Zeng, full of energy and eager to start discussing, immediately brightened up and asked.


    "So, what are we doing, boss? Teaming up them...or going solo, just like the good old days. Just the three of us against the entire world!"


    "..."


    Seeing Raven about to break into laughter, Ren immediately pinched him before... also pinching himself to stop the laughter from coming out of his mouth.


    After hesitating for a moment, Ren said.


    "We''re working with them."


    Seeing Zeng nod his head and about to pull away from the huddle, Ren immediately grasped his shoulder and halted him.


    "Let''s pretend to talk for a couple more minutes. We can''t seem like easy to get, or else, we''ll be turned into pawns."


    Keeping a completely serious expression, Raven said.


    "Yeah, fuck protecting the doomsday button that could destroy the entire world. It''s more important that we seemed cool and hard to get to a bunch of teenagers who could give less of a shit about us."


    Nodding his head, Ren also assumed an entirely serious expression as he tapped Raven on the shoulder and replied.


    "See, he gets it!"


    "..."


    Seeing Zeng and Raven silent, Ren opened his mouth and started talking, but no sounds came out.


    "..."


    However, to the main cast, Astrid, Kazuki, and Kaneki, who were out of hearing distance, it looked like Ren was seriously talking.


    Immediately grasping Ren''s intention, Raven started silently singing the lyrics to Astrid''s song from earlier.


    "..."


    Zeng, honestly not knowing what the hell was going on, just started aggressively opening and closing his mouth.


    "..."


    "..."


    "..."


    "..."


    Staring at the scene of the three soldiers aggressively discussing, Zach awkwardly scratched his head before saying,


    "Man...that must be a heated debate over there."


    Touching the bottom of his chin, Kazuki, also interested, stared at the discussion amongst the reinforcements.


    "Must be a hard decision for them, you know."

 Chapter 301 - 301:The Seal [2]

    All three boys, barely managing to keep their composure and serious expression, simply pretended to talk in silence.


    Raven, his eye twitching and threatening to destroy this act, stared at Ren.


    Reading Raven''s expression as, "When is this bullshit going to be done!?" Ren promptly raised one finger, indicating one minute.


    On the other hand, Zeng actually seemed to be enjoying the experience... a little too much.


    His mouth was opening and closing as if he were actually screaming at the top of his lungs.


    The sound of his saliva sloshing together filled the silence, making the situation even more uncomfortable and comical for Ren.


    Unable to keep his expression straight anymore, Ren finally opened his mouth one last time before saying out-loud.


    "Looks like we''ve come to an agreement."


    Sighing in relief, Raven clasped his hands together and nodded his head in agreement.


    But...someone didn''t get the memo.


    Zeng, with his mouth wide open, yelled ecstatically.


    "NO WE HAVEN''T!"


    "..."


    As Zeng''s scream echoed throughout the silent vault, Ren put one hand on his sword while Raven slammed his palm against his forehead.


    Behind the three boys, Zach and Irene actually stepped in, shocked by the sudden change in volume.


    Kaneki, turning around, glanced at every single person before placing a hand on his katana, ready to strike.


    Seeing the main cast ready to attack them in a matter of seconds, Ren immediately stood up and desperately waved his hands around before saying.


    "No, no, no...we were talking about something else."


    "...?"


    Clearing his throat, Ren glanced around from the main cast and at the floor before awkwardly saying.


    " *ahem* We couldn''t quite come to a decision regarding what we would be eating tonight."


    "..."


    As the main cast stood in absolute silence, barely managing to keep a straight face, Ren continued.


    "As for the other point...after a long and interesting debate, we have decided to partake in your plan instead of creating our own."


    On the other hand, Lily could be seen banging her head on the wall with a serious expression.


    Standing behind Lily, Alya stepped forward, attempting to calm her down and asking.


    "Lily...what''s wrong."


    Shaking her head, Lily rubbed her forehead before muttering.


    "I thought I had at least one serious person in this room to help me with this, but I guess I''m wrong."


    Standing behind them, both Lily and Alya, Astrid stared at the three boys with both a confused and nervous expression.


    Locking her gaze onto Raven, Astrid placed a hand on her wand as she silently whispered.


    "Did he...just sing my song!?"


    With her mouth wide open, Astrid''s gaze locked onto Raven as he stood up and began speaking with the main cast.


    "...it can''t be...a fan!?"


    Interrupting Astrid''s thoughts, Alya sighed before saying.


    "Student council president...is there something wrong with you as well?"


    Snapping out of her trance, Astrid vehemently shook her head before turning back to face Lily, who was still examining the wall.


    Back on the other side of the vault, Ren and his two teammates walked toward the main cast''s huddle with determined expressions.


    After that shitshow...they probably seemed like idiots to the main cast, so they needed to reform their image.


    Leading the group, Ren exchanged nods with Kazuki while Kaneki simply stared and entered the huddle.


    And just as Kazuki was about to open his mouth to explain their strategy, the unknown finally sounded again.


    "That''s enough prep time...now it''s time for the real show to commence!"


    *FLICKER*


    *FLICKER*


    As the owner of the unknown voice''s words echoed throughout the vault, the lights inside suddenly started flickering on and off.


    One second, it was pitch-dark.


    And the next, it was all lit up.


    Repeatedly and repeatedly, the lights flicked on and off, throwing everyone in the room off.


    Seeing everyone begin to cover their eyes, Kaneki immediately jumped into action, unsheathing his katana.


    Swinging his katana five times in quick succession, Kaneki watched as five dark green slashes appeared before charging away.


    Each slash charged towards one of the five light fixtures in the room.


    Within seconds, the slashes hit their targets, immediately ceasing the flickering of lights and plunging the room into pure darkness.


    Shrugging his shoulders, Kaneki looked up at the ceiling, presumedly talking to the owner of the unknown voice, before saying.


    "If you can''t choose light or dark, I''ll choose for you."


    Behind Kaneki, Ruby and Irene immediately manifested eight mini torches before passing them around to everyone in the huddle.


    Standing still for a moment, Ren peered through the darkness of the room, making sure that Lily and the magical seal were all right.


    And indeed, Lily, Astrid, and Alya were all standing in front of the wall with their weapons drawn.


    Seeing this, Ren quickly scanned the rest of the darkroom; however, to his shock, there was no one else besides them.


    Perhaps the person had a way to avoid his eyesight?


    Considering all the various abilities and skills in the world, it was possible...but Ren still found it hard to believe.


    Picking up a torch and handing it to Raven and Zeng beside him, Ren glanced at Liam and Kevin, curious to hear their takes.


    As if responding to Ren''s gaze, Liam held up his torch, illuminating the ceiling before saying.


    "What if he''s not after the vault but one of us?"


    Shaking his head, Kevin recalled the information that Lily had divulged to them about the vault and its possible danger.


    Raising his head, Kevin swiftly argued back.


    "If he gets in the vault, then we''re dead anyway. There was no point in targeting one of us when he could just kill everyone."


    "..." S~ea??h the n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Taking a slight glance at someone in the group, Ren, finally on Liam''s side for once, calmly said.


    "If he wanted his target dead and the vault robbed, that would have already happened. He has to have another intention."


    "He might want us or...his target alive."

 Chapter 302 - 302:The Seal [3]

    Mulling over Ren''s words, Kazuki hesitated for a moment before replying.


    "There''s no point in trying to grasp his intention. His behavior is clearly erratic and unlogical, so his intentions would be practically impossible to read."


    "Let''s focus on our original mission of protecting the vault."


    Shaking his head, Ren immediately replied.


    "What more can we do to protect the vault? We''re here...there''s nothing to protect. All we can do is just stand here and wait for the intruder to make a move."


    Not allowing anyone the opportunity to respond, Liam nodded his head before promptly interjecting.


    "He''s right. Lily told us the seal is powered by those artifacts on the shelves, right?"


    Pointing at all the shelves in the room, Liam continued.


    "What if we just take them ourselves? If the artifacts are on us, then the voice had to come and get them from us."


    "If we gather all the artifacts together and guard them, then we''re no longer waiting for him. He has to come to us."


    Pinching Raven and Zeng, Ren gestured for the two boys to nod their heads before looking at the expressions of the others.


    As Raven and Zeng awkwardly nodded their heads, so did the other three main cast members: Irene, Ruby, and Zach.


    The two recruiters seemed to think for a moment before the one with the katana finally said.


    "If that''s what everyone agrees to do, then I have no reason to disagree."


    Kazuki, already calculating the logistics of Liam''s plan, pointed at one of the shelves before saying.


    "We won''t be able to hold all the magic artifacts with only twelve people."


    Pointing up the ceiling, Kazuki sighed before continuing.


    "Also...it''s clear that the owner of this voice can see us. Or us, he wouldn''t be able to tell when we''re talking or not."


    "Hiding them on our bodies is useless, then, because he''ll just know exactly where they are."


    Taking Kazuki''s words into mind, Ren sighed before asking an important question.


    "What if he can hear us all this time, even now, not just see us?"


    Nodding his head in agreement, Kazuki continued.


    "If he can see us, then I''m sure he can definitely hear us. So, let''s continue with the assumption that all our actions can be seen and heard by our enemies."


    "Putting all the artifacts in one spot is stupid as though they make it easier to defend; it also makes it much easier to destroy."


    "So... instead, let''s just take them out."


    Kazuki said, pointing at the hole that led to the underground space.


    "Let''s take all of these artifacts out."


    As silence descended amongst the group, Kevin glanced at Lily before saying.


    "How do distance...affect how these tools power up the seal? Like, if we get farther away with the tools, doesn''t the seal also get weaker?"


    Coming to the same conclusion, Kaneki nodded his head and turned to face Kazuki.


    "You want us to purposely weaken the seal...and give the robber an easier time?"


    With a clear smile on his face, Kazuki said.


    "Yes."


    Ren, honestly dumbfounded at the idea of this recruiter, started to shake his head.


    Was he trying to fool the owner of the unknown voice?


    You know, say one thing, then do the other thing.


    It would be a good idea...if not for how obvious it was.


    Not only a second ago, this same person had said that they knew that they were being both watched and heard by the intruder.


    Even a baby would be able to comprehend this stupid trick.


    So, Ren was befuddled as to why the spear-using and spear-riding recruiter was doing something so... basic.


    However...at the same time, Ren couldn''t ask.


    There was a possibility...very slight that the intruder could also fall for this trick.


    So, if Ren exposed the trick to the intruder who was listening, the plan and trick would be over.


    Looking around at the other main cast members, Ren was able to tell, based on their wide-open mouths and confused expressions, that they had also come to the same conclusion as him.


    Turning around, Ren was going to make sure that Zeng didn''t say anything...however, Zeng was nowhere to be found.


    Immediately glancing around, Ren found Raven before quickly asking.


    "Where is he...that idiot!?"


    With an exasperated expression, Raven simply sighed before pointing to the other side of the huddle.


    Following Raven''s finger, Ren saw Zeng...but not only Zeng.


    Standing right next to Zeng with a smile on his face was Zach.


    Zach and Zeng.


    "...quite the combo, don''t you think, boss."


    "Raven...are you being ser-"


    Shaking his head, Raven copied Ruby''s gesture from earlier and placed a single finger over his lips, signifying that Ren was quiet. S§×ar?h the novel(F~)ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Smiling, Raven shrugged his shoulders and said.


    "Haven''t you heard...two negatives make a positive. Well...those two are more like positives and optimists, though."


    "Wait...two positives make a positive, right?"


    Staring at Raven with a deadpan expression, Ren ignored his clear lack of basic math skills before looking at the amazing duo.


    "...wait what?"


    Within the few seconds that Ren had looked away from them and back at Raven...their progress had already started.


    Zach now had his arm wrapped around Zeng''s shoulder, and they were already engaged in what could only be the stupidest and most nonsensical discussion of all time.


    Unable to quite articulate words, Ren peered around the room again, hoping to find any signs of the intruder.


    He did not find the intruder as expected, but Ren did spot Lily and the other two girls walking away from the wall and towards them.


    Just as Kaneki was about to open his mouth to say something, Lily suddenly entered the huddle and interrupted.


    "The seal is perfectly intact...whatever the intruder is planning, it seems he''s taking it slow."


    Ren, about to open his mouth to respond, suddenly shut it as Zach''s voice spoke from beside Zeng.


    "Hey, Lily, let me catch you up on what we''ve been discussing. First, after a very long and semi-violent debate, the reinforcements from the principal decided to join us."


    "Next, we heard the voice and decided that he was definitely listening in o-"

 Chapter 303 - 303:The Seal [4]

    As Zach continued his summary, Ren glanced at Kazuki, who was also looking at Ren at that very moment.


    Making eye contact with the spear-using recruiter, Ren simply nodded his head, acknowledging his presence.


    Right now, he was not in a position to disagree with Kazuki''s plan, even if it was so obvious, as he didn''t even have another plan to suggest.


    As Kazuki nodded his head in return, the main cast, Astrid, and Ren''s teammates awkwardly stood as Zach continued his summary of our discussion.


    After a couple of seconds, Zach finally ceased talking, and Lily nodded her head before turning to Kazuki.


    "Distance does indeed affect the power of the seal."


    Seeming like he already knew that information, Kazuki simply nodded his head before returning his attention to the magical artifact-filled shelves.


    Shrugging his shoulders, Kazuki once again asked.


    "So, everybody is in agreement with my plan?"


    If someone disagreed with Kazuki''s plan, they would have to suggest another plan in turn, so everybody just nodded their heads.


    Ren doubted that moving the magical artifacts out of the vault and into the underground space would weaken the seal to the point where it would just break, so there wasn''t any worry about the mystical beast inside breaking out.


    That was proved by Lily''s non-disagreement with the plan.


    If she believed that the beast would break out if we moved the artifacts, she would definitely disagree with Kauzki''s plan.


    However, the concern was that since the seal was weakened, the intruder would be able to break through much easier.


    Destroying the foundation of the seal, or in this case, the magical artifacts that powered it, was the most straightforward way to break through a seal.


    However, brute force with mass destruction and immense power were also possibilities.


    With the magical artifacts so close and in such high quantity and the lack of actions by the intruder, Ren started to ponder as to if the intruder could currently brute-force through the seal.


    Considering the intruder''s power to be completely noticed and essentially omnipotent in the vault and underground space, Ren believed that the intruder could still brute force the seal, but it would take a huge amount of time.


    After all, this seal had been designed by the one and only principal, so she knew very well the type of people who would try to free a mystical beast.


    In the first place, if you wanted to free a monster capable of mass destruction, you would also have to be quite powerful yourself, as you would have to escape the beast yourself.


    Unless you were suicidal and wanted to die with everyone else in the beast.


    So, the seal was by no means lacking currently.


    But, if the distance between the magical artifacts increased, brute-forcing would be much easier.


    Glancing at Kazuki, who was already walking up to a shelve, Ren muttered.


    "Is that his plan?"


    Was he trying to lure the intruder out and entice him with the weakened seal?


    Of course, Ren couldn''t confirm this, as if he asked Kazuki out loud, and the intruder would just hear him and not fall for the bait.


    It was a peculiar situation.


    The plan was so stupid that it couldn''t work...unless it somehow did.


    Standing in front of a shelf with magical artifacts, Kazuki turned around before saying.


    "Kaneki and I will take the northeast, the reinforcements from the principal will take the southeast, and the rest of you split up to take the northwest or northeast."


    After pointing in all the various directions, Kazuki simply signaled for Kaneki to follow him before walking to his designated corner of the room.


    "..."


    Sighing, I looked away from Kazuki before turning to face Zeng, who was still attached to Zach.


    Waving my hand, I tried to gesture for Zeng to follow, but he didn''t see the signal as he was engrossed in a conversation with Zach.


    Sighing, I attempted to think of a way to formally call him out before finally saying.


    "Zeng, it''s about time we complete our task so this plan can be successful."


    Finally turning away from Zach, Zeng paused for a second before pointing at the rest of the main cast.


    "Why don''t you take one of them, boss? Trust me, the two of us will get our work done faster if we do it together!"


    Nodding his head in unison, Zach paused for a moment before turning to Ruby, who was next to him.


    "Ruby, do you mind swapping places with Zeng here and helping them?"


    Glancing around at her teammates, Ruby seemed to mutter something to Irene before finally turning around.


    Clearly not satisfied, Irene crossed her arms and angrily watched as Ruby stepped forward and said.


    "Sure, Zach."


    However, just as Ruby finished her sentence, Astrid said with a nervous expression.


    "I''ll also join Ruby to make teams fair..."


    Turning to the side, Astrid whispered to the rest of the main cast in a quiet voice.


    "in case anything happens, Ruby won''t be alone as well."


    Lily, honestly not caring, simply nodded her head before turning around and leading Alya and Irene to their corner.


    On the other hand, Liam remained silent for a second before intensly staring at Raven and Ren.


    After a couple of seconds, he simply nodded his head before leading Zeng, Zach, and Kevin to their corner.


    Turning around, I took a deep breath in before staring at Raven, who had a wide smirk plastered all over his face.


    Walking up to me, Raven extended his hand and tapped my shoulder before whispering.


    "So, boss, it seems you''re in quite a precarious situation. Both girls that you''ve talked to even and even invited over before. Which o-"


    Cutting Raven off mid-sentence, Ren muttered before pinching Raven.


    "Tread carefully."


    As Raven and Ren bickered, Astrid glanced at Ruby before walking forward toward the two boys.


    She had to find out how the boy knew the lyrics to her song, and what better chance was right now.


    Following Astrid, Ruby headed towards Ren and Raven, who were already walking towards their corner.


    As the four arrived at their designated corner, Ren cleared his throat before saying.


    " *ahem* My teammate and I will take c-"


    However, before Ren could finish his sentence, Astrid suddenly pointed at Raven before saying.


    "If we''re going to be working together, we''ll need to work and bond as a team to trust each other. Splitting up right now isn''t going to do anything."


    Pretending to think for a moment, Astrid shrugged her shoulders before saying.


    "I''ll work with the shorter one, and Ruby can work with you. This will also help ease the tension for one, as we inevitably get in a battle and have to work together to fight against the intruder."


    Not giving anyone else a chance to speak up or react, Astrid walked over to one of the shelves and began collecting the artifacts, starting from the top and working her way down.


    Glancing at Ren, Raven smiled as if saying, "Looks like someone already made the choice for you, boss!"


    Nodding his head, Ren waved Raven away and sent him to Astrid''s shelf to help with gathering the artifacts.


    Staring at Ruby, who had a completely plain expression, Ren tried his best to keep a straight face as he extended his hand and said.


    "My name is Hiro...I hope we can work together efficiently to protect this vault from being robbed!"


    Back on Earth, Ren''s name was given to him by his mother as Hiro, which symbolizes both generosity and abundance.


    Although...Ren was glad he had forsaken that name now.


    He wasn''t the most generous person in the world...


    Brushing a strand of her jet-black hair off his ears, Ruby tilted her head before also extending her hand.


    "Hiro? Damn...I thought your name would be something like ''Reng'' or ''Reven'' or ''Riam'' or ''Reby'' "


    Disguising his laugh as a cough, Ren smiled and sarcastically replied.


    " Riam? Really?"


    Nodding her head with a plain expression, Ruby grasped Ren''s extended palm before shaking it up and down.


    Glancing around, Ren ensured that everybody else was focused on their task before turning around and finding a shelf.


    Following Ren''s lead, Ruby stood side-by-side with Ren before picking up a magical artifact and placing it behind her. S§×arch* The N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Shrugging her shoulders, she whispered as Ren also picked up an artifact.


    "Really, all these magical artifacts, and you came back empty-handed!?"


    "...the guilt got to me. You know, I have mo-"


    "You were afraid of releasing whatever is in that vault, no?"


    Pausing for a moment, Ren pointed to the wall where the seal was located before carefully asking.


    "You know I lied when I said there was a button in there from the start, didn''t you?"


    Sighing, Ruby put down another magical artifact before replying in a disappointed voice.


    "I can see desires, even through walls, you know. Whatever thing in there and behind the seal has a pretty strong desire... to kill us all."


    "...I guess negotiating with it won''t work."

 Chapter 304 - 304:The Seal [5]

    * (Back to First-Person)


    Chuckling, Ruby sighed before adding another magical artifact to the pile we had formed beside the shelf.


    Glancing to the right, I spotted Raven and Astrid awkwardly taking artifacts from the shelves in pure silence.


    "..."


    Just pure silence.


    Occasionally, I could spot Astrid stealing glances at Raven''s figure, showing that she was affected by the awkwardness.


    On the other hand, Raven seemed to just not care as he kept his gaze locked on the shelf from him with a normal expression.


    However, as I continued staring at them, Raven suddenly turned to face Ruby and me, making eye contact with me.


    Finally changing his expression, Raven gave me a thumbs-up before flashing a smirk and going back to work.


    Ruby, who had also seen the entire thing, confusedly stared at me.


    "..."


    Pausing for a moment, I immediately turned around and stared at Ruby.


    "Please...can you tell me what his desire is!?"


    "..."


    Caught off my guard by the sudden question, Ruby hesitated for a moment before answering.


    "I could, but do you want to know?"


    "...? Why would I not want to know?"


    Was his desire something terrible?


    Was it something comical!?


    Unable to contain my curiosity, I stared at Ruby, who, after a few moments, responded.


    "Every time you look at him from now on, you''ll be thinking of his desire. And the trust formed between you and him as teammates will start to crumble."


    Confused, I scratched my hair before realizing what she was saying.


    It was true. If I had found out without him knowing, it would have been a complete break in trust.


    And even if he didn''t know I had broken his trust, every time I looked at Raven, I would subconsciously think of the trust I had broken.


    And... considering my plentiful secrets, such as hailing from Earth and not actually being "Ren," I didn''t need to add another.


    It wasn''t like I cared or was going to treat Raven differently based on his desire, so besides my curiosity, I didn''t really care all that much.


    Sighing, I nodded my head before taking a quick survey of the entire room to make sure that the intruder hadn''t made his move yet.


    And besides the main cast and two recruiters, the vault contained no one else, as far as my eyes could see.


    Ruby, seeing me glance around anxiously, tipped her head in confusion before asking.


    "Find something?"


    Shaking my head, I returned my gaze to the shelf before asking.


    "No...can you see any desires that you don''t recognize in the room?"


    If I perhaps couldn''t see the intruder, then maybe Ruby would be able to see the desire of the intruder somehow, confirming his presence.


    But, to my disappointment, Ruby shook her head before replying.


    "Nothing..."


    As the shelves around the room started to empty and countless piles of magical artifacts accumulated on the ground, Kazuki finally stepped forward.


    Pointing at the hole that led to the underground space outside, Kazuki glanced around before asking.


    "Is anyone done with their shelves yet?"


    Glancing at Ruby and I''s shelf, which was still half-full, I hesitated before glancing at Raven.


    Since there wasn''t anything here in the vault that I could see with my eyes, I wanted to explore the underground space to see if anything popped up.


    It was unfortunate, though...magical artifacts had to be handled with the utmost care.


    I couldn''t just manifest ten corrupted tentacles and start gathering them at light speed.


    They would inevitably break, weakening the seal that contained the mystical beast and giving the intruder an easier time.


    There was also the fact that magic interfered with other forms of magic.


    For example, my corruption would be able to corrupt the magical artifacts, giving me more power over them but at the same time weakening their magical output and, therefore, making the seal weaker.


    And, for the others, it was the same case as Ruby and Irene''s fire magic, Lily''s water magic, and Alya''s ice magic all would weaken the output of the magical artifacts if they made contact.


    Of course, the users of the weapon Zach, Liam, Kazuki, Kaneki, and Kevin couldn''t speed up the progress as their weapons and movement abilities would shatter the magical artifacts.


    That was why, despite the over ten of us all being magical wizards and swordsmen, we were simply gathering tools like mundane humans.


    None of us were using our powers or abilities to speed up the progress.


    Simply pick an object off the shelf and place it on the ground. Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Then, repeat until your shelf is empty.


    It was like an assembly line.


    Nudging Ruby, who was holding a magical artifact, I asked with a smile.


    "Wanna get out of here?"


    Smiling, Ruby placed the artifacts on the ground before responding.


    "And leave everyone else here to deal with whatever powerhouse is behind that seal?"


    Giving her a thumbs up, I replied in my most sarcastic voice.


    "You know me so well!"


    Coughing, Ruby alternated glances between our shelf and Kazuki''s figure before asking.


    "And how do you suggest we leave?"


    Ruby continued, pointing at the other groups'' shelves, specifically Liam and Kevin''s.


    "We''re way behind those guys. If we volunteer to leave, we''re just going to get yelled out and told to get back to work."


    Grinning, I glanced around for a second before taking a deep breath.


    Gesturing for Ruby to get behind me, I created a piece of physical corruption in my hands before molding it to take the shape of a human.


    Starting from the ground, I carefully worked my work with the physical corruption until the head and hair were finally done.


    After a couple of seconds, I had made two human-like sculptures, which barely reassembled me as I didn''t have enough corruption to add the fine details.


    Seeing Ruby not say anything, I put one hand on each of the corrupted figures, letting out a deep groan as I began to imbue as much corruption as I could into them.

 Chapter 305 - 305:The Seal [6]

    As I began pumping corruption into the figures, their previously hollow insides began to fill with the pitch-black substance.


    At the same time, the arms of the corrupted figures began to tremble...and slowly come to life.


    Within seconds, the previously frozen corrupted figures began slowly lifting up their hands and moving their legs forward toward the shelves.


    Taking my hands off the two corrupted figures, I panted for a couple of seconds, exhausted as I had never infused two corrupted figures with corruption at the same time.


    After a couple more seconds, I directed the two corrupted figures to begin removing things form the shelf, ensuring that they were careful and cautious when moving the magical artifacts.


    Turning around, I pointed at the distraught Ruby before saying.


    "Quick, before someone else finishes their shelve."


    Regaining her composure, Ruby stared at the two corrupted figures for a second with a confused expression before finally nodding her head.


    And thus, Ruby, the two corrupted figures, and I officially started an assembly line...for magical artifacts!


    The two corrupted figures picked up artifacts from the shelf and handed them to Ruby and I, depending on who was available.


    Then, the two of us would place the artifact on the ground before turning back around and repeating the same action over and over again.


    Was it efficient?


    Yes!


    Was it sustainable?


    Questionable... S§×ar?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    What was I supposed to tell the others when they saw me making sculptures and turning them into living things!?


    It was also possible that they would connect the dots between Ren and my disguise, as I had shown similar abilities before when I cloned Liam and used it as a distraction.


    Within a minute, Ruby and I had already caught up to Raven and Astrid, and we were slowly catching up to Kevin and Liam.


    Receiving an artifact from the corrupted figure, Ruby turned to me before asking with an exasperated expression.


    "You are, quite possibly, the most unpredictable person in the world."


    Shaking my head, I added a magical artifact to the pile on the floor before replying.


    "Then, you must be the best guesser in the world. After all, you''ve managed to catch all of my tricks."


    From the start, back on the cruise ship, and during the incident, Ruby found me out as an "anti-hero."


    And after that, she was able to discern my participation in every incident, even the dream where we had advanced from D-rank to C.


    Smiling, I took the last artifact from the shelf before placing it on the floor, de-manifesting the two corrupted figures.


    "Just in time."


    Raising my head, I said to Kazuki, who had gone back to observing the room for any peculiarities.


    "We have finished collecting the artifacts from our shelf. If necessary, we can begin transferring them!"


    Not even bothering to look at me, Kazuki simply nodded his head before pointing at the hole that led out to the underground space.


    Tapping Ruby on the shoulder, I whispered.


    "Just once...tell me his desire, please. He''s really starting to piss me off."


    Nodding her head, Ruby stuffed as many artifacts as possible into her arms before replying.


    "You want me to give you the desire of teammates just so you can exploit it for your own benefit."


    Vehemently shaking my head, I corrected Ruby.


    "Not for my ''own benefit." It''s for everyone''s benefit."


    Watching Ruby walk away while laughing, I picked a couple of magical artifacts off the ground before following her.


    Arriving at the wall where the hole was located, the two of us awkwardly stood there, alternating our gazes between our filled arms on the wall.


    Breaking the silence, Ruby took a deep breath before asking.


    "So...how do we get up."


    Alya had ice magic, so if she manifested a staircase up to the gap in the wall, we would just slip and break the artifacts.


    And, obviously, Lily''s water magical and Irene''s fire magic wouldn''t be of any help.


    Sighing, I pretended to face-palm before confidently responding.


    "There''s only one way."


    Raising my right hand to my eye, I slowed my perception of time, feeling my surroundings shift around me.


    Carefully, I put down all the magical artifacts I had on the floor next to Ruby before turning on the wall.


    With time still slowed, I immediately began scaling the wall, arriving at the gap just as time resumed to normal.


    Finishing my sentence, I waved down at Ruby before continuing.


    "Throw them...I won''t drop it...I promise!"


    To my surprise, Ruby wasn''t surprised at the fact that I had completely disappeared from her side and reappeared in the gap.


    She simply turned around before looking upwards and staring at me.


    Cocking back her arm with a magical artifact in her palm, Ruby responded back.


    "If you want to impress me, you''re going to have to try much harder."


    As those last words came out of Ruby''s mouth, she rushed her hand forward, releasing the magical artifact.


    Then, in a swift and clean arc, the magical artifact soared up into the air before perfectly descending into my open palm.


    ...?


    "How are you so good at throwing!?"


    Was she a pitcher or something!?


    First snowballs, and now...magical artifacts!?


    Ignoring my question, Ruby simply smiled upon seeing my surprised expression before launching another magical artifact right into my palms.


    Within less than a minute, the pile of magical artifacts on the floor next to Ruby disappeared, reappearing right next to me and the gap.


    Throwing the last magical artifact at me, Ruby finally said.


    "I''ve been practicing for our next one...since our snowball fight!"


    "..."


    Not moving at all, I watched as the magical artifact thrown by Ruby seamlessly landed in my hands.


    Did she say..." next one!?"


    She had already beaten me bad enough in her first snowball fight...how was I supposed to survive another one after seeing this!?


    Breaking me out of my trance, Ruby began climbing the wall, reaching the gap in only a matter of seconds.

 Chapter 306 - 306:The Underground [1]

    Reaching the gap, Ruby dusted the dirt off her clothes before staring at my figure.


    With a wide smile, she nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders before saying.


    "Impressed?"


    Nodding my head, I turned around to face the underground space before muttering.


    "More like scared..."


    I had been throwing my daggers since I had first gotten them from the academy, and she still had way better accuracy and power than me!


    Crouching down, I picked up some of the magical artifacts before walking through the gap with Ruby shortly following behind me.


    After a couple of trips back and forth between the gaps, the magical artifacts had been successfully transported out of the vault and into the underground space.


    Whether that was a good or bad idea remained unknown.


    Turning around, Ruby was about to head back through the gap and into the vault to transfer more artifacts.


    Stopping her mid-crouch, I walked forward into the underground space before saying.


    "When you were fighting the djinns with Liam and em, did you notice anything was off?"


    Hesitating for a moment, Ruby seemed to think before replying.


    "Their fighting in itself wasn''t weird...and their terrible coordination and teamwork were too expected, considering they are djinns."


    Pausing mid-sentence, Ruby turned around and stared at the remnants of her battle with the djinns before continuing.


    "But...after a while, I did notice something wrong."


    "We killed hundreds upon hundreds of them...yet they still continued coming. I know this may sound stupid, but I think even djinns have some sort of brian or intelligence."


    "Shouldn''t they have noticed that simply flooding us was going to lead to their inevitable death?"


    Nodding my head, I recalled how I had noticed earlier that the djinns had no regard for their lives as they continued rushing at the main cast''s makeshift fortress.


    Something was off with those djinns.


    If they were normal, after the first few waves of them perished to the main cast, the rest should have stopped and tried to escape.


    After seeing their teammates die ruthlessly, they would usually run away and attempt to save their own lives.


    It was almost as if...they were being controlled or forced to rush at us.


    But...who could possibly control djinns, a group of people known for their untrustworthiness, chaos, and uncontrollable behavior? Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Walking to the edge of the obsidian door, I stared downward at the ice walls that Alya had made before replying.


    "The voice...he was controlling those djinns somehow. That''s the only connection that I can think of."


    Though I knew saying it out loud was stupid, as it was possible he was listening in on us, I didn''t think it mattered whether he knew that we knew he was the djinn''s controller.


    Perhaps, coming to the same conclusion as me, Ruby clearly wasn''t afraid to voice her thoughts out loud as she responded.


    "It would make sense...but what was his goal? What did he gain from controlling the djinns? In the end, we killed them all, so he just lost an entire army of djinns for nothing."


    "He didn''t even do anything during the fight with the djinns...you were the one who broke into the vault and created the gap, right? The owner of the voice and controller of the djinns just stood still...and watched."


    Shaking my head, I sighed and looked up at the ceiling, where the crater from my purple orb was located.


    Whenever I thought about the voice and its dangers, it always boiled down to one question.


    What was his end goal?


    His erratic and unpredictable behavior simply made it impossible for me to identify his aim.


    It was almost like...he didn''t have any goal or something he wanted to achieve.


    Agreeing with Ruby''s words, I began walking down the obsidian door before saying.


    "What if he''s truly gone crazy...like one of those dream-losers."


    There were two ways to become a djinn.


    Sign a contract with a devil by somehow finding out.


    Or...trying a dream to advance your rank but failing.


    The more dangerous of the two were the dream-losers.


    After all, they had already truly died once in their dream, so why would they be afraid of death in the real world?


    What if the owner of the voice was one of them?


    What if he was simply toying around with us, like the producers of a game show and their contestants?


    Thinking about my words, Ruby halted for a second before responding.


    "It''s possible but unlikely. How would he be able to come up with a plan like this? Most dream-losers would simply bum-rush in and kill every single one of us or capture and torture us."


    From the controlling of the djinns to the ability to project his voice in the vault and see everything that was happening, it was clear that this plan was well-though out and very well-prepared.


    A normal dream-loser djinn wouldn''t care for a sophisticated plan like this, as Ruby had said.d


    Seeing Ruby hesitate to leave the gap by the obsidian door, I simply manifested two more corrupted figures.


    Nodding my head, I sent them through the gap and into the vault, ordering them to do exactly what Ruby and I were supposed to do.


    Stepping aside and watching the corrupted figures crouch-walk through the gap, Ruby changed the topic and hesitantly said.


    "Won''t they...you know, notice it''s not us."


    Since I wanted to conserve corruption for the fight, I had just made the most basic corrupted figure with no care for cloning someone.


    They looked nothing like Ruby and I, or anyone from the main cast and two recruiters.


    Crossing my fingers, I responded to Ruby''s concerns.


    "As long as the job is getting done and the artifacts are getting transferred, I doubt they''ll notice."


    "Also..."


    Pausing mid-sentence, I walked up right next to Ruby, who stared at me confusedly.


    "Wait for it."


    Smiling, I immediately swapped bodies with one of the corrupted figures, allowing my actual body to fall onto the obsidian door.

 Chapter 307 - 307:The Underground [2]

    No longer was I standing on the obsidian door with Ruby, but now, I was on the floor of the vault with a pile of magical artifacts next to me.


    "Ah...I guess I''m the thrower now."


    Taking a peek over my right shoulder, I spotted everyone continuing to mindlessly collect the magical artifacts.


    Every so often, though, one person would suddenly stop working and move around, searching for any traces of the intruders.


    Normally, my strategy would have just been to let my corrupted figure function, as everybody would just ignore it as long as the job was getting done.


    However, with everyone so paranoid due to the lack of information about the intruder, the main cast was much more cautious and observant.


    Simply turning around to face that wall so that the main cast, student council president, and two recruiters wouldn''t be able to see my face wouldn''t work anymore.


    So...instead, I decided to call in a favor.


    Glancing to my right, I spotted two familiar figures taking magical artifacts off their designated shelf.


    Holding up my hand to cover the side profile of the corrupted figure, I slowly walked towards the two girls.


    After only a couple of footsteps toward them, the two had already noticed my approach.


    Turning around simultaneously, both Lily and Alya stared at the distorted and poorly detailed face of the corrupted figure.


    It was pitch-black except for two holes for the ear, a hole for the nose and mouth, and two ears from the edge.


    Immediately, Alya pulled out her magic sword, covering it with a layer of pitch-blue ice, and opened her mouth, ready to scream.


    However, before Alya could fire off her ice sword and scream out, Lily stepped forward, placing a hand over Alya''s mouth.


    Staring at Alya, Lily simply sighed before whispering.


    "Calm down; let me take care of this."


    Since I had already shown my ability to clone when I had made replicas of Liam, Lily had probably made the connection and assumed that I was able to make any figure...even this monstrosity.


    Shifting her gaze away from Alya and towards me, Lily examined the corrupted figure before shaking her head and asking.


    "A simple ''I need help with something'' would suffice."


    "...?"


    "Imagine you''re playing a fantasy video game at 3 in the morning, and all of a sudden, you get jump-scared."


    "..."


    Waving my hand up and down, I bowed before responding.


    If I were in Lily''s shoes and turned around to see a random corrupted figure walking towards me, I would piss myself.


    I wasn''t very good with jump scares...


    Nodding her head, Lily ignored Alya''s confused expression and trembling body before asking.


    "So, what is it?"


    Pointing at the gap that led outside into the grounds space, I replied.


    "The intruder doesn''t necessarily have to be in the vault...he could just be in the underground space and be using sound magic to project his voice into the vault, making it seem like he''s everywhere at the same time."


    Pausing, I pointed at Liam, Kevin, and the two recruiters specifically before continuing. Sear?h the n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "So, I want to search the outside. Unfortunately, I doubt I''ll be able to just go off on my own and start searching."


    Interrupting me mid-explanation, Lily glanced around at the others before interjecting.


    "If you suddenly run off right now, you''d break the fragile unity between us. So when the intruders attacks, we''ll be a worse position to fight back and defend."


    Breaking free from Lily''s grasp, Alya removed the hand covering her mouth before immediately saying.


    "Lily...who the hell is this!?"


    Through the conversation, it seemed that Alya had been able to determine that I was on the same side as them as I stated my objective to take down the intruder, so she had calmed down.


    However, that still didn''t stop her reasonable suspicion from rising.


    Ignoring Alya''s words, Lily glanced at me, prompting me to nod my head while staring at Alya.


    Seeing my gesture, Lily turned to face Alya, pointed at my corrupted figure, and replied.


    "That is Ren; you should know him, right? It''s hard to explain right now, but he''s on the same side as us."


    Shocked, Astrid stared at the corrupted figure, which did not resemble me in the slightest, with a confused expression.


    "That''s...Ren? And he''s on our team?"


    Seeing Lily nod her head, Alya seemed to ponder for a moment before continuing.


    "Alright..."


    Now, it was Lily''s turn to act surprised and confused.


    Grabbing Alya by the shoulders, Lily forced her into eye contact before asking in a serious voice.


    "Aren''t you accepting this a bit too quickly? Our arch-enemy, who we''ve been scheming and fighting against since the beginning of time, is suddenly on our side? What Ren really was the intruder, and he just brainwashed me!?"


    Hearing Lily''s frantic words and shocked by the eye contact and sudden contact, Alya glanced away with fear, meeting gazes with me.


    However, for whatever reason, Alya simply remained silent and continued staring at me.


    Pushing Alya''s head so that it faced her again, Lily maintained eye contact before muttering.


    "...say something, please."


    "..."


    Taking her silence as a sign of admission, Lily let go of Alya''s shoulders before immediately turning to and asking in a demanding voice.


    "What did you do!? What have you done to her!?"


    Honestly, I had no idea why Alya had kept silent upon hearing Lily''s questions or why she had decided to trust me so fast...but it still felt good!


    Shrugging my shoulders, I pretended to look up at the ceiling with a bold expression and replied.


    "Maybe some people just recognize my heroism, and the fa-"


    Stopping me mid-sentence, Lily looked around the room, ensuring that no one had noticed our prolonged talking where we were supposed to be working.


    "That''s enough."


    Glancing at Alya, Lily quickly said.


    "We''ll discuss this later."


    Gesturing for me to come closer, Lily whispered


    "And as for you, I''ll cover for whatever this is...but I can only do it for so long. You''ll have ten minutes at the max before someone gets paranoid."


    "Let me know what you find, even if it seems inconsequential."

 Chapter 308 - 308:The Underground [3]

    Nodding my head, I quickly accepted Lily''s condition before turning around to face the wall once again.


    Waving one last goodbye to the two girls, I headed back to the pile of magical artifacts on the floor and below the gap that led outside.


    After ordering the corrupted figure to begin throwing the magical artifacts into the gap with care and precision, I finally returned to my own body.


    As my surroundings suddenly shifted from inside the vault to outside, I inadvertently closed my eyes due to the sudden change in elevation from low to high.


    Reopening my eyes, I immediately let out a sigh as I realized that my head wasn''t lying on the hard and cold floor of the obsidian door.


    Instead, my head seemed to be resting on some smooth textured surface.


    Of course, she had caught me...


    But then, why was I happy?


    Why was there a smile on my face when I realized that Ruby had caught me and prevented me from hitting the surface of the obsidian door


    If anyone saw one of their friends suddenly begin to fall over like a Jenga tower, they would catch them, right?


    Opening my right eye, I attempted to discern my surroundings, immediately spotting the ceiling of the underground space above me.


    "...?"


    If I was looking up at the ceiling, then shouldn''t my head on the door?


    Where else could it be?


    Snapping out of confusion, a sudden voice sounded from right above me.


    "I know you''re awake...get up!"


    Shifting my gaze further upward, I saw a familiar face right above mine.


    "...ah."


    Shocked by Ruby''s sudden appearance right above me, I immediately pushed my head forward, narrowly avoiding Ruby''s face, and sat up straight.


    And right behind was Ruby, sitting criss-cross while staring at my back with a confused expression.


    Seeing me turn around and back to normal, Ruby paused for a moment before saying.


    "Do you usually just pass out like that?"


    Shaking my head, I was about to say some lie I had concocted...when suddenly my mouth suddenly closed when I hadn''t given my brain any instructions.


    It was like an instinctual action...like my body was preventing me from talking.


    Ah, I can''t do that anymore, can I?


    Not after everything, and especially now, when information like this could be useful during a battle?


    Reopening my mouth, I made eye-contact with Ruby before immediately saying.


    "You remember that figure I made earlier, right? I switched bodies with it and called in a favor so that we wouldn''t be caught while exploring this space."


    "..."


    Hearing Ruby''s silence, I continued staring, eagerly awaiting her reaction...however, she just started laughing.


    " *PFFT* I-i... my bad."


    Covering his mouth, Ruby tried to force herself to stop laughing, failing at erasing the grin on her face, before staring at my dumbfounded expression and saying.


    "Sorry, y-you were just talking so fast, like you had to get it off your chest. It was weird...and funny seeing you like that."


    "...?" sea??h th§× n?vel_Fire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Looking downwards at my body, I pointed at myself before confusedly replying.


    "I did that?"


    How had I talked that fast without realizing


    Nodding her head, Ruby pointed at me as well before continuing.


    "Yes, it was like you were in two times speed....well, more like four times. I did understand what you said about your swapping bodies and explaining though."


    Without waiting for my response, Ruby stood up, wiping the dust off her academy uniform, and pointed at the vast underground space below us.


    "Well, let''s go then, shall we?"


    Regaining my composure, I also stood up, staring at the bloodied battlefield below, and replied.


    "Let''s go!"


    Cocking her head, Ruby walked up to the right side of me before looking at my face from an angle.


    "..?"


    "Nothing, you just seem more excited now than before when you said it."


    "I do?"


    Maybe telling the truth made me feel more excited.


    Should I tell the truth more often, then?


    In the previous days, I had always lied, even about small things.


    For example, when Jin and Han ask me in class, "Where are you going?" I would just say the bathroom when I fully intended to go on a walk alone through the hallways of the first-year building.


    I honestly lied more than I told the truth at this point.


    But...until now, I hadn''t really seen a problem with that.


    What could one simply lie about my whereabouts cause?


    Shaking my head, I simply smiled and looked at Ruby before jumping off the obsidian door.


    Landing on the ground of the underground space, I stared at the ice pillar next to me before turning to Ruby, who landed a second after me.


    "We have ten minutes and a lot of area to cover."


    My enhanced eyesight couldn''t see through walls, bodies, or ice pillars, so I couldn''t just stand in the middle of the room and do a full 360 degrees, scanning everything.


    I had to go around every part of the room and actually look around as rocks, bodies, and other various aftereffects of the earlier battle blocked my enhanced eyesight.


    Tracing her hand along the cold surface of the ice pillar, Ruby seemed to think for a moment before responding.


    "Splitting up wouldn''t make sense. It''s better to make sure that an area is completely clear by confirming with two people."


    "If we do it alone and split up, we could miss something like a pair of footsteps or weirdly shaped rock."


    In this case, I had to agree with Ruby.


    The owner of the voice was clearly good with hiding and sneaking, as he had mentioned getting into the underground space in the first place.


    Clues were going to be hard to find, if not nonexistent.


    Ruby could potentially miss a weird clue, then, and mark off a space as clear when it actually wasn''t.


    Nodding my head, I took a glance around...before immediately looking back up at the ceiling.


    Pointing up at the huge hole in the ceiling that had been created by my dark purple orb, I said.


    "Let''s start there."

 Chapter 309 - 309:The Underground [4]

    Nodding her head in agreement, Ruby also glanced upward at the large crater in the ceiling before responding.


    "A higher vantage point would help when searching through this... mess."


    Focusing on my body, I attempted to feel my remaining corruption flowing inside my body, slowly moving it all towards my stomach.


    As the corruption accumulated in my chest, I slowly began channeling the blood-red substance, opting out of using mana in order to conserve it for later


    Within a few seconds, the blood-red substance and pitch-black corruption collided, sending a surge of shock through my body.


    And when I reopened my eyes, a pitch-black and blood-red wing appeared on my right shoulder.


    Although she had seen it before, Ruby still sat at the hanging wing with her eyes wide open, shocked at its sudden appearance.


    Pointing at the blood-red and pitch-black wing, Ruby curiously asked.


    "So..are you part-bird or something?"


    "...? It''s a skill book I picked up; don''t worry, I''m still human!"


    Nodding her head with her eyebrows slanted, Ruby stared at me for a couple more seconds, prompting me to ask.


    "And do you have a way to get up?"


    Pretending to rub her chin, Ruby looked around for a moment before pointing at the wall and saying.


    "I was going to climb...but if you''re offerin-"


    Shaking my head with a grin, I interrupted her mid-sentence.


    "Oh? I don''t ever recall offering you an-"


    "Appreciate it, and I''ll take you up on your offer to fly me up! What a kind soul you are!"


    Not letting me finish my sentence, Ruby jumped up from the ground before walking towards me with a determined expression.


    Standing a few feet in front of me, Ruby awkwardly glanced at me, avoiding eye contact, before letting out a sigh.


    Not wanting to waste any more time and afraid that my corrupted figure would be caught, I simply turned around.


    With my back facing Ruby, I leaned downwards before pointing at my back and saying.


    "Are you getting on or climbing?"


    After a couple of moments of silence, Ruby managed to stammer out.


    "Alright..."


    Feeling a sudden pressure exerted on my back, I waited for her arms to wrap around my shoulders before slowly standing up.


    With her hands on my shoulders and her head above mine, Ruby took a couple of seconds to gain her balance before finally saying.


    "I''m ready."


    Nodding my head, I immediately flapped my wing once, appearing ten meters up in the air.


    However, as I appeared ten meters up, I felt Ruby''s chin crash into my head as she gripped onto me even tighter.


    Ignoring the small pain, I flapped my wing two more times before finally appearing right below the crater.


    Levitating in the air below the crater, I reached my hands upward, gripping the edge of the ceiling''s crater.


    Taking the opportunity, Ruby slowly stood up before using me as a ramp and walking right into the crater.


    Barely managing to keep my grip on the ceiling as Ruby crawled across my back, I turned my head upwards after a couple of seconds.


    And right above me was Ruby, reaching her hand out from the crater and attempting to pull me up.


    Graciously accepting her hand, I de-manifested the wing before finally climbing up to the crater.


    As my legs touched the floor of the crater, Ruby fell back onto the floor, panting out of exhaustion.


    Also, breathing heavily, I took a few moments to gather some air before finally beginning to look around the crater.


    The massive hole in the ceiling was structured quite interestingly...


    Since the trajectory of the purple orb that I had sent was slanted on, not straight, there was some space beside the hole that led back into the underground space.


    The ceiling got progressively higher but remained the same width as I walked further into the crater.


    Behind me, Ruby caught up to me after a couple of moments and quickly said.


    "I''m surprised the entire ceiling didn''t collapse on us when this crater was formed..."


    Nodding my head, I also inwardly thanked my luck for finally being useful, as I hadn''t actually known if the ceiling was going to break or not when I created and sent the purple orb.


    "Hmm?"


    Seeing Ruby suddenly stop and fall behind me, I turned around and saw Ruby standing in front of the crater''s walls.


    Walking up behind her, I stared at the wall, which seemed completely normal as it was just rocky and covered in dirt.


    "Did you notice something?"


    Keeping her gaze locked onto the wall, Ruby placed her finger and traced the wall before finally replying.


    "It''s a bit...too perfect, isn''t it? Shouldn''t some rocks be protruding from the wall? Why is it completely flat?"


    Also, placing my hand on the wall, I traced from the top to the bottom, and indeed, it was a completely flat surface.


    And this wall wasn''t an exception as I stared around and quickly noticed the same thing across all the other walls.


    The rocks, instead of protruding from the wall, had simply been cut into half or pieces and flattened.


    Perhaps my purple orb had some special ability like that?


    But then, that begged the question, where did the pieces of rock that cut off go?


    In unison, both Ruby and I glanced at the ground below us, but it was the same.


    Completely flat, devoid of any sticking-out rocks, and besides a few pebbles, just dirt.


    Where had the pieces of rock gone?


    *BANG*


    Catching me completely off guard, Ruby raised her foot before slamming it downwards into the ground.


    Feeling the ground below me shake, I immediately looked around in shock before saying to Ruby.


    "Are you trying to destroy this whole place!?" S~ea??h the n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    It was lucky enough the ceiling hadn''t collapsed when I had sent the purple orb, so now, we were pushing it by stomping on the ground.


    Ignoring me, Ruby slowly raised her right foot once again.

 Chapter 310 - 310:The Underground [5]

    *Third Person Point of View*


    Then, without any hesitation, Ruby stamped her foot downwards on the ground, causing the ceiling to shake once again.


    A small hole formed under Ruby''s foot, allowing the two of them to see downwards and into the underground space.


    However...that hole was growing with every passing second.


    A second ago, the hole was the size of Ruby''s shoes, but now it had grown into a massive circle that was large enough for his entire body to fall through.


    Seeing the expanding hole, Ruby immediately jumped backward to avoid falling through the ceiling and gestured for me to follow.


    Having already activated the usage period of the dash when he felt the floor crumble, Ren simply used the dash, appearing ten meters behind the hole.


    Not shocked at all, or perhaps not caring, Ruby simply stared as Ren appeared in front of her before finally answering his question.


    "The intruder was here...in this exact place we''re in right now."


    Answering Ren''s confused and distraught expression, Ruby pointed at the crumbling floor below us before saying.


    "When exactly did you make this hole in the ceiling?" sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Not even questioning as to how she knew he was the creator of this hole the ceiling, Ren hastily replied.


    "Mid-way into the battle-ish...I believe. A little bit before I collapsed the door and opened the entrance up to the vault."


    Clasping her hands together, Ruby walked away from the hole in the floor that had formed due to her stomping before replying.


    "Did you see anyone else up here...before you? And was the space like this when you arrived?"


    "...?"


    Racking his brain, Ren attempted to recall what he had seen earlier when he had climbed into the hole in the ceiling for the first time.


    And as he recalled the scenery of the hole in the ceiling, a sudden figure came to mind.


    "A djinn...?"


    Hearing the mutter come out of Ren''s mouth, Ruby immediately tensed, whether it was out of anticipation or fear was unknown to Ren, and quickly asked.


    "Who? When? Where?"


    Raising his hands, Ren ignored Ruby''s bombardment of questions, trying to remember what exactly had happened.


    As the scenery became clear in his mind, Ren coughed awkwardly, ashamed that he had managed to forget the scenery even with his enhanced eyesight, before finally saying.


    "When I got here...it was the same as it is now. No protruding rocks or any rumble were lying around. It was just like this. The walls were groomed alongside the floor and beside the hole I made with my... power; everything else was... clean."


    Seeing Ruby beckon him to continue, Ren took a deep breath before responding.


    "After I got here, I spotted a djinn hanging from the ceiling and trying to climb up."


    "..."


    "..."


    "So...this wasn''t something you thought to mention?"


    Turning his head to face downward at the floor, Ren sighed before explaining.


    "Look, there was a lot on my mind. How the hell was I supposed to know some mythical creature, capable of wiping out millions of people in mere minutes, was in that damn vault!"


    "I remember when this robbery was just about me getting my hands on some nice magical artifacts for a boost!"


    "When the hell did it turn into saving the capital city and academy from some vengeful beast!?"


    "I WAS SUPPOSED TO ROB THIS VAULT, NOT FUCKING PROTECT IT! I''M A VILLAIN, NOT A HERO!"


    "..."


    Not showing any reactions whatsoever to Ren''s sudden outburst, Ruby simply shrugged her shoulders, waved her hands around, and sarcastically said,


    "Oh, poor you! You couldn''t commit your crime today! Hmm...just think of this as your one good act for the day!"


    Unable to contain his anger at Ruby''s mocking words, Ren looked upwards from the ground, his eyes shining blood-red as he made eye contact with Ruby''s similarly colored eyes...


    "...REAL RICH COMING FROM YOU, YOU DAMN VILLAIN GROUP LEADER!"


    Once again, Ruby disregarded Ren''s fit, simply treating him as a child who was having a tantrum.


    Walking towards Ren, Ruby patted him on the shoulder before saying in a joking voice.


    "Are you done now? Can we go back to saving the world?"


    Nodding his head, Ren quietly muttered.


    "Two villains saving the world...what kind of fucked up time are we living in!?"


    Taking in one last deep breath to calm his nerves, Ren glanced around at the cave before turning back to Ruby.


    "My purple orb couldn''t have made this. It''s too clean and too perfect."


    Putting her hand under her chin, Ruby thought for a moment before replying.


    "So you''re saying tha-"


    Finishing Ruby''s sentence, Ren interrupted.


    "Something...or someone else made it."


    Pacing around the cave while thinking, Ruby glanced downward through the hole and into the underground space before responding.


    "And coincidentally, you just so happened to meet a djinn here."


    Pausing, Ren considered the possibility of the djinn being the intruder before pausing and asking.


    "But, he was here after me?"


    Leaning downwards right next to the hole, Ruby replied.


    "What if he happened to be in the line of range of your attack? He was in this space before, but when you attacked, he fell down because your attack destroyed the floor below him."


    "Then, after you climbed up and entered the hole, he followed behind you, making it seem like you were the first person up here."


    Walking up next to Ruby, Ren stared at her glossy-black hair for a second before saying.


    "Can a djinn be that... intelligent?"


    Recalling the odd conversation he had with the djinn back and the "djinn-to-human machine," Ren hesitated before admitting.


    "When I talked to him...he seemed as dull as every other djinn. I didn''t notice anything special or particular about him."


    Shrugging her shoulders, Ruby quickly nullified his point.


    "What if he was acting? Using the stereotype of djinns being stupid against you."


    "He fits the criteria for the intruder as well, doesn''t he?"

 Chapter 311 - 311:The Underground [5]

    Indeed, to Ren, the djinn did meet most of the criteria.


    With all the djinn''s bodies down below, he could have, just like Ren, used the chaos to hide and enter the vault.


    For all Ren could have known, the djinn could have just been faking death and then used the moment when Ren and Lily weren''t paying attention to sneak into the vault.


    There were hundreds of corpses down there; even with his enhanced eyesight, Ren wouldn''t have noticed an alive one.


    Scratching his head, Ren, trying to comprehend Ruby''s leap in logic, questioned.


    "So assuming this djinn is the intruder...you''re saying that he made this space far earlier than I sent the purple orb."


    Nodding her head in agreement, Ruby stood back up before replying.


    "There was definitely time."


    "Those two recruiters that you saw earlier in the vault weren''t there at the start."


    "While the others and I were overwhelmed by the horde of djinns at the beginning of the fight, the intruder could have easily sneaked up into the ceiling and made that area."


    Connecting the pieces further, Ruby pointed at the ground covered with corpses below before saying.


    "Once he left the ceiling, after you arrived, he could have easily played dead amongst all the bodies. Then, when we weren''t paying attention, just sneak through the gap and into the vault."


    Now fully sure that this djinn that he had met earlier, at least, had something to do with the intruder, Ren attempted to recall his figure and description with his eyes.


    With his enhanced eyesight, Ren could easily recall the figure, and even the clothes, of a person who he had only seen once for at most two days.


    And it had been less than two hours since Ren had seen that djinn.


    Surely, he would, at the minimum, be able to recall the face of that djinn.


    Yet...as he racked his brain and strained his eyes, nothing came to mind.


    It was weird...Ren could perfectly recall his conversation with the djinn and the words said, but not even the clothes of the djinn were apparent in Ren''s memory.


    Even the backdrop at the time of their conversation was clear.


    Ren could recall the shapes and colors of the wall that the djinn was standing in front of without any problems.


    But...the djinn''s figure was just blank.


    Against the perfect backdrop of the wall, all Ren could see in his memory was a blurry figure where the djinn was supposed to be.


    Like he had never been there in the first place...


    Seeing Ren zoned out, Ruby quickly tapped him before saying.


    "...you don''t remember the djinn''s appearance or anything?"


    Seeing Ren go completely silent, Ruby sighed for continuing.


    "Now...that''s odd. You usually remember everything, even the smaller details." Sear?h the N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Noticing Ruby practically read his thoughts, Ren shook his head before saying.


    "It seems that this djinn''s ability is related to invisibility and avoiding the detection of others...even me."


    Agreeing, Ruby nodded her head before walking to the edge of the hole that led down into the underground space.


    It was one thing that Ren was not able to see the djinn...but the fact that he couldn''t even remember the djinn''s appearance, despite staring at him for a solid couple of seconds, was concerning.


    It was like the djinn...had removed himself from Ren''s memories.


    Seeing Ruby gesture for him to come closer, Ren followed before also staring downward; his shoulders slumped back.


    Pointing at the gap that led into the vault, Ruby said.


    "It''s time we go back."


    Surprised, Ren paused for a moment before refuting.


    "It''s cool that we know the intruder is a djinn and someone who was here in the cave during the fight...but how does that help us?"


    "What difference would it make if we went back into the vault right now? Considering his ability to avoid detection, we wouldn''t be able to find him in there.


    Shrugging her shoulders, Ruby placed her right foot forward, balancing on her left foot while being right next to the edge of the hole.


    "We came to find clues, and we found them. Also, we''ve confirmed that the intruder is actually in the vault and not hiding out here."


    "We''ve established he''s entered the vault at some point in time, and I doubt he would leave for no reason, especially when we''re far from finding him. So, he''s most likely still in the adult."


    Nodding his head, Ren pondered for a moment before slowly nodding his head.


    With a smile on his face, Ren pointed at the vault before saying.


    "Damage...if he takes damage, his invisibility or whatever ability that gives him immunity goes away."


    "When he was hit by my purple orb, I could see him, but after that, and until now, he was invisible to me."


    Ruby, seeming to understand Ren''s idea, sighed before replying.


    "He could be anywhere inside the vault...you can''t possibly hit every centimeter in there without weakening the seal."


    However, as Ruby slowly looked towards Ren and saw the grin on his face, an audible groan emerged from her mouth.


    "You don''t care about the seal anymore...do you?"


    Back in the vault, Ren''s corrupted figure suddenly halted before robotically turning around and heading towards Lily and Alya.


    Noticing his presence, Lily grabbed a magical artifact and placed it on ht ground while saying.


    "Find something?"


    Ignoring Lily''s question, Ren commanded his corrupted figure to ask.


    "What is the minimum amount of magical artifacts needed to keep the beast from breaking out, providing there are no external influences."


    Halting, Lily suspiciously glanced at Ren''s corrupted figure before slowly responding.


    "Impossible to know; I can give you a range, though. About 20% of the artifacts in here are enough to keep the beast inside. The other 80% of artifacts are for cases like this when there is an outer force trying to get in."


    In the next second, the corrupted figure suddenly began to melt and disappear, causing both Lily and Alya to step back in confusion.

 Chapter 312 - 312: Quake [1]

    As the corruption from the figure dripped to the floor before eventually disintegrating and disappearing from sight, Alya turned to Lily with a confused expression.


    "Wasn''t he supposed to...you know, tell you what he found?"


    Letting out an audible sigh, Lily turned around to face the gap that led outside into the underground space.


    "People like him only care about doing things themselves despite having countless people they can call on to help. They''re allergic to any form of working together, even in near-death scenarios like this."


    Following Lily''s gaze, Alya also stared at the gap before countering back.


    "Is that a bad thing? All the responsibility falls on him if he fails, and t-"


    Interrupting Alya mid-sentence, Lily said in a calm voice.


    "He doesn''t get any of the glory if he succeeds."


    "And it''s working alone isn''t a bad thing, especially if it works every time."


    "However, we, humans, are naturally imperfect and, eventually, he will make a mistake."


    "And that one mistake could cause the death of millions, perhaps the entire world. That one mistake, which could have been easily avoided if he called for help, will happen eventually."


    "He could have millions of victories, but eventually, there will be one small slip-up that destroys everything."


    Trying to comprehend Lily''s cryptic words, Alya shook her head before replying.


    "So, now, what? It seems like he has a plan that involves the destroying of magical artifacts based on the question he asked you. Do we just sit back and let him do it?"


    Stretching her hands above her head, Lily cracked her neck...before simply turning back around to face the shelves.


    Then, while picking up the last artifact on the shelf, Lily simply responded.


    "I guess so. We don''t have much of a choice anyway. He''s not gonna listen if we interfere or ask, and if we try to stop him, he''ll somehow get past us and cause more chaos than necessary."


    "There''s no point in doing anything besides just watching from the sidelines in this situation."


    Hesitating for a moment to gather her breath, Alya closed and opened her eyes for a few seconds before saying in an eerily calm voice.


    "You''re not making sense, Lily."


    Turning around and making eye contact with Lily, Alya''s tone turned to panicked as she rapidly continued.


    "YOU SAID IT YOURSELF...HE''S GOING TO MAKE A MISTAKE EVENTUALLY, RIGHT!?"


    "WHAT IF THAT MISTAKE IN HIS PLAN HAPPENS NOW? THERE''S A BEAST CAPABLE OF DESTROYING AN ENTIRE CITY IN SECONDS IN THERE!"


    "THIS ISN''T SOME GAME WITH REDOS WHERE HE CAN JUST TRY AGAIN IF HE MAKES A MISTAKE."


    Reeling in her emotions, Alya took a deep breath and exhaled out before saying,


    "So...we''re just going to watch and pray to the gods that his plan works without any mistakes."


    Paying no attention to Alya''s panicked voice, Lily simply nodded her head before placing the artifact on the ground.


    "He won''t make a mistake this time."


    Even more confused now, Alya stood there silent for a few seconds and eventually responded.


    "And, how do you know t-"


    *RUMBLE*


    However, before Alya could finish her question, the floor of the underground space began to shake as if there was an earthquake.


    Jumping up, seemingly ready for the circumstance, Kazuki and Kankei immediately took out their weapons before pointing them in opposite directions.


    A second later, Liam and the rest of the main cast also reacted, running to the middle of the room and creating a circle where they were all facing in different directions.


    And amongst that circle, Ruby could be seen right next to Irene with her wand out, having managed to get back into the vault while everyone was equipping their weapons.


    With their weapons and heads all facing in different directions, the main cast carefully awaited any sign of the intruder.


    There was also Raven and Zeng... who had run to the corner of the room at the first sign of danger.


    Pushing a couple of empty shelves out of the way, Raven and Zeng sat in the corner of the vault with their backs to the vault wall while they crouched downwards.


    Realizing they were still susceptible to attacks, Raven immediately stood up and gestured for Zeng to help him.


    Within a couple of seconds, the two boys had created a barricade of empty shelves that separated the rest of the vault from the small corner where they were hiding. sea??h th§× ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    If Ren saw their position right now, he would have yelled and facepalmed at the two boys'' actions.


    Not because they had decided to hide like cowards instead of attempting to fight the intruder like everyone else, though.


    The old him would have done the same.


    But...because they had decided to use shelves as barricades!


    People could quite literally cut through metal like it was butter and create explosive spells that could craters as big as an entire city...yet these boys had used simple shelves as protection!?


    They would have been better off with nothing!


    With the main cast''s circle formation in the middle and the two recruiters, who were wandering around the room, every angle of the room was being watched.


    Thus, within a few seconds, a figure was spotted in the right corner of the vault, hanging from the ceiling with a clean pitch-black bow in his hands.


    Spotting the figure first, Irene immediately began casting spells while simultaneously yelling.


    "I FOUND HIM, UPPER RIGHT CORNER!"


    As Irene''s words echoed throughout the silent vault, everyone''s heads flicked toward the ceiling like pigeons who had just spotted a piece of food.


    In unison, three wands began to shine with vibrant colors, and six other figures could be seen sprinting toward the right corner of the room.


    Being the closest to the corner at the time of Irene''s words, Kaneki activated his transportation ability.


    Phasing through the various shelves in the way, Kaneki reappeared with his katana, right below the figure hanging from the ceiling, who hadn''t moved an inch despite knowing he was spotted.

 Chapter 313 - 313:Quake [2]

    Ren''s plan was simple.


    Simply checking everyone''s last corner and place within the vault wouldn''t work, as the figure could move around.


    He had to hit every place at once.


    And what better way to do that than by causing an all-out fight?


    Spell-blasting everywhere, spears flying around him, sword slashes, and other various weapons all swinging.


    And, the main cast would be conscious of their attacks and avoid destroying too many artifacts and weakening the seal, so Ren wouldn''t have to worry about the mythical beast escaping.


    There was no way that the intruder would be able to dodge every single one of those attacks.


    He would have to be hit at least once.


    And when that happened, as he became visible again due to taking damage, Ren would be there...ready to reap.


    Of course, there was one requirement for that plan.


    Ren had to survive until then.


    There was also the possibility that the intruder used all the chaos and distraction to slowly destroy artifacts and weaken the seal.


    But, thankfully, Ruby would be keeping watch when he couldn''t, making sure that wouldn''t happen.


    Unbeknownst to Ren, though, two figures were letting out deep sighs while staring at him hanging from the ceiling.


    Shaking her head with an exhausted expression, Alya turned to Lily in the circle-like formation before muttering.


    "Let me get this straight. Ren and Ruby left the vault to search. Then, Ruby comes back alone with nothing to show. Finally, coincidentally, this ''INTRUDER'' happens to show up right as Ruby comes back without Ren."


    "And to top it all off, Ren sent whatever that clone was to ask you a question, clearly indicating that he had a plan ready."


    Nodding her head with a sigh, Lily responded.


    "Yeah...it''s probably him. But it... there''s also a chance that everything you said was a coincidence, and the person we''re looking at is the intruder we''ve been searching for."


    Almost dropping her sword to the floor, Alya stared at Lily with an emotionless expression before finally asking.


    "Are you serious?" S~ea??h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Unable to keep a straight expression on her face, Lily held in a cough before saying.


    "...no, it''s definitely him."


    "...so we''re just going along with whatever his plan is."


    Pointing at Liam, Kazuki, Kaneki, and Kevin at the front of the group, Lily replied


    "Unless you want to convince them that Ren isn''t really our enemy and an ally trying to help us out."


    Recalling Liam''s rants about Ren and Kevin''s constant training after his defeat in the carriage, Alya sighed before nodding her head.


    "I see...but are we really going to att-"


    Before Alya could finish her sentence, Lily pointed her wand right at Ren''s figure on the ceiling.


    Within a moment, a giant and merciless stream of water was heading straight at Ren''s current position.


    Looking at Alya while still maintaining the stream of water, Lily shrugged her shoulders before saying.


    "If he''s asking for it, we might as well."


    Still hesitant, Alya sighed before gripping her sword and slowly bringing it forward.


    Back on the ceiling, Ren kept his eyes peeled, glancing at every part of the room to check if the intruder had been hit yet.


    Seeing a giant beam of water heading at him, accompanied by a few sword slashes, Ren quickly dodged to the side.


    Below him, Kaneki smiled before slowly raising his pitch-black katana.


    Then, the next second, Kaneki swiftly plunged the sword into the vaulted ground without any mercy.


    "Release."


    At the spot where Kaneki''s sword was plunged into the vaulted ground, over seven beams of pitch-darkness appeared.


    Phasing through the ground, the massive beams, as wide as three Rens and seemingly infinitely long, soared up in unison, all heading for Ren.


    As Ren moved farther away from Kaneki, attempting to dodge the beams, they only got longer and faster.


    Some of them even had... intelligence.


    The pitch-black beams were working together like a fully functioning human team.


    While some of the beams were heading at Ren without any care for anything else, the orders were concisely moving, preemptively blocking Ren''s escape routes.


    Added to that, Kazuki mounted his flying spear and perfectly weaved between the black beams.


    Next to Kazuki on the spear was Kevin, who was standing and swinging his sword, constantly sending a barrage of blood-red sword slashes.


    And under the two of them was Liam, who had manifested a pillar of light-blue divine energy in the middle of the room.


    And like a turret, Liam was predicting my next moves while swinging his sword, making sure I couldn''t come too close, keeping me confined to the corner of the vault.


    "...yeah I''m fucked."


    Even Ren knew when to give up.


    "AHHH, I''M ALL WET NOW, ZENG YOU IDIOT!"


    Hearing a familiar childish voice, Ren glanced downwards, immediately spotting three figures in the corner of the room below him, blocked off by a bunch of shelves.


    "..?"


    There was one figure next to Raven and Zeng, who Ren could not recognize or recall no matter how hard he looked.


    Drenched in the water, the figure had a pitch-black fedora on, blocking his face from view, and a purple tie.


    Water was dripping down from his fedora as he stood completely still with his back facing Raven and Zeng, who were shivering from coldness behind him.


    His hands were empty, and he had no weapons on any part of his body.


    He was completely defenseless.


    Seeing a sword slash and pitch-black beam headed straight for him, Ren didn''t hesitate to yell.


    "RAVEN, ZENG, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, GET HIM!"


    The figure was inside the barricade of shelves that Raven and Zeng had made.


    "Those cowards...they made the perfect trap!"


    Hearing Ren''s frantic voice, Lily and Alya immediately turned around to face the barricade, spotting the intruder easily.


    However...that didn''t stop the black beam from getting closer to Ren.


    And, his high-pitched scream was not recognized by anyone besides the Ruby, Raven, Lily, Zeng, and Alya.

 Chapter 314 - 314:Quake [3]

    As the sound of Ren''s high-pitched scream echoed throughout the vault, Raven suddenly stood up, thankfully having recognized his boss.


    But as he stared at the figure in front of him, who was yet to make a move, Raven hesitated.


    Fight?


    That wasn''t in his contract.


    He was a company manager.


    And so, like amazing company managers, Raven delegated the job to one of his subordinates.


    If the man wasn''t captured, the blame would fall on Zeng, but if it succeeded, Raven could claim partial credit for reacting fast and telling Zeng what to do.


    Of course, what he didn''t know is that Ren knew Raven''s mind far better than Raevn actually knew it himself.


    After all, Ren had read about Raven''s growth from a small teenager to an adult who was the master of the infamous black market.


    So, without any hesitation whatsoever, Raven grabbed Zeng, who was still sitting in the corner and staring at the battle around them.


    Pulling him upwards by the collar, Raven pointed at the man, who was simply staring up at the ceiling with a confused expression.


    "You heard the boss...get him, Zeng!"


    Getting up and freeing himself from Raven''s grasp, Zeng raised his hand, imitating a solder saluting, and stared at his boss on the ceiling.


    But, hesitating as he glanced down at the man, who was trapped in the barricade of shelves with them, Zeng said.


    "Doesn''t boss...seem in trouble?"


    There were about three sword slashes, all colored light and divine blue, hurling at his figure.


    Seven black tentacles, now as long as half the length of the massive vault, aimed at him, ready to impale his body.


    Added onto that, the were two figures riding atop a spear with their weapons ready as they were seconds away from approaching Ren''s frozen body.


    And, finally, a couple of spells, one fiery flame in particular, were waiting below his body, ready to burn him if he tried to dodge by falling onto the floor.


    He was surrounded by all sides.


    It was like a small ant versus the whole United States military and a couple of atomic bombs.


    Shifting his gaze away from the unknown man and looking up at Ren''s trapped figure, Raven smiled before replying.


    "That''s all part of his plan, Zeng. Trust me, he does this thing where he acts weak, and when you don''t expect it, he comes out as a powerhouse. I bet the other guys will be on their asses crying within a couple of minutes."


    Though Raven''s words were about as far from the true answer as the sun from Neptune, it was truly what he believed.


    After all, it was exactly what had happened to him!


    When Raven was a small and fraudulent sword merchant back in the black market, Ren had pretended to be weak and stupid to buy a sword.


    Then, just when Raven thought he was out of the clear and up a load of money, the situation was flipped, as Ren had known all along.


    The class is strong, pretending to be a weak act.


    That''s exactly what Raven always thought Ren was always doing.


    Nodding his head and understanding Raven''s point, Zeng smiled and said.


    "He''s not only good at fight...but acting too. That terrified expression looks too real!"


    Meanwhile, Ren blankly stared at his two teammates, who were simply standing still and staring back at him.


    "...I need a team to rebuild if I survive this shit."


    Thankfully, though, during their conversation, the unknown figure had yet to make his move.


    It seemed that he had no way out of the trap that Raven and Zeng had unknowingly created.


    Making Ren somewhat proud, Zeng finally rushed forward at the unknown figure, barely managing not to slip due to all the water on the ground.


    Then, like a football player making a tackle on a wide receiver, Zeng leaped forward head-first and grabbed onto the figure''s stomach.


    As Zeng fell, the figure fell as well, unable to maintain his balance under the pressure of Zeng''s brutal tackle.


    Only after seeing the unknown figure fall to the ground did Ren finally stop glancing downwards and look up.


    And...he couldn''t even describe what he was seeing.


    Tens of different vibrant colors rushed towards him like he was watching a fireworks festival back on Earth.


    Of course, these fireworks weren''t thousands of meters away from him like a show, but only a few feet away from hitting him.


    Petrified, Ren immediately raised his hand to his right eye, attempting to activate his time-stopping ability.


    But before he did that, he looked around, trying to find a way to dodge so he could maximize the short amount of time he had during his time-stopping ability.


    Yet...there was nothing; everything was blocked off.


    If he had time-stopped now, he would only have delayed the inevitable.


    For once, there was no way out.


    Even if he screamed and revealed himself to be Ren, a student at the academy like them, the attacks would reach and pierce him before his voice was even heard.


    "w-what am I supposed to do!?"


    Ren''s hoarse and desperate voice came out, but due to the noise generated by the hundreds of projectiles and people flying at him, it was barely heard.


    He could feel it...the cold and sharpness of the pitch-black tentacles surging at him...the purifying ability and sternness from the light-blue slashes.


    This wasn''t how it was supposed to go...


    Though it should have been common sense since it was him, one person, against the entire main cast and two recruiters, around nine people, Ren was still... surprised.


    It wasn''t because of the sheer amount of power or attacks generated at him.


    It was because...he had miscalculated the timing.


    His dash cooldown... was supposed to be done.


    Ren''s plan for this situation was to dash to the ground, tank the fire spell below, and escape underground. S§×ar?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Yet, as he desperately told his body to activate the ability, nothing happened.

 Chapter 315 - 315:Quake [4]

    His body stood hanging from the ceiling, no matter how much he told his body to activate the dash.


    He was going to die...all because he had miscounted.


    Three seconds.


    He was off by three.


    There is not enough time to activate the dash or form a corrupted wing to teleport out.


    Not yet giving up, Ren immediately threw his hand that wasn''t holding onto the ceiling upward.


    With a split second, the fist of the hand was covered in pitch-black corruption and a centimeter away from the ceiling.


    Feeling his fist crumble upon hitting the hard ceiling, Ren shuddered, biting his lip to distract himself and continue pushing upward.


    However, even with corruption coating his fist, he couldn''t break through the vaulted ceiling with raw power.


    Tasting the salty and metallic taste of blood, Ren wanted his two divine blue sword slashes, at the forefront of the multiple attacks, to get closer and closer to him.


    If he stayed where he was without moving and allowed the attacks to hit him head-on, he would die.


    There was doubt about that.


    However, as Ren shifted his gaze downward and saw a large pool of molten hot lava under him, a pained expression appeared on his face.


    The lava pool wouldn''t kill him...immediately, like the sword slashes and pitch-black tentacles.


    Death up here would be just a short split-second of pain before disappearing...however if he fell into the lava, the side effects would be detrimental.


    He would be burned on all parts of his body and have to suffer for minutes of searing and horrifying pain until someone got him out...if someone did, of course.


    Then, even after being fished out of the lava pool, Ren would probably never be the same.


    He would likely lose the speed that made him so special, possibly even losing parts of his body if something was too badly damaged.


    Though all Ren could think about was the terrifying and saddening long-term and short-term effects of jumping into the lava, his decision was already made.


    He had to survive...for the sake of the world.


    How could he possibly entrust the fate of the world to some teenagers like Lily and Liam!?


    Letting out a chuckle at the irony of his own statement, Ren smiled before loosening his grasp on the ceiling.


    Putting down his hand, deciding not to use his time-stopping ability, Ren watched for a second as the attacks got nearer and nearer.


    Holding in a bout of laughter as he saw two people riding a spear toward him, Ren sighed before completely taking his hand off the ceiling.


    And just as Ren began falling, a divine blue sword slash flew right above him, cutting apart his previous location.


    And as Ren got closer to the floor and the pool of lava below, countless more attacks whizzed by him.


    A pitch-black tentacle actually stopped mid-attack and tried to readjust its direction so it could hit Ren''s new location.


    However, it missed by a long shot.


    Turning away from attacks mid-descent, Ren grinned upon seeing Zeng lying on top of the unknown man while Raven watched from a distance like a spectator at a WWE fight.


    It seemed like, at the very least, the intruder was caught.


    Lily should have probably connected Ren to the figure on the ceiling by now and recognized his scream so she would take care of the intruder that Zegn and Raven found.


    That meant the mystical beast would not be released and allowed to rampage the capital city and academy.


    "I''ve done it again..."


    With a melancholy smile on his face, Ren looked straight down, seeing bubbles of air start to form on the surface of the lava pool. S§×arch* The N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Then, as two confused spear-riders stabbed their weapons at Ren''s previous location, which was just air, Ren''s shoes touched the lava.


    Feeling the bottom of his shoe disintegrate under the heat of the lava, Ren braced himself, awaiting the searing pain that would eventually come.


    However, as another second passed and both of his feet were submerged in the pool of lava, nothing happened.


    Sure, Ren felt a bit hot, but his body wasn''t burning or breaking down.


    Was adrenaline keeping the pain from reaching him?


    That, though, quickly disappeared from his head as his waist touched the lava.


    Then, the next second, Ren could no longer be viewed from inside the vault as his entire body was immersed in the pool of lava.


    Yet...his body kept descending and descending deeper into the seemingly infinitely deep lava pool.


    Opening his eyes, Ren was shocked upon realizing he was still able to see perfectly despite the thickness and density of the lava around him.


    "Also..."


    Staring down at his palms, Ren couldn''t help but question."


    "why does it not hurt...?"


    His entire body was submerged in lava, which should be around 1000 degrees Celsius, yet no burns appeared on his exposed legs or arms.


    Was he fire-resistant!?


    No...that''s not possible nor plausible.


    Reeling his own thoughts, Ren decided to just accept the situation as it was now and focus on getting out.


    For all he knew, this lava-resistant effect he had right now could wear off at any moment.


    At this point...he was too deep into the pool of lava to be pulled out.


    As he gazed upwards, he could barely even see the ceiling of the vault, and with each fleeting second, the ceiling was getting farther and farther away.


    He had two options now.


    Up or down.


    Shifting his gaze downwards, Ren attempted to find the bottom of the lava pool...but there was nothing.


    The lava seemed to stretch on forever.


    Realizing this, Ren immediately tried to go up, but since he was moving against the current of the lava that was pushing him down, his speed was extremely slow.


    In contrast, if he tried swimming downwards in the lava pool, he would be more than twenty times faster.


    Sighing, Ren shook his head and stared at his smartwatch...only to realize it had been fried by the heat of the lava.

 Chapter 316 - 316:Quake [5]

    As Ren allowed himself to float downwards into the seemingly endless pool of lava, the thought suddenly came to mind.


    Was it her...Ruby?


    Or, was it, by a very small chance, Irene?


    Those two were the only fire mages who could have created this pool of lava, so it had to be one of them. S§×ar?h the nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Or, perhaps his body simply had the ability to resist lava?


    No...something important like that would have been mentioned in his stats menu.


    Then, it hit him.


    What if this wasn''t lava?


    There would be no valid reason that Ren should be able to see through lava as its thickness was far too great.


    If he could see through lava, then he should be able to see through walls and other materials...but he can''t.


    What''s something related to lava that Ren can stay in infinitely without being hurt and see through perfectly?


    Water.


    He wasn''t in lava...but water.


    The pool was made to look like lava from the outside...but it was water all along.


    And there was only one water mage in the vault.


    However, that then begged the question...who could make water look like lava?


    The disguise of lava was so perfect that it had managed to fool Ren''s perfect eyesight.


    Coming to somewhat of a conclusion, Ren sighed before looking downwards and letting himself fall deeper into the pool of water.


    Kicking his feet up and down, Ren swam deeper downwards into the pool, not worried anymore about the possibility of him being hurt.


    As Ren swam deeper and deeper down the pool of water, the pool got thinner and thinner as the walls came closer to his body.


    Finally, as the walls completely surrounded Ren''s figure, forcing him to put his feet together to fit, the end came into view.


    The ocean floor.


    This pool of water, disguised as lava, led from the vault into the lake around the academy.


    After confirming that it was the ocean floor, Ren sighed at the sight of algae, seaweed, and even some roaming fish.


    Mind you, there was not a single place in this long tunnel that led from the vault to the ocean floor with air.


    Anybody besides Ren would have died due to lack of oxygen mid-way through this journey.


    Whoever created this tunnel must have known that Ren could stay in the water without breathing.


    Or...they were trying to kill him in the most painful way possible.


    Plunging into a pool of lava would lead to you being knocked unconscious or dying in a matter of seconds...but drowning was far worse.


    You would have to swim around for minutes and slowly accept your death, knowing there was nothing you could do to stop it.


    Shaking his head, Ren tightened his body, barely fitting in the tunnel at this point until he finally escaped.


    As he swam out of the tunnel, the entire lake came into view with all the varying species of fish and underwater plants.


    Too many of them were here, though...


    Looking up, Ren quickly realized that he was back under the academy island, but as he glanced around and saw thousands of fish swimming around, he was at a loss for words.


    Why were there so many fish... here?


    For them, it would be completely dark and pitch-black as the island above was blocking the sun, so they were just swimming around randomly without being able to see.


    Yet...they choose to come here?


    What could have happened underwater in the lake to force so many fish here!?


    At that moment, a sudden purr sound from his hoodie as Ren felt his cat wake up and paw at his neck.


    ...Was it still here?


    Throughout that entire fight where he had almost died, it had been fast asleep, probably having the damn dream of its life.


    Yet...now, when it''s all over, and he''s escaped, it wants to wake up!?


    And, pissing Ren off even more, the cat started throwing its paw at his neck as if saying, "Get me out of the water, now!"


    Not having the energy nor time to respond, Ren sighed before following the cat''s order and swimming out from under the academy island.


    Seeing the underwater area, the island was desolate and devoid of any fish despite being brighter and having more plants to eat. Ren was even more confused, but he ignored it.


    Alternating gazes between the distant capital city and the academy island right above, Ren decided to just head back to the academy.


    After all, he had two people to pick up.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Back in the vault, Lily, Alya, and Ruby were rushing over to the corner of the room, where Zeng and an unknown figure were.


    Irene, alternating glances between Liam and the others who were still fighting, confusedly sighed before following after them.


    Seeing Zeng lying on top of the motionless figure, the three girls sighed before pointing their wands downwards.


    Just as Irene arrived behind them, three gusts of wind appeared below Ruby, Lily, and Alya, instantly pushing them into the air.


    Flying over the barricade of shelves, the three girls landed around the figure and simultaneously pointed their wands at him.


    Letting out a dry cough and surprising the three girls, Raven awkwardly revealed his presence before pointing at Zeng.


    "He''s on our side...I think!"


    At the same time, all the attacks that the main cast had fired suddenly hit Ren''s previous location, causing the entire vault to start trembling as if it weren''t going to collapse on itself.


    Being the closest to Ren''s previous location, Kazuki and Kevin awkwardly stood on the spear while watching the figure they were chasing after dropping into the pool of lava.


    Turning to face Kazuki, Kevin glanced at the pool of lava and at the massive crater, covering at least 1/8 of the entire vault, before saying.


    "Is he dead...?"


    Looking at the massive crater that had been formed as a result of all their attacks combined, Kazuki sighed.


    "I-I honestly can''t say."

 Chapter 317 - 317:Quake [6]

    At the same time, the black tentacles surging around the room suddenly disappeared while Kaneki''s sole figure came into view.


    A couple of seconds later, the light blue surrounding Liam started to flicker before finally disappearing, revealing Liam''s body.


    Not fatigued or exhausted in the slightest, Liam immediately glanced around the room, finding the three girls and an unknown figure.


    As for Zach, he simply stopped swinging around his battle axe like a berserker and took the time to regain his composure as he had gotten dizzy from holding his heavy battle axe for so long.


    Being on the spear and far above the floor, the two brothers had a clear view of the entire vault, so they immediately spotted Liam sprinting.


    Titling his head, Kazuki glanced to where Liam was sprinting and spotted the unknown figure surrounded by the three girls.


    "..? 2 intruders?"


    Surprising the bewildered Kevin, the spear immediately began moving again, darting to the portion of the ceiling right above the barricade of shelves.


    Lying on the floor, the three girls watched as the intruder made no attempts to resist, simply lying down on the ground, crumpled and twitching.


    Arriving at the barricade, Liam immediately stood still for a second, allowing the light blue surrounding him to reappear.


    Within seconds, Liam''s shoes were completely covered to the hue, to the point where you couldn''t see the physical form of his shoes.


    Without charging up or anything, Liam simply jumped upwards.


    Blasting into the air, Liam easily cleared the giant barricade of shelves, his head even almost reaching the ceiling.


    As Liam landed on the floor inside the barricade, Kevin and Kazuki jumped off the flying spear, landing beside Liam.


    Equipping his sword, Liam pointed down at the motionless figure on the floor.


    "Who is he?"


    Liam''s voice was cold...colder than it had ever been.


    He wasn''t asking a question but demanding to know the answer without any room for denial.


    Due to the structure of their group and how everyone followed each other''s orders no matter who it was, the main cast seemed to have forgotten they had a real leader.


    But at this moment, as Liam''s emotionless tone echoed throughout the vault, everyone remembered.


    Liam was their leader.


    Even if he didn''t act like it most of the time due to his caring and kind personality, he was the general of the group.


    But...right now, he sounded more like a dictator than a leader.


    His face was expressionless, and his gaze was locked onto the three girls around the body.


    Even Kevin jumped back at the sheer intensity of Liam''s voice and gaze.


    Lily''s mouth seemed to move by itself as she spoke within seconds under the pressure of Liam''s cold gaze.


    "A-another intruder."


    Sensing the hostility in Liam''s gaze, Kazuki stepped forward, examining the body on the floor.


    After a couple of seconds, Kazuki finally said, breaking the intense atmosphere surrounding them.


    "He seems to be...knocked out or unconscious?"


    Thinking back to how the other intruder might have somehow escaped and not died, Kazuki continued.


    "Maybe we can give him to the principal, and she can interrogate him? I''m sure he won''t be able to escape with her around."


    As everyone, though still on guard with their weapons ready if the unknown figure suddenly came alive again, nodded their heads in agreement, one figure remained still.


    Liam.


    He was sick of it. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Everything he had done always ended in failure.


    Even someone with his outgoing or morally perfect personality had their limits.


    Loss after loss.


    Even now, despite witnessing him fall into a pool of burning-hot lava, Liam knew the other intruder was still alive.


    Today was a loss...just like any other day.


    Why did he even do it anymore?


    What was the point of this bullshit?


    Sure, everything always ended well with people being saved, but none of it could actually be credited to him.


    What had he done?


    Save the students off the cruise ship?


    Hadn''t he just fought his own classmate, Ren, there?


    What the hell did he do besides destroy the cruise ship?


    Save the elven kingdom?


    Even he could connect the dots there.


    Ren was not only invited to the Elven castle but also seemed to be very close to the queen, much closer than him.


    He had done something behind the scenes again...it was obvious.


    Even when it came to saving his friends from danger, he was an utter failure.


    During the time when the royal dormitory had been attacked, Liam had failed and utterly lost to the teacher.


    Sure, Ruby had managed to teleport everyone out, but that didn''t change the fact that he had been utterly overpowered and destroyed.


    During the dream ascension for the main cast and Ren, Liam hadn''t even managed to clear it without help.


    Without Ren...Liam wasn''t sure he would have even survived the whole ordeal.


    And...even at the very start of it all when Alya was kidnapped.


    The robbers had tossed her back to them without any reason...as if feeling pity for him.


    He needed one win...just one to keep him going.


    Yet, no matter how hard he trained or how many times he tried, it never came to fruition.


    Even at some stupid shitty event like the battle royale hosted by the school, he hadn''t even come in first place.


    Wasn''t he the most powerful student amongst the first-years of the academy!?


    What was he doing wrong..?


    Then...as if answering all his questions, a quiet yet unmistakable voice sounded through his brain.


    The good guys always lose.


    As if trying to protest the thought in his head, his brain immediately began spinning, trying to disprove that point.


    Sure, Liam had lost in battles...but in the end, everything worked out.


    Alya was saved in the end, and the elves were fine despite the world tree crisis. Even on the cruise ship, the students survived with close to zero casualties.


    He had never personally won...but in every scenario, the world had won.

 Chapter 318 - 318: Lure [1]

    As if hearing Liam''s combatting thoughts, the voice sounded again in Liam''s head.


    What about him?


    Every time... he has won.


    Even against you.


    Without a name being mentioned, Liam instantly knew who the voice was talking about.


    How could he not?


    In the battle royale, this person had out-strategized and beaten him without any doubt.


    In a real physical battle, this person destroyed him and Kevin in a small and confined space, like a carriage.


    That moment was forever marked in Liam''s head, replaying every time he trained or fought in a battle against someone else.


    Was he even the most powerful student in the first year anymore?


    No...he knew the answer.


    A long time ago, perhaps even before the Elven year for the World Tree battle, his number one place had been stolen.


    By the very same person who was his enemy.


    Someone of the complete opposite nature of him.


    He had been surpassed.


    But how?


    He trained every day, sparred against another in the training hall with every second, and even had dozens of real-life experiences fighting.


    What more could he do?


    Responding to Liam''s thoughts perfectly, the voice once again sounded.


    What is the difference between him and you?


    Seeing Liam''s thoughts desperately scatter, attempting to find any sort of answer, the voice once again sounded.


    He has nothing to lose...you have everything to lose.


    Those people who you call "friends."


    Are they really helping you?


    Those morals you hold so close to your heart and care so much about...are they really helping you?


    Or, just holding you down.


    You are confined by yourself.


    Let them go.


    Your morals, your friends. Sear?h the N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And rise.


    Rise to the top...just like you have done before.


    As the voice echoed through Liam''s brain, his thoughts halted as if yielding to the opinions held by the unknown voice.


    He was his own greatest enemy.


    At that moment, Liam''s pupils suddenly froze.


    Unbeknownst to everyone in the room, something had just changed inside Liam''s brain... like it had been rewired.


    *BOOM*


    A couple of seconds later, the sound of the ground being crushed echoed throughout the vault, entering from the tunnel that led outside to the underground space.


    After a few moments, a familiar figure emerged from the gap that led into the vault from the underground space.


    Seeing everyone surrounding the unknown body on the ground, Principal Seraphina didn''t hesitate as she jumped forward.


    Jumping from one side of the vault to the other, where the barricade was located, should have been impossible, but Seraphina made it look effortless as he gracefully flew through the air.


    However, during that short period, when Seraphina crawled through the gap, and everyone surrounded the body, Ruby stepped backward.


    Since Alya, Lily, Kazuki, Liam, and Irene were so focused on the body, nobody noticed her step away, which broke the formation around the body.


    And seconds later, Kaneki climbed over the barricade with his hands, using the shelf brackets to hoist himself upward.


    Immediately, he replaced the missing spot in the formation that Ruby had created when she left so nobody noticed her absence.


    Backing away from the unknown figure as quietly as she could, Ruby sighed in relief as she felt her back touching the corner of the vault.


    Looking to her right and left, Ruby spotted Raven and Zeng, who were just standing there stunned and confused.


    How could they not be?


    Their boss had completely disappeared, leaving them alone in the vault surrounded by enemies.


    Adding to that all, the two even thought that the boss, who had saved both of them from their old and terrible lives, could have died.


    They were also disguised as an academy security team, so when the others inevitably found out their identity, they were screwed.


    There was no way out for them.


    They couldn''t just make a mad dash to the exit without being noticed.


    If they stayed, their identities would eventually be found out when the principal arrived and began to investigate the whole situation.


    It seemed hopeless.


    There was no way they should survive...


    But that didn''t mean anything to Raven and Zeng anyway.


    Raven was the future boss of the entire black market, so his ambition and vigor were unmatchable.


    Working his way from the bottom to the top meant that Raven had to suffer through countless "hopeless" circumstances, so some situation like this wouldn''t stop him from, at the very least, trying.


    Zeng was a djinn who was used to being seen as a bad guy and as a terrible murderer, so this situation, where he was an enemy, wasn''t anything new to him at all.


    He had been through countless near-death missions, and instead of standing still in all of them, he had tried to escape, such as when he had switched sides to join Ren instead of dying.


    To sum it all up, these two weren''t the type of people who remained still like statues in hopeless situations.


    No matter the circumstances, these two would always at least try to survive to their very last breath.


    But...despite all of that...these two stood still.


    It wasn''t the fact that their situation was "hopeless" and almost impossible to survive that kept them still.


    It was the fact...that they had just seen their "boss" possibly die right in front of them.


    To Raven, Ren was always shameless and selfish from start to finish.


    From the very start, he had shamefully pretended to be oblivious to Raven''s fake swords and then suddenly revealed his knowledge after buying it to blackmail Raven.


    Even now, Ren handed Raven tons of work and gave him impossible time limits that he knew Raven couldn''t complete.


    Worst of all, he did everything with a big smile, making it look like he was actually a good person!


    His shamelessness was simply incomprehensible to everyone...but Raven.


    Raven really did despise Ren for handing him so much work and putting him through situations like this.

 Chapter 319 - 319:Lure [2]

    However...Raven took it all in stride and even managed to perfectly complete Ren''s requests in time.


    Two days ago, he had been ordered to dig a tunnel under the ocean that went straight up into the academy island.


    Any person in the world...besides Raven and Zeng would have said something like this was impossible.


    They had transferred countless tons of gears into the ocean below the island and dug upward for who knows how long.


    Yet, the two had managed to do it.


    Raven often recalled his past and his humble roots of selling fake weapons in the black market, barely making enough money a day.


    What would have happened if he had never met Ren that fateful day and sold him that fake sword?


    All alone at night, in the headquarters, while lying down on the couch with the television blaring music in the background, Raven would often contemplate that.


    While the music of a very familiar student council president played in the background, Raven would stare up at the pitch-black ceiling, surrounded by the darkness of the night, and think of all the possibilities.


    All the ways his life could have ended up.


    What led him here?


    His life was like a stick, but at the point where Raven met Ren for the first time, the stick began to branch out infinitely.


    Each branch of divergence in the stick had a different timeline.


    Most of the diverging timelines where he didn''t meet Ren consisted of Raven either dying in the black market after someone bought his fake tools and realized they were fakes.


    Or, him being turned into a slave and hard laborer where he would spend the rest of his life in terrible conditions, working until his eventual early death.


    In around 90 of the 100 timelines, Raven imagined terrible situations where he was dead or wished he was dead.


    However...there were timelines where Raven was optimistic in his thinking and dreamt of himself fully taking over the black market, working his way up from the bottom and eventually becoming the boss.


    All his hard work selling things in the black market would pay off!


    He would be surrounded by luxurious carriages, food, beautiful women, stacks of cash, and even tons of security guards.


    Everything he used to want when he was just a kid would be there.


    No more hours of work...just relaxing on a beach chair while sitting under the sun and staring off into the ocean in a one-of-a-kind coast-side mansion.


    Raven would be able to relax in luxurious hotels and mansions without having to work.


    No more of Ren''s bullshit deadlines or ridiculous demands.


    He was the boss.


    Yet...despite having all the wealth he had dreamed of, Raven...felt something there was missing in those timelines.


    When people had told him, "Money can''t bring you happiness," Raven had always scoffed and dismissed the person''s words as them just being a loser who couldn''t make money.


    In all those timelines...Raven was alone.


    Inside his over 100,000 square foot mansions that could easily fit families, Raven was sleeping alone in one bedroom out of hundreds.


    It was natural...he was the boss of the black market.


    How could he ever trust someone in a position like that?


    If he did, he would be dead.


    Everybody around him was a criminal, simply trying to make more money, with no regard for loyalty or human life.


    As a little kid on the streets, with no knowledge about his parents'' whereabouts, Raven learned the harsh truth of the real world.


    With his pitch-black hair and onyx eyes, Raven wandered from dumpster to dumpster, constantly fighting with others for meal scraps.


    With his own two eyes, he witnessed gang bosses being killed by their subordinates...all for the pursuit of money.


    It was a never-ending loop...


    One boss would die and instantly be placed, and then it would happen again and again.


    All because of disloyal subordinates or a boss...simply trusting someone too much and telling secrets he should never have said.


    No one was to be trusted.


    And he carried that belief...until the divergence point.


    Raven...the boy who once would rather die than put his trust in another person, now had one... and almost two people he would trust with his life.


    He couldn''t quite believe it himself. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Without a doubt, if Ren told him something to do, sure, he would complain, but Raven would do it...because he knew that Ren would never let him die.


    Death...was no longer a fear for Raven.


    When did he...change so much?


    Staring at the puddle of water on the floor that had been gathered there as a result of Lily''s water spell, Raven examined his reflection.


    His hair was still black...his eyes were still black...his skin was still too pale...and every part of his body was the same.


    What...had happened to him?


    Raven couldn''t quite describe it...but it was a if a whole now part of his brain had been unlocked...and he hadn''t even realize it.


    As Raven recalled the moment a few seconds ago when Ren plummeted into a pool of steaming-hot lava, he continued staring at his reflection.


    His stare remained emotionless and the same...but if one looked closely, one could see a small bubble of water slipping out of Raven''s right eyelid.


    Slowly shifting his gaze up at the main cast and two recruiters ahead of him, Raven''s mouth twitched.


    Below Raven, in the pool of water, a small image formed.


    Ren, with his usual smile and blood-red eyes, could be seen looking over the shoulder of Raven, who was attempting to sketch healing scrolls for the first time.


    In the warehouse...that they had bought together and made into their headquarters.


    Perhaps...that was when he had changed.


    Raven felt an emotion slowly consuming him, overpowering his common sense and natural instinct as a beggar.


    Rage.


    Raven felt rage...not because he had been wronged, but because his boss had been wronged.


    No...he had never even thought of escaping this situation.

 Chapter 320 - 320:Lure [3]

    If his boss...Ren went down; he was going down, too.


    Raven muttered words that he thought he would never say in his life.


    "If he dies, I die."


    The character, famously known for his extreme isolation and refusal to trust or work with anyone, muttered these words.


    If Ren could have heard them...a small smile would have formed on his face.


    Shifting his gaze further upward, Raven stared daggers at the heads of the main cast and two recruiters.


    And Raven didn''t know how...but he was taking them with him.


    Raven had always thought his death would be suicide or because he made some stupid mistake in business and scammed someone he shouldn''t have.


    Never in a million years would Raven have believed that he would die for a noble cause...such as protecting someone else or dying for his kingdom like a soldier.


    Yet... a smile, not filled with happiness, but pure anger and desperation, formed on Raven''s face as he took a step forward.


    To at least two people in this world, Raven was going to die a noble death.


    Sure, to the other billions of people in the world, he was going die as a criminal who dared to impersonate the military.


    And, if that wasn''t going to get people to hate him, what he was going to do next was.


    But...who cared?


    At least Raven and Zeng would know...even if one of them had passed away.


    The old Raven...or any person with common sense would have scurried away.


    After all, Raven, a civilian with no magic or combat talent, was facing the top students in the best combat academy alongside the number one and two youth talents.


    It was like an ant facing the United States Navy.


    However...rage is an emotion that doesn''t take into account common sense...or survival.


    As he took another step forward, Raven''s hands curled into fists and shook as he stared ahead. sea??h th§× N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    His eyes, betraying their normal calm and serene gaze, seemed to be endless.


    If one stared into Raven''s pupils at this moment, all they would see was a pitch-black void filled with countless negative emotions swirling together.


    No words had to be said as Raven stepped forward.


    Right beside him, Zeng silently stepped forward as well, his horns peeking out of his head and a sword appearing in his hand.


    They were going out as murderers.


    From his right, Raven whispered in an eerily calm voice.


    "Hey, I''m killing those fuckers...stay away, Zeng; they''re mine."


    Zeng, matching Raven''s pace, stayed silent as he took a step forward.


    No matter how human or tamed Zeng was to Raven and Ren, in the end, he was a djinn at heart.


    And djinns had desires...that would stop at nothing to achieve and even die for if necessary.


    A demon, the force that grants power to djinns, carefully supervises their djinns, and if their djinn dies, they also lose a portion of their strength.


    The power the demon grants to a djinn isn''t a one-time thing...it can be increased and decreased, though never completely taken away.


    Since Zeng''s departure from the evil organization, his disappointed, supervising demon had taken away almost all of his power, only giving Zeng the bare minimum he had.


    But...at that moment, a demon, in a faraway land, over 4fourthousand miles away, suddenly halted.


    Unfortunately, demons aren''t able to see the location of the djinns they assign power to or see what''s around them.


    However, they can sense their djinn''s emotions...if they''re intense enough.


    Sensing a strong desire for murder, a smile appeared on the demon''s face.


    "Finally...give them hell."


    Within seconds, the demon crumpled to the ground as he felt almost all of his power leaving him and transferring to another source.


    "Make me proud."


    The demon had bet all his chips on Zeng, who was a pair of cards in a game of poker.


    If Zeng died, then the demon would lose his chips and a significant amount of power, lowering his ranking in the demon world.


    However...if Zeng wins and fulfills his desire, the demon''s power will increase.


    After all, demons gain power through stealing artifacts and killing, even if it''s their djinn who does it for them.


    Back in the vault, a sudden dark-purple aura began surrounding Zeng as his muscles seemed to bulge out his clothes, growing bigger and bigger with every passing second.


    A small blood-red hue began to leak out of Zeng''s eyelids, creating a blood-red cloud that covered his face.


    Just then, the ground quaked as Principal Seraphina landed inside the barricade, right next to Liam and in front of the unknown figure.


    Ruby, who was now standing behind Raven and Zeng, stared at them with confused expressions.


    Ren, being the mastermind he was, had made a plan for all situations...even his possible death and disappearance.


    The old Ren, or when Ren had just transmigrated into the world, wouldn''t have cared about Raven or Zeng, as in his own words, "I''m dead, so it''s not my problem!"


    However, Ren cared enough to make a plan, as he knew his death was a possibility in this situation.


    And, he had entrusted that to Ruby.


    However...despite seeing Ren drop into the steaming hot pool of lava that would fry and kill anyone within seconds, Ruby''s expression was eerily calm.


    Irene had been casting fireball spells at Ren''s figure on the ceiling like the other magicians, so Ruby had been left to her own devices.


    As Ruby paused her gaze on Zeng''s figure, her expression suddenly darkened.


    He was overflowing with power... too much power for him to handle.


    A thing like that wouldn''t go unnoticed by Principal Seraphina, who, despite Zeng''s powerup, could still strike the djinn down within a second.


    But...Raven knew that.


    He knew that fighting them head-on was impossible from the start.


    That''s why he was getting closer and closer...to the body that everyone seemed so afraid of.


    Even his boss had screamed in fear upon seeing the body, so it had to be dangerous...dangerous enough to kill them.

 Chapter 321 - 321:Lure [4]

    Seeing the two boys approach the body, Ruby immediately took out her smartwatch.


    It was only a matter of time before the principal noticed and struck the two down, so she needed to calm them down soon.


    If she simply said that Ren was alive and not dead, they would, rightfully so, not trust her words, so she needed some proof.


    After playing with her smartwatch for a second, Ruby sighed before putting it back in her pocket.


    Shifting her gazes towards the giant pool of lava that Ren had fallen through less than a minute ago, Ruby raised her wand and pointed it at the two boys.


    At the same time, Principal Serpahina broke the tense atmosphere in the vault by saying.


    "I''ll take it from here."


    Despite having come from an intense battle where she single-handedly faced over a hundred djinns, Principal Seraphina seemed full of energy.


    Though the field, where the djinn ambush was located, was an absolute mess due to the destructive and overpowered nature of Principal Seraphina''s magic, there were zero casualties among the students.


    Not a single student was harmed during the fight due to Seraphina''s efforts.


    That''s why she was so full of energy.


    However...if there had been a casualty, Seraphina would have been filled with a different emotion.


    One similar, if not greater, than the one Raven and Zeng are feeling currently.


    Reenergized, Seraphina gestured for Liam and Kevin to move out of the way as she strolled towards the motionless body.


    Halting a few feet away, Seraphina confusedly stared at the body, failing to detect any mana within the figure.


    Was he... already dead?


    The only way for a person to possess no mana within their body is for them to be dead or for them to be like Raven, a simple civilian with no magic or combat power.


    Completely oblivious to Zeng and Raven''s quiet approaching steps, Principal Seraphina flicked her head to the right and immediately asked.


    "Did any of you harm him?"


    As everyone glanced toward Alya, Lily, and Irene, who were the first to arrive at the body, Lily hesitated before glancing backward.


    At that moment, Zeng and Raven suddenly stopped and raised their hands to their heads, saluting the principal.


    Thankfully, the principal didn''t pay too much attention to them and instead focused on Lily, not noticing the abnormal amount of mana within Zeng at that moment.


    Seeing the two saluting, Lily turned back to face the principal and said.


    "He got hit by one of my water spells...and body slammed, but I believe that was it. The attacks definitely weren''t enough to fatally harm him."


    Recalling the principal didn''t know the full story, Kazuki sighed before approaching her and saying.


    "He wasn''t the only one."


    Pausing, Kazuki pointed to the lava puddle a couple of feet away and outside the barricade before continuing.


    "There was another intruder, but he got cornered by us and fell into that pool of lava a minute or two ago."


    Intrigued, Seraphina gestured for Kazuki to pause and raised her hand to the ceiling.


    A few moments later, the tip of her wand began to glow a bright white, blinding everyone in the room.


    With her wand shining, Seraphina drew a cube in the air, like a child sketching with a pencil on a piece of paper.


    "Creation Magic."


    As Seraphina said those words, a steel cage resembling a prison cell instantly appeared a few feet away.


    Then, without any hesitation, Seraphina pointed her wand at the figure and muttered.


    "Levitation."


    As her wand began to glow dark purple, Seraphina moved it towards the prison cell, dragging the unknown figure in the air behind her.


    When everyone had opened their eyes again and recovered from the flashbang, the unknown figure was already locked in the prison cell that the principal had created.


    While the main cast, particularly the group''s magicians, looked at the prison cell in shock, Kazuki and Kaneki huddled with Principal Seraphina.


    Then, leaving the main cast to their own devices, Kazuki and Kaneki began recounting the situation to the principal, making sure not to forget any details.


    Seeing this, Ruby immediately ran forward and gripped the shoulders of Raven and Zeng.


    Once they started going through the details...it was over.


    There were supposed to be three security guards who entered the underground space with the student council president, but there are only two right now.


    Yet to hear back from Ren, Ruby leaned into and urgently whispered to the two''s ears.


    "He''s not dead...it''s all part of his plan."


    Raising her hand, Raven casually swatted Ruby''s hand off his shoulder as if she were a bug.


    As Zeng did the same, Raven angrily muttered while staring at the principal.


    "And, why the hell should we believe you? Weren''t you one of the ones attacking him? As far as I''m concerned...you''re one of them. The ones responsible."


    Nodding his head in agreement and taking another quiet step forward, Zeng continued.


    "Even if he''s not dead...he''s severely injured. Here they are, celebrating as they''ve just won a world championship, while the boss is off rotting with burn marks all over his body."


    Not skipping a beat, Raven added in.


    "And worst of all, he''s branded as an intruder and a villain? From what I''ve seen so far, he''s just saved all your asses from whatever is lurking in that damn vault."


    "Without him, this entire island would have been destroyed... a long time ago. So, why is he the bad guy? Tell me, why?"


    "He risked his life and is probably in amounts of pain that we can''t even imagine right now for you guys...yet here we are, calling him an evil bastard."


    Raven knew it best.


    Life was unfair. Sear?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Why were some people born in rich families with everyone set up for them...while he was born with no family and forced to live on the streets?


    However, Raven had never opposed it before and simply accepted his circumstances as a beggar.


    But...now, he wanted to do something about it.


    They...no, this world didn''t deserve a hero like boss.


    Rubbing his hands together, Raven stared at Kaneki with a grim expression.


    "It''s time they learn."

 Chapter 322 - 322:Lure [5]

    Partly on Raven''s fault for not suspecting such a thing, the body was now protected by the principal, so using that to attack was out of the question.


    However...glancing at Zeng, who was yet to say a word, Raven smiled.


    "Cowards...to the very end."


    Despite a single word not being said between the two, Raven knew exactly what Zeng had in mind, simply by his posture and expression.


    That bastard wasn''t planning on dying here.


    Smiling, Raven recalled the recent film he had seen on television a couple of days before this entire mission.


    The tragic story of Romeo and Juliet.


    After believing that his lover had died, Romeo took his own life by consuming a vial of poison and resting his body right next to her.


    Then, Juliet, who had faked her death to escape her overbearing family, sees the body of her dead lover, causing her to commit suicide herself.


    While Raven had mostly zoned out and not paid attention while the movie was playing, that last scene was imprinted in his mind.


    Dependence.


    The two were so dependent on each other that if one of them were not alive, the other would rather end themselves than live without their partner.


    While it would be poetic to say that Raven, Zeng, and Ren were like that, considering the situation with Ren''s death, Raven knew it was false.


    If Raven had ever said something like that to Ren, he would have been laughed out and clowned for the rest of the day.


    Raven had not known Ren for a long time, but he knew one thing.


    He would want to be avenged.


    While a hero''s dying wish might be for world peace or the cease of all fighting, Ren would be the opposite.


    He would want pure and utter chaos.


    And Raven was the same.


    That was why Raven didn''t plan on dying or letting Zeng die.


    Just because Ren was dead...doesn''t mean that their collective dream was dead.


    Without a second more wasted, Zeng stepped to the right, coming to the same conclusion as Raven.


    However...even now, Raven didn''t know what Zeng was planning.


    All Raven knew was the outcome of Zeng''s plan.


    Ruby, simply watching the two, took a couple of steps forward and rejoined the main cast.


    Those two weren''t going to die as long as he was alive...so she had nothing to worry about in the first place.


    Shifting her gaze away from the situation, Ruby detached herself from it and simply stared at the gap leading outside into the underground space.


    Seeing everyone staring at the cage with the body in it, Zeng let a small smile creep onto his face.


    Turning his right, Zeng stared at the shelve, which was just one part of the desperate barricade that they had created.


    Stretching out his right hand, which was surrounded by a dark purple hue, Zeng simply brought his index finger and thumb together.


    Then, in a swift and elegant motion, Zeng flicked the shelf in front of him, causing it to fall backward and create a hole in the barricade immediately.


    *BANG*


    As the shelf toppled over and hit the ground, sending a shockwave through the ground and catching everyone''s attention, Zeng regrouped with Raven.


    However, before anyone could react or move, the rest of the shelves began tipping over like a stack of dominos.


    *BANG*


    *BANG*


    *BANG*


    Within seconds, the barricade was nowhere to be seen, as all the shelves were sprawled on the floor.


    Not skipping a beat, Zeng gestured for Raven to move...however, Raven stayed still.


    Although he didn''t have magical powers or amazing combat talent like the others in the room, he had...his items.


    With a smile, Raven reached into his back pocket, revealing...over a hundred healing scrolls that had been stuffed in there.


    "You know I really hated making these, so don''t you dare waste them."


    Gripping the scroll in his hands, Raven handed twenty-five of them to Zeng, like a parent giving their child their weekly allowance.


    Quite literally, as long as they had the healing scrolls with them and activated them in time, they couldn''t die.


    By now, a few people, including the principal, Liam, Kazuki, Kevin, Lily, and Kaneki, had noticed the culprits of the shelf''s collapse.


    Staring at Raven and Zeng''s sole figures, Seraphina immediately inquired.


    "And, who might you two be?"


    Reaching his hand downward, Zeng touched the collar of his academy security disguise before immediately pulling it downward and ripping it off.


    As the tatters of the uniform fell to the ground, revealing Zeng''s chest, which was mostly bandaged up due to training injuries, Raven sighed and shook his head.


    "What a showoff."


    If Raven did the same thing, he would be laughed out of the room because of his scrawny physique.


    Grabbing the healing scrolls and placing them in his pocket, Zeng made eye contact with the principal before replying.


    "Intruders."


    If Ren was an intruder, then Raven and Zeng were also by association.


    From behind the principal, the main cast immediately turned around and took out their weapons. S§×arch* The ¦Çov§×lFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    However, Ruby, Lily, and Alya were all somewhat confused as they stared at them.


    Turning to Ruby, Lily hurriedly asked, wanting to avoid any further conflict and damage to the magical artifacts sealing the beast away.


    "Didn''t you tell them that Ren was alive!?"


    Shaking her head, Ruby sighed and replied.


    "Yeah, you''d think they''d believe me when I was one of the people ''attacking'' him a few moments ago?"


    Taking a deep breath, Lily shifted her glance away from the boys and stared at the lava pool that Ren had fallen into.


    It had taken all three of them to create the "lava pool."


    First, Ruby created the top layer, which was a thin layer of lava that could be seen from the outside.


    Next, Alya used her ice magic to create a floor of ice, just strong enough that Ruby''s lava above wouldn''t melt it.

 Chapter 323 - 323: Lure [6]

    The hole that stretched down from the vault to the ocean below had already been created during the battle.


    When Kaneki had plunged his sword into the ground and created countless black tentacles, the layer of dirt below the vault had become severely weakened.


    Thus, when Ren made his last stand while hanging from the ceiling, the mana generated from all the attacks headed toward him created a massive crater in the ground right below him.


    Covering up the top portion of the hole was Ruby''s lava, and right below Ruby''s lava was Astrid''s strong layer of ice.


    The ice would be able to last for a few seconds before melting under the heat of Ruby''s lava, but that was enough.


    With the layer of ice preventing Ruby''s lava from spreading down further into the hole created, Lily had finally raised her wand.


    Showcasing her amazing accuracy when casting spells, Lily used her water magic to create a layer of water right on the ice floor that Alya had created.


    Then, as the ice began to melt under the lava heat, the water floor kept on expanding deeper and deeper until there was a complete water tunnel all the way from Alya''s ice floor to the ocean below the island.


    Then, as if calculated perfectly, when Ren dropped, the lava melted the ice layer below; however, it hadn''t yet reached the water below.


    Finally, as Ren dipped past the lava and entered the water, Ruby''s lava met Lily''s water, creating obsidian and blocking the upward exit.


    Of course, this escape plan that the three girls had created only worked because Ruby had informed them of Ren''s ability to breathe underwater for ungodly amounts of time.


    The combination of lava particles and pieces of obsidian entering the water tunnel was what Ren unable to partly see in the tunnel; however, since he was still in mostly water, he was able to breathe and survive.


    Back at the vault, Kevin unsheathed his sword and stared at the two before quietly muttering.


    "I knew something was up with them when they suddenly appeared..."


    Behind him, a slightly louder mutter could be heard from Kazuki''s mouth.


    "My ass, you did."


    However, as if expecting some sort of reaction, Kevin confusedly turned around to face Liam, who was standing still with his mouth shut.


    "...?"


    Ignoring Kevin''s gaze, Liam pointed his sword forward.


    With an emotionless expression, Liam took one step forward and gazed at Raven and Zeng.


    Then, without giving any orders or instructions to the main cast or the two recruiters, Liam broke into a sprint, easily passing by the three girls.


    Unperturbed by Liam''s incoming attack, Zeng readjusted his sword so that its face was looking at Liam and prepared to parry.


    Activating his movement ability, Liam stepped into the air and slowly elevated himself until his feet were at the height of Zeng''s head.


    Then, plunging his sword downward, Liam prepared to use his new and improved skill, "World Plunge."


    Having improved the skill from the last time he faced off with Ren, Liam sighed upon seeing the participant of his new attack.


    Shaking his head while taking one last step into the air, Liam muttered in an eerily calm voice. sea??h th§× N?velFire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "What a waste."


    Preparing for Liam''s ariel assault, Zeng pointed his sword upward, allowing the dark-purple hue to spread from his body to his sword.


    And that''s when it became visible.


    Zeng''s bright-red horns grew to full size and became visible as he called upon all his power, not holding anything back.


    Seeing the horns appear on Zeng''s head, Liam smiled before also manifesting his own light-blue hue.


    Then, as Liam dived into the air, with the tip of his sword pointing down, he surrounded his entire body with the divine hue.


    It was a no-brainer who would win.


    Divine energy was the ultimate weakness for djinns and devils because of its purifying properties.


    It would quite literally cleanse the demonic energy in a djinn''s body, and since a djinn''s body requires demonic energy, divine energy was fatal for djinns.


    Raven, despite not being a magical or fighter himself, even understood this and immediately yelled.


    "DODGE!"


    However, Zeng simply stood still.


    Zeng''s pupils began to swirl and turn dark purple as he opened his mouth and muttered to Raven.


    "All I have to do is not get hit."


    Instead of waiting for Liam to come to him, Zeng decided to be the hunter.


    Strengthening the lower half of his body with his remaining demonic energy, Zeng leaped straight into the air.


    Readjusting himself so that the tip of Liam''s sword wasn''t aimed at him, Zeng thrusted his sword upwards into the air.


    But, at that very moment, Liam''s figure suddenly disappeared from right above Zeng.


    Suddenly, a whisper came from Zeng''s right side, causing to immediately twist his body- mid-air...but nothing was there.


    "Fodder."


    Activating his ability, Liam disappeared from above Zeng and reappeared to his right.


    With Zeng caught completely off guard, Liam didn''t hesitate to plunge his divine-blue sword forward.


    As the sword hit the side of Zeng''s stomach, he was sent flying back into the corner of the vault.


    Before landing and still mid-air, Zeng resisted the pain in his stomach and ripped one of the many scrolls in his pockets.


    Instantly, a light green hue surrounded Zeng''s entire body, and the light blue mark that had been left on his stomach by Liam''s sword disappeared.


    *BANG*


    A couple of seconds later, Zeng''s back crashed against the vault''s walls; however, he regained his composure and immediately stood back up.


    Rubbing his back and readjusting his grip on his sword, Zeng muttered.


    "Gonna use your numbers advantage pussy?"


    Behind Liam, the entire main cast, two recruiters, and the principal simply stood still, observing Liam''s fight from afar.


    Surprisingly, they hadn''t made a single move to help Liam.


    Then, before Liam could even respond, Raven realized it.


    Why they weren''t...or couldn''t make any moves.


    The seal...it was already weakened heavily by the all-out fight earlier.


    And if another one were to occur...the seal would be completely destroyed, and the beast inside would be released.

 Chapter 324 - 324:Vault Battle [1]

    Shaking his head with a smile, Raven spoke.


    "They can''t join because if any more magical artifacts are destroyed, that seal of theirs will collapse, and the thing inside the vault will be let out."


    To limit the chaos inside the vault and to stop any extra damage, the principal was letting Liam fight alone.


    As all the gazes in the room slowly shifted toward Raven, he smirked before slowly walking over to one of the toppled shelves.


    Thankfully, none of the artifacts had been destroyed from the fall, but they were all on their last breaths.


    Leaning down and touching one of the shelves, Raven waved his hands up and down before saying.


    "Don''t mind me...just getting some insurance."


    Shifting his gaze away from Raven, Liam smirked upon seeing the wound he had inflicted on Zeng gone.


    "Abusing those scrolls, are you? Don''t you know what happens if you use too many?"


    Shaking his head, Zeng finally showed his first sign of emotion as a defeated expression appeared on his face.


    Tilting his head upward, he looked up at the ceiling, allowing the dark-purple hue to leak off his body and surround him.


    With his hair falling down to the ground, completely revealing his horns, Zeng let out a deep sigh.


    Killing...more killing, and now even more.


    It was like a cycle for him.


    Feeling his head start to numb all his emotions, Zeng swung his sword once, sending a dark purple slash right at Liam.


    However, defying Raven''s expectations, Liam simply dodged the slash, allowing it to keep flying forward into the shelves and artifacts behind.


    However, a second later, the principal appeared right in front of the slash, and with one simple spell, she nullified it, watching the splash disintegrate and fall onto the floor in front of her.


    After dodging the slash, Liam immediately started sprinting forward at the motionless Zeng, ignoring Raven, who was off to the side.


    Yet, pausing for a second mid-dash, Liam looked in surprise as another sword appeared in Zeng''s left hand.


    "You''re a duel wielder?"


    "..."


    With the extra strength he received from his demon, Zeng could now easily wield two broadswords without losing his balance or being fatigued.


    Meeting Liam mid-dash, Zeng easily parried Liam''s divine blue broad sword with the sword in his right hand.


    Instantly, he plunged his left sword forward; however, Liam had already distanced himself after seeing his attack fail.


    Backing away, Liam raised his sword so that it was perpendicular to the ceiling.


    Then, within a second, a divine blue hue surged out of the tip of Liam''s sword before spreading everywhere.


    Within a couple of seconds, the ceiling was no longer visible as all you could see when you looked up was a divine-blue cloud.


    With incredible speed, Liam swung his heavy broadsword downward and muttered.


    "Bladestorm."


    As Liam''s sword fell to his feet, unbeknownst to everyone in the room, countless swords materialized right below the ceiling and above the divine blue cloud.


    A moment later, these floating swords, frozen in the air, suddenly bolted straight downward.


    Sensing the wind in the room suddenly change and blow downward, Zeng instinctively looked upward; however, all he saw was the divine blue cloud.


    Yet, a second later, and just as Zeng looked back down, one of the countless swords falling from the ceiling passed right through the divine blue hue.


    Seeing the sword suddenly appear below the cloud and Zeng completely oblivious, Raven frantically yelled.


    "LOOK UP AND DODGE!"


    Not even looking up at the sky, Zeng immediately heeded Raven''s words and dived to the left.


    A second later, the sword pierced the ground where Zeng was just standing, sticking upright while stabbed into the ground of the vault.


    But that wasn''t the end of it, as the countless other swords also passed through the cloud and became visible to everyone in the room.


    Looking straight up at the sky, Zeng sidestepped and moved around, barely managing to avoid the piercing swords. Sear?h the ¦ÇovelFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Seeing this, Liam smiled and began sprinting forward.


    Yet, unlike Zeng, who had to look up at all times to avoid the flying swords, Liam''s gaze was locked on his enemy.


    The swords above never seemed to get close to Liam, and whenever they were, they would suddenly adjust their angle before they hit him and fly away.


    It was like Liam was walking in the middle of a raging rainstorm but completely dry.


    "INCOMING FROM YOUR RIGHT!"


    Hearing Raven''s scream, Zeng momentarily shifted his gaze away from the ceiling and spotted Liam creeping up.


    Without any hesitation, he shamelessly repeated Liam''s motion and pointed his sword upward, making it perpendicular to the ceiling.


    However, the dark-purple hue surged straight upward instead of slowly spreading out like Liam''s divine blue hue.


    A giant purple beam appeared on the tip of Zeng''s sword and rocketed upward toward the divine blue cloud.


    Though, like magnets repelling each other, the dark-purple beam suddenly slowed as it approached the divine-blue cloud.


    As if expecting this, Zeng immediately swung his sword downward, making it perfectly horizontal and perpendicular to the walls of the vault.


    Following the sword''s tip, the beam also reappeared and surged forward...at the vault wall.


    Zeng''s sword and dark purple beam were not aimed at Liam but in the completely opposite direction.


    Then, the beam suddenly slowed as a sword fell from the ceiling, directly blocking the beam''s trajectory.


    However, instead of completely stopping like last time, the beam suddenly bounced off the air right in front of the sword.


    Now angled upwards, the beam approached the ceiling before once again slowing as it met the divine blue cloud.


    Like a bouncy ball reflecting off a wall, the dark purple beam ricocheted right off the air below the divine blue cloud.


    And now...it was aimed right at the air in front of Liam''s figure.


    As Liam took another step forward, the purple beam blasted ahead, and with only a second to react, Liam desperately raised his divine-blue sword.

 Chapter 325 - 325:Vault Battle [2]

    As dark purple met the metal blade of Liam''s sword head-on, Liam was instantly pushed back, but he managed to avoid being flung away.


    Faltering under the pressure of the beam, Liam slowly backed away, his expression turning grim.


    Noticing this, Zeng didn''t hesitate to raise his other sword into the air and repeat the same exact motion.


    Within seconds, another dark purple beam had bounced off the ceiling and was now heading at Liam''s blade.


    However, to Zeng''s surprise, despite the fact that Liam had been standing in almost the same exact position, not a single sword had even touched him.


    Even now, as Zeng controlled the beams, he had to occasionally move around to avoid the falling swords.


    That meant that Liam, for the time Zeng moved around, could regain his composure and move closer and closer toward Zeng.


    They were at a stalemate, but Liam held a small advantage over Zeng because of his advancing position.


    If Liam got close enough, he would have a free strike right at Zeng.


    Both of Zeng''s swords were controlling beams, so he couldn''t use them to parry an attack or slash from Liam if it were to come.


    And, unlike Liam, who seemed to have immunity from the falling blades, Zeng couldn''t just run away as he would be bombarded by blades from above.


    Feeling the essence the beams needed starting to take an effect on his body, Zeng sighed and put his sword down.


    Then, without a second thought, he dashed away from Liam while looking up at the ceiling and avoiding the swords.


    By the time Liam had put down his blade and noticed the disappearance of the purple beams, Zeng was already outside the perimeter of the cloud.


    As Liam canceled the blade storm, Zeng took the time and glanced around the room.


    Why was he focusing on Liam?


    Zeng knew from both Raven''s words and the actions of the main cast that there was a danger hidden inside the vault.


    He was a djinn...who thrived on destruction and chaos...so why was he hesitating?


    Taking a glance behind him, Zeng spotted Raven''s helpless figure standing in the corner with a small artifact in hand.


    It was clear that he was somewhat nervous from the shaking of his legs, but his expression remained calm.


    If Zeng attacked the room instead of Liam and let the danger in the vault out...it wouldn''t be the only time his enemies died.


    Raven would one hundred percent die, considering his lack of magical or combat skills, and Zeng himself also had a high chance due to his absence of movement ability.


    Djinns couldn''t learn abilities or skills like humans, so they were completely reliant on their demonic mana, supplied to them by demons, and their innate combat skills.


    Then, just as Liam was about to charge forward, Zeng suddenly felt his body starting to weaken and give up.


    His body, previously coursing full of energy and demonic mana, was now starting to falter.


    Was his body fatigued... no it couldn''t be.


    The dark-purple hue surrounding his body and sword was slowly starting to diminish, and his muscles were retracting.


    The demon...was taking back its power.


    He was disappointed.


    Despite the astronomical distance between his supervising demon and him, Zeng knew exactly what the demon wanted and why he was taking his power back.


    He wanted chaos and destruction...and Zeng wasn''t giving it to him.


    Zeng was having a proper one-on-one with Liam, with no unfair tricks and no bringing other people in.


    Just like Liam wasn''t bringing the defenseless Raven into the fight, Zeng wasn''t attacking the spectators behind Liam.


    The demon wanted Zeng to take hostages by attacking the main cast, destroying the magical artifacts, and causing chaos.


    Feeling his power start to dissipate and his legs begging to shake, Zeng groaned in pain.


    If he fell now...it was over.


    But, if he didn''t fall and obeyed the demon''s desires, the danger in the vault would be released.


    It was a lose-lose situation.


    In one of the situations, Zeng would be defeated by Liam as the demon revoked his power, causing both him and Raven to be imprisoned or die for their crimes of impersonation and assault.


    But...in that situation, his enemies would come out on top as the main cast, principal, and two recruiters would be the same.


    In the second scenario, everyone would die, and there would be no winners. sea??h th§× N?velFire(.)net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The answer was so simple... especially for a djinn like Zeng, yet he hesitated to point his sword at the magical artifacts nearby.


    "...simpler times.."


    Times when all he had to worry about was being yelled at by Raven for not finishing his work on time.


    Times where he would rest on the couch and watch T.V. with Raven snacking beside him.


    Times when Ren, he, and Raven could all joke around together and have fun.


    There was so much the three of them hadn''t done.


    Had all three of them ever even been outside the warehouse on an official and fun outing?


    As those memories replayed in his head, Zeng truly realized how much he had taken his time with Ren and Raven for granted.


    Why had he been asleep and inspecting himself in the mirror all those times instead of spending time with his closest friends?


    Taking another glance behind him and seeing Raven''s expression filled with complete and utter rage, Zeng smiled.


    Raven was telling him what decision to make.


    Raven wanted to completely avenge Ren, taking down everyone in this room.


    Yet...Zeng couldn''t.


    Wasn''t the very reason he joined Ren and Raven to live a "normal life" without committing crimes or killing innocent people?


    If he reverted back to his old self right now and killed everyone in the room by breaking the seal on the vault, what were all those times for?


    It was exactly because of those times he had spent with Ren and Raven that Zeng hesitated.


    If he took revenge now, then all his time with his two friends would have been a waste.


    He wouldn''t have learned anything.

 Chapter 326 - 326:Vault Battle [3]

    The cycle of bloodshed would have just continued.


    But, alas, Zeng had to make a decision.


    Recalling his first day in the warehouse when Ren had decided to take him in after finding him in the subspace, Zeng smiled.


    What was it Ren had said to him?


    His first instructions as a member of the ragtag team of Raven, Ren, and Zeng.


    "Listen to this guy, and don''t complain."


    It had been something like that, hadn''t it?


    And, of course, the "guy" referred to Raven.


    Turning around with a grin still on his face, ignoring the now-charging Liam, Zeng said to Raven, who was behind him.


    "Destroy the seal or not?"


    With a solemn expression, Raven simply sighed before responding.


    "Destroy."


    All of a sudden, all the doubts that were in Zeng''s head about the decision disappeared.


    After all, if Raven or Ren told him to do something, as their employee, he was obligated to do it.


    So, with a smile, Zeng turned around to face the countless artifacts around and pointed his swords in opposite directions.


    At the tip of each of his swords, a small purple ball formed before expanding and expanding until it was the size of a basketball.


    But...it kept going.


    At this point, Seraphina and the others finally stepped in, noticing that Zeng was no longer fighting the one versus one.


    With his two swords facing the opposite walls of the vault, Zeng took one glance around the vault.


    His final resting place...right next to his first boss and second boss.


    He wouldn''t have any other way.


    As Principal Seraphina disappeared from behind Liam and reappeared a couple of meters in front of Zeng, it was already too late.


    The dark-purple balls of destruction were already the size of three basketballs.


    If she attempted to kill Zeng at this moment, the balls were instantly destroyed, sending a shockwave through the vault and destroying countless magical artifacts.


    And, the purple balls were so unstable due to them being made of demonic mana that if Seraphina attempted to even touch them, they would explode.


    Feeling the demonic mana in his body completely depleted, Zeng slowly moved his sword outward before muttering.


    "Shadow Bal-"


    " *PFFT* What is this? A Pokemon battle?"


    At that moment, Zeng''s body completely halted, and the dark-purple balls remained still, not destroying any artifacts.


    Everyone''s gaze slowly shifted away from Zeng and towards the gap that led outside into the underground space.


    Even the principal momentarily took her gaze off Zeng and stared at the tunnel.


    However, one figure remained completely still.


    Raven, hearing a very familiar voice that he could never mistake, suddenly paused, his gaze still lingering on Zeng''s figure.


    *THUD*


    A figure, clad in complete pitch-black attire with even his face covered, could be seen jumping from the gap and consequently landing on the vault floor.


    Not paying any mind to the powerful gazes, consisting of the principal and top youth talents in the world, on him, the figure continued walking forward.


    *Tap~tap*


    *Tap~tap*


    *Tap~tap*


    As the sound of the figure''s hard black shoes touching the metal vault floor echoed throughout the room, Raven finally looked up.


    Making eye contact with Zeng, the figure scoffed before saying, not caring about the other people in the room.


    "Why are you announcing your attacks like a dumbass? Haven''t I taught you better?" sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Arriving at the barricade of shelves, the figure finally acknowledged Seraphina, the main cast, and the two recruiters.


    Making eye contact with each of them, the figure, not crumbling under the immense amount of pressure, simply bowed.


    "Thank you for babysitting for a bit! Don''t worry, your payment will come soon."


    Ignoring the flabbergasted expressions on everyone''s faces, the figure leaped upwards, easily reaching the height of the top shelve.


    Then, the figure suddenly disappeared from sight, only to reappear right in between Zeng and Principal Seraphina.


    Zeng, who was still shellshocked, simply stood there with an astonished expression while Seraphina was still on guard, seeing that the dark-purple balls hadn''t yet disapeared.


    Flinching as the figure neared Zeng, Seraphina calmly said.


    "You''re with them?"


    Nodding his head at Seraphina''s words, the figure, without any hesitation, grabbed Zeng and dragged him forward.


    Pointing at Raven in the corner, the figure asked with a sly tone.


    "Are you coming or staying with them? I''m sure they won''t overwork you like I do!"


    Keeping a completely composed expression, Raven struggled to nod his head as his entire body began trembling.


    Finally, after a few seconds, Raven gathered the energy to slowly approach the figure and grabbed his pitch-black sweatshirt.


    Then, the three boys simply jumped over the barricade and left through the tunnel into the underground space.


    The principal knew that there were guards waiting outside the exit of the underground space, so she let them be.


    Although they could not enter the academy, she was sure they had another way out of the island.


    Kevin, who had finally regained his composure after being called a babysitter, simply stood here and said.


    "Are we...just letting them leave?"


    Kazuki, who was just at a loss for words due to the entire situation, said.


    "It''s weird, you know?"


    "What do you m-"


    Interrupting Kevin mid-sentence, Kaneki stepped forward with his sword still ready and said.


    "Up until a couple of seconds ago, the guy wasn''t even trying to destroy the vault. He was simply fighting Liam fair. If he was really an enemy, he would have just ignored Liam and completely wrecked the vault."


    "That''s why the principle didn''t interfere. She was simply watching and waiting to see if the djinn would do anything to harm the vault."


    "And, then suddenly, just when the figure is about to harm the vault and break the seal, that guy shows up and stops him."


    "The situation is a bit more than weird. Anyway...I need to get back to the house, you guys can finish this off."


    Nodding his head in agreement, Kazuki turned around and waved at the main cast.


    "I''ll see you all later!"

 Chapter 327 - 327:Interlude [1]

    As the two recruiters walked away, the others snapped back to life as Zach asked.


    "What do they mean by...that?"


    Staring ahead at Liam and the principal, who is just standing still and looking at the locations where the intruders used to be, Lily responded.


    "They didn''t want to destroy the vault and let out the beast inside of the vault."


    "...?"


    Even more confused than before, Zach put down his heavy battle axe and asked.


    "Then, why did they even break into the vault? What other reason is there to come here besides break the seal?"


    Proving his point, Zach pointed all around the room, which was just filled with magical artifacts.


    Although the artifacts were considered magical artifacts due to possessing mana, none of them actually had abilities.


    There were just regular, everyday items infused with mana.


    The hammer was just a regular hammer.


    Although Lily knew very well why the intruders had come to the vault, she sighed before lying.


    "How are the intruders supposed to know that Zeng? They probably thought the vault was filled with treasures that they could steal and sell."


    "...?"


    Seeing Zeng still wearing a bewildered expression, Lily sighed again before continuing.


    "What now?"


    Pausing for a moment as if hesitating whether or not to respond, Zach answered.


    "Then...why didn''t they just leave after seeing inside of the vault? I mean, they were here for at least thirty minutes, right?"


    Exasperated by Zach''s barrage of questions, Lily just ignored him and walked towards the principal and Liam.


    Behind her, Ruby took a look at her smartwatch before sighing and immediately concealing it.


    But...one other person moved.


    The person, who had been forgotten during the entire battle due to her lack of affiliation to the main cast group or the two recruiters, finally moved.


    Astrid, who had been doing nothing but observing the entire time, finally took her first step forward as she walked towards the gap that led outside into the underground space.


    Easily scaling the wall with her movement ability, Astrid took one last glance at the vault before lowering himself and crawling through the gap.


    Behind her, the principal finally turned away from Ren''s previous spot as she walked towards Lily, Alya, Ruby, Kevin, and Zach.


    However, before she could even talk to the main cast, two voices sounded from farther away, outside the barricade.


    "Principal, could we get a teleport home?"


    Staring at the two recruiters, Kazuki and Kaneki, Seraphina nodded her head before pulling out her wand once again.


    The boys had traveled a long way from their houses and spent loads of extra time to protect her academy, so she was incredibly grateful.


    And thankfully, she had also regained most of her mana after her destructive spell where she had summoned the sea god, Leviathan.


    Bowing down and showing her gratitude to her two former students, Seraphina smiled and pointed her wand at the two.


    "Lanuae"


    As those words came out of the principal''s mouth, a small dark-purple magic circle formed under the feet of the two boys.


    Not showing any reactions, the boys simply waved at the main cast as their figures began to flicker on and off like a light switch.


    Within seconds, the two boys were gone, leaving the principal alone with the main cast.


    Seeing the two boys home safe, Seraphina clapped her hands together before turning to Liam, who was the closest to her.


    "Care to explain who those guys were?"


    Though she didn''t know it on her face due to the circumstances, Seraphina was bewildered when Zeng suddenly appeared. sea??h th§× Nov§×l?ire.n(e)t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    In fact, she hadn''t even known that Raven and Zeng were in the vault in the first place, which was an oversight on her part.


    To be fair to her, the main cast also ignored the boys and focused on the unknown figure on the ground.


    Speaking of the unknown figure, Seraphina immediately glanced backward and let out a sigh of relief as she noticed the prison cell with the unconscious figure still intact.


    Liam, with an unusually cold expression, simply stared at the divine-blue sword before dropping it.


    *CLANG*


    As Liam''s sword dropped to the ground, the blue hue around it suddenly disappeared, and, in the next second, the sword shattered into hundreds of different iron shards.


    The perfect iron sword, forged by the academy''s top blacksmiths, simply broke from a simple drop to the floor...


    Losing her composure, Seraphina simply stared at the remains of the iron sword for a second before lifting her head and looking at Liam.


    Forgetting about her previous question, Seraphina sighed before saying.


    "Was destroying the sword necessary?"


    Making eye contact with the principal, Liam silently nodded his head before turning around.


    Attributing Liam''s behavior to him being a teenager, Seraphina turned around and looked at Lily.


    After taking a short glance at Liam''s solitary figure, Lily nodded her head before answering in Liam''s stead.


    "Those two came shortly after us...with A- huh?"


    Turning around, Lily searched for Astrid, who had arrived at around the same time as the figures, but she was nowhere to be seen.


    Did she run off already?


    Letting a dry cough, Alya continued while Lily glanced around the room.


    "They told us they were part of the academy''s security team, and since we lacked numbers to cover the wide area of the vault, we accepted them."


    "However, that doesn''t mean we simply just let them be. At every second, one of us watched them and made sure they didn''t do anything harmful."


    "And they didn''t. They complied with our orders and even helped us store the artifacts out of the vault to prevent them from being damaged."


    "Up until just now, they seemed to be completely on our side."


    After pausing for a moment, as if debating if she should say it or not, Alya added.


    "And...even now, they didn''t seem to be our enemies. They didn''t even try to destroy the artifacts and break the seal."


    "...indeed."

 Chapter 328 - 328:Interlude [2]

    Brushing the hair off her face, Seraphina calmly glanced around and assessed the state of the vault.


    Seeing Alya about to continue speaking, she raised her hand and said.


    "Don''t worry; the artifacts that you all have stored outside and in that tunnel have been secured."


    While Seraphina continued to interview Ruby, Alya, and Lily, Kevin and Zach awkwardly stood there, feeling somewhat left out.


    After a couple of seconds, Kevin finally got fed up with being a background character and turned to Zach.


    "Zach, why the hell are we always the ones fighting? But when it''s time to explain, we''re just standing still awkwardly."


    Kevin had voiced that remark simply to get off his chest and not seriously expect an answer, so when Zach responded in an exasperated tone, he stepped back.


    "I think we''re what they call all brawn and no brains."


    "..."


    Immobilized by Zach''s disrespectful remark, Kevin immediately refuted it.


    "You know you''re speaking to the number one student in the school. That means I''ve done well in exams, too, you know?"


    Pointing at the three girls and the principal, Zach simply looked away and replied.


    "Try going over there and saying that to them."


    "You know, I might just do that!"


    After hearing Zach try to mock his character twice, the prideful Kevin wasn''t just going to stand still.


    With his hands in his pocket, Kevin took one step...and then another step.


    Pausing, Kevin glanced behind him and immediately made eye contact with Zach, who seemed to be expecting it.


    Immediately looking away with a disgruntled expression, Kevin took one more step, now putting him right behind Alya.


    The three girls and the principal were in a square-like formation as they talked with one person in each direction, so Kevin had no way to subtly join them.


    If he did, the formation would collapse, and all attention would be directed towards him.


    Leaning forward and placing his head right above Alya''s shoulder, Kevin whispered. S§×ar?h the N?vel?ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "mhm, yep, mhm, I understand. Yeah, that happened to. What abou- oh yeah, that was what I was going to say!"


    As Kevin nonsensically nodded his head and added words to act as if he understood the entire conversation, Alya''s posture started to crumble.


    "Yep, indeed. 100%, that''s true. Oh, I can''t b-"


    Finally reaching her breaking point, Alya got her tippy toes, causing her shoulder to rise and bump straight into the bottom of Kevin''s chin.


    "..."


    Caught off guard by the sudden hit, Kevin lost his balance and awkwardly fell backward before finally regaining his balance.


    Wearing a grim expression, actually resembling the one Liam was currently wearing, Kevin glared at the back of Alya''s head.


    However, acting as if nothing had ever happened, Alya simply continued looking at the principal and talking.


    Turning back around, Kevin struggled to keep his hand still as Zach looked at him and mouthed, "YOU GOT THIS!!!"


    Managing to keep his hand off his sword as he walked back toward Zach, Kevin muttered.


    "I swear to g-"


    Interrupting Kevin''s mid-sentence, Zach tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to the right.


    Following Zach''s finger, Kevin spotted Liam leaning against the vault wall while staring down at his empty sheath.


    Unable to hold his anger in anymore, Kevin swiped Zach''s hand off his shoulder and walked towards Liam.


    "All of sudden, everyone thinks they''re too cool to talk to me!? Where the hell was this on the first day of school when I was #1!?"


    Having nothing better to do, Zach followed after Kevin, stealing glances at Liam, who was now looking up at the ceiling with a somber expression.


    Reaching Liam, Kevin immediately threw his hand forward at the space at the wall right next to Liam, attempting to catch him off guard.


    "What? Complaining about your loss!?"


    Showing no reaction to Kevin''s mocking words, Liam slowly shifted his head downward and replied.


    "Only reason I lost was because I had to protect this damn vault...just another obstacle in my way."


    To anyone watching the fight, Liam''s words were true as he should have easily defeated Zeng.


    However, Kevin, wanting to get a reaction from Liam, chuckled and responded.


    "That''s what they all say."


    Before Liam could even rebuke Kevin''s statement, Seraphina''s voice sounded from behind the two of them.


    "All right, let''s head out of here. I need to patch up the hole before anything else happens."


    Knocking Kevin''s hand off the wall, Liam silently shrugged his shoulders and began walking towards the gap.


    As the main cast and the principal carefully stepped over the shelves that had fallen because of Zeng, three figures could be seen in the ocean right below the island.


    "Raven...you''re paying for those healing sc-"


    "I''ll drown the three of us right now if you don''t shut the fuck up."


    "I don''t drown, Raven, and you''d die the first anyway because you can''t use m-"


    "Magic this, magic that, who the hell needs that shit when you have money!?"


    Holding each boy under one of his shoulders, Ren easily swam through the ocean and towards the capital.


    However, as he peered forward, Ren noticed that the harbor was in complete shambles, looking as if it had just been hit by the tsunami.


    In Ren''s hoodie, his black cat, which he had learned was also immune to drowning, suddenly twitched in its sleep.


    Zeng, who had been silent up until now, simply nodded his head as he was too exhausted to even speak.


    In the end, he was back to normal strength as his demon had once again evoked all of his power.


    Within a couple of minutes, three figures could be seen emerging from the water atop a beach that was covered by glass and metal.


    Staring at the mess of the beach in front of him, Ren muttered.


    "Global warming really is getting bad..."


    The two boys, unable to comprehend "Global warming, simply sighed and shrugged off their boss'' words.


    Exhausted and unable to take another step, Zeng and Raven simply let their body fell onto the warm sand of the beach.


    Looking up at Ren, Raven waved his hand and said.


    "I should have known, you''d be fine."

 Chapter 329 - 329:Interlude [3]

    Letting a smile creep onto his face, Ren also released his body, allowing himself to fall onto the soft...and quite hot sand of the beach.


    Lying down in the middle of Raven and Zeng, Ren sighed and recalled the messages he had received from Ruby.


    Originally, in a worst-case scenario, the two were supposed to just walk out, claiming that their shift had ended or something like that.


    Of course, the main cast, two recruiters, and the student council president wouldn''t trust this and send people to make sure they hadn''t stolen anything.


    And, since Alya owed me one for helping heal Zach when he had gotten hurt, Ruby convinced her to help escort Raven and Zeng out of the vault.


    From there, they could just escape through the tunnel in the underground space and swim back towards the capital.


    However...it seemed like Raven and Zeng had a mine of their own.


    Before even asking them about their actions, Ren sighed and recalled a very particular message.


    Turning to the two boys, Ren said.


    "Ruby is part of a group and is trustworth-"


    Immediately flicking his head up and off the sand, Raven interrupted.


    "But, boss...she was attacking you with the other guys, forcing you to fall into that lava."


    Flicking the top of Raven''s head and still laying down on the hand, Ren continued.


    "You watch so many movies, yet you don''t know what a double agent is?"


    "...ah, I see."


    "So, next time, you can listen to her and even ask her for help."


    Finally showing some sign of life, Zeng cupped his hands and picked up a handful of sand before replying.


    "What do you mean, ''next time?'' "


    "..."


    Was there even going to be a next time?


    Recalling the plan he had made with Ruby when they had been in the underground space alone, Ren smiled.


    "So you''re planning on taking on all of them at once...just so you can expose the actual intruder."


    Seeing Ruby''s eyebrows contorting as if she were struggling to understand his plan, Ren replied.


    "With so many spells and attacks flying around, it''ll be almost impossible for him to not get hit in the crossfire."


    Shaking her head, Ruby instantly responded.


    "And, how will you be able to avoid all those spells and attacks!?"


    Manifesting pitch-black clothes made of corruption to cover his body, Ren replied.


    "Do you have another idea? We can''t just camp here all day and all night, waiting for him to do something."


    "But we can...in your own words, the principal will be arriving soon. She''ll be able to take care of him, won''t she?"


    Shifting his gaze to the right side of the underground space, where the original entrance was located, Ren said.


    "What if he acts before then? What if he''s already acting and doing something to destroy the seal without our knowledge? And what if the principal doesn''t even have the ability to see through the intruder''s invisibility."


    While it did seem crazy to say that the principal would be outsmarted by a mere djin intruder''s ability, Ren did believe it was a possibility.


    After all, he possessed the best set of eyes in the entire world, and for some reason, he couldn''t discern the intruder.


    Realizing that Ren wasn''t going to give up on his plan, Ruby sighed and responded.


    "So, what do you need me to do?"


    Hearing Ruby''s quick submission and willingness to help, Ren flinched and turned around to hide his expression.


    He felt terrible... and sick as if he were about to throw up.


    Here he was again, using Ruby as a pawn in his plans.


    Forcing her to betray her friends again...what type of person was he?


    Ren...he knew he didn''t deserve someone like her.


    Someone so willing to help and assist him...for no reason.


    He hated it...but he still did it.


    Because if he didn''t, the monster would be released from the vault and kill millions of people, destroying the entire academy and capital city.


    As the memories of Ruby''s happy expression when they played in the snow flooded his head, Ren desperately tried to calm himself down.


    Regaining his composure, Ren simply looked at the ground, afraid to even see Ruby''s expression, and said.


    "Spot me and convince the others that I''m the intruder. Lily and Alya might be hesitant to attack, but follow them."


    After a moment of silence, Ren finally heard Ruby''s voice sound from above him.


    "What about you? What happens when the real intruder is exposed? You think you can just take off your mask and say, ''Oh yeah, I''m on your team! This was all part of my plan.'' "


    "..."


    Seeing Ren go completely silent, Ruby continued.


    "You think they''ll just let you off the hook. Do you think that all those attacks coming at you will just suddenly disappear? What about you? What''s going to happen to you? You''re not facing amateurs...you''re outmatched both in strength and numbers."


    "...I''ll manage."


    That was all Ren could see in the face of Ruby''s harsh but necessary reality check.


    The reason he was standing here today was because he had managed in all those past scenarios.


    All he had to do was do it one more time. sea??h th§× n?velFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Hearing Ren''s pitiful words that he didn''t even seem to believe himself, Ruby simply turned around and faced the gap that led into the vault.


    "Trust the lava."


    With those parting words, Ruby ducked down and crawled through the gap, disappearing from Ren''s sight.


    Returning to reality, Ren got up and leaned his back against a nearby rock before turning to Zeng.


    "As long as I''m alive, they''ll always be a ''next time.'' "


    Pausing for a moment, Ren stared upwards at the descending sun, which lit up the sky a bright orange color.


    "Of course, you''re free to exclude yourself from missions and only do paperwork at the warehouse. I won''t take it personally. I know after...that, you may have some doubts about risking your lives for stupid shit like this."

 Chapter 330 - 330:Interlude [4]

    Ren had come to realizer over time that he now had connections to this world...things tying him down.


    And, instead of fighting against these chains that kept him in this new world, Ren embraced his new relationships, allowing him to form deeper bonds with Ruby, Raven, Zeng, Jin, and Han.


    While this did come with drawbacks, as Ren could no longer only account for his survival but also those around him, complicating his plans, he wholeheartedly believed it was worth it.


    Because...he was having fun.


    Would the old Ren be back to run around in the snow with Ruby and have a campus-wide snowball fight?


    Would the old Ren be able to lie down on the beach with his two subordinates while appreciating the beautiful sunset above?


    No...he would be locked up in his room, planning or sleeping and suffering alone.


    Smiling, Ren manifested three pairs of pitch-black sunglasses and placed them on Raven and Zeng''s heads.


    "So...you guys in?"


    Putting the sunglasses on, the two boys sighed in unison before nodding their heads.


    Both of them were probably exhausted from the entire mission.


    Getting up, Ren prepared to take them back to the warehouse when he suddenly paused.


    Wasn''t he...forgetting something?


    As if responding to his worry, Ren suddenly glanced upwards and spotted a familiar figure slowly floating down from the sky.


    With her blonde hair swaying in the wind and her star-pupil eyes, Astrid made eye contact with Ren before descending onto the beach.


    Seeing the sly smile on Astrid''s face, Ren didn''t even bother to ask which Astrid it was.


    However, surprising Ren, Astrid suddenly halted as she approached him and slowly started to his right.


    Following Astrid''s gaze, Ren noticed that, for some reason, she was staring at Raven, who was lying down on the sand and staring up at the sky with his sunglasses on.


    "...?"


    Regaining his composure, the cloned Astrid approached Ren before waving and saying.


    "Come to the student council office tomorrow after class."


    Recalling how Ruby had described Astrid''s part in his escape from the vault, Ren nodded his head in thanks before asking.


    "Is it about the upcoming Winter Ball?"


    As Astrid nodded her head, she slowly floated back up into the sky before landing on the bridge, which was a few meters above the beach they were currently on.


    Shifting his gaze downwards, Ren stretched his hands for a moment before saying.


    "You two should head back for now. Go crazy, order some food or whatever."


    Immediately, the two boys glanced at each other and stood up. Even through their sunglasses, Ren could see their eyes shining.


    Walking off the beach and into the capital city, Ren gave them one last glance before warning.


    "I''ll be there tomorrow, though..."


    With those parting words, he climbed up to the bridge before walking towards the familiar and ever-so-ominous academy gates in the distance.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    After arriving back in his comfortable dorm room, Ren immediately collapsed onto the bed, completely exhausted of all his mana.


    While today had been successful, he had lost a considerable amount of corruption as the onslaught of attacks had destroyed the clothes he wore.


    As Ren reminded himself to go hunting soon, he suddenly felt his smartwatch vibrate, but that wasn''t weird alone.


    It was the fact that his drawer had vibrated...not his wrist.


    That meant that somebody had messaged his school-issued smartwatch, which he hadn''t used in ages.


    That meant a new number had just messaged him for the first time.


    And...a. new number it was.


    In the academy, finding a student''s number was as simple as simple as typing their name in the directory.


    Opening his drawer, Ren retrieved his dusty school smartwatch before sliding it onto his other wrist.


    Since the school issued it, they likely had some access to it at the very least, so Ren always used his personal one.


    Funnily enough, Ren vaguely recalled the exact reason he had never used school-issued electronics. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Back in elementary school, one of his friends had used one of the school-issued Chromebooks to email and chat with other students.


    Of course, these chats had no filters, as the students never expected anyone besides themselves to see them.


    That was until all the members in the chat were suddenly called into the office.


    From that day forward, no student even dared to use their school-issued Chromebooks to play video games.


    After finishing his reminiscing about his elementary school days, Ren reluctantly typed in the password to the smartwatch.


    Scrolling through the various apps, Ren finally arrived at the messages app and clicked it open.


    "..."


    [Kaneki]


    His brother...


    Pausing for a moment, Ren hesitated as to whether or not to click the message.


    Then, coming to a decision, Ren smiled and exited the messages app, going to the settings application instead.


    After turning off "read receipts" for the messages app, Ren fearlessly clicked on his brother''s name.


    [Kaneki: Over winter break, come visit the manor. Father has allowed it.]


    Resisting the urge to immediately type back, "Go fuck yourself," Ren put down his school smartwatch and went back to his bed.


    There was no need to be rash...maybe this was the opportunity that he was looking for.


    "Ren''s" opportunity for Revenge.


    There was also...the question about his younger sister.


    Did she remember him?


    Ren had seen her once...but then the world had been reset after the coliseum had suddenly exploded.


    If she somehow retained her memories of that world before the reset, it could lead him to a clue about why and how he had been regressed.


    However, there was still one question remaining.


    "Father has allowed it."


    For him to allow it...someone had to have requested it.


    Unable to keep his eyelids open anymore, Ren succumbed to the feeling of sleep, allowing his thoughts to slow and his mind to drift off.


    It was saddening.


    Even after all he had gone through today...he only had a painful day of school awaiting him the next day.

 Chapter 331 - 331:Interlude [5]

    * (First Person)


    [Do you guys prefer first or third-person limited?]


    --------------------------


    Waking up the next day, I felt nothing but pain.


    As I lay in bed, with eyes wide open, staring at the white ceiling above, the alarm clock blared in the background.


    Can I just skip today..?


    I already saved the world yesterday, right? So I should be fine!


    Yet...I knew I couldn''t


    After a major incident like yesterday, I would have to be in school to observe the main cast and their activities.


    And...I had quite a few people to thank.


    As I had heard from Ruby''s text messages, the three girls in the main cast, excluding Irene, had also played a part in my miraculous escape through the lava pool.


    Within a couple of seconds, I was out of bed, shirtless, and walking towards the bathroom to shower with a disgruntled expression.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Finally, after a brief shower, I put on my academy uniform, not even bothering to look in the mirror to adjust my collar and hair.


    Thankfully, it was winter, so I didn''t have to deal with the bright sun blinding my eyes as soon as I opened the door.


    However...I did find someone waiting outside my door.


    After blinking a couple of times to confirm I wasn''t dreaming, I simply stared at the blonde-haired figure outside my dorm.


    "Charlotte...it''s been a while!"


    Well, it wasn''t necessarily surprising. S§×ar?h the Novel?ire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    I expected her to be somewhat annoyed that I had moved into the royal dormitory without telling her, but she seemed unconcerned.


    Nodding her head, Charlotte simply stared at the nameplate on my dorm that read, "Ren" for a couple of seconds before finally turning towards me.


    "How has...your move been?"


    Smirking, I glanced down the hallway, making sure no one was else nearby and responded.


    "Well...I didn''t have a servant who could do everything for me...so it was pretty tough."


    "It''s too early for sarcasm."


    "So...is there something that our...group needs?"


    "Not really. I was just curious about how you''d been rewarded for your performance during the battle royale, and now, I see."


    Rubbing her eyelids, Charlotte simply nodded her head at me and began walking down the hallway back to her room.


    Not sure what emotion to feel, I followed after her before deviating and turning right into the common area.


    Now...this is why I had gotten up so early.


    As the savory smell of freshly made bacon and eggs entered my nose, I felt all the exhaustion weighing on me suddenly disappear for a moment.


    Like one of the cartoon animal zombies walking towards the smell of food, I walked towards the right portion of the common area where the kitchen was located.


    There were no staff around, so the kitchen was a self-serve type.


    Dozens of plates were laid out, all properly portioned with the perfect amount of protein and other nutrients for your day.


    Before moving into the royal dorm, I''d basically skip breakfast every day or just eat a quick snack while in class, so this was a huge game-changer.


    After picking up one of the nearby pitchers, I poured myself a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and then took a plate loaded with bacon, eggs, and toast.


    On the side were countless green grapes and even a banana for potassium intake.


    And, out of habit, I had also poured myself a small glass of milk.


    Recalling the days when my mom would insist on me having a glass of milk with every meal, I smiled before glancing at my reflection in the mirror.


    I was...only 5''10!


    Where the hell did all that milk go!?


    Staring at the tons of delicious food before me, I picked up a fork before immediately devouring the toast and eggs.


    The salty toast, combined with puffy and flavorful eggs and, of course, the perfectly cooked bacon, made for an amazing trio.


    Without even looking up from my plate, I simply alternated before using a fork to get bacon, my hand to drink orange juice, and my other hand to grab grapes.


    As my exhaustion faded away for the time being, alongside my food, I finally looked up when I heard footsteps nearby.


    Was it Charlotte?


    "...?"


    Turning around, I paused momentarily upon seeing a family brown-haired and brown-eyed figure.


    Passing by me while yawning, Zach simply glanced at the load of food in front of me before saying.


    "Congratulations on moving in! You should have asked the Residental Advisor to host a welcome party for you!"


    Yeah...a party with me, Liam and Kevin would go absolutely splendidly!


    The three most egotistical people in the entire world coming together to celebrate!


    Chuckling, I simply nodded my head and replied.


    "Thanks, I appreciate it."


    Finding another table, Zach also picked a couple of plates before returning and immediately devouring his food.


    After finishing the last bit of orange juice, I stacked up all my plates and placed them down in the cleaning area before finally heading out.


    Thankfully, since I had set my alarm decently early, no one besides Zach came to my table during my eating time.


    Pushing open the glass doors of the royal dormitory, I internally thanked myself for putting on a cool puffer jacket before sliding the hood over my wet hair.


    It hadn''t snowed yet, but the temperature was still low, and some parts of the ground were even icy and slippery.


    The previously lush green grass of the dormitory garden was now colored a bright white, and there were animals in signs, all presumably resting in their warmer habitats.


    After passing by the dormitory gate, I nodded my head at the security guards and headed towards my class building.


    I didn''t know whether to be happy or angry with security guards anywhere.


    They were risking their lives to protect us students from the dangers of the world, but at the same time, the dangers always got past them without fail.


    Well, I guess it wasn''t their fault...it was more like the author''s fault as he had made them basically useless.

 Chapter 332 - 332:Interlude [6]

    Zipping my puffer jacket to protect myself from the cold, I strolled through the academy, passing by the envious gazes I was receiving.


    Technically, you had to be in uniform, so wearing a puffer jacket or any non-school-issued one was not allowed, but...technically, I''m also a student council member!


    The only people who could reprimand students for breaking the rules, besides teachers, were student council members.


    The walk from the dorms to your respective class building was only around five minutes, so they would survive.


    Shaking my head, I pushed open the glass doors of my building, immediately feeling the temperature increase tenfold.


    Thankfully, the academy was turning the heaters inside to the max.


    Though...I''m not too sure my parents would be happy if they saw it.


    Arriving at my unfamiliar class building, I pushed open the sliding doors, expecting to be the first person there since I was somewhat early.


    But, to my surprise, Professor Zia was already inside and sitting by her desk with a mountain of papers.


    Hearing the door open, Professor Zia briefly glanced at me before returning her attention to the papers in front of her.


    Since my desk was on the far right of the classroom, I had to pass by her desk to get there, so to make things slightly less awkward, I asked while passing her desk.


    "What''s on the agenda today?"


    Not even bothering to look up, Professor Zia said while staring at the papers that were probably created due to my actions in the vault.


    "Some friendly classroom sparring."


    Well, there goes my plans of sleeping through the whole day!


    Walking up the stairs to my seat, I internally cursed the world before testing my head on my desk.


    This wasn''t our first sparring session in the semester, so I wasn''t nervous or scared but more fed up.


    During these classroom sparring sessions, Professor Zia would take the whole class outside and lead us all the way to the massive coliseum.


    And probably because of the sheer amount of powerhouses in our class, we had the whole coliseum to ourselves.


    Usually, I would partner with Han and Jin in a king-of-the-court-like challenge, in which the two of us fought at a time while one rested.


    However, instead of staying on if you won the fight, you would actually get to go rest and swap out the resting one.


    We did this because Jin would always purposely lose so that he could rest and just watch us fight without lifting a figure.


    Letting a smirk creep onto my face, I turned my head and stared out the window, but unlike the start of school during spring, there wasn''t much to see.


    All the previous vibrant cherry blossom trees were now bare with no colors and leaves to show.


    Resting my head on my wrist, I put in my earphones before playing a song and closing my eyes, allowing myself to rest.


    There would be no point in falling asleep now, so I just played the music to keep me up and entertain me until class finally started.


    Within a few minutes, some notable students like Zach and Alya entered the classroom, and after that, the class started to fill up.


    Finally, Han and Jin arrived, so I removed my earbuds and pretended to gaze out the window as they walked toward our desk.


    Tapping my head for some reason, Jin curiously sat down to my right before curiously asking.


    "What''s for lunch today?"


    Sitting on my left, Han stretched out his hands and replied.


    "Oh yeah, I heard they''re catering food today. The cafeteria staff are on vacation or something."


    Instantly popping my head up from my desk, I alternated glances between the two and interrupted.


    "Really!?"


    In unison, Han and Jin both broke out into a smirk before replying


    "Nope!"


    "Nope!"


    "..."


    Slumping my head back down on the desk, I ignored the sounds of laughter from beside me.


    Yeah, they''ll see each other during the sparring session.


    Of course, during the previous sparring sessions, I hadn''t even gone close to all out, and even purposely was lost to Han and Jin sometimes, as nobody knew of my power.


    However, the cat was out of the bag now due to my miraculous performance in the battle royale, so I didn''t have much to hide.


    Taking my head off revenge for a moment, I glanced to the right, where the main cast sat, and was surprised to see that everybody besides Liam was there. S§×ar?h the N??elFir§×.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    *Beep~beep*


    Then, as if to answer my question, as the bell rang, the sliding door suddenly slid open, revealing Liam''s figure.


    He didn''t seem tired at all and just nodded at Professor Zia before making his way to his seat.


    As Liam sat down in his seat, not bothering to talk with any of the main cast, Professor Zia subsequently stood up and began writing on the blackboard.


    [Sparring Session]


    At those words, the class split, as some students sighed in exhaustion while the others were already out of their seats and ready to leave the classroom.


    As for Jin and Han?


    They were part of the minority who weren''t even paying attention as they simply stared at each other, trying to see who would laugh first.


    Grabbing both of their shoulders, I got up from my seat and followed the other students in a neat line exiting the classroom.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    Walking through the entrance of the coliseum, every other student and I began shivering as the massive open space in the middle of the coliseum came into view.


    To avoid being scolded by Professor Zia, I had to leave my jacket in the classroom, so now I was just like everyone else.


    All of us stood by the entrance to the arena, where the heaters were still active, as we were technically in the hallway of the coliseum, and awkwardly stared at the weapon racks that were a couple of meters away.


    "I don''t care what she says; I am NOT going!"


    "She''ll have to drag me out, I swear to god."


    "Why do we have outside classroom on the worst damn days!?"

 Chapter 333 - 333:Sparring [1]

    Unsurprisingly, the first figure to step away from the heated area and into the cold arena was Liam.


    His sole figure could be seen shivering as he slowly approached the weapon rack and picked up a wooden broadsword.


    Behind him, Kevin and the rest of the main cast shortly followed...however, Irene had a small flame hovering above her wand. Sear?h the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Alternating glances between Han and Jin, I sighed before asking.


    "Why can''t you guys be useful and do something like that."


    Groaning as a cold breeze suddenly enveloped us, Jin responded.


    "Oh, so we''re supposed to be your personal fucking heaters? I''m so sorry, Mr. Noble, it seems like I''ve forgotten my flame magic at home!"


    Brushing off Jin''s sarcasm, I expectantly turned to Han, wishing he had some kind of trick that he hadn''t shown us.


    Then...sensing my gaze, Han reached into his pocket.


    With my levels of hope at an all-time high, I watched as Han slowly removed his right hand from his pocket, revealing a...middle finger.


    "..."


    "..."


    "..."


    Fed up, I turned around and watched as Kevin began pestering Liam for a spar while the others simply crowded around Irene''s flame like it was a campfire.


    "Get a move on."


    Hearing an authoritative voice from behind me, the other students and I suddenly turned around and saw Professor Zia looking at us with a sharp gaze.


    Ah...come to think of it, wasn''t she the head of the academy''s garden?


    The garden that she had poured hundreds of hours into, trying to grow materials for potions and other alchemy-related items.


    That garden was on the field...right?


    "ah..."


    Turning around to face Jin and Han, I let out a dry cough before saying.


    " *ahem* she seems to be in a bad mood today...let''s not mess around."


    "...yeah.


    "agreed."


    Pulling my blazer up onto my face and covering my cheeks, I hesitantly took my first step out of the heated coliseum hallway and into the frosty arena.


    It was like going into a pool.


    At first, it''s super cold to the point where you can''t stand it, but after a few moments of laying around, you start to get used to it and ignore it.


    That first plunge, though... was deadly.


    As my usual pale skin began to turn a light blue, I manifested a pair of corrupted gloves and immediately put them on.


    However...it didn''t help in the slightest.


    Corruption was a cold material in itself, so it only amplified the cold temperate in the arena.


    De-manifesting the gloves, I finally reached the weapon stand and looked around for a bit.


    I didn''t really have a preferred weapon as I alternated between using a sword, daggers, and a bow.


    Should I try something new today?


    Behind me, Han and Jin finally caught up before picking their respective weapons, Han with his wooden crossbow and Jin with his sleek odachi.


    Shivering, two grabbed their weapons before retreating to a corner of the arena, trying to avoid the sight of Professor Zia so they could rest.


    As more and more students began to fold under the pressure of Professor Zia''s gaze and step into the cold arena, I sighed before leaning down.


    Weapon...weapon, which one?


    "hm?"


    Feeling a tap on my right shoulder, I curiously turned around, only to be met with an expected figure.


    In front of me was Liam, standing with his signature wooden broadsword in hand.


    Usually, Liam would spar with Kevin while Zach trained with the magicians, focusing on learning how to deflect spells with his axe.


    Yet, as I peered past him, I spotted Lily facing Ruby, Irene against Alya, and, finally, Zach against Kevin.


    Who was Liam with, then?


    As if reading my mind, Liam nodded his head and stretched his sword before saying.


    "Spar with me."


    "..."


    Somehow, the temperature in the arena managed to get even lower as everyone began staring at Liam and me with confused expressions.


    Picking up a small recurve bow and a pair of dual daggers from the stand, I turned around and looked around for a bit.


    The whole reason I had come to class today was to observe Liam''s behavior...so sparring with him would be useful.


    But...why did Liam want to spar with me?


    I knew he had recognized my strength ever since the carriage battle where we fought, so why was he only challenging me now?


    Did he think he was stronger than me now?


    Strapping a quiver of arrows around my back and allowing my bow to hang down, I surprisingly nodded my head.


    There was nothing to lose or gain in this scenario.


    Perhaps training with Liam could even help me break through in my dagger mastery, which had been stuck for a while.


    Of course, that was my fault as I didn''t opt to use daggers in fights recently, but to be fair, a bow was a better option in those scenarios.


    Dropping the bow but keeping the quiver strapped around my back, I grabbed two wooden curved daggers and pointed to an empty area in the coliseum.


    "There?"


    Nodding his head, Liam walked away a distance away from me before arriving at the spot I had pointed to.


    Following behind him, I lightly waved at Han and Jin, who had already begun fighting upon seeing me agree to Liam.


    Within a few moments, I was standing with my daggers ready, a couple of meters in front of Liam.


    "On 3?"


    Nodding his head to my question, Liam raised three fingers on his left hand.


    "3."


    "2."


    "1."


    Side-stepping for the right in case Liam immediately charged at me, I kept my eyes locked on Liam''s figure.


    This was going to be a fight of pure skill.


    No overpowered skills, no corruption for me, no divine-blue aura for Liam, and no flashes.


    All we were using were the wooden weapons in front of us and nothing of us.


    No magical sword slashes or anything like that.


    A good old-fashioned duel.

 Chapter 334 - 334:Sparring [2]

    Readjusting my grip on the daggers so that their tip was facing down at the ground, I stared at Liam, who was simply waiting for me to make the first move.


    Taking the opportunity, I rushed forward with my daggers still facing the floor, feeling the cold air brush against my face.


    Reaching Liam''s body, I swung both my heads straight up to the sky, intending to hit Liam with a dirty uppercut.


    As expected, Liam dodged to the right as my left dagger was closer to reaching him.


    Readjusting myself mid-swing, I sidestepped to the right so that I was now perpendicular to Liam.


    Then, without any hesitation, I surged my hand and dagger forward, forcing Liam to finally raise his sword and parry the attack.


    As Liam recovered from his party and got ready to counterattack, I immediately backtracked, retreating a few steps backward.


    "Huh...it''s not that cold, is it?"


    As I stood still and faced Liam, who seemed to be finally serious with a hardened expression, I realized that I had just completely forgotten that it was cold.


    In fact, I felt more comfortable here than in the classroom where the heaters were blasting air in.


    Shrugging his shoulders at my words, which I thought he hadn''t heard, Liam took a step toward me and replied.


    "It was never cold."


    "..?"


    After saying those words, Liam immediately closed the distance between the two of us and trusted his sword forward at my chest.


    Unable to dodge on time, I desperately raised both my daggers to my chest and crossed them, creating an "X" and blocking.


    As Liam''s sword collided with my dagger''s "X," I stumbled backward due to the impact before immediately regaining my footing.


    Not wasting his momentum, Liam raised his sword up to the sky immedating crashing it down at my head, creating a beautiful half-crescent arc.


    Prepared for Liam''s attack, I side-stepped to the right, narrowly avoiding his sword swing.


    However, it seemed that Liam had been prepared as he stopped his sword mid-arc at the height of my waist and then rammed it to the right.


    Not having enough time to dodge and knowing that a worse counter attack would be aimed my way if I parried with my daggers and gave him another chance, I simply let his sword swing into my chest.


    "AH!"


    Grunting as his sword hit my chest, I didn''t hesitate to immediately lunge forward with my attacks, catching his frozen figure off guard.


    Liam was to my right, so I swung the dagger in my right hand first, causing him to immediately backpedal and take a step backward.


    Smiling that my fake had worked, I immediately jumped forward and pushed the danger in my left hand forward and to the right, making a semi-circle with my dagger.


    As my dagger finished its semi-circle arc, I felt its wooden body suddenly come to a stop, and without any waiting, I jumped backward.


    The next second, a counter-attack sword swing hit my previous location, barely missing me.


    Panting and clutching my stomach, I stared at Liam, who was doing...the same exact thing.


    A blow for a blow.


    As I took massive deep breaths in and out, clouds of white smoke emerged from my mouth, making it seem as if I were smoking a cigarette.


    Shifting my gaze downward, I made eye contact with Liam, who seemed to be wearing an expression that said, "Are you ready yet?"


    Smirking, I nodded my head and once again readjusted my grip on my daggers, intending to actually engage with Liam in close combat rather than dodging and going for counterattacks.


    My right dagger was held horizontally, right below my face and in front of my stomach, while my dagger in my left hand was slanted while facing the ground and behind me.


    One for attacking and one for counter-attacking and parrying.


    In close quarters, my daggers were actually better than Liam''s sword as I was able to get in my attacks before second than him as I had two weapons to hit him with.


    Simultaneously, both of us rushed forward, instantly meeting a couple of meters away as Liam''s sword burst forward with an incredible amount of speed.


    Raising my left danger, I attempted to block the slash with one weapon.


    And, just as Liam''s sword was about to collide with the dagger in my left hand, I thrust my dagger forward at his chest.


    Unlike last time, this would be an unequal exchange.


    Although Liam''s sword could easily push through my single left dagger and come at my body, it would have to halt for at least a millisecond when it made contact with my dagger.


    Then, in that time, before Liam could strike at my body, my right dagger would reach him. S§×arch* The N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Going perfectly, I felt my left dagger fall back and almost out of my hand as Liam''s sword brutally hit it.


    Then, a millisecond later, I felt my right dagger hit something hard and halt.


    Liam, whose sword was about to hit me, suddenly slowed as my right dagger hit him, causing him to fall back for a second.


    Not missing the chance, I twisted my body to the right before regripping my left dagger and ramming it forward.


    Not even a second later, the tip of my wooden left dagger made contact with Liam''s shirt, pushing him and his sword backward.


    Readying my daggers and putting them in their original positions, I patiently waited and stared at Liam, who was less than a step away from me.


    Though he wasn''t clutching his stomach, where I had hit him with my left dagger, or his shoulder, where I had him with my right, I could tell he was feeling it.


    His breaths fastened as his eyes were starting to squint, as if he obviously tried to avoid showing the pain.


    Although the weapons were wooden, they still hurt.


    After all, we were both C-ranks and attacking without holding any strength or speed back.


    Wanting to get inside his head and figure out his intentions for challenging me, I asked.


    "Are you done?"

 Chapter 335 - 335: Sparring [3]

    Responding to my mocking words with a fierce expression, Liam gripped his sword higher before running straight at me.


    I could already tell that stamina of his was going to get annoying real quick.


    Letting a smirk creep onto my face, I tried something new with my daggers as instead of crossing my daggers to form an "X," I formed a triangle with no base, allowing the tips of each dagger to touch.


    Yesterday had been a really bad day.


    I had intended to rob a vault to get a load of magical artifacts that could seriously help me in the future and increase my current strength.


    However, I had ended up saving the entire academy and capital city.


    Robber to secret hero...what a change of events.


    While I was exhausted from saving millions of people and penniless, the main cast was probably receiving a shit load of presents from the principal as they had helped her.


    I knew I couldn''t complain, but I was still pissed.


    It was like seeing that one kid who did no work on a school group project get an A+ while you somehow only got an A-.


    As Liam reached me, I instantly helped up my daggers in preparation for a sword strike; however, Liam didn''t immediately attack me and instead side-stepped to the right.


    It seemed he was planning to focus on my left dagger. S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    And although my right dagger would be free to attack if he did that, I was sure he had some sort of counterattack prepped in case I did that again.


    Not sure what to do, I stepped forward into the empty space where Liam had been previously.


    From the outside, it must have looked like a cartoon scene.


    Both of us were right next to each other, our shoulders almost touching, yet we were looking in opposite directions.


    We were parallel to each other.


    The protagonist of the world, and me, an extra.


    In unison, both of us turned to face each other, my eyes meeting his.


    As Liam raised his sword from his side, intending to hit a quick jab at me, I created the triangle formation with my daggers right in front of my chest.


    Then, as Liam plunged his sword forward, I made a small gap between the tips of my daggers and charged it right at Liam''s sword.


    Maybe this was cheating, but I honestly didn''t care.


    This fight would go on until class ended as Liam''s infinite stamina ability, which was a passive trait, was just way too overpowered.


    While I would be exhausted and aching, Liam could infinitely attack me without worrying about his reflexes slowing down or getting tired.


    Without raising a finger to my eyes, I smiled, focusing all my attention on my right eye instead of an incoming attack.


    At that moment, time suddenly slowed as Liam''s sword halted as it rapidly approached my daggers.


    Seeing Liam''s slow and open figure, I contemplated just taking him with my ability before dismissing the idea.


    If I did that, Liam would obviously know that I had used one of my abilities as I would just disappear and reappear behind him in his eyes.


    Then, the fight would probably escalate into a real one as Liam would also start using all his skills and abilities.


    From there, things could go terribly.


    Thus, I simply glanced down at Liam''s sword before slowly moving daggers toward them.


    Finally, I made a triangle with my daggers; however, in the middle of both my dagger''s tips was Liam''s sword.


    With each of my dagger''s tips touching one side of Liam''s sword, I refocused my attention, allowing time to resume.


    In Liam''s eyes, it would just look like I had reacted insanely fast and managed to pinsir his sword with my daggers.


    Though it would look insane from Liam''s point of view, I doubted that he would think I had used one of my abilities.


    As time resumed to normal, I easily halted the momentum of Liam''s swords by pushing my daggers together, forcing Liam''s sword, which was in the middle of them, to stop.


    Liam, shocked that his sword had been stopped, attempted to withdraw it; however, my daggers were holding it back.


    Then, without any hesitation, I suddenly yanked Liam''s sword to me.


    Although the sword didn''t fall out of his hands as his grip had been tight enough, he did stagger forward.


    Smiling, I removed my daggers from beside his sword, freeing it, and took that moment to plunge both of them forward.


    Shocked and defenseless, Liam could only watch as my wooden dagged crashed into his staggering figure, instantly sending him backward.


    Not giving him any time to restabilize his body, I lunged forward and jabbed both my daggers at him again.


    *BANG*


    Not able to withstand the barrage of my sudden dagger attacks, Liam fell to the ground, still gripping his sword.


    As Liam took one last sword slash at me while sitting on the ground, I instantly created an "X" with my daggers and held it to the right of my body.


    When Liam''s sword collided with my "X," I instantly sidestepped, freeing my daggers, and stepped forward.


    Before he could do anything else, I charged my right dagger forward before stopping it and allowing it to hover right before his neck.


    With my dagger a centimeter from his neck, I made eye contact with his sitting figure before saying.


    "It''s over."


    * (Third-Person)


    Though Liam and Ren hadn''t managed to see it as they had been too focused on their fight, a large crowd had gathered to watch them fight.


    After all, it wasn''t every day that you got to see the number one ranked student and the rising battle-royale star of the academy fight.


    However, their expectations for the fight...had been surpassed by far.


    The last exchange, when Ren had managed to take Liam to the ground and subdue them, had nearly sent the students into a frenzy.


    However, out of respect for Liam and the amazing fight, the crowd remained silent, not throwing out any cheers.


    Would they have done the same if Ren had been on the losing side?


    Staring at them, Ren muttered.


    "I guess we''ll never know."

 Chapter 336 - 336:Sparring [4]

    Seeing Ren walk away with his two wooden daggers in hand, Liam silently stood up and dusted the dirt off his pants.


    Staring down at the wooden sword in his hands and oblivious to the approach of the main cast, Liam zoned out.


    Snapping Liam out of his trance, Kevin tapped on the shoulder with his own wooden sword and said.


    "Up for another?"


    While Kevin was strong and proficient with the battleaxe, it was simply not meant for one-on-one fights.


    The heavy battle axe, though packing a heavy punch, was inefficient and could not be used to consistently parry a broadsword.


    The speed of Kevin''s sword swings far outpaced that of Zach, so after only a minute of fighting, Kevin had won.


    All Kevin had to do was release a barrage of sword attacks, and Zach, with his slow and heavy battle-axe, wouldn''t be able to keep up.


    However, Zach''s weapon shined massively in team battles and fights. S~ea??h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    The weapon''s only disadvantage was its slow speed, which made Zach defensive when faced with fast attacks.


    But, with the main cast, Zach could simply swing around his heavy axe without any worry, as the attacks coming at him would be deflected by his friends.


    Zach had shined, especially during their stand against the djinns in the underground cave, where Alya''s ice pillars surrounded them.


    He had, by far, killed the most djinns and done the most damage with his axe and, in turn, had received quite the prize from the principal.


    Staying silent, Liam nodded his head, glancing out of the corner of his eye at Ren, who had reconvened with Jin and Han.


    As Liam and Kevin immediately began their fight, Alya cocked her head in confusion, staring at her own wooden sword, and said.


    "How did the pinsir Liam''s sword with his daggers? Liam''s sword slash was too fast for even me to have followed..."


    Lily, already going back to practicing spell casting with Ruby, sighed before saying.


    "He predicted it."


    Lily could wipe off Liam''s defeat against Ren in the carriage as unfairly as Ren had full knowledge of all of Liam''s skills and moves; however, this time, it was different.


    Their fight, without any skills and just their wooden swords, had been completely fair.


    Ren''s book knowledge couldn''t have helped a single bit.


    It was odd... she and Ren had taken completely different paths.


    She had decided to team up with Liam to make him stronger and more prepared for future scenarios.


    On the other hand, Ren did the exact opposite by simply surpassing Liam in power so that he could solve the scenarios without Liam''s help.


    However, despite seeing Ren''s performance just now in the fight against Liam, Lily didn''t doubt her choice of joining the main cast.


    As the other students saw Liam and Ren''s fight conclude, they slowly went back to training themselves, yet they still discussed loudly.


    Of course, Ren was the topic of their debate.


    First, he had gone from being the most infamous person in the school for the countless terrible rumors surrounding him to the battle royale star.


    And, now, just today, he had beaten the top-ranked first year in a one-versus-one duel.


    While some simply saw Ren''s transformation as the product of his hard work and training, others...viewed it in a more negative light.


    "I''m telling you...he sold his soul to the devil!


    "If he was a djinn, wouldn''t the academy catch him, though...?"


    "Unless...the academy is on it."


    "What if it...it''s not actually Ren, and somebody just possessed his body!?"


    Hearing the wild rumors already starting to spread, Professor Zia shook her head and loudly announced.


    "Everyone, back to training, or I''m turning the heating off in your dorms."


    ...


    ...


    ...


    After an hour had finally passed, Han and Jin collapsed to the floor out of pure exhaustion.


    With sweat dripping from their faces despite the freezing cold temperature, the two boys turned to Ren, who seemed to be dozing off and leaning against the wall.


    After defeating Liam, Ren joined the two boys in their King of Court game...however, he hadn''t held back this time.


    Wanting to immediately rest, Ren had beat the boys within a minute each time, going off the court and resting.


    Then, at some point, Ren had just passed out on the floor, forcing the two boys to keep fighting each other the entire time.


    That meant that Han and Jin barely had time to rest, as they were either being beaten up by Ren or by each other.


    Shaking his head, Jin stood up and reached his hand out above Ren''s shoulder.


    Hesitating, as if deciding whether to wake Ren up or not, Jin turned to face Han and asked.


    "Can we just leave him to freeze out here?"


    Taking Ren''s daggers, Jin''s katana, and his crossbow, Han placed the three weapons back into the racks and shook his head.


    As Jin tapped Ren on the shoulder countless times, the red-eyes student slowly work up, his eyes fluttering open.


    Yawning and stretching out his arms, Ren stood back up, glanced around for a few seconds, and confusedly asked.


    "Where''s the teacher?"


    Shaking his head, Jin pointed in the direction of the field and said.


    "Apparently, we got let out earlier today because she has something urgent to do."


    Immediately transforming his frown into a smile, Ren grabbed his bag and began walking out of the coliseum.


    Just imagining his warm bed waiting for him in his dorm room, Ren consciously began walking faster and faster.


    However, just as Ren was about to exit the coliseum, he suddenly felt someone wrap their hands around his shoulder.


    Without even turning around, Ren sighed and said.


    "What is it, Jin?"


    After waiting a second for Han to catch up to the two of them, Jin pulled their Winter Ball tickets out of his pocket and said.


    "Aren''t we missing something?"


    Shrugging Jin''s arm off his shoulder, Ren sighed and responded.


    "You two are, not me."


    "..?"


    "..?"


    As silence descended upon the three boys, Jin immediately ran forward and grabbed both of Ren''s shoulders again with his hands.


    Gripping Ren''s shoulder, Jin eagerly questioned.


    "Who is it!?"

 Chapter 337 - 337:Sparring [5]

    Acting oblivious, Ren simply waved his hands up and down before replying. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "A suit? You guys definitely haven''t taken the time to go suit shopping yet, have you?"


    Hearing my words, Jin, in a much less energetic voice than before, simply sighed and nodded his head.


    "Yeah...I haven''t."


    Behind Jin, Han was visibly relieved as his expression softened, and he walked towards us.


    Thus, my plans to sleep had been changed.


    Although the three of us could easily exit the academy and head to luxurious stores in the capital, the academy had set up a shop specifically for winter ball, so we decided to head there.


    After I swung by my dorm and grabbed my wallet, I met up with Jin and Han by our class building.


    Contrary to what I told the boys, I didn''t have a suit for the ball either, so this wouldn''t be wasted time.


    Walking through the empty and silent streets of the academy was kind of eery.


    Usually, the streets were always full and loud on my walk to school and back to my dorm, so seeing it the opposite was weird.


    Only our class had been let out early, so all the other first, second, and third years were stuck in their classrooms.


    When I first passed by the dress shop the academy had set up, the line was massive, and there was even a waitlist to enter the shop.


    So, now was the perfect time to go.


    Glancing at Han and Jin to my right, I asked, bored of the familiar scenery that surrounded the school.


    "Any plans for the ball."


    Since I had never seen the two of them casually talk to me, I was curious to see if Jin and Han had some friends in the upper years or other first-year classes.


    However, both of them vehemently shook their heads.


    Jin sighed and said, placing his hand on Ren''s shoulder.


    "Not all of us are social butterflies like you, Ren."


    Nodding his head in agreement, Han grabbed Ren''s other shoulder and continued.


    "Yeah, I mean, you talked to Liam for the first time and became friends with him just in time we had in the coliseum!"


    "..."


    Shaking my head upon realizing they were being sarcastic, I was tempted to bring up my other friends...when I suddenly stopped.


    Besides Zach, all of them were...female, and knowing Jin and Han, if I brought one up, they would immediately bombard me with questions.


    Accepting their words, I shrugged my shoulders and looked up, spotting the dress shop in the distance.


    With three massive floors, the shop contained windows on every side, proudly displaying their refined suits and exquisite dresses.


    Countless dummies wearing the clothes of the shop were put in front of the window; however, as I looked at them, I couldn''t feel anything but guilt.


    For some reason, they seemed to be exactly the same as the dummies I faced off against in the AI dummy training rooms.


    ...was it just me, or were those dummy models staring at me!?


    Shaking my head, I halted in front of the shop as we arrived, not surprised to see it completely empty.


    Going on ahead of me, Jin and Han eagerly entered the stop, completely skipping the map set up outside.


    Yeah...the store was so big that you needed a map to navigate through it.


    I was also shocked when I saw the map for the first time, but after looking at the map...I''m more amazed.


    "...why is there a whole quarter-floor for cologne and fragrance!?"


    After taking a moment to memorize the map with my eyes, I entered the building through the doors, which conveniently slid open as I approached them.


    Walking through the door, I immediately felt the temperature increase tenfold as the hot air flooded out of the vents above me.


    The entire shop was also covered in a sweet aroma that made me feel as if I were eating something sweet, like cotton candy.


    Glancing around the shop, I immediately noticed Han and Jin, who were frozen only a couple of steps in front of me.


    Sighing, I grabbed both their shoulders, walked forward, and dragged them along with me.


    "The second floor is for men''s clothes."


    Except for the occasional ringing sound from the heating system, the store was completely quiet, and besides the employees, there seemed to be only us.


    Recalling the map outside the building, I easily found an elevator and finally let go of Jin and Han.


    Regaining his composure, Jin tapped his foot up and down on the floor while Han stayed silent and stayed directly at the elevator.


    Why were they...so awkward?


    The only things I had seen around us were dresses and skirts, nothing to be weirded out or confused by.


    I was a teenager just like them, wasn''t I?


    As the elevator door opened and the three of us entered, I finally took the chance to ask.


    "What happened to the two of you?"


    Shaking their heads, the two replied in unison while clearly avoiding eye contact with me.


    "Nothing."


    Sighing, I walked through the now-open elevator doors, seeing countless collared shirts and blazers around me.


    Patting the two of them on the shoulder, I walked towards the section for shirts and said.


    "We''ll meet back in here in twenty minutes, alright?"


    The two, also splitting off, nodded their heads and moved in opposite directions.


    Passing by countless collared shirts, I finally halted as I spotted a rack of white ones hanging nearby.


    Without looking too much, I picked a decently expensive one before moving on to the pants.


    ...


    ...


    ...


    After picking up a pair of pants, a white collared shirt, and a black blazer, I was about to enter the changing room when something caught my eye.


    "accessories..?"


    In front of me were countless tables laid out with hundreds of different rings, necklaces, and even bags.


    Discover more stories at My Virtual Library Empire


    The top of the tables were glass, so you couldn''t touch the items, only able to view them from the outside.

 Chapter 338 - 338:Shopping [1]

    *third-person*


    Staring at the dozens of glass-topped tables in front of him, Ren hesitated for a moment before walking up to one of them.


    Up until now, all the money from Raven''s and his healing scroll-selling business had gone towards essentials and things he needed to carry out his plans.


    In fact, Ren had spent at least a month''s profit on explosives and underwater materials to gain entry to the vault.


    Of course, he had expected to get some sort of return from that...but unfortunately, the vault did not contain any magical artifacts he could take.


    Instead, he had saved the academy and capital from a terrifying mythical beast.


    Shaking his head, Ren refocused on the tables in front of him, peering past the glass and examining each accessory inside.


    The tables were arranged in the maze, making it hard to get out once you entered.


    Walking through the labyrinth of glass tables, Ren was about to exit when a particularly glass table caught his eye.


    As Ren placed his hands on top of the glass, his blood-red eyes sparkled, making eye contact with a perfect watch. S§×ar?h the N?vel(F)ire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "...a Rolex?"


    [Image]


    The watch perfectly complimented Ren with its light-red wristband and crimson-red lens that lay above the internal clock.


    Raising his hand and looking at his wrist, Ren attempted to imagine himself with the watch as a smile appeared on his face.


    After a couple of seconds, he had already made his decision.


    Letting out a dry cough, Ren stared around the floor, looking for any employees; however, there seemed to be none.


    *BANG*


    Just as Ren was about to turn around to face the table where the watch was located, the sound of a door slamming open sounded throughout the empty floor.


    Within seconds, a panting and sweaty figure with a white collared shirt and a black vest appeared.


    Not even glancing around the room, the figure immediately made eye contact with Ren and smiled before speed-walking over to him.


    "...were they watching me on the security camera?'' Discover more content at My Virtual Library Empire


    Putting that aside, Ren patiently waited for the employee to reach him, friendly waving his hand.


    After a couple of moments, the employee, with a key hanging from around his neck, reached Ren and asked.


    "Is there anything you would like to purchase, student?"


    Nodding his head, Ren pointed at the blood-red watch and asked.


    "How much would that be?"


    "1000 gold."


    "..."


    Making his shock and surprise with a simple nod, Ren stayed silent for a couple of seconds before taking a deep breath.


    In retrospect, Ren and Raven''s business made around 1000 gold a month now.


    Before, at the start of their business, they used to make around 5000 gold as the scrolls were new and innovative, so everyone wanted them.


    However, as people saw Ren''s business profits, they joined the market and began developing their own healing scrolls, taking away some of Ren''s customers.


    Snapping Ren out of his trance, the employee continued.


    "This watch is made of the finest materials and is battle-proof, making it able to withstand dangerous academy fights and challenges without breaking."


    Ren didn''t doubt the watch''s excellence as he had already examined itself with his eyes, confirming that the watch was exquisite and durable.


    Seeing Ren on the fence about deciding whether to buy it or not, the employee took the key off his neck and asked.


    "Would like to try it on?"


    Nodding his head, Ren watched as the employee grabbed the bottom of the key before approaching the glass table.


    Without any hesitation, the employee plunged the key downward into the glass on top of the table.


    However, breaking the glass or bouncing off it is the key..simply phased through the glass, disappearing from Ren''s sight.


    In the next moment, the glass on top of the table suddenly disappeared, revealing the true excellence of all the accessories on the table.


    The glass had muted the vibrant colors of the accessories, but now, with it gone, they dazzled and shined perfectly under the lights above.


    In particular, the blood-red watch, in Ren''s opinion, shined the brightest.


    The watch was contained in a black case, with the lid open to make it visible, so the employee carefully grasped the black box, not daring to lay a hand on the watch.


    Carefully raising the box containing the watch, the employee made sure not to touch anything but its black exterior.


    Gesturing for Ren to open his palm, he carefully placed the box in Ren''s open palm and said.


    "You have quite a great eye! This watch is actually one of our finest; from the design to the materials used, the watch is one of our best."


    Pausing and watching Ren stare at the watch in his palm, the employee continued.


    "Actually, it''s the only watch in our collection that''s made out of ruby. Usually, the gemstone is ignored in watchmaking as its too hard and dense to be used as a material. However...for this specific watch, the creator found the perfect ruby gemstone and couldn''t pass up the opportunity."


    Nodding his head even though he hadn''t listened to the employee''s drivel in the slightest, Ren smiled.


    "I''ll take it!"


    After that, Ren simply took out his smartwatch, using a method similar to Apple Pay from Earth to pay for the smartwatch.


    It was astonishing that he could spend that much money just by clicking a few buttons on his smartwatch, but within seconds, the glass returned to the box, and the watch was now in Ren''s hand.


    As the employee jolly skipped away, having earned a hefty commission, Ren raised his right hand and carefully touched the wristband of the watch.


    However...it wasn''t what he had expected.


    Instead of being soft and smooth like a leather-made watch, the wristband of the crimson-red watch was...rough and hard, like a gemstone.


    Despite all of that, it wasn''t sharp at all or even heavy.


    With a big grin on his face, Ren placed the watch on his wrist, specifically the area on his wrist closest to his right hand.

 Chapter 339 - 339:Shopping [2]

    Raising his wrist, Ren stared at himself in the reflection of the blood-red watch for a couple of seconds before confidently putting it down.


    Shaking his head upon remembering the sheer price of the watch, Ren put it down before carefully maneuvering his way out of the table of mazes.


    However...just as he was about to leave, one more table caught his eye.


    Staring at the pure gold necklace dazzling under the glass of the table, Ren couldn''t help but stop.


    ...


    ... Stay updated via My Virtual Library Empire


    ...


    A couple of moments later, the pure gold chain was resting in Ren''s palm while a familiar employee skipped away in joy while whistling a tune.


    Holding the gold chain up, Ren quickly linked it together around his neck before exiting the glass table maze.


    Ren had never liked buttoning the top button of a collared shirt as it always choked him, so the gold chain was perfect.


    Since the top button was unbuttoned, the gold chain resting on his neck was actually visible and helped cover up his skin.


    Finally finding a waiting room, the store''s number one spending for the day stepped in and discarded his clothes.


    Within a couple of seconds, Ren was already putting on his black blazer over a white collared shirt while gazing at the mirror.


    Pulling up his sleeves, Ren lifted his right hand to his face so that the blood-red resting on his wrist covered both of his eyes.


    With his left hand, Ren grabbed his golden chain and lifted it up to his chain, revealing it even more.


    Sighing, Ren put down his watch and chain before muttering.


    "I-i''ve made it!"


    Now, he was a true third-rate villain.


    For third-rate villains, power levels didn''t matter a single bit.


    All that mattered was money.


    And, now, like a true third-rate villain, Ren had a ridiculously over-priced watch and a pure gold chain to flex his wealth.


    Would it be an exaggeration for him to say that he felt happier now than when he had discovered the dragon''s eye ability in the Hajin mountain range?


    Shaking his head, Ren opened the changing room door and sat down on a nearby chair before pulling out his smartwatch.


    Han and Jin probably weren''t done yet, as knowing them, they had probably gotten sidetracked.


    Leaning his face forward so that his golden was hanging down from his neck, Ren put in his wired earbuds and stared down at the beautiful tiling of the floor.


    After a moment, he tapped a couple of buttons on his smartwatch, finally arriving at the messages app.


    [Ren: Are you free today to talk about the winter ball?]


    [Astrid: Yes, you do owe me.]


    [Ren: Which one am I talking to again?]


    [Astrid: ...there''s only one of me right now. I dismissed the clone to conserve mana for the winter ball.]


    [Ren: So, the boring one, got it.]


    [Astrid: Meet me at the student council room after school...but beware, it might be a bit crowded.]


    [Ren: Why is that?]


    [Astid: I know it was you.]


    [Ren: ..?]


    [Astrid: Never mind, just come to the council office so we can talk about the winter ball.]


    As Ren put down his smartwatch, he heard the sound of footsteps suddenly nearing him.


    It can''t be Jin or Han, as they would have texted him...


    Wasn''t everyone else in class?


    "Ah...it''s probably someone in my class, then."


    Having second thoughts about splurging on the gold chain and blood-red watch, Ren reluctantly stood up, deciding to head to the meeting spot with Jin and Han early.


    However, at that moment, a sudden figure appeared a couple of steps before him, standing in front of a couple of collared shirts.


    Immediately, Ren''s expression transformed as he caught the side of the familiar brown-haired figure.


    Walking up to Zach, Ren silently watched him for a couple of seconds before finally tapping him on the shoulder.


    Somewhat shocked, Zach frantically turned around with his fist clenched up until he finally saw Ren.


    Grinning, Ren pointed at the shirt Zach was looking at before asking.


    "Trying to impress someone? I can help if you need."


    "..a-ah, no."


    After muttering some intangible nonsense for a couple of seconds, Zach finally managed to form a coherent sentence as he replied.


    "Liam and Kevin told me to try these collared shirts..."


    Shaking his head, Ren pretended to facepalm before immediately responding.


    "You really trust those two with fashion?"


    Confused and surprised, Zach oddly stared at Ren before asking.


    "You''re better than them for that?"


    Nodding his head, Ren pretended to stretch his hands upward, nonchalantly revealing the blood-red watch on his wrist.


    Then, pulling the top of his collared shirt down to reveal his golden chain, Ren smiled and asked.


    "Of course I am!"


    In the book, Zach hadn''t even been mentioned during the whole winterball arc, as the story had focused on Lily and Liam''s relationship during that time.


    Thus, Ren was quite curious to see how side characters like Zach would act when their actions weren''t even written in the book.


    Also, it had been a long time since he messed with Zach.


    He had a lot of catching up to do!


    Seeing Zach hesitate, internally deciding whether or not to go with him, Ren sighed and grabbed his collar.


    "We''re going."


    Showing no resistance, Zach simply raised his hands, admitting defeat, and allowed himself to be dragged to the other side of the floor.


    Zach had a huge frame and defined build, with a visible six-pack.


    He used the massive and heavy battle axe, which required a lot of strength training, so a white collared shirt would perfectly illuminate his muscles and build. sea??h th§× N??eFire.¦Çet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Looking through the various white collared shirts, Ren finally found one that would be a loose fit for Zach.


    "Hold this."


    Like an attendant holding their master''s cart, Zach carried the collared shirt in his palm, staring at Ren with an intrigued expression.


    Then, a second later, the two boys were standing in front of the ties and blazer section.


    "Try this one on."


    .

 Chapter 340 - 340: Shopping [3]

    As Zach placed the tie around his neck before attempting to know if it was correct, Ren turned and began glancing around the store.


    If Zach was here, it was very likely that the rest of the main cast was also here.


    However, Ren wasn''t scared of meeting the boys within the main cast.


    It was Lily, Alya, and mostly Ruby that made him somewhat nervous.


    After all, this would be the first time he would be seeing them after they had worked together to save his life.


    Although he had seen them during his spar with Liam, he was distracted, so he barely even noticed them.


    Now, however, his mind was completely clear and focused.


    He had already helped out Alya and Lily many times in the past, so with them, a simple "thank you" would probably suffice.


    However, Ruby...he owed her his life and so much more.


    Without her, none of this would even have happened.


    This wasn''t her first, and probably not her last time saving his life.


    After all, back when he kidnapped Alya and headed back to the evil team''s base in disguise, Ruby had kept his identity a secret.


    If it had been any other person, they probably would have killed Ren upon realizing he was in disguise and not an actual part of the team. S§×arch* The nov§×lF~ire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    Shaking his head, Ren rapidly turned around to face Zach, seeing him looking at himself in a nearby mirror.


    Tapping Zach on the shoulder, Ren smiled before saying.


    "Looks good; next, let''s get you a pair of clean pants."


    ...


    ...


    ...


    A couple of minutes later, Ren could be seen, once again, waiting outside the dressing rooms with his smartwatch in hand.


    However, a couple of seconds later, a nearby door suddenly opened, revealing Zach''s stellar new appearance.


    With a loose white and slightly transparent collared shirt that almost made it possible to see his body, Zach confidently strolled out of the room.


    Unlike Ren, Zach had decided not to go with a blazer as, with all the muscle in his arms, it felt cramped when he wore it on.


    A loose red tie, clearly not knotted property, hung from Zach''s neck, and his dazzling black shoes glistened under the lights of the store.


    In all honesty, Zach did not look that much different than normal; however, his demeanor seemed to have changed since when Ren had first seen him.


    He was confident.


    Before, he wouldn''t even look at himself in the mirror, but now Zach was confidently making different facial expressions while staring at himself.


    Checking his smartwatch, Ren rubbed his hands together and walked towards Zach.


    "Looks like my job is done! Have fun with whoever you''re planning to ask!"


    Not allowing the flustered Zach a chance to respond, he turned around and began walking back to the meeting spot to see Jin and Han.


    They had to be ready by now, right?


    As he approached the escalators, Ren sighed upon seeing two figures waiting nearby and walked towards them.


    The first figure who came into sight was Han.


    Han was considerably shorter than both him and Jin, so Ren was surprised to see him standing at the same height as Jin.


    Curiously, Ren approached them, eventually hearing Jin''s loud voice.


    "HEIGHT BOOSTERS!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME, HAN!? This is a new low...even for you."


    Not even giving Ren the chance to reveal his presence, Han immediately burst out, replying in a slightly quiet voice.


    "Oh, and you? You''re so pure with your contacts. YOU CHANGED YOUR EYE COLOR BECAUSE YOU SAW ONLINE THAT GIRLS DON''T LIKE BOYS WITH BLACK PUPILS!"


    "..."


    Standing in front of them, Ren attempted to wave his hand, but his presence was completely ignored as Jin instantly replied back.


    "THAT''S DIFFERENT! Anyway...who are you trying to impress by pretending to be taller!?"


    At those words, Han instantly went silent, glancing around anxiously.


    And, as soon as he spotted Ren, Han immediately ran forward and asked, clearly trying to change the topic.


    "Ren...why are you so late!?"


    Covering up his blood-red watch with his blazer sleeves, Ren shrugged his shoulders and said.


    "I arrived here way before you guys. Anyways, though, what were you two just talking about?"


    Stepping forward, Jin pointed at Han''s shoes and said.


    "He''s using height-boosters in his shoes, can''t you see, Ren!?"


    Looking downward, Ren examined Han''s shoes for a couple of seconds before looking up and replying.


    "They look normal to me...what if he just had a massive growth spurt overnight? Also...what''s up with your eyes, Jin? Don''t you have black eyes!?"


    Han, standing to the right of Ren, barely managed to hold in laughter while staring as Jin''s expression transformed from surprise to confusion and finally to anger.


    Blinking his eyes countless times as if confirming what he was seeing was real, Jin paused before eventually responding.


    "Are you serious right now?"


    Interrupting, Han immediately replied before Ren could say a word.


    " *PFFT* y-yeah, your different-colored eyes are noticeable...I told you, Jin, didn''t I?"


    Not wanting another scene to happen, Ren simply smiled and grabbed the two before pressing the elevator button. Read the latest on My Virtual Library Empire


    "Well, we''re done now, aren''t we? Let''s head out."


    All students got one free full suit or dress from this store for the winter ball.


    Of course, the clothes would have to be returned after the ball, but that was why the store was so crowded after school.


    So, without paying, the three boys stepped exited the elevator on the first floor and began walking toward the exit.


    However, surprising the three of them, a sudden voice sounded from their right.


    "Are you sure we don''t have to pay...?"


    "Yes, I''m sure!"


    Though Jin and Han ignored the voices and continued walking, Ren could immediately identify them as Ruby and Irene.


    After pausing and standing still for a moment, Ren paused before following after them.


    However, just as the two boys ahead of him were about to exit the door, Ren suddenly spotted another maze of glass tables.


    And, immediately catching his eyes, a red necklace with a ruby pendant could be seen under one of the glass tables.

 Chapter 341 - 341:Shopping [4]

    Alternating gazes between his exquisite watch and the ruby pendant below the glass, Ren couldn''t help but halt.


    They matched each other so perfectly.


    However, before Ren could even walk backward and get a better look at the pendant, an employee suddenly stepped forward, blocking Ren''s view of the accessory.


    Stepping in front of the glass table where the pedant was located, the employee said to a person that Ren could not see.


    "You would like to purchase this one?"


    Sighing and shaking his head, Ren turned back around to face the exit of the store, where Jin and Han were standing.


    It seemed that it had caught the eye of someone else in his class.


    At least Raven would be happy.


    Smirking, Ren took out his smartwatch and quickly texted.


    [Ren: Are you proud of me? I held back on purchasing today!] S§×arch* The n??el Fire.n§×t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    [Raven: What am I, your father? What do you mean ''am I proud of you?'']


    [Ren: I was being sarcastic, dumbass.]


    [Raven: Just tell me how much you spent so I can add it to our expenses for the month.]


    Staring at that last text message in his chat history, Ren put down his smartwatch and caught up to his two friends.


    [Raven: ???]


    [Raven: Hello???]


    [Raven: Just tell me, I won''t be mad.]


    [Raven: Say something.]


    Stay connected through My Virtual Library Empire


    [Raven: ????????]


    [Raven: I promise I won''t be mad; you just have to tell me how much you spent so I can finish up some paperwork, alright?]


    [Raven: Ren???]


    Ignoring the countless text notifications popping up on his smartwatch, Ren muttered.


    "Not my father, are you?"


    As the three boys walked back towards the dorm building with their bags of clothing in hand, Ren suddenly halted.


    Since class was out early...they didn''t have to eat lunch in the cafeteria!


    Putting each of his hands on Han and Jin''s shoulders, Ren smiled before announcing.


    "Lunch is on me!"


    Like Charlotte, he was now an official resident of the royal dormitories, so he could now bring guests in.


    Surprised at the prospect of Ren paying, Jin glanced behind at Ren and asked.


    "Are we heading to the capital city for lunch?"


    "Even better."


    Before Han could even question him, Ren suddenly stepped forward, taking the lead and guiding the two boys toward the royal dormitory.


    As they entered the forests around the dorm and the gate came into view, Han finally seemed to realize what Ren was planning.


    Halting and stepping in front of Ren and Jin, Han stretched out his hands to the right and left, blocking the path forward.


    "Leaving the academy is one thing...everyone does it. But can we just break into another dorm to get lunch?"


    Shrugging his shoulders, Ren ducked under Han''s outstretched arms and continued walking towards the royal dormitory.


    "Who''s breaking in? Didn''t you know? I was rewarded quite well for the placement in the battle royale."


    Before Han could even begin to speculate or reply, Jin burst by Han and replied.


    "Oh, that? Han and I both got dorm upgrades, too! Not only that but we got given ten gold coins each."


    Pausing for a moment mid-sentence, Jin seemed to think before eventually continuing.


    "Oh, wait, we never asked you what you got, did we?"


    Nodding his head and making eye contact with Han, Ren pointed backward at the royal dormitory building and responded.


    "I got that!"


    As the three boys approached the security gate that surrounded the royal dormitory, Ren went ahead and talked to the guards.


    Surprisingly, they didn''t seem to care about him bringing in guests, as it was still daytime.


    Thus, three boys, looking completely out of place amongst the luxurious and expensive decorations of the royal dormitory, could be seen sitting at a table.


    Staring at the chicken bowl in front of him, Jin couldn''t help but let a tear trickle down his face.


    However...Han was different.


    Without even picking up his utensils and leaving the food on the table, Han furiously turned to Ren.


    "YOU BASTARD, HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN ENJOYING THIS FOOD ALONE!? JIN, ARE YOU SERIOUSLY FINE WITH THIS!?"


    "..."


    Shocked at Han''s outburst, Ren simply sat there, staring at him with a blank expression.


    Jin did the same, holding up a spoonful of perfectly grilled chicken while staring at Han.


    This was the first time Han had...yelled at them.


    Seeing Ren at a loss for words and unable to respond while Jin was continuing to eat the food in front of him, Han stood up and continued.


    "YOU MAKE ME SICK! WE''RE OUT HERE EATING SLOP WHILE YOU''RE EATING THIS...EVERY DAY NOW!? YOU SUBJECTED US TO THAT HELLISH CAFETERIA AND GATEKEPT THIS!?"


    Glancing around and making sure no one else was in the cafeteria, Ren desperately pointed at the bowl in front of Han.


    "Too sick...to eat?"


    Staying silent, with his eyes still blazing full of anger, Han reluctantly sat down and began eating the food.


    Picking up a spoonful of food, Han didn''t break eye contact once with Ren as he raised the food to his mouth.


    Letting a dry cough, Ren sighed and said.


    "I don''t know if you two will ever be able to forgive me...but...."


    Pausing mid-sentence and drawing the attention of his two friends, Ren put his hand into his pocket before eventually taking it back out.


    And, there is Ren''s extended palm was the exact same item that Charlotte had given to him.


    [Royal Dormitory Visitor Pass]


    Since he was now an official resident of the dorm, Ren had no need for it; however, Han and Jin would be able to abuse it to get unlimited free food.


    Snatching the pass out of Ren''s hand, Han continued staring at daggers while begging to eat the chocolate cake dessert.


    Ren did understand his point of view.


    Han and Jin were the ones who had given him the method to leave the academy without any repercussions.


    Ren had used that very method countless times, and the two never asked for any payment.


    However, here he was, withholding information from them.