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Fortunately, thanks to how advanced the technology of this world was, all my broken bones and cuts were healed overnight. What used to take months to heal back in my previous world, healed overnight. Truly miraculous.
It was Sunday morning, and Thomas came to pick me up.
...It was finally time for me to collect my reward. A skill.
I had originally planned on acquiring a skill when my strength reached a certain level, but it came as a pleasant surprise for me to be able to get my hands on one this early in the novel.
It has to be noted that within the academy, apart from the professors, only a small percentage of students had skills. This was including the third years.
Only the rich second-generation heirs could even have a chance at acquiring a skill, and even then, they could only gain access to at most a couple. They were just too expensive and rare for guilds to freely give them away...
Following Thomas inside of a remote location that was heavily guarded against all directions, arriving in front of a large building that seemed to look like regular storage space, Thomas nodded towards an empty space.
Soon a couple of shadows in the form of two white-clad guards materialized in front of us. I was slightly startled by their appearance, but I soon calmed down. The people guarding this place should obviously be strong, else what was the point of even storing such valuable things here?
After doing multiple checks on Thomas, the guards that were clad in white hid in the shadows completely masking their presence.
After seeing the guards disappearing, Thomas placed his palm on the wall.
-Clank!
A couple of seconds after placing his palm on the wall, a small section on the wall disappeared revealing a small compartment that contained a digital 6-digit lock.
-Beep! -Beep! -Beep!
Arriving in front of the box, Thomas quickly inserted the passcode.
Right after inserting the password, a green light blinked a couple of times, and soon after, in a similar fashion to before, a small circular compartment appeared on the wall.
Opening his right eye wide, Thomas leaned on the wall and placed his eyes on the hole.
-Clank!
-Voooooom!
Seconds after placing his eye on the wall, a loud rumbling resonated across the surroundings and the overhead door slid upwards.
"That's one hell of an annoying process!"
Stretching his back, Thomas grumbled as he waited for the door to completely slide upwards.
As soon as the door opened completely, I felt a blinding light enter my eyes, prompting me to cover my eyes with my arm.
After the light dyed down, a completely unknown world was presented before me.
A thick metallic scent instantly entered my nostrils as I passed the large metallic gate. Soon, the scent was replaced by an aromatic scent that pleasantly enveloped my nose.
Beyond the door, an open entryway with high ceilings painted with vivid imagery depicting an image of several humans fighting against a demon instantly caught my attention.
The marble floor polished to the point that the lights neatly reflected on the marble, reminded of a clear lake that gently reflected the sun rays coming from the sun. Arriving inside of a spacious room with patterned walls, heavy curtains, area rugs, high windows, and upholstered furniture made of heavy oak, Thomas told me to patiently sit down on a red sofa.
Feeling my body sink on the sofa, I nervously waited for Thomas. To say I wasn't nervous would be a lie. Although there was no one present in the room, it felt as if a million eyes were staring down at me, watching my every move.
Every moment that Thomas was away felt like hours.
Fortunately, the wait did not last for long and Thomas soon came back with a red card in his hand.
"Follow me"
Handing me the card, he urged me to follow him as he walked towards a certain area within the facility.
Nodding, I followed along as I admired the hallway that was filled with paintings, designer pieces, and other artistic décor that made this place feel like an establishment for the filthy rich.
Soon we arrived in front of a large safe door, in which two individuals patiently stood. However, what instantly caught my attention was the fact that although their uniform was similar to the regular guards in the black market, contrary to their white color, theirs was red. Indicating that they had a higher status than the white-clad ones.
...made sense since they were the last defensive line that led to the vault.
Nodding to the guards, Thomas's footsteps halted.
Looking at me solemnly, he said "Alright before I leave, let me warn you in advance"
"You are only allowed to choose one skill, let me repeat ONE skill."
As he spoke, Thomas repeatedly emphasized the fact that I could only take one skill. Looking at me to make sure I understood, he continued
"As you already know, skills are expensive...even for us".
"Though our organization may be powerful, giving away skills to non-members is still a bit of a burden for us. If not for the fact that you helped us solve a major crisis we would've never considered giving you a skill"
Listening attentively, I repeatedly nodded my head. Everything that he said I already knew. His seriousness was understandable as skills were indeed worth a lot.
Pausing slightly, Thomas had a gratified smile on his face as he looked at me who understood what he said. Taking the red card from my hand, he handed it to the guards.
"Another thing you need to remember is that the skill you can choose can only be between rank G and F. Higher ranked skills will be inaccessible to you"
"The vault you're about to enter has three floors, in which you will only be granted access to the first floor."
Lightly chuckling, Thomas teasingly looked at me
"If you managed to repeat what you did again, we might just grant you access to the higher floors"
"I'm good"
Instantly my mouth twitched as I wholeheartedly refused. No way would I want to go through that experience again.
"Alright, I'll wait outside. Once you're done with choosing your skill, you can directly learn it under the watch of one of the guards."
Finishing what he wanted to say, Thomas stepped to the side and allowed me to enter the vault.
"Stand there"
Stopping in front of the door of the vault, the red-clad guard pointed towards a certain point.
-Voom!
Following his order, I stood on the spot that the guard pointed. Soon my whole body was enveloped in red light.
-Ding! -Ding!
"Alright you're all set"
-Beep!
-Krrrrrr
Swiping the card on the vault, a green light appeared following which a loud rumbling could be heard as the door of the vault slowly opened.
"Alright, have fun kid"
Nonechantly waving his hand, Thomas leaned on the wall and took out a packet of cigarettes only to be glared at by the guards causing him to bitterly smile.
Amusingly shaking my head I headed towards the vault.
-Clank!
Stepping into the vault, the door behind me closed. Soon silence enveloped my surrounding.
Looking up, I could see, large, sturdy bookshelves lining the walls, marching across the floor in colorful rows, stretching all the way to the end of the first floor. A staircase leading to a second level could be seen at the end of the room.
"Wow..."
The endless amount of skills presented in front of me left me flabbergasted. In the F rank section alone, there were no less than a thousand books.
Skills, like in games, came in the form of a book. That's why this place looked no different from a regular library.
Each book had a different color and represented the different affinity of the skill book ranging from, fire, water, earth, and so on.
-You have one hour to select your skill
Just as I was in a daze, snapping me out of it was a cold voice that came from the speaker in the corner of the room.
Quickly recollecting myself, I looked through the G and F rank sections.
Because there were so many skills to choose from, I immediately decided to narrow down my scope of search. First things firsts, I immediately choose to exclude skills that required a high mana consumption.
Because I was not a mage, my mana capacity was fairly low. Choosing a skill that drained of all the mana in my body would be extremely detrimental for me as the [Keiki style] too used a bit of mana whenever I execute a skill. If I didn't use mana, there was no way I would've been able to move so fast.
Excluding that, my scope diminished dramatically. Secondly, I needed a skill that shared some synergy with the [keiki style]. When fighting against Baron of Everblood, I noticed that although the [Keiki style] was powerful, in the beginning, stages it was a fairly subpar sword art. Mainly because once my first move was blocked I could no longer do anything else as shown how Baron of Everblood negated me by allowing my sword to penetrate his body.
I needed something that could buy me time so that I could readjust my stance...or at least something that complemented my fighting style.
Having narrowed it down even further, I decided to look through the F and G sections.
Looking through, I couldn't help but drool at some of the skills. I found some especially amazing skills. One especially caught my attention.
[Fist of fury] : A punching skill that conglomerates all the mana within a certain radius releasing a devastating punch that can leave devastating damage if someone is caught off guard. Monetarily increases strength by a factor of two.
Reading the description of the first skill I picked up in the F rank section, my mouth dropped in an 'o' shape.
"Increases strength by a factor of two?"
...That's terrifying.
Especially if someone who was already super strong used the skill. Imagine one of the heads of the union using this skill. Their punch alone could probably shake a whole mountain.
This skill basically became scarier the higher someone's rank was.
...if this was the standard of F ranked skills, a shudder ran down my spine thinking about the higher ranked skills.
Though I knew some of the S ranked skills that Kevin would later acquire, it didn't stop my mind from imagining the devastating scene they would cause in real life.
Thank god, they were rare.
Looking through the bookshelves, I paused every now and then to get a better understanding of some of the skills.
This continued for thirty minutes until finally, I managed to narrow down my selection to three skills. Two of the skills were F rank, while one was G rank.
[{G} Monarch's indifference] : Skill that enables users to erase all emotions, and act as a supreme monarch that only calculates the best option regardless of emotions.
[{F} Flame sanctuary] : Skill that summons a ring of fire around the user. Apart from the user, scorching heat will envelop everyone that is within the flame sanctuary.
[{F} Winter's breath] : Skill that enables the user to exhale a breath full of frost, resulting in the surrounding temperature within a certain radius to drop below freezing temperature. Reduce enemy speed by a factor of two.
These three skills were the ones that were the most useful for me right now. Not because they were strong but because they fit my fighting style perfectly.
[{F} Flame sanctuary] attracted me because it was a skill that could buy me time. By invoking this skill I could momentarily catch my opponent off guard, and during the time my opponent was surprised I could regain my stance and attack them again.
[{F} Winter's breath] served a similar purpose to [Flame sanctuary, but contrary to that skill this one slowed down the opponent. Unlike [Flame sanctuary] that could be used to end a fight by catching them off guard, this skill was more for a prolonged fight. It could help me gain a huge advantage when fighting as the [Keiki style] shined when the enemy was slower. In terms of synergy, this one was the one that shared the most synergy compared to the other two skills.
Lastly [{G} Monarch's indifference, the only G rank skill in the list, and probably the one that tempted me the most.
One thing that I reflected on from my fight against Baron of Everblood was that, had I been calmer, I wouldn't have found myself in such a dire situation.
As soon as his arm reconstructed itself, I should've noticed the fact that only a part of it healed. I was too caught up by his presence that I did not notice such small detail. Had I done so, the fight would've ended quickly and I wouldn't have had to suffer so much.
Moreover, [Monarch's indifference] was especially beneficial to me who had yet to kill a human. Yes, I did technically kill Lucas and Patrick, but that was in the VR world where I felt no guilt in killing them. Being someone that came from earth where you were preached since birth that killing was bad, I still couldn't bring myself to actually kill a human. At least not yet.
Killing a human in this day and age was something most students within the academy would have to do at least once, as we would eventually be tasked to kill certain villains.
The mental hurdle I needed to push myself to kill a human was much higher than the people that were born in this world who were exposed to such things since birth.
With the aid of [Monarch's indifference] I wouldn't need to worry about that anymore. Moreover with this skill, when fighting against an opponent, emotions like nervousness, fear and anxiety would never cloud my judgment again allowing me to perform at my best during critical times reducing the likelihood of me dying.
Having thought it through, I decided to pick [Monarch's indifference].
Although it was the only G rank skill in the list, this skill, for me, was the most useful out of the three skills I picked.. I just had this feeling that regardless of how powerful I became in the future, this skill would accompany me to the end.
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-klank!
Arriving at the entrance of the vault, a compartment opened up.
-Place the skill inside of the box
Soon, a cold voice rang in my ears, to which I followed as ordered and placed the book inside the compartment.
Looking at the book which was inside of the compartment, I couldn't help but look at it carefully. It had lumpy leather bindings, and its pages were of golden color. The cover of the leather book was empty, with no title nor pictures on it. Although it looked like a book, when I tried opening it, I couldn't. No matter how much force I exerted, the book wouldn't budge.
...Fascinating
-Krrrrrr
After placing the skill book inside of the compartment, the vault door rumbled, slowly opening up. Waiting for me on the other side of the door was Thomas accompanied by the two red-clad individuals.
"All good?"
Walking up to me, Thomas took a quick peek at the vault.
Seeing that everything was alright, he urged me to follow him, and we were soon back in the waiting room.
"Wait here while I'll go and check if everything is alright"
"hm"
Nodding my head, I watched Thomas leave. Ignoring the fact that I was once again alone in the room that felt like millions of eyes were watching, I excitedly thought of my soon-to-be skill.
Now that I thought about it, this skill was basically tailored-made for me.
As someone who was not exposed to a society where superpowers and no morals existed, a skill like this was what I needed to help me adapt against situations that would require me to do things I wouldn't have otherwise ever thought of doing back in my previous world.
Things such as killing or witnessing gore were not something I could get used to immediately. This was partly one of the main reasons I was so overwhelmed by Baron of Everblood's presence before. Had it been Kevin or any of the other protagonists, such a thing wouldn't have impacted them as hard as much it did me.
As I was deep in my thoughts, with a complicated expression, Thomas walked back into the room. Soon, with my skill book in his hands, Thomas arrived in front of me and asked
"Are you sure about this?"
"Positive"
Lightly smiling, I nodded and took the skill book from his hands.
"...alright, suit yourself"
Although it seemed like he wanted to say something, Thomas stopped himself midway and just waved his hand in resignation.
Not noticing his reaction as I was too engrossed looking at the skill book, I immediately placed my hand on top of the book and circulated my mana.
Soon a white glow enveloped me, and the book magically disappeared.
Closing my eyes, a flood of information instantly transmitted itself in my mind. It took me a total of five minutes to digest all the information. Opening my eyes, a satisfied smile appeared on my face.
Checking my status, I was pleasantly surprised by its changes.
Status=
Name : Ren Dover
Rank : F -
Strength : F
Agility : F -
Stamina : F -
Intelligence : F -
Mana capacity : G
Luck : E
Charm : G
-- Profession :
[Swordsmanship lvl.1]
-- Martial Manual :
[ Keiki style]
Sword art created by Grandmaster Toshimoto Keiki. A five-star module that focused primarily on reaching the apex of swordsmanship and speed. Upon mastery, the sword art becomes so fast that before an opponent could even think about their next move, their heads would already be rolling on the ground.
-- Skills :
[{G} Monarch's indifference]
A skill that enables users to erase all emotions, and act as a supreme monarch that only calculates the best option regardless of circumstance.
Surprisingly, my rank increased from G to F -
I did not notice it before because I was busy recovering, but it seems like my stats had shot up a notch. I had not suffered in vain.
I think that all the time I spent killing monsters and nearly dying against Baron of Everblood had helped me finally rank up.
Satisfied, my smile which wouldn't leave my face, deepened.
"...kid wipe that smile off your face, it's creepy"
"hehehe"
Ignoring Thomas who was looking at me with a disgusted face, I went through the information that had just entered my mind.
I really wanted to use the skill right here and right now, but I knew that it was inappropriate. Moreover, with my current mana capacity, I could only use the skill for approximately thirty minutes. Though it was not long, thirty minutes should be enough, as my stamina was about that much anyways.
Also, as long as I improved my mana capacity the time at which I could utilize the skill would also increase.
"Alright, let's go..."
Sighing, Thomas left the room we were in. Soon we were at the entrance of the storage space.
"Here"
"?"
Stopping Thomas looked back at me and handed me a small card. Taking the card, I looked at it in confusion. Soon I understood.
"Yup, this is your last reward. You've been promoted to VIP"
"R-really?"
"Yea, since you only chose a G rank skill I felt a bit compelled to give you this"
"...Thanks"
Looking at the shining black card with a golden VIP sign engraved on it, I couldn't help but feel my already good mood become even better.
The VIP card not only granted me access to the black market without the need to go through the hassle of remembering the password, but it also allowed me to get priority on all dungeons as well as the fact that I wouldn't need to pay a deposit in the case of emergencies.
This alone was enough for me to become happy...yet the VIP card had one other feature that made all the other perks seem like nothing.
It allowed me to have access to any dungeon available. Yes. Be it C rank, B rank, A rank, I could enter any dungeon I wanted.
...yes, although going to dungeons of D rank and above was almost like asking to be killed, they had their perks. They were a great way to help me train my mentality. Although I wouldn't do any killing inside of a D rank dungeon, just being there could help me adapt myself to the pressure exerted by D rank creatures. This was extremely advantageous as it would help me not panic once I encountered a stronger enemy.
From what I learned when fighting against Baron of Everblood, in a fight, 90% of it was the mentality and 10% was actual skills.
If your mentality crumbled even before the fight started, then you were as good as done. However, if even in the face of a stronger foe, you managed to retain your composure, the likelihood of you winning would increase drastically. That's why true experts tended to be colder than other people.
No skill nor potions could train your mentality. Only when you were in the face of true danger would you be able to train your mentality.
Fortunately, I had acquired a really good skill to help me with regard to mentality, but I couldn't be too reliant on it.
If I relied too much on a skill then when the time that my skill no longer worked came, either because I was out of mana or for some other reason, I would instantly crumble under the pressure.
"Alright, I've said enough."
Taking out a cigarette from his pocket, Thomas put his sunglasses back on and waved goodbye,
"I've left my number on the back of the card, contact me if you need help with anything"
"Sure, thanks!"
After parting ways with Thomas, I quickly collected all my loot that was very nicely dismantled by {Dungeon seekers} and went to Smallsnake. Although no core was found, I managed to make a whooping 100,000U. 50k U from my loot, and 50k U as a fee to keep everything that had happened a secret.
For obvious reasons, if news spread out about the incident, {Dungeon seekers} reputation would crumble. In this accident apart from me and a couple of people, a total of 39 people had died. Five of which were the ones that I had previously met.
Although I was a bit sad about the fact that no one would ever know how these people disappeared, I could only sign it as refusing wasn't really an option.
In this world where people would constantly disappear without someone ever knowing how...the death of these 39 people wouldn't have that much of an impact on society. I just felt bad for their family...Imagine never finding out how your loved one disappeared.
I could only lament at the fact that this world's morals had completely twisted since the appearance of the demons and superpowers.
Dialing smallsnake's number, I quickly made an appointment with him. Though I almost died, this experience was more frutious than I had expected. With the money I had to acquire I could double the amount I had originally planned to invest.
Now all I had to do was wait a month's time before money would rain into my pockets.
...
After parting ways with Ren, Thomas walked back to {Dungeon seekers}
Throughout his journey back, Thomas's thoughts couldn't help wonder back to Ren.
To say that Thomas wasn't confused would be a lie. Typically youngsters would always choose the flashiest and strongest skill they could find. Since Thomas had granted Ren access to all skills from F to G rank, he had expected him to choose one of the strongest F rank skills. But contrary to his expectations, he chose a G rank skill that focused on mentality rather than being flashy.
This came as a pleasant surprise and made him look at Ren in a better light. Had he chosen a flashy F ranked skill, Thomas would've just treated him as one of the many passersby of his life...but now...now things were different.
This kid seemed to be different from most hot-blooded youths who only thought about being strong without thinking about the process. He seemed rational, which was unusual for someone of his age.
Even though there was evidence that showed that Ren had fought against a Baron-ranked demon, Thomas didn't put too much thought into it.
Although the Demon was Baron ranked, at the end of the day it was just a clone. It was definitely surprising that Ren had managed to defeat it, but it wasn't something that would make him pay close attention to him.
But now, seeing how he did not let greed overtake his rationality, Thomas started thinking that perhaps, just maybe, he had found a hidden gem.
'I'll have to ask someone to check and send me his files..'
Being an accomplished A rank Hero, not many things interested Thomas. He had seen every prodigy that there was out there. Recently there had been rumors of a new prodigy popping up in the Lock.
He had originally intended to do some research, but now, someone else had caught his interest.
After getting someone to transfer all of the information about Ren, Thomas took a quick look at his data.
He was quite surprised by what was shown in the information.
"Talent assessment D? Rank 1750?"
At first, he found it ridiculous, but seeing his exam results he could tell the data was not wrong.
"...was I wrong?"
Thinking back at what had transpired in the dungeon, although he hadn't seen firsthand how Ren fought, Thomas knew that the exam results were wrong.
Having seen a lot of prodigies in his life, Thomas could instantly tell when one was talented. It wasn't so much about their data, it was more about their demeanor.
Ubeknowst to Ren, after he had come back from the dungeon, he was a completely different person. The air around him had changed.
Remembering back when he had first met Ren, although Thomas couldn't see his face, he could see that he was a bit unique.
He had the air of a...tourist?
The first impression that Thomas got regarding Ren was that he looked like a tourist. He looked at everything like it was something new and exciting. He didn't look like someone who was just about to enter a danger filled space. It felt as if he was going on a holiday.
Thomas didn't point this fact out to Ren in the beginning because he had seen lots of similar people throughout his life. It wasn't his responsibility to warn people about the dangers that were within a dungeon.
However, after the incident, Thomas noticed Ren change. If before he looked like a tourist, now he looked like an immigrant. He had something that he previously didn't have.
Resolve.
It now seemed that whatever he went through inside of the dungeon had caused him to grow and finally realize how dangerous the world was.
He had a similar demeanor to top-class heroes. One that looked at the bigger picture.
...though he still was not comparable to them, Ren was in the right direction, and Thomas felt that if given time Ren's name would spread across the globe.
Well...his prediction could be wrong, but there was no harm in believing in him.
Lightly smiling, Thomas slumped down on his comfy chair.
"Let's observe a bit more, I feel like he will soon give me a pleasant surprise"
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It's been about two weeks since I had officially entered the academy, and I couldn't say I was particularly excited about classes.
Not only was it hard for me to train, due to the constant stares, but for the theoretical courses, I really couldn't understand a thing.
Although they were interesting, because of how advanced all the material was, I didn't even know how to solve the easiest questions.
What was the point of them being interesting when you knew nothing about them?
I didn't even have the basic foundational knowledge.
It was like presenting an integral calculation to a kid who had just learned how to perform additions.
It was totally ridiculous!
I just realized, at this rate, I might actually not make it past my first year!
Although the lock mainly focused on nurturing heroes. In order to pass the first year, you still needed to pass all your courses.
If I couldn't pass a course, my chances of graduating, let alone pass the first year were extremely slim.
This was a huge problem!
That was because the second year was the main year of the academy arc!
It was the year where, after the protagonists who have all settled down and adapted to school life, suddenly came face to face against villains!
It was the most impactful part of the academy arc which helped the protagonist and his friends grow in both strength and character.
Missing such an event would be detrimental to my growth, as not only did I lose access to the top-end facilities provided by the academy, but I would also lose my chance to gain experience fighting against villains.
"Alright guys that marks the end of the lesson, I hope you enjoy yourselves at the elective fair"
disrupting my thoughts was Donna's enchanting voice.
'So today is the day, huh...'
Today was the day the elective fair was held.
The elective fair was an academy-wide event where the third and second years tried to recruit new members to their elective.
Once an elective was chosen, you couldn't change it until the start of the new year.
There was a wide selection of electives available for each student to choose from.
There was a 'Specialised combat' course, a 'programming' course, a 'dungeon exploration' course, and many more activities to choose from.
This was also the time when first years would come to contact with the senior years.
Because the first, second, and third years were separated they didn't have many chances to interact with one other.
Electives were a great chance for the seniors to interact with their juniors.
Moreover, the more first years they manage to recruit to their elective course, the more budget they were granted by the academy.
So every year, the first years found themselves getting assaulted by all types of seniors looking to recruit new members.
Furthermore, there was another thing one needed to be careful of when taking into consideration what elective to join.
That was...they had to watch out for the 'hidden politics' in certain electives.
Factions existed inside of the academy.
A good example was the 'Blood supremacist' faction that Gilbert used to be a part of back when he was still a student.
Many electives were secretly a recruitment process for certain individuals to their factions.
Therefore, one should be careful when choosing an elective as choosing one faction means being an enemy to all other factions.
Fortunately for me, I was keeping a low profile.
Since I was fairly unnoticeable, I was almost certain that I wouldn't be dragged into this senseless conflict.
However, although I may not encounter any problems during the elective fair, that didn't mean others would have it as easy as me.
Take Kevin as an example.
Because he stood out too much, he would not only have to face the endless number of people requesting for him to join their elective, but he would also have to fend off against factions who were eager to have a talented person like him in their group.
I could already imagine how miserable his life would be for the next few days.
Actually, I didn't need to imagine, I already knew.
Moreover, since I already knew what would happen in the next few days, I also knew that this was the period where one of the main scenarios for the first-year academy arc began.
Seniors vs. Juniors.
The first major event that Kevin encounters since joining the lock.
An event which even if I didn't want to participate will be forced to join.
'Ah...why did I even...'
Just imagining myself encountering more arrogant characters was upsetting my stomach.
At least I still had Donna with me...
Watching her leave, I couldn't help but admire her beauty which was more mature compared to the main heroines who were still young.
"..."
As I was busy admiring her, she turned her head around and met my line of sight.
I couldn't remember much after that, as I felt my body suddenly become lethargic.
I couldn't even lift my finger.
-Bang!
It was only after I heard the sound of the door closing that I managed to recover from the abnormal state.
Breaking into a cold sweat, I tried my best to regain my composure but...
"Look at this donkey getting caught looking at professor Longbern"
"hahaha, how pathetic"
"I know she's beautiful but how is a bottom ranker like you worthy of her?"
Three individuals surrounded the area where I was sitting, causing me to frown.
"What's going on?"
Why were they suddenly picking on me?
Usually, they would just say some sarcastic remarks and leave, but now it felt like they were coming at me more aggressively than ever before. It was like they were purposely targeting me.
ah...
Right.
How could I forget?
Slightly turning my head to the left side of the classroom, I could see Arnold sitting with his arms crossed looking at the front of the classroom indifferently.
"What's going on? Cat got your tongue?"
Pushing my left shoulder, a rather lanky individual that seemed to be the leader of the group asked
"Why are you looking at professor Longbern with such disgusting eyes?"
I know the best way to deal with these kinds of people.
"..."
"Hey, you deaf or something? say something"
Since you couldn't fight in schools, I could just ignore him and get along with my day.
If you're caught fighting in school, depending on how serious the violation was, you could potentially be expelled from the academy.
Moreover, since my ranking was so low, I doubt they would bother keeping a troublemaking student like me.
"Oy! I'm talking to you moron!"
"..."
"Bro I don't think he's ignoring you, I think he's just too terrified to even speak"
"Yeah, what a moron"
"..."
Think whatever you want, just don't bother me!
Grumbling to myself, I stood up and packed my stuff up.
"You leaving?"
"..."
Putting my bag on my back, I stepped to the side and tried to walk away, but...
"Not so fast, who told you I'll let your run like that"
Looking at him with cold eyes, I coldly spoke
"Move"
Ubeknowst to me, after nearly dying inside of the dungeon, my demeanor had become slightly colder.
Slightly surprised by my response, the leader of the group laughed "Hehehe, who do you think you are to make me move?"
Sigh
Letting out a sigh, I tried to push my way through the trio but it was to no avail.
"You think you can pass without my permission?"
Seeing that the situation was becoming unfavorable for me, I dropped my bag back on my desk and sat down.
I really wished fighting was allowed, but since I couldn't afford to be expelled, I could only silently endure their harassment.
Taking out my phone, I loaded a game and started playing it.
Seeing me sit down, the trio initially smirked with a sense of superiority, but as soon as I started playing my game their smiles faded away, and their complexion turned grim.
"Y-ou"
Trembling, the leader pointed his finger at me, trying his best to suppress his rage.
Looking up at him, I tilted my head and asked
"Need something from me?"
"HOW DARE YOU MAKE FUN OF ME???"
Seemingly having lost all sense of reason, the leader of the group tried to assault me, but just as he was about to hit me, his two friends held him back.
"Stop Richard! you might get expelled for this!"
"Don't do this Richard!"
So his name was Richard...
Mhhh...
Never heard of him.
After being restrained by his friends, Richard managed to calm down before staring at me with hatred.
"You will pay for making fun of me!"
"Hold on a second"
Pinching the middle of my brows, I let out another exhausted sigh.
"Let me get this straight. You're mad at me because I ignored you?"
Taken aback for a second, Richard processed what I said before looking down at me with disgust
"You lowly ranker, you think you're worthy of my anger?"
"No, you clearly were angry. Even a stupid person could realize that"
"I'll kill you!"
"No Richard stop!"
"Ghhhhu, stop Richard"
Dumbfounded, I stared at Richard being restrained again.
Was this some sort of comedy skit?
Were all minor characters supposed to be dumb or something?
"Huff...Huff...I'll remember this!"
Glaring at me, Richard, who was seemingly out of breath, threatened me with a third-rate villain quote.
"Please don't"
"I'll kill you!"
"Richard don't!"
"Richard! please stop, I can't take it anymore!"
pffff
"Hahahahahah"
Before I knew it, I found myself laughing hysterically at their antics.
I was laughing so hard, that tears started gathering in the corner of my eyes.
I haven't laughed this hard since coming to this world.
It was somehow refreshing.
Suddenly being thrown into my own novel, although I tried my best not to show it, I had built up a lot of stress.
From the very beginning since arriving here, I had been constantly working towards my goal.
From getting the [Seed of limit, [Keiki style, entering the black market, and almost losing my life against a Baron ranked demon.
I had been constantly risking my life.
My sudden burst of laughter was not just laughter that stemmed from Richard's group stupidity, but it was also a laugh that swept some of my worries away.
Although my journey towards the top was going to become tougher from now on, I should enjoy every free moment that I could get.
Although this world was tough, it was still much better than my old world where I was silently waiting for death to come with every passing day.
There were times when one just needed to let go of their worries and just relax.
Looking at Richard who was being restrained by his two friends, the corners of my mouth involuntarily pulled upwards.
Seeing me laugh, as if a switch had been flipped, all three of them stopped at the same time.
"Is he laughing at us?"
"Is this lowly ranker looking down on us?"
"Is he treating us like some sort of clowns?"
"..."
Somehow I feel like I did something I shouldn't have.
It seems like my laughter had wounded their pride.
Feeling their intense glare, I pretty much knew that they were going to assault me.
It was fine before because Richard was being restrained, but now that all three of them wished to beat me up, a fight was inevitable.
"You think this is funny?"
"Do we look like a joke to you?"
Approaching me with intense hatred in their eyes, I could see from their eyes that they no longer cared about the repercussions.
All that was reflected in their eyes, was me.
But just as they were about to attack me, a stern voice interrupted them.
"Let's leave it at that shall we?"
Stopping right before me, the trio halted their movement and turned towards the voice that told them to stop.
"Who are you to medd-- ah, K-kevin"
Turning around and figuring out whose voice it was, the trio froze on the spot.
Being in a society where rank meant everything, they were overcome with fear and couldn't stop trembling as soon as they saw who was speaking to them.
Kevin Voss, the first-year number one ranked student.
"W-ee we-re must lettin-t him know h-is place"
As his voice trembled, Richard spoke to Kevin.
"And what did he do exactly?"
"Ehm..ehm.."
Overwhelmed by Kevin's charisma, Richard started fumbling on his words.
Placing his hand on Richard's shoulder, Kevin patted him a couple of times.
"Let's leave it here okay?"
Repeatedly nodding his head, Richard and his group immediately fled the scene.
Seeing this happening before me, I couldn't help but slightly admire Kevin who with just a few words made the trio run.
I have to say, there were definitely perks in standing out.
Like being able to swiftly deal with low-level characters with just a few words.
But in hindsight, facing low-level charters was much better than dealing with annoying high-level ones.
So I was still going to try my best to remain as hidden as possible.
"Thank you for your help"
Standing up, I put my bag on my back and expressed my gratitude to Kevin who simply nodded his head in acknowledgment.
Finally free, I quickly left the classroom and headed towards my dorm.
Report chapter
"Thank you for your help"
After expressing his gratitude, Ren directly left the classroom.
Staring at the departing figure of the student who he had just helped for a brief moment, Kevin turned around and returned to his seat.
Taking out his bag, Kevin packed up his stuff.
Just as he was about to finish packing up, a handsome individual whose looks rivaled that of a top celebrity calmly looked down on him.
"What did you do that for?"
"What do you mean?"
Tilting his head, Kevin questioningly looked at Jin.
"Why are you helping a pathetic loser like him?"
Frowning at Jin's choice of words, Kevin secretly shook his head and responded.
"Picking on someone weaker than you is more pathetic in my opinion"
"Hmph, you should already how the world works by now."
Snorting at Kevin's comment in disdain, Jin turned around and went towards Arnold who was sitting two rows ahead of Kevin.
"Don't waste your time on helping losers like him. It's beneath you"
"Just ignore him"
Just as Kevin was about to rebuke him, a beautiful voice entered his ears, prompting him to turn his head around.
With her short brown hair accompanied by her porcelain white skin, Emma stood there looking up at Kevin who was half a head taller than her.
"He's an idiot so ignore him"
"But..."
"Just leave it at that, he's just gonna ignore whatever you say anyway so there's no point in arguing with him..."
Turning around, Emma left towards the exit of the classroom.
"You coming?"
"Ah...yes"
Sighing, Kevin took his bag and followed Emma out of the classroom.
Since he was still not used to this place, Kevin had asked Emma to guide him during the elective fair.
Catching up to her, Kevin walked side by side with Emma.
Normally, a person would've been extremely happy to walk next to such a beautiful girl, but it was extremely uncomfortable to Kevin, who was not used to this much attention.
Since his parent's death, Kevin preferred staying out of people's sight, hence why he was not used to the stares.
But unbeknownst to him, they weren't just looking at Emma, but at him too.
His looks, which rivaled Jin's, perfectly matched Emma's breathtaking beauty making everyone who saw them walking together sigh in admiration.
"You'll get used to it"
"Huh?—excuse me?"
"I mean you'll get used to stares soon enough"
"Oh? ok...but why do I need to get used to the stares? Aren't they just staring at you?"
Shaking her head as if she was looking at an idiot, Emma picked up her pace.
"Sigh, whatever...do you have an elective you want to join in mind?"
"Not really, I was thinking of joining some sort of combat-related elective since from what I've seen there isn't anything in particular that attracts my attention"
Cocking her head to the side to better hear what Kevin was saying, Emma's auburn hair which was moderately short, lightly rested on top of her shoulders, muting the azure blue uniform.
Hearing Kevin's response, Emma couldn't help but roll her eyes as she pinched the middle of her brows.
"Is all you do training?"
"Not really, I just thought that any other elective would've been a waste of time"
"Well...I don't think it's my place to say what you should choose and what you shouldn't, but I do urge you to think about it more thoroughly."
"Will do."
Stopping, Emma's eyes narrowed. Turning around she looked back at Kevin with a serious expression and spoke
"No, I don't think you do..."
Noticing Emma's behavior and expression, Kevin's back unconsciously straightened as he listened attentively.
"Electives have a much deeper meaning than you think, especially for someone as talented as you"
"If you just randomly choose an elective and it happens to be under a faction, even if you don't plan on entering the faction, they will still consider you as a part of them. Especially since it's you...moreover, once you join a faction, you will officially be an enemy of all other factions that are against the faction which you are a part of"
"Keep in mind that once you entered a faction, even if you didn't mean to, if you wish to exit, you must prepare yourself to make an enemy of that faction"
Hearing's Emma explanation, Kevin became dumbfounded as cold sweat dripped from his back
"All of this just for joining an elective?"
Poking Kevin's chest with her finger, Emma looked at Kevin seriously.
"Yes, so don't just carelessly join an elective"
Repeatedly nodding his head, Kevin promised Emma to be careful when selecting an elective.
Seeing her turn around, although Kevin didn't show it, he was extremely thankful to Emma who chose to help him out of her own volition.
Kevin already knew that Emma had already chosen her elective, and was just doing him a favor.
Although they had only known each other for about three weeks, Kevin already considered Emma a good friend.
They first met when entering their boarding apartments.
It was also at the same time he met, Jin, Amanda, and Melissa.
Since they were in the same building, they had no choice but to interact with each other, and from there they had gotten along with each other well.
Well, there were a couple of ups and downs in the beginning as Jin displayed obvious hostility against Kevin.
Looking back at the previous events, Kevin had a hunch it had something to do with Melissa, as Jin's hostility would shoot up a notch whenever he interacted with her, but he didn't want to pry too deeply.
Thus as such, because of Jin, the atmosphere in the dorm was quite tense. But fortunately thanks to Emma who got along with everyone, the awkward atmosphere dissipated and everyone managed to get along with each other.
It could be said that Emma was the key that linked everyone in the dorm.
If it weren't for her, who knows if Kevin would've even bothered talking to Jin.
"Hey, Hey, you listening?"
Snapping him out of his thoughts was the figure of Emma who had stopped walking and was looking at him with an annoyed pout.
'Cute'
Kevin thought as he resisted the urge to smile at her expression.
"I feel like you're thinking of something that would make me extremely annoyed.."
"!"
Opening his eyes wide, Kevin turned his head to the side and pretended to have not heard anything.
"Ah! So you were!"
"Don't know what you're talking about"
Kevin's outward expression was calm and expressionless, but on the inside, Kevin felt a storm of thoughts and emotions
'How in the world is she able to read my mind? Is this what they call a women's intuition? Terrifying...'
Narrowing her eyes and scrutinizing Kevin who tried his best to maintain his poker face, Emma shook her head and opened a huge door that led to the outside.
"I'll let this one go...now follow me"
Led by Emma, Kevin exited the building and strolled around the academy campus.
"Wow, this is a lot busier than I expected"
An ocean of students was swarming the campus as they each made their way towards the elective fair.
Some were leisurely strolling around the campus with their friends, some were sitting in the patches of green around the campus, and others were frantically rushing towards the stalls in the elective fair.
If it weren't for the fact that for some odd reason some of the students were going out of their way to step away from their path, reaching the location where the elective fair was being held was not going to be as unobstructed as it was now.
"Where exactly are we going?"
"Section B"
Pausing slightly, Kevin's eyes widened a little bit.
"Section B? Isn't that the professor area?"
"It's precisely because it's the professor area that the elective fair is taking place there"
Dumbfounded by her response, Kevin looked at Emma in confusion.
"How does that make sense?"
Rolling her eyes, Emma continued walking forward ignoring Kevin who was dumbly staring at her.
Finally, after seeing that Kevin still had not understood, Emma sighed and spoke
"Didn't I mention before about the deeper meaning behind electives?"
Nodding his head, Kevin replied, "Right, but how does that relate to the fact that the fair is in section B?"
"Because professors are also part of a faction..."
Halting his steps, Kevin took a moment to process what Emma had said.
If what Emma had said was true, then choosing an elective was a far more serious matter than he had originally thought.
If even the professors were trying to influence the elective fair, then it meant that the 'hidden politics' in the academy were rooted deeper than he had previously thought.
"Although professors are technically no longer part of a faction, that still did not mean that they couldn't indirectly help the faction that they used to be a part of."
"Though they may no longer be a part of a faction, their loyalty is still there..."
"If they wanted to, they could force students to join their faction by abusing their authority and make their lives harder"
Seeing how Kevin's complexion was becoming grimmer by the second, Emma realized her mistake and tried to encourage him.
"Ah..but you don't need to worry about that."
"Although you're extremely sought after, they won't carelessly try to force you to join a faction as you are protected by the school."
"Moreover you have me, Amanda, Melissa, and that guy protecting you."
"No professor would dare to mess with you with our backing..."
Seeing how she was frantically coming up with excuses to make him feel better, Kevin felt warm in his heart.
Having spent most of his life in solitude, having friends that supported him and helped him in times of trouble was a new feeling for him.
He couldn't say he disliked it...
"Thank you..."
"For what?"
Taken aback by Kevin's strange attitude, Emma took a step back.
"You're not falling for me, right? I'm sorry but I don't plan on dating right now"
"..."
There goes all the goodwill he had for her...
"Hey what's with that disgusted face? I was just joking! but still, the fact you are looking at a beauty like me with that kind of face irritates me"
"Narcissistic aren't we?"
"No, I'm just acknowledging the truth"
Dumbfounded by her fast response, Kevin was momentarily left speechless as he did not know how to respond to her.
Ignoring Kevin who was too speechless to talk, Emma continued
"My beauty aside, you still have to be careful when interacting with the professors as although they can't touch you, they can still indirectly try to make your life harder if they hold a grudge against you"
"ghhh...why does everything have to be so annoying?"
"Actually, now that I think about it, a few professors already hold a grudge against you"
"What? how? What did I do?"
"What didn't you do? I mean you suddenly showed up out of nowhere and bulldozed your way to the first rank"
"You pretty much humiliated those that believed that bloodlines or backing was the most important factor in being the best"
"Your existence alone is an eyesore for them, of course, they built a grudge against you"
Letting out a pained groan, Kevin couldn't help but curse at his own stupidity.
The only reason why he tried his best for the test was that he had still not figured out that he was strong.
Having been living isolated from society since the death of his parents, he didn't know that with the skills that he had developed thanks to the cheat-like system, he could've been considered as one of the bests of his generation.
He had thought that since some of the rich second-generation kids had access to top-end facilities, they would've surely been stronger than him.
But he had severely underestimated how much of a cheat the system was.
Not only did it provide Kevin with the best training regime, but it also rewarded him with top-end skills, stats increase, and artifacts at the completion of each mission.
By the time that admissions for the lock were open, he had already grown to be a prodigy.
Had he known this fact, he wouldn't have tried as hard as he did during the examination.
I mean since coming to the lock, Kevin had been through many annoying situations where his rank 1 status had drawn too much unwanted attention.
If only he had known...
Seeing how distressed Kevin was, Emma who took pity on him, decided to change the topic to relieve his mind from the troublesome problems.
"The sky is nice and blue right?"
"...excuse me?"
"The clouds sure are fluffy..."
"Are you okay?"
"Never been better, how bout you?"
"What about me? I'm more worried about you who is being weird"
"Back to your normal self?"
Finally realizing Emma's intention, Kevin blushed in embarrassment as he thanked her.
"Ah...Thank you"
"No probs, just don't think about all that annoying stuff. At worst you'll just have some minor troubles, you may have not realized it yet, but that number 1 rank is as much of a burden as it is a shield"
"With it, you don't have to worry about people openly doing something to you, and in fact even if you haven't noticed it yet, you are constantly under the protection of the academy"
"The number 1 rank is not just a title, it's a representation of hope...a light that shines down this god-forsaken world, and guide us to true freedom..."
Looking at Kevin straight in his eyes, Emma lightly punched his shoulder as she flashed a stunning smile.
"So instead of worrying, be proud of what you've accomplished and destroy anything that dares obstruct your path to success"
Report chapter
"Wow...there's a lot more people than I had originally thought"
"I'd have to agree with you on that one"
As Kevin and Emma arrived outside of section B, a crowd of students was swarming the entrance making it hard to see what was ahead.
Each student was sporting a different colored uniform which ranged from, azure blue, dark green, and blood-red, representing the year they were in.
A three-meter tall wall surrounded the whole of section B and on top of the wall, an invisible high voltage electrical line was installed preventing anyone from trying to sneak into the compound.
In order to enter the compound, four gates which were respectively allocated according to the cardinal points, North, South, East, West, were tightly guarded by the staff hired by the academy.
Because the academy was mainly a medium to nurture talented individuals which would later be the future pillars of humanity, the information regarding the students was tightly secured by the academy.
If the information were to be passed to the wrong hands, potentially talented heroes that have shown good promise during their academic stay might become the target of demons and villains, which could result in them prematurely dying before their talent could leave an impact on society.
...This was exactly what the academy didn't want, and hence why they invested heavily in security for section B. Excluding the professors who were all respectively strong heroes, the security alone comprised of B and C ranked Heroes.
Section B was practically one of the safest areas within the academy.
After 10 minutes, Emma and Kevin were finally able to arrive at the entrance of the compound.
The lines were split into three, and at the end of each line, a student with a red blazer was handing leaflets to every person who entered the compound.
"Welcome to the elective fair"
Approaching Kevin and Emma, a blonde individual elegantly handed them a leaflet with a gentle yet confident smile on his face.
"Thank you"
"Thank you"
Without thinking much, Emma and Kevin took the leaflet and left, resulting in the blonde individual's smile to momentarily falter.
"Ehm..ehm..excuse me, freshman"
Quickly regaining his composure, the blonde individual hastily moved in front of Kevin and Emma, obstructing their path. Suddenly being blocked out of nowhere, both Kevin and Emma couldn't help but frown as they scrutinized the person before them.
Although he wasn't as handsome as Kevin, he could've been regarded as a fairly handsome individual with his relatively well-proportioned features, blue eyes, and confident demeanor.
"What do you need?"
Annoyed, Emma didn't try to hide her displeasure as she lightly glared in his direction.
Smiling amiably, taking no notice of Emma's attitude, the blonde individual couldn't help but take a couple of glances at Emma evidently stunned by her beauty.
Without even acknowledging nor glancing in Kevin's direction, the blonde individual focused his whole attention on Emma almost as if he was enchanted by her beauty.
"Let me introduce myself, my name is Fabian Parker third year ranked 14, may I have the honor of knowing this beautiful girl's name?"
As he introduced himself, the undisguised pride in his tone couldn't be concealed as his smile deepened and his back straightened.
His eyes which now fully focused on Emma, couldn't hide the desire masked within them as he took one step closer to her.
"That's enough"
Placing his hand in front of Emma blocking Fabian from approaching her, Kevin glared at him.
"Can't you see you're bothering her?"
"Who are you?"
Finally noticing Kevin's presence, Fabian couldn't hide his displeasure, as his head snapped in his direction.
"How dare you block this one's path?"
"You're being annoying"
"Quickly move out of my way or don't blame me for being impolite"
Frowning, just as Kevin was about to get angry, a mocking voice disrupted their confrontation as Emma walked in front of Kevin.
"If you don't fuck off from my sight, don't blame ME for being rude"
Imitating Fabian's tone, Emma arrived right in front of Fabian and lightly smiled.
Startled by Emma's outburst, Fabian couldn't find any words to say resulting in his face crumping up.
"Got nothing to say?"
Raising her brow, Emma looked at Fabian provocatively.
"You..dare!"
Trembling, Fabian pointed his finger in Emma's direction as he struggled to contain his anger.
Since coming to the academy, no, more precisely, his whole life, Fabian had never been this humiliated.
Being born from the prestigious Parker family which held a tremendous amount of wealth and influence, every girl who he had ever approached threw themselves at him.
Never in his 19 years of life did someone disrespect him so much.
Especially from a couple of first years.
Apart from those who were higher ranked than him, and had a similar amount of influence as his family, no one had the right to look down on him.
He, Fabian Parker, heir of the Parker conglomerate with a net worth of over a trillion U was actually being humiliated in front of everybody like this?
'Does this slut think that just because she's pretty she can mess with me?'
"It seems like you don't hold your seniors in regard, good...good"
Clapping his hands a couple of times, Fabian's face darkened and his previous gentlemanly demeanor completely vanished.
"Ah!"
Covering her mouth, Emma exaggeratedly looked at Fabian and exclaimed "I am sorry! I didn't realize you were a senior! I mean..." Looking at Fabian up and down, Emma shook her head "The way you talked made me think you were a spoiled brat, so I instantly assumed you were the same year as me"
"She's definitely enjoying this..."
Watching Emma who acted like she was wronged, Kevin couldn't help but bitterly smile
"What a drama queen.."
She could've just ignored him and told him who she was, as her background was enough of a deterrence for 99% of the people attending the academy, but she chose not to, meaning that she was trying to humiliate him publicly.
Looking around, Kevin noticed a small crowd that had already started gathering around them due to Emma's loud voice.
Sighing, Kevin started doubting whether asking Emma to help him was the right decision.
Noticing the crowd that had started gathering around them, Fabian who was on the verge of exploding forcefully suppressed his anger and alternatively looked at Emma and Kevin.
"It seems like the new first years are in need of disciplining huh?"
-Vam!
As soon as he finished his sentence, massive pressure engulfed the surroundings while blue light started emanating from Fabian's body.
"ghh..."
"Ughh.."
"Ahhh...what's going on?"
The crowd which had gathered due to the commotion suddenly felt an immense pressure bearing down on them, and because they were caught off guard due to the suddenness of the attack, most of the people found themselves sprawled on the floor struggling to move.
Kevin and Emma, who were the ones that were bearing the full grunt of the force, took a knee to the ground as their legs gave out due to the immense pressure they were facing.
Although both Kevin and Emma were extremely talented, they were in no way a match to a third-year student who had been vigorously training for three years under the care of the academy.
Even Kevin, who could've been regarded as one of the best even amongst the second years felt an unimaginable pressure bearing down on him.
[Detecting hostile force]
[Would you like to activate skill {Overdrive}? Y/N]
"N-no"
Dismissing the system message that appeared anytime a hostile force was detected, Kevin looked up at Fabian who was slowly walking towards Emma.
"Not so proud now huh?"
"pfftt, you don't know who you're messing with!"
"Oh? and how so?"
Raising his brow, Fabian knelt down at Emma's eye level and lightly held her chin up with his fingers.
Feeling Fabian's finger touching her chin, Emma monetarily froze before opening her eyes wide in disbelief.
"I give you three seconds to let go of me before things get really serious"
"Oh?"
Tilting his head, Fabian couldn't help but lightly chuckle as his hand gripped Emma's cheeks.
"Do tell me what you're going to do to me..."
"How dare you!"
Feeling Fabian's hand gripping onto her face, Emma's final restraint disappeared and just when she was about to call her guards, a powerful voice reverberated across the surroundings.
"STOP!"
Right after the shout, the pressure that was bearing down on everyone disappeared, and a tall individual whose skin was on the darker side appeared before the crowd.
He had braids that extended all the way to his shoulders, and his bulging muscles that were the size of a football made one wonder if he was a human.
"Stop this farce at once!"
Arriving in front of Fabian, the individual who seemed to be the instructor overlooking this area appeared before Fabian and loudly screamed at his face.
"Wh-at!?"
Feeling the spit that was being spewed on his face by the instructor as he shouted, Fabian who couldn't believe his eyes struggled to speak for a couple of seconds.
Actually, he knew this individual.
Hero Rank 459 Jerome Wilson a.k.a 'Diamond Destroyer', a rather well-known hero famed for his tremendous strength. His name 'Diamond Destroyer' stemmed from how he was able to crush diamonds with his bare hands. If not for his low agility, Jerome could've been ranked in the top 300.
Noticing that he was being scolded by instructor Jerome, Fabian was so shocked that he couldn't utter a single word. The reason he was shocked was not because he was being scolded, but rather by whom he was being scolded...
Diamond destroyer, who he had known since young, was actually supposed to be an individual planted by his family to secretly support him during his stay in the academy
Yet here he was berating him in front of everyone.
"Come to my office right now!"
Without leaving any time for Fabian to collect himself, Jerome grabbed him by the neck and immediately left without even looking at Kevin and Emma.
Looking at the instructor who hastily brought Fabian away, Kevin stood up. Had he been a split second slower Kevin would've been forced to take action.
"Are you alright?"
Extending his hand towards Emma to help her stand up, Kevin had a troubled look on his face as he looked at the people around him groaning in pain on the floor.
Without responding to Kevin, Emma emotionlessly walked towards the entrance.
Reading the mood, Kevin shut up and followed her.
It seems like a storm was brewing
...
"Release me at once!"
After finding a relatively secluded area, Jerome who was still holding onto Fabian who was flaying in his arms, finally let go of him.
"kuuhh...How dare you do this me!"
Holding onto his neck, Fabian glared at Jerome who had a tired look on his face.
"How dare you lay your filthy hands on me! Wait till I tell d--"
"YOUNG MASTER!"
Shouted Jerome as veins could be seen visibly bulging from his head.
Stopping abruptly, Fabian looked at Jerome in disbelief as never in his whole life did he see him ever lose his cool like this.
"Sigh..sorry"
Realizing what he had just done, Jerome let out a long sigh and apologized to Fabian.
Covering his face, Jerome took out his phone and quickly dialed a number.
"Young Master, you have seriously screwed up this time"
"W-hat?"
Noticing that things weren't right, Fabian's voice became slightly rushed as he looked at Jerome who was pacing back and forth in front of him.
—Hello
Finally, after a couple of seconds, a cold voice full of authority entered Jerome's ears.
"Master there's been an emergency!"
—...What happened?
"Sigh...it's regarding young master"
—What did he do?
"A conflict between him and the Roshfield child occurred during the elective fair...and judging from how they operate things might become difficult very soon"
—bring that child home, I'll handle the rest
Pausing for a moment, the voice behind the phone became slightly colder before giving one last command and hanging up.
-Click!
"R-R-Roshfield!"
Staring at Jerome in disbelief, Fabian looked as if he had lost his soul.
Never in a million years did he imagine that the child he was eyeing was actually the princess of the Roshfield clan, and whose father was the vice director of the Union.
No wonder she was so arrogant...
No wonder she didn't even flinch at the mention of his family's name...
Although her family was about the same strength as his family, because her father worked in the union, if he wanted to, he could immediately make things harder for the Parker family resulting in seven to eight digits losses.
Realizing what he had done, Fabian powerlessly slumped on the ground as he dazedly looked at the sky
"I fucked up big time..."
Report chapter
"Are you sure you're alright?"
Passing by stalls without even glancing at them, Kevin worriedly looked at Emma who remained silent throughout the whole time they were walking. After that accident, Emma had a gloomy air around her. It felt as if she had erected a tall barrier that prevented anyone from approaching her.
"Hey! Hey!"
Suddenly Emma stopped walking. Raising her hand slightly, she wiped away the corner of her mouth.
Looking down, her azure blue uniform now had a small red stain on it.
Noticing it, Emma quickly pulled her hand back to hide the small stain. But although Emma tried to be subtle with her actions, it couldn't escape Kevin's eyes which immediately widened in shock.
"Shit!"
Grabbing her hand, Kevin immediately dragged her out of the elective fair.
It seemed like the earlier confrontation had resulted in Emma sustaining some internal injuries. The fact that she refused to kneel even under all of that pressure goes to show how much willpower and determination she had.
Fabian's rank was most likely around the C range which was around two ranks higher than Emma whose rank was still E- borderline E rank.
Subjected to such pressure, Emma was bound to suffer internal injuries. If not for the fact that Kevin's rank was E borderline D rank, he too would've suffered serious internal injuries.
-Smack!
"Don't touch me"
Raising her voice, Emma smacked Kevin's hand away. A split second after realizing what she had done, Emma froze and lowered her head in shame.
"I-I'm sorry"
"It's alright"
Not taking it to heart, Kevin stopped and looked at Emma.
Her complexion had become a lot paler than before, and looking at her carefully now, Kevin could see Emma slightly shivering. Almost as if she was suffering from extreme cold.
'shit, how come I didn't notice this before!'
Cursing at himself, Kevin thought for a bit before gritting his teeth.
"Here"
Taking out a light green potion from his inventory, Kevin handed it to Emma. This potion was one of the rewards that he had gotten after completing a quest that the system had given him.
He had saved it in case he got severely hurt, but seeing Emma suffering, Kevin couldn't control his impulse and decide to give it to her...
In the first place, the only reason she got hurt was because of him. If he had not asked her to bring him around for the elective fair, none of this would've happened.
"...I appreciate your concern"
Looking at the potion Kevin had given her, Emma was slightly touched, but she still rejected it.
"I insist"
Noticing Emma's stubbornness, Kevin tried to forcefully put the potion in her hand, only to be rejected by her once again.
Seeing that he could do nothing to make her take the potion, Kevin gave up.
Her hand, which was slightly trembling, reached out for her pocket. Taking out her phone, she quickly dialed a number.
After a couple of rings, a pleasant and gentle voice could be heard from the other side of the phone.
—Young miss how may I help you?
"I need someone to pick me up"
—Is something wrong miss?
"Everything is fine...please come and pick me up"
—...as you wish young miss, I will immediately dispatch someone to pick you up.
Sensing something, the lady on the other side of the phone immediately called for someone to go to Emma's location.
-Tak!
Soon after hanging up her phone, a butler calmly walked in their direction. He donned a neat black blazer with a slight opening where his white unwrinkled shirt could be seen. A black bowtie hugged his neck and accompanied by his well-polished shoes that shined under the campus light, further added to his elegance. He had a full set of white hair which was a result of his age. At the edge of his eyes, which were obsidian black, wrinkles that extended all the way to his upper cheeks could be seen. Lastly, what stood out the most about him was his nicely trimmed mustache that rested below his nose.
"Young miss"
Elegantly bowing in front of Emma, the butler greeted Emma.
"Uncl-e Norman please bring me home"
"..hm?"
Noticing that something wasn't right, Norman looked up and saw Emma's pale face.
"M-miss!"
Rushing in to support her, Norman grabbed her shoulders in a panic.
"I'm fi-khhh"
Seeing the panic in Norman's eyes, Emma tried to brush it off, but as soon as she started speaking a red trail of blood fell from her nose. Soon she passed out in Norman's arms.
"Miss!"
Lightly shaking Emma's body, Norman looked around in panic. Taking out his phone he quickly called for backup.
After he finished calling for backup, he gently laid Emma on a bench. After making sure that Emma was okay, Norman's demeanor completely changed as he coldly looked at Kevin and asked.
"Tell me what happened"
Helplessly nodding his head, Kevin quickly recounted what had happened moments before.
As he listened attentively to Kevin recounting about the incident with Fabian, Norman's face became gloomier by the second.
"...the Parkers, good, good"
Standing up, an extremely strong bloodlust permeated the surrounding, suffocating Kevin. Fortunately, Norman was controlling his bloodlust as it could only be felt within a certain radius.
If one of those weaker students were to suddenly be exposed to this bloodlust, they would've suffered mental trauma.
Soon, two black cars arrived at the front of section B where a bunch of individuals with black suits came out. Forming a line, they pushed away all students that were trying to take a look at what happened.
Carrying Emma in his arms, Norman looked back at Kevin and said
"Tell the dorm supervisor that Emma will be absent for at least a couple of days"
Nodding his head helplessly, Kevin agreed
-Clank!
Closing the door to the car, the cars soon sped into the distance.
Staring at the departing cars, Kevin fell into deep thought before going back into the dorm.
...it seems like he'll have to visit the elective fair another time.
...
Parker tower, Ashton city
It was currently nighttime in Ashton city, and the lights coming from the cars drifting in the distance formed beautiful yellow and red stripes that stretched all the way to the horizon.
Inside of a large office, on the top floor of a tall glass building, the silhouette of a man looking down the busy streets of Ashton city could be seen.
"...that is all"
Standing a few steps behind the man, a butler kneeled on the floor as he read the report in his hand.
After the butler read the report, a deathly silence permeated the room.
Soon the silence was disrupted by the cold voice of the silhouette standing by the window side of the office.
"...Push the plan forward"
"Sir!"
Abruptly standing up, the butler immediately tried to voice his objection.
"k-hhukk"
...but before he could do that, the butler found himself facing the ground as an unimaginable pressure bore down on him. No matter how much he struggled he could not move. This was especially shocking since the butler himself was a B-rank Hero.
The fact that he could not move despite his high rank goes to show how powerful the individual he was serving was.
"...Do as you're told"
Without looking back, the silhouette once again spoke. This time, the butler didn't even dare to talk back as he could only nod his head on the floor.
Soon the pressure died down and the butler was able to regain his mobility.
"Call him to my room"
As the butler was ready to leave the room, his master spoke once again.
"Yes master"
-Clank!
Elegantly bowing his body forward, the butler left the office. Soon, the office became enveloped in silence as only the sound of the man's breathing could be heard.
-Knock! -Knock!
"F-father?"
The tranquil atmosphere was soon broken by the sound of a knock. The door slowly opened and a face could be seen peeking from the other side of the door.
Fabian, who was on the other side of the door, trembled all over as he waited for his father's permission to enter the room. His previous arrogance could no longer be seen as he resembled a scared rabbit trapped in a cage.
"...enter"
-Clank!
Obediently listening to his father, Fabian carefully entered the room and closed the door behind him.
Soon an awkward silence enveloped the room.
Sweat could be seen falling from Fabian's face as he stood with his back straight not daring to sit down.
Unable to stand the tense atmosphere anymore, Fabian was the first to break the silence.
"F-father?"
Turning around, the features of the silhouette were revealed under the room's lights. His facial features were similar to that of Fabian, however, despite his age, which was in the late fifties, there were no wrinkles on his face. If someone did not know about his age they could've easily mistaken him for a twenty-year-old college student.
What separated him from a regular student was his distinct sense of authority that could be felt from his demeanor. It felt as if he was a judge that dictated who was guilty and who was innocent.
-Gulp!
Swallowing a large mouthful of saliva, Fabian waited for his father to respond.
"...How do you plan to fix your mistake?"
"Y-yes"
hearing his dad's cold voice, Fabian stood up straight and fumbled on his words. He was too nervous to speak.
Frankly, Fabian since young had rarely ever spoken with his father.
He was the third in line of the Parker family, and wasn't doted on as much as his brothers. However...he still had everything.
His family, which was passed on for generations could be considered as one of the strongest in the current human domain. They managed to rise from the bottom to where they were now thanks to their business-orientated mentality.
The Parker conglomerate was responsible for selling and trading cores, monster parts, and skills. They had so much money that could last each member for generations.
Being neglected, Fabian spent lavishly to substitute the missing paternal love that he never received from his parents.
On the off-chance that he did meet his father, he would always be intimidated by his presence which exuded authority.
To him, his father never felt like a real father...he felt more like his boss.
"I want you to finish what you started"
Seeing that his son was still too timid to hold a conversation with him, Micheal Parker, the current CEO of the Parker conglomerate spoke up.
"eh?"
Not expecting what his father was telling him, Fabian looked at his father in confusion.
"You heard me clear...I want you to finish what you started."
"B-but woul-dn't that start conflict with the Roshfield family"
Smirking coldly, Micheal Parker looked at his son in contempt
"The deed has already been done, you think they'll do nothing after what you've done?"
Hearing his father's words, Fabian lowered his head. He was right, now that everything had already started it was too late to regret it.
"I've been planning this for a while, you've only pushed forward the inevitable"
"...so now I want you to go through with it to the end, I want you to thoroughly crush Emma Roshfield"
Staring at his son, Micheal Parker slowly walked next to him and patted his shoulder
"Prove your worth."
Feeling his father's large hands, Fabian felt something inside of him rise. It was something that he had never felt before...reliance?
As if a fire had suddenly ignited inside of his heart, Fabian Looked at his father in the eyes and asked
"But if I target her, wouldn't that make me the prime target of the Roshfield"
Smiling slightly, Micheal turned back to look at the busy streets of Ashton city.
"You have to mask your actions...hire some people to create conflict within the academy so that you can veil your true target. Emma Roshfield"
"Once everyone is too distracted with the conflicts, you will strike and deal a fatal blow to the Roshfield family's only successor"
Staring at the busy streets of Ashton city, Micheal Parker grinned coldly. Looking at the Roshfield tower not so far in the distance, Micheal Parker raised his hand and slowly clenched it.
"It's about time that the Parker family got rid of the Roshfield family"
Report chapter
Inside of a large room decorated in pink, with a large king-sized bed in the middle, laid a stunning young girl with short brown hair that scattered all over her pillow. She was currently lying down beneath a set of thin blankets that could not hide the outlines of her body.
Sitting next to her, a tall man with similar colored hair, nervously looked at the young girl who was resting on the bed. Her skin which was flawless was currently pale, and if not for the fact that her breathing was stable someone could've easily mistaken her for a dying patient.
"…Mmm."
At that moment, Emma opened her eyes. Oliver Roshfield, Emma's father and the man that was in the room, noticing Emma's eyes opening immediately shot up and called for a doctor.
"You're up. How are you holding up?"
"…Fine."
Emma sat up on the bed and bitterly smiled at her father's worried expression. Soon a doctor came running in to check her pulse, but Emma pushed him away with a smile.
"It's fine, Dad. Nothing serious happened..."
"Really?"
"Of course. Do I look like someone who would get injured so easily? Plus didn't the doctor already confirm I was fine?"
"I, I did."
Hearing Emma mention him, the Doctor lightly shuddered and hurriedly nodded. Oliver Roshfield was a powerful figure who had many titles to his name. 'Flame overlord Oliver Roshfield' 89th in the hero ranking, Ashton city mayor and Vice-director of the union. Each title more fearsome than the other. The doctor knew that being on this man's bad side would only make his life more difficult.
Looking at his daughter up and down a couple of more times, Oliver eventually relented and gestured for the doctor to leave.
"…She seems fine, so you can go now."
"Yes, sir."
The doctor, without skipping a beat hurriedly ran out of the room. Looking at the closing door, Emma spoke briefly
"…Dad."
"Hm?"
Oliver Roshfield replied with a gentle tone.
"About the Parkers..."
Before Emma could finish speaking, the room's temperature increased dramatically.
"..Dad?"
Noticing the changes happening around her, Emma quickly tried to stop her father.
"Dad, stop!"
Placing her hands on her father's cheeks, Emma tried her best to calm her father down.
Despite being one of the strongest people in the human domain, Oliver Roshfield had one fatal weakness. His daughter.
Ever since his wife's death eight years ago, the only memento he had of his late wife was his daughter, Emma. Even though he was busy with his job he always made sure to find enough time to spend it with his daughter. He doted on her a lot.
Seeing her in this state, rage clouded Oliver's mind as he couldn't help but feel a stinging sensation hit his heart.
It was only after he felt his daughter's warm soft hands that his rage slowly started showing signs of subsiding.
"...Dad please stop"
"huuuu..."
Letting out a long breath, the room temperature returned to normal and Oliver bitterly smiled at his daughter.
Only she could stop him from going on a rampage
Finally calming her dad down, Emma smiled in relief and slumped back into her bed.
"Sweetie, are you sure you're okay?"
"...I'm okay, I just need some rest"
"Okay, please don't push yourself"
Tucking Emma in, Oliver stood up and prepared to leave. But just as he was about to leave he felt a slight tug at the edge of his pants.
"Dad, you still didn't answer my previous question"
"Sigh...Emma this matter is more serious than you think"
Gently sitting on the bed next to Emma, Oliver slowly caressed her head.
"What do you mean?"
"The Parkers have been eyeing our properties and resources for a long time now."
"If before they were reluctant to act because of my position, now that they know I will retaliate because of what happened, they will no longer have any restraints when dealing with us"
Pausing slightly, Oliver held his daughter's soft hand tightly and said
"...so sweetie, rest well and return to the academy once you're fully healed. The academy is the safest place for you to be at the moment"
Frowning for a bit, Emma looked at her father. His eyes which held boundless love for her were seeded with worry. Seeing this warmth filled her heart as she felt how much he worried about her.
Tightening her grip of her father's large hand, Emma's frown lessened and she nodded.
"I understand"
Smiling gently, Oliver gently kissed Emma on the cheek and left the room.
As soon as Oliver left the room, his gentle demeanor completely vanished, and what replaced it was a cold and indifferent one.
"...Norman"
"Yes master"
Turning his head towards Norman who was patiently standing outside of Emma's room, Oliver instantly issued orders.
"Start liquidating all our unnecessary assets—I want one billion gathered by the end of the week."
"As you wish"
Bowing down, Norman lightly smiled and left leaving Oliver standing outside of Emma's door.
Having known his master for a while, Norman knew exactly what he was planning. Normally, he would've been against it as the consequences of a war against powerhouses was unimaginable...but thinking back at what had happened to Emma, his eyes narrowed and his pace increased.
'She was the Roshfield reverse scale'
Seeing that Norman left, Oliver sighed and looked at his daughter's room.
Gently caressing the door to Emma's room, Oliver turned around and silently spoke
"...If I don't deal substantial damage to the Parkers by the end of this, then I shall not be called Oliver Roshfield!"
Though his voice was quiet, it held boundless rage within it.
Closing the book down, I lightly sighed.
...It seemed like things were going to get difficult from here on out.
A lot has happened since my near-death experience. In about a week's time, Thobias Church will be assassinated.
Since my life and death moment in the dungeon, I increased my training time from five hours a day to nine hours a day. Whenever I had free time on my hands, I would train. It was only after I almost died that I realized that life was as fickle as it could be. Just a single moment and I could die. Only if I was stronger would I be able to live.
Unbeknownst to me, my outlook on life had slowly started to change. I used to think that all I had to do was train and slowly follow along with the storyline.
I had this babysitter type of mindset.
Just follow the protagonist and cover for them if anything that was beyond the plotline happened. Those were my ambitions. Nothing else.
...but the further I stayed in this world, the more I realized that there was more to this world than just a story.
The people, the beautiful sceneries, the professors, my classmates...everything around me was real. This was no longer a novel, and there were no second chances.
If I learned something since reincarnating inside of my own novel was that I needed power...
In the first place. If I had power, I wouldn't need to babysit the plotline.
...no if I was stronger, then nothing could stop me from achieving what I wanted.
Be it the protagonists, the union, the demon king...if I was stronger then no one could stop me from living the life that I desired.
Though I still didn't plan on interfering with the main storyline, my previous ambition of just babysitting the protagonists was no longer there. I need to think more about myself than them.
Did I want to go through another near-death experience again?
No, I didn't. The feeling of having your life toyed with wasn't something I would want to go through again.
...no longer did I want to be chained by someone else.
I wanted something for myself...and only through power could I achieve that.
I may choose to remain low-key for now so that I could build power without getting into any unnecessary conflicts, but the day that I decided to expose my power to the world will be the day that the demons will shake at the mere mention of my name...Ren Dover!
...and in order to achieve this, I decided to remove every distraction around me. Soon I started training like crazy. Every day I would wake up early, go to the gym, take classes, eat, go to the gym and repeat.
A thing that has become bothersome though was that the gym had started becoming fuller as the days went by. Moreover, the atmosphere in the gym was not right...
About two weeks had passed since the events of the elective fair.
and a tense atmosphere enveloped the whole academy, as the first, second, and third years started eyeing each other. This was mainly organized by Fabian who hired people to start conflicts with the first years.
In the first week, things weren't that bad as only small conflicts happened. However, past the first week, entering the second week, the conflicts started escalating to a whole new level.
It first started when a second-year beat up a first-year for bumping into him. Soon, some of the enraged first years took it upon themselves to teach a lesson to the person responsible for the incident.
A day after the first year was hospitalized, three-second years were sent to the hospital heavily injured, including the one that hurt the first year who was the one that had the heaviest injuries.
Following that the conflicts started escalating more and more.
It had gotten so bad that the teachers could no longer turn a blind eye on the situation and firmly stated that whoever was caught fighting within the academy would be expelled. With no exception. Regardless of rank or family background.
Thanks to this announcement, the conflicts within the academy died down.
...keyword. within.
This meant that once you stepped outside the academy boundary it was free for all.
fortunately for me, I didn't really have anything to do outside of the academy so I was fairly unaffected by this whole conflict. Moreover, since my rank was low, I was treated like crap regardless of whether they were juniors or seniors.
No discrimination there...
Another major thing that had happened was that the Parkers and the Roshfield had finally started acting against each other.
The stock prices of each company fluctuated every day as businesses owned by both parties started going bankrupt left and right.
It was total chaos.
The conflicts were starting to escalate and soon will reach all the way to the academy...
ahhh
I wasn't sure how to feel about this. The atmosphere around the academy was so tense that it started affecting my training. Fortunately, because of my low profile nature, I was still in the clear...for now
-Click!
Closing the door to my dorm, I walked towards my elective {Food exploration}
Yup, just like the name suggested, the elective I chose was an elective that focused on food.
But don't get me wrong, this wasn't my first choice, in fact, it was probably one of my last choices.
...but because of all the conflicts within the academy where seniors would reject first years added with the multiple rejections I got due to my rank, I was left with no choice but to apply for this elective. An elective that mainly focused on food...well it wasn't that simple but it was along that line.
What made things worse was that this elective was the elective that Amanda took.
By some sort of weird twist of fate, I ended up in the same elective as one of the main protagonists that I wanted to avoid.
...At this point, I was starting to doubt whether my plan to remain low-key would even be achieved as I was constantly being put through situations where I would either interact with the main cast or fight against mid-novel bosses.
Like seriously, what was wrong with this world?
I was literally going through more hardship than the protagonist himself.
Report chapter
The elective was in room B17
When I entered, the rows of the classroom were already filled with students, most of which were wearing a familiar azure blue blazer. There were about 40 first years of which 32 of them were girls. The reason for such disparity in gender probably had to do with the class president's bewitching appearance.
After glancing at the room for a couple of seconds, I turned towards Amanda's direction and sat a few seats behind her. All the front row seats had been taken by the girls.
Sitting down, I could smell a nice rose-like scent coming from her direction promoting my nose to greedily take in the smell. After being exposed to this scent for five minutes…
An elegant young man, with nicely combed hair, entered the classroom. He had a gentle smile on his face, and his looks could've been considered to be on the higher end of the spectrum.
...The club president finally showed up.
Arriving in front of the podium, the young man calmly placed his stuff down and looked at all the students that had come. Smiling he said
"Nice to meet you. I'm Elijah Turner. I am very pleased by your participation in our elective, food exploration."
Elijah Turner, the current president of the elective and a third-year.
As he smiled, apart from Amanda, all the girl's faces flushed red in excitement
Rolling my eyes, I rested my head on my right arm and carefully looked at Elijah. Though the class may be ignorant about his true nature, I wasn't
Elijah Turner was a Villain and professor Thibaut's second in command. Soon, several incidents would happen in the academy, including an incident involving Amanda. Elijah would be the mastermind behind it.
Of course, I had no reason to make trouble for myself by shouting, 'This guy is a Villain alongside Professor Thibaut—!'
They'd probably glare at me and kick me out of the club.
Wasn't worth the effort.
In any case, Elijah had made a pact with a demon that was part of the charm clan, a sub-branch of the demon clan of Lust. In exchange for selling his soul to the demon, he obtained his current appearance and an ability called 'Bewitchment' which was very similar to Donna's enchantment art. The only difference was that it only worked on females, whilst Donna's worked for anyone regardless of gender or race.
Currently, his main goal should be Amanda. Being such a talented individual, alongside her impressive background, the demons highly coveted her.
That was part of the reason why his contractor was a high-ranking demon within the Charm clan despite his talent being on the lower side.
"Since today is the first day, I'll do a brief introduction about myself and what the club consists of"
His charming voice drifted across the classroom pleasantly entering everyone's ears like it was a beautiful note from a fine-tuned instrument. Instantly the eyes of the female students started shining even brighter.
"In food exploration, we research and discuss monster and plant composition. We will look at which monsters and plants are edible, and how they benefit our bodies. The topics that we will cover in this course are, monster identification, methods of cooking, poison extraction, what combinations were most optimal, and plant identification."
"It may sound boring and all, but don't worry as that's just the boring part..."
Smiling brightly, Elijah looked at everyone in the class. As he was looking his eyes slightly paused on Amanda, who was quietly listening to the lecture.
Rolling my eyes, I scoffed at him. 'You think no one noticed you staring at Amanda?'
"...for the fun part, with the permission from the academy, we will be going to different places and taste amazing food!"
A wave of cheers instantly enveloped the class as the male students celebrated the fact that they were able to leave the academy, while the female students cheered for a different reason.
'Food exploration' as odd as it may sound, was one of the most sought-after courses for lower-end academies as not only did it pay well, but it also didn't have as high of a risk compared to dungeon hunting. This was especially tempting for those who didn't have any combat talent. As despite lacking talent in combat, they could still be widely recognized and regarded by most people. The more famous chefs even had celebrity status that rivaled that of most S ranked heroes.
Walking towards the table that was neatly set up in front of the classroom, Elijah pulled his sleeve upwards.
"I'll show you guys a quick demonstration. Let's take a look at this steak. As I'm sure most of you know, this is the meat of a D rank creature 'Man-o-War horse'."
Tapping his ring twice, a large steak appeared on the table. The steak which was the size of a wheel had fine white threats of fat extending like a spiderweb all over the steak reminding me a wagyu steak. Just one look and it was enough for me to start salivating.
Tapping on a button, a holographic image of a large horse popped up for everyone in the class to see. Just like its name suggested, the 'Man-o-War horse' was an evolved version of a horse. Having an enormous body that was as tall as three people, the 'Man-o-War horse' was an extremely strong D rank monster. What made them troublesome was their ferocious and fearsome personalities that would cause them to attack anything at minimal provocation.
"As most of you probably know, the Man-o-War horse is an extremely hard creature to kill let alone capture. If not for the fact that after careful research and analysis we found its weakness, this steak's value would already be in the five digits."
As Elijah talked, a sudden wave of tiredness swept over me. It mostly had to do with the fact that I was overworking myself these days, but it also had to do with the fact that I already knew the contents of the lecture.
"Huaaaaaam…"
A yawn soon escaped from my mouth and the corners of my eyes teared up.
The yawn, which was fairly loud caused Elijah's eyebrows to slightly twitch. Soon every female in the class turned their heads in my direction and hatefully glared at me. It was like they were telling me 'How dare you interrupt our prince when he's speaking?'
Honestly, I wouldn't even be surprised if they attacked me for real if I yawned one more time. The girls had fallen deep.
Only Amanda kept her eyes on the hologram and ignored what was happening around her.
"Cough..."
Elijah let out a dry cough before continuing his explanation.
"Because of the food it consumes, which mainly consists of highly fatty food, the Man-o-War horse's meat as seen here is highly marbelized..."
...
-Ding! -Dong!
50 minutes have passed since then, and finally, the loud sound of the bells signaling the end of the lectures rang. Standing up, I packed up my stuff and prepared to leave. This time I held my impulse to yawn as I didn't want to get attacked by Elijah's crazy fangirls.
You never know how scary fangirls were...
I was on my way to the door when I saw Elijah approaching Amanda. My feet soon stopped.
"Junior Amanda."
"...hm?"
"Here, this is a small gift for entering the elective."
Taking out a small black object from his pocket, Elijah handed it to Amanda.
As I focused a lot on Kevin in the novel, I didn't really know what happened in between the events that led to the incident between Elijah and Amanda...so what he was doing now and what the black box was I had no clue. But I knew he was scheming something. Rather than that being just a gift for joining the elective, Elijah probably handed her something valuable just to strike a good impression with her.
"Ah, yes, thank you."
Amanda took the box and indifferently left the class. That seemed to be the end of their first encounter.
...well that was more anti-climatic than I expected.
Was expecting something more entertaining to be honest, but I guess Elijah was much more patient than I gave him credit for as he just smiled as if nothing happened.
Shaking my head, I walked out of the classroom.
'Well, not like I care anyways.'
All I cared about at the moment was getting stronger. As long as the plotline of the story didn't deviate too much from the main story, I couldn't care less about the minor details.
Walking out of the classroom, I thought for a bit before deciding to go back to my dorm.
I think I deserved a bit of rest. It wouldn't do me any good if I overworked myself.
...
-Click!
Arriving in my dorm, I opened the door and entered.
-Pomf!
Placing my keys on the wall hanger, I lazily slumped on the bed.
-Ding!
"..hm?"
Hearing the sound of a notification coming from my phone, I took my phone out and unlocked the screen.
[Class A25, A24, A23 announcement]
—Dear students we will be going on an excursion two weeks from today. We will be going to Hollberg, and we will visit their famous monster processing plant. The trip will be approximately a week long and thus will require you to come prepared. Read more...
"...ooof"
Lazily throwing my phone on the bed, I couldn't help but feel a massive headache coming my way.
Two weeks from now our entire class will be going to Hollberg, a city two hours away from Ashton city.
The goal of this trip was to let students see how monsters were processed and how they were used to create weapons and artifacts.
It was a very useful class as it helped students understand some of the topics in class better—it was always easier to learn visually rather than theoretically.
...too bad the trip was not as fun as it may seem on the surface.
"Just...ahh"
Thinking about the future that awaits me, a long tired sigh escaped from my mouth as I used my arm to cover my eyes.
"Let's just hope that I won't have to expose myself"
Though I said that, my hopes were low. The trip was definitely one that I would have to participate in even if I didn't want to.
Normally, in my previous world, in order to skip school, I could've faked a sickness or something. But here...the technology was so advanced that pretending to be sick wouldn't work.
With a simple check, the doctor could immediately tell if someone was lying or not.
"Let's hope for the best..."
Report chapter
-Clank! -Clank!
The sound of metal clashing together reverberated across the surroundings as individuals could be seen sparring against each other or against the puppets in the training ground.
Not so far from them, in the middle area of the training ground, a lone boy was currently sheathing and unsheathing the katana in his hands.
As this had been a common sight for the past three weeks, no one paid attention to it any longer. They just brushed it off as the guy being crazy.
"I can feel myself reaching the threshold to the minor realm of mastery"
After spending most of my time training and attending classes, a week had passed.
Before I knew it, my level of mastery of the [Keiki style] had improved drastically.
If before I could only execute the first movement once or twice, now I could do it five times before running out of mana.
Gripping the handle of my katana tighter, I emptied my mind and focused on training.
'I must constantly unsheathe the sword in my heart.'
'Draw, slash, draw, slash, and accumulate the mana in my body that was constantly growing stronger as I trained.'
'If I could do this 10,000 times flawlessly without any loss in movement, only then would I achieve the minimum standard required to seamlessly execute the [keiki style]'
Soon everything around me disappeared. The scornful glances from the people around me, the loud sound of people practicing...only me and my mind
Draw the katana, slash out.
Draw the katana, slash out.
Draw the katana, slash out.
As if I was in a trance, I didn't stop until my mana and stamina were completely spent.
Taking a look at my surroundings, it was currently already dark outside. Around me, I could only see the silhouettes of a few individuals training.
-Ding!
Wiping off the sweat that had accumulated on my forehead, I glanced at my phone which was constantly ringing since a while ago.
Turning on my phone the first thing I saw was a large notification in red.
"...It finally happened"
[Breaking news]
—Thobias Church of C.B. pharmaceuticals has been assassinated last night in his high-security apartment. Reports and investigations point the killer to be rank 37 Silent creeper.
Lightly smiling, I turned off my phone and went back to training.
...talk about perfect timing. Was starting to get impatient from my slow progress.
By the end of today, I could finally kiss goodbye to my poor life...well to be honest, as I will spend most of my money on potions the luxurious life that I was dreaming of was still a long stretch away.
Actually, now that I thought about it, wasn't it a bit fucked up that I was celebrating someone's death?
Though I indeed made a lot of money, it was at the expense of someone's life...
Thinking thus far, I slapped my cheeks. He was destined to die anyway, nothing I could do about it. I only took advantage of the inevitable...could I have stopped it? Yes, I could've. But having been in this world for a while now, I realized that compassion was unneeded. It was every man to himself in this world, there was no need for such thing like compassion. If I wanted to be strong, I needed to become apathetic to this sort of stuff as this probably won't be the last time a similar situation happens.
-Ring! -Ring! -Ring!
"...Hm? who could be calling me at this hour?"
Noticing that someone was calling my phone, I went and picked it up. Soon a large smirk appeared on my face.
Picking up the phone, I cheerfully answered.
"~oh my, who could this be?"
[...you—how?]
After a short pause, the person on the other side of the phone spoke. His voice which was usually deep raised a few pitches.
"What are you talking about?"
Cheekily smiling, I teased smallsnake who was on the other side of the phone.
[...sigh, well it doesn't matter. You were right—how do you wish to proceed]
"Hmm, hold it until tomorrow and sell it in the morning as soon the stock exchange opens at 9:30 a.m."
[...but wouldn't it be better if we hold it for a bit longer?]
"Well from a normal person's point of view yes...but well, let's just say that its better if we don't become too greedy and play it safe"
[...Alright, I'll trust you this once]
"Next time you see me I bet you'll get on your feet to kiss my shoes"
[sure, sure, I'll call you later once I've settled everything]
"Aight"
-Tak!
With a grin still plastered on my face, I hung up the phone. I wasn't sure why, but I really enjoyed teasing smallsnake.
"ah, it's about time I headed back"
Collecting my stuff, I deposited my sword back and left for my dorm.
I was in a pretty good mood as I felt that I was only a few days away from reaching the minor real of mastery of my [Keiki style] which would considerably boost my strength.
...
Morning, Saturday.
-Ring! -Ring! -Ring!
Waking me up from my sleep was the constant ringing of my phone.
Lazily stretching my arm, I tapped all over my bed until I finally felt a small rectangular object on my hand.
Unlocking the phone, I answer the call
"...Hello? who's this?"
Hearing my groggy voice, the other person on the phone paused slightly and asked
[It's me...Did you just wake up?]
"Yea.."
[Ah sorry about that but I came to tell you some good news]
"What good news?"
[After removing all the fees your total profit stands at 14,673 million U]
"...that's a lot of money"
[Is that seriously how a normal person reacts to having just made this much money?]
"ah, well I'm still quite sleepy so it still hasn't hit me yet...but is that all you called me for?"
[No, there's a bigger issue at hand]
"What?"
Sitting up on my bed, I held the phone closer to my ear.
[Sorry but its not safe if I tell you on the phone as someone might tap on our conversation]
"...is it that serious?"
[...yes]
Hearing Smallsnake's solemn voice I let out a long breath and said
"Okay, when do you plan to meet up?"
[How about tomorrow at Epsilon cafe in Refton road, 10 a.m?]
"...yeah, okay, I'll see you then"
-Tak!
Hanging up the phone I pinched the middle of my brows for a couple of seconds before finally letting out a long sigh.
...this was going to be a long week.
...
Washing up, I headed outside my dorm.
Looking at my bank account that was now 14 million U heavier, a smirk appeared on my face. Was this how it felt to be rich?
Not bad...
"Where are you headed to?"
"Section C please"
"Okay"
Sitting inside a minibus, I patiently waited for the driver to start the engine.
Right now I was headed to the C section of the campus which was quite far from where I was staying.
...now that I had enough money, it was about time that I finally get in contact with the person that could provide me with below-market priced potions.
I sort of dreaded this moment.
Let's just say that the person I was going to interact with was very...hm, quirky?
"Section C? Which area?"
"Northside please"
"Alright, we'll arrive in fifteen minutes"
Starting the engine, the van soon sped off into the distance.
Sighing, I looked outside of the window.
These days I was sighing quite a lot. With everything that was going on, I couldn't get one moment of peace.
Staring at the constantly changing scenery, my stomach slightly churned due to nervousness.
What I was about to do next would either make or break me.
...let's just hope everything goes well.
"We're here"
Right on cue, the van stopped in front of a large facility.
"Thank you"
Thanking the driver I walked towards the facility.
Large metal fences covered the facility, where enormous buildings could be seen behind them. The sheer size of the buildings caused me to gape in awe.
"Stop"
Arriving at the entrance of the facility, two guards appeared before me. They were wearing black uniforms with the school insignia imprinted on their chests. They had black military hats and exuded strong pressure.
I'd estimate them to be at around rank D or less, as although the pressure they exuded was strong, it wasn't to the point that made me feel overwhelmed.
Handing one of the guards my student ID card, they scanned it briefly and after everything checked out, they granted me entry.
-Shlup!
Arriving in front of the main building of section C, two transparent retractable doors opened up.
A wave of cold refreshing air coming from the AC instantly hit me.
The interior of the building was very modern and slick. The most dominant color was white, and everything was decorated with a simplistic design.
Arriving in front of the reception of the building, a beautiful young lady smiled at me.
"How may I help you?"
"...er, I would like to meet Melissa Hall please"
The smile of the young clerk lady instantly disappeared. What replaced it was a look of slight disgust as she coldly said
"I'm sorry but this is a research facility, not a place where you can come as you please to court Melissa. Frankly, you're not the first one that has tried this and you probably won't be the last one...and let me be honest with you. You're not qualified"
Being berated by the young clerk lady, my eye twitched a couple of times.
'How did it turn out like this?'
"..err, I am not here to court her"
Hearing what I said, the young lady smirked and proceeded to cross her arms
"Oh? so what are you here for? "
She didn't believe me at all...
"I'm actually her classmate and I have a business proposition for her"
"...oh wow. This is the third person that has used this excuse"
Hearing her sarcastic voice, veins started bulging from my forehead. Taking a deep breath to calm myself down I said
"fuuu...can you just relay it to her, if she denies me I'll just leave"
"he he, fine"
Laughing lightly, the young clerk lady picked up the phone on the counter and dialed a number.
"What's your name?"
"...Ren Dover"
"Alright"
[...Hello?]
Answering the call, a crisp and pleasant voice entered the young girl's ear.
"Hey Melissa, it's me, Rosie"
[Rosie from reception...?]
"Yes."
[How can I help you?]
"I got someone here that insists on meeting you"
[...why did you call me for this? You know that I don't care about this sort of stuff. Just send him out]
Covering the speaker of the phone, Rosie leaned forwards and smiled triumphantly at me.
"You heard her"
Rolling my eyes, I said
"Just tell her I have something important to tell her"
"He says he's got something important to say"
[Don't care, if that's all I'll hang up...by the way, what is the name of the student that is trying to meet me?]
"Err...if I don't remember wrong it's something along the lines of...Bend over?"
[...]
"..."
Multiples veins popped on my forehead as I tried my best not to assault her.
Seeing my reaction, Rosie stuck her tongue out and said
"...ops, I made I mistake I meant Ren Dover"
[...let him in]
"See she doesn't want to...eh? Did I hear wrongly?"
[No, let him in]
-Tak!
Before Rosie could finish speaking, Melissa hung up the phone leaving her there dumbfoundedly staring at her phone.
'What's going on? Doesn't Melissa usually detest interacting with people?'
A million questions entered her mind as she stood rooted on her spot.
"Well, well, well, look at how the roles have reversed miss Rosie"
Smirking, I looked at Rosie who seemed to be lost in her own world.
"You-what did you do?"
Pointing at me, Rosie looked at me as if I performed some sort of witchcraft
"Nothing really...hey, why are you backing away from me?"
As I was speaking I noticed Rosie backing away from me. Almost as if she was scared of me. Wait don't tell me she really believes I did something to Melissa?
"...cough, nothing really, just getting your pass"
Awkwardly coughing, Rosie quickly handed me a card and shooed me away.
Looking back at the reception strangely, I shook my head and made my way towards Melissa's lab. I couldn't be bothered to fix this misunderstanding.
Fortunately, there was a mini GPS map on the card that Rosie gave me, preventing me from getting lost.
Soon I was in front of a large metal door.
-Knock!
Knocking once, I nervously waited for the door to open.
To be honest, I wasn't expecting to be let through this easily. I was prepared to spill some of my secrets and hook her into meeting me, but before I could even take out one of my trump cards Melissa allowed me to meet her.
...Something was fishy.
Sitting down on a large white table, I nervously drank the cup of water in front of me.
...If I said I wasn't nervous at the moment that would be a lie. In fact, my back was drenched in sweat.
That was because sitting in front of me was—Melissa Hall, one of the main protagonists
Wearing the azure blue uniform provided by the academy, Melissa sat down in front of me.
She was currently elegantly drinking the hot tea that was provided by a servant standing behind her.
...which by the way was glaring in my direction.
Taking a quick look at her one word came into my mind.
'Beautiful'
She had smooth and milky skin that did not have any flaws. Most notably, her most dazzling feature was her pair of large enchanting light blue eyes that were further emphasized by her thinly framed glasses. As she sat in front of me, a cold and arrogant aura expanded from her graceful body making it seem as if anything was beneath her.
"What are you staring so absent-mindedly at?"
"..eh?"
Waking me up from my stupor was Melissa's annoyed voice as she put her teacup down.
"Had I known you were mentally challenged, I wouldn't have bothered meeting you"
"..."
Feeling a slight tap on her shoulder, Melissa's eyes slightly twitched "Oh my, it seems like my tongue has slipped. Please find it within your heart to forgive this pitiful lady"
"..."
"tch"
Clicking her tongue, Melissa slightly glared at her servant behind her. Seeing that he remained unfazed, crossing her arms and legs, she then proceeded to look at me
"When most guys lay their eyes upon me, they shower me with praises and tell me how my beauty is unmatched throughout the whole academy"
"At least it seems you're not one of those corny guys..."
"Don't worry, if you just state your purpose and leave right after, I might make a slight effort in remembering your name"
...yup, this prickly personality. It was definitely her alright.
This was exactly why I tried my best to avoid her.
If not for the fact that she was the only one that could provide me with cheap high-quality potions, I would've never for the love of God even have bothered talking to her.
"Ah but, If you're here looking for a chance to date me then you might as well pack up your stuff and leave. I don't talk to the delusional"
"No, thank you"
Stopping her right before she could continue speaking any further abuse, I went straight to the point.
"I'm here to make a deal"
"...oh? A deal? Is this your roundabout way of asking me for a date?"
"It's a business proposition"
Though she was skeptical, Melissa paused and allow me to speak
"...go on"
"I would like Melissa Hal-khuk"
Before I could finish my sentence a strong pressure started emanating from Melissa as her sharp eyes looked down on me. Because of how sudden this was, I was caught off guard. Raising my hand up, I said
"...let me finish"
"Watch your words carefully"
"I would like for you, Melissa Hall to sell me the potions that you've made"
"...oh?"
Carefully scrutinizing me up and down, she shook her head in disappointment.
"The only reason I came here was because you slightly interested me. I mean you were the guy that came up with the mana poisoning theory"
"...ah thank you"
"Funnily enough, I was also doing similar research—too bad I was only missing the experimentation phase"
...shit
So that's who came up with the mana poisoning solution...no wonder her servant was glaring at me. Honestly, since then professor Rombhouse has always pestered me non-stop regarding the theory. It was only after I thoroughly explained the theory behind it that he finally relented and let me be.
"I thought that you wanted to talk to me about something important...but it seems like I got the wrong idea about you. Let me be clear, I am not your potion salve"
Standing up, Melissa prepared to leave.
"It was nice knowing you..err, whatever you are called"
"Wait"
Seeing her leave, I immediately tried to call for her only to be ignored. Just as she was about to open the door, I finally decided to release the bait that I had planned to use from the beginning.
"...oh well it's really too bad...and here I was thinking of helping you solve Slovaki's monster energy transfer theory..tut, tut, tut, what a pity"
Halting her steps, Melissa looked back at me.
"You...you, what did you say?"
Gritting her teeth and clenching her hands, Melissa glared in my direction only to be left speechless as I laid my feet on the table and nonchalantly picked my ear.
Looking up, and seeing Melissa I said
"Ehh? I thought you were leaving? Shoo, shoo, if you're leaving then just leave. You don't need to take pity on me"
Seeing that I got a reaction from her, I continued with my act. With a person like her, if you didn't take the initiative then you would stand to lose more than you could gain.
Waving my hand to shoo her away, I took out my phone and started a game.
-Bam!
Smacking her hand on the table, Melissa smilingly looked at me.
...well her mouth was smiling but her eyes weren't.
"Oh? I thought you were leaving?"
"...I had a change of heart"
"Well isn't that great!"
Putting my phone back in my pocket, I returned to my serious self. If I really pushed her too much, then I wouldn't even know how I died.
"kheum..kheumm, so do we have a deal?"
"...How do I know you're not lying?"
Squinting her eyes, Melissa once again exuded her pressure over me.
...to be fair, it wasn't actually that much. She was probably around the same level of strength as me at the moment...maybe I was stronger? But well...it wasn't something that I should be proud of since combat wasn't her expertise.
"How about this, I'll give you half of the theory beforehand and the other half once the deal is done"
"hmmm...but what if the second half doesn't work?"
Rolling my eyes, I said
"Do you really think I have the balls to give you some nonfunctioningtheory?"
"...Good point"
Gesturing her servant behind her, Melissa took out her tablet and started writing a contract. We soon spent the next fifteen minutes agreeing on the terms of the contract.
"This okay?"
"yup, everything seems good"
Looking at the contents of the contract, I nodded in satisfaction.
Basically in exchange for my research Melissa would provide me with intermediate potions, provided that I would pay for the cost of the raw materials. The potions that she would make included [Stamina recovery potion] [Muscle recovery potion] [Strenght enhancement potion] and so on...
Potions were graded from Low, mid, intermediate, high, advanced, and premium, with each grade being a major improvement on the last.
Before, the potions I always used were low leveled ones, hence why they were cheap. But now thanks to Melissa's fine skills, I could use Intermediate potions at prices far below the current market price.
"Then sign it"
Seeing the smirk that had appeared on my face, Melissa's mouth twitched as she urged me to sign the contract. She could hope for nothing more but to wipe the smile off my face.
Tapping on the tablet, a holographic paper appeared before me. Using my finger I swiftly signed the virtual paper.
"...alright hold your end of the deal"
"Okay"
Taking out a small USB from my bag I handed it to Melissa. Inside of the USB was the first half of the Slovaki monster energy transfer theory.
To summarize what it was, it was basically a theory that proved that monster cores were created by monsters accumulating energy inside of their bodies.
Though what I handed Melissa was not perfect it had all the correct concepts and data to prove the theory...a lot of scientific terms and data were missing, but with the aid of the web I made the research somewhat presentable. Plus a genius like Melissa could easily understand what was inferred from the paper.
This theory was extremely important to Melissa and the world because if she could somehow, with the aid of theory, produce an artificial core it would create a major scientific breakthrough.
Cores would no longer be something that could only be found if someone was lucky...just the levels at which humanity would develop would drastically increase the chances of the world surviving.
...well, to be honest, even though she was one step closer to her dream of creating an artificial core, she was still missing the crucial piece...but I wasn't going to help her with regards to that.
If she pushed through the full theory regarding the creation of artificially created cores, then she would undoubtedly die. When she pushed this theory forward in the novel, it was already the late stages of the novel and she was strong enough to defend herself against S ranked villains.
Because of how world-shaking artificial cores were, demons did everything they possibly could to try to kill whoever was responsible for creating them. They used every means possible to eliminate any traces of this theory from existing...It was that much of a threat.
...if Melissa were to be subjected to this at this point in the novel then god knows what the consequences would be.
I had already taken a huge risk by giving her the Slovaki's monster energy transfer theory. Though this would have little to no impact on the story, it was better to reduce any possible liabilities.
...yup. I scammed her.
"Tch, what did you say your name was?"
"Ren Dover"
"...Ren Dover"
Repeating the name a few times, Melissa looked at me dead in the eyes and said
"Do you know what's the scary part about women?"
Feeling the atmosphere become tense I took a step back
"...what if I don't want to know?"
"It's the fact that we never forget our grudges..."
"Personally, I always pay my debt back...with interest"
-Gulp!
Hearing her words, I involuntarily swallowed a mouthful of saliva. As I was the author, I knew she wasn't lying. If she set her mind to something she will try to achieve it regardless of what stood in her way.
"Hehe, I had heard the famed name of Melissa hall, the most beautiful, charming, and generous woman in the whole academy."
"Oh my, would you look at that, it seems like time is tight and must go to my appointment. Let's get along with each other and not hold grudges haha"
Pretending to look at my watch, I came up with an excuse and immediately left. Staying any longer would only spell bad news for me.
...
Watching Ren leave, Melissa's face darkened.
Arriving next to Melissa and noticing her expression, her servant asked
"Miss, do you want me to deal with him?"
Thinking for a moment, she shook her head
"...forget about it, I still need my second part of the theory and it's not like I didn't benefit from this deal"
Though she said that, Melissa was fuming.
To actually dare take advantage of her like that...
Melissa suppressed the fury rising from her heart and engraved the man's name in her head.
Ren Dover, Ren Dover.
Congratulations, you have succeeded in making me remember your name.
Report chapter
-Pak! -Pak! -Pak!
Inside of a large spacious room, a lone figure bounced around a punching bag. His figure seemed to melt with the shadows around the room, appearing and disappearing constantly.
Each time his figure emerged from the shadows his fist would instantly connect with the punching bag resulting in a small indentation appearing on the bag.
The force of each punch was so strong that small shockwaves were released every time he hit the punching bag.
If not for the fact that the material used for making the punching bag was unique, it would've already been broken a dozen times over.
"Huff, huff, huff"
Stopping, the figure's body which seemed to be sculpted to perfection, heavily gulped for air.
Droplets of sweat dripped all over his shirtless figure, giving him a wild and manly aura.
Taking a water bottle from the ground, the handsome figure took big gulps of water. Soon he exhaled in satisfaction. After drinking his fill, the figure dropped to the ground exhausted and leaned on the wall.
-Knock! -Knock!
Hearing the sound of someone knocking, the figure indifferently spoke
"...Come in"
Soon the door opened, revealing the features of a burly individual whose hair was cut in a buzzcut. His towering figure that looked to be nearing 2 meters made him look intimidating.
"Young master Jin, I heard you called me"
Apatethically nodding his head, Jin slowly stood up and grabbed a towel from a nearby table.
Drying his wet hair, he slowly approached Arnold who stood with his back straight and breathing lightly, not daring to even make a sound.
-Bam!
Arriving beside Arnold, Jin punched his stomach with all his might, causing Arnold's body to bend over as his eyes shot wide open.
"Guuuaah...ghhh..khhh"
"To actually be unable to deal with a mere bug"
Disdainfully looking at Arnold, Jin threw the towel that was drenched in his sweat at his face.
"Stand up"
"khh"
Holding his stomach, Arnold slowly stood up as Jin ordered.
"...To think you would resort to such stupid tricks to harass someone that isn't even worth my notice"
"B-but!"
"Shut up"
Jin's mood was terrible.
Recalling the lone figure sitting on the right side of the classroom, Jin's teeth clenched.
Ren. Ren Dover.
That was the name of the student that fouled his mood.
Previously, he didn't really put Ren in his sight. He only knew that Arnold had a slight grudge against him...But just recently he received a certain piece of news that irked him.
It told him that Melissa had granted Ren a meeting with her, and moreover, it seemed that they talked for over ten minutes.
Not even he could talk to Melissa for that long despite the fact that they were living in the same dorm.
With a dark face, Jin said
"I'll ask Troy to deal with him...at least he can finish the job"
Hearing Troy's name being mention, Arnold immediately protested
"Please let me!"
"...oh?"
Seeing Arnold's determination, Jin couldn't help but glance at him.
"What makes you think you can do it after failing already?"
"Because Kevin was the one that prevented me from finishing the mission"
"...hm I guess you're right"
Patting Arnold in the shoulder, Jin gloomily said
"Make sure you make his life is miserable..."
"Yes"
Nodding solemnly, Arnold left the training room.
-Baaam!
-Tsshhhhh
Soon after Arnold left the room, Jin walked back to the punching machine and punched it with all his might. A large shockwave swept the room and fine granules of sand started falling from the sack as a tear appeared on it.
"...How dare you approach Melissa!"
...
"Whew, I thought I was lost."
After switching buses four times, I finally arrived at the appointed location. A large fancy board with the words Epsilon cafe imprinted on it immediately caught my attention.
Entering the cafe, instantly the heavy scent of coffee hit my nostrils. Wooden chairs and tables spread all over the cafe. A relaxed and tranquil atmosphere enveloped the place promoting me to relax along with the atmosphere.
Looking around I soon found smallsnake
Wearing a black baseball cap and a mask, smallsnake sat in the corner of the café. I was easily able to find him because he was wearing exactly what he used to wear whenever he would meet Kevin.
Taking note of that, I went and ordered an iced latté
After paying and receiving my latté I headed to where smallsnake was.
We had agreed beforehand that we both must order a latté beforehand in order to make sure we got the right person. Since our faces were covered, we had no idea how we looked like so this was the easiest method.
"Yooo"
Comfortably sitting on the green sofa in front of smallsnake I placed my latté down and hung my arm on the side of the sofa.
Seeing me sit down, smallsnake placed his drink down and looked at me strangely
"...are you wearing a face mask?"
"Nope"
Hearing my straightforward response, smallsnake sighed and shook his head.
"Aren't you afraid I will rat you out and keep all the money you made?"
"Nope, I have a good eye for people and my instincts are telling me that you're not a person that would rat me out for small gains"
Well, I wasn't lying when I said I had a good eye for people. Knowing my novel very well I knew exactly what kind of person he was...it's just that he didn't need to know this part.
"I wouldn't really call those small gains though...you're weird"
Laughing lightly, smallsnake shook his head and slowly took off his hat and mask.
"If you're willing to trust me that much, I might as well reciprocate"
Soon his face was revealed. He had short black hair, deep green eyes, and a childish-looking face. However, despite his childish features, his demeanor was nothing but childish. He felt like someone who had gone through many ups and downs in his life. Someone that had survived many years in the most unimaginable places on earth...
"I'm glad I've gained your trust...so what did you call me here for?"
Taking a sip of my latté I went straight to the point.
Looking around, smallsnake leaned forward and whispered
"...A third party is looking for my traces"
"The authorities?"
"No, I've been very careful and though the authorities are indeed trying to trace me they are not doing it as aggressively as the other party"
"hmmm"
Leaning back on my sofa, I contemplated for a bit before saying
"It should be W.V. Pharmaceuticals"
"I also thought the same but I don't have concrete proof"
"No, it's them"
"...what makes you so sure about that?"
"Well, it's because they were the ones that ordered for Thobias Church's death"
"What!?"
Abruptly standing up, smallsnake raised his voice and looked at me in disbelief
"oy, calm down"
Seeing everyone staring in our direction, I lightly sighed and urged him to sit down.
"...you, how do you know?"
"Relax, I am not part of them if that's what your thinking"
Taking a sip of my latté I stared at smallsnake who was sitting up straight and eagerly waiting for me to continue speaking.
"If you wanna know how I got the information I'm sorry but that's confidential"
Even if I wanted to tell him who told me, I couldn't. It's not like I could explain to him that he was merely a side character of a world that I had created.
Lightly disappointed, smallsnake said
"No I get it, but is what you said real?"
"100%"
Since I was the one who wrote about the event I obviously knew who did it. W.V the second largest company hired silent creeper to kill Thobias Church. The reason why he was able to kill him without any trace was because they had planted a mole inside of C.B and made use of the mole to help silent creeper kill Thobias church.
The reason why they got rid of him was obvious...they wanted to be the number one. Having been overshadowed ever since opening, the higherups had decided they had enough. Since they couldn't defeat them legally, they resorted to killing their best researcher.
"...what are you planning on doing with this information?"
"Nothing"
"eh?"
Raising his voice, smallsnake looked at me as if he was looking at an idiot.
I mean who wouldn't want to capitalize on this piece of news to make even more money? If I could prove that W.V was behind Thobias Church's death then the stock of W.V would plummet. Moreover, with my newly acquired funds, the amount of money I would make would be frightening.
"...first off and more importantly, I don't have any proof. Even if I know that W.V is behind it, I can't do anything about it since I can't prove my claim"
"That's true"
"Secondly, if we do release the news about what had happened then the pharmaceutical market will completely crash resulting in prices for potions to increase drastically"
Nodding, smallsnake thought for a bit and agreed with what I had said.
Even if we did manage to release the news and prove that W.V pharmaceuticals were guilty it would cause total chaos in the industry resulting in prices for potions inflating drastically. Simply put, no one wanted that. I would gain nothing from it, and quite possibly, the thought of interacting with Melissa once again to renegotiate the prices of potions sent shivers down my spine.
"...okay, then I better leave now. Since I know who the party is I no longer need to worry about being discovered"
"Alright"
Standing up, I took my half-empty latté and left the café with smallsnake. Soon we split up.
Checking my watch and seeing that I still had quite a bit of free time I decided to roam around and see if there was anything that could catch my interest.
Though the streets weren't busy, I could see people going in and out of shops everywhere. There was a single road where cars passed and on the right and left side of the road shops filled the streets.
Large billboards with beautiful ladies and handsome men could be seen everywhere as they each advertised different products. Perfume, toys, clothing, you name it, they had it all.
"...hm?"
Stopping, I looked at a large fluorescent sign.
Antique shop
"Antique shop? I wonder if they have anything interesting here."
-Dling! -Dling!
Opening the door, the bells on the door lightly tolled. Instantly a heavy scent of wood hit my nostrils reminding me of my grandparent's house back in my previous world. It smelled funky.
"Welcome"
Greeting me was an old man with a large grey beard and a set of white hair. Nodding in his direction I looked around.
Instantly my interest was piqued. Everything in here were things that I used to use back on earth.
Since this was the year 2055, everything was far more advanced to the things I was used to back on earth, meaning that what I used to use was considered ancient in this day and age. In the corner of the room, I could see magazines and newspapers, consoles, and other things that I used to use.
Seeing all of these things around the room caused me to feel a bit of nostalgia.
"Oh!"
As I was looking around a certain item instantly caught my attention. Picking it up a wide smile appeared on my face
"Great choice! one of my personal favorites"
Appearing behind me the shopowner stroked his beard a couple of times as he looked at the item in my hand.
"How much is this?"
"Mhh...considering that the company that makes that device is no longer around I would say 500U"
"500U?"
Looking at the Mp3 in my hand, a conflicted look appeared on my face. I mean paying 500U for an Mp3 in this day and age wasn't something that any sane person would do...but I couldn't help but be tempted.
This was especially so when I noticed that it came with its own wired earphones.
You heard me right. wired earphones.
Before I reincarnated, my world was already starting to transition from wired earphones to wireless earbuds. To be honest I tried wireless earbuds before but they weren't my thing.
As I loved listening to music to pass time, I bought myself some wireless earbuds in this world but it just wasn't the same...
"Alright, I'll buy it"
"Great choice"
Smiling from ear to ear, the shopkeeper immediately went to the register and swiped my card.
Soon after the transaction ended, I left the shop. Opening my new mp3, I was surprised with the fact that it already had its own playlist on it.
Scrolling through the numerous songs, I stopped on one and put on my earbuds.
Seven nation army
The white stripes
0:00 -- 3:52
Volume -
Ignoring the weird stares coming in my direction, I happily went back to the academy listening to my new mp3.
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Inside a dark and damp room, a young individual kneeled on one leg on the floor.
"Matriarch the preparations are complete, the bait has been thrown"
Lifting his head up, a red throne met his sight. Besides the red throne, two large ferocious dog-like creatures sat on the ground. Their eyes were of a deep shade of red, and their teeth were extremely sharp causing his blood to freeze.
Sitting neatly on the red thorny throne, was a gorgeous woman. She was wearing a gorgeous long red dress, whose hem was beautified with marvelous drawings and patterns. Her dress was a deep shade of red and showed off her exquisite body. Her black hair gently fell all the way from her shoulders to her waist. Her red, succulent lips had a cold smile as she tapped the armchair of her throne.
"...good"
Her enchanting voice that sounded crisp and pleasant traveled to the young individuals ears causing him to fall into a slight daze.
Looking at her, the young individual couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva as he tried his best to calm his raging heart.
His eyesight slightly lingered on her gorgeous gown that emphasized her perfect figure. Her sexy figure was extremely charming that it could make any men's heart pound harder. her bare feet seemingly made of porcelain and flawless further increased her sexiness. However if not for the two black horns on her head he would've mistaken her for a human.
Realizing that he had been staring for too long, the young individual forcefully looked down on the ground as cold sweat dripped from his back. Though he couldn't deny that the figure before him was extremely enchanting, if by chance he got on the wrong side of her...death would be the best outcome.
"If it weren't for that idiot Everblood we wouldn't have needed to push our plans this far ahead"
Pouting slightly, the demoness calmly petted the two dogs before her. Soon silence enveloped the surroundings.
"Matriarch when should we initiate the plan?"
Breaking the silence the young youth spoke.
Thinking for a bit, the 'Matriarch' looked at the boy before her before saying
"...mhhh, let's take it slowly. Though Everblood failed we still have some time. You should first try to capture our target"
"As you wish Matriarch"
Nodding his head, the young boy placed his left hand on his right peck and bowed.
"Good boy"
Smiling slightly, the Matriarch looked at the young handsome boy before her.
'Elijah Turner'
That was the name of the young boy before her.
Though she was forced to make a pact with him due to certain circumstances, after having contracted with him for over a year she had taken a liking to him. Though he was not very talented, he was very obedient...and she liked that a lot
Pausing slightly, the Matriarch looked at the young boy as an overbearing pressure bore down on him causing his legs to slightly falter.
"...ah, but I do hope you won't fail me. We can't have another setback interfering with our big plan"
"U-nderstood"
Struggling to move or speak, it took the boy all his willpower to agree with the Matriarch
"ku ku ku, what a cute little boy"
Laughing lightly, the pressure soon disappeared and the young boy was finally able to move freely.
"Here"
Throwing a purple fruit at the boy who was panting heavily, the Matriarch amusingly looked at him who was desperately reaching for the fruit.
"T-thank you!"
Excitedly grabbing the fruit, the boy instantly devoured it.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
Soon black veins emerged all over his body, as he squirmed on the ground. His muscles spasmed intensely and his nails grew longer and then returned to normal.
Demon fruit
That was the name of the fruit that Elijah had just consumed.
Because he was not very talented. In order for him to not expose his identity, he had to consume the demon fruit.
The demon fruit, previously known as the world fruit, was a fruit harvested from the world tree which used to belong to the elves. After having conquered the elves' home planet, the demons successfully managed to corrupt the world tree turning it into the demon tree which bore fruit to the demon fruits.
Upon consumption, the demon fruit allowed lower-ranked demons' bloodlines to become purer. That alone went to show how important the fruit was for the demons.
With it, the demon clans managed to drastically increase their strength.
Another function that the demon fruit had was that it allowed contracted humans, villains, to have a boost in talent. Moreover, it also strengthened the bond between the parties. If someone like Elijah whose talent was on the lower end of the spectrum consumed the fruit, then his appearance not only improved but also didn't change like it was supposed to after having made the contract.
Because of the high demand and limited supply, the demon fruit was extremely sought after by the demons. The fact that they were giving it to Elijah went to show how important his mission was.
"Alright you may go"
"Thank you"
Bowing once again, the young boy left the room. Soon after he left, a shadow materialized beside the Matriarch. Because it was dark, its features were hidden preventing anyone but the Matriarch from seeing how it looked like.
"Are you sure it's okay to let him do the mission alone?"
Smiling lightly, the Matriarch looked at where the young boy was and said
"Well if he isn't capable of this much...He's better off dead, though it would be a problem if he died after having invested so much in him"
...
-Riiiiip
Opening the large box that had arrived early in the morning, I excitedly looked through the contents.
"As expected of Melissa"
The box was filled with potions.
Only three days had passed since I requested Melissa to make me the potions, and yet in that short amount of time, she managed to fulfill my request and sent me all of the potions I commissioned her to make for me.
...honestly, I was impressed.
Though what was less impressive was the fact that I had to fork out a total of 6 million U just for the raw materials alone.
But looking at the high-quality potions in the box, the pain I felt from spending so much money instantly disappeared. Soon, I started taking out all of the potions from the box.
"sixteen [Mana recovery potions, eight [Strenght enhancement potions, eight [stamina recovery potions, nine..."
Counting all the potions to make sure nothing was missing, I organized the potions in different batches, each on the type of potions they were.
Because they were all transparent and only had labels with Melissa's writing if I didn't sort them out I could potentially consume the wrong one.
...well, yes I did in fact expect potions to have all different types of colors, but I was wrong. Reality was harsh and all potions looked like water, moreover, they came inside of test tubes and not some fancy flask like in games.
...scam I say!
After sorting out the potions and making sure nothing was missing, I stood up and prepared to attend classes.
Though I couldn't wait to try a potion right now, I could only hold my impulse back and go to class. When taking a potion, if one wasn't focusing enough, then they might hurt themselves. That's why it was better for me to consume them once I had time to spare.
"hm...what am I missing?"
Looking around the room, I noticed my mp3 on my desk and immediately took it with me.
These past few days I had cemented my position as the weirdo in the class.
Not only did the way I trained looked ridiculous to everyone in the class, including teachers, but I also had no friends. A month in, and everyone in the class had pretty much formed their own clique or had at least one friend, yet I didn't even have a person to talk to let alone call an acquaintance. I was a total anti-social loner in the eyes of everyone in my class.
To make matters worse, now that I was using an ancient-looking device accompanied by wired earphones, which had gone extinct since three decades ago, my position as the class weirdo became as stable as Mount Tai.
...Honestly, I wasn't too sure how to feel about this. To me, I looked absolutely normal, but well...I couldn't just go to them and tell them I reincarnated into a novel and back in my previous world this was normal, could I?
Sighing at my miserable life, I took the keys and made my way to the door.
-Click!
Closing the door to my room, I put my earphones on and hurried my steps.
...couldn't afford to be late, else I could kiss graduating goodbye.
...
Today's class lecture had ended later than usual, and after being subjected to Donna's cold treatment I was finally able to free myself from class.
Though I could barely feel my legs, I still had to drag my body to my elective class. After the elective was over, I had to do my daily workout. Just thinking about that made me depressed. If I knew this would happen, I would've asked Melissa to make more [Stamina enhancement] potions. My shoes had already started wearing out from how much I was overworking myself
…In any case, I was currently heading to the elective clubroom. Perhaps because I tended to have bad luck when meeting the main characters, but...Amanda was walking a few meters ahead of me.
Being behind her I could instantly catch a whiff of her rose-like scent. It was a bit of an awkward walk as we were heading in the same direction without speaking to each other. From another person's point of view, it would've looked like I was stalking her. I mean she was stunning.
Fortunately, we soon arrived inside the classroom and sat in the same seats as we did in the previous class.
By the time we arrived, Elijah Turner, the club president, was already standing on the podium going through some papers. Carefully flipping the pages, he seemed to be organizing today's lecture notes.
Not long after, the room was filled to the brim as the rest of the students entered the class. However contrary to the previous class where everyone sat wherever they wanted, today's class was separated into three different groups, first, second and third years.
'...It seems like the relationship between juniors and seniors was starting to get progressively sour with each passing day.'
I thought as I looked at how the first years were being avoided by the senior years.
At eight on the dot, Elijah began his lecture.
"Good afternoon, everyone. It seems like a lot of you ha…"
As he talked, most of the stuff coming from his mouth went into one ear and left from the other. I couldn't be bothered to pay attention to his idle chatter.
Fortunately, I had learned my lesson and held my yawn back. Though the fact that tears started streaming from my cheeks after ten minutes didn't help me hide the fact that I wanted to yawn.
"Today we will talk about the plant kingdom. As most of you know, once mana entered our planet not only did we and beasts evolved but plants did too. Essentially all living beings on this planet started to evolve...Though most plants have no sentience don't look down on plants as some of them evolved into terrifying things that even SS ranked heroes would want to avoid at all costs. For example, if we look at some of the most powerful plants out there, the tree ents, they had evolved from regular trees to A rank monsters that when in groups could cause trouble to some of the most experienced heroes out there. This goes to..."
Though I knew most of the stuff I still paid attention to it as it wasn't as detailed as the information that Elijah was teaching.
"...have you guys understood?"
Looking around the class, Elijah repeatedly asked questions to every student to make sure they were paying attention. Looking around and seeing that everyone nodded, Elijah smiled in satisfaction and said
"Alright then, I guess it's time we call it quits for today"
The lecture had lasted a total of one hour. Unexpectedly, there was a lot to learn like the weakness of some plants, which areas to avoid, and the difference between physical plants and nonphysical plants, e.g. ones that attacked directly and the ones that used poison. I learned in detail about things I had neglected to explain in my novel, all the while I watched cute female students throwing flirtatious glances at Elijah.
Rejoicing at the fact that I no longer had to listen to him, I prepared to leave the class but before I could leave I heard his voice addressing the whole class.
"If anyone is interested since today is our first lecture I will be hosting an after-party. It'll be great if you can come!"
"...eh?"
This wasn't in the novel
There was no such thing as an afterparty in the novel at this point in time.
"...hm? Amanda is not rejecting it?"
Amanda who was usually indifferent to everything nodded at Elijah and verbally confirmed her participation.
What's going on?
Wasn't she supposed to be indifferent to everything? What happened?
As I was looking at Amanda with a stupefied look, I didn't notice that two eyes were sharply looking in my direction. By the time I noticed I found Elijah standing two meters away from me smiling.
"Student are you interested in joining us?"
"...err, sure?"
"Great, we will be leaving in an hour so make sure you go back to your dorm and get ready"
Smiling, Elijah turned around and talked to the other students.
To be honest I agreed to join them on an impulse as I was starting to get worried for Amanda. A scenario that had never happened in the novel was starting right now.
I have a feeling that as of today my peaceful low-key life was going to take a turn for the worst...
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After finishing her last class, food exploration, Amanda went back to her room. Along the way, people would try to strike a conversation with her, but she promptly ignored them.
Arriving in her room, the first thing she did was sit on her sofa and pick up a book. Since she had about an hour to pass, in order to pass time, she decided to do the only thing she could think of. Read a book.
...only when reading a book did she feel a sense of belonging.
Amanda's family circumstances were a bit special
Her father, Edward Stern, Guild master of the 'Demon Hunter' guild and Hero rank 25 'Frost of remorse', was rarely home.
Her real mother left when she was two. She couldn't handle all the pressure that came from being the wife of such an important figure.
The only memory Amanda had of her was her lonely silhouette walking down a long road as heavy rain poured from the sky. That was the day she left their home.
Amanda wanted to reach out for her…but not once did the figure ever turn back to look at her. That memory was forever etched deep inside of the young Amanda.
Because of that, ever since she was two, she was raised by her father and her nanny
That being said, due to the nature of her father's work, he would rarely be able to come back on time to spend time with her.
Whenever he did have time, Amanda remembered him rubbing her head with his large warm hand.
Too bad those moments only lasted a couple of seconds…
In the end, the person that raised her was her nanny.
She would often tell her stories and fairy tales of princesses getting kidnapped to later get saved by a charming white prince.
She too wanted to be a princess…
Back then, Amanda didn't really understand what princesses went through when they get kidnapped.
But later on in her life, she did.
The first time she was kidnapped she was seven years old.
At the time she only remembered hearing voices. Her vision was obstructed. Tight roped tangled both her arms and legs. She was scared. A large gag was placed in her mouth preventing her from screaming.
…fortunately, her father came and saved her.
Then it happened again.
…and again
…and again
Slowly, Amanda found herself losing her emotions. Her natural childish smile disappeared the more she got kidnapped. She was slowly maturing.
However, she was still able to smile when her nanny narrated fairy tales to her. Those were the only times she felt safe and at peace. Sucked in another world. Almost as if escaping reality.
…That was until she was eleven. That was the age at which her nanny passed away, ridding of the last warmth in her heart.
Since then, Amanda has never been able to smile.
Even when kidnapped, she felt nothing.
Everything around her became black and white. Slowly the expectations she had of the people around her vanished.
'I won't get angry, I won't be sad, I won't expect anything from anyone…'
...was what she repeatedly told herself as she shut herself in a box. It was from that point on that she decided not to form any relationships that weren't necessary. Even if they had the best interest for her, even if they treated her well…her heart was unmovable…
Closing down the book she was reading, Amanda stood up and looked at the reflection in the mirror.
Her long black hair that was no longer held by a pin, gently fell on her shoulders reaching all the way to her waist. Her deep phoenix-like eyes had a cold indifference to them that made people feel like she was a holy existence that was unreachable for regular people. Her appearance was so exquisite that it could move anyone's hearth regardless of their gender, but it also gave people a gloomy feeling.
Placing her fingers on the edge of her lips, she lightly pulled the edges of her mouth in the form of a smile. Letting go, the edges of her mouth quickly reverted to their regular aloof position.
She repeated this a couple more times, but...no matter how much she tried, she couldn't smile.
Walking towards her closet, Amanda took a beautiful black dress with finely decorated silver patterns.
Although she usually disliked attending parties, Amanda chose to attend this one. That was because back in the first lecture she received a mysterious box from the club president, Elijah Turner.
At first, she thought nothing of it as she was used to these kinds of things, but...once she opened the box she was shocked.
Inside the box was a picture of her mom. She looked almost identical to her, and if not for the wrinkles at the edge of her eyes, people could've easily mistaken her for her sister.
Though she barely had any memories of her mother, Amanda couldn't stop herself from wanting to know more about the whereabouts of her mother.
...she wanted to know why she had abandoned her and never visited in all the years since she had left.
Since Elijah was the one that had provided her with the picture, Amanda had no choice but to look for him, and thus decided to attend the party.
Wearing the beautiful dress and looking at herself in the mirror for a couple of seconds, Amanda took a small black purse and headed out.
-Click!
Closing the door behind her, Amanda went towards the appointed location with a mind full of questions.
...
"hmmm, should I wear a suit or normal clothes?"
Right now I was torn on what to wear to the after-party. As I never attended these kinds of events before, I wasn't too sure about what to wear.
A suit or casual clothes?
...urgh!
Honestly, if it wasn't because this situation caught me off-guard I wouldn't have chosen to attend this kind of event.
After a while, I decided to do a bit of both. I wore a white ironed T-shirt accompanied by blue jeans. Looking at myself in the mirror, I couldn't help but nod in satisfaction.
After having transmigrated to this world for over a month, my originally skinny body had started to bulk up. Though my body wasn't sculpted like a god, I had a fairly good body. My short black hair which was nicely styled, accompanied by the deep blue eyes made me nod in satisfaction. I looked fairly handsome.
After looking at myself a couple of more times, I looked at the time and found that I only had ten minutes left before the meeting time.
As I was rushing to the door, my footsteps halted and my eyesight landed in the corner of my room where a black sword rested against the wall.
After pondering for a bit, I Took the black sword and placed it in my dimensional bracelet.
"I hope the situation doesn't get to the point where I have to use my sword..."
...though I said this, I already started preparing myself for the worse. The situation was already starting to get out of my control, and right now, for the first time, I was going into a situation without any knowledge of what was to come.
-Click!
Taking my room keys and turning off the lights, I left my room.
...
"Cheers!"
Inside of a spacious luxurious room, a flock of students could be seen drinking and laughing.
The interior of the room was very well decorated with fancy paintings scattered all over the room. Large white sofas with fine golden patterns on the sides sat in the middle of the room. Large wooden tables that were filled with food and beverages stood in the corner of the room.
The location we were currently at was a rather well-known restaurant called [le farat]. It was a fairly luxurious restaurant with celebrities often showing up here. Due to its popularity, it was fairly obvious that this place was expensive and somehow Elijah had managed to book a whole room just for the gathering. This pretty much impressed everyone that came as their eyes were shining stars, especially the girls.
Twirling the cup of wine in my hand, I lightly smelled the wine. It had a fruity yet overbearing smell that made my nose twitch a couple of times.
"Just how I like it"
Though it may seem like this wine was one that I took from the table, in fact, it wasn't.
The wine I was currently tasting was one that I brought with me. It's not that I disliked the wine here, but there was a high chance all the foods and drinks in the part were drugged beforehand.
Though I was being somewhat paranoid, it was better to be safe than sorry.
The reason why I was drinking it was so that I could blend with the crowd. If I didn't drink it, in the event that there was an ambush, there was a high chance I would be among the first who were targeted.
Taking a small sip of the wine, I smacked my lips a couple of times before looking at my surroundings.
Though the atmosphere was calm and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, I couldn't help but feel tense. There was this ominous vibe shrouding the whole venue.
...something was definitely going to happen today, and it wasn't going to be something good.
In the middle of the hall, Elijah, who wore an elegant white suit, was currently being flooded by multiple girls at a time. They were pushing and shoving each other aside to get a chance to talk to him. Elijah who was being surrounded and harassed by the girls kept a gentle smile on his face throughout the whole time.
Besides him, a couple of boys were looking at him with envious and jealous eyes. But that was in the minority, as most of the boys were busy admiring a different scene.
Standing on the balcony, Amanda, who looked like a goddess that had just descended on the world, was currently looking at the moon with a glass of wine in her hand. The gentle moonlight enveloped her perfect figure, creating this sort of picture-like scene.
A couple of boys tried approaching her, but once they noticed that they were being ignored they could only helplessly go back to the party in defeat.
Seeing this scene, my lips slightly curled and I helplessly shook my head. Boys will be boys.
Walking to the balcony, where Amanda was standing, I could hear faint whispers coming in my direction.
"Here goes the fifth one..."
"How long will you give it?"
"I say 5 seconds"
"No, I say 10"
Since my stats had improved, so did my hearing. Listening to their whispers, my eyes couldn't help but roll. Just how much time did they have on their hands?
Opening the door to the balcony, I slowly walked to the edge of the balcony and stood next to Amanda. Lifting my head up I looked at the moon.
...though I did not want to interact with her nor any of the main characters, I couldn't help but do so this time. If something were to happen to her, then chances were that the storyline was going to change and all the advantages I had would simply crumble overnight. Simply put I couldn't afford that.
Thus I decided to expose myself and warn her about the upcoming danger.
Taking a sip of my wine, without glancing at Amanda, I lightly said
"You should be careful tonight..."
"..."
As if she didn't hear me, Amanda kept staring at the moonlight.
Seeing her react like that I didn't panic nor express my displeasure as I already knew her character. Though she was pretending to be indifferent, she definitely heard me loud and clear. It's just that she didn't show it on her face.
Slightly smiling I said one last thing before walking back to the party
"Something might happen tonight, and you might be the target—no, you're most likely the target"
Finally turning her head to the side, Amanda saw my figure leaving the balcony. Seeing my figure leave, her brows knit for a split second before relaxing.
Soon after, almost as if nothing happened, she started looking at the moon again.
Turning my head and seeing that, I lightly smiled before heading back to my previous spot.
Though it seemed like she didn't take my warning seriously, I in fact knew that she had upped her guard.
Having been in these types of situations since a very young age, she knew that even if this was just a small prank, there was a chance that the warning was real.
For her, even if it was a prank, it was better to be prepared than unprepared.. In the off-chance that what I had said turned out to be true, she could avoid being kidnapped again.
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-Clink! -Clink! -Clink!
"May I have everyone's attention please"
Tapping on the wine glass in his hands, Elijah gathered everyone's attention.
Standing elegantly in the middle of the hall, Elijah made sure that everyone was looking at him before continuing.
"First of all, I would like to thank all of you that decided to attend the gathering. Although our elective could be considered on the smaller side compared to other electives, we here are like a family."
Making eye contact with everyone in the room, Elijah mood turned a little bit serious as he spoke
"I have recently been made aware of the conflicts happening between the juniors and us seniors, and it honestly pains me to see this. I may not be able to change this, but I sincerely hope that in our elective this prejudice and conflict does not appear."
Pausing slightly, and looking at everyone in the room, Elijah raised his glass and said
"This is more than just an elective. This is a family!"
At first, everyone was quiet. Turning to look at each other a myriad of expressions could be seen from certain individuals' faces. they wanted to rebuke but...they dared not to. With Elijah's current influence, his words were law. Refusing him was like signing a death warrant.
-Clap!
Breaking the awkward and tense silence was the sound of a clap.
-Clap! -Clap! -Clap!
Soon someone else started clapping, and like a chain reaction, everyone followed along and started clapping.
"I understand, I will follow the president's order!"
"We love you, president!"
"I love you, president!"
Cheers resounded across the hall as both the male and female students cheered for Elijah.
Smiling, Elijah took a big gulp of the wine and once again lifted the cup in the air
"It is with great honor and pride that I welcome you to our elective, food exploration!"
"Thank you!"
"Food exploration!"
"Best elective!"
Though everyone cheered, two individuals didn't. One retained an indifferent face throughout the whole ordeal while the other cringed repeatedly.
Of course, this didn't escape Elijah's eyes, as his eyes narrowed for a split second before returning back to normal as if nothing happened.
Unbothered by the fact that Elijah probably noticed my behavior, I nonchalantly sat on a sofa and enjoyed my wine. The fact that he managed to say those words without cringing was worthy of my admiration.
For all I knew, Elijah cared nothing for the conflicts within the academy. In fact, he was probably rejoicing at the fact that there were conflicts within the academy. Most notably at the fact that some of the attention was diverted away from him, allowing him to act as he pleased.
Looking at the glass of wine in my hand I frowned.
Though I usually disliked alcohol, due to previous trauma, it wasn't a problem anymore. Excluding the fact that the wine wasn't that strong, with my new physique only alcohol higher than 70% could affect me. Anything lower than that didn't bother me.
Sort of ruined the pleasure of alcohol, but oh well, it's not like I needed alcohol in my life again.
After nearly finishing half of the wine that I had brought with me which I so conveniently hid inside of my bracelet, I felt my bladder bloating.
Walking up to a waiter I asked
"Excuse me where's the bathroom?"
Pointing towards the entrance of the room, the waiter said
"Turn right over there and after you walk a couple of meters you should see a bathroom sign"
"Thank you"
Thanking the waiter and following his instruction, I headed to the bathroom
"A man's gotta do what a man gotta do"
...
Sitting on the sofa, Amanda was lost in her own thoughts. Occasionally she would glance to her right where a male student sat. He looked completely out of place with his clothes that did not suit the atmosphere. He had short black hair and blue ocean-like eyes. His features that were devoid of any pimples or freckles looked clean and pleasant. Though he could've been considered handsome, he was only average if compared to the likes of Jin and Kevin.
Looking at him, Amanda couldn't help but look at him in confusion. He was currently sitting on a sofa sipping on some wine looking extremely bored. No one approached him, nor did he approach anyone and he seemed to enjoy the solitude as he would occasionally mumble to himself.
...was what he said true?
The reason why Amanda was paying so much attention to him was because that very same student had approached her earlier. It was when she was on the balcony looking at the moon lost in her own thoughts.
...It was odd.
She had a vague recollection of him, as he was one of the more famous students in her class. Not in a good way though...
The 'weirdo' was what they called him.
She wasn't sure about the details, but he was regarded by most of the students as a weirdo that they should avoid at all costs.
Thinking about her interactions with him, Amanda couldn't agree more.
...he was a weirdo.
Usually, the male students would come towards her and try all ways to get her attention.
yet, he only told her two things before leaving. What was even more confusing were the things that he said to her.
'You should be careful tonight...' and 'Something might happen tonight, and you might be the target—no, you're most likely the target'
If this was a new trick to try to get her attention, he had succeeded.
She didn't really put his warning to heart, but she definitely started paying more attention to her surroundings.
Having been in these sorts of situations since young, her temperament became cautious. If anything remotely suspicious happened she would immediately raise her guard to the maximum.
Scanning the hall everything seemed normal, and apart from a few people already getting drunk, there was nothing odd about the...hm?
Drunk?
Weren't wines the only thing that were served here?
How could people get drunk off of wine?
Instantly Amanda knew that something was wrong.
Hiding her hand behind her back, she prepared to summon her bow in case something dangerous happened.
-Thud! -Thud! -Thud!
One after another students started falling on the ground.
Amanda instinctively tried to summon her bow but a wave of vertigo caused her to lose her bearing.
Stumbling around, she tried her best to support herself against a pillar.
Looking around, every student fell on the ground unconscious.
"Damm it!"
Gnashing her teeth, Amanda tried her best to combat the drug effects.
Although the drug was strong, she still did not lose consciousness. It partly had to do with the fact that she was one of the strongest people in the room and her strong mentality.
...but she didn't know how long she could remain conscious for. Time was ticking and she could only try her best to not fall for whatever plot someone was brewing.
Looking around she tried to look for the boy that had warned her beforehand...but it was to no avail as he was missing.
'Is he the mastermind behind this...?'
Thought Amanda as she looked for any traces of him. It wasn't wrong of her to suspect him as he just suddenly disappeared as soon as everyone started falling on the ground. To call this not suspicious would be a lie...
'Maybe he was the type of person that loved to tease his prey?'
But she quickly denied the possibility. Although he was weird, she could tell he wasn't the culprit. Although Amanda didn't like to talk much and always seemed to be absorbed in her books, she was always observing. It was something she developed over the years to get a better read on who had malicious intentions against her. Their posture, their expressions, their temperament, she could pretty much determine if someone had any ill will or was wearing a mask to hide their true selves by observing those things.
Although he was weird, she could tell at first glance he meant no harm.
"Cough!...cough! kh-Amanda!"
Coughing and stumbling on the ground, Elijah walked towards Amanda.
Looking at Elijah who seemed to be in distress Amanda took a few steps back.
"Huff..huff..huff"
Dropping on one knee, Elijah panted heavily.
"Kh-what's happening?"
Amanda who although was also suffering, tried her best to restrain herself from helping Elijah.
Her instincts told her not to...yet she couldn't help but take a step towards his direction. He was the only key she had to find her mother...she needed closure.
Although she was struggling, Amanda was slowly getting used to the effects of the drug. Soon her mind regained some clarity.
Arriving a few meters before Elijah, Amanda extended her hand in his direction
"than-kh you"
Reaching with his right hand, Elijah tried to grab Amanda's hand...but before he could fully touch her, she smacked his hand away.
-Smack!
"Yo-u"
Shocked Elijah looked at Amanda who was glaring at him.
"Drop the act"
"Wh-at are you talk-ing about?"
"You think you can fool me when the entire time you had a smirk on your face?"
Taken aback, Elijah touched his face.
"ku ku ku"
Trembling, Elijah smiled deepened as he started laughing.
"how careless of me...I just couldn't contain my excitement"
Standing up, Elijah exaggeratively facepalmed
"Ah... I'm sorry, I just couldn't hold myself after imagining myself sharing some alone time with you, one of the three great beauties of the first years "
-Voom!
Summoning her bow, Amanda instantly drew it.
"oh my, aren't we a little too hasty?"
Raising his hands in surrender, Elijah smirked as he walked in Amanda's direction.
-Woosh! -Woosh! -Woosh!
As soon as Elijah took a step in her direction, without batting an eye, Amanda released three arrows in successions.
Suddenly three white streaks of light appeared before Elijah as the arrows whistled through the air.
-Thump! -Thump! -Thump!
"Oh wow that's some great archery"
Looking behind him, Elijah whistled in admiration as he looked at the three arrows that pierced the wall deeply.
"...too bad you missed"
Looking at Amanda who was on the floor panting heavily, Elijah had a delighted smile on his face. A couple of minutes wasn't enough to combat the drug that he had carefully prepared beforehand.
Walking slowly, Elijah savored Amanda's struggling expression.
"Yes...this is what I wanted! Finally, the oh so indifferent Amanda has finally shown me a different expression!"
"Wh-at have you done to me!"
Gritting her teeth, Amanda glared at Elijah who was only a few steps away from her.
"Oh dear, don't show me such face..."
Kneeling on one leg and holding Amanda by her chin, Elijah expression twisted savagely
"Now, now, we wouldn't want our dear Amanda showing such a face now would we?"
Grabbing onto her face, Elijah looked at her features in admiration
"If not the strict orders I received from mother Matriarch I would've already devoured you..."
"Mother Matriarch?"
"Ooops, it seems like I spoke too much"
Lightly knocking on his head, Elijah had a silly expression on his face.
"Let's just say that you're going to be thanking me soon"
-Pu!
Spitting on Elijah's face, Amanda defiantly looked at him.
"Fuck off!"
"Y-ou y-ou"
Trembling, Elijah touched his cheek where Amanda spat. Looking at his finger which was covered in saliva, Elijah faced twisted menacingly as his hand grabbed her neck
"How, how dare you spit on my face!"
His strong voice reverberated across the hall as he tightened the grip around Amanda's neck
"Unlike you, I wasn't born as beautiful as the rest. I was insulted, jeered at, and bullied for my appearance."
"This world's hierarchy is dictated by two things, beauty, and talent."
"Unlike you who had both, I had none! I was bullied and harassed throughout my whole childhood. Even my parents forsake me for my younger siblings who had better appearances than me!"
Gripping on Amanda's neck tighter, Elijah pulled her face closer to his.
"Just when I was about to end my life...mother matriarch came and saved me"
"She gave me talent, power, and my current appearance"
Glaring with all his might, Elijah's voice kept rising.
"If not for her I would be NOTHING!"
"khh"
Lessening the grip on Amanda's neck, Elijah looked at her and said
"Thus, no matter how much you struggle I will stop at nothing to complete her task!"
Sigh
Startling both Amanda and Elijah, a loud sigh resounded across the hall. Soon a pale youth with deep blue eyes walked into the hall. His eyes slightly paused on Elijah before looking at Amanda who was struggling with all her might
With an annoyed look, he scratched his head and said.
"I warned you didn't I?"
Report chapter
"I warned you didn't I?"
Honestly, though I expected something to happen I didn't expect it to happen right after I returned from my toilet trip.
It felt as if I missed out on all of the fun.
"it's you?"
Releasing Amanda, Elijah stood up and looked at me who had just come back from the bathroom.
"kuhh...huff...huff!"
Looking at Amanda who was gripping her neck heavily gulping for air I pretty much got the gist of what was happening.
The event had already started.
"Rank 1750 Ren Dover"
"...hm? Yes?"
Turning my attention back to Elijah who had just called me, I instantly noticed his relaxed attitude.
The way he was looking at me irked me, but I didn't say anything. Judging from the pressure he was releasing he was at least D- rank if not D rank.
But fortunately for me, thanks to all the training I did, the pressure wasn't weighing down on me much. The fact that he was primarily focused on Amanda also helped me.
Judging from how relaxed he seemed, it looked like he didn't see me as a threat.
'Perfect'
Smirking to myself, I started to devise a plan.
well...since he was looking down on me, I may as well capitalize on his carelessness.
You see...one of the greatest things about keeping a low profile was that no one knew what you were truly capable of.
This especially worked in my favor as the [Keiki style] was primarily a one hit one kill sword art.
All I needed was one clean hit and he was done for.
The fact that I kept a low profile and chose not to expose my strength helped me buy an opening.
In fact, even though I said all of this, I wasn't really confident even if I caught him by surprise.
Although there was a chance I could kill him if I was really lucky, those chances were slim.
It just wasn't easy to bridge the gap between F and D ranks. Though I practiced a peerless five-star manual technique, I would at most be able to graze him if I confronted him directly. He was just that much better than me...
Each rank was fundamentally different from the other. Each rank increase was like an increase in strength by a factor greater than 2.
Bridging one rank was already hard for me, two? Almost impossible.
If not for his arrogance, those chances would've never been higher than zero.
Knowing this, I had prepared beforehand.
Having learned my lesson since the dungeon incident, I devised a little safe plan for me in case the situation turned serious.
Before coming to the party, I messaged Thomas and asked him for a favor.
Since I more or less knew something was going to happen at the party, I predicted that Elijah was going to install some sort of dimensional space which prevented any outside interference.
A dimensional space was a pocket dimension separate from the outside world. Everything that happened inside of the dimension was separate from the real world preventing anyone from noticing that something was wrong. It created an illusion to people making it seem that everything was normal, when in fact something else was going on inside. No sound or transmissions could be leaked preventing people from calling for backup. It was the perfect device to hide a crime.
Knowing this, when I messaged Thomas, I specifically told him that if by chance in the next four hours my phone suddenly lost signal, he was to send an encrypted message to Alexander Stern, Amanda's father as well as the authorities.
In the message, I directly wrote that a villain was attacking this specific location and many students were in danger, I also emphasized that Amanda was one of the said students.
Though the plan was not foolproof, because I had asked Thomas, who was a high ranking member of the black market to send the message. Chances were that Alexander Stern and the authorities would receive it.
...now all I had to do was stall for time.
Looking around and seeing that everyone was on the floor passed out, I knew that I didn't have much time. Though this may have been a sleeping drug, it could've also been an extremely strong poison.
Though I didn't know what was in their system, I knew it wasn't good for them.
Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, I knew I had to do something.
Looking at my skill bar, I instantly used my new and only skill.
[Monarch's indifference]
Soon, everything around me started to change. The hall, the people, the furniture, everything in my eyes slowly changed. Everything no longer looked like what it was before. Slowly, everything around me started resembling chess pieces. The hall turned into a three-dimensional space with pawns all over the floor.
My heartbeat which was beating unevenly calmed down. Following my heartbeat, my breathing became even and I felt all my emotions leaving my body.
I no longer cared for Amanda. I no longer cared for everyone in the hall. I no longer cared about Elijah. I only had one goal.
Move the chess pieces accordingly.
...
"w-what's happening?"
Wobbling around the hall, Ren's legs staggered. Leaning against the wall, Ren heavily panted for air.
"hee...and here I was wondering why you weren't affected by the drug"
Smirking, Elijah amusingly looked at Ren who was staggering all over the place like a drunk person.
"It seems like you're somewhat immune to the drug...pity that in the end because you are so weak the drug still affected you"
Looking at Elijah with wide eyes, Ren dumbly said
"D-drug?"
"Ahh, sorry but I don't have much time to talk with someone as insignificant as you."
Walking towards Ren's direction, Elijah's eyes were full of malice.
"You see...I have bone to pick with you"
"khh"
Grabbing Ren by the hair, Elijah coldly looked at him
"Multiple times in my class you repeatedly yawned and acted bored...was it fun?"
-Slap!
Slapping Ren in the face until a red mark appeared on his face, Elijah raised his hand again
-Slap!
"Someone who is ranked 1750 should sit quietly and listen to the lecture obediently..."
-Slap!
"Yet...you actually dared to provoke me!"
-Slap!
"Even now...just as I was about to have my fun with Amanda you came in and ruined the mood"
-Slap!
"Blame your lack of tact for the fact that you will die after being tortured..."
Slapping Ren's face continuously, his pale face slowly turned purple as his lips started to become swollen.
Staring at the scene in the distance, Amanda barely managed to sit up straight.
...was he all talk?
Though she knew he was ranked 1750, ever since he had warned her, Amanda thought that maybe he was hiding his strength. Moreover, the way he showed up looking all fine told her that he was hiding his strength, but it seems like it was all her misconception.
Just as she was about to gather all her remaining energy to shoot Elijah, she felt two cold emotionless eyes staring at her.
Looking up, she could see Ren's eyes emotionlessly looking at her. Though he was being slapped continuously by Elijah, his eyes never wavered. They were the eyes of a predator that was looking for the right time to strike.
Stopping whatever she was doing, Amanda looked back at him.
...how could he still be so calm?
Though he was being tortured by Elijah, and his expression twisted in pain, his eyes which were devoid of any emotion were staring at her almost as if telling her 'not yet'
Staring into his eyes, Amanda clenched her teeth and quietly gathered all the mana in the surroundings.
...though she didn't know what he was planning, she had this inexplicable feeling that only if she listened to him would she be able to get out of this predicament.
Seeing that Amanda was slowly accumulating the mana into her bow, Ren smirked at Elijah who was smacking him
"Oh? you're being slapped senseless and yet you still have the guts to smile?"
-Slap!
As soon as the slap landed on Ren's face, his head twisted to the side due to the enormous force of the slap.
-Slap!
Slapping the other side, Ren's face twisted to the other side doing a complete 180.
"Since you asked for it, I will gladly pick up the pace!"
-Slap! -Slap! -Slap!
For the next five minutes, the loud sounds of slaps reverberated across the hall. Soon, Elijah stopped as he looked down. Beneath him, Ren's battered face could be seen bleeding all over the floor. His face was so swollen that his eyes were barely visible.
"Let's end this"
Seeing that Ren was no longer responsive, Elijah prepared to go for the kill. Though he was sure that no one was going to interfere for the next two hours, he still needed to finish the mission. Toying with the prey should come later.
Raising his hand, his nails increased in length becoming extremely sharp at the tips.
"Goodbye"
-Wooosh!
Just as he was about pierce Ren in the neck, he heard a whistling sound coming from behind him.
Turning his head abruptly, he saw a large silver light quickly heading in his direction. It was so fast that the air around it split apart.
Staring at the incoming arrow, Elijah's pupils dilated and he gathered all of the mana he had in the form of a shield.
This all happened in a matter of seconds
-BOOOM!
Soon, a large explosion reverberated across the hall as dust and debris swept the place. The windows around the hall completely shattered and cracks could vividly be seen around the walls of the hall.
As soon as the dust cleared, the tattered figure of Elijah could be seen. His elegant figure from before was no longer seen, as his hair and clothes were a mess.
Black veins slowly started appearing on his face as they wiggled constantly. His muscled spasmed continuously and his body enlarged into a hideous looking creature.
"Khuaa!"
Hastily touching his face, Elijah screamed. His eyes which were now a deep shade of red stared at Amanda who was helplessly lying down on the floor.
"H-how ddare you!!!!!"
Screaming at the top of his lungs, Elijah moved towards Amanda. He was in a state of pure rage.
Completely forgetting about his mission he headed towards Amanda preparing to kill her.
However, before he could do that, his body stopped moving. No, it refused to move.
-Shuuaaa!
-Spurt!
Spitting a large amount of blood, Elijah looked below him where a black sword pierced his heart.
It all happened so fast that he had no time to react.
Turning around, he could see two emotionless eyes staring at him. He who sould've been battered to the point of being unable to move was looking at him with eyes that seemed to look straight into his soul.
"Y-kh-ou? H-ow?"
"Checkmate"
-Thud!
Those were the last words Elijah heard before his body slumped on the ground lifeless.
-Gulp!
Taking out a potion, Ren instantly drank it. Soon at a speed visible to the naked eye, all the bruises on his face disappeared.
Stabbing Elijah's corpse a couple of times, Ren slowly walked in Amanda's direction.
Right now she was looking at Ren in shock. Though she didn't see clearly, she managed to see the moment when he pierced Elijah in the hearth. Fast...too fast. All she saw was Elijah's eyes staring at the sword stabbed in his body in disbelief.
Looking at Ren who was walking in her direction, Amanda instinctively moved back, but as soon as she tried to lift her body she fell to the ground. She had no more energy left.
Soon he was in front of her.
His emotionless eyes looked down on her. She looked back, and the hall soon enveloped in silence.
"...forget what you saw"
Those were the last words she heard before she felt a tap on the back of her neck. Soon darkness enveloped her mind as she passed out on the ground.
After making sure Amanda was knocked unconscious, Ren took four arrows from her quiver and walked back to where Elijah's corpse was.
-spurt! -spurt! -spurt! -spurt!
Stabbing each arrow in his body, Ren made sure they each stabbed exactly where his sword stabbed Elijah.
After making sure there were no traces of what he had done left, Ren walked a bit further away from where Elijah's corpse was, fixed his clothes and hair, and forcefully knocked himself unconscious.
-Thud!
As his eyes slowly lost consciousness and the effects of [Monarch's indifference] wore off, a small smile appeared on his face.
'Not bad...'
-Spurt!
"M-matriarch!"
Splurting black blood on the ground, inside of a dim light room, an enchanting figure clenched her heart.
A black silhouette appeared next to the Matriarch who had just splurted black blood on the ground and hastily helped her sit on her throne.
Though her breath was weak, her presence remained majestic as the servant did not dare utter a single word.
Gripping the armrest of her throne, the matriarch whose figure was now incomparably pale said
"He failed..."
-Crack! -Crack!
Tightening her grip on the armrest, cracks started appearing on the throne as a red glow started emanating from the Matriarch's figure.
"...Fortunately because he was much weaker than me, his death has only cost me a small internal injury"
Hearing what the Matriach had said, the servant worriedly asked
"How long do you need to recuperate?"
"I should be healed in about a year's time..."
Turning her head to the servant that was next to her, she coldly ordered
"Get someone to send me all of the information regarding the incident that Elijah was responsible for"
"Yes mother Matriarch"
Nodding his head, the servant disappeared into the darkness
As soon as he disappeared the red hue around the matriarch increased many folds enveloping the whole room.
"Once I find out who was responsible for killing my pawn..."
-BOOM!
The throne behind the Matriarch suddenly pulverized as she stood up. With a distorted face and eyes that were dyed red in rage, she slowly spat
"...I will personally make sure they suffer a pain worse than death!"
...
Amanda's consciousness was awakened by a dazzling light coming through her eyelids, stimulating her pupils
Waking up in a large spacious room, Amanda blankly stared at the familiar ceiling she had been seeing for the past month. Lightly lifting her head, Amanda stared at her room.
The room was large, and besides her, there was a massive bookshelf filled to the brim with books. A large desk stood in the right corner of the room. On it, a white desk lamp sat on the right corner of the desk with books neatly piled around it.
The room had a nice woody, tranquil feeling around it that could calm anyone who was in it. The sunlight directly entered the room from the large windows around the room, brightening the surroundings. Before entering the academy, because of her outstanding results, she was asked by the academy how she wanted to design the room and this was the outcome.
The tranquility and silence in the room calmed her mind.
"...ugh!"
Touching her head, she felt a strong headache whenever she tried remembering what had happened the night prior. It felt as if her head was being split into two.
The last thing she remembered was seeing two emotionless eyes staring at her.
Recalling the young man that was responsible for killing Elijah, Amanda's head was filled with questions.
Although she had never paid much attention to him, she still did observe him from time to time like all of her classmates. In fact, because he tended to do weird things, she more or less had an impression of him.
In both elective and class, he looked like someone who was sloppy. He cared for no one around him and always seemed to be bored in class. Especially in the elective where he would forcefully try to pay attention to the lecture, though it always ended with him making strange faces.
...However, after the happenings of the party, her previous impression of him had completely shattered. Recalling his two eyes devoid of emotions that perfectly calculated the exact time to strike, Amanda felt a cold chill run down her spine.
Even though she was indifferent to most things, she couldn't help but want to find out more about him. In one moment he was a sloppy good for nothing weirdo and in another a calculating cold-blooded killer.
...what was his true personality?
-Bam!
Snapping Amanda out of her thoughts was the sound of the door opening as two stunning girls accompanied by two extremely handsome boys entered the room.
Rushing next to Amanda, Emma worriedly looked at her as she patted her body all over to make sure she was okay.
"Amanda, I saw on the news about what had happened...are you okay?"
"...hm"
Nodding her head slightly, she looked at the four individuals that had entered her room. Jin, Kevin, Melissa, and Emma. Though she didn't show it on her face, seeing that they had come to visit her, Amanda felt a little warmth in her heart.
Interrupting Emma who was all over Amanda, Kevin spoke
"I was extremely surprised when I received the news of what had happened, how did you manage to defeat a D rank villain?"
"...eh?"
"Don't tell me you forgot?—Here take a look"
Seeing the confused look on Amanda's face, Emma took her phone out from her pocket. She then proceeded to turn on the holographic function and swiped towards Amanda. Soon a virtual newspaper article appeared before her.
[At 10:22 p.m. in Ashton city, D rank villain who had infiltrated top human academy 'lock' attempted to kill more than 50 students. An anonymous tip had alerted the authorities beforehand about the sudden attack, and upon arrival, the corpse of D rank villain was found. The corpse of the villain had multiple arrow wounds all over its body. Upon investigation, all drinks and foods present in the venue had been drugged beforehand by a potent drug containing a strong sleeping agent. Currently, the venue owners of [le farat] are under arrest on the suspicion of collusion with villains. Fortunately, thanks to the courageous efforts of one individual, this disaster was prevented. If not for the heroic feats of top student, Amanda stern, this day would've turned into a tragic massacre. The motive behind the attack is still unkn..]
Looking through the article, Amanda slowly and carefully read the article from top to bottom. Not skipping a single detail.
'Was it his doing?'
She knew for a fact that she wasn't the person responsible for Elijah's death. Yet, from what she was reading in the article it seemed like she was the one who had killed him.
The fact that she was passed out with her bow in her hand, coupled with the multiple arrows that belonged to her which were found on Elijah's body, made everyone assume that she was the one responsible for killing him.
...only she knew the truth.
She had only shot one arrow that night, and all it did was leave superficial wounds. It didn't injure him at all. The real killer was not her...it was 'him'
Though at that moment her head was dizzy, she remembered the moment when Elijah was killed. It was one swift sword movement so fast that Elijah, a D rank villain had no time to react.
What was even more impressive was the fact that he had done this, exactly when Elijah's guard was at its lowest. Almost as if he knew this was going to happen. Had he failed, only death would've been his outcome.
Cold, precise, cunning, many words came into her mind as she tried to describe 'him' the best way she could...
"Hey, hey, Amanda!"
Snapping Amanda out of her thoughts, was Emma's concerned voice.
"...Sorry"
Lowering her head, Amanda apologized. She was so lost in her own thoughts that she had ignored everyone that had come into the room.
"It's fine, you must still be in shock."
Shaking her head, Emma patted Amanda on her shoulder as she gestured for the other guys in the room to leave.
"We'll let you have some rest, call us if you need anything"
Winking at Amanda, Emma quickly brought everyone out of the room
-Clank!
Closing the room's door, silence permeated the room once again leaving a stunning young girl alone in her thoughts.
...
"You think she's okay?"
Standing outside Amanda's room, Emma looked at the four people beside her.
Thinking for a bit Kevin said
"...hmm, honestly I can't tell. Her face is always indifferent so I'm not too sure"
"True"
Nodding her head, Emma couldn't help but agree with Kevin's evaluation. Despite the fact that Amanda had just gone through a traumatic experience, her expression never changed. She remained indifferent. Even for her who was extremely outgoing, talking to Amanda was difficult. She never knew what she was thinking.
Did she even think of them as friends?
Seeing everyone's somber expression, Kevin tried lightening up the mood by changing the topic.
"But hey, I didn't expect her to be strong enough to defeat a D rank villain by herself"
"Yeah you're right, who would've thought she was that strong. What do you think Melissa?"
Realizing what Kevin was trying to do, Emma redirected the conversation to Melissa.
"...hm?"
Melissa who was unamusingly scrolling through some research papers noticed that Emma was talking to her and unenthusiastically said
"I guess it's pretty impressive"
Noticing how uninterested Melissa was, Emma pouted and said
"...geez, can you at least look a little bit more interested"
"No chance"
Despite having known Amanda and the rest for a month and a half, to call them close would be a lie.
Because she spent most of her time in the lab doing research, she barely had enough time to get to know them better. Not that she was interested in knowing them...
To Melissa, anything that wasn't related to her research didn't really mean anything to her.
Though to outsiders, it looked like they all got along well with each other, the only reason why they talked to each other in the first place was because they were living under the same roof and would make good connections for the future.
Since they were all going to be future pillars of humanity, it wasn't a bad idea to make a connection with them.
Moreover, for some reason, people always tended to avoid them. Jealousy? fear? worship? No one knew why they avoided them, but that only made their social circle smaller.
Seeing how uninterested Melissa was, Emma sighed and looked at Jin.
Behind Melissa, Jin stood there dumbly. His expression was that of pure indifference. He looked to be deep into his own world ignoring everyone around him.
"...well I'm gonna head back now"
Seeing that this conversation was going nowhere, Emma gave up and decided to leave. Following her, Kevin and Melissa left leaving Jin standing there by himself.
A couple of minutes after everyone left, clenching his fist extremely hard, veins appeared on Jin's forehead. Though he tried extremely hard to suppress his rage, Jin's face became incomparably dark.
Right now his mind was torn.
Not only Kevin was stronger than him...but Amanda too?
No matter how many times he tried to visualize it in his mind, killing a D ranked villain was impossible for the current him.
Though people assumed that he was ranked third because of his status and talent, no one knew how much he worked for his rank.
He had come to the lock thinking that he was going to be the highest-ranking first year...yet when the results came out he was ranked third. Moreover, the gap between him and the first place, Kevin, was absurdly high.
His failure to come first was also emphasized by his family who had high hopes for him.
He was in total shock.
He understood Melissa, her academic achievement was so absurdly high that it managed to propel her to second place, he was fine with that...but Kevin? Someone that no one knew about prior to entering the lock?
It was a heavy blow to his immense pride. The pride of having grown up thinking that he was the best among the younger generation.
Despite his failure, Jin did not let rage cloud his mind. Though he disliked Kevin, he looked at him more like an obstacle to surpass rather than an enemy.
To try and bridge the gap between himself and Kevin, Jin trained two, no, three times harder than he had done previously...and just when he had thought he managed to bridge the gap between them...Amanda killed a D ranked villain.
This news came as a shock for him, and even now that a day had passed he still couldn't stop thinking about it.
Because Amanda's father was the guild master of the first ranking guild in the world 'Demon hunter', and his father was the greatest shareholder of the second-ranked guild 'Starlight guild', he had known Amanda since young.
Since birth, because of the rivalry between the two guilds, he had been continuously compared to her. He took great pride in the fact that he had gotten a higher rank than her when he enrolled in the lock.
His father also took great pride in that as he praised him endlessly, further feeding his ego. He had managed to suppress the 'Demon hunter' guild rising momentum.
...yet this sense of accomplishment all seemed to be a lie.
The more he stayed here, the more he realized how normal he was.
He had been showered with praises since young. He became arrogant, but he managed to back his arrogance. He was the best.
...was he?
"What am I?"
Staring at the long dark corridor, Jin was lost in his own thoughts.
A seed of inferiority slowly started implanting itself inside of his mind.
Report chapter
A couple of days had passed since the party, but news of what had transpired during the party spread throughout the whole academy like wildfire.
It was to the point that pretty much everyone knew what had happened.
Currently, I was laying on my bed staring at the white ceiling of my room. Lost in my own thoughts.
I thought that since I didn't directly participate in the main plotline of the story that the future wouldn't change.
I thought I had full control of my memories, so I decided to take advantage of them and help myself to some of the benefits whilst also trying to not affect the plotline.
But I was wrong...no matter how small the change was, once it began...there was no stopping it.
It suddenly hit me.
One little change could cause massive changes to the whole story. It was like a domino chain.
Regardless of how small the force was, once the first domino fell, like a chain reaction all the dominos fell apart.
I was naive, no! I was arrogant.
Because of my arrogance, the plotline started changing. In a way that I was losing control of the advantage that I had as the author.
The event between Elijah and Amanda should've never happened this early in the novel. Somehow my actions had affected the novel. Despite me repeating to myself that everything was going to be fine, I was simply lying to myself.
I couldn't deny something that happened right before my eyes. I couldn't deny that my existence itself had changed the plotline.
...I fundamentally needed to change the way I was thinking.
But how?
'Do I actively interact with the protagonists or keep myself in the shadows as I did before?'
I was lost...
-Ring!
Snapping me from my thoughts was the sound of my cellphone ringing. Turning it on I looked at the notification that showed up.
[Amanda Stern, singlehandedly defeats D rank villain that had infiltrated the academy and posed as Elijah Turner. She had been awa...]
'It seems like the news was already starting to spread outside of the academy...'
During these past few days, Amanda managed to cement herself as one of the foremost geniuses in our generation. 'Ice queen', 'Bow Godess', 'villain killer' all sort of nicknames started circulating around the academy as everyone started paying attention to her.
The reason for such attention was because...she singlehandedly defeated a D rank villain despite only being in the early stages of E rank. A genius amongst geniuses. After the incident, she was now being compared to the likes of Kevin in terms of raw talent.
Turning off my phone, I gave myself a pat on the back. It seems like I managed to cover my traces quite well as nothing was mentioned regarding me.
It also seems that Thomas covered for me, preventing anyone from finding out that I was responsible for tipping them about the incident.
Looks like I owe him one...
Fortunately, apart from the small loophole, with the facts pointing towards Amanda, my daily life returned to what it was before.
well, that was how it was supposed to be like, but...
After changing and heading to my classroom, I noticed two eyes deeply staring at me from the left side of the classroom.
Awkwardly smiling, I lightly waved in Amanda's direction. I was hoping she would take then hint and leave me alone, but it seemed that my action only further increased the intensity of her stare.
'...does she perhaps have a grudge against me for putting her in the spotlight?'
I thought as I tried my best to look at the front, ignoring her piercing stare.
It was plausible. Because of my action, the whole world was now paying attention to her.
If something like this happened to me, I too would've held a grudge against myself. Sometimes fame was more of a curse than a blessing.
...or did she perhaps misunderstand something regarding my strength?
Now that I thought about it. She probably thought that I was someone who was hiding his strength.
She was not wrong about that, but looking back at the event, she probably has a misconception about the true extent of my abilities.
Though I did in fact kill a D rank villain, many factors had come to play in me defeating him.
If she had not distracted him with her last-ditch attack, and if Elijah didn't underestimate me added with me having [Monarch's indifferece]...I would've never been able to kill Elijah.
Me killing Elijah was something that many factors combined together helped me achieve. It wasn't something I could ever hope to achieve again.
But...there were no what if's in this world and thus I was now stuck with Amanda thinking I was some sort of genius that was comparable to the likes of Kevin.
...this was honestly problematic.
"...hm?"
As I was lamenting at how Amanda probably misunderstood me, Melissa who was sitting three rows behind Amanda noticed her weird behavior and looked in the direction she was looking at.
Soon her eyes paused on me.
Raising her brow, Melissa rubbed her eyes a couple of times before making sure that Amanda was indeed looking at me.
At first, she clicked her tongue, then suddenly a smirk appeared on her face.
I instantly felt an ominous premonition. Just now, she did her signature smile. The smile signaled that she was onto something.
Can I start crying already?
...this was why I didn't want to interact with her. Not only was she a sadistic girl who took pleasure in other's suffering, but she was the type to repay grudges many times fold.
On the bright side, no one noticed the interaction that had just occurred. Emma and Kevin were currently busy talking with Miss Donna, and Jin was at the front of the classroom unusually quiet.
If the fact that the class loner suddenly interacted with the two most beautiful girls in the academy was to spread, I could already start planning my funeral.
The sheer amount of admirers those two have could probably fill twenty five football fields. It was that ridiculous.
"Okay class is starting, please be seated everyone"
Looking at the clock and seeing that it was time for class to start, Donna dismissed everyone that was in the front of the class and headed for the podium.
"Quiet please"
Gesturing for the class to quiet down, Donna lightly raised her palm. Soon everyone stopped talking.
Seeing how everyone shut up as soon as Donna spoke, I couldn't help but admire her even more. The degree of control she had over the class was quite impressive. With just a few words and gestures she managed to shut the whole class up.
It may have something to do with the art she practices, but her natural charisma was not to be dismissed either. She just had this charm around her that made any man or woman follow whatever she said.
"Today we will select the groups you will be split into during our trip to Hollberg"
... oh crap, forgot this was happening.
Was too caught up with the Amanda thing that I had completely forgotten we had a class trip in about a week's time.
I honestly didn't want to go.
"Please come to the front of the class and collect your ticket"
Not caring about my predicament, Donna took a large box and put it in front of the podium.
"I'll call your name one by one in ascending order."
Taking ut her register, Donna continued
"You are to take one ticket and that will be your group for the week that you will be in Hollberg, now let's start...Rank 1, Kevin Voss"
Hearing his name being called, Kevin stood up and headed to where Donna was.
"Here?"
"Yes, take a ticket and go back to your seat"
Listening to Donna, Kevin reached his hand into the box and took a ticket.
Instantly everyone's attention was drawn towards him.
They were all curious about his group number. Being the number 1 ranked in the whole year, if anyone was paired up with him they were guaranteed results. This was shown multiple times in things such as in the virtual class and other group activities as he got the first rank in every one of those activities.
Seeing everyone's reaction, I scoffed at them.
Do you think that by freeloading on Kevin you will get a good grade? Hate to break it to you but this time you'll come back disappointed as an incident will prevent him from completing whatever he was supposed to do in Hollberg.
Looking at his number, Kevin remained silent for a second before going back to his seat.
To everyone's disappointment, he didn't show what group number he got.
well, that rule didn't apply to me who knew exactly what he got. His group was [Group 7, and if I'm not wrong Melissa would end up being in the same group as him.
"Next, Melissa Hall"
Standing up, Melissa walked to the podium and took a ticket.
Briefly glancing at the ticket, Melissa walked back to her seat. The stares were just as intense as when Kevin had come up. This time it wasn't because of her ability, but more because of how beautiful she was.
"Next, Jin Horton"
.
.
.
"Next, Ren Dover"
Finally. After who knows how long, my turn had finally come.
Since everyone had gotten their ticket, most people ignored me. No one really cared about me so I didn't feel any eyes on me.
...is what I wanted to say but, I found two sets of eyes focusing on me.
Trying my best to ignore them, my mouth and brows twitched a couple of times.
Without even glancing at me, Donna coldly said
"Take your ticket and leave"
Trying to hide my bitterness at Donna's overly harsh tone, I reached out into the box and took a ticket.
As soon as my hand was inside of the box I secretly channeled some of my mana into it. Though Melissa tried to hide it well, the small spell she cast inside of the box didn't escape my eyes.
Taking out a ticket, I headed back to my seat.
As I was walking up, I noticed Melissa's face crumbling. It looked as if she had eaten crap.
...it felt great.
Secretly winking at her, I sat back in my seat and proceeded to ignore her.
'he he he, you think I wouldn't know what you were up to?'
Please, I am your creator. Do you think I wouldn't know about your petty tricks?
As soon as I saw her smirk I knew she was up to something. Thinking back to my novel, I pretty much deduced what she was trying to do and broke the spell she placed inside of the box. She was probably trying to manipulate the tickets so that I would end up in a crappy group.
Most probably, she was trying to group me with Amanda.
Since she noticed how odd Amanda was behaving she must've thought she had a grudge against me or something...which wasn't wrong.
Too bad for her, I already knew what she was trying to do and stopped whatever spell she placed inside of the box.
-Clap!
Clapping once to gather everyone's attention, Donna said
"Alright, now that everyone has found a group you may leave the class"
Just as everyone was about to stand up to leave the class, Donna smacked her palm with her fist
"...ah! one more thing"
Taking a ticket out of the box she flipped the ticket backward and said
"Behind the ticket, you will find that there is a room number and a list of things you will need to bring and do during your trip. Please go to the room after you leave the class and discuss with your groups which task you will do"
Listening to her and flipping over my ticket, I looked through the contents
[Group 9]
Group room : A(b) 15
Task :
- In-depth report on how monster parts are processed in a factory. The report must detail how monsters are skinned, processed, and turned into raw materials to be used in artifact creation.
- In-depth report on the different properties of monster parts. From density to breaking point, elasticity etc..
- Interview with the vice-director of the factory and report their economic strategy and what sets them apart from other monster processing plants.
This was part of the reason why I didn't want to go.
The sheer amount of boring tasks we needed to do made me depressed. It just wasn't something I was looking forward to.
"Alright, class dismissed"
Finished with what she wanted to say, Donna packed her stuff and left the classroom.
Sighing, I stood up and went to the room I was supposed to go to meet my group.
'I hope I get a decent group...'
Though it was only a pipe dream, a man could still hope right...?
Report chapter
Inside a small classroom that was about the size of a bedroom, two individuals sat facing each other.
Of the two individuals, one was a female while the other was a male.
The male had his head held down and was fearfully looking at the female who was looking at him with her legs and arms crossed. Her face was incomparably dark.
It looked as if they were in a murder trial with the male student being the one under trial.
Breaking the silence was the female whose voice sounded extremely dark.
"Ren. Dover."
"...I-It's been a while Melissa"
Yes, the boy who was currently being persecuted was in fact me.
Sitting down in front of Melissa, I tried my best to avoid her eyes. Right now her face was smiling but her eyes weren't. I had a feeling that she wanted nothing more but to eat me alive.
Why was she in a bad mood?
Looking at my number and Melissa's number, a few tears streamed down my cheeks.
[Group 9]
...my plan backfired badly.
"...w-would you believe me if I told you it was an accident?"
"Accident? Prey do tell me what might you be referring to. I do recall seeing an insect winking at me during our class...or did I see wrong?"
"...err"
Please someone save me!
Nervously looking around the room, my eyes paused on a black concoction in the middle of the table. Out of desperation, I tried to change the topic.
"This is?"
Expecting my question, Melissa dazzlingly smiled and said
"New potion I've been experimenting with. Just for you, free of charge."
Squinting my eyes, I moved my chair back and warily asked
"What does it do?"
Covering her mouth with her hand, Melissa lightly laughed and said
"Nothing much apart from making you throw up dozens of times over and making you feel like you had just been through hell. What makes this potion even more special is that if you are lucky enough there's a chance you can throw up your own intestine killing you instantly"
"...can I pass?"
It honestly scared me how she managed to say all of this with a straight face.
-Bam!
Just as I was despairing at my situation, opening the door, three young prideful individuals entered the room.
Looking around the room, they soon noticed Melissa who was sitting in front of me. Instantly their arrogance deflated a notch.
"Hello there, Melissa Hall"
Walking in front of Melissa, what seemed to be the leader of the trio elegantly bowed in front of her.
His facial features which were devoid of any imperfections accompanied by his sharp eyes and brows made him look suave and elegant. He had short black hair and green eyes that resembled finely polished jades. Though he was not extremely handsome, his looks were enough to make any girl swoon.
"It is an honor to meet Melissa Hall, one of the most beautiful women in our academy and pioneer in the scientific field"
Pausing, and fixing his uniform he said
"My name is Donald Berson"
...who?
Another extra who thought they were the shit.
Honestly, if the guy could read Melissa's mind at the moment he would've probably have made a run for it.
Smiling, Melissa glanced at the young individual before her and said
"You must be Rank 167 Donald Berson whose father is an A rank Hero of the Starlight guild"
As soon as Melissa finished speaking, Donald straightened his back with pride. Looking at me he smirked
hm?...what did I do?
Do I even know you?
Is he that proud that Melissa knew who he was?
Ignoring Doland's subtle action against me, Melissa smiled and politely said
"How can I help you?"
To me it just looked like she was saying 'Be quick and fuck off, I don't have time to deal with you scrubs' but maybe I was just too biased.
"Ah, let me introduce the rest of the people before I continue"
Stepping to the side, Donald presented one of the other group members.
"This is Rank 298, Evan Smoke"
Standing behind Donald, a rather chubby individual with ginger hair and freckles all over his face appeared. With his hands behind his back, Evan haughtily looked around the room.
...his demeanor reminded me of one of those villainous nobles you would find in novels.
Smiling amiably, Evan lightly bowed in front of Melissa.
"Nice to meet you, Melissa Hall, I have heard of your outstanding achievements since I was very young. I had been eagerly awaiting the day where we would meet and upon seeing you I can say with confidence that there is no other woman out there that can confidently claim to be more beautiful than you"
...talk about excessive flattery.
Unlike Donald, I actually knew who he was.
He was no one important per se, he was another extra. But this time, I actually knew him cus I actually remembered writing about him. He appeared on the trip and arrogantly confronted Kevin only to be instantly shut down.
True extra.
After Evan finished his introductions, Donald turned to the remaining student.
"...and this is Rank 475, Cassandra lee"
Standing next to Evan, a rather skinny young female with a buzzcut presented herself. With her hands in her blazer pockets and whilst chewing gum she looked at Melissa with interest. She had two piercings on her right lip and nose and her lips which were black, accompanied by her eyes which were filled with eye shadow reminded me of someone who was in their emo phase. She had black metal bracelets on her arm and her uniform was unkempt.
Smiling lightly she looked at Melissa and said
"Pleasure to meet you"
Greeting everyone, Melissa turned her attention back to Donald.
"Nice to meet you, so what do you want?"
"Nothing much, we are in the same group so I wanted to introduce myself and my companions to you who is going to be part of our team"
"Since we still have about a week before going on the trip I thought it would be a great idea to form a good bond while we are at it, hahaha"
Laughing lightly, Donald, Evan, and Cassandra eagerly looked at Melissa.
...sigh.
How more obvious can you be?
If you wanted to hang out with Melissa you could have just said so from the beginning. Why go through all of this nonsense.
Noticing my reaction, Donald stopped laughing and gloomily said
"What's so funny?"
Rolling my eyes at his immature display I said
"There's a week left before the trip and you're planning on making friends rather than just allocating our tasks"
Annoyed by my rebuttal, Donald finally acknowledged my presence as he asked
"Who are you?"
"Rank 1750 Ren Dover"
Instantly the whole room was filled with laughter and ridicule.
"Hahaha, Rank 1750 and you dare talk to me like that?"
"hohoho, to think that someone who is ranked so low exists"
"I bet in terms of spouting crap his rank is around the top three in the whole year, no, the academy"
Rolling my eyes at them I said
"To think there was not only one delusional person here, but three? How disappointing"
"..."
Instantly the room became quiet. Donald and the other two's faces instantly crumbled. After a brief pause, and processing what I had just said, Donald shouted
"What!?"
Summoning his spear from his dimensional space, Donald grabbed it and pointed its sharp tip at me. A blue glow appeared around his body.
"Shut that flimsy mouth of yours before I cut your tongue off with my superior skills and talent that a nobody like you can ever hope to have"
Seeing him taking out his spear, summoning my sword from my bracelet, I grabbed it and a white glow started appearing around my body as I spat back
"No, you shut your mouth! How more obvious can you be that you're a third-rate villain with your third-rate quotes!"
Hatefully glaring at me and gritting his teeth, Donald pretended to hit me with his spear but I didn't even flinch.
"Grrr"
Seeing that his faint was seen through, Donald clenched his teeth even harder.
Seeing his reaction, I triumphantly smirked at him and raised my middle finger
"Wanna bet that I don't even need to lift my finger before I can decapitate that useless head of yours!"
"Youuuu bastard!"
Finally snapping after hearing my comment, Donald prepared to stab me for real. But before he could do that, he heard an annoyed sigh coming from behind him.
Sigh
"Is it fun to waste time like this?"
Sitting on the table, Melissa covered her face with her hands.
"Melissa?"
Stopping, Donald and the rest looked at Melissa who seemed to be in an extremely bad mood.
"Why are you all acting like children?"
"B-but he started it?"
Snapping at him, Melissa looked at Donald in utter disgust
"What? Are you some kind of child? He started this he started that? Do you know how many fucks I give about that?"
Raising her hand, she did an 'o' sign with her fingers and said
"Absolutely zero"
Being berated by Melissa, the rest lowered their heads in shame. If it was anyone else they would've probably have fought back, but since it was Melissa they could only suck it up.
Every time someone tried to talk they would immediately be glared at by Melissa shutting them up instantly
Clicking her tongue, Melissa continued
"Stop flapping those useless mouths of yours and do the work. We were asked to talk about our work. I had come with the expectations that the people in my group would be regular humans but it seems like I was paired up with a bunch of useless chickens and buffoons that can only dance around wildly yapping their mouths non-stop"
"Frankly, shut up! Your mere existence is annoying me"
"b-b.."
Raising her hand to stop them from talking, Melissa glared at them and said
"Don't wanna hear it. If you want to do me a favor just stop breathing. You'll be plenty useful then"
he he
Seeing the trio's deflated looks I couldn't help but laugh lightly. Karma got them good.
"And you why are you smiling?"
"...hm?"
"Yes you...you are the most useless of the lot and yet you dare enjoy this like it's some sort of show?"
"Bu-t.."
"Shut up, and follow their example and stop breathing!"
Shutting up, I dared not to utter a single word.
I was pretty sure she realized I was making fun of them from the beginning and thus why she was glaring at me the hardest.
Turning my head right, the first thing that caught my sight was the trio smirking in my direction. Seemingly enjoying my predicament.
Squinting my eyes at them I made a mental note to myself
'...it seems like three more names will be added to my long list of people who I should beat up. Just you wait. I will definitely turn those smiles upside down.'
"sigh, alright let's get this over with"
Seeing that everyone had started to become more obedient, Melissa sat back on her seat, crossed her legs, and looked through the tasks which we were supposed to do.
It had to be noted that she was the only one sitting as the rest of us were still standing with our back straight not daring to utter a single word.
"You and you will be responsible for the first task"
Pointing at Cassandra and Evan, Melissa apathetically spoke as she allocated their task not caring for their opinion.
"You and you will be responsible for the second task, whist I will do the third task alone"
Looking to my left, my eyes met Donald's. Our eyes both screamed 'Hell no!' but we just pretended to smile at each other in a friendly manner.
The groups were Cassandra and Evan for task 1, Me and Donald for task 2, and Melissa for task 3.
I wanted to rebuke so badly, but I didn't dare to.
I'm sure Donald shared the same sentiment as me, but we were both too scared of Melissa to dare speak out our thoughts.
"Alright, I've wasted enough time babysitting the lot of you. I am heading back now, I have better things to do"
Throwing the group ticket away, Melissa stood up and left the room. Right after her, everyone else left the room, me included.
Staring at the now darkening sky, I let out an exhausted sigh.
This was going to be a long trip...
Report chapter
Prior to the first cataclysm, science dictated the natural laws of the world.
Phenomenons such as the creation of the universe, the extinction of dinosaurs, the life cycle of planets, everything was explained through the usage of science.
...yet, as soon as mana came into the world, things that science dictated to be impossible became possible.
Summoning fireballs, splitting mountains, turning invisible, running at speeds that the naked eye couldn't see. Despite how much scientists tried to rack their brains around it, they couldn't explain such phenomenons.
The world's standards changed.
What we previously thought we knew had to be reviewed.
That was because of the existence of a new index. Mana.
In 2015, Dimitri Morlov, a scientist of Russian descent proposed a new scientific branch called Magic.
Magic used to be a word to describe petty tricks that fooled the human eyes, yet now Dimitri Morlov proposed for it to become a new scientific branch that stood with the likes of Physics, Chemistry, and Biology.
At first, all major political authorities disagreed. How could they suddenly change the system that they had been using for centuries? They thought that as time passed they would be able to incorporate the existence of mana into the current scientific standards.
..but as time passed and people learned more about mana, their ideology changed, and finally in 2032 Magic was approved as a new scientific branch.
[Magical research]
This was the name of the class I was currently headed to. It was also the class that assistant professor Gilbert von Dexteroi taught.
The 'secret' head of the [Blood supremacist] group that dominated the academy alongside the two other major groups, [Noblesse, and [Empire's sword].
Despite there being many factions inside of the academy, [Blood supremacist, [Noblesse, and [Empire's sword] were the ones that had the most influence and members.
The [Noblesse] faction had a similar concept to [Blood supremacist] in the fact that they only accepted people with certain statuses. However, in contrast to them, they weren't as radical. They didn't despise people just because of their lineage and wealth. Most of the members in [Noblesse] didn't even get to choose to join the faction as it was decided beforehand by their parents. Emma and Melissa too were forced to join because of their parent's influence. If everything went according to the plotline, during the last month of their second year, they would both be elected as the heads of the faction.
Lastly, there was [Empire's sword]. Unlike the other major faction, [Empire's sword] didn't select members based on their lineage or status. It only focused on individual strength. In order to enter, you must prove that you were worthy of holding their name. As such, the requirement to joining the faction was to defeat a senior member. Only upon proving your strength could you enter the faction.
Ranks within the faction were also determined by strength, with the head of the faction being the current rank 1 of the third year.
Those were the three major factions, and fortunately for me, I managed to avoid getting on their radar, allowing me to have a fairly carefree life. Despite the fact that being in a faction had many perks, it also came with many disadvantages. Most notably the fact that you had less time for yourself.
Because I was quite behind the rest of the protagonists when I had reincarnated in this world, I needed all the time I could spare to train myself so that I could catch up to them.
Because of how talented they were, catching up to them was not going to be an easy task. A month and a half had passed since reincarnating in this world and I wasn't even close to surpassing Emma whose rank was currently E-, let alone Kevin the main protagonist whose rank was E borderline D-.
Simply put, I did not have time to waste on hidden politics.
Fortunately, as if God had heeded my prayer, now that Elijah was found to be a villain, my elective was suspended indefinitely granting me more time to train. With the potions that Melissa has made for me, my training speed has seen a massive boost.
If things kept going at this speed, it wouldn't take too long for me to reach the F rank.
Whistling happily, I headed to my class in a good mood.
However, my good mood only lasted for a split second because as soon as I stepped outside of my dorm I caught sight of something that I didn't want to see.
Not so far from where I was standing, I could see first and second years glaring at each other. Some were even close to resorting to physical violence. If not for their friends holding them back, a fight would've already broken out.
...The conflicts within the academy were slowly getting out of control. It had gotten to the point that even innocent bystanders were starting to get swept into the conflict.
I could no longer walk without worrying about my safety.
With the backing of his father, Fabian managed to hide his involvement regarding the conflicts, preventing the professors from finding out what was truly happening.
Fabian's goal with these conflicts was simple. Create as much chaos as possible. Make the professors focus on the conflicts within the academy rather than Emma.
It was all proceeding as he planned.
The only upside about this situation was that everything was proceeding as I predicted. There were no changes to this scenario, allowing me to take a load off my back. As long as the plotline didn't change I could still exploit the fact that I knew the future.
As long as the plotline more or less remained the same I could have some peace of mind.
...
I arrived in my class and sat in my usual seat and waited for 'assistant professor' Gilbert to start the lecture. Since he wasn't a professor yet, he could only be referred to as 'assistant professor'
The class was unusually chatty today, with some male and female students excited about the upcoming class. The primary reason for their excitement was because of the person who was teaching them today.
Eagerly looking at the front of the class, everyone's eyes paused on a young individual with dirt blond hair. He had a noble air around him that made him look like an aristocrat from ancient times and his features that were relatively handsome made some of the girls in class blush.
Gilbert von Dexteroi. Not only was he extremely talented and managed to become an assistant professor at the tender age of 22, but he was also the son of the third-ranked Hero, 'Thunder god' Maximus von Dexteroi, one of the seven heads of the Union.
Standing in front of the podium, Gilbert sorted some of the papers in his hands. He looked very serious and though some students wanted to approach him, he quickly shooed them away.
At five on the dot, he looked up and began speaking
"Welcome to magical research. Our course will primarily be focused on mana and what it consists of. We will also look at how the mana from the atmosphere circulates around our body as we speak. What enables us to wield supernatural powers and how it has affected us in our daily lives..."
As he started speaking, everyone in the class started paying close attention to his words.
It wasn't because of his influence, but rather because of how important this class was.
For future heroes, this class was extremely important. Not only did it teach the basics of how mana worked, but it also helped students better understand their powers.
"Mana is nothing but a bundle of elements, fire, water, earth, wind, light, darkness, and so on...Mana is essentially a package that contained all of the elements, and those said elements are what we now refer to as psyons."
Looking around the class to make sure everyone understood, Gilbert continued
"It's fairly simple. When we use 'mana' all we are doing is actually using the psyons within the package (mana) to fit our needs. Take summoning a fireball as an example."
Extending his hand forward, a wave of heat spread across the classroom as a large fireball that resembled a sun appeared on Gilbert's palm.
"To do this all I did was channel the mana inside of my body and visualized a fireball. But how does simply channeling mana create a fireball?"
Looking at the large fireball in Gilbert's hand, every student eagerly awaited his next words. They too were curious. Since young, most of the students were taught how to channel mana without actually knowing the reason behind their actions.
It was like learning how to breathe but not actually knowing why they were breathing. Everyone wanted to know.
Smiling at everyone's enthusiasm, Gilbert continued.
"In reality, what you are doing is merely stimulating the fire psyon within the bundle of mana so that you can materialize fire like I just did"
"Mana follows the wave-particle theory, meaning that it behaves similarly to both particles and waves. When we use mana..."
As he was continuing his demonstration, just like the others, I couldn't help but be entranced by his explanations.
Though he was an absolute scum of a person, I had to say...he was a really good teacher.
His voice was crisp and pleasant, and he didn't leave any detail out when explaining the class contents. Even for someone like me who had only been in this world for a month and a half, the lecture was easy to understand.
Although I was not a mage, this lecture was still very useful for me.
Though it may not seem like it, I used mana when I practiced the [Keiki style]. Just like the professor had explained, mana was just a bundle of psyons that represented different elements, and for my swordsmanship, the main psyon that I used was the wind psyon.
I was able to achieve such a high degree of speed because the [Keiki style] used wind psyons to synergize with my sword movement, enabling it to achieve speeds that the naked eye couldn't see.
Grandmaster Keiki had stipulated that at the pinnacle of the [Keiki style, the wind psyon was no longer the main psyon that was used but it was in fact the light psyon. He believed that only upon the usage of light psyons did someone reach the realm of perfection of the [Keiki style].
I was still a far cry from that level, but at least I got a better idea of what to do when training.
...
As Gilbert was continuing his lecture, out of nowhere someone raised their hand up.
"...Yes?"
Pausing and looking up, Gilbert's eyes wandered towards the student who had just raised his hand.
Seeing that he had gotten the professor's attention, standing up, an extremely handsome individual with red eyes and black hair spoke
"Professor, if what you said is true then why can't we separate the psyons individually so that we can use spells more efficiently?"
"..."
Instantly the class became silent.
Soon Kevin found everyone staring at him. Some were frowning, some were laughing, and some were ridiculing him.
Even Gilbert couldn't help but let out a small chuckle.
"Now, calm down everyone. It is only normal that he doesn't know this considering that he had only just entered the academy"
Without hiding his disdain, Gilbert continued
"Though I am surprised you don't know this Kevin, let me explain it for you."
"The reason why psyons are bundled together and are not separate is because of the law of conservation of energy. A single psyon by itself would simply disintegrate in the air because it is unstable. Only when it is with the other psyons can it remain stable..."
As Gilbert was lecturing Kevin, I had already stopped focusing.
I was deep into my own thoughts.
For the past two weeks, I had been stuck in the threshold of the minor real of mastery of the [keiki style]. No matter how much I trained I couldn't quite make that leap to the next level in my sword training.
...but after hearing Gilbert's lecture. It finally dawned on me. The key to why I couldn't break through to the next realm of sword mastery.
Psyons.
"Fuuuuuuu..."
Inside of a dimly lit bedroom, a young boy let out a long breath as he sat crossed-legged. A white glow pulsated around his body. Increasing and decreasing constantly.
Focusing my mind, I tried to feel the mana around me.
After having listened to Gilbert's lecture I managed to grasp the missing key to my roadblock.
Mana control.
I needed to have better control of my mana. More precisely, I needed to have better control of wind psyons.
Since the [Keiki style] required me to harness wind psyons, in a way that it coated around my sword so that it could propel it forward, I needed to have a better understanding and control of them.
By having better control of wind psyons, not only would I become more efficient, but I would also be able to increase the speed of my sword movement.
Evening my breathing, I focused entirely on my surroundings.
I slowly felt the mana circulating around me. The more I focused the more I felt like I was underneath the sea, surrounded by water. It felt boundless.
"fuuuuuu..."
Sucking in my breath, I channeled the mana around me into my body.
Slowly the white glow around me increased, extending out from my body.
Closing my eyes, I focused on grasping the concepts of wind.
What was wind?
Wind referred to the movement of gases from high pressure to low-pressure areas.
High pressure
Low pressure
Slowly the white glow around me brightened.
-Shuam!
After a couple of minutes, abruptly opening my eyes, I reached for the sword that sat next to me.
Standing up, I positioned myself into my sword stance and focused entirely on what was ahead of me.
The world around me disappeared and all that was left was an empty white world with me in the middle.
The second movement of the [Keiki style] : Horizon splitting slash
-Shuuuua!
Like a lightning bolt, a bright white light enveloped the room. It left as fast as it came. Instantaneous.
Opening my eyes, a satisfied smiled appeared on my face...though it didn't last long as a long horizontal scar appeared on the wall.
"...crap!"
Hurrying over to the wall that I had just slashed with my sword, I traced my finger along the long horizontal scar that I left on the wall. Feeling how deep it was I couldn't help but curse out loud.
There went a couple of thousand U.
Damm it.
Originally, I was supposed to go to the training grounds to practice, but because I needed to hide the fact that I practice a five star module, I was left with the only option of practicing in my room.
The commotion of my breakthrough would've just been too big.
Moreover with all the cameras installed, hiding what I was doing was impossible.
In the end, I could only lament the fact that I didn't have my own personal training ground.
Shaking my head, I slumped back on the ground as fine droplets of sweat dripped from my forehead.
Laughing bitterly, I looked at my status.
Status=
Name : Ren Dover
Rank : F
Strength : F
Agility : F
Stamina : F
Intelligence : F -
Mana capacity : F
Luck : E
Charm : G
-- Profession :
[Swordsmanship lvl.2]
The degree of understanding of the sword has evolved to the next level. User will find it easier to understand concepts that were previously harder to understand.
-- Martial Manual :
[ Keiki style] - Minor realm of mastery
Sword art created by Grandmaster Toshimoto Keiki. A five-star module that focused primarily on reaching the apex of swordsmanship and speed. Upon mastery, the sword art becomes so fast that before an opponent could even think about their next move, their heads would already be rolling on the ground.
-- Skills :
[{G} Monarch's indifference]
A skill that enables users to erase all emotions, and act as a supreme monarch that only calculates the best option regardless of circumstance.
Looking at my stats, my brows involuntarily twitched due to one of the attribute's refusal to increase.
On the bright side, I had finally managed to reach F rank.
I had originally thought that I still needed a couple of weeks to a month before getting promoted to F rank, but it seems like my breakthrough had also helped me increase my stats.
Another factor that contributed to my sudden rise in rank was probably Melissa's potions.
Since they were made by her, the quality was probably on the higher end of the spectrum compared to what was sold on the market. This probably contributed to my sudden increase in rank.
I could now proudly say that I was at least within the top 150 if not top 100 in our year.
Though I was still not in the top ranks, I was slowly catching up to the others.
It didn't matter how long it took, all I needed to know was that I was slowly achieving it.
One day, I would slowly but surely become strong enough to overcome any challenges I faced. I didn't want to be helpless again like the time I was in the dungeon...
Looking back at my status window, I couldn't help but notice that my swordsmanship had leveled up to 2.
As my understanding of the sword increased, so did my profession.
The higher the profession level, the higher the understanding you had of the profession. Moreover, the more your profession level increased, the easier it was to understand previously daunting problems. It was like my comprehension had been increased.
With my newfound knowledge, I was instantly able to find the flaws of my current fighting style.
Despite how good the [Keiki style] was, I was currently too weak to wield it.
Looking back at my previous fights, I remembered always finding myself in a pickle after not being able to finish my opponent on my first hit.
...I only knew how to attack but not defend.
Once I attacked I wasted too much time trying to regain my stance.
Because I was still a newbie with the [Keiki style, I wasted too much time transitioning from one stance to the other...this in turn allowed the enemy to regain their bearing, completely removing the element of surprise.
Moreover, from my experience, I found that in between the time that I was switching stanced I was basically helpless.
I needed something that created synergy with the [Keiki style]. Something that bought me time so that I could regain my stance.
My first thought was obviously getting another skill, but considering how expensive and rare they were I could only discard such thought.
My next thought was whether I should buy an artifact.
If I bought an artifact that created a shield around me after every attack, it could easily solve my problem...but in the end, similarly to skills, I couldn't afford it.
Despite the fact that I had 6 million U with me, it was not nearly enough to purchase an artifact that met my precise requirement.
In the end, I was left with one option.
Learn another sword art.
This was probably the easiest method and most appropriate method. There was more than one reason as to why this was the most appropriate choice, but the biggest of them all was that I was in urgent need of a sword art that I could use in the absence of the [Keiki style]
For obvious reasons, if news were to spread that I was in possession of a five star manual, I could kiss my daily life goodbye as I would be hounded by greedy bastards left and right.
It was fine if they were just targeting me, but since I had parents, my every action had to also consider them in the picture.
I was no longer alone.
Thinking thus far, I knew that I had to mask my real sword art...and what better way to hide that fact than by practicing another one.
This way, I could hide my strength from everyone's sight even better. The fewer the loopholes, the better.
Plus, if I chose a defense-orientated sword art and if I could use it alongside the [Keiki style, my strength would see another boost.
It was simply a win-win.
...now all I had to do was find the appropriate sword art.
A couple of ones came into my head, but they were either too hard to get or were too expensive. The academy also provided them, but you had to have a certain amount of merits in order to use them.
I currently had zero.
After a long time of me trying to rack my brain over this issue, I decided to leave it for later. It'll eventually hit me. There was no point in trying to think of the solution to a problem in my current circumstances.
I was already exhausted from breaking through. There was no point in thinking when my brain capacity was currently at its limit.
It'll eventually hit me.
Laying down on my bed, I picked up the mysterious red book that I had gotten from the package my mom had sent me.
Things have been quiet on Kevin's side. Nothing particularly exciting happened apart from the slight conflict he had with Gilbert at the end of the lesson.
I was too immersed in my own enlightenment to witness the conflict. But what essentially happened was that Kevin and Gilbert had a verbal dispute with each other at the end of the lecture. It was a tit for tat.
It didn't escalate to a full-blown fight, but it certainly increased the enmity between the two. Especially Gilbert who already hated Kevin with a passion.
Looking through the book and seeing that there was nothing particularly exciting, I closed the book in my hands and prepared to sleep.
Regarding the book, one more thing I found out about it was that it couldn't be stored inside of a dimensional space. This was a bummer because it meant that I would essentially have to carry it with me everywhere from now on.
Though I didn't use the book much, if the situation called for it, I was always ready to make use of its future alternating properties.
...but as of now I only used the book to see how Kevin and the story were progressing. There just wasn't a need for me to use it as of now.
I mean, although there were some hiccups here and there, the plotline was proceeding as it should be, and because Kevin still didn't have any major conflicts I didn't really feel the need to use it.
-Ding! -Dong!
Just as I was about to close my eyes and sleep, the sound of my doorbell ringing could be heard.
'...Hm? Who could it be?'
Sitting up on my bed, I looked in the direction of the door in confusion.
I don't recall ordering anything...
Frowning, I tried to remember if I had a prior engagement, but I soon shook my head. I wasn't expecting any packages nor expecting someone.
Maybe my parents ordered something for me?
...But I don't recall them ever mentioning anything about this.
A myriad of questions entered my mind as I headed for the door. In the end, because I was too tired, I thought nothing of it and opened the door. I wasn't popular enough to have someone actively looking for me.
"How can I hel..."
Halfway through my sentence, I froze.
"..."
Standing in front of me stood a stunningly beautiful young girl with glossy black hair that gently fell down all the way to her waist. Her black crystal clear eyes looked directly at me and though she wasn't as tall as me, we could see each other at eye level.
After a moment of pause, she said
"May I come in?"
"..."
No words came from my mouth.
I was so shocked at the moment that I just stood there dumbly.
I was totally caught off guard.
"...?"
Tilting her head to the side, and seeing the state I was in, the young girl without waiting for me to respond entered my room.
It was evident that such a situation was within her expectations.
-Clank!
Snapping me out of my daze was the sound of the door closing as the young girl entered my room.
Turning around, a complicated look appeared on my face.
'Why would Amanda suddenly show up in my room? '
Report chapter
The air around the room was tense. It felt suffocating. Almost as if I was stuck inside of a cramped room with no room to breathe.
The reason for such atmosphere?
Quietly sitting on my chair, a stunningly beautiful young girl with glossy black hair and porcelain white skin devoid of any imperfections, was curiously looking around my room.
Amanda stern.
Someone who I had never thought of interacting with privately.
Seeing her sit on my seat as if it was the most natural thing to do, my eyebrows twitched.
Just what did I do to deserve this?
...no, I knew why, I just wanted to deny reality.
Sighing, I spoke up to try to break the awkward atmosphere.
"Would you like green tea or water?"
Hearing my voice, Amanda's eyes paused on my face for a couple of seconds and after a short pause she said
"...green tea"
"Alright"
Heading to where my teapot was stashed, I took it out and poured steaming hot water into the pot.
After a couple of seconds, I took a bag filled with tea leaves and gently threw them into the pot.
While waiting for the tea to be ready, I turned around and noticed Amanda's obsidian black eyes staring at me.
Taken aback by her odd behavior, I asked
"...Need something?"
Hearing my voice and seeing that I had caught her red-handed, Amanda looked to the side and acted as if nothing happened as she lightly murmured.
"...Nothing"
Smiling, I looked back at the teapot.
What do you mean nothing? You were obviously staring at me!
Even a blind person could tell you were looking at me.
Pinching my brows, I decided to think about this in a positive way.
From the looks of things, it at least seemed that she had no hard feelings against me. Since I knew her personality well, I knew that if she were to have had a grudge against me, she would've avoided me at all costs.
Treating me as if I was nonexistent.
Seeing how she had actively come looking for me, I knew that she didn't hold what happened against me.
...so what did she come here for?
There was definitely a reason for her visit. I sort of had a hunch on what it was, but I wasn't too sure.
Most likely, she came to express her gratitude for saving her.
If so, I better get this over with fast. If someone found out 'the Amanda Stern' who was the talk of the academy was having a private meeting with a boy in his own room, I wouldn't even know how I died.
The fact that she was in my room meant that my life was in danger.
Sigh.
Just when I thought things weren't going to become more troublesome suddenly a new troublesome situation arose.
Looking at the water in the teapot that had started turning murky brown, I carefully removed the teapot from the heater and poured the tea into two porcelain teacups.
Walking back to where Amanda was seated, I handed the steaming hot teacup to her and sat in front of her.
"Thank you"
Taking the teacup with both hands, Amanda gently blew on the cup and took a sip.
Closing her eyes and savoring the taste of the tea, Amanda nodded slightly said
"...it's good"
"Thank you"
Sitting in front of her, I also took a sip of the tea. It had a slightly bitter aftertaste that even after a couple of seconds lingered at the tip of my tongue. It was quite good.
"...so, what did you want to talk about?"
Seeing that we couldn't just spend all the time drinking tea, I decided to get straight to the point.
Placing the teacup down, Amanda's indifferent face stared at me. After a while, she finally spoke
"...Thank you"
Frowning slightly, I said
"For what?"
"For saving me"
Shaking my head, I leaned back on my chair and said
"I don't ever recall helping you"
"Yo-.."
Just as she was about to answer, I cut her off
"It seems like you forgot what I had told you before"
'..forget what you saw'
Listening to my last sentence and remembering what I had said, Amanda remained quiet for a little bit. Her brows continuously knit and relaxed, and after a while, she shook her head and apologetically said
"I can't do that..."
Rolling my eyes, I placed my teacup down. Her response was within my expectations.
Staring at her crystal black eyes that were looking back at me, I thought for a moment before saying
"Sigh, alright if you're really sorry then give me some money"
Hearing my reply, Amanda sighed in relief.
She was visibly relieved by my request.
"Okay"
Taking out her phone, she quickly went to her bank account.
Seeing her like this, I couldn't help but bitterly shake my head.
Amanda's personality was just like this.
She disliked owing anyone anything.
She didn't want to feel indebted to anyone other than herself. No, it was more like she only trusted herself and herself alone.
She made sure to pay back every single favor she owed so that she wouldn't build any unrealistic expectations of others.
"Is 5 million U fine?"
"5 million U? I guess tha..."
Sipping on my tea, I initially nodded apathetically, but as soon as I processed what she had said, I almost spat all my tea on her face
"haaa? what did you just say?"
Innocently looking at me who had just stood up and was looking at her with wide eyes, Amanda said
"is 5 million, not enough?"
"What do you mean that's not enough, that's plenty!"
Waving my hand, I immediately shut her down.
Damm rich second generation kids treating money as if it was nothing.
"...so 5 million okay?"
"Sigh, hold on"
Slumping back on my chair, I started thinking.
5 million U would definitely help me. With that much money, I could pretty much solve the problem of finding a sword manual..ah!
Looking at Amanda, an idea suddenly came into mind
"Can I ask for something else instead of money?"
Frowning lightly, the room temperature dropped and Amanda's demeanor became increasingly colder.
Understanding that she was probably misunderstanding something, I quickly followed up by saying
"No, I am not asking for any dates or anything that is remotely close to that"
Hearing my next part, Amanda's brows relaxed. Nodding her head she said
"...Okay"
Sighing in relief, I said
"Can you get me a sword manual?"
"A sword art?"
Taken aback by my request, Amanda looked at me strangely.
At first, I was confused by her reaction, but remembering what had happened a few nights ago I realized why.
"...I am looking for something to disguise my main sword art"
"oh"
As if she understood something, Amanda nodded
Seeing her react like that, I knew she still had a misconception about my strength. In the end, I said nothing. I was honestly too tired to solve the misunderstanding.
Plus no matter how much I'll try to solve the misunderstanding, chances were that she wouldn't believe me.
In the end, It didn't really matter if she misunderstood or not. At the end of the day, she wasn't the type of person to treat people differently regardless of her strength.
Moreover, she wasn't a blabbermouth. Meaning that my secret was pretty safe.
"What type of sword art would you like?"
Thinking for a bit, I said
"Let's see, I would like a sword art that primarily focused on defense"
Touching her chin for a second, Amanda pondered for a moment before saying
"How many stars?"
"Hmmm, since you were previously offering me around 5 million U, I guess something that went along that price"
Thinking for a bit, Amanda scrolled through her phone for a couple of seconds before nodding.
"Okay, let me have a look"
Turning on the holographic function on the phone, a long list of sword manuals appeared before me.
"This is what I got from the criteria that you had given me"
Seeing the long list of manuals, my mouth twitched. If I said I wasn't jealous right now, that would be a lie.
...As expected of the daughter of the guild master of the number one guild in the human domain 'Demon hunter'
She had access to an immeasurable amount of resources and manuals that would cause anyone to turn green from envy.
For the next few minutes, we went through the long catalog of sword manuals that Amanda had access to. After a while, and a lot of contemplation I finally decided on the sword art I wanted.
[ Ring of vindication] : Highly advanced sword art that creates a perfect ring of defense around the user. Upon mastery, the ring can create a three-dimensional sphere that protects the user from all sides. Because of the lack of offensive capabilities, the manual was graded three-stars.
Talk about a perfect sword manual.
Though it was a three-star manual, it was in fact a four-star manual if the only thing that was taken into consideration was its defensive properties.
This went along perfectly with my wishes as this was exactly what I needed. [Ring of vindication] for defense and the [Keiki style] for offense.
...this was exactly what I wanted
After selecting [Ring of vindication, Amanda nodded and messaged someone.
Soon the room was enveloped in an awkward silence.
"..."
"..."
After a couple of minutes of silence, Amanda stood up and said
"...thank you for meeting me, I'll take my leave"
"No problem"
Smiling, I escorted her out of my apartment. I could finally be free!
Arriving at the door, Amanda indifferently waved her hand
"Goodbye"
Smiling, I waved back and said
"See you"
...
Leaving Ren's room, Amanda was satisfied with the outcome of their meeting.
She more or less got a better understanding of the student that had helped her.
His personality was a far cry from what it was when they met at the party. Despite no longer hiding the fact that he was hiding his strength, his demeanor did not return to what it was back in at the party.
Cold and emotionless.
He was a far cry from that. He wasn't cold nor emotionless.
He was calm and collected, and despite the fact that she was standing in the same room as him, it didn't seem like he was entranced by her beauty which was a first.
His demeanor was completely different from what a regular sixteen year old kid should have. He was neither overbearing nor arrogant, and aside from the fact that his expression was really easy to read, he was quite easy to talk to.
It felt like she was talking to an adult.
It honestly felt weird.
Walking along the corridor of the dorm, she suddenly noticed many eyes staring in her direction.
"What is Amanda doing in the horned sheep dorm?"
"Was she meeting with someone?"
"Nah, she was probably coming to check on something. There's no way Amanda would talk to those peasants living in the horned sheep dorm"
Along the way, Amanda heard people whispering amongst each other as she walked back to her dorm.
Being used to such attention, she promptly ignored what they were saying and exited the building.
Taking out her phone she quickly dialed a number.
-Ring! Ring! -Ring!
After a couple of seconds, an aged voice entered Amanda's ears.
—Hello? how may I help you, young miss?
Because Amanda disliked making small talk, she immediately got straight to the point
"Send the three star manual [ring of vindication] at the location I messaged you a while ago".
After a short pause, the person on the other side of the phone spoke
—...very well.
"Thank you"
-Tak!
Hanging up the phone, Amanda felt a weight lift off her chest.
Turning back towards the horned sheep building, she lightly murmured
"Now I don't owe you anything..."
Report chapter
Six days had passed since the meeting with Amanda, and just like she had promised, my new sword manual arrived the next day.
When I first opened the package and saw the manual, I was once again reminded of how much influence Amanda had in the Demon hunter guild.
The manual looked like it had just been freshly copied, with no creases or stains on it.
It had to be noted that it was not that easy to make a copy of a manual.
Because for obvious reasons guilds were trying to minimize the circulation of manuals, a lot of procedures had to be taken before being allowed to make a copy of a manual.
It had to be approved by a vast majority of the board members and the guild master, and this was especially hard since a lot of the members were conservative people that hated sharing things with outsiders.
Simply put, the fact that Amanda was able to give me a copy the next day meant that she had just as much influence as her father. The guild master.
That aside, during these past six days, since I had nothing to do, as soon as the manual arrived I decided to train it.
Surprisingly, because my swordsmanship had improved to level 2, I was able to grasp the contents of my new manual fairly quickly.
Though I was nowhere near reaching the minor realm of mastery, the time it would take me to reach that level would be a lot faster compared to what it took me to reach that level with my main sword art.
Though I said that, it would still take me quite a while before I could reach that level of mastery.
Unlike the [Keiki style] which had five stances, [Ring of vindication] had three levels which were, Ring of Aegis, Gravitational ring, and Elemental alternation.
The first level, Ring of Aegis, created a ring in the air that acted as a shield. How strong its defense was depended on the degree of mastery of the sword art.
The second level was a more advanced version of the first level, Ring of Aegis, and added a gravitational pull on the ring that redirected all the attacks towards the ring. This was extremely useful, as only one ring needed to be created to defend rather than multiple rings to deflect multiple attacks coming from different directions. This way, I didn't have to split my focus on defending different areas.
Lastly, the third level, elemental alternation. This level consisted of manipulating psyons in a way that the ring attained elemental attributes. This was extremely useful in countering elemental attacks, as fire attacks could be countered with a water attributed ring.
However, in order for one to be able to pull this move, they had to have a high degree of mana control. They had to be able to harness the precise psyon they wanted to use and create a ring with it.
That alone was incredibly hard to do, and if someone did not reach a certain level of mastery towards mana control it would impossible.
These were the three levels of [Ring of vindication, and the first time I learned about their effect I couldn't close my jaw for a whole hour.
After the shock died down, what replaced it was pure excitement as I couldn't wait to start practicing it.
...and here I was now, six days later standing in the middle of the training ground practicing the first level, Ring of Aegis.
"Fuuuu..."
Sucking in a deep breath, I closed my eyes and slowly drew a ring in front of me with my sword. In the process of doing so, I focused entirely on channeling my mana to the tip of my sword.
Slowly as I drew the circle in the air, if one looked closely, a dimly lit line followed the tip of my sword. After one full circulation, it formed a yellow ring in the air.
However, exactly two seconds after I drew the circle, it broke down and scattered in the air.
Opening my eyes and looking at the scattering circle, I let out a satisfied smile.
"Two seconds..."
Though it didn't seem like much, in the first three days I could barely even draw a full circle. That's how much I progressed these past few days.
However, I was still far cry from reaching the point where I could actively use this sword art.
Although I could create a ring that lasted for two seconds, it could barely be used to defend. It still had no substance to it, meaning that right now it was nothing but a beautiful decoration.
One thing I noticed these past few days, as I was practicing the sword art, was how flawed the grading system for manuals was.
Despite the fact that [Ring of vindication] had no offensive properties, if one practiced this art to the fullest, I would doubt anyone could penetrate its defenses.
It may have not been a five-star manual, but it could definitely have been a four-star manual with its defense alone.
This was especially so if one considers the fact that the greater the mastery of the sword art one had, the stronger it would become.
If one day I were to reach the perfected realm of mastery, no, even the essence realm of mastery, I would without a doubt not have to worry about my defense.
That said, I shouldn't get ahead of myself. I was still very far from reaching that level.
Let's not delude ourselves.
-Click!
Placing my sword back into the scabbard, I looked at my watch
It was precisely 8:00 p.m., and because tomorrow was the day of the trip I decided to head back and rest.
If things were going to progress just like I thought they would, I needed all the rest I could get...
Looking at the darkening sky, I murmured
"This is going to be one hell of a trip..."
...
Parker Tower, Ashton city.
-Knock
Sitting at his desk looking through some papers, Micheal Parker, the current head of the Parker family, heard a knock coming from the other side of the door.
"Come in"
Putting the papers down, Micheal looked in the direction of the door.
Opening the door, an elegant elderly individual with a butler outfit entered the room. He had long white hair accompanied by a finely trimmed mustache that rested below his nose. Despite his age, his face barely had any wrinkles and aside from the pigmentation of his mustache and hair, someone could've easily mistaken him for a forty year old man.
"Greetings master"
Elegantly bowing in front of Micheal Parker, the butler looked at his master and waited for him to speak.
"Are the preparations ready?"
Looking at the butler before him, Micheal's authoritative voice rang across the room.
"Yes master, everything has been prepared"
Hearing the butler's response, Micheal nodded slightly. Pausing for a moment and looking at Ashton city from the window he said
"...has the Trivot squad been dispatched?"
Hearing the word 'Trivot' being mention, the butler's demeanor faltered for a split second before recovering.
"Yes...everything is as you have ordered."
"Good"
Letting out a satisfied smile, Micheal slumped on his chair and lightly murmured
"With the Trivot squad in charge of this case, I don't have to worry about anything"
Looking at Micheal Parker with a complicated look, the old butler couldn't hold it anymore and said
"...Sir, though it may be rude of me, are you sure you want to send the Trivot squad for this mission?"
As soon as those words escaped the butler's mouth, the temperature of the room dropped to freezing points.
A strong oppressive force started emanating from Micheal, as he looked at his butler.
"Richard, it seems that I had been too lenient with you...despite having served me for over fifteen years, you still doubt my decisions?"
Subjected to such immense pressure, cold sweat dripped from Richard's back as he immediately lowered his head.
"n-no, I jus-t thought that after raising them for so long, it would be a waste to let them go just like this"
Smirking, Micheal shook his head
"Naive, this is the best time for the Trivot squad to come into play. This mission requires the assassination of several high-profiled individuals whose backing is just as strong as our family if not even more...a single failure could cause everything that my father and grandfather had built to go down the drain"
Looking back at the butler, Micheal coldly said
"If anyone catches wind of what we are planning, the fate of the Parker family would be on the line. A single mistake and we could very well be wiped out from the face of this planet. Only if we utilize the Trivot squad will we be able to complete our plan without worrying about it implicating us."
Squinting his eyes, the pressure around Micheal intensified many folds.
"ukhh"
"...do you understand why I am employing the Trivot squad?"
"Understood"
Struggling to adjust himself to the pressure, Richard forced himself to nod.
The pressure was too much for him.
"Good"
Letting out a satisfied smile, the pressure around the room dissipated.
Feeling the massive pressure lift from him, Richard finally managed to catch his breath.
After a while, a complicated look appeared on his face.
There was only one reason for his sense of discomfort.
The Trivot squad.
An elite squad that was secretly raised by the Parker family and created for the sole purpose of killing high-profile targets.
Each member, who were raised from a very young age, had no other purpose to their life aside from serving the Parkers.
They were essentially discardable elite soldiers. Once used, they would be killed. They were a one-time use squad.
Regardless of whether they succeeded or not, they were fated to die after completing the mission.
The reason for such a procedure was because the Parkers didn't want to leave behind any loopholes in case any of their missions failed. Even if they succeeded or failed, no other person apart from a few trusted individuals could know what they had done.
The fewer people that knew the better.
"...you may go"
After seeing that his butler had somewhat understood his intentions, Micheal waved his hand and dismissed him
"As you wish"
Standing up, the butler bowed once again before leaving and closing the door on the way out.
Soon, Micheal was left alone in his office. Looking at the papers in his hands, Micheal's eyes paused on a few profiles.
'Kevin Voss'
'Emma Roshfield'
'Amanda stern'
'Jin Horton'
'Han yu fei'
'Melissa hall'
Those were just a few of the names of the people he was planning to have assassinated during the academy start of year trip.
He was planning on killing them all.
He planned to kill all of the individuals who were either too talented or were direct competitors of the Parker family.
Twenty years.
That's how long he had been training the Trivot squad. It was all for this moment.
He wanted to deal a fatal blow to all of his competitors. One that would cause them to lose what was most precious to them.
He wanted them to dispair.
He wanted them to suffer a pain that was worse than death. Just like what he had been through all those years ago...
Reaching for the corner of his desk, Micheal flipped over an old wooden picture frame.
Staring at the photo behind the picture frame, Micheal's indifferent face slightly softened as he lightly caressed the glass on the frame.
After a couple of seconds, his fingers started trembling and his voice shook.
"Soon my dear...I'll see you soon"
-Tak!
Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Micheal flipped the picture frame down. It took a couple of seconds before he was able to revert back to his previous indifferent demeanor.
Standing up, Micheal walked to the edge of his office, where thick reinforced glass replaced the walls, allowing him to overlook the whole of Ashton city.
Interlocking his hands behind his back, he coldly murmured
"Hollberg will be the first step to my revenge"
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"Alright, everyone please enter the bus"
Wearing a loosely fit white T-shirt that was neatly tucked in her jeans, Donna did a quick roll call.
As she was doing the roll call, her every movement attracted the attention of every boy present. Her violet eyes shone slightly causing everyone to fall into a daze.
I too was entranced by her.
After making sure that everyone in class A-25 was present, Donna, taking no notice of the boys' flushed faces, boarded a huge white bus and urged us to follow along.
Right after her figure disappeared inside of the bus, the boys snapped out of their daze and regained their senses.
Seeing the confused look on everyone's faces I couldn't help but lightly shake my head
This scene was too familiar. This was not the first time it happened and it probably wasn't going to be the last time it happened.
Donna, whenever she was in a bad mood, tended to unconsciously release some of her powers causing all the boys in class to suddenly feel extremely infatuated with her.
Sometimes it would get so bad that some of the guys would directly faint.
Only the likes of Kevin and Jin were somewhat able to remain unaffected by her sudden seductive outburst.
Regaining my composure, and looking at the others who were boarding the bus, I couldn't help but stare at the bus which Donna had just entered.
I was in complete awe.
The bus's outer body was painted in white, and its smooth design was slick and modern.
The bus, which was enormous, measuring up to 15 meters in length, could house up to 200 people.
The reason why the bus was able to hold that many people was because it had a second floor which surprisingly had a mini snack bar.
Around the bus, all the windows were tinted in black making it impossible to see through, preventing people from prying inside.
The bus's frame was made from highly durable metal alloys that could withstand the full power of several B ranked villains.
It was highly secured and was specifically made for protecting students from sudden ambushes from either villains or beasts.
Looking behind the bus, fifteen more buses lined up in the distance. Next to them, a crowd of students similar to us were all waiting to enter their respective buses.
Because the number of people in the first years was well over 2,000, the students were each divided into different classes.
My class was class A-25.
Each class had its own instructor, and the selection was random. That was if we exclude Jin, Emma, Amanda, Kevin, and Melissa who each could select which class they could be in.
The privilege of the talented...
Entering the bus, I looked left and right, and after spotting my group I made my way towards them.
Along the way, I couldn't help but marvel at the interior of the bus.
The seatings which reminded me of first-class seats on planes were made of fine leather. The seats were separated into two rows with two seats on each side. In front of each seat, there was a nice oak table that had several snacks on top.
Arriving where my group was, a complicated look appeared on my face.
According to what Donna had briefed us beforehand, we had to sit with our group during the whole bus ride which would take approximately five hours. This was so that we could get to know each other better.
...however, looking at my group, I started to doubt whether this was a good idea.
On my right side, Evan and Cassandra were sitting together munching down some chips. Behind them, Melissa was quietly sitting on her seat with her eyes closed. Her whole aura screamed 'Don't disturb me'
On the right side, Donald was sitting next to the window. He was currently busy staring at the scenery outside the window and thus seemed to have not realized that I had just arrived.
Looking around, apart from the seats next to Melissa and Donald, everywhere else was full.
As my eyes alternated between Melissa and Donald for a couple of seconds, I decided to sit next to Donald. Though I disliked the guy, I at least didn't risk the possibility of dying.
"Hmm? What are you doing you bastard?"
Just as I was about to sit next to Donald, he turned around and glared at me.
"...errr I am sitting"
Pausing for a moment, I looked at Donald for a bit before ignoring him and seating on the seat.
As soon as I sat on the seat, a moan almost escaped from my mouth.
It felt as if I was inside of a cloud made of cotton. My back instantly sank into the chair, and the leather coating around the chair which preserved some of the cold from the previous night instantly cooled my body.
...Too comfortable.
Just as I was enjoying my experience, I heard a loud voice on the right side of my ear. Turning my head to the side, I was met with the sight of Donald shouting at me
"You rude bastard! Who gave you permission to sit next to me?"
Frowning, I was about to retort to him, but after thinking for a bit I refrained myself from doing so and decided to ignore him.
I wasn't going to gain anything from arguing with him.
"Are you even listening to me, you rude bastard? How dare the likes of you ign..."
At first, I was able to ignore him without any problems, however, after a couple of minutes of continuous verbal abuse, I couldn't take it anymore and snapped
"Who you calling a bastard you bastard? My name is Ren. Ren Dover, not 'rude bastard'."
Flipping the middle finger at his face I raised my voice
"Leave me alone dammit, I am trying to enjoy this seat, so stop shouting like a parrot and let me have my peace!"
"You son of a..."
Opening his eyes wide, Donald was just about to retort back but before he could do that he heard a cold voice coming from the left side of the bus.
"Stop"
Opening her eyes, Melissa took her glasses off and glared at both me and Donald
"Cease your immature display at once"
Pointing behind her, where the other students were seated, she said
"Are you planning on killing me from embarrassment? Was this something you had planned beforehand in order to kill me? If so you succeeded. I would rather drown myself in a bowl of water than being subjected to any more of this"
Looking at where Melissa pointed, I soon noticed almost everyone on the bus staring in our direction.
"kheumm...kheumm, sorry everyone."
Awkwardly coughing a couple of times, I apologized to everyone.
It seems like Donald and I were a bit too loud...
Without needing to be told by Melissa, we sat on our seats and stopped talking. Closing my eyes I decided to take a quick nap.
Turning on my mp3, I immediately plugged in my earphones and played a random song.
Seeing both me and Donald sitting quietly like obedient children, Melissa's brows finally relaxed. Soon after, she closed her eyelids and prepared to sleep. However right after she closed her eyes, she said
"You better be quiet while I'm sleeping, because..."
"Ok.."
"...if you as much as speak another word, I'll make sure you drink my newly created potion that can send you straight to heaven"
"..."
"..."
Looking at each other, both me and Donald felt a cold chill.
We immediately shut up and decided to never utter a single word throughout the whole bus ride.
-Vroom!
Soon the bus engine roared loudly and slowly the bus picked up its speed.
Staring at the constantly changing scenery from outside the window, I took a deep breath and prepared myself for the upcoming trip.
...
After the first cataclysm, the world map completely changed.
The whole world became one mass of land and the map that we previously were accustomed to completely changed.
Then, the second cataclysm happened and humanity lost 6/8 of their land.
Countries that somehow managed to survive the first cataclysm ceased to exist, and what replaced them was a new centralized government called the central government.
Despite the fact that countries no longer existed, people couldn't forget their roots.
Hollberg.
A city founded in 2015, by then S ranked Hero Ludwig Hollberg, a German citizen prior to the first cataclysm.
The intent behind the creation of Hollberg was to recreate 'Germany'. Ludwig Hollberg firmly believed that one should never forget one's roots, and thus from then on, Hollberg was considered the new Germany.
Many people of German descent migrated to Hollberg and settled there in hopes of developing the city further. The culture, the language, the people, everything was exactly how it was back in Germany prior to the first cataclysm.
Following the example set by Hollberg, many countries did the same and established cities that were based on their country of origin.
The central government did not stop them nor did it try to stop them. They had too many problems to take care of to care about such insignificant matters.
"Alright guys, we will be arriving in Hollberg in about ten minutes so get prepared."
Waking me up, was Donna's crisp and pleasant voice which traveled through the bus speaker.
"huaaam..."
Yawning loudly, I stretched my body.
Looking around, I could see Donald and the rest waking up. Behind them, several students were already awake playing on their phones or talking to each other.
Rubbing my eyes a couple of times, I rested my head on the headrest of the seat.
To be honest, though I was comfortable throughout the whole trip, I would've preferred if we traveled through dimensional gates.
Sitting for five hours without being active wasn't something I was used to now that I pretty much spent most of my time training.
If it were before I reincarnated, I would've had no qualms with it.
However, now that I have completely changed my routine, I couldn't stand not doing any physical activity for more than five hours unless it was for sleeping.
Sadly, because the academy deemed gates too dangerous we couldn't use them.
Because dimensional gates were still a new technology not much was known regarding their safety. Though tests have shown that it was safe to use dimensional gates, there have been a couple of incidents regarding them causing the whole government to still block them from being commercially available.
Trains were also a no-go since they couldn't carry certain equipment that the instructors had prepared beforehand, and thus in the end the only option we had was to go by bus.
"Stand up"
"...hm?"
Snapping me out of my thoughts was Donald who stood up and was waiting for me to leave my seat.
Standing up, I followed the line of students heading towards the exit of the bus.
As soon as I exited the bus, the light coming from the sun momentarily blinded my eyes. A wave of fresh air swept all over me instantly refreshing my whole body.
Covering my face with my arm I looked around.
"...How nice"
Before me was a large expansive green field. Several houses built using timber framing and stone appeared on the green field, along with several cows that roamed around the field.
In the far distance, an enormous building with thick metal walls covering its perimeter could be seen. Beyond the walls, were several large buildings that released smoke in the air, polluting the clean environment.
After making sure that no one was missing, Donna who seemed to be in a better mood than before spoke
"Alright, everyone. Though we are in Hollberg, we are only in the outskirts. That is because before going into the city we will be making a trip towards the monster processing factory"
"We will first do a tour of the place, and then shortly after you will go with your group and complete your assigned task."
Pausing and making sure that everyone understood what she meant, Donna turned around and made her way toward the large industrial building.
"Alright follow me..."
"Thank you for coming"
At the reception of the monster processing plant, greeting us was a blond young girl with deep blue eyes. Her hair was tied in a bun, and she wore a grey suit that fitted around her body nicely.
"Thank you for having us"
Shaking her hand, Donna greeted the young lady with a smile. After sharing a couple of pleasantries with Donna, the young lady turned around and urged everyone to follow her.
"Please follow me..."
Heeding her words, we formed a long single line and followed her. Fortunately, because the other classes went to different facilities, it was not too crowded.
"A lot of procedures are taken into consideration when dismantling and processing monster and beast corpses. This plant right here is called Grüne Wiese and we are responsible for dismantling G to C ranked monster/beast corpses. As most of you know, the stronger the monster or beast, the harder it is to process. This is simply because their skins and bones become that much harder to remove and cut. Not only is their skin tougher, but they also tended to have poisonous properties that could instantly kill everyone present in the room. Therefore, we currently only have a license to process monsters and beasts between G and C rank. For higher ranked beasts and monsters, a special facility with top-notch equipment would be required."
Along the way, the young lady started describing the features of the plant and what they did. She did briefly talk about the history of the plant, but all that information went from one ear to the other.
I honestly did not care about the history of this place.
Stopping right before the door that led to the main processing plant, the young lady turned around and said.
"Before we enter, I would like for all of you to get changed into adequate clothing"
Following that, she signaled for a couple of individuals to enter.
Arriving before us students were five individuals all wearing white lab coats, glasses, and masks. As they came, they pushed a trolley hanger that was filled with lab coats.
Walking next to the hanger, the young lady looked at us and said
"As I briefly mentioned before, in here we handle highly toxic and poisonous materials. For your safety and the general public safety, we need you all to be wearing lab coats. If we don't take this precaution, we could potentially endanger people or even habitats, as some of the stuff here can be extremely lethal..."
As she continued rambling on how important it was to wear adequate safety equipment, I looked around the place.
Though we were not yet at the main processing facility, surrounding us were a lot of monster 'dolls' that had been stuffed with preserving materials allowing them to keep their original appearance. Because they were so well preserved, it looked like the real thing was here making it that much more intriguing to look at.
They had a wide display of monsters and beast dolls, and they each had a tag at the bottom briefly describing what type of monster they were. It was sort of like a mini museum.
"Alright, now get changed and come back here within ten minutes"
Finished with what she wanted to say, the young lady signaled for the five guys to distribute the coat.
Lining up and taking the suit, I immediately went to the changing room to get dressed.
After completely changing and wearing my mask and glasses I headed back to the meeting place.
Along the way, I noticed a lot of students looking around at the monster dolls around the place.
I too was curious, and thus decided to look at the one closest to the meeting place.
Pausing in front of a beast that resembled an inconspicuous looking crow, I looked at its description
C Black-feathered crow : Black-feathered crow, also known as 'Night reapers', are extremely dangerous beasts that are an evolved version of a crow. They are extremely cunning and can be extremely deceiving from their outer appearance, which looks like any regular crow, making them extremely hard to fight against. Due to their unparalleled speed, they are unmatched in the air and almost unstoppable if they decide to dive down to hunt their prey. Their beaks which are as hard as titanium yet less dense than it, are extremely sought after and...
"Tssss..."
Now, this was a beast I didn't want to encounter...
"Alright, since everyone is ready let's go"
Exactly ten minutes after the young lady dismissed us, wearing a lab coat and glasses she appeared before everyone and led us to the main door that led to the processing facility.
-Clank!
Opening the large metal door that led to the processing plant, I instantly felt a pungent smell invade my nostrils. My glasses clogged up, and the hot and humid environment made me want to leave the place immediately.
Next to me, several people showed similar reactions to me as they all frowned and made weird faces.
-Clank! -Clank! -Clank!
Taking a look at the facility, the first thing I saw was robotic arms that roamed around the facility freely. They were either cutting down monster and beast carcasses that were laying down on large metallic tables or were carrying them to different places.
Operating the machines were several individuals all wearing lab coats and glasses. They each alternated using the machines, and if one looked carefully, they could see a glow emanating from their body indicating that they were using mana to use the machinery.
This was a familiar scene everywhere, as not so far from them, several individuals were operating similar machines on a different monster or beast.
"As you can see, this is how we process monsters"
Smiling at everyone, the young lady led us to one of the areas in which a monster was being processed.
Stopping, she looked at everyone and pointed towards one of the processing tables
"This beast right here is a Steel-plated rhino, and just like its name may suggest...it has a very tough outer layer"
Looking in the direction where the young lady was pointing at, a large beast that was five meters in length lifelessly laid down on a large metallic table. The beast's body was humongous and looked to be extremely muscular judging from the size of its legs.
It had a huge horn on the top of its nose, and despite it being closely related to a rhino, the steel-plated rhino looked much more fearsome.
They were incomparable.
Around the body of the steel-plated rhino, metallic arms that shot thin laser beams continuously worked on dismantling the outer layer of the beast.
Takin notice the student's interest in the lasers, the young lady quickly explained to them
"What we are using is a highly powerful laser that shoots a single beam of 12 petawatts of energy that lasts five seconds per shot. Thanks to how advanced technology has become, we are now able to use laser technology to directly cut extremely tough and durable materials such as monster parts and even diamonds. Because of how tough the outer layer of a steel-plated rhino is, we can only resort to using lasers to remove its skin"
Pointing at the laser machine she continued
"The cylinder that is used to shoot the laser is made of titanium-doped sapphire that can perfectly withstand the power coming from the laser. If not for the fact that anything beyond it would be clas..."
Whilst she was speaking, I made sure to note down everything she said. This information was extremely useful for my tasks.
Looking around, it seems like I wasn't the only one with this idea as almost everyone was taking notes of what the young lady was saying.
"Over here is where we sort and store the different types of materials that we remove from the beast's body. Once we managed to remove their skin, we will leave it out to dry and rest for at least 24 hours before bleaching it with a relatively strong acid."
Arriving in front of a large warehouse, lots of monster skin and bones were neatly sorted into different piles with labels on them.
Next to them were large circular white buckets containing a transparent liquid. Every minute, a worker wearing rubber gloves would soak the monster's skin for a good minute before hanging it and letting it dry in the air.
Seeing the confusion on everyone's faces, the young lady smiled and explained
"The bleaching process is extremely important as guilds love to use these materials for their suits and hence like to customize them."
Pausing slightly, she winked at everyone and said
"There's a reason why there are different designs for armors and equipment"
Hearing her joking remark, everyone lightly chuckled.
What she said was true. People loved to wear specially designed suits when entering dungeons. Part of it was due to having an extra layer of protection, but the main reason was its design. It was sort of like wearing clothes.
When I roamed Ashton city in my free time, I noticed many shops with different suit designs. Most notably, I remember seeing a suit in full pink which pretty much screamed 'I am here'. It was so over the top that I wouldn't be surprised if all the monsters decided to attack the person wearing the suit. They were like a walking target.
...well, who was I to judge right?
Just like that, we followed her around the facility as she explained different things. Sometimes some students would ask questions and she would promptly respond to them, but most of the time she was recounting useless information.
From time to time, however, she would talk about the things that I needed for my assignment. If she did do so, I would immediately take note of it.
However, two hours into the tour, I started to get extremely bored. She started rambling on which monsters were selected, who was in charge of making decisions, and other useless nonsense that I honestly couldn't care less about.
Moreover, the hot and humid environment caused me to be extremely uncomfortable. It was to the point that I was starting to feel extremely lethargic...
Finally, after who knew how long, the young lady stopped and said
"Alright, I think I've said enough for today. Thank you very much for coming"
I wasn't the only one who was rejoining about the fact that the tour had ended as pretty much everyone around me looked reenergized.
"Thank you very much for this experience"
Thanking the young lady, Donna looked at her watch and said
"Alright, we will take a ten-minute break before going back to the hotel to rest for the day"
Taking off her mask and glasses, Donna threw them in a nearby bin and proceeded to say
"Meet me where the bus previously dropped us in ten minutes' time. If you need to go to the bathroom or stretch, make sure you take care of it now as the ride to the hotel will take approximately 20 minutes. That is if there is no traffic which I honestly doubt"
After saying her piece, Donna left in the direction of where the bus was.
"Hey bastard, did you take note of everything?"
Just as I was about to follow Donna back, I heard an annoying voice coming from behind me.
Turning around, I could see Donald making his way towards me.
"How many times did I tell you that my name is Ren and not bastard?"
"I don't care, did you take notes or not?"
Rolling me eyes at him I responded
"Yes, I did"
"Good, after you settle in your room meet me later so that we can get this thing over with"
As soon as he finished what he wanted to say, Donald left. As he was leaving, a weird look appeared on my face as I couldn't help but say
"Oh? Surprisingly you're the serious type"
Without turning around, Donald irritably responded
"Shut it scrub. Unlike you, I'd like to keep my ranking"
"Yes, yes"
Shaking my head I followed him back to the bus. Somehow, people cared too much about their ranking.
...well it was understandable as it dictated which guild they could join in the future, but it somehow seems to be like some kind of obsession here.
Looking at the blue sky that was turning dark, I lightly murmured
"Well, it's not like I don't care either"
I too wanted to climb up the ranking, but even if I wanted to, I'd have to do it slowly and unnoticeably, else people would think I was hiding some sort of secret.
Sigh
Letting out a sigh, I entered the bus and sat next to Donald like I had done previously.
Maybe I'll increase my ranking in my midterms, who knows...
Report chapter
The sun had already started to set, leaving behind an orange veil of light that enveloped the sky.
Hollberg's city lights brightly lit the surroundings, and despite it being a relatively large city, skyscrapers appeared to be scarce.
Most houses consisted of five stories apartments or villas, and only occasionally would there be a skyscraper in the distance.
Stopping in front of a large mansion that looked to be the size of a football stadium, we quickly left the bus and headed toward the place.
As I left the bus, the first thing I did was stretch my back and legs.
I was honestly exhausted. Despite the fact that I hadn't trained at all today, my mind could barely function properly as everything around me became sort of hazy.
I guess using my brain was just as tiring as using my body.
...well that wasn't the only reason I was tired.
Recently I had only been getting on average 6 hours of sleep a day, which wasn't too bad if it was for a couple of days...but this had been a recurring thing for the past week or so.
Seeing how sleepy I was getting, I knew that the accumulated fatigue I had built up this past week had started crashing on me.
Shaking my head quickly, I looked around to find ways to take my mind off of sleeping.
...I only needed to wait for a further 5 to 10 minutes before being able to get some good shut eye.
As I was trying to keep myself awake, my eyes landed on the other side of the parking area where our bus parked.
Not so far from us, there were already five similar-looking buses parked near the mansion indicating that some of the other classes had already arrived.
Seeing that we weren't the last ones here, I felt my mind clear a bit.
'...it seems like we finished at just the right time.'
Since there were more groups coming, it meant that I had more time to rest.
This was good as I really needed to take a power nap.
"Alright, let's get going"
After talking to the driver of the bus for a bit, Donna waved goodbye to him and led us to the mansion.
Entering the mansion, a nice fragrance invaded my nostrils causing me to uncontrollably salivate.
Looking around, it seemed like I was not the only one who felt that way as most people were staring in the direction of where the nice aroma was coming from.
Turning around, Donna who seemed to have read what was on the mind of most people started speaking
"Alright everyone, I know you guys are hungry, but things need to be done in order."
Taking out a card from her pocket, she pointed towards the reception and said
"First things first, I will call you each by your name and you will then proceed to go to reception and collect your card. After that, you will come back here and wait for the others to finish before heading to your own designated room"
Seeing everyone's deflated looks, Donna lightly smiled and raised her brow
"Don't be so down, don't tell me you guys are planning on eating when you had just sweated for a whole day?"
Checking her watch quickly, she added
"At eight on the dot, as you guys can already tell by the smell, there will be a buffet where everyone can eat and drink as much as they want...so hurry up and get changed!"
Holding my stomach that had started rumbling ever since I had caught a whiff of the nice fragrance, I quickly collected my room key and made my way towards my room.
Along the way, I couldn't help but admire the luxurious place. The insides of the building were decorated with exquisite paintings and statues. Covering the floor was a nice red carpet that felt extremely soft to the touch.
Next to the windows were red curtains that had a lighter pigmentation compared to the carpet, giving it a sharp and pleasing contrast. At the hem of the curtains, there were finely decorated golden patterns that depicted flying dragons.
The best part of the mansion was the outside, as I could see a massive garden where its splendor was further emphasized by the lanterns outside that shone down on it.
Next to the garden, I could see a tennis court and a football field that were both enclosed by green fences.
Shaking my head, I couldn't help but wonder how much this place had cost.
Considering how well it was decorated and how big this place was, I'd say it cost well over a 100 million U.
-Click!
After navigating the long corridors, I arrived at my apartment and opened the door.
Prior to coming to the room, when I was collecting my keys, I had been made aware by the receptionist that I would be given a regular room that consisted of one living room, one bathroom, and one bedroom.
...yeah, she said regular
Though the decorations weren't as luxurious as the ones outside, it was still within the scope of 'luxurious', as paintings and other expensive decorations were placed in the room.
Because I placed most of my stuff inside of my bracelet, I didn't need to drop off anything. Therefore, I decided to take a quick shower to remove all of the sweat that had accumulated on my body.
-Pomf!
After taking a quick shower, I slumped on the large bed in my room and closed my eyes. I needed to sort my thoughts which had been a mess since the start of the trip.
'Five days...'
That's how long I had before the big event was going to happen.
Looking at the white ceiling where a gold plated chandelier brightly lit the room, I covered my eyes with my arm and murmured
"Should I interfere or not..."
A big massacre was going to happen in five days' time, as about 1/4 of all first-years would be murdered.
'The tragedy of Hollberg'
...was what this event was called.
Closing my eyes, and taking a deep breath I was deeply conflicted.
Despite the fact that I knew that I shouldn't interfere, a small part of me wanted to change the outcome of what was to happen.
One of the reasons why I never liked to interact with people wasn't just because I was an introvert...no it's because, by the middle stages of the novels, chances were that all the friends I had made would end up dying.
If there was a thing I had learned since dying and transmigration into this world was that life was fickle. Every second, there was a chance you could die. No one was safe from death, especially for extras whose sole role was to either die or be forgotten in the later stages of the novel.
The less I got attached to this academy, the more I could firm my will and stop myself from doing anything stupid.
...but still.
The fact that I could prevent the death of a lot of students weighed heavily on me.
"...those lost lives are on me"
Looking at my hands, I slightly clenched them into fists. Images of my hands becoming dyed in blood replayed in my mind as my eyes shook slightly.
They too had dreams and aspirations to have a family and become heroes that protect humanity.
"Heroes...huh"
Repeating that word in my mind, I scoffed.
How laughable...
Despite the fact that society labeled individuals that wielded power as heroes, they were nothing of the sort.
In this world, 'Hero' was merely a label that the government had stuck on individuals that wielded power to give hope to society.
A symbol was what they were called.
They were beings meant to be idolized and worshiped, as they were responsible for protecting humanity from the likes of demons and villains.
...Sadly, reality proved to be different as in this corrupt world most heroes were a bunch of hypocrites that were no better than villains.
They valued human life as nothing more than a fleeting thing that could be crushed by their own will and power.
Take a look at Micheal Parker.
An esteemed S ranked hero and 47th on the Hero ranking. He who was deemed to be a 'Hero' was now planning on massacring a bunch of 16 year olds.
...in the end who were the real villains?
Don't get me wrong, there were some great heroes out there that actually cared about saving the world, but those were in the minority, as most heroes tended to somehow crave more power as soon as they got a taste of fame and money.
In the end, only people like Kevin who had a hero complex and loved helping people out could be properly defined by the word 'hero'
...me?
Shaking my head, I couldn't help but laugh
Despite the fact that I knew very soon most people around me will die, I wasn't doing anything to prevent that.
If I were a 'hero' I would've immediately helped everyone and saved as many lives as possible.
...sadly I wasn't that type of person.
I wasn't selfless enough to help anyone I could see at the expense of myself. Though, the fact that my decision would lead to a lot of deaths has weighed down on me heavily this past week.
Sometimes I would wake up in the middle of the night soaked in sweat. In my dreams, the corpses of the countless students who I could've saved continuously appeared blaming me for their death.
Since coming here, I knew this would've happened...I had braced myself for this.
I had braced myself for the mental conflicts that my mind would continuously have the longer I stayed in this world.
Many deaths will be on me, and I acknowledged this.
'selfish'
That's how I would describe myself.
...I only cared for what was within my reach and not for what was a little bit further away.
It almost felt as I had erected a tall wall around me that prevented people from approaching me.
I joke around a lot here and there...I try to keep the mood around me lighthearted, but that was all a mask.
...deep inside me, continuous conflicts were constantly brewing. Should I do this, should I do that, what was right and what was wrong? Should I act this way or should I act that way...
Every day these thoughts would constantly haunt me.
I knew that if things kept going like this that maybe one day I would make a decision that would completely change who I was, I knew it yet...
Closing my eyes, I looked away from the blinding light coming from the chandelier.
Looking outside the window, at the star filled sky, I thought
'...maybe transmigrating here was just as much of a blessing as it was a curse.'
...
Not so far from Ren, similarly staring at the beautiful star-filled sky, a stunningly beautiful young girl with short auburn hair was lost in her own thoughts.
Today had been a hectic day, and if not for the fact that there was a large buffet awaiting her, Emma would've loved for nothing more but to slump on her bed and sleep.
The bed was tempting...but she knew.
She knew that once she laid on that bed, there was no coming back.
Feeling the cool breeze of the night, Emma's mind wandered to a troubling piece of news she had received from one of her dad's subordinates.
The message stated 'Parker's have ceased their hostile takeovers over Roshfield owned businesses, and seemed to have gone radio silent'
Normally, she should've rejoiced at the news that the Parker's had stopped going after her family assets, but Emma felt uneasy about their actions.
The overbearing Parker conglomerate suddenly yielded in a financial battle?
Please, there was no way Emma would believe that.
Emma had this gut feeling that the Parker's were planning something. Something big. Something that would cause them to have an edge over her family.
Their sudden action of ceasing whatever they were doing was almost like they were foreshadowing that this was merely the calm before the storm.
Staring at the crescent moon in the sky, Emma sighed and headed back to her room.
"I hope I'm wrong..."
"Are you guys headed down as well?"
Exiting her room, Emma caught sight of two girls quietly walking down the corridor.
Because the lighting was good, the features of the two girls became more apparent. Both of them had flawless white skin that was devoid of any imperfections. Their hair, which were black and brown respectively, gently cascaded on their back, stopping right before their waist.
On the left, Amanda wore tight black pants along with a white turtle neck sweater that covered part of her neck. Melissa on the other hand wore a simple brown cardigan, a plain white shirt, and some jeans.
As they walked, Amanda's cold demeanor contrasted perfectly with Melissa's arrogant and overbearing one creating this picture-like scene. It was like seeing a pair of phoenixes.
Jogging to catch up to them, Emma brushed her hair to the side and stopped right when she was about an arm's length away from them.
Pouting slightly, Emma sourly looked at Amanda and Melissa before saying
"Hey come on, why didn't you guys stop and waited for me?"
Looking at Emma from the corner of her eyes, Melissa responded
"Would it have made a difference?"
Turning her head towards Melissa, Emma looked at her sharply before saying
"What...no, but it's still common courtesy to wait for your friend"
"...sure, whatever makes you feel better"
"Ugh, seriously what am I gonna do with you."
Shaking her head at Melissa's lackluster response, Emma looked at Amanda who remained quiet the whole time.
"..."
Avoiding Emma's eyes, Amanda looked around the corridor. It was apparent that she didn't want to talk.
Rolling her eyes, Emma facepalmed.
"What am I gonna do with you guys..."
Though they had known each other for about two months, the distance between them didn't shrink at all during the time they had spent together.
No matter how much she tried to socialize and interact with them, they would always keep her at arm's length away.
This was especially so for Amanda, who was always curt and polite, treating everyone as if they were a stranger.
In the end, Emma was left totally helpless when interacting with these two.
Letting out a sigh, Emma thought for a bit before saying
"...say, don't you guys find Jin a bit weird these days?"
As soon as the word 'Jin' escaped from Emma's mouth, Melissa's face darkened
"Don't even mention the name of that guy..."
Halfway through her sentence, Melissa held her stomach and continued
"...crap, I'm already starting to lose my appetite thinking about him"
"No, seriously. He feels a bit off these days..."
Though Emma knew that Melissa was constantly tormented by Jin on a daily basis, she also knew that if there was someone who would notice his strange behavior it was her.
That was simply because he would always try to talk to her whenever he had free time.
It had gotten to the point that Melissa purposely decided to return back to the dorm at a later hour than usual.
This was so that she could avoid him...
Before Melissa could answer, Amanda who had been quiet the whole time responded
"He has become a lot quieter than he was before"
Turning her head to Amanda, Emma nodded and said
"You also think so as well.."
Hearing the conversation between Emma and Amanda, Melissa thought for a bit before saying.
"Maybe you're right, I did notice him pestering me less than before...but whatever happened to him, I am all in for it"
Despite Jin being obvious with his advances, Melissa had more than once shut him down completely.
She simply did not care about having any romantic interactions, as the only thing on her mind was her research.
She was very close to breaking through into a particular theorem that had plagued her for a couple of years. It had almost become an obsession for her...
Therefore...for Melissa, who was in this critical juncture of proving her theorem, Jin's constant pestering had caused her nothing but headaches.
If someone were to ask her who was the most annoying person in the academy, for her, Jin was undoubtedly number 1.
"He's pestering you less? Hmm...someth-"
Halfway through her sentence, Emma was stopped by Melissa who couldn't help but say
"Let's not talk about him anymore. It's spoiling my appetite"
Without waiting for Emma to respond, Melissa picked up her pace and headed towards the first floor where the banquet was held.
Turning her head to the side and seeing Amanda also being uninterested in the topic, Emma lightly sighed and said
"...okay"
...
After calming down a bit, I decided to head downstairs where the banquet was held.
In the end, hunger got the best of me.
As I was heading downstairs, I soon noticed the figure of a student walking ahead of me. Squinting my eyes to get a better look at who it was, I was surprised by my discovery.
Rank 5 'Han yu fei'
Also known as Frank Han, and the leader of class A-23.
From the back, I could see his short black hair that was permed in a way that looked like he had a mop on his head. His body was on the relatively skinnier side, and he wore round glasses.
Though he didn't look particularly strong, his presence alone screamed 'danger' to me. It felt as if I was staring at a crouching tiger waiting to lunge at me at any moment.
...I guess he wasn't ranked fifth for no reason. Apart from knowing that he was ranked fifth, I actually didn't know that much else about him.
I didn't develop his character much, but from what I remember, he was an easy-going guy with no ulterior motives.
Most surprisingly was the fact that he didn't care about other people's ranking, as most of the people he hung out with were lower ranked than him. Some even by a margin that was as large as mine.
He was of Chinese descent, and his martial arts were on another level. He was probably the only person in the academy that did not use any weapons when fighting.
He only fought with his body.
He was what was known as a 'full body martial artist', someone who fought with every part of his body.
He comes from the Han clan, one of the three main ancient Chinese clans that resided in Ashton city. The three ancient Chinese clans were Wang, Shan, and Han clan respectively.
The martial manual he practices was actually a five-star martial manual, and it was passed to him by the patriarch of the clan.
Despite his strength, in my novel he didn't get that much character development. He only showed up on rare occasions, and those times were when he was either in the academy or when Kevin needed his help.
Looking back at it now, such a strong character should've definitely had more time in the story.
...well, no use in regretting what was already done.
Following Frank, I quickly headed towards where the banquet was being held.
Soon I could hear the sound of a lot of people laughing and chatting. The closer I got, the louder the sounds became.
Turning left, I soon found myself inside an enormous hall.
Looking up, three enormous chandeliers brightly lit the hall. Massive pillars made out of marble supported the structure of the room, and next to them, tables filled with food could be seen all over the place.
Waiters dressed in black outfits wandered around the place as they served different drinks.
Despite it not being eight o'clock, the hall was already filled to the brim with students.
Looking around, I soon spotted the area where my class was.
Making my way there, I took a drink from the waiter and slowly savored it.
"...ah dammit, I forgot that alcohol doesn't affect me anymore"
After tasting the drink and realizing that it had no effect on me, I slightly cursed and downed the whole thing in one go.
What was the point of alcohol if you couldn't get drunk from it?
Shaking my head, I soon arrived at the area where my group was designated to.
Looking left and right, I quickly spotted Donald and my other group members and headed to where they were.
"Eyoo"
Lightly waving, I stood next to them.
Looking at me who had just come, Donald gave me a side glance and then proceeded to ignore me.
Rolling my eyes at him, stared at the front
"It seems like everyone has arrived"
Five minutes after my arrival, Donna showed up.
Immediately, all of the boy's attention was drawn towards her. Wearing a one-piece black dress with fine silver patterns, Donna looked stunning. Her dress, which was moderately tight, further emphasized her well-developed outline. Moreover, her violet necklace that perfectly matched the color of her eyes, made Donna look ever more mesmerizing.
Next to me, I could hear the hurried breathing of some of the male students as they looked at her with heart in their eyes.
Closing my eyes, I calmed my heart down.
Usually, I would've been like any of the other male students here, but today...today, I had too much on my mind. I just couldn't bring myself to admire her beauty.
Not bothered by everyone's stares, Donna's violet eyes paused on everyone. Looking around and seeing that everyone was here she continued
"There are two reasons as to why I've gathered all of you here. One is to obviously eat some food and satiate our hunger and regain some of the energy that we have burnt during our visit"
Looking to her right, Donna pointed in the direction of where the food was
"Sadly, since we are the last class, we can only wait for the others to eat first...but before that"
Pausing slightly, Donna's mood became a bit more serious as she deeply looked at a few individuals.
"The second reason...it's because we will soon give you all an individual assignment"
Instantly murmurs could be heard from everyone as they wondered what task they would be given.
Judging from how she said the word 'individual' it seems like this task could only be completed without anyone else's aid
"I will soon give you the task which you have been assigned. Each of you has been given three days time to complete the task...and failing to complete the task means automatic credit deduction from your end of year report"
As she was speaking, Donna could see some of the students shaking in nervousness. Shaking her head lightly she added
"Don't worry, the difficulty of your tasks has been assigned according to your abilities. After a lot of consideration, we managed to assign you guys tasks that are well within the reported data of your strength...Therefore, you guys should be relatively safe"
-Clap!
Clapping her hand to get the attention of some of the students that had stopped listening and were trying to find out what their task was, Donna smiled and said
"Alright, I think I've said enough. I will soon send you your tasks on your phone. Please enjoy the food and make sure you don't fail the missions."
-Ding!
Right on cue, a message appeared on my phone. Just as I was about to open it and see what my task was, Donna spoke once again
"Ah..I forgot to add. We won't aid you in your task, so if you guys die, you die. We won't be helping you"
Instantly, the room became tense. Some students started shaking in nervousness as they carefully looked at their phones to see what their task was.
"Well, sorry to have dampened the mood for you all, but I felt that I needed to warn you beforehand so that you don't get complacent thinking that we will save your asses even if you were to fail the mission"
Finished with what she wanted to say, Donna quickly left and joined the other instructors who had similarly shared the news with the other students.
Turning on my phone, I looked at the notification that had popped up on my screen
[Student rank 1750, Ren Dover - Mission target, Karl zar. Head of a minor drug organization that had infiltrated Hollberg for the past decade. Target location at xxxxxx road. Target behavioral pattern...]
Taking a deep breath, I looked at the ceiling of the hall.
...I guess I'll have to prepare myself.
Report chapter
Inside a large dark room, the figure of an extremely handsome individual could be seen sitting crossed leg in the middle of the bed.
Tsssssss...
Sitting shirtless on the bed, steam slowly rose from the figure's body.
As steam poured out from his body, the figure suddenly tensed and relaxed his muscles repeatedly. He continued doing so for every five seconds time intervals.
As he tensed his muscles, the outline of his veins that traced all over his body became more apparent making him look extremely scary.
"Fuuuuuu..."
After a couple of minutes of continuous tensing and relaxing, the figure suddenly released a long breath and finally opened his eyes, revealing two scarlet red eyes.
Standing up and taking a towel from a nearby table, Kevin dried his wet body.
Turning around, he looked at his reflection in the mirror.
His body, which was chiseled to perfection had multiple scar wounds on both his abdomen and chest areas. His back was even worse, as it was riddled with scars that ranged from different sizes and shapes. Most notably, there was one that stretched halfway through his back.
Tracing one of the scars that appeared on his chest, Kevin was reminded of the time where he was forced to fight against multiple G ranked villains when he had just entered F rank.
It was a mission that the system had given him in exchange for a relatively powerful skill.
In the end, if not for the fact that he had multiple trump cards on him, he would've long have died that day.
All the scars on his body were reminders of the hardship he had gone through to get to where he was.
Throwing the towel on the bed, Kevin opened his phone and checked his most recent notification.
[Student rank 1, Kevin Voss - Mission target, Victor Hugh, Hollberg minister of finances. Charged with corruption and embezzlement. Target location at xxxxxx road. Target behavioral pattern...]
"...Corrupt officer huh"
Looking through the data file sent to him, Kevin quickly skimmed through the contents.
Stopping on a certain section, Kevin frowned
"Embezzlement, Money laundering, Soliciting and acting as an intermediary for drug trades, false imprisonment of government officials, sexual harassment..."
The more he looked through the series of crimes his target was accused of, the deeper Kevin's frown became.
"...such trash"
Turning his phone off, Kevin placed it in his pocket.
-Click!
Dressing up in a simple white T-shirt and black pants, Kevin took his black Kashmiri jacket and headed out of the room.
-Ding!
[Host has received a new mission, would you like to view it?]
Not surprised by the sudden notification, Kevin nodded
"Yes, open quest interface"
System quest=
Difficulty rank : E
Mission : Eliminate Victor Hugh, a corrupt minister that has been embezzling funds from Hollberg. Guarded by several F ranked individuals and one E ranked guard.
Mission reward : Rank upgrade [E D-]
Looking at the quest window that popped in front of him, Kevin frowned as soon as he saw the difficulty of the mission. However, that frown soon relaxed.
Opening his status window, he looked through his stats
Status=
Name : Kevin Voss
Rank : E
Strength : D
Agility : E
Stamina : E -
Intelligence : E
Mana capacity : E -
Luck : E
Charm : D
-- Profession :
[Swordsmanship lvl.4]
-- Martial Manual :
[ Everlasting sunset] - Greater realm of mastery
Sword art primarily focused on creating faints and hiding true sword intent. By creating multiple illusions of sword art, the enemy will find it harder to defend as the true attack will always be masked under multiple faints.
[ Sky steps] - Minor realm of mastery
Movement art that considerably increases user agility. Upon reaching a certain level of mastery, stepping on the air is possible.
-- Skills :
[{E} Overdrive]
A skill that enables user to push bodily functions to the extreme. For one minute, the user can exhibit power that is double of original user strength. User will also find their other stats increasing considerably. After usage of skill, user will experience extreme fatigue making it hard for them to focus and carry out ordinary tasks for the next few hours.
[{F} Mind cleansing]
Increases user computational and analytical ability for a short period of time. Can't be used for a prolonged period of time due to the risk of possible brain trauma.
[{F} Mana coating]
A skill that enables user to replenish mana more quickly by expanding the pores on the human body.
Finally, after more than four months of being stuck at E rank, he finally had a chance to increase his rank.
If not for the fact that he had enrolled in the lock, Kevin estimated that he would've already have reached D- rank.
He had wasted a lot of time at the academy. The environment wasn't like before where he would constantly be on the edge, almost dying multiple times a week.
Sometimes, the missions were so dangerous that even the slightest mistake could cost him his life.
The environment in the lock was much more relaxed than his previous environment, which in a way was good as it allowed him to learn other things aside from fighting...but it had also stagnated his fighting ability.
Only through constantly being on the edge of your life would you truly become strong. The more peaceful their environment was, the fewer chances for growth
That's what Kevin firmly believed.
...
Stopping in front of the reception desk, Kevin walked up to a young female receptionist and asked
"Hello, may I know if I can rent a bike?"
Looking up and seeing Kevin, the receptionist was momentarily stunned by his appearance. However, that didn't ask long as she quickly collected herself
"...a bike?"
"Yes, preferably a black one that goes at incredibly high speeds"
"Hmm, let me speak with the manager."
Knitting her brows, the receptionist picked up her phone and dialed a number. This was the first time that she had ever been asked to rent a bike, so she didn't know what do to.
Hence why she opted to call for her manager.
—Hello?
Picking up the phone, a middle-aged voice could be heard from the other side of the phone
"Sir, a student is requesting to borrow a bike"
—A bike? Why would he want to borrow a bike?
"I don't know as well, that's why I am asking for confirmation with you"
Pausing slightly, the person on the other side of the phone said
—...Can you ask for the student's name?
Covering the speaker of the phone, the young clerk lady looked at Kevin and asked
"Can you please tell me your name?"
Nodding his head, Kevin replied
"Kevin Voss"
"Alright thank you...sir his name is Kevin Voss I believe"
—Kevin Voss...Kevin...ah!
Repeating the name a couple of times, the person on the other side of the phone seemed to have had a sudden realization as his voice increased a few pitches.
"Boss?"
Realizing what he had done, the person on the other side of the phone awkwardly coughed and said
—Kheumm, it was nothing. Hand him the keys to the Larvey9027
Pausing for a second, the receptionist opened her eyes wide and said
"Y-you mean, the Larvey9027?"
Her shocked reaction was understandable.
It had to be noted that the Larvey9027 was the most advanced bike they had in their mansion. A single one of those bikes costs upwards of a couple dozen million U.
She also remembers clearly that her boss highly favored that bike...yet right now he wanted nothing more but to give it to a teenager?
—Yes, do it quick. You have my permission
Hearing the urgency of her boss's voice, the receptionist didn't dare refute and agreed
"Okay"
—If that student asks for anything else, make sure you try to please him as much as you can.
Overwhelmed by the huge favor the young boy before her was getting, the receptionist could only dumbly agree to her boss's orders.
A big shot.
The young boy before her was a big shot.
"...Okay"
—Alright, call me if anything happens regarding that student
-Tak!
Hanging up, the receptionist looked at Kevin with a complicated look.
"...Please follow me"
Opening a small safe box, the receptionist took a pair of black keys and urged Kevin to follow her. Soon they entered an elevator that brought them to the bottom floor
-Ding!
As soon as the elevator doors opened, Kevin was stunned by what he saw.
Rows upon rows of supercars appeared on the large floor. The large collection of cars were sorted by brand and age at which they were manufactured, with some of the cars dating as far back as 2015.
"Please follow me"
Without waiting for Kevin to admire the place, the receptionists moved towards where the bikes were parked and urged him to keep up.
-Di! -Di!
Stopping in front of a bike, the receptionist took out the keys and unlocked the bike.
"...Here's the bike"
Handing the keys to Kevin, the receptionist smiled at his reaction. It was that of awe.
Looking at the bike in front of him, Kevin couldn't help but be amazed.
As soon as the bike turned on, the body of the bike lifted upwards levitating right on top of its two thick wheels. The frame of the bike was matt black, and its long frame could accommodate two people comfortably.
"Thank you"
Satisfied, Kevin smiled and mounted the bike.
"Here"
Handing Kevin a nice black helmet that covered the whole face, the receptionist stepped back.
Putting on the helmet, Kevin lightly nodded at the receptionist. Tightened the grip of the bike throttle, the bike silently sped into the distance.
Watching Kevin leave, the receptionist smiled and said
"Have a safe trip"
As night shrouded Hollberg, a silhouette sped into the busy streets of the city.
Swiftly moving between cars, the figure of an individual could be seen riding on top of a slick motorbike that emitted no sound. If not for the two lights coming from the front of the bike, someone could've easily overlooked the bike that was swiftly moving in between the streets.
After ten more minutes of riding, silently stopping in front of a large villa, Kevin took off his helmet revealing his two scarlet red eyes that shone under the moonlight.
-shua!
"System open inventory"
Extending his hand to the right and retrieving it back, a drone appeared in his hand.
Turning on the drone, Kevin turned on the cloaking function as well as the noise dampening function installed on the drone.
-Bzzzz!
Throwing the drone in the air, it silently disappeared and melted into the darkness of the night, completely blending with everything around it.
Staring at where the drone used to be, Kevin blankly looked at the villa before him
This wasn't the first time Kevin assassinated someone. Multiple times the system had given him similar missions where he would have to kill highly ranked individuals.
Therefore, as soon as he got assigned his mission, he already had all the necessary things needed to carry out the mission.
Turning on his phone, Kevin spectated the drone's view of the mansion.
Frowning slightly, Keving turned on the holographic function of his phone. Soon a three-dimensional perspective of the villa became visible.
Pinching his fingers, he carefully scrutinized the layout of the area.
The villa was relatively large, and it consisted of one main building surrounded by large cement walls. Around the villa, there was a large garden, filled with all sorts of flowers and plants, and next to it was a large maze.
In the middle of the maze, there was a nice wooden pavilion surrounded by red and pink roses.
Controlling the drone, Kevin moved it around the perimeter of the gate where several men dressed in black could be seen patrolling the area.
Counting all of the people he could spot patrolling the mansion, Kevin turned on the thermal imaging camera to make sure he didn't miss anyone due to the darkness of the night.
"Fifteen...sixteen...seventeen"
As he counted, he couldn't help but frown.
...This many people just outside?
Something told Kevin that something wasn't right
-Click!
Thinking for a bit, Kevin decided to deploy his mini scouting devices. Pressing on a button on his screen, several small devices dropped from the drone, landing softly on the garden's grass.
Swiping left, Kevin switched the view from the drone's point of view to the mini scouting devices view.
As he navigated the mini scouting devices with his phone, Kevin kept the drone in the air to monitor the surroundings. Just in case something happened.
Quietly entering the villa, carefully controlling one of the small scouting devices, Kevin quietly looked through each room.
After a couple of minutes of continuous scouting, Kevin stopped at what seemed to be his target's study room. Infiltrating the room through the small gap of the door, Kevin was able to see the inside of the room.
In the middle of the room stood a large wooden desk with two white leather sofas positioned right in front of it. Behind the desk, there was a large window that overlooked the whole garden.
A large carpet that seemed to have been made from real animal skin covered the whole floor, and around the room, multiple different paintings were displayed for people to see.
Just as Kevin was about to check through the files on his target's desk, the scouting device picked up a few tremors coming from the ground.
Frowning slightly, Kevin quickly hid the device from human view and turned on the cloaking function.
-Creak!
"Have all the preparations been made?"
Entering the room, a fat middle-aged man dressed in a red robe that had fine golden patterns looked behind him as he spoke. Accompanying him were several black-clothed individuals who were all warily looking in the same direction the fat middle-aged man was looking.
Kevin who was watching from the scouting device instantly identified the fat middle-aged man.
Victor Hugh, his assassination target.
Matching the description of his target with the image displayed on his screen, Kevin confirmed that he was in fact, Victor.
A few seconds after Victor entered the room, a towering man whose muscles were the size of a head entered the room. As he entered the room, his presence and demenour completely overwhelmed everyone that was in the room.
Only Victor remained relatively unfazed by the man's aura.
-Pamf!
Slumping on his chair, Victor gestured for the towering man to sit on one of the sofas opposite to him.
Sitting down, the tall man spoke
"Mister Oliver has already entered the premise and is currently in talks with secretary Chun with regards to securing a new supply route. Within an hour we should be able to finalize a deal with them"
Hearing the name Oliver being mentioned, Victor's face became dark
"Oliver? The guy that monopolized most trading routes in Hollberg?"
Nodding his head, the tall man confirmed.
"...yes"
Frowning slightly, Victor tapped his finger on the table and asked
"Has the security around here been tightened?"
Nodding his head, the tall man said
"Yes, we have hired a couple of extra guards. Though only two are decent, ranking at F rank."
Holding his almost non-existent chin with one of his fingers, Victor remained silent for a bit before saying what had been bugging his mind for the past two days
"...say, were there any unusual activities coming from the students that came from the lock?"
Lightly chuckling, the tall muscular man who seemed to have seen through Victor's worries spoke
"Even if they did move, I would doubt a bunch greenies like them would be able to get past me"
Forcing a smile, Victor shook his head
"It's not that simple, what if it's one of the professors who targets me? Even you, an E ranked individual would stand no chance against one of the professors there"
Leaning back against the sofa, the tall man crossed his arms and frowned
"What you say does indeed make sense...but have you ever wondered. Would the lock, the world's leading academy stoop so low and target you? Someone who couldn't even be put on the radar by weaker forces?"
Looking back at Victor, he continued
"I'd understand it if you were some bigshot crime boss, but you're merely a finance minister of a still-developing city. There's no way they would send a professor for the likes of you.
"Worst case scenario they will just send a student, which in all said and done are not worth mentioning in front of me"
Hearing what the tall man sitting before him was saying, Victor felt a bit more reassured...but he still couldn't completely hide his worry
"...yea but they are from the lock"
Smirking, a black glow started emanating from the tall man's body. Soon an overbearing pressure bore down on everyone in the room.
"He, you think a bunch of students that have no real combat experience, let alone have ever killed someone are a match for me?"
Feeling the massive pressure bearing down on him, Victor quickly apologized
"N-no, I'm sorry I am just nervous"
Noticing that he had taken things a bit too far, the tall man removed the pressure and said
"Hmph, when the time comes and if they really do show up...I'll show you the difference between me and them"
Standing up, the tall man looked at Victor and said
"...You felt it just now didn't you? My power."
Victor who was still recovering from the pressure the tall man had exerted before, nodded his head and said
"I did"
"...so there's nothing to be particularly worried about"
Seein how confident the tall man before him was, Victor bitterly smiled and said
"Sigh, alright. There's a reason why I pay you so much Eldor"
"Well, for someone like me the amount you're paying could be considered a barg...hmm?"
Stopping mid-sentence, Eldor looked at the right side of the room. Squinting his eyes, he moved closer towards the edge of the wall of the room.
"What's this?"
Picking up a small device that was the size of a coin, the small device's color soon distorted from being the same color as the wall to slowly changing to the same skin tone as Eldor's fingers.
-Criiick!
Pinching the small device, Eldor looked at Victor and darkly said
"Victor...start evacuating"
Taken aback by Eldor's sudden change in demenour, Victor's voice trembled as he looked at Eldor
"W-what happened?"
Looking at the powder in his hands, which used to be the small device he picked up, Eldor slowly said
"We have been breached"
...
-Bzzzttt
Staring at his screen that had gone completely static, Kevin slowly removed his Kashmire jacket and carefully placed it on top of the bike.
Extending his hand to the right, a slick slender sword suddenly appeared in his hand.
Unsheathing the sword, Kevin slowly traced his finger along the cold metal body of the blade.
"It's nice to see you again..."
Sheathing the sword back into the scabbard and placing it right below his waist, Kevin looked at the villa before him.
Taking a deep breath, Kevin activated his F ranked skill [{F} Mind cleansing].
As soon as he activated the skill, Kevin felt his head become clearer. Everything that he had previously seen on the drone became a bunch of variables that his mind slowly accounted for.
Slowly, a plan started formulating inside of his mind. A plan that dictated the fastest route and way he could use to get to where Victor was, and swiftly get rid of him.
"Fuuuu..."
Releasing a long breath, a couple of seconds after activating the skill, Kevin deactivated it.
As soon as he deactivated his skill, veins started popping on his forehead as they pulsated constantly. Frowning, Kevin stopped himself from displaying any reaction and endured the pain that came along with using the skill.
After a couple of seconds, everything returned back to normal, and the pain disappeared. Despite having only used the skill for a couple of seconds, it still did a number on him...however it wasn't for nothing.
Now, he knew what the fastest and safest way to kill Victor was...
Closing his eyes, slowly, his figure melted into the darkness
"...let the hunt begin"
-Spurt!
Appearing behind one of the guards patrolling the area, Kevin swiftly and silently slit his throat.
Dragging the guard's corpse behind a bush, Kevin came back out wearing a black uniform and a hat. On his right peck, a white nametag rested on the uniform.
After scouting all of the guards from the drone, Kevin had a general idea of the guard's movement pattern.
Turning right, Kevin passed by another guard that was patrolling not so far away from where he was.
Nodding his head to greet Kevin, the guard moved past Kevin.
-Spurt!
Swiftly appearing behind the guard and silently slitting his throat, Kevin dragged his body away.
Coming back out, Kevin replaced his previous name tag with the one of the guard he had just killed.
The reason for his action was because certain guards were only allowed to patrol certain areas. If they found out that the guard that was supposed to be patrolling the outside perimeter was outside their designated area, they would no doubt become suspicious.
Though he knew his plan wasn't going to last long, he would at least like to reach a certain point before bulldozing his way towards his target.
Realistically, remaining hidden was not an option...but it's not like Kevin cared. He was that confident in his skill.
Entering the villa, Kevin lowered the hat he was wearing. Masking his face.
Right now Kevin had to operate fast.
His target already knew that he was on his tail.
Previously, he had sent several scouting devices inside of the villa, and thus he knew exactly where Victor was hiding.
However, despite the fact that their cloaking function was fairly good, they had all already been seen through by someone.
Kevin estimated that whoever found the devices, was at least E rank, if not even E rank. Only someone of that calibre could detect his scouting devices so quickly.
Though he knew there was going to be someone of that level as the system had already warned him beforehand, he had to confirm for himself.
...and now he knew.
Increasing his pace, Kevin walked in the direction of where he last detected Victor. He knew he couldn't waste any time.
If he let the target escape, the next time he tried to assassinate him, chances were that he would be more prepared. Even worse, he would hide until Kevin had no choice but to return to the academy, preventing him from completing the mission.
He had to kill him now at all costs. If not, there was not going to be a second chance.
Turning left of the hall, Kevin passed by two guards who seemed to be in a rush.
"Hey!"
Hearing someone shouting in his direction, halting his steps, Kevin kept looking at the front.
"Morrison, what are you doing here?"
Jogging to where Kevin was, one of the guards looked at Kevin suspiciously.
"You shouldn't be here. We just got an emergency message regarding someone infiltrating the premis--kh"
Just as the guard was about to finish speaking, Kevin subtly looked at his nametag 'Leo' and swiftly stabbed his heart.
Supporting Leo's lifeless body with one arm so that he remained standing, Kevin pretended to converse with him. Halfway through his conversation, Kevin slightly loosened the grip of Leo's body, and it slowly sank in his direction.
"I know, someone ordered me to...hey? Leo are you okay?"
"What's going on?"
Noticing something strange, the other guard that was accompanying Leo, whom Kevin had just killed, jogged in Kevin's direction.
Using his shoulder to mask the blood that was slowly seeping from Leo's body, Kevin flusteredly spoke.
"I-I don't know. I was just talking to him when he suddenly just passed out in front of me"
"Hey, Leo!"
Arriving next to Leo, the guard gave him a gentle tap
"...Hm?"
Noticing a small red stain on the ground, the guard instantly felt that something wasn't right, but before he could react, a silver streak of light appeared before his heart.
-Spurt!
-Thud!
-Thud!
Knowing that his cover would be blown any second, Kevin sprinted towards where Victor was hiding.
"Hey!"
"Hey!"
As he was running, he met a couple of guards that tried to block his way. However, it was all futile.
Stepping on the side of the wall, Kevin stabbed his sword in their direction.
Noticing Kevin's action, the two guards immediately tried to block Kevin's attack...
...but suddenly out of nowhere, the sword that they assumed was coming from the front suddenly appeared on the side, completely catching them off guard.
-Spurt!
-Thud!
Killing one of the guards, using the momentum he had from having propelled himself off the wall, Kevin somersaulted in the air and slashed towards the other guard.
Flustered, the guard tried to block Kevin's attack, but similarly to the first guard, just as the sword was about an inch away from him, it suddenly appeared in a completely different direction, completely catching him off guard.
-Spurt!
-Thud!
Without looking back, Kevin continued running and killing guards left and right as he bulldozed his way towards where Victor was.
"Stop right there!"
Just as Kevin was about to reach the room Victor was hiding in, a large towering man appeared before him, obstructing his path.
A large pressure emanated from his body.
Stopping, Kevin looked at him and said
"...so you must be the one who found my Scouters"
Without answering Kevin, the towering man looked at him up and down. Frowning, a trace of astonishment appeared on his face.
"E rank? H-how's this possible?"
"You should be worried about something else instead of my rank!"
Appearing before Eldor, Kevin drew his sword and slashed in his direction.
"You dare!"
-Clang!
Before Kevin's sword could hack at Eldor, a giant axe appeared in his hand, perfectly blocking his attack.
-Kach!
Taking a couple of steps back, Eldor hacked his axe on the ground to stop himself from moving further backwards.
Regaining his bearing Eldor solemnly looked at Kevin.
"To be able to push me this far back...You're not half bad"
-Shua!
Without answering Eldor, Kevin appeared on his left side and stabbed towards his head.
Just as Eldor was about to block Kevin's sword attack, midway through his motion he stopped and redirected his axe to the left side of his body.
-Criiick!
"khhh..."
Barely managing to block Kevin's attack, Eldor's axe grazed Kevin's sword.
Though he managed to stop Kevin from stabbing him in the liver, a large gash appeared on his body.
"What kind of sword art is that?"
Dumbly looking at his wound, Eldor looked at Kevin who was a few steps away from him.
Ignoring Eldor, Kevin once again attacked.
-Shua!
-Criick!
Staring at the sword coming in his direction intently, Eldor once again managed to barely deflect his attack.
"Khhh...dammit"
Holding on the side of his body, Eldor took a quick potion from his pocket and downed it. Slowly, his injuries started healing.
-Shua!
Appearing on Eldor's right side, Kevin's sword hacked towards his head, and a whistle arose as the sword split the air.
-Clank!
Firmly blocking Kevin's true attack that was heading towards his heart, a smirk appeared on Eldor's face.
"You think I wouldn't be able to block it after the second time?"
Using his enormous frame, Eldor pushed Kevin back.
"Hhuuuuaaa"
Raising his axe in the air, Eldor firmly hacked it towards Kevin's direction.
Sidestepping, Kevin tried to avoid the attack, however, midway through the air, Eldor's axe twisted to the side in a J motion.
-Clank!
Blocking the attack, Kevin felt all the bones in his body vibrate from the clash.
"Again!"
Raising his axe again, Eldor once again hacked.
-Shuuua!
Frowning, with his right hand holding the grip of the sword and his left hand holding the body of the sword, Kevin followed the axe's movement and redirected it to the ground.
-Baaam!
Breaking the marble floor into millions of pieces, a large cloud of dust swept the area.
Noticing the slight opening, Kevin decided to act
Swiftly turning the tip of his sword, a whistle arose! Kevin's momentum suddenly changed. His gentle attacks from before were long gone, and what replaced them were fiercer and heavier strikes that overwhelmed Eldor.
Following the heavier strikes, Kevin's sword became even harder to trace as every single one of his attacks would look like the real deal. He would occasionally pretend to do a feint when in fact there was none. This was so that he could destroy Eldor's mentality, increasing the chances of him making a mistake.
Eldor, who was under the barrage of attacks, could barely hold on as he used his giant axe as a shield.
The fact that he couldn't rely on his sight made things that much harder for him. He had to pay extra close attention to the sound the sword made in the air, else he wouldn't know where the sword was coming from.
"Khhh, dammit"
As he was being pushed back, Eldor grit his teeth. Looking at Kevin whose momentum was increasing by the second, Eldor who knew that this couldn't keep going anymore decided to use his strongest move and end things.
"You leave me no choice!"
Suddenly, a black glow emanated from Eldor's body as his muscles started bulging from his body.
Kevin who noticed these changes immediately attacked him more fiercely, but it was to no avail as Eldor who was struggling before was starting to defend his attacks more accurately.
'He's using something similar to overdrive'
Stopping his frontal attacks, as he knew it was useless, Kevin decided to rely on his agility and swiftly moved behind Eldor's thick body
Noticing Kevin moving behind him, Eldor turned around at an astonishing speed. The giant axe in his hands was covered in a thick black glow before Kevin knew it, and along with it, a supremely fierce and immense pressure bore down on Kevin who was caught off-guard.
-Whaaam!
As soon as the ax slashed horizontally, Kevin felt the air and the surroundings vibrate intensively.
It was so fast that it was impossible to dodge!
Seeing that he couldn't dodge, Kevin met the axe head-on.
-CLANG!
A large shockwave swept the surroundings. Taking ten steps backs, Kevin felt an iron-like taste in his mouth.
-Spurt!
After a couple of seconds, Kevin couldn't hold it anymore and spat a mouthful of blood.
"Huaaaa!"
Before Kevin had enough time to catch his breath, Eldor's giant axe came swinging from above.
-Kacha!
Narrowly dodging the attack by a hair's breadth, Kevin saw the giant axe split the marble floor into dozens of pieces.
"..In the end I have to use it, huh"
Looking at Eldor, who was preparing himself for another swing, Kevin closed his eyes and let out a long breath
[{E} Overdrive]
As if all of his muscles had been rejuvenated, Kevin felt an unprecedented power rise from deep within him.
Tensing his calves, Kevin appeared behind Eldor.
-Thud!
Slashing upwards, a head flew in the air and a massive body fell flat on the ground sending debris all over the place.
"Khhhhhh..."
Deactivating [Overdrive, Kevin's muscles spasmed continuously. The pain was so strong, that he barely managed to stop himself from passing out.
...in the end, he had to use [Overdrive]
The side effects of using [Overdrive] were currently too much for him. If not for the fact that he had no choice but to use it, he would've never used it.
In the end, despite being stronger than Eldor, his experience was still far lower than his.
He wanted to win without needing to use [Overdrive, but in the end, without it, he wouldn't have been able to win.
-Gulp! -Gulp! -Gulp!
Gulping down a couple of potions, Kevin felt a little bit better...Well enough to stand up.
Looking around, Kevin walked towards Eldor's headless body.
-Shaa!
Slashing towards Eldor's hand, Kevin took it and headed towards a large wooden door.
-Beep!
Placing his finger on the lock in front of the door, Kevin waited for the door to open before entering.
Waiting on the other side of the door, Victor stood up and let out a sigh of relief.
'Only Eldor can unlock the door, this means he succeeded right...?'
-Click!
As the door fully extended, Victor's smile froze as he saw two scarlet red eyes staring in his direction.
"Hiiiiii, w-ho are you?"
Slumping backwards, Victor trembled as he crawled backwards...As far away from Kevin as possible.
"Who am I?"
Looking at Victor's sorry figure, Kevin smirked. Extending his hand upward, he slowly hacked in his direction.
-Slash!
-Thud!
Watching Victor's fat head rolling on the floor, Kevin slowly said
"I am Kevin Voss"
They say humans were adaptable creatures.
Presented with an external scenario that changed their behavioral pattern or ways of life, humans were creatures that were able to adapt to the new changes presented to them.
Compared to the other races, humans didn't have anything in particular that stood out for them.
Dwarves were smart, Elves had a high affinity with mana, and orcs had strong constitutions.
...humans had none of that.
They didn't have the dwarves' intelligence, the elves' strong affinity with mana, nor did they have physiques as strong as the orcs.
They were merely a bunch of evolved primates in the eyes of the three races.
...yet, after around 70 years, to the surprise of the three races, humanity had almost caught up with them.
Though they weren't particularly outstanding in a single area, after adapting to the new changes around them, they were able to swiftly become a powerhouse that could comfortably defend their territory from the likes of demons and the other races.
It all came down to how they were able to adapt to the changes presented before them.
They didn't need to be the smartest. They didn't need to have a high affinity to mana, nor did they need to have strong constitutions like the orcs.
Though they wouldn't come close to the level of orcs, elves, and dwarves, humans were able to control mana, have strong physiques, and come up with new technology and theories that further increased their knowledge.
...adaptability.
Though it sounded dull, it was probably what made humans so scary...
Sitting in front of a cafè, sipping on some iced lattè whilst listening to my mp3, I looked outside the window.
Two days have passed since I had been assigned the mission by the academy.
Surprise, surprise, Kevin completed it on the same night as he got his mission assigned.
Show off...
Jokes aside, past the first day, most people had already completed their missions.
A couple of students got injured and some even nearly died, but due to some sheer luck, no one died.
Though I could've been like them and done the task on the first day, I decided against doing so.
There was a reason for my action.
For one, completing the task so fast would definitely arouse suspicion from the professors, and two...I just needed some time to sort my state of mind.
It's been about two months since I had reincarnated into my late novel, and despite having seen all sorts of terrible things, I still couldn't quite grasp the concept of death.
I've sort of forced myself to not think about it, even after I killed Elijah back in the after-party, I wasn't affected much due to the effects of [Monarch's indifference].
But that was merely a way for me to cope.
In order to cope, I lied to myself into making myself think that the person who killed Elijah wasn't me, but another version of me that was under the effect of [Monarch's indifference].
I knew this wasn't good for me, but if I didn't do so, my mentality would've long crumbled.
Biting the top of my latte' cup, I looked at the foremost notification on my phone.
[Time left until mission expires : 01D : 02H : 17M : 24S]
...Now, I was once again presented with a scenario where I had to kill someone.
My first thought when I got the mission was...let's use [Monarch's indifference].
If I used that skill, I wouldn't have to worry about having nightmares for a week.
However, after a bit of thinking, I decided against doing so.
...I needed to get used to death.
I needed to acknowledge the fact that I was no longer on earth...but inside of my novel where the morals were completely different from the world I used to live in.
It was hard.
It was very hard.
Though I've tried multiple times already, the morals that had been engraved in me for 32 years of my life couldn't just be thrown away in the drain as I wished.
It just wasn't possible...but that didn't mean this couldn't change in the future.
Though I may not be able to get used to killing immediately, there will eventually come a time where I would finally be indifferent towards killing.
Though it was going to be hard, it wasn't impossible. All I needed to do was...
Adapt.
-Plap!
Placing my now empty latte' down, I stood up and left the cafe'
Resolutely looking at the counting timer on my phone, I headed back towards the mansion so that I could get all preparations done
Today I would try to consciously kill without the aid of [Monarch's indifference]
Though I knew this day would eventually come, it didn't stop me from feeling a hint of anxiety creep into my heart.
Killing without the aid of anything.
That was my resolve.
...
10 P.M
Outside a venue filled with people, I stood on top of the opposite building quietly scouting the perimeter of the venue.
Inside of the venue I was looking at, a masquerade party was being held.
People wearing masks dancing and chatting could be seen everywhere. This was quite inconvenient for me as I had a hard time finding my target because of this.
The masquerade party was a celebratory party in commemoration of the building's opening.
The host of the party was...my current target, Karl zar.
According to the files I had been sent, my target was the head of a minor drug organization that sold and traded potent drugs into Hollberg.
Despite the fact that the organization he controlled was small, he earned a hefty amount of money.
Enough to afford a whole building...
The building he just bought was merely a building he had bought so that he could show off his wealth to the others, and it was one of the many other properties he owned.
After looking carefully, I was finally able to spot my target
Despite the fact that everyone was wearing a mask, my target was surprisingly easy to spot
Wearing a gold mask that only covered his eyes, Karl had a group of people following him.
...they were probably his bodyguards.
Frowning slightly, I thought something was strange.
...he was being too obvious.
Despite this being a masquerade party, he didn't try to hide who he was.
If he wasn't as obvious, I would've probably have had a harder time spotting him.
'Maybe he caught wind of what was happening these past few days?'
I thought as I looked at it from a different perspective.
If so, it made sense.
I mean who wouldn't become more cautious after seeing a lot of big shots disappear in a matter of days.
He was currently living his days not knowing whether he would be one of those people that disappeared overnight.
I too would've become paranoid.
Looking at Karl's figure walking around to the venue accompanied by the many bodyguards, I measured the distance between us.
In terms of distance, I was probably about a couple hundred meters away.
Though it wasn't far, it was also not close.
I needed to kill him before he left for good.
If he managed to leave before I could kill him, I may not be able to find another good time to kill him.
In any case, my job today was simple. I just had to wait for my target to leave before killing him.
11 P.M.
The sun had already long set and what replaced it was the gentle moonlight that lit the surrounding streets.
The street lanterns brightly lit the streets of Hollberg as occasionally a few cars would drive by in the distance.
The masquerade was nearing its ending stages. Luxurious cars arrived at the venue one by one, and people adorned in fancy dresses and masks filled with strange patterns exited the building and entered the cars that soon drove into the distance.
As they left, the roaring sound of the car's engine could be heard not so far from where I was standing.
11:30 P.M.
A black limousine arrived in front of the party venue.
Soon, two people exited the building and made their way towards the limousine.
Seeing the two people leave the premises, I instantly became alert and prepared for what was to come.
My target Karl zar had finally left the venue.
Though I could've killed him while he was still at the venue, there was a high chance things were going to get troublesome if I were to kill him in front of everyone.
In the end, I could only wait for him to exit the building and attack then.
"…Hm."
Just as I was about to make my move I halted and looked at Karl.
Taking off his mask 'Karl's' figure suddenly morphed to the figure of a young man in his thirties.
Opening my eyes wide, abruptly turning my head left, I could see a black car speeding off in the distance
"Shit...I've been had!"
This guy was much more cations than I had anticipated.
After a lot of big-shots disappeared over the last two days, noticing that something was strange, Karl took no chances and heavily invested in security as well as methods to avoid being assassinated.
The guy who was pretending to be him was most likely wearing a top skin mask that lasted for a couple of hours, meaning that after the time was up the mask would no longer function.
Staring at the black car that was speeding off into the distance, a smirk appeared on my face.
His plan was honestly quite good...too bad he was currently being targeted by me.
Prior to coming here, I did a thorough investigation of the nearby areas.
I had memorized every single street in the nearby radius.
...and I knew exactly which road he was going to take.
Jumping off the building I was on, I softly landed on the ground and sped towards the distance. Turning left and right of a couple of buildings, I increased my pace even further...
It was a race against time.
Because his main house was in the opposite direction, I knew exactly which road he was going to take to get back home.
Though it may look like they shook me off, I already knew that our paths were bound to cross very soon.
"Let's see if you can really escape from my grasp..."
Report chapter
Swiftly moving around the alleys of Hollberg, taking out my phone, I quickly checked the map of the surroundings.
Despite not knowing the current position of the car, I could estimate how long it would take for it to reach the main road that was a few blocks away from my current position.
If things were going as I predicted in approximately fifteen minutes they would reach the main road...
Staring at the red dot on the map that marked my position, I lightly frowned and increased my speed.
"Fuck, I should definitely get a movement art after this..."
As I ran, I couldn't help but curse at my speed.
Though my rank increased and my speed along with it, it felt as if I still lacked in the speed department.
Fortunately, because I was directly cutting through the buildings to reach my destination, the distance that I covered was much less compared to the car which needed to go through a couple of adjacent roads that connected to the main road.
"Huff...huff...this must be the right road"
Panting heavily, after having run at full speed for ten minutes straight, I supported myself with my knees and looked ahead.
In front of me stood a deserted road that was dimly lit by the streets lamps that stood on the side of the road.
The sidewalks were empty, and all the houses next to the road had their lights turned off.
Checking my phone and confirming that I was at the right destination, I took out my mp3 and scrolled down my playlist.
I needed something to take my mind off of what was to happen next.
...and what better way than through music
"...let's go with this"
Moonlight Sonata
Beethoven
0:00 -- 15:00
Volume -
Feeling the breeze of the night, I stood in front of the deserted road.
-Vroom!
"...about time"
As soon as I pressed the play button of my mp3, on the opposite side of the road, a black car sped in my direction.
Glancing at the oncoming car, I closed my eyes and savored the music that was playing in my ears.
"Fuuuu..."
-Beep! -Beep!
Ignoring the beeping coming from the incoming car, letting out a long breath, I channeled my mana at the tip of my sword and drew a circle in the air.
Slowly a yellow translucent circle appeared in front of me.
Following the first circle, I drew a second and a third one.
"Go..."
Stacking them up together, I pushed them towards the incoming vehicle.
-Vuam!
-Skreeech
Noticing the circles heading their way, the car screeched and swerved to the side as the driver tried to avoid the rings.
...However, it was too late.
Despite the driver's attempt to dodge the circles, they still hit the car on its backside causing it to spin a couple of times before slamming against a street light.
-BAAAAM!
"Not bad"
Staring at my now scattering rings I couldn't help but nod in satisfaction.
Prior to coming to Hollberg, my circles could only last for two seconds and had no substance to them.
After having come to Hollberg, I didn't stop training once.
Although the amount of time I trained was cut considerably, it didn't stop me from improving my second sword art [Ring of vindication]
...and thanks to that, though I didn't manage to increase the time the rings could remain in the air, I managed to add substance to them.
Meaning that right now, hitting a ring was the same as hitting real matter.
...and because I managed to hit the car on its backside, I disrupted its momentum causing it to spin and crash against the pole.
This technique was essentially a similar tactic to the PIT maneuver that police used, but without the need for me to use another car.
-Plack!
"Ah, shit!"
Opening the door of the car, a rather handsome individual with short brown hair and green eyes came out.
Looking around and noticing me standing in the middle of the road, the handsome individual's eyes narrowed
"...So you must be one of those rats sent from the lock"
Behind him, four more individuals exited the vehicle. They all were nice black suits and apart from a few shards of glass on their clothes, they seemed to be relatively unharmed.
Glancing behind him, the young individual felt a surge of confidence rise from within him as he started speaking with more confidence.
"I've long known that I was a possible target. I hoped that it wouldn't have come to this, but it seems that in the end, you pests from the lock are planning of cleansing the whole of Hollberg..."
Nudging at the guards behind him to come forward, the handsome individual smiled and said
"I'll give you a chance, leave now before things get serious..."
Removing one of my earpieces, I shook my head and looked at the handsome individual who hid behind his four bodyguards.
"I'm afraid I'd have to disappoint you there Mr. Zar. You see if I don't kill you, there's a high chance I might fail my year..."
It was true.
Because my theoretical grades were absolute garbage, if I didn't complete this mission, there was a high chance I would fail this course.
Simply put, I had no other option but to complete this mission.
Frowning, Karl Zar's face crumpled as he darkly said
"I gave you a chance but you blew it..."
Signaling with his fingers to three of the four guards before him, instantly three G ranked auras erupted enveloping the street and me.
"Since you leave me no choice, I guess you must die!"
Feeling the three auras directed in my direction, I remained indifferent. Putting my earpiece back into my ear, I channeled the mana inside of my body and accustomed myself to the pressure coming from the three guards.
Ignoring the three G ranked individuals, my eyes never once drifted away from the fourth member that kept standing next to Karl.
Similar to the other three guards, he was wearing a black suit. He had long black hair the fell right onto his shoulders and his angular face looked extremely vicious.
Though he was hiding it, he was F ranked.
His entire presence was drastically different compared to the other three. It felt as if a vicious python was staring at me ready to strangle me at any moment.
He was on another level...
"...hm?"
Noticing my indifferent expression, Karl frowned and looked at the guard that was standing next to him.
Glancing at Karl, the guard nodded his head and stepped forward.
-Vuam!
Instantly a pressure that was on a different level compared to the three guards engulfed the entire street.
Taking out a dagger from his pocket, the guard smiled as he slowly licked the blade of the dagger
"...It's been a while since I've had some fun"
Seeing his strongest guard move, Karl felt a wave of confidence wash over him as he commanded the other guards
"Kill him!"
Hearing Karl's command, the three G ranked guards instantly moved and ran in my direction.
Staring at the guards coming in my direction, my eyes slightly darted towards the F ranked guard who was behind them.
Though it looked like he was not going to attack...I knew...I knew that he was most probably going to attack me when I least expect it.
He was probably going to attack as soon as he saw an opening.
Therefore...
"Fuuuuu..."
Releasing a long breath, my F ranked aura instantly enveloped the entire street as white light started emanating from my body.
Tapping on my sword, a bright white light instantly engulfed the whole street
The second movement of the [Keiki style] : Horizon splitting slash
-Click!
-Thud!
-Thud!
-Thud!
As soon as the light died down, three heads could be seen rolling on the floor.
Biting my lips and not looking back, I stared at Karl and the other guard.
...I just consciously killed three people.
Despite trying my best to not show it, my mind was currently in a state of turmoil. Guilt, shame, anger, resentment, many emotions constantly came and went inside of my mind as I desperately struggled to keep my mind intact.
I couldn't crumble yet.
...at least not until I finished my mission.
"w-w-hat j-just happened?"
Staggering a few steps backward, Karl almost fell over as he looked at the heads of the three guards on the floor. Staring at his remaining guard, Karl weakly said
"E-dmund, y-ou can kill him rig-ht?"
Hearing Karl's voice and recovering from his surprise, the F ranked guard, Edmund, licked his lips and nodded
"This might be more entertaining than I thought"
Dashing in my direction, Edmund stabbed his dagger in the direction of my throat.
Looking at Edmund coming my way, I instantly dashed a few steps back and drew a circle in the air with my sword.
Like a snake, the dagger coursed through the air at incredible speeds as it made its way towards my direction.
-Clank!
Hacking at the circle, it soon broke into millions of pieces, and the dagger soon appeared before my eyes.
Looking at the dagger that was only a few inches away from my face, my face remained indifferent.
Though the circle didn't manage to block the attack, it didn't matter because all I wanted was to buy myself enough time to regain my stance.
-Click!
-Clank!
Quickly repelling the dagger with my sword, I shoulder tackled Edmund and took a few steps back.
"khhh..."
Pushed back, Edmund smiled savagely as he said
"..Not bad"
Flicking the dagger in the air, Edmund switched it to his left hand and once again dashed in my direction.
Noticing him heading my way, I quickly drew three circles in the air. Stacking them together I pushed them in the direction of where the dagger was coming from.
...I needed to buy myself more time.
I needed five seconds.
Five seconds to be able to accumulate enough wind psyons to coat my sword and use the first movement of the Keiki style, quick flash.
...Only through that move could I kill him.
'1'
"Futile trick!"
Seeing the three circles heading in his direction, A green glow covered Edmund's body as he flicked his dagger in the air and grabbed it with both his hands before stabbing at the circles.
-Crash!
'2'
As if the tree circles were made of paper, they instantly broke into a million particles.
"...Shit!"
Staring at the dagger headed in my direction, I bit my lips until blood fell on my chin and only moved slightly to the side
'3'
-Spurt!
"khhh...ahhhhh!"
Piercing my shoulder until the tip of the dagger could be seen appearing on the other side of my back, I stared at Edmund who looked at me with an expression of shock
'4'
"You crazy bastard!"
Smiling slightly I said
"...yeah, I think so too"
'5'
The first movement of the [Keiki style] : Quick flash
-Thud!
"Khhh...huff...huff"
Grabbing my shoulder which was bleeding heavily, I panted heavily as my vision blurred slightly.
"hiiiii, don't come near me!"
Forcefully trying to regain my composure I quickly headed towards my target, Karl Zar.
"y-ou want money? women? fame? I can give you anything, please don't kill me. I don't want to die!"
Picking up one of the earpieces that fell off of one of my ears I put it back on and ignored Karl's pleas.
Arriving before Karl, I let out a long breath and raised my sword.
Looking at his sorry state I started hesitating a bit...but after thinking about all the horrible things he did from reading his report, I firmed my will and slashed down.
-Spurt!
-Thud!
Wiping Karl's blood off of my face, I let out a long breath and stared at the moon that was surrounded by the stars.
"I guess I truly am a part of this world now..."
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"Is that him?"
"Did he really get injured over such a simple mission?"
"He really does look weak"
Aimlessly walking around the mansion, I ignored the whispers and stares coming from some of the students that I passed along the way.
Yesterday night, after completing the mission, I returned to the mansion all battered up. My whole arm was bleeding profusely and my clothes were all torn.
Though I didn't pass out, to the people who saw me return, it looked as if I had been through hell.
Because I had some notoriety, news of my battered state spread across all of the students...and soon I became the hot topic of the first years.
Because the missions that we got were not a secret from the other students, after a bit of digging, people immediately found out who my target was and news of me getting beat up by a G ranked individual spread across the academy.
...in the end, this resulted in me becoming the butt of the jokes of the first years.
'Weakling'
'Loser'
'Trash'
Walking along the corridor, I was called all sorts of defamatory names by everyone that saw me.
On a normal day, I would've grumbled and cursed at the people talking crap about me, but today...
Staring at my hands, I recalled the moment when my sword reaped through the lives of multiple people at once.
'...I killed'
I didn't sleep throughout the whole night.
Right now to the people around me I probably looked like a lifeless corpse that was aimlessly wandering around the mansion.
My mind kept replaying the moments where I reaped through the lives of the four bodyguards.
...I could vividly recall Karl's pleading face as he begged for me to spare him.
"Fuuuuu..."
Letting out a long breath and staring at the ceiling of the corridor, I tried to calm my mind.
What had happened already happened.
...There was no going back.
I had killed and I needed to move on...
This wasn't going to be the only time, and it sure as heck wasn't going to be the last time.
This was the path that I had chosen for myself and thus had to take responsibility for my decisions.
Moreover, there was something more important I needed to worry about.
'The massacre of Hollberg'
The second big event in the first arc of the novel.
Tomorrow at 9:45 P.M, the last day of the trip, when everyone was sleeping, an organized attack will happen.
Though their primary targets were Kevin and the others, the other weaker students weren't spared from their pursuit.
...Meaning that I was also not safe.
Though I decided not to interfere, I needed to prepare myself for what was to come.
Placing my hand on my chin, I fell into deep thought.
First things first...I needed to memorize the whole building blueprint.
I needed to find a good spot where I could get a good view of what was happening as well as attract the least amount of attention. The reason why I needed a good view of what was happening was so that I could overlook anything that deviated from the plotline.
...I didn't want another incident like the one with Amanda to happen.
Fortunately, I had the mysterious book with me. With it, I could more or less tell if something outside of the norm was going to happen.
If anything that deviated from the plotline happened, it was my job to prevent it at any cost.
Secondly, I needed to quickly recover from the wounds that I had sustained yesterday.
Despite the fact that I had healing potions, they couldn't heal all my injuries that quickly. Especially since my whole shoulder had been pierced and my shoulder muscles had been torn.
...I still needed a full day to completely heal my shoulder.
Right now, the whole of my right hand hurt like hell. Just the slightest movement and I would get an electrifying pain coursing through my body. Though I could tough it out, I'd still prefer if I was in top condition for tomorrow.
Lastly, I needed to sort out my mentality.
As of right now, I wasn't in the right state of mind to be put through another scenario that required me to reap through lives.
...I just couldn't.
Just the thought of me killing again was causing my hands to tremble uncontrollably. I was not ready mentally to go through such an experience again...
In the end, I had already decided that for tomorrow I would use [Monarch's indifference] throughout the whole event.
Only after killing for the first time yesterday did I realize how many flaws I had, both combat and mentality-wise.
I was too emotional.
Despite me trying my best to get over the fact that I had killed someone, the thought of what future lay ahead of me and how many more lives I would take made me question my humanity.
Was I right? Was everything that I was doing really okay? Was killing the correct answer?
Conflicting thoughts continuously brewed inside of my mind as I tried to find the correct answer.
...In the end, I still had a long way to go before being able to confidently stand up against demons and villains.
Sighing and ridding of all my distracting thoughts, I quickly headed to my room and started preparing for tomorrow.
"...These are probably going to be the longest two days of my life"
...
-Bang! -Bang! -Bang!
"Huff...huff..huff"
Standing shirtless inside of an empty room filled with training dummies, an extremely handsome individual stood in the middle of the room heavily panting for air.
His perfectly honed body was drenched in sweat, and his eyes were bloodshot.
-Gulp!
Downing a potion and recovering some of his stamina, the young individual quickly dashed before one of the training dummies and punched it with all his might.
"Die! Die! Die!"
-Bang! -Bang! -Bang!
Cursing and continuously punching the dummy until he ran out of air, small shockwaves spread throughout the room as the sound of the collision between his fists and the dummies reverberated around the place.
Exactly thirty minutes after continuously hitting the dummies, the young individual laid on the floor heavily gasping for air.
Staring at the ceiling, he clenched his jaw hard and he covered his eyes with his arm.
"...Just what am I lacking?"
Recalling Kevin's achievements on the first night the mission was assigned, Jin couldn't help but feel a massive wall standing before him.
It felt as if a wall that he couldn't climb was standing before him.
No matter how much work he put in, he couldn't find any way to bridge the gap between himself and Kevin.
Was Kevin that much more talented than him?
Should he just accept the fact that Kevin was better than him?
"Damm it..."
-Bang!
Clenching his fist hard, Jin punched the floor hard.
"I can't accept this! Even if my talent is not as good as his, I have access to the best resources and facilities! This should be enough for me to be able to become better than him!"
Kevin who was an orphan and had nothing managed to surpass him who was born with a golden spoon?
He couldn't accept it.
There was no way he could accept it.
-Gulp!
Recovering some of his energy, Jin immediately downed another potion and stood up.
"I will surpass you no matter what!"
-Bang!
Dashing towards one of the training dummies he once again started training until he couldn't stand anymore.
This process repeated continuously until his fists were both bloodied and bruised.
...In the end, only after passing out from overworking himself did he stop training.
...
Inside a small cozy cafe' decorated with beautiful plants and old wooden tables and boards, two stunningly beautiful young girls sat facing each other.
Sipping on some hot mocha, one of the two stunning girls that had short creamy brown hair looked at the girl in front of her and said.
"...Say, Amanda, did you notice something strange happening these past few days?"
Glancing at Emma, Amanda frowned for a second before shaking her head
"No"
"Really?"
Frowning for a bit, Emma's brow relaxed.
"Maybe it's just me..."
For the past few days, Emma had this sense of discomfort. She constantly felt as if someone was keeping an eye on her.
It was sort of unsettling...but in the end, she could only think of it as her being paranoid.
With all the things that were happening with the Parker family, she couldn't help but become more sensitive to her surroundings.
Since she couldn't prove her deductions, she could only pray that it was just her misconception...
Shaking her head and switching topics, Emma looked at Amanda and said
"By the way, did you hear about the latest rumor?"
Tilting her head to the side, Amanda shook her head.
"...ah yeah you're not the type to care about that sort of stuff."
Realizing that Amanda didn't care about gossip or any of that stuff, Emma leaned back on her chair and softly mumbled.
"Well, it's not like it's anything particularly exciting...just about the weird guy that sits on the left side of the class..."
Hearing the word 'weird' and 'left side of the class' Amanda's eyebrow jumped slightly as she said
"...Hm? who?"
Taken aback by Amanda's sudden interest, Emma looked at her strangely
"I'm not sure about his name, but he's the weird guy that sits on the left side of the class and always sheats and unsheathes his sword in the middle of the training ground..."
Frowning her brows, Amanda said
"...what about him?"
Noticing something odd about Amanda's behavior, Emma squinted her eyes and said
"Why are you suddenly so interested? You usually don't care about this stuff"
Realizing that she was being a bit too pushy, Amanda brushed it off and said
"Ah, it's nothing much. He was in my elective food exploration so I was just curious..."
Not believing her, Emma's eyes narrowed as she scrutinized Amanda. In the end, after seeing Amanda's indifferent face, she gave up and said
"It's nothing interesting, it's just that he is now nicknamed 'The weakest first year' and other stupid nicknames like that"
Taken aback, Amanda couldn't help but raise her eyebrow as she repeated
"...the weakest first year?"
Nodding her head and seeing Amanda's confusion, Emma followed up
"Apparently this stemmed from the fact that some students saw him return all battered up last night and after checking what mission he had they found out that he only had to deal with a G ranked nobody"
Listening to Emma's talk, Amanda couldn't help but slightly frown.
Just what was he thinking?
The more she knew about him the more mysterious he became.
Coming back battered after going against a single G ranked individual? Like hell, she would believe that.
There was no way the same guy that killed Elijah, a D ranked villain, could possibly get hurt from a G ranked individual.
He must've either faked his injury or something else must've happened...
"Hey, hey Amanda"
Snapping Amanda out of her thoughts was Emma who pouted at her.
"You were the one who asked me to tell you about the rumors revolving around that student and yet you're not even paying attention!"
"Ah sorry"
Shaking her head, Emma sighed and looked at her watch.
"...Well whatever, it's about time we go back anyways."
Standing up and putting on her jacket, she looked at Amanda and said
"Let's go"
Nodding her head, Amanda stood up and left with Emma.
Along the way, Amanda couldn't help but once again think of Ren who had saved her during the after-party.
'Just what was his true goal...'
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